Ogbomoso Egungun festival commences with Olukotun, trailblaser, as traditionalists, adherents, tourists express opinions
PanNigerianNews
4 min read
By Sunday ADEPOJU
A multitude of Egungun adherents and tourists, on Wednesday, converged on the Olukotun compound of Okeelerin area, Ogbomoso to mark the commencement of the annual Ogbomoso Egungun festival, just as the coordinator of the deity expressed confidence that the deity stands tall in the history of Egungun festival in the communities.
According to tradition, Olukotun, a legendary Egungun in Ogbomoso, is always exhibited on Wednesdays marking the beginning of the festival in the town, with other ‘Egungun Oje’ (non-violent Egunguns) visiting and dancing at the open place in front of the compound.
Without the first parade and exhibition of Olukotun, no other Egungun will be exhibited and paraded in the community.
There were different masquerades among which were Orebe Ile Ago, Egungun Alate, Olukotun.
The event took place at the instance of the Chairman of Egungun Parapo Association in Ogbomoso, Chief Ifatona Akiyemi among other leaders of the Egungun community.
Speaking on behalf of Olukotun family and the deity of Olukotun, Mr Taofiq Akangbe-Olukotun, said: “Egungun is a cultural heritage in Yoruba culture. Egungun is worshiped in order to bring peace to the community. And traditionally, Egungun Olukotun, is the trailblazer among the Egunguns in Ogbomoso and its environs. You can see that so many non-violent Egunguns are around here to dance to the admiration of tourists and adherents of traditional religions.
“Prayers would always be offered for the community and for the yearly festival. I believe that prayers offered during this festival are acceptable to the Supreme Being. This very morning, they have appeased Olukotun on the good fortune for Ogbomoso; they have prayed against kidnapping, banditry, among other evils that are permeating every sphere of the Nigerian society. That is what Egungun should represent.
“Egungun Olukotun is the first to parade among all the different ones that are existing in Ogbomoso. Customarily, from now on, there would be other ones parading.
“To tell you that Egungun worship cleans our land of infirmities is an understatement. You will remember that last two years, COVID-19 ravaged the world and , therefore, prevented us from having full festival as done here today. You would see people wearing face masks. We prayed to God and today, we are here celebrating with any restriction. That is what God can do through the Egungun deity.”
Akangbe-Olukotun canvassed for the reign of peace and tranquility during the Egungun festival which will be on for 12 days.
However, a university professor at the festival, who spoke under anonymity, decried that the level of awarenes about Egungun nowadays is dying.
Speaking to PanNigerian News, he maintained that, contrary to what obtained in the past, the festival of Egungun is under-celebrated.
He narrated, “I remember how we used to throng the Olukotun parade and how we generally would go to Okeelerin to watch the beauty of the Egungun heritage. It was full of fun and really served economic purposes.
“If you look around, you would that people are buying drinks and other items. That is what tourism can do to our economy here in Ogbomoso.
“Today, I had already made up my mind that I would come and witness the festival again and I came to see for myself again.”
In his reaction, the worshipper and owner of Egungun Ajomogbodo (Egungun with space-sitting prowess, magically sitting without any stool), Chief Adebayo Balogun Ajomogbodo, commended the organizers and worshippers of Egungun Olukotun.
He explained the role of the Egungun festival should not, in any way, be underestimated, saying that it brings peace, harmony, fortune, and above all, it promotes the cultural heritage.
A tourist, Mr Ayo Alamu, told PanNigerian News that the hope of restoring the Egungun festival in Ogbomoso is not lost yet. Alamu hinged his satisfaction on the large turnouts at the event.
“You see now our people have not really jettisoned the festival. Only that in the past, we would even see white men from the Nigerian Baptist Theological Seminary, Ogbomoso (NBTSO) who would come as tourists to have a gaze of what our heritage looked like.
”However, evil practices and hooliganism has crippled the move. What you see now is smoking and drinking of marijuana, cigarette, gin, among others.
“We can do well, as a community, by setting up committee against next year, to make the community annual Egungun festival a tourist attraction.”
A seller of drinks and other items, who simply identified herself as Aishat, noted that the festival should be tailored towards boosting the economy of the community.
