Oyo: The inspiring Sangó festival

August is synonymous with  the àngó Festival  which highlights  the wealth and diversity of Yoruba culture. The celebration of  the  1,000 year old  àngó festival seems to be getting better with each  passing year, as it is becoming one of the most celebrated traditional festivals in Yoruba land. It brings together all the àngó worshipers […]

August is synonymous with  the àngó Festival  which highlights  the wealth and diversity of Yoruba culture. The celebration of  the  1,000 year old  àngó festival seems to be getting better with each  passing year, as it is becoming one of the most celebrated traditional festivals in Yoruba land. It brings together all the àngó worshipers across the world to the Oyo Alafin in Oyo State. This year’s  celebration was celebrated with pomp  and pageantry writes our correspondent.

After Ile-Ife, Oyo is the second home of all Yorubas. It has many tourism centers, starting from the palace of the Alafin, . 

As early as 9am on the 27th of August, the day of the  grand finale of  the 10-day àngó festival celebration, the  palace of the Alafin was full to the brim when our correspondent arrived  to cover  the celebration of this years  àngó festival.  

Tourists from every part of the world who dressed in red and white attires were already seated, waiting for arrival of the paramount ruler of Oyo empire, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi and other dignitaries. Members of the Oodua People’s Congress were waiting to receive their national coordinator, Otunba Gani Adams. There were jubilations and live performances  by the Yoruba  singers in one part of the palace, while foreign tourists were sitting in other parts to observe as the event unfolded. 

It is a special day used to celebrate àngó, a popular Yoruba deity who was believed to possess magical powers. The festival was rebranded as World àngó Day by the Oyo State Government to signify its international spread. The festival plays host to visitors from all over the country ,and followers from foreign countries like Cuba, Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean. 

According to the Yoruba history, àngó was the third Alaafin-(king) of old Oyo empire. He took over from his brother Ajaka who was regarded as weak. During his reign he was constantly fighting battles with other towns. He mistakenly destroyed his palace with lightning which brought about the end of his reign.The crowning of the Alaafin is usually done at the shrine of àngó in Koso. However, as part of tradition, the  Alaafin must not sight àngó Koso while on the throne. The only time they have access to each other is during the Alaafin’s coronation. 

It is a significant event for the Alaafin, because without wearing the crown of àngó, he is not yet regarded as an Alaafin. The crown gives him the right to rule from the old Oyo Empire to the present Oyo.

àngó is widely referred to as the god of thunder. He ruled Oyo kingdom for seven years and married three wives Oya, Oba and Oshun, according to history. He is worshiped on the fifth day called Ojo Jakuta in Yoruba language.

àngó is a popular Orisa in Yorubaland, as such his festival plays a very important traditional and cultural role  among the Yoruba .It is regarded as one of the founding fathers of the present Oyo State. It  makes Yoruba people reconnect with each other and showcase the rich cultural heritage of the Yorubas such as drumming, dancing and singing.

The festival dates back over 1000 years  when àngó mysteriously disappeared from the palace. He was believed to have committed suicide after he was challenged by one of his powerful chiefs, who ordered him to leave the palace. Since then the festival has been celebrated by the people of Oyo. 

The àngó Festival is a 10 day  event, which is marked with pomp and pageantry and worshippers and visitors are always seen in a happy mood. The worshippers are usually adorned in  white or red attire.Some of the activities lined up for the ten day event  include ; Ayo competition, Ogun Ajobo Day, traditional night rites, celebrations of Oyo State, Oya Day, Aje Oloja Day, àngó Oyo Day, Osun State Day and Iyemoja Day, Esin Elejo Day as well as Kwara State Day. 

On the last day of the celebration, a group of followers called Elegun àngó entertained the crowds with magic. The Elegun àngó who came from different parts of Yoruba states such as Oyo, Ekiti, Ede, Ibadan, Ajagba and Koso,  take their turn to perform. They plait their hair  and their eyes  are quite intimidating . 

