Bade Fishing & Cultural Festival

Bade is one of the fourteen (14) emirates in Yobe State located along river Yobe and its tributaries, in the north western part of the state. Fishing is one of the most important human activities after farming in the area. Fishing festivals are performed yearly in every village along the river. The famous one in which the Emir of Bade use to attend was the ‘Kadiran’ at Duwagaru. Several villages had similar festivals connected with fishing such as Kabyyon of Kurkushe,Idbizan of Damasa and Fudan of Yin etc (Oruonye and Abubakar, 2008). Before the advent of the Europeans, the Duwagaru kadiran was the most popular festival in the area.

A hippopotamus had to be hunted before fishing could begin. In this situation, archery, spear throwing, swimming and boating techniques were displayed. As soon as the hippo was found and killed, clearing of the carcass would be effected and then the festival commences. (Oruonye and Abubakar, 2008). This practice died down due perhaps to the extinction of hippos in the area following climatic changes. Organized fishing festivals began in 1956 at Mauyi-Ganga. In the past the festival was financed by the Mai of Bade, but with the establishment of the then Bade Native Authority, small grants were provided.



Arrangement for the festival starts from the local area before the actual fishing months of February and March. Today when such arrangements are mooted at the local level, assistance is sought from the Ministry of Home Affairs, Information and Culture with the assistance of the State Council for Arts and Culture (Oruonye and Abubakar, 2008). Fishermen along the river Yobe, Chad, Mali etc are invited to participate in the grand fishing event. On the eve of the fishing day the ‘Sarkin ruwa’ i.e. “the king of theriver” and his cohorts perform rituals to appease the water spirits, so that bigger and more substantial amount of fishes could be caught.

The Bade fishing festival is very important because it serves as a unifying force amongst the different Bade communities. The festival foster among others, exchange of ideas, and meeting of different people from different works of life. It also creates an important forum for cultural, social and economic interaction between people of the state and other states of the federation as well as people from outside the country. Thus strengthening their bond of friendship. More importantly, the Bade fishing festival has the potential of serving as the engine block of tourism development in Yobe state similar to Argungu Fishing festival in the Northwestern part of Nigeria.