The Tompolo Dancer at Oporoza, By Enewaridideke Ekanpou

By: Enewaridideke Ekanpou

Calculated stately steps counted in measured stately stages announce the arrival of the Tompolo dancer.
Feet nimbly moved in stately steps are echoes of the Tompolo dancer telling tales with legwork at the grand finale of the Amaseikumor Festival .

Attired in immaculate
white clothes, hand-fan flexibly held, heralds the Tompolo dancer in prefatory outlines telling tales with legwork at the grand finale of the Amaseikumor Festival.

The echoes of the Tompolo dancer are often different.
Barefooted, hand-fan moved stately, a stately step a little forward, bent fractionally, stationary state kept within a circle, shoulders shaken stately, appreciatory gaze cast both left and right of the watching arena, are all echoes of the Tompolo dancer at the grand finale of the Amaseikumor Festival.

Within a mentally marked spot, bending beautifully in intermittent steps, moving the hand-fan here and there ‘yinke yinke’, gently stepping on the dancing arena, body shaken stately like butterfly wings, are all stately echoes of the Tompolo dancer telling tales with legwork at the grand finale of the Amaseikumor Festival.

Like sandbank crabs with spread tentacles raised and cut smartly, carrying semblance of a synchronised unity of homage to a senior military officer , the hand-fan often fanning the dancer in a stately state, are all echoes of the Tompolo dancer telling ancient tales with legwork at the grand finale of the Amaseikumor festival in Oporoza.

The nimble moves of the hand-fan matching the stately steps in skillful synchronised unity are all echoes of the Tompolo dancer telling tales with legwork built skillfully from steps of ‘agene’ and ‘owigiri’ dances at the grand finale of the Amaseikumor Festival.

Bending stately and forming a circle, yet working out beautiful steps in a mentally marked stationary spot, are all echoes of the Tompolo dancer mystically telling tales with legwork at the grand finale of Amaseikumor Festival.

Lips carrying the folk song on cue and breaking into stately steps without muscular exertion, sometimes stately blowing a whistle, are all echoes of the Tompolo dancer telling tales with legwork at the grand finale of Amaseikumor Festival.

Suddenly breaking into stately steps built from ‘agene’ and ‘owigiri’ dances within the radius of a stationary circle, are all echoes of the Tompolo dancer telling tales with legwork at the grand finale of the Amaseikumor Festival

A skillful stately dancer at work without beads of sweat, head stately skyward in reverence to the cosmic, yet a white handkerchief stately wipes imaginary beads of sweat on the face at calculated moments, are all echoes of the Tompolo dancer telling tales with legwork at the grand finale of the Amaseikumor Festival at Oporoza.

When a dancer suddenly breaks into stately steps, hand-fan held flexibly, a smiling face manned by white handkerchief to lay siege to imaginary beads of sweat, know that the Tompolo dancer is on the dancing arena telling ancient tales with legwork at the grand finale of the Amaseikumor Festival annually held in Gbaramatu Kingdom.

Gripped by the muse, Izonebi Alfred the originator of the ‘wabu’ and ‘ozigizaga’ dances, has just fashioned out another dance named Tompolo dance using his musical tentacles hooked to the ten teetotaler tentacles of Tompolo at the grand finale of the 2025 Amaseikumor Festival.
The Tompolo dance is a stately dance of happiness and appreciation…

Ekanpou writes from Akparemogbene, Delta State