STAGING TRADITION; THE IMPACT OF MODERNIZATION ON FESTIVALPERFORMANCE IN NZEM BEROM, PUUS KAAT, AND BIT GOEMAI, NORTHCENTRALNIGERIA

study examines the impact of modernisation on the structure, meaning, and performance of three major traditional festivals in North-Central Nigeria: Nzem Berom (Berom), Puus Kaat (Mwaghavul), and Bit Goemai (Goemai). Anchored in Performance Theory and Ritual Theory, the study investigates the extent to which contemporary transformations represent cultural erosion, continuity, or adaptive evolution within indigenous performance traditions.Employing a qualitative ethnographic research design, data were generated through participant observation, semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, and oral historical accounts collected from traditional custodians, performers, and community elders.The analysis focuses on changes in ritual symbolism, performative aesthetics, music, dance, costume, masquerade, audience participation, and the influence of external forces such as Christianity, urbanisation, formal education, tourism, digital media, and globalisation. The findings reveal that these festivals have undergone significant transformations in both form and function while retaining their central role as repositories of indigenous knowledge, collective memory, and cultural identity. Although certain ritual practices have declined or been reinterpreted to accommodate contemporary religious and social realities, the festivals continue to function as dynamic cultural performances that negotiate tradition and modernity through selective adaptation and creative innovation. Rather than signalling the disappearance of indigenous cultural heritage, modernisation has generated hybrid performance forms that reflect both resilience and continuity within changing socio-cultural contexts. The study concludes that the sustainability of these festivals depends on deliberate documentation, intergenerational transmission, community participation, and supportive cultural policies aimed at safeguarding Nigeria's intangible cultural heritage in the face of rapid social transformation.