BHIT MHISHIP 2027: A FESTIVAL OF ARTS AND CULTURE, A HOMECOMING OF PRIDE, UNITY AND HOPE
By Jacob Nandi David,
Abuja, Nigeria.
There are moments in the life of a people when history calls them to gather, to remember who they are, to celebrate what they have become, and to declare to the world what they intend to be. Bhit Mhiship 2027, the Festival of Arts and Culture organised by the Mhiship Community and Cultural Development Association (MCCDA), is such a moment: a sacred homecoming, a cultural renaissance, and a collective statement that the Mhiship people are alive, proud, united, and determined to write their own story.
Bhit Mhiship is not a mere gathering for entertainment. It is the heartbeat of Mhiship land, the season when the sons and daughters who have travelled far and wide to Lagos, to Abuja, to Jos, to Port Harcourt, and to distant lands beyond Nigeria return to the soil that gave them birth. They return to sit once again under the shade of the trees of their fathers, to hear the drums that lulled them to sleep as children, to taste the food that defined their childhood, and to renew the bonds of kinship that distance and time could never break. In that return lies the true essence of the festival, which is to preserve, to promote, and to project the rich cultural heritage of Mhiship for this generation and for generations yet unborn.
The essence of Bhit Mhiship is found in its arts: in the colourful display of traditional attires that tell the story of our craftsmanship, in the rhythmic dances that speak without words, in the songs that carry the wisdom, the proverbs, the praises, and the prayers of our ancestors, and in the masquerades, the wrestling, the traditional games, and the exhibitions of our farming tools, our hunting skills, our blacksmith works, our pottery, our weaving, and our culinary arts. All of these remind us that Mhiship was never a people without civilisation, that we had our own governance, our own justice, our own economy, our own spirituality, and our own philosophy of life long before the modern world came to us, and that to abandon that heritage is to abandon ourselves.
But Bhit Mhiship 2027 is more than a look into the past. It is a bold look into the future, because MCCDA has deliberately woven development into celebration, culture into progress, and festivity into service. The expectations for this year’s festival are therefore higher, deeper, and more purposeful than ever before, for we expect a festival that will not only entertain but educate, not only showcase our culture but strengthen our unity, and not only bring our people together but also mobilise resources for the common good, particularly for the completion of the ongoing Divisional Police Station in Mhiship land. That self-help initiative stands as a monument to what we can achieve when we refuse to wait for others to save us.
We expect our elders to bless the land and to pass on the torch of wisdom to our youths. We expect our youths to come with energy, creativity, and a renewed commitment to shun crime, drugs, and division, and to embrace education, enterprise, and service. We expect our women, the mothers of the land, to be honoured as the pillars of our homes and the custodians of our values. We expect our friends, neighbours, and well-wishers from Pankshin, from Plateau State, and from across Nigeria to come and witness that Mhiship is a land of peace, hospitality, and beauty. And we expect that, at the end of the festival, Mhiship will be more united, more visible, more respected, and more developed than it was before.
It is for this reason that MCCDA extends a warm, open, and heartfelt invitation to all and sundry: to every son and daughter of Mhiship at home and in the diaspora, to every in-law, friend, and lover of culture, and to every traditional ruler, political leader, business person, clergyman, and government official who believes in the power of culture to build peace and development, to come and grace us with your presence, your support, and your solidarity on the 2nd of January, 2027. Your presence will be our honour, your support will be our strength, and your solidarity will be our encouragement. Whether you come with your dance, your song, your gift, your donation, or simply with your goodwill, you will be writing your name in the golden history of Mhiship.
Come and see Mhiship at its best. Come and feel the warmth of a people who welcome strangers as brothers. Come and eat with us, dance with us, celebrate with us, and build with us. For Bhit Mhiship 2027 is not just MCCDA’s festival, it is your festival, it is our festival, and it is a festival for all who believe that a people who forget their culture have lost their soul, and that a people who unite for development have found their future. On that day, as the drums beat and the voices rise in joy, Mhiship will stand tall and say to the world: We are here, we are one, and we are moving forward together.
