Sango Festival | |
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Status | Active |
Genre | Festivals |
Frequency | Annually |
Venue | Palace of Alaafin of Oyo |
Location(s) | Oyo State |
Coordinates | 7°51′31″N3°55′56″E / 7.8586108°N 3.9321151°E |
Country | Nigeria |
Years active | 1300 AD–present |
Founder | Sango |
Most recent | August 2022 |
Next event | August 2023 |
Participants | 20,000 |
Area | Nigeria, Afro-Caribbean, Brazil, Cuba, Trinidad and Tobago, Portugal, Cameroun |
Organised by | People of Oyo State |
Sango Festival, Oyo | |
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Country | Nigeria |
Reference | 01974 |
Region | Africa |
Inscription history | |
Inscription | 2023 (18th session) |
List | Representative |
Sango Festival is an annual festival held among the Yoruba people in honour of Sango, a thunder and fire deity who was a warrior and the third king of the Oyo Empire after succeeding Ajaka his elder brother. [1] Renamed in 2013 to World Sango Festival by the government of Oyo State, the festival is usually held in August at the palace of the Alaafin of Oyo and also observed in over forty countries around the world. [2]
This article is part of a series in |
Culture of Nigeria |
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The Sango Festival celebrations can be traced back to 1,000 years ago following the departure of Sango, a popular Yoruba òrìṣà who is widely regarded as the founding father of the Oyo people [3]
Sango was a notable strong ruler and magician who became king of the Oyo Empire after succeeding his elder brother who was perceived to be a "weak ruler". [4] Believed to bring prosperity to the people of the Oyo Empire during his reign, Sango's death has been linked to different mythical stories. It is believed that Sango committed suicide by hanging himself in order to avoid humiliation from one of his powerful chiefs who ordered Sango to vacate his throne or face war. [5] Sango was said to have reigned for just seven years as King over Oyo but with such a powerful leadership he was counted as the best King ever in the history of Oyo rulers. [6] During the 2021 festivity, the Ayabas i.e. the wife's of King boast of how they stopped rain from falling which would have disturbed the ceremony after consulting the Yemoja and the Sango priest. Also, the festival is said to start with Iwure Agba meaning the prayer of the elders that is usually led by the Sango priest. [7]
Since its renaming in 2013, the event which is usually held in August and runs for a week attracts over 20,000 spectators around the world including Brazil, Cuba, Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean. [8] The event which is recognized by UNESCO, is organized to facilitate the home-coming of the Yorubas in the diaspora and also celebrate Sango who is regarded as the greatest hero in the history of the Yoruba race. [9]
The Sango Festival is a 10 days event, which is marked with pomp and pageantry. Worshippers and visitors can be seen in a happy mood. The worshippers are usually adorned with white or red attire. Some of the activities lined up for the festival include: Ayo competition, Ogun Ajobo day, Oya day, Aje Oloja day, Iyemoja day, Esin Elejo day and Sango Oyo day. [1]
Shango is an Orisha in Yoruba religion. Genealogically speaking, Shango is a royal ancestor of the Yoruba as he was the third Alaafin of the Oyo Kingdom prior to his posthumous deification. Shango has numerous manifestations, including Airá, Agodo, Afonja, Lubé, and Obomin. He is known for his powerful double axe (Oṣè). He is considered to be one of the most powerful rulers that Yorubaland has ever produced.
The Oyo Empire was a Yoruba empire in West Africa. It was located in present-day southern Benin and western Nigeria. The empire grew to become the largest Yoruba-speaking state through the organizational and administrative efforts of the Yoruba people, trade, as well as the military use of cavalry. The Oyo Empire was one of the most politically important states in Western Africa from the mid-17th to the late 18th century and held sway not only over most of the other kingdoms in Yorubaland, but also over nearby African states, notably the Fon Kingdom of Dahomey in the modern Republic of Benin on its west.
Ilesa is a historic city located in Osun State, southwest Nigeria; it is also the name of a historic kingdom centred on that town. The state is ruled by a monarch bearing the title of the Owa Obokun Adimula of Ijesaland. The state of Ilesa consists of Ilesa itself and a number of smaller surrounding cities.
Abiodun was an 18th-century alaafin, or king, of the Oyo people in what is now Nigeria.
Alaafin, or The custodian of the Palace in the Yoruba language, is the title of the king of the medieval Oyo empire and present-day Oyo town of West Africa. It is the particular title of the Oba (king) of the Oyo. It is sometimes translated as "emperor" in the context of ruler of empire. He ruled the old Oyo Empire, which extended from the present-day Benin republic to Nigeria, originating from states in the South East and West to the North. The people under him are called Yoruba people and spoke the Yoruba Language.
Aganju is an Orisha. He is syncretized with Saint Christopher in the Cuban religion known as Santería.
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.
The Legends of Africa reflect a wide-ranging series of kings, queens, chiefs and other leaders from across the African continent including Mali, Benin, Ghana, Nigeria, Congo, Ethiopia, Eritrea and South Africa.
Ọba kò so is a play by Duro Ladipo depicting the mystical and ambivalent personality known as Shango of Yoruba mythology.
Oba means "ruler" in the Yoruba and Bini languages. Kings in Yorubaland, a region which is in the modern republics of Benin, Nigeria and Togo, make use of it as a pre-nominal honorific. Examples of Yoruba bearers include Oba Ogunwusi of Ile-Ife, Oba Aladelusi of Akure, and Oba Akiolu of Lagos. An example of a Bini bearer is Oba Ewuare II of Benin.
Ajaka was an Oyo emperor who was twice on the throne. His father was Oranyan or Oranmiyan and his brother, according to the historian Samuel Johnson, was Shango.
Onigbogi was a king of the Oyo Empire in West Africa who succeeded his father, the Alaafin Oluaso to become the 8th king of the Oyo.
Orompoto was an Alaafin of the Yoruba Oyo Empire. The empire of which she ruled is located in what is modern day western and north-central Nigeria.
Aganju of Oyo was a Yoruba emperor of the Oyo state, in present-day Nigeria. He was said to have been the fourth Alaafin or old Oyo.
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 constitute more than 50 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 20.7% of the country's population according to Ethnologue estimations, making them one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa. Most Yoruba people speak the Yoruba language, which is the Niger-Congo language with the largest number of native or L1 speakers.
Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III was the Alaafin, or traditional ruler, of the Yoruba town of Oyo and rightful heir to the throne of its historic empire.
Sango: The Legendary African King is a 1997 epic Nigerian film, written by Wale Ogunyemi, produced and directed by Obafemi Lasode. The film depicts the life and reign of the legendary fifteenth-century African king Sango, who ruled as the Alaafin of Oyo and became an important deity of the Yoruba people.
The Oyo Mesi is the privy council of Oyo, a Yoruba traditional state in Southwestern Nigeria. It dates to the medieval period, when it served as the government of a powerful pre-colonial state that was known as the Oyo empire.
Alaafin Atiba Atobatele was a king of the Oyo Empire. He was the son of King Abiodun of Oyo, and Eni-olufan from Akeitan.