Oke Agidan festival in Oyo

walking to the Agidan Hill

Oke Agidan (Agidan hill) is located near Oyo town. It is a dome-shaped rock which dominates the flat land around it. The land belongs to the Alaafin of Oyo and for a while it was not permitted to cultivate it. Nowadays things are changing and the rock is surrounded by fields of cassava and yam. Fortunately, a few trees remain standing and give the landscape some allure. The rock itself is host to several shrines dedicated to various yoruba divinities.

Once a year, around April, a large pilgrimage takes place. The starting point of the pilgrimage is a grove where multiple tents have been erected to offer pilgrims food, drinks and ritual items such as kola nuts, bitter-kola nuts, some plastic beads bracelets (almond green and brown) or Ifa chains (mix of nuts and beads) for divination.

Oya, buy my nuts!

Pilgrims are coming all the way from Oyo town on motorbikes, mini-buses, cars, some possibly walk. Drums are providing rhythm to the place. An eclectic crowd of devotees were wearing their best attire on the occasion, all more colourful than the other. Style is de rigueur. The Youth is adopting less traditional outfits in a quest to look like successful Nigerian rappers living in Florida or worst case in Lagos: imported second-hand t-shirt with carefully chosen slogans (play-boy for the boys is a recurring choice) but also less obvious statements which I am keen to believe have something to do with the personality of the new owner, golden chains with trinkets, sunglasses, etc... The most amazing of the youth attires are padded trousers and top: 100% plastic and surely not the best compromise for hot weather but, we all know that, looking cool is well worth sweating in the heat!

In the grove, there is a small shrine (an enclosure of 10*10m approximately) in the middle of which grows a specific palm tree called “ope”. Before starting the walk to the rock, it is customary to go and pray at the shrine. There is a long queue to enter the narrow space but everyone is generally in a good mood (there are always VIPs that need to be attended first and everyone knows that).

Ifa divination before getting started

Inside the shrine, dedicated to Orunmila, about 10 or 15 Ifa priests, identifiable by the label hanging around their neck, are helping with the blessing ceremony (kola nut offering together with money to get a good omen). The place is as lively as a bookmaker booth a few minutes before the Grand Prix d'Amerique (most famous horse race in France). Kola nuts are broken, thrown in the air and sprayed with water in order to see what Olodumare commands.

Then starts a walk towards the Agidan rock, about 500 meters away. At its foot, there are two shrines (one dedicated to Oke and to other orisas). To climb the bare rock, one has to part with shoes as it is quite steep in places. About 30 or 40 meters higher is another shrine (Egbe) which is nested along the rock at the entrance of a narrow cave. The legend says that a snake is coming out to the pots half buried in the ground where offerings are made to appease him. After that starts the real climb on the searing hot stone, which many of us will not complete in full.

barefoot on the burning stone

A pilgrimage is a journey, this one leads to the sky, where silence and peace invite prayers, a step closer to the divine. Devotees are sitting on the hot stone and pray in the wind. Some will carry kola nuts that they will open and through in the air, spray them with a bit of water from a sachet and ready the omens for the year to come. The ascent is challenging and gives a sense of fulfilment to those who make it all the way up. Coming down over an easier path is like an afterthought.

I met on the way some people from Cotonou and an Ijebu rasta-student who was taught at University about the Existentialist movement in France with authors like Jean Paul Sartre. It was a strange encounter half-way up the rock!

heavenly reward at the top of Oke Agidan

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 Ejiogbe Twins, fine stone carvers

Kehinde and Taiwo dancing hand in hand Taiwo and Kehinde Olabode Ejiogbe: now and then Drums could be heard in a distance as we approached the open compound of the Ejiogbes. Two slender white-clad silhouettes, those of two Obatala followers, were dancing forward in our direction, sometimes hand in hand, sometimes not, but synchronised at all time. Taiwo and Kehinde Ejiogbe, the stone carver twins of Inisa, Osun state, were now greeting us and welcoming us in an open courtyard where a marquee had been arranged with rows of plastic chairs. Taiwo's simple lines I had met the Ejiogbe Twins about a year ago in Iragbiji and had bought some of their carvings which I still like very much. So it was natural to go and meet them again in their abode. The compound was decorated with the many stones carved by the Twins. Taiwo's works were displayed on the lawn separating the road from the house. Large pieces with an asiatic touch in the simplicity of lines of the carvings.

Nigeria, the land of plenty

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