The Story Of Nigeria's Most Famous Magician Professor Peller and How He Was Assassinated in 1997

Professor Peller The magician was one of the Nigerians that opened Nigeria to what magic was. He is the father of Shina Peller the popular socialite, he always moved with huge and electrified crowd thronging after his slowly-moving convoy.

At the center was a white limousine and from the sun roof, was a man full of charming smiles, waving to the frenzied crowd, he looked very smart, handsome and he was also wearing white, all white, the hat too was white. It was quite a dazzling spectacle. The limo was headed towards the city stadium where he had a show. For about thirty years, Peller held the world’s most populous black nation spellbound with millions gasping at the whisk of his wand. I hope you find this magical.

About Professor peller ;

He was born in 1941 at Iseyin, Oyo State and he was named Moshood Folorunsho Abiola. He would later pick on the stage name of ‘Professor Peller’, an appellation that has stuck to him like a second skin.

HIS MAGICAL PERFORMANCES AND EXPLOITS

When Professor Peller was alive, he was the most brilliant magician in all of Africa. I am not too sure if the record has been broken. Even in death, Peller remains the greatest of all. He performed not only before princes but also held kings spellbound with his magic. Here is how Femi Oyebode, a Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Birmingham described Peller and one of his shows in 1972 at the George V Stadium in Lagos (that is the old name of the Onikan Stadium):

My last ever visit to the stadium was to see Professor Peller, a magician, and said to be a member of the Magic Circle take on the last of our traditional magicians whose name now escapes me (itself a significant fact). Professor Peller was dressed in black tails, a top hat, a wand in one hand, black shoes and well-cut hair. He was a perfect picture of debonair gentleman and was assisted by an attractive young woman. He flicked his white handkerchief and a white dove flew out.

He pulled at his cuff links and flowers bloomed under his command. He was confident, majestic. He was suave and graceful. He levitated his assistant.

He cut her in two without drawing blood. He locked her in a cupboard, chained up several times over yet she disappeared! It was a master performance. The crowd clapped, hooped. We were seduced against our better judgment. Peller was a prolific magician with many shows, some of which were the Invisible General, the Escaping Box, Changing Dresses and the Zigzag. One thing with Peller’s performances is that they were executed with maximum finesse and excellence. He was thorough and professional. Perhaps, if not for death, he might have even eclipsed David Copperfield of the USA in fame. Copperfield is presently the greatest magician on earth and the first person to make one billion dollars from magic. While growing up, he was nicknamed Moshood Olori Pupa (Moshood the Red-Headed Boy).

-One of his classical performances included putting his wife in a ‘magical coffin’ and severing the same coffin into two halves with a ‘magic coffin’.

When Peller was performing, there was really no Internet as we have it today, so it was quite easy to fool people in their millions. Now, YouTube is spoiling the show for many magicians except the most ingenious of them. Here are few more magic clips on YouTube just to let you know they do not conjure any evil spirit or demon, it is nothing but sheer trickery.

For a man who was a showstopper at any events, it is no surprise that not a few women fell for the enchanting spell of Nigeria’s most famous magician. He was a man of many women and married many of them.

However, the best known of these ladies, with whom he performed his magic tricks is Alhaja Silifat Adeboyin Peller, The whole of Nigeria knew her as Lady Peller and she is most famous for the act in which she was ‘sliced’ into pieces by Peller and had a hard time putting her back. Now 66 years of age with her husband gone and not remarrying, she is attending to her grandchildren while reminiscing over the glittering wonders of an empire of magic that once held sway. Lady Peller was born in Kishi, Oyo State where her father was the Chief Imam and had five children for him, while also raising many other step-children.

However, unknown to many, their rosy marriage later had a deep crack to the extent that they were not staying together anymore. When Peller was killed at his Onipanu residence, he was in Lagos State for a function while Lady Peller was living at the GRA, Ikeja. Although they were not officially separated as they still saw regularly, Peller checked on her in Ikeja but met her absence. As at that time, they had already reconciled and were even planning on coming back together before Peller was prematurely silenced by the assassin’s bullets.

Peller left a message for her to check on him as he was not feeling well and was rushed to Ibadan for treatment. Lady Peller was furious as to why he was taken to Ibadan since they had family doctors at the Ajayi Memorial Hospital and the EKO Hospital in Lagos but upon getting to Ibadan, she was simply told that Peller was dead. She fainted immediately only to wake up to a bucket of water and intense fanning by family members. She said: “It was a great shock and I had never seen that kind of things. I don’t ever wish to go through that kind of thing again.” While he was alive, he also taught her some magic and ensured she got some training in Michigan, USA. Little wonder they always performed together and as far as she is concerned, her religion is not against the brand of magic she performed with her late husband because according to her, ‘it was not fetish’. She still remembers the very good old days and says she will not remarry and will still marry him over and over again, rounding off: They only want to enjoy what Professor Peller was enjoying for several years. But they can’t have it.”

Alhaja Silifat Abiola Peller, the wife of late magician, Professor Peller, has opened up on why the popular socialite was killed. While speaking in an interview with BBC News Yoruba, Mrs Peller revealed that the assassination of her husband was made possible because of the personal information he leaked to the media after a performance she had with her husband that got everyone scared She said during the performance, the late magician sliced her into two on stage but found it difficult to restore her back to normal.

“On that unforgettable day, Professor Peller performed at the National Theatre. He sliced Lady Peller into two but found it difficult to restore her back to normal,” she said.

“He did his best to the point of sweating which was noticed by the spectators. The show ended at that point.

“Thanks to God, Lady Peller later came back to life. But people were yet to know until the following day. “While Professor Peller was performing (the following day), the spectators were not all that interested. All they wanted to see was Lady Peller.

“As soon as they saw me, they were excited to the point that some of them called it a day, saying my appearance was entertaining enough.”

Silifat said presidents and prominent people used to come to the shows which they performed across the world.

On how she heard of her husband’s death, she said she was in Lagos when she got the information.

“It was an unfortunate day which I can’t really explain. Some said I fainted and later got revived after water was poured on me,” she said.

On how her husband died, Silifat said “He was observing the Sujud prayer when he died.”

She continued, “The media knows how to ask questions that can make one say things he ought not to say.

“Professor Peller was asked by the media to reveal the particular time he could be found without his powers.

“He told them that he could only be found without his powers when he’s observing the Islamic prayers “That’s what Professor Peller said that led to his fall.”

Silifat said the assassins who killed the magician ensured they carried out the act at the time he was observing his prayers.

Credit: Nairaland

1966: ASSASSINATION OF ALHAJI (SIR) ABUBAKAR TAFAWA BALEWA

“Who’s there?” A voice queried from inside. However, Ifeajuna replied by kicking the doors open with his boots.

“You’re under arrest sir,” Ifeajuna said, pointing his gun at the Prime Minister, who looked startled. “Get up sir, we don’t have a lot of time.”

“Alright,” the Prime Minister replied gently, “allow me to dress up.”

He put on a white flowing robe with white trousers, a pair of slippers and his prayer beads. Without fear and a disciplined face, he trudged out of the room and the residence gently as Ifeajuna and his soldiers accompanied him with pointed guns.

When they reached the parked vehicles, Ezedigbo had arrested the Finance Minister, Chief Okotie-Eboh, and had tossed him like a bag of groundnuts into the back of the 3-Ton truck while the Prime Minister was assisted into the backseat of Ifeajuna’s luxurious car, a red Mercedes Benz, as the convoy drove off to the rendezvous.

Some few kilometers to their rendezvous, the Prime Minister became restless and was muttering to himself as he rattled his prayer beads. Okafor hinted Ifeajuna of the situation who quickly slammed the brakes and came out of the car.

“Are you alright sir?” Ifeajuna asked the Prime Minister as he opened the side door. “Or would you like some fresh air?”

To Tafawa-Balewa, it was a rhetorical question and the decision to answer or not rested on him. Without answering the Major, he gently alighted from the car and ambled towards the darkness as Ifeajuna watched anxiously, oblivious to what the Prime Minister was up to.

Then from a slow walk, to a pace and a sprint, the Prime Minister dashed for the darkness. Ifeajuna did not bother to pursue. Quickly, he grabbed his gun from the car, cocked it and aimed for the fleeing Prime Minister whose white outfit contrasted the darkness and conspicuously gave him away.

The “revolution” had failed and the Prime Minister had become a liability to their movement anyway. The Major shot sporadically at the fleeing figure sending the tranquility of the darkness to a bustle of gunfire like the crackle of burning dried leaves.

Tafawa-Balewa fell as Ifeajuna stared in horror at the darkness whether he got his target. The Golden Voice of Africa had been silenced.

Quickly, he moved towards the still body of the Prime Minister and after confirming he was dead, dragged him to a tree trunk and rested the body in a seating position with his clothing still intact.

Then he and Okafor brought out Largema’s corpse from the boot of the car and laid it down beside Tafawa-Balewa’s body. Having realised the coup had failed on their part, they sped, en route Abeokuta-Sagamu, towards Enugu in the East, which was nearly 450 kilometres away.

The Yoruba Spirituality

The spiritual and historical antecedents of a people are summed up in their culture. Hence the Christian faith is only relevant in the acknowledged existence of a Jewish Culture and History.  As well as Islam an acknowledgment of Arabic and Arabian truisms. 

There's no way you can embrace a religion without validating the historical claims and prejudices of a people. If the claims are based on the need to justify the historical exploitation of a people then the appreciation of these claims are also an indent agreement that the exploitation and oppression of the said people are justified and divinely sanctioned.  

