Olojo festival

Last updated
on-going session of Olojo Festival at Ile Ife in 2020 Olojo festival 2020.jpg 14.jpg
on-going session of Olojo Festival at Ile Ife in 2020

The Olojo Festival is an ancient festival celebrated annually in Ife, Osun State, Nigeria. [1] It is one of the popular festivals in the Yoruba land, and was once described by Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi as a festival that celebrates the Black race all over the world. [2] The Yoruba word 'Olojo' means 'The Day Of The First Dawn' that describes the grateful heart of man towards God's creation and the existence of Human. [3] [4] The Olojo Festival is a culture festival in the calendar of the Ile-Ife, Osun State which is located in the Southwestern part of Nigeria. [5] [6] It is the celebration of the remembrance of “Ogun”, god of Iron, who is believed to be the first son of Oduduwa, progenitor of the Yoruba people. [7] The festival is held annually in October. [8] It is one of the biggest festival on the culture calendar of lle-Ife. [9]

Contents

Ritual

On this day, the Ooni (king of Ife) appears after seven days of seclusion and denial, communing with the ancestors and praying for his people. This is to make him pure and ensure the efficacy of his prayers. Before the Ooni emerges, women from his maternal and paternal families sweep the Palace, symbolically ridding the Palace of evil. [2] [3]

The Ooni later appears in public with the Are crown (King’s Crown), which is believed to be the original crown used by Oduduwa to lead a procession of traditional Chiefs and Priests to perform at the Shrine of Ogun. The next stage of the ceremony is to lead the crowd to Okemogun’s shrine. Here he performs duties including the renewal of oath, divination for the Ooni at the foot of Oketage hill by Araba (Chief Priest), as well as visiting places of historical importance. [10]

At the shrine, the traditional Chiefs with the swords of office marked with chalk and cam wood, appear in ceremonial attire and dance to rhythms from Bembe, a traditional drum. The style of grum and singing for each Chief is different. Only the Ooni can dance to the drum called Osirigi.

The Ifa Festival is a seven-day festival that takes place every year on the first Saturday in June. Ifa (also known as Orunmila) is a deity oracle and one of the Yoruba people's most important deities. The first day of the festival includes rituals such as Ijawe Ifa Ooni (leaf picking for Ooni's oracle) and Arisun Idana Afin (a culinary vigil at the palace), while the second day is dedicated to Bibo Ifa Ooni (sacrifice for Ooni's oracle). The third and fourth days are dedicated to Awo Oloju merindinlogun performing rites (a cult with sixteen faces). A public lecture and roundtable discussion on 'women in Ifa,' as well as a performance of rituals by a priest named Araba Agbaye, took place on the fifth day. The great climax, which begins on Saturday and lasts until early the next day, includes iwure (blessings/prayer) by Araba Agbaye (backbone of the universe) and other Arabas, as well as the feeding of Ifa and the crafting of the year's divination. [11]

Olojo has remained popular in Ile-Ife because of its myth and history. It connotes the day in the year specially blessed by Olodumare (the creator of the Universe). Olojo can also be literally translated as the "Owner for the day". Prayers are offered for peace and tranquility in Yoruba and Nigeria. All age groups participate. Its significance is the unification of the Yorubas.

Tradition holds that Ile-Ife is the cradle of the Yorubas, the city of survivors, spiritual seat of the Yorubas, and land of the ancients.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oduduwa</span> Yoruba divine king

Oduduwa was a Yoruba divine king, legendary founder of the Ife Empire and a creator deity (orisha) in the Yoruba religion. According to tradition, he was the holder of the title of the Olofin of Ile-Ife, the Yoruba holy city. He ruled briefly in Ife, and also served as the progenitor of a number of independent royal dynasties in Yorubaland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ifẹ</span> City in Osun State, Nigeria

