The shrines of Oyo

with Chief schnapps, it is easier to communicate with the spirits

Oyo, the city where the Alaafin is residing, is hosting many compounds dedicated to the gods of the Yoruba religion. A number of families are residing inside the compound under the authority of an elder and priest called Baba. Somewhere in the compound is a shrine dedicated to a particular yoruba deity. These days the ancient religion of the Yorubas is in a complex situation. Islam and Christianity have become the mainstream religions which have made significant inroads in the population while the ancient cult of the Yorubas is being worshipped discretely by a minority of people. A few years back being an official worshipper could get you excluded from attending school, says Paula the cultural attache to the Alaafin, but this is gradually changing. Obviously monotheist cults are incompatible with ancient religions but in practice many muslims and christians will somehow have a form of relationship with the ancient cult because of juju or voodoo. Also every family is worshipping its ancestors in the form or spirits (egungun) every year.

The compound of Sango

In its center, surrounded by a number of traditional houses made of mud-bricks and corrugated iron roofs, is a large mud building that cannot be visited by any one except the priests of Sango and the King during the first day of the crowning ceremony, where he will swap roles with the high priest of Sango and leave the Sango shrine as King without being allowed to see the Sango high-priest again. The center of the shrine has trees which can be seen from outside. It looks like a little oasis in the area where the ground is made of red earth. The front wall of the shrine is painted red and has white stripes as well as a few symbols painted over it.

the high priest of Sango in front of the shrine's door

The compound of Obatala

Baba Adisa reading the message from the Kola nut

we stopped in another compound where Baba Adisa, a priest of Obatala the divinity of pureness, made an offering with a kola nut. Before the offering, every person wanted to be included in the blessing would have to be touched on the forehead with the kola nut. Then some money would be put on the floor next to the kola nut and the priest would spray them with water and shake a small bell, recite some prayers before reading the message of the kola nut that would then be cut in small pieces and spread among the onlookers to eat. Kola nut tastes very bitter.

The compound of Oduduwa

The compound of Baba Iyaji is dedicated to Oduduwa. He is the Baba of the 6th generation. We entered the compound in a vast courtyard with few fully grown trees providing shade to the participants of an upcoming procession. One of them had its trunk surrounded by a wall of roughly 1.2m high that was serving as a shelter to a crocodile, allegedly 30 or 40 years old. The crocodile was sleeping as we came but was soon to be awoken by a man who poked it with a metal bar.
Baba Iyaji gave an audience in a inner courtyard where he sat on a tired wooden throne in the shade of a roof. the side of the courtyard had banks for elders and guests to sit around.
The whole extended family was gathered, some drummers were summoned and the wives of Baba Iyaji came to salute the old man bowing down in front of him. One of them rolled from side to side. The other wives were dancing together. Speeches were made to welcome the guests. We then had a look at the graves of the 6th ancestors of Baba Iyagi buried all -around the inner courtyard in covered passage-way. A white calabash, whitened was put in each of the niches above the graves. Some objects belonging to the ancestors were included in the wall above the entrance of the niche, like bowls of porcelain.

Baba Iyaji (seated) and his entourage

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 day. Thos

The Arala of Benin Kingdom and his large family music band

High Chief Arala of Benin Kingdom, Prince S.B. Omo Lawal Osula At the intersection of two potholed market streets in the heart of Benin City, somewhere along Lagos street, stood three marquees. Two of them were covering rows of plastic chairs and a plastic table for special guests. The third one was covering a wooden stage with numerous microphone booms. A band was getting ready to play. The setup was facing the house of the Arala, a High Chief of Benin City. In front of the house painted in orange was a wooden bank on which traditional percussionists would seat later on. Seated guests were waiting for the Arala himself. The Arala had come out, dressed in a salmon-pink suit and red loafers, to welcome us personally upon our arrival while we parked next to the marquees. He is a man of small stature but fit and lively for his age (he is in his mid seventies). The Arala runs an NGO to help international organisations fund rural education projects around Benin city. The NGO spares the

Nigeria, the land of plenty

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