The Divine Right of Rule basically expresses that some beings are higher in the Creator's Ascendancy than others. Embracing that faith does not place you higher but is an admission that in that creative scheme of things you actually belong in the lower rungs. That is essentially a trading of your birthright for a piece of porridge with different flavour from your own divinely enshrined essence.    

Apataki

(Ela. The Opening of the Walls)

THE STORY OF OYOTUNJI: A YORUBA (West Africa) KINGDOM IN UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 🇺🇲

Oyotunji African Village is a village located near Sheldon, Beaufort County, South Carolina that was founded by Oba Efuntola Oseijeman Adelabu Adefunmi I in 1970. Oyotunji village is named after the Oyo empire, a pre-colonial Yoruba kingdom lasting from the 1300s until the early 1800s in what is now southwestern Nigeria. The name literally means “O̩yo̩ returns” or “O̩yo̩ rises again” or “O̩yo̩ resurrects” referring to the African Yoruba kingdom of Oyo, now rising in a new form near the South Carolina seashore.

Oyotunji village covers 27 acres (11 ha) and has a Yoruba temple which was moved from Harlem, New York to its present location in 1960. It was originally intended to be located in Savannah, Georgia, but was eventually settled into its current position after disputes with neighbors in Sheldon proper, over drumming and tourists.

HOW OBA EFUNTOLA ADEFUNMI I FOUNDED OYOTUNJI

During the slave trade era, many Africans were taken as slaves abroad. While going, some left with their culture and tradition which they continued within the foreign land where they found themselves. They continued with the culture and tradition of their fathers so as to maintain their identity.

The Yorubas in slavery are among the Africans that maintained their culture in the strange land and it was handed down to their children from generation to generation.

Many of their children, after the abolition of the slave trade, have married children of their former masters thus having children of mixed blood, that notwithstanding, they still carry on with their African culture in the foreign land since most of them cannot trace their root back to Africa.

The Yoruba culture has been one of the prominent and most celebrated one throughout the world till date. In the faraway United States of America, there is a Yoruba community named O̩yo̩tunji African Village. It is located near Sheldon, Beaufort County, South Carolina.

O̩yo̩tunji is regarded as North America’s oldest authentic African village. It was founded in 1970 and is the first intentional community in North America, based on the culture of the Yoruba and Benin tribes of West Africa.

It has survived 51years of sustaining the Yoruba traditional sociology and values in the diaspora. The village is named after the O̩yo̩ Empire, and the name literally means “O̩yo̩ returns” or “O̩yo̩ rises again” or “O̩yo̩ resurrects”. The village occupies 27 acres of land.

O̩yo̩tunji was founded by His Royal Highness O̩ba (King) Waja, O̩funto̩la Oseijeman Adelabu Adefunmi I.

Born Walter Eugene King on October 5, 1928, Oba O̩funto̩la Oseijeman Adelabu Adefunmi I, a Detroit native, began studying Afro-Haitian and ancient Egyptian traditions as a teenager. He was further influenced by his contact with the Katherine Dunham Dance Troupe in New York City at the age of 20, an African American modern dance troupe that drew from many cultures within the African Diaspora.

August 26, 1959, O̩ba Waja became the first African born in America to become fully initiated into the Oris̩a-Vodoo African priesthood by African Cubans in Matanzas, Cuba, and became known as Efuntola Osejiman Adefunmi. After his return to the United States, he formed the Yoruba Temple in Harlem in 1960. The temple, committed to preserving African traditions within an American context, was the cultural and religious forerunner of Oyotunji Village.

He later traveled to Haiti where he discovered more about the Yoruba culture. Armed with a new understanding of the African culture, he found the order of Damballah Hwedo, Ancestor Priests in Harlem New York.

This marked the beginning of the spread of the Yoruba religion and culture among African-Americans. He later founded the Sàngó Temple in New York and incorporated the African Theological Arch Ministry in 1960. The Sàngó Temple was relocated and renamed the Yoruba Temple.

With the rise of black nationalism in the 1960s, King began to envision the construction of a separate African American nation that would institutionalize and commemorate ancestral traditions. In June of 1970, he fulfilled this vision with the creation of Oyotunji African Village.

It was during this time that he also established a new lineage of the priesthood, Orisha Vodoo, to emphasize the tradition’s African roots. Today, over 300 priests have been initiated into this lineage and the African Theological Archministry, founded by Oba O̩funto̩la Oseijeman Adelabu Adefunmi I in 1966, now serves as the umbrella organization for the Village.

To further his knowledge of Yoruba culture, he traveled to Abeokuta in Nigeria in 1972 where he was initiated into the Ifa priesthood by the Oluwo of Ije̩un at Abeokuta, Ogun state, in August of 1972. He was later proclaimed Alase̩ (Oba-King) of the Yoruba of North America at O̩yo̩tunji Village in 1972.

In its early years, Oyotunji Village was home to as many as two hundred people. Today, its residential community consists of few African American families, governed by an oba (king) and the community’s appointed council.

Each family is committed to the teachings of the Yoruba tradition, which include a religious understanding of the world as comprised primarily of the “energies” of the Supreme Being Olodumare, the orisha deities, and the ancestral spirits. This religious world is maintained spiritually through rituals, chants, music, sacrifice, and annual ceremonies.

Oba Efuntola Osejiman Adefunmi passed away on Thursday, February 10th, 2005 at O̩yo̩tunji African Village in Beaufort County, South Carolina. Since Adefunmi’s death in 2005, the village has been led by his son, the fourteenth of twenty-two children of Oba Efuntola Osejiman Adefunmi, till date.

The O̩ba title is referred to as “O̩lo̩yotunji” of O̩yo̩tunji.

The Wonder of Scorpion Tail

If you know anyone suffering from prostate problem and difficulty to urinate, please the above plant just healed my brother of enlarged prostate complications within three days! He was meant to go for an operation and already carrying urinary bag around. In short, he was already dying...then someone introduced the above plant to him, and he took a little quantity of the juice extracted from it twice a day and that was it! Within three days, the catheter dropped off and he started urinating by himself. All the symptoms disappeared. The plant is called "igbe orí àkùkọ" in Yoruba language. It is called scorpion tail in English. Please don't continue to suffer in silence when the solution to the problem is readily available and affordable.

Irosun Opinmi 5-5-3-2-1 for selection of (16) Ikins

==Bi Awo meji ba rira won lojo won a da bi Iye kan== 

"When two Awo known each other just for a day, they will relate with each other as siblings" (Irosun Irete = Irosun Opinmi) 

== The myth according to Odu Ifa Irosun Irete also known as Irosun Opinmi have it that in Ancient time. A man known as Opinmi who is a practicing Babalawo in certain hermit sometime in the past. He works hard and try everything necessary to become successful but failed to become successful and have money. He makes Ifa consultations to know how to come out of his ugly situation and become rich. Ifa told him to embark on Ifa mission to Ife Ooyelagbo. Ifa predict that when he gets to Ife Ooyelagbo that people of Ife will be mean to him, they will treat him shabbily and with disdain. But he should persevere and endure. In the end he will be vindicated and become blessed. He was advised to offer ebo, he complied.

He carries all his Ifa paraphernalia when he got to Ife Ooyelagbo as a stranger, he has nowhere to stay. The head to the house of the Oluwo who the Araba Awo of Ife Ooyelagbo. The latter when his discover and ascertain that he is a Babalawo, he decided to accommodate him in his house as if he have known him before. As depicted in the Odu Ifa Irosun Irete that Bi Awo meji ba rira won lojo won a da bi Iye kan (When two Awo known each other just for a day, they will relate with each other as siblings) notwithstanding this accommodation  gesture received by Opinmi. His life remains unchanged despite his great knowledge of Ifa. 

The Awo of Ife Ooyelagbo treat him with disdain, they do not allow him to go out with them to their affluent client abode for divination. The Olofin of Ife Ooyelagbo usually invite the Awo in Ife to make Ifa consultation for him every five days. They will not take Opinmi along. They will say he is too wretched that he will spoil their business and below their rank in sight of the king and affluent clients. If king, ask of him they will tell the king that he is not a genuine Babalawo that he does not have any knowledge of Ifa he is just a mere businessman looking for money. That is how the Awo in Ife Ooyelagbo behave towards Opinmi in Ancient time.

When the situation of Opinmi become hopeless and his life become worse, and he even become dehumanize that he was before coming to Ife Ooyelagbo due to cruel and inhuman nature of the Awo in Ife Ooyelagbo towards him. Poor Opinmi think of what to do. He said he will no longer practice this Ifa again. He said the Ifa have not been favorable to him. He decided to throw all his Ikin and Ifa paraphernalia to fast flowing river where he will not be able to recover it and forget about anything about Ifa. He did pack all the items and went to a big flowing river. He throws all his Ikin Ifa and Ifa paraphernalia into the river.  He also attempts suicide by jumping into the river. But in the process of jumping, he hit his leg with big clog of wood in the river. The sound of agony which the nearby people in their farm heard and rush to the river, they quickly dove into the river and saved him. He explained his ordeal and reason for his action. Some of the people who are Babalawo among the people present when they got wind that he has thrown all his Ikin into the river. They quickly dive into the river after one another to find the number of Ikin they lay their hand upon and retrieve it.

History have it that the first person to bring retrieve (5) five Ikin Is Ora, hence we have Arun Ora. The second person Osin retrieve another (5) five Ikin hence we have Arun Osin. The third person Eguntan retrieve (3) three hence we have Eta Eguntan. The fourth person Irete retrieve (2) two hence Eji Irete, the last person to dive retrieve just (1) one hence we have Okan soso niti Olufidan. When they can pack the sixteen out of the Ikin. They take Opinmi home.

