Kare-Kare tribes held the annual traditional festival ‘Bara Ma Jalam’ in Bauchi

By: Yahaya Wakili

A colorful Karai-karai Annual Traditional Festival, Bara Ma Jalam, was held in Jalam town, Bauchi State, where thousands of people across the country attended the festival.

Alhaji Aliyu Jibo Mni, Matawallen Jalam, said the history of the karai-karai annual traditional festival is just like any culture. If you organize the culture, you will see that they sit down together and discuss their progress.

Alhaji Aliyu Jibo mni Matawallen Jalam, former Head of Service of Bauchi State Government, said the Karai-Karai people were at an earlier stage when they moved and finally settled in Jalam after various locations. We finally lodge in Jalam, and at the end of every season, we meet together to celebrate our good harvest.

“During the celebration of the good harvest you saw during the program, you will see people carrying a sample of hore, bow, and arrow, meaning we are hunters, we are farmers, and we celebrate the past season, and then we discussed together what we were going to do and how we would move forward.

“We look backward, we see what has been good for some years, then we advise our people to ignore some other incoming farm seed so that we concentrate on what to prepare ourselves for the future, and during the celebration, our leader, who is the “Makuyi.”

He revealed that Makuyi is just like the chief of the traditional activities; he will advise us to start for the next season very soon, immediately, so that we don’t go for any other things, and during our ideal period, which is before the rain season, we go for hunting. We advise everybody not just to sit down; ideally, you don’t become a beger. A karai-karai man is never a beger.

Alhaji Aliyu Jibo Mni maintained that, just for a period of time, people will come and meet together, discuss together, and re-establish some past relationships. He noted that somebody you haven’t seen for the past ten years comes and advises you, so this is a kind of reunion for the community.

“For the Karai-Karai community, I think we should all believe that Karai-Karai man is not a lazy man, so he should not be a beger, he should stand on his own, and were ever he finds himself, he should be honest among his host community, and he should be a person who should have a very good relationship with everyone within a community, whether his own community or any other community he finds himself in.” Jibo added.

He advises all karai-karai men that any time he hears about Bala Bara, it is advisable that we put our heads together and come and celebrate it, and if you are outside the community, try as much as possible to see that when you stand on your own and when you hear any of your brothers or relationships that are in trouble, don’t ignore him.

“Because if you are somebody today, tomorrow you may not be somebody again, so just be as simple as possible. Try to relate to other people, try to live peacefully with your neighbors, and try to respect your neighbors, so that is what a karai-karai man should be.

Kare-Kare tribes held the annual traditional festival ‘Bara Ma Jalam’ in Bauchi