“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. 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. The festival is held annually in October.

On this day, the Ooni (king of Ife) appears after several 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.

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.

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.

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”. - ForeHub (Arts and Culture)

“Ọba Ọjájá II was born Prince Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, as a son of Prince John Oluropo Ogunwusi and Princess Margaret Wuraola Sidikatu Abegbe Ogunwusi into the Royal House of Giesi, one of the 4 royal families of the House of Oranmiyan. His paternal grandfather was Prince Joseph Olagbaju Adewole Ogunwusi, who's grandfather was Ọba Ọ̀ráyẹ̀gbà (also known as Ooni Orarigba or Orasigba) Ọjájá I, who was the 44th Ooni of Ife and ruled from 1878 to 1880. Through him, he is a direct descendant of Ooni Agbedegbede, who was a descendant of Ooni Giesi, (the progenitor of the Giesi royal House), and thus a descendant of Ọọni Lajodogun. Lajodogun was a son of Ọọni Lajamisan (or Lajemisin), who was a grandson of the legendary founder of the Oyo Empire Oranmiyan. Oranmiyan, was a son or grandson of the first Ooni of Ife, Oduduwa, thus Ọba Ọjájá II is a descendant of Odùdùwà, the founder of the Yoruba people.

Ooni Adeyeye Ogunwusi was selected from the Giesi Ruling House of Ile-Ife, amongst indigenes who were also heirs to the throne on 26 October 2015. He received his staff of office on 7 December 2015. He has been described as an 'astute entrepreneur driven by the need to turn impossibilities into possibilities. Oba Ogunwusi is the spiritual leader of the Yoruba people now saddled with the responsibility of making supplications to God and the Òrìṣà on behalf of his tribe and the world at large during annual festivals such as Olojo.” - Wikipedia

The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II

Ifẹ̀ (Yoruba: Ifè, also Ilé-Ifẹ̀) is an ancient Yoruba city in south-western Nigeria. The city is located in present-day Osun State. Ife is about 218 kilometers northeast of Lagos with a population of 509,813, the highest in Osun State according to population census of 2006.

According to the traditions of the Yoruba religion, Ilé Ifè was founded by the order of the Supreme God Olodumare by Obatala. It then fell into the hands of his sibling Oduduwa, which created enmity between the two. Oduduwa created a dynasty there, and sons and daughters of this dynasty became rulers of many other kingdoms in Yorubaland. The first Oòni of Ife is a descendant of Oduduwa, which was the 401st Orisha. The present ruler since 2015 is Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi Ojaja II, Ooni of Ife who is also a Nigerian accountant. Named as the city of 401 deities, Ife is home to many worshippers of these deities and is where they are routinely celebrated through festivals.

Ilé-Ifè is famous worldwide for its ancient and naturalistic bronze, stone and terracotta sculptures, dating back to between 1200 and 1400 A.D. - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ife

Photo credit: cometonigeria.com / travelwaka.com

THE OLOJO FESTIVAL

“Olojo is the celebration of God Almighty. It is a way of our culture, our tradition, and our heritage. That is the reason why it’s the celebration for the black race all over the world and it is the pride of the entire blacks, not only the people of Ife, Osun State. Not only Nigerians; it is the celebration of the entire blacks all over the world.

God actually appointed me and anointed me on this throne to do my very best to correct a lot of wrongs, especially as far as our culture and tradition is concerned. It’s indeed the celebration of God at the first dawn (Ojo ti ojo di ojo)…We have landmarks to prove that there’s nowhere in the world that you’ll place a cock, the cock must crow at dawn. And for this celebration, a cock is symbolic of what we are doing. A cock is the indicator of time; a cock does not have any wristwatch, but God uses a cock to tell every human being about the dawn of a new day,” - Ooni of Ife Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II