The Elegun àngó Koso Alaafin, was the last to appear on the stage at the grand finale. He went round the  Oyo township, praying for people, before coming to the palace. He greets the people and goes to Iya Ilekoto before leaving for the palace. 

Speaking at the festival, the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi lll commended the national coordinator of the Odua People’s Congress (OPC) Chief Gani Adams for his support of tradition, culture and every Yoruba festival. He said àngó was the first black person to demonstrate physics by bringing light from his power, adding that the white men in 1728 visited Oyo and commended the then Alaafin for fair judgement and innovations in the old Oyo empire. 

The monarch assured Yoruba people that he won’t relent in his effort to celebrate the ancestors and culture, just as he urged all the Yoruba sons and daughters to continue finding out  the fact about their roots.  

Oba Adeyemi also commended the international visitors  who traveled from different continents  to support and celebrate the 2017 àngó festival with the people of Oyo and Yoruba land, for their unrelenting efforts.

In his contribution, the national coordinator of the Odua People’s Congress (OPC) Chief Gani Adams charged the  media to promote Nigeria’s  culture ,rather than engaging in inflammatory statements that could affect national unity.

He said the àngó festival is one of the festivals all the Yoruba sons and daughters must be celebrating every year. 

“àngó plays a very prominent role  in Yoruba history. Celebrating Yoruba ancestors is the only way we can maintain our unity. We appreciate Alaafin for not tiring of the struggle to uphold Yoruba unity. By celebrating àngó, we are promoting Yoruba culture, we are promoting Nigerian  culture ,and we are also promoting African culture and the identity of Oyo land,”Oodua coordinator concluded. 

The Minister for information, Culture and Tourism, Alhaji Lai Muhammed promised that the federal government will continue to support the national cultural heritage, and never relent in ensuring that the global community is  aware of the richness of Nigeria’s cultures.  

The minister who was represented at the event by the General Manager of the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) Oyo station, Chief Mrs. Juliana Oladejo said the federal government appreciates the contributions of  the Alaafin Oyo to the  development of Yoruba culture, adding that it is a means of diversification of the economy and avoiding  over reliance on crude oil.

A member of  the House of Representatives and the son of the Alaafin of Oyo, Akeem Adeyemi said  the àngó festival has contributed to the socio economy of Oyo town, the whole of the Yoruba land and the country at large. 

He said it is a way of promoting and rekindling  the Yoruba culture globally, so as to make cultural heritage a cash cow of the national economy.  

One of the àngó worshippers, Sangodiran Ibuowo said he is one of the descendants of àngó ,and that the primary aim of celebrating àngó was to make things easier for the people in the coming year. 

“My father is àngó. We celebrate àngó to make all the farm produce fruitful in the coming year. As we are celebrating the final àngó festival today, Alaafin will allow Koso his father to have the day. As soon as Koso comes, Alaafin must enter his palace. We celebrate it the way we inherited it from our fathers. You can see our younger ones celebrating with us.” 

A Brazilian, Fernando Ferrari said he was in Nigeria to see the real spirit of  the àngó celebration, saying it was amazing and interesting seeing the real àngó celebration in Nigeria. 

He noted that he was returning to Brazil with a lot of new ideas about the Yoruba culture and tradition, “Nigeria remains one of the countries with a very rich culture in the world,”he noted.

Yorubas have to be  proud of their culture 

Dr. Paula Gomez is  Portuguese  and  has spent many years studying Yoruba culture and tradition. In this interview, she explains the importance of àngó festival. 

What is the importance of àngó celebration?

This festival has been in existence  for over 1000 years. In recent time, we are trying to repackage it to attract more international tourists. It is not a carnival but a heritage. Carnival is just to celebrate and it is for children, but àngó is part of the intangible heritage of Yorubas. àngó is not only a  traditional rite between àngó and  Alaafin, but it contains the protégé (oriki) which preserves  the archaic Yoruba language. We have traditional dancers and drummers such as Bata, dundun, and other traditional activities that originated from Oyo Alafin during the 10 days of  the àngó festival.