On the second day they head to the house of Olofin for important Ifa consultation. The suicide attempt of Opinmi does not make the Awo of Ife Ooyelagbo become nice to Opinmi to give him good cloth or encourage him to follow them. They leave him behind and remain callous as ever. When they get to the house Olofin. They make Ifa consolation for Olofin. But their amusement none of the Awo in Ife Ooyelagbo was able to get and decipher the purpose of consultation during their narration. Olofin now demand for another Babalawo, they say hmmm there is one Opinmi he is just hungry man looking for food to eat. He does not have any knowledge of Ifa, Olofin smile go and fetch him for me anyway. When Opinmi arrived, in rags. The king mentions the Odu that come forth during the Ifa consultation. Opinmi was asked to make his own contribution. The first verse chants by Opinmi is what reveal and give solution to what Olofin is seeking Ifa guidance about. Olofin asked the entire Awo of Ife start from their Araba to the lowest among them, you claim this man is just a hungry man looking for food that he is just using idea ,that he had no knowledge of Ifa. Yet he is the one that Know what all you do not know. Olofin called the Opinmi to his chamber and give him money to make him become rich for solving his problems which the other popular and prominent Awo was unable to solve. That it is how Opinmi become rich.

It is event from Irosun Opinmi that give rise to of 5-5-3-2-1 for selection of Ikin Ifa for purpose of Ifa consultation.  

 ==(5) Arun Ora – (5) Arun Osin – (3) Eta Eguntan – (2) Eji Irete – (1) Okan Soso Niti Olufidan

Ifa eni toba findan ko fin – Ao ko merin ninu re – Ao ni erin nikin nbe - Eremeta ni an un sokutu nife tie bora orun nje ni – Oju meji kii ri oro koni oun kiri – Oju kan uho nikalu. 

Photo: Olúwo Ifáòleèpin

In Memory of Kudirat Abiola.... 27 years after

Around 9.30am on Tuesday June 4 1996, Kudirat left her home in Lagos for an appointment at the Canadian High Commission in the company of her personal assistant, Mark Olufemi Adesina and her driver, Dauda Atanda.

Àdesina sat in the front passenger seat beside Atanda, while Kudirat sat in the back. As Atanda manoeuvred Kudirat's white Mercedes-Benz on the Lagos Ibadan Express way past the 7-up Junction on Oregun Road In Ikeja, two Peugeot's, one a 505 and the other a 504 approached them. One of the cars swerved twice in front of Kudirat's car, forcing Atanda to slow down.. Several gunmen then opened fire with machine gun at close range.

The hail of gunfire smashed the windshield and back window of Kudirat's car and forced it off the road. Adesina instinctively fell to the floor as shards of broken glass and spent ammunition rained down on top of him. Despite the bursts of gunfire Adesina survived.

One of the bullets hit Kudirat's forehead and lodged in her brain.

She was later taken to Èkó Hospital, where she was operated on by a team of Neurosurgeon who removed the bullet from her head. She died between 12.15 and 12.30pm.

Ram (Agbo) Sacrificial Animal For Egungun (Ogbe Osa) & Sango (Okanran Meji)

Efufu Lele Awo Ode Orun - Afefe Lege-Lege Awo Agbaye – Kuku Teku Awo Aiye Divined for Iki. (Ogbe Osa)

They said: Someone as huge as a Ram was friendly with Iki; Iki should therefore offer a sacrifice so that a deceitful friend would not be able to harm him. Kola-pods, pawa, 22,000 cowries and a big wooden bowl with cover. Iki heeded the advice and made the sacrifice. Sometime after this, Ram went to Olofin’s house and noticed that his Egungun shrine was clean. He inquired with what Olofin used to worship his Egungun. He was told that it was kola nut. Ram there and then promised to produce Iki for the next sacrifice. Olofin was very pleased at this promise. Ram left straight away for Iki’s house and asked him this question: “Did your father ever tell you that we had an amusing game we used to play ?” Iki said, “No, but can you tell me what it was?” “Certainly”, Ram said. Then he proceeded to tell Iki how they used to carry each other in a closed wooden bowl for a distance of about 40 feet. Iki said even though he was never told of such game he considered it a really amusing one. Ram produced a big wooden bowl and jumped into it and was covered up by Iki who carried him for the stipulated distance and put him down. Ram got out and Iki got in. Ram in turn carried him through the same distance.

Having exchanged about two or three rides with Iki, Ram refused to put Iki down at the end of 40 feet distance. Iki complained to be put down, but Ram refused to put him down. Then Iki started to sing thus: “Afefelegelege, diviner of the earth. Efufulele, diviner of heaven. Kukuteku, diviner of the underground. Ram is taking me to Olofin for sacrifice, I did not know he had the intention of killing me. In response to this song, Afefelegelege and Efufulele came, blew, and rescued Iki from the bowl. Ram continued his journey towards Olofin’s house with the hope to fulfill his promise quite unaware of what had happened.

On his arrival he was offered help to put down his load outside in front of the house, he refused to do this but to take the load right through to the backyard where the bowl was put down and opened and to Ram’s surprise Iki was not in the bowl. Olofin was so enraged at Ram’s deception that he took him in place of Iki whom Ram promised for the sacrifice and killed him. Ever since, Ram has been the animal used in any sacrifice connected with the worship of Egungun. 

Ram (Agbo) Sacrificial Animal For Sango

“Thunder does not crash during the harmattan; Lighting does not flash secretly; Male and Female partridges do not have upright combs on their heads” (Okanran Meji)

Cast Ifa for black Ereje, mother of Ram, she who gave birth to Elephant and Buffalo, and whose third child was Ram. These three children planted Okra, and the God of Thunder came from the sky to steal it; when their mother saw that Okra was being stolen, she said she did not know what was picking it. Elephant began to watch the field, and one day the God of Thunder came back to pick Okra; when he saw Elephant, he roared at him, and Elephant fled into the forest. Buffalo also went to watch the farm; when the God of Thunder saw Buffalo, he roared at him, and he, too, fled into the forest. When it came Ram’s turn, he took She-goat along with him because she was his servant; and when the God of Thunder was coming, he brought Dog along.

When the God of Thunder reached the Farm and saw Ram, he roared at him, but Ram roared back; and when he began stabbing Ram with his knife, Ram began butting him. When they had been fighting a while, the God of Thunder’s knife broke, and Ram’s horn broke also. The God of Thunder sent Dog to bring him another knife, but when Dog reached the road, he found a bone and lay down to eat it. Ram likewise sent She-goat to bring him another horn; and when humans held out yam rinds to her, She-goat replied, “Today is no day for rinds, ‘bekeke bekekerike.’” So, She-goat brought another horn to Ram; and when Ram had fastened the horn to his head, he chased the God of Thunder away. Since that time, the God of Thunder has remained in the sky, and when thunder crashes and lightning flashes, Ram paws the ground with his feet, saying. “Our fight is not yet finished.” 

This verse explains why the God of Thunder lives in the sky and explains the behavior of Rams during thunderstorms. It differs somewhat from the explanation sometimes offered that the sound of thunder is caused by the God of Thunder’s Ram pawing the ground in the heavens. Rams are the main sacrificial animals for the God of Thunder, Okra is another of his favorite foods, and Dogs, though not used as sacrifices, are sacred to him.

NOTABLE CITIES IN YORUBALAND & THEIR FOUNDERS

(1) Ile-Ife was founded by Obatala

(2)  Owo was founded by Ojugbelu.

(3) Oshogbo was founded by Queen Oso-Igbo

(4) Akure was founded by Omoremi Omoluabi

(5) Ondo was founded by Queen Pupupu

(6) Iwo was founded by prince Ogbaigbai.

(7) Oyo was founded by prince Oranmiyan

(8) Igede Ekiti was founded by Ake

(9) Abeokuta was founded by Shodeke 

(10) Ilesha was founded by Owalushe Ajaka. 

(11) Esie was founded by prince Baragbon

(12) Ijero Ekiti was founded by Prince Ogbe

(13) Sango-Otta was founded by Osolo and Eleidi Atalabi 

(14) Igbesa was founded by Akeredun

(15) Iperu was founded by Akesan

(16) Ikire was founded by Akinere 

(17) Ado Ekiti was founded by Awamaro

(18) Esa-Oke was founded by Omiran Adebolu.

(19) Ilorin was founded by Ojo Isekuse

(20) Ikorodu was founded by Oga.

(21) Ijebu-Ode founded by Olode 

(22)  Iree (Osun) was founded by three brothers: Larooye, Arolu and Oyekun.

(23) Ila-Orangun was founded by Fagbamila Ajagun-nla.

(24) Ikere-Ekiti was founded by Aladeshelu 

(25) Ikole Ekiti was founded by Akinsale

(26) Ede was founded by Timi 

Agbale.

(27) Omu-Aran was founded by prince Olomu-Aperan

(28)  Ode-Remo was founded by two hunters: Arapetu and Liworu.

(29) Ikirun was founded by Akinorun

(30) Saki was founded by Ogun

(31) Eruwa was founded by Obaseeku

(32)  Iraye was founded by Odudu-Orunku

(33) Ogbomosho was founded by Ogunlola 

(34) Offa was founded by Olalomi Olofa-gangan

(35) Inisa was founded by prince Ooku Eesun 

(36) Ido Ani was founded by Oba Ozolua

(37)  Ejigbo (Osun) was founded by Akinjole Ogiyan (Ogiriniyan)

(38) Okuku was founded by Oladile 

(39) Efon Alaye-Ekiti was founded by Iji-Emigun

(40) Ijebu was founded by Obanta 

(41) Isara-Remo was founded by prince Adeyemo

(42) Odeogbolu was founded by Eleshi Ekun Ogoji 

(43) Ise-Ekiti was founded by Akinluaduse (Akinluse)

(44) Isara-Remo was founded by prince Adeyemo 

(45) Itele-Ijebu was founded by Ojigi Amoyegeso

(46) Ijebu-Jesha was founded by Oba Agigiri Egboroganlada

(47) Ibokun (Ilemure) was founded by Obokun

(48) Ikoro-Ekiti(Eso -Obe) was founded by two hunters: Olushe and Olugona.