Ifẹ̀ is an ancient Yoruba city in south-western Nigeria, recent in-depth archeologically estimates suggest Ife's founding to be between the 10th century BC and 6th century BC and is widely agreed upon by historians to be the oldest amongst the classical and post-classical Yoruba city-states. The city is located in present-day Osun State. Ifẹ̀ is about 218 kilometers northeast of Lagos with a population of over 500,000 people, which is the highest in Osun State according to population census of 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adesoji Aderemi</span> Nigerian traditional ruler (1889–1980)

Oba Sir Titus Martins Adesoji Tadeniawo Aderemi, alias Adesoji AderemiKCMG, KBE, was a Nigerian political figure and Yoruba traditional ruler as the Ooni (King) of Ife from 1930 until 1980. He served as the governor of Western Region, Nigeria between 1960 and 1962.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moremi Ajasoro</span> Yoruba queen

Moremi Ajasoro was a legendary Yoruba queen and folk heroine in the Yorubaland region of present-day southwestern Nigeria who assisted in the liberation of the Yoruba kingdom of Ife from the neighbouring Ugbo Kingdom.

Chief Ògúnwán̄dé "Wán̄dé" Abím̄bọ́lá is a Nigerian academician, a professor of Yoruba language and literature, and a former vice-chancellor of the University of Ife. He has also served as the Majority Leader of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Chief Abimbola was installed as Àwísẹ Awo Àgbàyé in 1981 by the Ooni of Ife on the recommendation of a conclave of Babalawos of Yorubaland.

Ọ̀rànmíyàn, also known as Ọranyan, was a legendary Yoruba king from the kingdom of Ile-Ife, and the founder of the Oyo empire. Although he was the youngest of the descendants of Oduduwa, he became the prime heir of Oduduwa upon his return to claim his grandfather's throne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Awori tribe</span> Tribe of the Yoruba people

The Awori is a subgroup of the Yoruba people speaking a dialect of the Yoruba language.The Awori people are the original inhabitants of Lagos State and some parts of Ogun State, namely Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State. The Awori people are landowners, farmers and fishermen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iga Idunganran</span> Official Residence of the Oba of Lagos

Iga Idunganran is the Official Residence of the Oba of Lagos, situated on Lagos Island. It is also a tourist attraction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yoruba calendar</span> Calendar used by the Yoruba people

The Yoruba calendar (Kọ́jọ́dá) is a calendar used by the Yoruba people of southwestern and north central Nigeria and southern Benin. The calendar has a year beginning on the last moon of May or first moon of June of the Gregorian calendar. The new year coincides with the Ifá festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yoruba people</span> Ethnic group in West Africa

The Yoruba people are a West African ethnic group who mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by the Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba make more than 44 million people in Africa, are over a million outside the continent, and bear further representation among members of the African diaspora. The vast majority of the Yoruba population is today within the country of Nigeria, where they make up 15.5% of the country's population according to CIA estimations, making them one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa. Most Yoruba people speak the Yoruba language, which is the Niger-Congo language who has the largest number of native or L1 speakers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ado-Odo</span> Metropolis in Ogun, Nigeria

Ado-Odo is the metropolitan headquarters of the kingdom of Ado, renowned for its Oduduwa/Obatala temple, the ancient fortress of the traditional practice of Ifá. Oodu'a is also regarded by traditionalists as the mother of all deities worldwide. All of these made Ado an inviolate territory in western Yorubaland—the same "father-figure" status accorded to Ile-Ife. Unlike the other kingdoms, which had at one time or the other engaged in the internecine wars that ravaged Yorubaland in the nineteenth century, Ado stood out as an unconquered sanctuary city-state throughout the period.

Alayeluwa Oba Okunade Sijuwade CFR was the fiftieth traditional ruler or Ooni of Ife from 1980 to his death in 2015, taking the regnal name Olubuse II. He was the traditional ruler of the Yoruba Kingdom of Ile-Ife a traditional Yoruba state based in the town of Ife in Osun State, Nigeria. He was crowned on 6 December 1980 in a ceremony attended by the Emir of Kano, Oba of Benin, Amayanabo of Opobo and Olu of Warri, as well as by representatives of the Queen of England.

