the procession of Oduduwa in Oyo

let's go to the river

Once a year, in Oyo, there is a procession to honour Oduduwa. It starts at the Oduduwa shrine on the outskirt of the compound, a low structure with white walls. A blessing ceremony with the kola nut is performed.
Then a young virgin girl emerges from the entrance of the shrine all clad in white, bare-foot, her dark skin decorated with white spots to highlight her purity and wearing on her head a large calabash. The talking drums beat and tell what is happening. She sets-off supported by two elderly ladies also clad in white like the priest who is wearing black-pointed leather moccasins and carrying an iron scepter decorated with birds.

keep going

Everyone walks very fast behind the priest. The procession is going to the river where a kola nut ceremony will take place to listen to the omen that will be then brought back all across town up the palace of the Alaafin.

which piece of news from the river

The girl fainted a number of times but was thankfully supported by the two ladies at the side. A third one was pouring sachet water on her bare feet to keep her going. The procession lasted nearly two hours and as we came closer to the palace the sky darkened increasingly. Rain started to pour, the Alaafin did not come out to hear the news of the river and everyone escaped in the reception hall of the palace to wait for the end of the rain, which continued to fall until the night.

finally entering the palace of the Alaafin

the rain dissuades the Alaafin to come out and hear the news

Comments

The Ogiamien family in Benin City: about wood and history

Roland Ogiamien in his wood-carving workshop Wood Roland Ogiamien is a renown wood carver. He is now retired in his home town of Benin City and is now in his 80s. We met him in his simple workshop, a barn opened on the surrounding greenery. A part of the studio is used to store wood pieces and make sure they are well dried. He is using a collection of german ustensils to carve and polish the wood. He spent most of his career working out of Lagos before relocating to Benin. Roland was explaining that the wood he uses today is different that the one he worked on in his early days. Ebony has become rare and wood carvers have had to switch to other types of wood. Traditional heritage is a large part of his inspiration which he translates on wood with his own particular style, exploring various techniques for the finish of his pieces. Roland Ogiamien and two of his favourite masks History Ogiamien is the name of an important royal family in Benin Kingdom. Towards the end of the ...

The mysterious stones images of Esie

turned into Stones Chief J. Agbo Ooye had been waiting in the shade of a large tree, in front of the National Museum of Esie, dressed in ceremonial costume with a velvet hat incrusted with crystal beads sown in the shape of his title and his name. He was sitting next to his wife on a bench, expecting our arrival. His wife, he would tell us later, was his best friend and she was actually demonstrating it by guiding his frail body from one place to another and guiding his hand when it came to sign autographs of his books. Chief Agbo Ooye is the author of two booklets on the Esie Stones. The first one, called A Personal Account of the Esie Stones is giving an overview of the differences between the scientific and the traditional interpretation of the Esie Stones. The second one is called the History of Esie and gives a brief account of Esie's history from the early settlement of Yorubas in various groups (Esie, Oro, Eku Apa, Igbonla, Edidi, Igbesi, etc...) to the present...

Lagos Island - Balogun market

hot sales Lagos urban area is said to count around 20 million inhabitants. 1 million additional everyday. People say Lagos is like a giant market and one of its epicenter is Lagos Island. Besides former colonial administrative buildings and the banks and insurance who built skyscrapers along the Marina, there is a large area devoted to trading and markets. The densest one is probably Balogun market which is located between the central mosque and Tinubu square. Three or four floors of shops, people, goods all so tightly packed that cars are not welcome and motorbikes have a hard time moving. pick what you need During the day 4 million people are coming to Lagos Island to do business. They will rent a space for an hour, half a day, a day or longer and trade. hen lost in the clothes section One can find pretty much everything, one needs only know where things are. But generally organised by specialized clusters. There is so much happening that one can only get a small glimps...

Nigeria, the land of plenty

Search This Blog