(49) Ilara Mokin was founded by Obalufon Modulua Olutipin. 

(50) Igbara Oke was founded by Olowa Arajaka

(51)Epe was founded by Hu-Raka

(52) Malete (Iseyin) was founded by Adenle Atologuntele

(53) Igbo-Ifa(Kishi) was founded by Kilisi Yeruma 

(54) Ijebu-Igbo was created by Ademakin Orimolusi.

(55) Ilobu was founded by Laarosin

(56) Gbongan was founded by Akinfenwa

(57) Ire-Ekiti was founded by Ogun

(58) Iwoye (Ayedun) was founded by Atabata.

(59) Igbajo was founded by prince Akeran

(60) Imesi-Ile was founded by Odunmorun and Eye.

(61) Orile-Owu was founded by Pawu.

(62)Otun-Ekiti was founded by Oore 

(63) Igbo Asako( Igbo-Ora) was founded by Obe Alade.

(64) Idanre was founded by Olofin, a younger brother to Ododuwa. He came to Ufe after the demise of his senior brother.

(65)  Iresi was founded by Ifadumila Olatimirin from Latale's compound in Ile-Ife. He was a friend to Ebekun from Abewela's compound in Ile-Ife. He was the maternal grandfather of Adebuba (Iresi acclaimed first king in the present Aworo Ebekun's compound). His house which happened to be the first house in Iresi is situated in the present Saloro's compound. Till date any dead king in Iresi is buried in his backyard. His descendants are called The ALANAS. 

Culled from: Late Chief  Farinde Owolabi Ajeigbe Joseph. Late Saloro of Iresi Town

Historical Antecedent Of Alageere Of Ago-are In Oyo State

Historical records shows that ODUNTAN is the progenitor of Alageere Chieftaincy Family. He hailed from Offa town in the present day Kwara State. He was a Prince of Olofa Royal Family and contested for the Olofa Royal stool, his unsuccessful bid to ascend the throne of Olofa consequently trigged his movement out of Offa town to westward after consulting IFA (Oracle) who ordered him to migrate out of Offa with his Family and settle at Sunset where one great bird called "AGBIGBO" makes Sound.

He contested with Bamgbola-Aremu (8th Olofa) of Anilelerin ruling house in 1786. When he was leaving Offa, he did not leave his powerful juju Staff called AGANRAN behind.

On his way to the place, Prince ODUNTAN was first settled at Oyo Ile by "Alaafin Aoole", he and his people were given a warm reception during their brief stay at AGBODEFUN compound.

Prince ODUNTAN, the custodian of Traditional staff "AGANRAN" was finally settled on the order of Alaafin of Oyo at the ILUKU HILL with the help of his powerful Traditional staff (AGANRAN is his indicator of Direction to go), he was the first to settle at ILUKU HILL.

At ILUKU HILL, he was surrounded by many settlement and communities such as the Agbonsiko (The present Gbojaye and Komu), the Gbaagba(The present Okaka Town), the Ito and the Obatala(Sando).

ODUNTAN got the wind of the belligerence of the Sokoto and Dahomey invaders, in order to ensure the safety and protection of his people, he fortified his domain with juju thread aided by his powerful juju called AGANRAN, hence the invaders could not reach his place of abode, ILUKU HILL. During the middle of the invasion of the area, Several settlements and communities [i.e Agbonsiko, Gbaagba, Obatala (Sando) and Ito] fled and sought refuge, under the Ageere People at ILUKU hill who warmly received and accommodated them, and they all co-existed and regarded him as their head and landlord.

After the fall of Iluku hill, the descendants of Alageere Oduntan (The first Alageere), some of them settled at Ofiki and others settled at Ago Opopo(the present Ago-Are). [No wonder Ago Are and Ofiki share the same historical records] for the sake of emphasis,the present Ago Are was originally called and knows as Ago-Opopo and composed of three distinct separate and autonomous quarters, These are (I) Ageere under the leadership of Alageere (ii) Sando under the leadership of Aare Sando (III) Ito under the leadership of Baale Ito.

However, it was during the reign of Aare Lakanla (Sando) that brought a new historical twist to the nomenclature of the town, Ago- Opopo thereafter became Ago-Are. Aare Lakanla's Mother was a daughter of Alapiini Oyo family, a member of the powerful oyomesi, the traditional cabinet of Oyo Empire. Aare Lakanla used the connection of his maternal uncle the Alapiini to warm himself to the embrace of the Alaafin. He sought and got the Alaafin to rename Ago-Opopo as Ago-Are.

A Wise Cat Who Thinks About Tomorrow Will Not Kill A Pregnant Rat (Odu "Obara" Erindilogun)

Ogun kills the creditor, river drowns the debt collector. Sonpona kills the enemy. Sleeping becomes sleeping. I will sleep as I like, I will wake as I like." Cast for Civet Cat (Eta) who was among enemies.

!! There was Civet Cat, he was serving Viper (Oka), Leopard (Ekun), Hyena (Ikoko) as their pawn. What should he do so that he could be free from his creditors?

Ebo: Ibori Civet Cat should have foods, and drinks and sacrifice to his head, and he should invite those he knew. He sacrificed to his head.

((He did not belong to a club; he did not have a single friend except Leopard, Hyena, and Viper. There were these three, and he invited them. They said, "All right there will be beer." They ate and drank. Hyena said, "let us know each other's Taboos, as we are friends, so that we may not fight." Leopard said, "What is your Taboo?" Hyena said, "Of all the things that I hate in this world, there is none worse than a person should look at my anus." Leopard said, "Mine is simple, don't throw dust on me." Viper said, "People may cover me with dirt, people may look at me, but my rule is that people should not touch me with anything."

Hyena was the first to get up, he said he was going out to urinate. When leopard was looking at him, he said, "So this is what a person's anus looks like." Hyena looked back once, twice; on the third time he saw how Leopard was looking at him. He went behind Leopard and threw dust on him. Leopard jumped up and they began to fight. When they were fighting, they stepped-on Viper, Viper bit Hyena, and he bit Leopard, and both of them died. Civet Cat sat looking at them. After a while Civet Cat heard a hunter coming; he slipped away.

When the hunter arrived there, he found Leopard's and Hyena's bodies. When he looked down, he saw Viper, and he killed him. So it happened that if Civet Cat sleeps, no one can waken him anymore, except when he gets hungry. This is why Cats can sleep more than all other animals; and he has a settled heart; his mind is at ease, and his sleep indescribable.

“In a day, when you don’t come across any problems – you can be sure that you are travelling in a wrong path. A sacrifice for rest should be offered. Have peace of mind.”

𝐌𝐚𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐯𝐬 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐝𝐨𝐦 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐨𝐛𝐚 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧 𝐠𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐬 (𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐭𝐬𝐞𝐤𝐢𝐫𝐢’𝐬 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝)

Well it started around the reign of Olu ijijen after the death of first Olu Ginuwa one of his son Ijijen went to Ode itsekiri where he was welcomed in during his walking into the capital he saw faces frowning and he asked what the problem is the people said they can’t be paying taxes to two masters and they can’t have two kings Olu ijijen said “take me to this man whom they call master” when he got to Olagues house he said “I am Olu ijijen ruler of Iwere I have come to let you know the people of this region are now under my rule and so all taxes being paid to you as of this moment has stopped”.

Olague didn’t say anything or reply his word he went inside his house in his quarters in ode itsekiri when the Olu was going back Olague warriors shot an arrow against the king which scratched his shoulders Olu ijijen was prepared for something like that he took his few men and took down the Olague warriors but unfortunately Olague escaped the capital and ran away. The itsekiri’s were happy and said Olague has been a tyrant forcing them to pay taxes the itsekiri’s being happy gave the Olu the title Ogbowuru.

But Olu ijijen injuries from the fight never healed he died years later without an heir because of his condition from the fight his brother Olu Irame took over as Olu of Warri during one of his coronation anniversary he heard of the Olague’s having a kingdom that is expanding and giving troubles to the itsekiri’s in benin river, Olu Irame Wanted Revenge and also that the oba of Benin is tired of them.

The Mahins and Benin kingdom had a disagreement about power balance, that made the mahins to attack the benin kingdom communities close to the river banks. but they also attacked itsekiri communities also close to the river banks. Those communities were under the kingdom of warri at the time (if they knew that some of the communities they attacked were itsekiri’s but they didn’t not know).

The oba of Benin planned a land invasion, the Olu of Warri being angry at the attack on his river communities also his hatred for Olague he sent message to the oba, Olu Irame told the messengers to tell his cousin the oba of benin that he should prepare for war against the mahins that he will gather his forces both their strength will crush Olague…..

the war would have been won by the mahins because the oba could not have been successful as the mahins have naval forces something the benins doesn’t have their navy plans to use the large army out of benin kingdom to attack benin from the back through the river that would force the oba to retreat and would put the oba in the middle of the war getting attacks from front and back but the mahins navy was destroyed by the Warri Fleets “warri kingdom navy’s that was said to be the most powerful with 30,000 men and 70,000 war canoes at the time after Bonny kingdom navy” (Jean-François Landolphe).

The Warriors of Warri took control of the sea and invaded through the shores that gave opportunity to the oba after he heard his cousin is attacking from the river this put the mahin warriors in the middle of the battlefield most of them scattered and their citizens were displaced and ran away.