The àngó community with their friends in Nigeria and abroad, come to celebrate together with Alafin. It is not only showcasing the real culture of Yorubas, but  it is also important for the  preservation of identity. 

But some people believe that àngó is god on its own… 

àngó is not a God. People need to understand their traditional religion. Yorubas believe in one God which is called Olodumare. Like in christianity, we have Jesus and in Islam, we have Mohammed. It is  a means of communicating with God. Every religion in this world is between God and humanity. àngó is a messenger from God. Each family has oriki (protégé) which shows where they are coming from. As far as you lose your protégé, you lose your identity. So, Yorubas believes that Olodumare is the father of all humanity ,but for the fact that he doesn’t contact directly  with humankind, he has delegated powers to orisas (idols) which are deity or divinity like angels. Eledumare sent them to mediate between Him and humanity. So, Yorubas believe that àngó was sent from Heaven.God sent àngó to create rain, thunder, and other weapons to fight his enemy. 

Does Alaafin use àngó as an  instrument?

Alafin used  to say he need  not   get any weapon to defeat his enemies, all he needs is to attract energy from the thunder to defeat his enemies. He has some spiritual and natural powers to fight his enemies. They call the third Alafin, àngó and since then, nobody could become Alafin without wearing the crown of àngó. When one Alafin goes, the crown of Alafin returns  to Koso who is the custodian of the power of àngó. He becomes Kabiyesi when he wears the crown of àngó. Oba Koso is the first person to greet him as Kabiyesi after his coronation. The word Kabiyesi originated from Oyo Alaafin because whatever he says is final.    

I think people are losing their root. They are losing their identity. People believe that tradition is not civilized. Tradition is civilized because you can only build your present with the past, and your future with the present. Yorubas are very strong in culture and tradition. Through the slave trade, the white people took Yoruba culture and tradition to  the diaspora ,and replaced  it with theirs. Oyo should be a Mecca and Jerusalem for Yorubas because there are so many tourism potentials here. So, I think government needs to develop religion tourism in Nigeria so as to create jobs for the youths and improve the national GDP. I told you earlier that we have to go to Ilora for hotels when those of Oyo are filled up. The head of the mission in Brazil is here to celebrate with us. Many foreigners are here for the past ten days. We pay for hotels, foods, vehicles, fuel, among other things. That makes more money available and circulating in Oyo.

What is the role of UNESCO in this festival?

You know in UNESCO we have two types of heritage. We have tangible and intangible heritage. Like this palace, it is tangible. Intangible is something you cannot hold. UNESCO has sent a delegation to Oyo for six months to do an inventory of the intangible heritage in Oyo. Inventory means we went from compound to compound to know the history and the origin of the people ,which will be listed in the representative list of humanity. 

So, we did inventory for àngó festival as one of the oldest festivals in Yoruba land. Black soap, calabash carving, aso oke, dundun, gangann Bata, Orisa divination (idasa) and Sekere, including the kingship system of Oyo Alaafin, are the second best practices of humanity in the world, according to UNESCO. These are the elements we did during the six months of the UNESCO in Oyo Alaafin.

We have also been restoring the ancient shrines where Yorubas used to worship. Muslims have their mosques while Christians have their churches. Yorubas also have their shrines where they worship their fore fathers which are Yoruba heritages. This attracts the tourists to see how their fore fathers worshipped in the ancient time.

Where do you see our cultural heritage in the next 10 years? 

If government is ready to support people, it can be a Mecca,a  pilgrimage destination for people. You can see many white people here observing their pilgrimage just as we do when we go to Mecca. Yorubas have to be proud of their culture

Why does the festival usually fall  in August? 

It is the  time of heavy rain. Secondly, Sango doesn’t eat   new yam. Sango eats strong yam.