The Ariginya Festival is held in Ikare Akoko, a town in Ondo State. According to the dialect and pronunciation, it is sometimes called Aringinya. This festival has long been regarded as one of the foremost traditional festivals in this town. It is located in the southwest region of Nigeria, in the Yoruba area. The festival is one among many that celebrate virginity and chastity among female the gender as the Yoruba land is revered for everything pertaining to decency and excellence that helps to improve the mindset of dignity and purity as well as the value of a woman staying pure and reserved until the wedding and only to her husband. It has been noted that in the town, there has been an improvement in the rate of decency as younger girls now understand the value of virginity and the importance of standing up against sexual abuse as well as the price of virginity.
Having read history through books, stories, and other records on how princes migrated from ile-ife to settle in various locations and found the towns and cities that we have today, Ikare-Akoko was not left out. It was also said that Ikare-Akoko was founded by a prince who moved to the area from Ile-Ife with the name Owa Ale Agbaode. As an Oduduwa grandchild, he belonged to the family. In Ikare, he settled at a place now known as 'Oke iba', which is situated behind a hill and has a brook named Omi Atan that never runs dry even in dry seasons, as instructed by Ifa (one of the Yoruba gods).
It is said that the water is supernatural since it is believed to be the habitat of a goddess that lives there. During the month of May, the goddess Ariginya appears to the people of the land and blesses them. The community reserved the period of time when the goddess visited as a festive period since she appeared to symbolize purity, as described by the people from her appearance. The festival season became a celebration of the purity of womanhood during this time, and any young woman who lost her virginity during this time had a restriction on moving near the brook for a period of time. Aringinya is a festival that is celebrated by the whole community, but only the true maidens of the land can participate.
The Aringinya tradition has become almost dormant today. However it encourages family planning and curbing the spread of STDs through its culture. It is also a source of good moonlight stories for kids.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariginya_Festival https://www.nigeriagalleria.com/Nigeria/St