When the Olu pushed more into the battlefield and saw the oba of Benin bathing with the blood of the citizens and warriors of mahins he didn’t like what he saw, so he stretched his left hands to the sky and uses his right hand to point to the boats at the sea shores the warriors of Warri fighting stops immediately seeing the beads of their king pointing to the sky and the sea shores meaning to leave the battlefield immediately the warri kingdom forces pulled away from the war and went back to the itsekiri communities that was attacked and there after left to warri kingdom capital (ode itsekiri).

The Oba of Benin having learned his cousin left like that was angry he lost a lot of man power the Olu of Warri later sent Some loot he got from the war to the Oba of Benin as so he doesn’t misunderstands his retreat from the war.

Olague had already escaped to what is now known as Lagos, the Olu wasn’t interested in chasing him further but he sent the oba of Benin 3000 fleets which paddled the oba to what is known today as Eko they were welcomed by the Aworis who were already aware of their coming the Aworis told them in other to catch Olague they need to station themselves in two entry points of the area.

The Aworis gave The oba a place where he stationed himself at Eko the itsekiri’s military  were given a place where they camped at Epe and also where they found ijebu speaking people the Aworis joined in the search for Olague then came back to tell the itsekiri warriors that Olague was already dead they sent word to warri about what they were told but the Olu of Warri told them even if Olague is dead he wants his head so the soldiers remained in Epe.

The oba of Benin went back without the itsekiri escorts in a rush after he heard there was a coup attempt back in benin to dethrone him but he was attacked by the mahins/ilaje where he was drowned and killed his son Ehengbuda was crowned new Oba who wanted to take revenge against the mahins/ilaje but failed in doing so and also died.

By Lord Of Warri

HISTORY

L-R: Ulli Beier, Demola Williams, Wole Soyinka, Peter Badejo (standing directly in front of Soyinka) at the opening of an art exhibition at the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), 1967.

Barely a month after, Wole Soyinka, the most recognizable presence here, would be picked up by the Nigerian Gestapo. He would spend twenty-two months in prison, held in solitary confinement, for his views on the Nigerian civil war. Just under two decades later, in 1986, he would be the recipient of the Nobel Prize for Literature, the first African writer to win it.

The legendary Ulli Beier, who arrived in Nigeria from Germany in the late 1940s fresh from the bloodied turmoil of the Second World War. He leaves a lasting, indelible mark on Nigerian arts and literature.

Peter Badejo, one of the artists whose paintings were on display at the exhibition. Sir Peter is today a world-renowned choreographer, based in London and Osogbo, knighted by the Queen for his services to British Dance.

Demola Williams (the young fashionista with the dangling belt) was 27 at the time, he is now 75 years old, an emeritus professor in the Textile Art Department at the University of Benin.

History Of Akinjole Ogiriniyan The Founder Of Ejigbo Land

Ejigbo is a major Yoruba town in Osun State of Nigeria. It is about 40 kilometres (25 mins) to Oshogbo, the capital of Osun State.

According to oral history, Ejigbo is an ancient settlement. It was founded by Akinjole Ogiyan (abbreviation of "Ogiriniyan"), right after the old Oyo. Ogiyan has a rich pedigree, as a descendant of Oduduwa and the ruling family of Ile-Ife. Together with his brothers, particularly the Akire, the founder of Ikire-Ile, left Ile life with Oranyan ( Oranmiyan ) – the founder of old Oyo, to establish their own town.

The fact that the Ogiyan is from Ile-Ife, is confirmed by "Ejigbo Mekun" the name of a market in Ile-Ife. Akinjole settled many other villages spread around Yorubaland. He was the paramount ruler and prescribed authority over many if not all of them.

The following towns and villages, among others, were under him: Ika, Igbon, Olosinmo, Ologede, Inisa, Aato, Ijimoba, Afake, Ilawo, Inisa Edoro, Isundunrin, Olla, Ado Ori-Oke, Ayegunle, Idigba, Ibogunde, Songbe, Olorin, Osuntedo and Iwata.

Around 1835, Ejigbo came under Ibadan, when the Ibadan army moved to protect Osogbo from Ilorin invaders. In fact, detachments from Ejigbo assisted the Ibadan army in the Osogbo, Ijaye, Jalumi, Off, and Kiriji wars between 1840 and 1866. Ajayi Ogboriefon , Balogun and leader of the Ibadan army in the Jalumi war circa 1860 and 1878 was native of Ejigbo from the Akala compound. His mother, Alagbabi, was the daughter of an Ogiyan of Ejigbo. In 1934, when the then government returned to the terms of the 1893 Treaty, which recognized Ibadan's independence and gazettes of the Baale and Divisional Council of Ibadan as an Independent Native Authority, five district obas , including the Ogiyan, were made members of the divisional Council.

The Ogiyan and council were also gazetted as subordinated to Native Authority under Ibadan for Ejigbo District Council. Although changes were made enlarging the membership of the Council between 1937 and 1938, the five districts Obas that included the Ogiyan retained their membership of the said Divisional Native Authority.

Ejigbo people

Travelling

Ejigbo indigenes are well traveled. They have long history of international emigration, predominantly Ivory Coast and have created border-less ECOWAS . [3] Out of about a million and two hundred thousand Nigerians residing in Côte d'Ivoire since the 1900s till present, indigenes of the Ejigbo local government area made up of more than 50% of that population. This has been drastically affecting the population of Ejigbo township, Nigeria, due to continuous migration of her people to some neighbouring West African countries, notably:

Benin Republic, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, Niger Republic, and Togo. The international exposure of Ejigbo people is evident in Ejigbo township. [4]

Wherever Ejigbo people are found, they live a communal lifestyle. This is done in order to maintain the unity and cordial relationship they enjoy before travelling out of the country. They are believed to be so established and organized in each big city and town in which they find themselves. For example, in Côte d'Ivoire, the Ejigbo people have a community leader they refer to as "Oba" of that area, such as 'Oba Bouake', 'Oba Abobo', 'Oba Dabou', 'Oba Grand Bassam', 'Oba Treichville' (etc.), while the 'Oba' who resides in Adjame, suburb of Abidjan, is called the " Oba Abidjan ". He is regarded as the paramount Ejigbo community leader of Côte d'Ivoire. These ‘Oba’ performs an intermediary role between the government and his subjects. He is deemed to be the custodian of the migrants who fall within their jurisdiction. The 'Obas' also help new migrant, once they could speak a native language, to process the Ivorian permanent residence permit (card identete). All those so-designated Ejigbo community leaders are all recognized back at home by HRM, the Ogiyan of Ejigbo.

Languages

Apart from Ejigbo peoples' mother tongue ( Yoruba language ) and Nigeria's official language (English), some of the other foreign languages spoken today in Ejigbo include: French (second to Yoruba), Dioula (Mali), Eve (Togo), and Asante (Ghana). In Ejigbo today, along the street, few people have been speaking English. They speak and transact in French instead, because they are part and parcel of the Francophone world. The Ejigbo people are found in both West African and European Francophone cities.

THE CURSE ON THE IGBOS!!

"Now you can kill your Prime Minister and the Igbos will NEVER rule Nigeria". Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa (1966).

"They arrested him, abducted him and took him to a number of places in Lagos before finally taking him to the bush. Once there they tortured him, beat him and humiliated him. They even forced him to drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes - things that he had never done before in his life because he was a good muslim.

When they finished having their way with him and having their fun, he gently asked them for permission to pray which they mockingly granted. After he finished praying he said "Igbos, Igbos, Igbos" (3 times) and then he made the following pronouncements on them, in very strong terms. He said: "the Igbos would never rule Nigeria, they would be scattered, they would be hated, they would suffer tragedy after tragedy and they would suffer scorn and disdain from their compatriots forever"

After that The Prime Minister, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, courageously raised his head and looked straight in the eyes of the Igbo mutineers and said: ..."now you can kill your Prime Minister. "

It was under these unfortunate circumstances that Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Nigeria's first Prime Minister, died in the hands of a group of very ruthless Igbo Army mutineers led by Major Emmanuel Ifeajuna and Captain Okafor in Lagos on the night of Jan 15th 1966 ". 

- (John B. Macintosh).

HOW & WHAT MADE OYO EMPIRE COLLAPSE?

Shortly after Oyo Empire expanded her influence westwards, capturing Port Novo and making Dahomey (present-day Benin Republic) a vassal state pay tributes of 40 guns and 400 loads of cowries and corals regularly to Oyo, of course after phases of wars that made Oyo army a dread to the Dahomeyans, Alaafin(Emperor) Labisi appointed a new Bashorun (Prime Minister).

To check the Alaafin from becoming too dictatorial, the Prime Minister according to the constitution could pass a vote of no confidence that would turn the Oyo Mesi (Legislators) against the Alaafin and an empty calabash would be handed to the emperor signaling that he was required commit suicide and pave way for a new Alaafin since the Oyo Mesi had lost confidence in his rule.

The Basorun was a high priest controlling all the cults except Sango and Ifa, so this could make him declare that the ancestors and Heavens had lost confidence in an Alaafin. Prior to the appointment of Ga, the unwritten constitution of the empire had been amended from the more ancient style that the Aremo (heir apparent) ruled after an Alaafin passed on.

The new constitution demanded that the heir apparent died with the Alaafin so as to pass on succession without disputes and in a way make the monarchical system a sort of republic. This made Bashorun Ga more powerful. Ga became despotic and power drunk and from the slightest accusation that an Alaafin or his Prince disrespected the Oyo Mesi to the accusation that an Alaafin was assuming airs of superiority, Bashorun Ga raised five Alaafins to the throne and successively destroyed four of them.

