The Lake Efi fishing festival takes place in Sabageria,
Kolokuma/Opokuma LGA, Bayelsa State. It is a form of a homecoming for the sons
and daughters of the town, as they use the occasion to give thanks to the river
goddess for a bountiful fish harvest. The festival, which is usually celebrated
every seven years, is subject to the pronouncement of the chief priest, and
involves canoe rides, a boat regatta and a fishing contest. During the
festival, visitors are able to purchase fish of various sizes caught in the
lake and sold at cheap prices.
According to oral
tradition, Lake Efi was discovered by a man named Ukiriki, a celebrated son of
Kalama community during one of his hunting expeditions. As he was admiring the
beauty of the vast lake, another man from a neighbouring community, Gbarain
clan, also emerged on the scene and there was an argument as to the ownership
of the lake. They finally agreed that the first person to kindle a fire at the
lakeside would be the owner. The man from the Gbarain clan ran to his nearby
village to seek for firewood while Ukiriki knowing well that before he would
get to his own village, the Gbarain man would have already set the fire. So,
Ukiriki thought of gathering dried leaves and grasses he could find by the
lake, and shot his dane gun and kindled fire at the heap of the dried leaves
and grasses he gathered. Prior to the return of the Gbarain man, there was
already a huge fire burning, so he accepted defeat of the Lake to Ukiriki. At
that time, various communities that now constitute Sabagreia were scattered at
Dapou, along the Igbedi Creek, which leads to Amassoma. It was after this
episode that the people of Kalama decided to come out of Dapou, along Igbedi
Creek and founded a new settlement on the east of River Nun called “Bolouseibokorogha-ama”, which means ‘a town where no evil/wicked people would
settle’. This name eventually metamorphosed into Sabageria by the colonial
traders who could not pronounce the original name.
Sabageria and Lake Efi are inseparable Siamese
twins because you cannot talk of one without the other. The founding and
establishment of Sabageria derives from the discovery of Lake Efi. According to
one of the Sabageria elders, “the determination of the times of the fishing
festivals is subjected to the dictates of the oracles of Efi and other deities.”
The festival he said was usually celebrated annually before it was jettisoned at a time in preference for longer intervals of nine, seven and five years due to the huge financial implications. As Christianity began taking its root deeper into the socio-cultural life of the people, the owners of Lake Efi renounced idolatry and handed the Lake to God Almighty. “The Lake and its resources are no longer idolized as in the past”.
During the Lake Efi fishing festivals,
participants and visitors from all neighbouring clans in the state as well as
those in Rivers and Delta states, usually begins with several cultural
activities and climax on the third day. The fishermen and women camp by the
lake shores all through the three days. The last festival in 2013 was the first
time it was conducted with new modifications and alterations to reflect the
rededication of the festival to Almighty God. For instance, the first catch of
the festival which was formerly presented to the chief priest of Efi is now
presented to the special guests of honour.
The 2017 edition, which took place from May
27-30, last year, was well attended, drawing dignitaries and tourists from far
and wide. The governor of Bayelsa State represented by the Commissioner for
Tourism Development, Mrs. Irene Ebiere-Musah, formally declared the three-day
event open. She stated that the state government was fully aware of the
economic importance of Lake Efi fishing festival, assuring that the government
was poised to provide all that is necessary to make the festival draw tourists
from all over the world.
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