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Nigeria Today Online
 Mar 18, 08 - 10:10 AM |
ARGUNGU FISH FESTIVAL: Nigerians catch man-size fish at frantic festival
Thousands of half-naked men hurled themselves into a river to catch giant fish in hand-held nets in a manic contest at the Argungu festival in remote northwestern Nigeria at the weekend. The hour-long fishing frenzy, in a shallow stretch of river so crowded that the brown water was barely visible, marked the high point of a four-day extravaganza that also featured wild duck-catching and blindfolded swimming contests. An "elephant fish" was the biggest catch at this year's festival and the man who wrestled the 65 kg (143.3 lb) monster out of the river with his bare hands won a prize of 4 million naira ($34,200) - a fortune in one of the world's poorest countries. The Argungu festival commemorates a 1934 visit by the Sultan of Sokoto, who came to celebrate peace between his Fulani ethnic group and the rival Kabawa, the main group in the Argungu area. The government of Kebbi state, where Argungu is located, has tried in recent years to promote the festival as a tourist attraction and it is now a curious mix of corporate sponsorship and age-old fishing prowess. On one side of the river were V.I.P. stands branded with the colors and logos of a mobile phone network and a popular soft drink. Traditional rulers in colorful turbans mingled in the stands with politicians and foreign diplomats. On the other side of the river stood a crowd of several thousand men, mostly barefoot subsistence farmers and fishermen from Kebbi and the surrounding areas. "If Allah wills it, I will catch the biggest fish," said Kassim Yusuf, 31, who normally grows corn and millet to feed his family, as he untangled his net ahead of the competition. The contestants arrived hours early and stood in the baking sun in a long line parallel to the river, about 1,000 meters away. On the shot of a gun, they charged across the parched terrain towards the water, raising a cloud of dust like a fast-approaching army. "It was absolute chaos," said Andy Akinwolere, a Nigerian-born presenter on British children's television program Blue Peter, who was being filmed taking part. "There was a false start so everyone started running but then I saw men on horse-back charging at the crowd to beat them back. Luckily the excitement got me through," he said. Within minutes, an unstoppable flow of thousands of contestants jumped into a stretch of river barely 1 meters long and started diving and scooping with their fishnet scoops. Many of the men used calabashes or empty plastic jerry cans as flotation devices, paddling in search of fish. Every time a particularly big fish was caught - one worthy of being weighed on large scales set up in front of the V.I.P. stands - the crowds roared and cheered from the riverside. Drummers were rowed up and down the river on board a precarious canoe, encouraging the fishermen with their beat. "It was an exhilarating experience," said Akinwolere. Festival officials said fishing is banned on the stretch of river for the rest of the year to make sure the fish get fat. As the last of the fishermen staggered out, shivering from the cold, a prize-giving ceremony took place where the biggest catches were displayed on the floor in a bloody row. "This is the first prize," an official said, pointing to a huge grey fish with scales so thick they almost did look like elephant hide. Courtesy - Nigeria Today Online |
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