He and his family ruled despotically for twenty years, almost as if they were the Alaafins. By the reign of the fifth emperor, Alaafin Abiodun, the people were fed up of Ga’s dictatorship. On an appointed day, with the support of Aare-Ona Kakanfo(Military Commander of Oyo army) Oyabi, the Alaafin and the people broke the jinx of Ga’s powerful magic and rounded up all his family (except Ojo, Ga’s first son) and were seized and killed, Ga himself was burnt to death in his house.

Abiodun’s reign then went on peacefully and lasted from 1774 to 1789, his was a golden reign. However, the center was no longer holding the seams of the Empire together after 20 years of internal imbalance triggered by taking advantage of the lawless years, Egba province under the warrior, Lishabi, had proclaimed their independence and migrated towards their present location in Abeokuta.

The Egbas had been aggrieved by the oppression of the resident Ilaris (governors) in their three provinces within the empire and the absence of any authority to hold them in check. When authority was installed by Abiodun, he sent a punitive expedition against the Egbas, but the rocky hills of Abeokuta made the Oyo cavalry failed woefully in subjecting the Egbas. This triggered a domino effect of provinces declaring their independence from Oyo. Even Dahomey had the effrontery to assault Ketu, a westernmost Yoruba district, without fear of the Oyo imperial army. As far as Ewe (in today’s Togo), Oyo began to wane.

But within the city, Abiodun restated law and order but his reign came to an end with his death in 1789 and a new Alaafin was crowned, Alaafin Awole who reigned between 1789 to 1796). Alaafin Awole did not help matters he could have consolidated Abiodun’s effort to keep the empire together, but he did not. Under Awole, Afonja was the Aare-Ona Kakanfo (Military Commander), though the two of them had vied for the throne.

It was a taboo in Oyo constitution for the Alaafin and Aare to live in the same city, so while the emperor resided in the capital, the Aare must reside elsewhere, especially a town where enemy threat is imminent. Afonja was also from a royal family but he was slave-born and it was probable this that played against his becoming emperor, though some

chiefs of the Oyo Mesi sympathized with him. Afonja’s great-grandfather had been the founder of Ilorin.

Alaafin Awole began to lose the Oyo Mesi’s confidence when he firstly requested Afonja to attack Apomu as part Ofa yearly military exercise the Alaafin must order the Oyo army to revive its strength, but Awole’s omission was that Apomu was an Ile Ife town and it is contrary to the “Coronation Oath” of the Alaafins who all received their Royal swords from Ife and sworn never to raise sword against Ife. Secondly, Awole again ordered Afonja to attack Iwere town, which was a fortified fortress impregnable to Oyo army’s weapons of swords and arrows.

It was a calculated attempt by Awole to get rid of Aare Afonja since the Are must kill himself if he ever failed to win any battle (this had also been the secret of the Oyo army’s strength in its heydays, asthe Are must fight to be killed or fight to win resulting, making his army fight to the finish without option of retreat).

Afonja sensed this and rather than launch a battle he would not win he refused on the pretext that the town, Iwere, was the maternal home of Alaafin Ajagbo. Ajagbo was Alaafin in 1587 to 1624 and had created the Are Ona Kakanfo, Bashorun, Agbakin and Asipa titles, which were military titled except Bashorun and Asipa which were administrative. The third reason that Oyo Mesi lost confidence in Awole was trying to introduce Islam into Yorubaland.

Yorubas generally distrusted Islam in the polity and it is unacceptable according to the constitution for the Alaafin to accept the religion because of its male dominance and autocratic nature of the emirs. Note that women make up part of the Oyo Mesi (Legislators) and there were powerful women like Efunsetan Aniwura who had their say in the

polity for Oyo was not totally a male dominated society. Besides, the Alaafin was not allowed to wield total power like the emirs did in the north.

Soon the Oyo Mesi sent the empty calabash to Awole and he had to commit suicide. Awole was not missed for his reign further declined the empire and left the bullying ilaris unchecked in their districts.The center no longer held and even the next Alaafin’s reign were so short as people became disillusioned and in want of effective leadership. Adebo ruled for 130 days, Maku was next and was there for only two months thereafter an inter-regnum lasted in the capital from 1797 to 1803.

Afonja’s influence thus began to grow. Afonja tried to become emperor, but some chiefs opposed this. Thus in 1817, he declared Ilorin also independent just as other provinces were also doing. Afonja had a Fulani adviser, Mallam Alimi, and he encouraged dan Fodio jihadists warriors to support Afonja.

Meanwhile, Fulani/Hausas were popularly used in Yorubaland as cheap labors and servants, they were so popular that looking down the nose upon the northerners continued well into post-colonial years in Nigeria. So with the call to arms, Hausa/Fulani laborers in the Oyo underground economy swelled the ranks by fleeing to Ilorin. Ojo, the only surviving son of Ga, along with the Onikoyi of Ikoyi, which was then the largest provincial town of Oyo hence marched against Ilorin.

The Ikoyi’s were the royal battalion of the imperial army and were also known as Ikoyi-Eso (Guards Battalion). When the war began and Hausa/Fulani ex-laborers roamed the country pillaging and selling their former Yoruba aristocratic masters as slaves to white slave buyers (as happened to Ajayi Crowther and his mother who were sold to Portuguese when their village was sacked by the Muslims later in 1821: read earlier post of Eshu and Christian Devil on this blog), Afonja became displeased with this.

And since he was still suspected of being loyal to Yoruba than Islam, Alimi had Afonja killed and his son, AbdulSalami took Ilorin throne as emir, giving allegiance to the Sokoto caliphate. Thus Ilorin became a part of the Sokoto caliphate. There was no central authority anymore in Oyo and a lot of the provinces kept breaking away and the disunity did not give a common cause to the Yorubas to fight and retake Ilorin.

Some Yorubas by this time living in Ilorin had also accepted Islam and thus while Ilorin swelled with a platform for its warriors to fight on in one cause, there was no single cause the Yorubas stood for a united fight. The center no longer held and things badly fallen apart. There was no more cavalry for the Oyo army since horses were before bought from northern trade routes which were now closed because of the war against Fulani/Hausa.

The Oyo capital city was not destroyed by war, but it was rather emptied by the people who migrated to safer places like Ilorin, Kabba (present day Kogi state in Nigeria), and the forested south. Oyo city was so big with seventeen gates that it was not possible for the Fulani/Ilorin army to siege or take it. A new Oyo city was now found further south in Ago-Oja and a new Alaafin, Atiba, was crowned. But by this time, the Alaafin was struggling to maintain a dignity that was lost. Yoruba was now no more an empire but more like the Greek city states of Athens, Sparta, Macedonia e.t.c. Yoruba city states of Owu, Egba, Ijebu, Ondo and Ijesha begun to emerge, with even facial marks emphasizing their differences, no more paying allegiance to a central authority.

Civil wars became rampant, famine spread like wildfire and slave hunting, slavery before this time was totally alien to the Yorubas since Oyo did not allow any Yorubas to be traded as slave. The slave coasts were now overcrowded with Yoruba slaves as Hausa/Fulani armies and slave-hunting warlords fed their armies with the new system of economic trade that coincided with the collapse of Old Oyo that was closer to the River Niger.

A new war brewed when Ijebu (whose reputation as businessmen is known even till today) and Ife also began to sell refugees from old Oyo as slaves. These are the Modakeke, who retraced their way back to Ife where the founder of Old Oyo had come from originally. Owu and these refugees therefore attacked Ife in reprisal, the sacred city. This turned Ijebu and Ife against Owu.

The Ijebus were the first to employ the use of guns in any battle and thus completely destroyed Owu town. Owu people fled to Egba for refuge. Ijebu went further to even attack the Egbas for harboring the Owu people. Note that Egba used to be where present-day Ibadan was located. But they were scattered villages and settlements. The Owu warriors and other warriors from other destroyed or sacked provinces migrating southwards found a settlement in Eleiyele, thus beginning what today is known as Ibadan.

The new city attracted other warriors who wanted to restore the old glory and because of its position in the rainforest area, Ibadan began to control palm oil belt which was just beginning to replace the trade in human beings. It subsequently grew into the largest city in West Africa. With the arrival of warriors from all over Yoruba country turning Ibadan into a military settlement. The issue of who was what ensued and the Oyo drove out the bullying Ife along with the Egba people. Egba then settled in what is now Abeokuta with the Owu people, while Ife found no love lost with the Oyo people, especially those in Ife, the Modakeke. Note that Ibadan too also became a largely Oyo city.

But still determined to totally expand the Sokoto caliphate downwards by totally conquering the dying embers of the Yoruba influence, the Hausa/Fulani/Yoruba Muslim cavalry in Ilorin relaunched another phase of war as they saw New Oyo and Ibadan rising.

Ibadan knew it could no longer control cavalry which used to be a force to reckon with in the Oyo army (Yoruba kings and chiefs still ride horses in celebration today as remnant of the horse tradition prior to these wars) but with the Sokoto caliphate in the north, Ibadan could no longer get horse supplies.Although, Ijebu first used the guns, but Ibadan, through insistent drills, perfected the use of guns in such remarkable ways.

Oyos were seasoned warriors and thus Ibadan infantry marched out to meet the jihadists who were pillaging villages and towns with impunity from Ilorin southwards. Finally, a decisive battle was fought in Oshogbo in 1839, led by the dreaded new Are Ona Kakanfo, Balogun Latoisha.

The Ibadan infantry were good marksmen and they plucked the jihadist riders off their horses in such a way that many lives were lost on the side of the Muslim invaders and the casualty toll was so high that they fled back up north, ending the prolonged Fulani/Oyo wars and the incursion of the jihadists in a very decisive victory.

