Cultural Continuity and Transformation: A Historical Study of the Arum Angu-Yoro Festival of Wamba Local Government Area, Nasarawa State 2002–2022

This paper examines the historical continuity and contemporary transformation of the Angu-Yoro Festival among the Arum people of Wamba Local Government Area, Nasarawa State, Nigeria, between 2002 and 2022. Anchored within the framework of cultural historiography and indigenous knowledge systems, the study situates the festival as a central expression of Arum identity, spirituality, and social organization. It evaluates how the Angu-Yoro Festival originally rooted in agrarian ritual, communal renewal, and ancestral veneration has persisted amid social change, Christian missionary influence, and the pressures of modernization. Drawing on oral traditions, ethnographic interviews, and local archival materials, the paper traces how the festival evolved from a precolonial agricultural rite into a mix cultural event reflecting both traditional cosmology and modern communal values. The research argues that despite the decline in ritual intensity, the Angu-Yoro Festival remains a dynamic vehicle of cultural memory and social cohesion, enabling intergenerational dialogue among the Arum. In doing so, it demonstrates that local festivals are not static survivals but living institutions of historical adaptation, shaped by encounters between indigenous belief, colonial disruption, and postcolonial reinvention. The study concludes by emphasizing the importance of local festivals such as AnguYoro in the broader discourse of Nigerian cultural preservation and regional heritage development.