Ipetumodu () is a city in Osun State, in the southwestern part of Nigeria. It is the headquarters of the Ife North local government. The city is under the leadership of traditional ruler with the title of Apetumodu, which means "one who killed an antelope for sacrificial purposes for Odu".

Iyalawo is a term in the Lucumi religion that literally means Mother of Mysteries or Mother of Wisdom. Some adherents use the term "Mamalawo," which is a partially African diaspora version of the Lucumi term, Iyaláwo and Yeyelawo are two more versions of mother of mysteries. Ìyánífá is a Yoruba word that can be translated as Mother (Ìyá) has or of () Ifá or Mother in Ifá & is the Yoruba title for Mother of mysteries & the female equivalent of a Babalawo.

Adelekan Olubuse I was the 46th Ooni of Ife, a paramount traditional ruler of Ile Ife, the ancestral home of the Yorubas. He succeeded Ooni Derin Ologbenla and was succeeded by Ooni Adekola.

Rahmon Adegoke Adedoyin is a Nigerian educationist and businessman who was sentenced to death by hanging on May 30, 2023. He is the founder and proprietor of Oduduwa University and The Polytechnic, Ile-Ife. In an interview with Vanguard, Rahmon claimed that the late Oba Okunade Sijuwade had nominated him as the Ooni of Ife before his death because of "his developmental strides, particularly in the cradle of Yoruba land".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi</span> Nigerian traditional ruler (born 1974)

Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi is the 51st and current Ooni of Ife. He is the traditional ruler and monarch of the Yoruba kingdom of Ile-Ife. He ascended to the throne of his forebears in 2015, succeeding the deceased Oba Okunade Sijuwade, who was the 50th Ooni of Ife.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ajilesoro</span> Lineage of traditional rulers of Ife-Ife, Nigeria

The Ajilesoro Royal Dynasty in llara Ile-lfe emerged from Obalufon Ogbogbodirin who succeeded his forebears Osangangan Obamakin (Oranfe) and Ogun; who reigned as the second and third Ooni of Ife over 4,000 years ago after the reign of Oduduwa. The Ooni of Ife was a traditional ruler amongst the Yoruba people.

References

  1. "Ooni, Aregbesola, Alabi promote culture at Olojo festival". Punch Newspapers. 2022-09-25. Retrieved 2022-12-26.
  2. 1 2 "Olojo Festival … Grand celebration of rich Yoruba cultural heritage". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. 2018-11-17. Retrieved 2021-08-07.
  3. 1 2 "Ife begins Olojo Festival as Ooni enters 7-day seclusion". 2020-09-21. Retrieved 2021-08-07.
  4. "Olojo Festival … Grand celebration of rich Yoruba cultural heritage". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. 2018-11-17. Retrieved 2021-08-07.
  5. Akintonde, Oluwasola (2022-12-15). "Former Osun State Governor Denies Loan Allegations By Incumbent Governor". Voice of Nigeria. Retrieved 2022-12-26.
  6. "Olojo festival: Celebrating the dawn of creation in Ile-Ife". Daily Trust. Retrieved 2021-08-07.
  7. "Olojo festival: Celebrating the dawn of creation in Ile-Ife". Daily Trust. Retrieved 2021-08-07.
  8. "Osun to build Yoruba museum in Ife, as Ooni emerges from seclusion". Vanguard News. 2020-09-26. Retrieved 2021-08-31.
  9. "Olojo Festival Osun State :: Nigeria Information & Guide". www.nigeriagalleria.com. Retrieved 2022-12-31.
  10. Ihejirika, Uzoma (2021-07-09). "Olojo Festival". Folio. Retrieved 2021-08-31.
  11. "Ifa Festival, Ile-Ife Osun State of Nigeria :: Nigeria Information & Guide". www.nigeriagalleria.com. Retrieved 2021-07-31.