Thus Ibadan emerged as the superpower of the Yoruba states. Although, ibadan tried to restore the old glory of Oyo by being the military wing of the New Oyo government, the city states wanted to assert their independence from the Alafina and this led to another protracted war, the 16-Year Yoruba Civil War that saw Ilorin, Egba, Ijebu, Ekiti, Ijesha and Ife fighting Ibadan and Modakeke. For 16 years Ibadan remained unbeaten until the British and Anglican missionaries called for a peace treaty. It was no surprise then that after independence in Nigeria, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, an Ijebu statesman, made Ibadan the capital seat of the Western region which is in the Yoruba region within Nigeria.

THE HISTORY AND MYSTERY OF BILIKISU SUNGBO SHRINE IN IJEBU ODE, OGUN STATE, SOUTH WEST NIGERIA 🇳🇬

The burial place of the legendary and biblical Queen of Sheba, locally known among Yoruba people as Bilikisu Sungbo, has turned a place of worship and tourism in Nigeria. Millions of people visit annually from different parts of the world to share the mystery surrounding Bilikisu Sungbo grave-turned-shrine located in Oke-Eri, Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State, Nigeria.

The historical queen, Bilikisu Sungbo, was said to have traveled all the way from Ethiopia down to Ijebu-Ode where she died and was buried. The natives of Ijebu-Ode hold strong and popular claims about the identity of the controversial Bilikisu Sungbo. They claimed that she was the Queen of Sheba mentioned in the bible to have visited the wise king Solomon at height of his powers. They also claimed that Bilikisu Sungbo was the Quranic Queen Baliqs of Ethopia (from which the name Bilikisu was derived) who visited king Sulaiman. Another source has it that Bilikisu Sungbo was a wealthy woman and the leader of a group of women potters who traveled to far away places. Also, she was believed to possess supernatural powers with which she dug ditches around villages in Ijebu-Ode.

The tradition of the Ijebu people forbid women and dogs to visit the spot where Bilikisu Sungbo was buried. At the shrine, there is a small open ground with no grass growing on it. This place is said to be the place where the ancient queen was washed before being buried, and because of her supernatural powers, no plant or grass can ever grow on the spot.

In 1995, Bilikisu Sungbo’s shrine was added to the cultural category of UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Bilikisu Sungbo ‘grave-shrine’ will forever remain a pride of Ijebu-Ode people.

HISTORY

Prof Adebayo Adedeji, an Ijebu Ode-born economist and diplomat, was born on December 21, 1930. He was the founder and pioneer Chairman of the National Youth Service Commission (NYSC).

In the early 1970s, as Nigeria’s Federal Commissioner for Economic Development and Reconstruction, he took a leading part in the negotiations that brought the establishment of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Then, as Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) from 1975 through 1993, he actively promoted the creation of other regional groupings, including the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA), which subsequently became the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA).

He was Director of the African Centre for Development and Strategic Studies, a think-tank based in Ijebu Ode, Nigeria. He was also the founding Executive Director of the African Centre for Development and Strategic Studies (ACDESS).

Adedeji was involved in community issues in Ijebu-Ode and became the Asiwaju of Ijebuland. He was also the chief adviser of the Ijebu Ode monarch, Oba Sikiru Adetona.

He was a senior colleague before he went to join General Yakubu Gowon’s cabinet and later on joined the United Nations. He served Nigeria in several capacities as a scholar, teacher, minister and international civil servant. We must not forget that he was also appointed by the Murtala Muhammed regime to chair a panel to prepare a report and review Nigeria’s foreign policy. So his talent was used considerably, ”.

"His roles in ECOWAS, as well as the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) which later became the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), were demonstrations of his zeal for the advancement of Africa.

"He also did not relent in his determination to ensure the growth of his home town, Ijebu Ode, through his remarkable contributions as the Director of the African Centre for Development and Strategic Studies, a think-tank NGO based in the community".

Prof Adebayo Adedeji died on Wednesday, April 25, 2018 in Lagos after a protracted illness. He was aged 87.

Rest In Peace...

Awon Agba = Mothers - Ancestors - Deities (Osa Meji)

Osa Meji re-creates the mythic origin of the Gelede Masquerade. Greetings were their secret among the Ijesa Ifa told Orunmila when he was going to the grove of the Eleiye (Witches), He must put on a Mask, a head-wrap and leg rattles. He obeyed, he put them on, he arrived at the grove of the Witches, and he was safe. He rejoiced in dancing and singing- "I have covenanted with Death; I will never die. Death, Death no more, I have covenanted with sickness, I will never die. Death, Death no more."

Orunmila, the Deity associated with Ifa, put on a Mask (Aworan), head-wrap (Oja), and leg rattles (Iku)- the three essential elements found in all Gelede costuming.

The regalia protect him from the negative propensities of the destructive Mothers, for as one elderly priestess reputed to be extremely knowledgeable about such matter’s states: ". . . these Masks are an Ancestral rite that the Ancients did in the past which they called Eso. They must not do it in an uncovered way. They must not dance nakedly to allow people to see their eyes". The regalia also provide pageantry which appeals to their positive dimension.

Masks and other visual forms associated with these cults contain imagery evocative of Male supremacy and vengeance. Gelede imagery, in contrast, exemplifies another approach to the Mothers.

Yewa Jobi - Yemoja could not have children and consulted an Ifa oracle, who advised her to offer sacrifices and to dance with wooden images on her head and metal anklets on her feet. After performing this ritual, she became pregnant. Her first child was a boy, nicknamed "Efe"- Humorist; the Efe Mask emphasizes song and jests because of the personality of its namesake. Yewa Jobi - Yemoja second child was a girl, nicknamed "Gelede" - Obese like her Mother Gelede loved dancing.

After getting married themselves, neither Gelede nor Efe's partner could have children. The Ifa oracle suggested they try the same ritual that had worked for their Mother. No sooner than Efe and Gelede performed these rituals- dancing with wooden images on their heads and metal anklets on their feet- they started having children. These rituals developed into the Gelede masked dance and was perpetuated by the descendants of Efe and Gelede.

Gelede pays homage to the Spiritual Powers of Women, especially Elderly Women known affectionately as "Our Mothers," Awon Iya Wa. The powers possessed by such Women, comparable to those of the Gods, Spirits, or Ancestors, may be used for the benefit or the destruction of society.  When manifesting their destructive dimension such Elderly Women are termed Aje - Witches.  If angered, they can bring down individuals and entire communities.

The Gelede’s costume includes big Breasts reflecting Motherhood. Interestingly, however, the wearers of the Gelede Masks with the big Breasts and big Buttocks are always Men. The explanation given for this was that since the performance is in honor of Women, it will be inappropriate for Women to wear the Masks as that may be interpreted to mean that the Women are the ones honoring themselves.

The pot-Breasted Mother with much hair on her private part the owner of a Vagina that suffocates like dry yam in the throat. The eulogy suggests the two most important parts in the process of becoming a Mother – the Breasts and the Vagina. The heavy Breast is assumed to contain an inexhaustible flow of milk for her children. Because Yemoja is also referred to as the generous and the dangerous Mother, the suffocating Vagina may be the source of the power of life and death.

!!! EAGLE (AWODI) Leadership Principles !!! Oya & Sango (Otura Osa)

Too much Kindness is repaid with Wickedness (Ore po a fi ka san) Cast for Awodi (Eagle) when he was going to Ikaru to divine. Awodi should offer sacrifice so that he would be able to return from the place to which he was going, and they would not repay his Kindness with Wickedness.

Ebo: Pigeon, Cock, Stone, Sacrifice to Oya and Sango.

He appeased the Gods. Awodi the diviner cast for the chief of Ikaru who was weeping tears for all blessings. The chief's life was troubled and unhappy. Awodi was a son of Sango and Oya. They told the chief of Ikaru "this person (Awodi) who said people would bear children and they're bearing them, and who said their sicknesses would be cured and they are cured, so he will say, "you will die someday." They said, "take a bell and say that we should each cut a load of wood, and that each should bring a bottle of palm oil, we know what to do.  They brought 140 loads of wood and 140 bottles of palm oil. They said "this Stone, he should take it out when we have lit the Fire.

When he dives into the Fire, that is how we will kill him." The chief of Ikaru said "all right, you, Awodi, there is something, a custom of our house.  Anyone who didn't do it, they killed him. The medicine, someone will take it out and I don't know how they took it out." Awodi said, "I will take it out." They made the Fire and put the Stone of potsherds. They said that Awodi should take it out for them when the time came. Awodi call on Oya. A wind was blowing, and smoke was rising. Awodi dove into the smoke and came out on the other side. Sango took the Stone, he put it in front of the chief of Ikaru. "Do you see the Stone, that Awodi sacrificed the other day, and the Stone is on Awodi’s head today." 

O Ni: Ewu Ina Ki Pa Awodi - Awodi Oku Ewu - Ewu Ina E…A Eye De Oku Ewu

((The Danger of Fire does not kill Awodi. Awodi, greeting on Danger. Orisha will not let people harm us.))

The Eagle (Awodi) does not fight the Snake on the ground. It picks it up into the sky and changes the battle ground, and then it releases the Snake into the sky. The Snake has no stamina, no power, and no balance in the air. It is useless, weak, and vulnerable unlike on the ground where it is powerful wise and deadly.

Take your fight into the spiritual realm by praying and when you are in the spiritual realm God takes over your battles. Do not fight the enemy in his comfort zone, change the battle grounds like the Eagle (Awodi) and let God take charge through your earnest prayer and worship! You will be assured of clean victory.

Eagles fly Alone and at High Altitudes: They don't fly with sparrows, ravens, or other small birds. Stay away from narrow-minded people, those that bring you down. Eagle flies with Eagles! Keep good company.

