Re-Inscribing Identity and Memorializing Performance: An Example of the Dikan Festival in Kajju

Abstract

The present research article examines the myriad ways that the Dikan ritual performance among the Bajju people of Kaduna State, Northern West, Nigeria, is celebrated. The Dikan ritual performance in its current enactment can be gleamed as a cultural space for the remembrance of the essence and cultural identity of the Bajju tribe, in a world under the threat of rapid globalization, socio-cultural, and historical changes; which is made more prevalent by the exerting force of technology, popular culture, and postmodern elements demonstrated through various social media platforms and news outlets. The study begins by highlighting the background of Dikan ritual performance in Kajju from the precolonial to postcolonial Northern Nigeria. It espouses on the nature and structure of this ritual and its relevance to the Bajju people. It then makes recommendations on ways of sustaining this practice, to save it from extinction.