"Hey friends, Benue youth cultural carnival comes up tomorrow," Kananfe announced. "What's a carnival?" asked Kumater. Anadoo answered , "It's a street party, a public celebration of the dance culture in Benue state in Nigeria.

At the carnival, the giant bull head on wheels appeared first. "Look at it's horns and big eyes," said Hemense as she pointed at it. The children shifted back in fear as it approached them.

Next on the line was the mamiwata masquerade dancers. "Are they men or women dancers?" Lian shouted. Mamiwata is a mermaid, it's a woman, men also dance mamiwata, " explained Peace.

It was now time for the dances. The ushering dance (tembe duen) led the way of many other dance groups. It is a dance for maidens. All the dancers look pretty and their movement is in step with the others.

The all night dance (tsautu) came next. They can dance all night. The light for the dark night is in the pots that they carry. Their dance steps are very gentle.

The ajo dancers come with a mixture of dance and drumming skills. They play stringed drums with carved sticks. The ushering dancers dance to ajo music. Tor kunkun leads them.

Idoma dancers are dressed in red and black colours. They love to dance a lot. "See my people!" Ogbene screamed, pointing at them. "May I join you, please?" she asked their leader. "You are not dressed like us, " the dance leader answered.

Adiya dancers are Igede people. Their cultural colours are blue, white and black. They lead the way with their flag and the rest of the dancers follow. It is a beautiful display to watch.

Etulo dancers are on the line. They are dressed in their cultural clothes. Their clothes look attractive on them. Tishi was dancing from behind.

Swange is the most popular Tiv dance. Everyone loves swange. The beating of the drums is accompanied by trumpet blowing. The trumpeter's cheeks are big and appear to be bursting, it looks painful!

The drummers are wearing 'anger' fabric. It's colours are black and white. They drum and sing at the same time. Swange and cat dancers all dance to their drum beats.

The cat dance is called "tsuwe tsele." It is my favourite. The tsuwe tsele dancer mimics the movement and actions of the cat. His face and some parts of his body are covered with cat skin.