Eagles have an Accurate Vision: They have the ability to focus on something as far as 5km away. No matter the obstacles, the eagle will not move his focus from the prey until he grabs it. Have a vision and remain focused no matter what the obstacles and you will succeed.

Eagles do not Eat Dead things: They Feed only on Fresh Prey. Do not rely on your past success, keep looking for new frontiers to conquer. Leave your past where it belongs, in the past.

Eagles Love the Storm: When clouds gather, the eagle gets excited, the eagle uses the storms wind to lift itself higher. Once it finds the wind of the storm, the eagle uses the raging storm to lift itself above the clouds. This gives the eagle an opportunity to glide and rest its wings. In the meantime, all the other birds hide in the branches and leaves of the tree. Face your challenges head on knowing that these will make you emerge stronger and better than you were. We can use the storms of life to rise to greater heights. Achievers are not afraid to rise to greater heights. Achievers are not afraid of challenges, rather they relish them and use them profitably.

Eagles Prepare for Training: They remove the feathers and soft grass in the nest so that the young ones get uncomfortable in preparation for flying and eventually flies/ when it becomes unbearable to stay in the nest. Leave your Comfort Zone, there is No Growth there.

When the Eagle Grows Old: His feathers becomes weak and cannot take him as fast and as high as it should. This makes him weak and could make him die. So, he retires to a place far away in the mountains. While there, he plucks out the weak feathers on his body and breaks its beaks and claws against the rocks until he is completely bare, a very bloody and painful process. Then he stays in this hiding place until he has grown new feathers, new beaks, and claws and then he comes out flying higher than before. We occasionally need to shed off old habit no matter how difficult, things that burden us or add no value to our lives need be let go of... 

!!! "Idaasa" The Language of Cowrie-Shells... (Ose-Otura)

Cowrie-Shells Divination refers to several distinct forms of divination using Cowrie-Shells that are part of the rituals and religious beliefs of certain religions. Though best-documented in West Africa as well as in Afro-American religions, such as Santeria, Candomblé, and Umbanda Cowrie-Shell Divination has also been recorded in other regions, notably East Africa and India etc.

In representing Orisha (16 Cowries) with the choice between two alternatives, a small Vertebra (bone) is often used to symbolize bad, and a pair of Cowries tied back-to-back to symbolize good. Any two objects can be used, but the bone is associated with death while cowries were formerly used as money. It is for this reason that the alternatives are spoken of as Ibo, meaning "covered" or "concealed." Five kinds of good fortune (Ire - wellbeing) and five kinds of bad fortune (Ibi - misfortune) that are to be met in the world.

Good Fortune:  Longevity - Wealth -  Marriage - Children - Victory

Bad Fortune: Death- Illness - Fight - Lack of money - Loss

The art of divination can only be satisfied, if and when all relevant questions are dealt with seeking appropriate answers. No one divination system is capable of giving the total and complete answer and each divination system has its peculiar specialty. For example, the Obi (Kolanut) that is a compulsory accompanist of most sacrifice and ritual serves its purpose properly when during and after the preparation of the sacrifice, it is constantly being asked to indicate if the procedure being followed is proper, and later, to check if the sacrifice is completed and where the sacrifice has to be taken to in order for the Deity-Orisa to accept it.

The position of the Erindilogun is total, but not all comprehensive. Its main attribute lies in its ability to respond very accurately to the larger questions and to satisfy the purpose of putting light where darkness clouds the way. No divination is complete without following the process or meeting the obligation that the Odu of Ifa impose to satisfy the efficacy of the divination, which is the sacrifice that is stipulated for most of the divination.

Sacrifices (Ebo) are standard for most of the divination. Cases might arise that this sacrifice might neither be necessary nor adequate. It is the diviner who has the last judgment when it comes to that.

OSUN'S DIVINATION SYSTEM  (Ose-Otura)

Osun is the only daughter of Yemoja. Yemoja was not granted a child for the many years of her life. So, she went to seek the assistance of the Orisha who demanded sacrifice from her and told her to fill the house with water after the sacrifice. Soon she became pregnant. Just when it was clear for her to bring forth her child, the rain started to pour down for many days only to stop on the morning that she gave birth to her child, Yemoja took the child to the back of the house to bath her in the pond. But to everyone's surprise the water of the pond started to move and then started to flow, and they all shouted O-sun, -it moved, O-sun-you moved it. It was this power of the gods that was inherent in Oshun from her birth that made Orunmila to direct the Awo-Merin to initiate Oshun as one of them so that all the hindrance that is holding them back could be overcome. The Awo-Merin are the diviner of the world.

Osun later became Orunmila wife. Orunmila the master diviner also known as Ifa was always going from his home on very long trips in the course of his job. There came a time when famine attacked the land when Orunmila was away. The rivers were drying up, the greens were no more, the animals and the birds were dying of thirst and the Humans found life too uncomfortable. Everyone was calling at the home of Orunmila to find out what had to be done, only to meet his absence. In the end most thought it fit to sit and wait for Orunmila return, and so Orunmila home was jammed and almost filled to capacity.

It was under this desperation that Osun found her way to the back of the house and picked sixteen of the cowries which were then being used as money paid to Orunmila. Oshun consecrated the cowries and then cast them in the name of Ifa. For the birds who were the first to come, Osun directed them towards the east where she told them that they will find the rains and the green. For the animals that came after the birds, she also directed them to the east. So, the animals went in pursuit of the birds. When the Human heard the rush, they came to be cast, Oshun pointed towards the east and directed them there.

No sooner than the human left Orunmila house the master came. He asked for the reason for all the commotion and mass movements. He was informed about Osun divination for the birds, the animals, and the humans. "What direction did they go?" Orunmila asked, "to the East" Oshun said, "call them back" Orunmila directed, "or else the land will be left with nothing after they all kill each other off. 

The order is essential in determining the orientation of the Odu

1. *Eji-Onile  (8) cowries   2. *Ofun (10) cowries  3. *Irosun (4) cowries   4. *Eta-Ogunda (3) cowries   5. *Eji-Oko (2) cowries   6. *Okanran (1) cowrie   7. *Ejila-Sebora (12) cowries   8. *Owonrin (11) cowries   9. *Osa (9) cowries   10. *Odi (7) cowries   11. *Obara (6) cowries   12. *Ose (5) cowries   

***13. *Ika (13) cowries   14. *Oturupon (14) cowries    15.  *Ofun-Kanran (15) cowries     16.  *Irete = Alafia (16) cowries  *Opira (0) cowrie

Odus for your divination and it is the combination of three (3) casting of the Erindilogun that will be able to give you correct answers to inquiries." (Ose-Otura)

The Diviner: While the majority of the diviners of the Erindilogun are Women, the consecration of the Erindilogun is only done by Babalawo, because of the process which involves Odu-Ifa. Also, the process of preparation before casting the Erindilogun is only open to the diviner after Osun has granted her permission, which is sought in conjunction with any other Orisha that the diviner might be giving attention or using his home.

The Erindilogun can only be cast from dawn to just little after dusk because it is believed that after sunset Osun leaves the Erindilogun for her husband's home and will not return until the early hours of the following morning.

Orisa-Osun color is white and so Dilogun diviners customarily are dressed in white apparels, while a white piece of cloth is spread on the ground upon which the casting is done or sometimes the Erindilogun is cast in a plate, a raffia tray placed upon the white piece of cloth. While the average diviner would wish to display his or her versatility in eloquently reciting the numerous verses of the Odu as they appear on the tray, the healer is preoccupied with resolving problems and getting curses.

The healer as the active end of the process is the one saddled with the responsibility of validating the divination, but also choosing the ways and manner in which the problems identified are remedied. It is he who not only prescribe the remedy but also states the process through which remedy will become effective. If the remedy involve a sacrifice, it is the Healer who will also do whatever the sacrifice entails on behalf of the client.

The Erindilogun is an Orisha (Osun) and so it is also worshiped like all other Orisha. Most diviners would worship their Dilogun on the eighth day. When the Erindilogun is being worshiped, it is placed on the white piece of cloth and showered with cool water. A five carpel Kola nut is placed on her. The diviner then state his request and chant her Oriki. Then he bends forward and touches the Erindilogun with his forehead, thanks the Orisa for granting his request. 

The Cowrie-Shell (Yoruba) = For the Dilogun the type of Cowrie-Shell known as the Owo-Ero, (peace money) is what is consecrated before it could be used. The Owo-Ero has a broken back while the front tooth like portion must be very complete in form. The Owo-Ero is also usually smaller in size, than the average Cowrie-Shell.

The Cowrie-Shell called Owo-Eyo is usually not as strong as the Owo-Ero that is used for divination. Selection of the Owo-Ero to be used for divination, is usually limited to the middle aged and young Owo-Ero because of the belief that the young Owo-Ero is relatively innocent and will speak the truth more often than the older one.

The Erindilogun also communicates with her diviner sometime through dreams and on some occasions through trances in visionary forms. The Erindilogun is usually referred to as the Orisha by her diviners and clients alike.   

ERINDINLOGUN DIVINATION

Idaasa Erindinlogun Divination System is one of the oldest and most important oracles among the traditional families in Yoruba land. In the Yoruba society, Idaasa Erindinlogun Divination System used by the traditional families’, who trace back to their origin to the primordial times. It is one of the most distinctive and indigenous practices for daily orientation of the families and well fare of the community. Idaasa Erindinlogun divination System is a primordial counting and philosophical divination system, a social practice, containing rich oral knowledge. 

This Ancient divination system is seen as a bridge to connect the material life to the spiritual realm and a vehicle to communicate to the Ancestral world and it is strongly practiced among the traditional Orisa families in Yoruba land and in the Diaspora.