Alake and his entourage's arrival at the main forest was heralded by several deafening gunshots that scared every living organism in the forest, whose trees wore healthy green leaves, while the forest spirits seemed to welcome the monarch as the leaves gently gyrated to the tunes dictated by the unpolluted breeze that bathed everyone, and the violent vibration generated by the gunshots.
After the successful entry, Egba anthem "Lori oke ati petele, ibe la gbe bi mi o..." meaning "on the top of hills and in the valley, there I was born..."was proudly sung by everyone present, including the monarch. After this, the Alake and his chiefs took their seats, while the Oluwos (chief priests) of Itoku, Igbein and Oba townships, paid homage to him, informing him that they had earlier offered sacrifices to the spirit of the legendary Lisabi Agbongbo-Akala and that the spirit accepted the sacrifices.
This information gladdened the hearts of Alake and his chiefs, who nodded with satisfaction, after which other priests, warriors, oro cult members etc. took their respective turns to pay homage to the Alake.
To round off the visitation to the forest, Alake offered a long prayer for all Egba children at home and in diaspora for success in their respective endeavours. He also prayed for the unity of Egbaland and peace in Nigeria. After the prayer, the monarch and his people descended from the sacred forest and walked back to their cars which were parked at the entrance of the forest for the journey back to Abeokuta city.
AT ALAKE'S PALACE:
The appearance of the monarch at the palace prompted the singing of the Egba anthem, "Lori Oke..."again. Several traditional institutions like the Oluwos (traditional priests) Oloroguns (traditional soldiers) parakoyis (the traditional market controllers) among others, as well as the worshippers of traditional deities like Olomolus, kori worshippers, Igunnuko masquerade worshippers, Osun worshippers and others took turns to pay homage to the Alake, blessing him and receiving blessings from him.
Alake rounded off the festival with another round of long prayer for the Egba people and the nation. After this, Egba anthem was once again sung. With the retreat of Alake and his chiefs to the inner chambers of the palace, the colourful Lisabi festival came to a memorable end.
*culled from www.travelscopemagazine.com
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