Ero- festival in Ipele,Ondo stateTaiwo Abiodun reports activities of Oketa Ugbama in prepartion for the Ero-festival[Age grade]
Men and women between the ages of 40 and 50 years were all in attendance while the males wore immaculate white native knickers and native trousers with abeti aja caps to match , and were half naked, leaving their tummy and chest open for the people to have a glance and to judge who is well fed, healthy and strong among them .The females were not left out as they too wore their immaculate white native iro and buba .
They thrilled their visitors and admirers as they sang and giggled their waists as they rendered the soul searching and thought –provoking songs that sent message across that they had joined another rank higher than where they were before. In a nutshell they had been promoted from their strung of the ladder to another ladder called Oketa Ugbama or Ogwo and now matured enough to contribute their own quota to the development of the town, Ipele in Owo , Ondo state.
They in high spirits sang Ma wewu ma wewu ene ne bewu re .Ma wewu ma wewu ene ne bewu re[literally meaning don’t put on your clothes , don’t wear clothes ].About twelve of the men who led the crowd held palm frond- woven shields called Asa which were decorated with feathers .They all wore thick sandals made from motor tyres and with confidence and pageantry marched three times round the town displaying their bodies to everybody to see how broad chest, healthy, well fed and strong they are. Now with their healthy condition they can face war at this age and with their .Before this time they had prepared themselves for the D Day ; they would have being well fed and robust in order to be healthy and be are now manly enough to man the town and rescue it from being attacked or besieged by slave traders or enemies as it was done in the olden days
Rahman Abubakar a senior lecturer at Rufus Giwa Polytechnic described the occasion as one of the greatest in Ondo state, he said ‘’we treat this occasion like ‘exhibition’ time to show our bodies , protruding stomachs ,who is strong and who is weak , and who are healthy ,that was how our forefathers used to do when preparing for war in those days , they must look healthy no wonder medi.’’
This is the time a strange man of an average height called Eku Erinmi came out in his own costume .He was half -clad while his body was painted with native black and white chalk .Armed with a spear and his leather bag like a hunter strapped on his shoulder ,Eku Erinmi ‘s cap which was made of leopard’s skin and has a long tail long tail dangling on his shoulders as he walked along . Like a warrior he held his spear while the metals on his legs were clanging and making unusual noises as he briskly walked out in a frenzy and in a dreadful way that those who are not familiar with him would run away, yet he is loved by all as he displayed with dexterity his warfare skill ; running up and down , restless like a floated leaf on the river or like a bird perched on the rope .Not minding his nature the youth followed him about in ecstasy chanting some war songs and singing his praises.
‘’The Eku Erinmi prays for the town and for the unity and long life of the people living in the community. He goes into people’s houses and prays for them, if he carries any sick child on his palm and prays for her the baby becomes sound and well’’said Alabi Ojo, one of the celebrants .
High Chief said Eku Erinmi is like father Christmas , any time you see father Christmas then you will know that Christmas is coming , while another says he looks like a masquerade another man told The Nation.
All these are in preparation of the Ero .festival held every seven years. It heralds the coming of the age grade festival called Ero. According to his His Royal Majesty the Olupele of Ipele, Oba Abel Olaleye Alade describes the occasion as a festive period when the natives home and abroad come home to attend and contribute to the development of the town.
His words ‘’ this is a festive period , we celebrate and rejoice together for attaining certain ages. It is like celebrating birthdays , many will cut cake , prepare food and serve drinks to visitors. It is another way of thanking God for protecting our lives .Many even go to church and mosque to offer prayers .It shows how we love ourselves and each person will also prove how they are loved and compete with the number of their people and well wishers .It is like Christmas when all will come home to spend good time with their kinsmen as they would from far and near’’.
According to the age grade system , seven years’ time those who belonged to Ogwo will graduate to Omindami stage and from here to Ugbama and then to the last stage which is Olori Ugbama , here when one attains the Olori Ugbama he stopped serving the town and the royal father for this last stage is a resting stage, as they now become elders of the town.s.
Bayo Ogundowole, one of the participants of the Ogwo said the Ogwo group is a preparation to the Ero festival and it is their own preparation for the Ero festival of which their group would partake in 21years time when they would clock between 60 and 70years.He stated the categories, ‘’after this we would graduate from here in seven years time to Omindami , then another seven years to Ugbama and another seven years they will graduate and elevated to Olori Ugbama and this is 21years time when they will then observe their opwn Ero festival. , here we will retire from active service of the king and the town , this is our resting period.
Going further , Balogun Olupitan and Gabriel Ola Orisadipe who are High chiefs in the town described Ipele as a historical town founded over 500years ago., they said the town was once called Apo Ole , [meaning the thieves pouch]
Until they changed it to Upele which is native pronunciation and later called Ipele due to civilization. According to the duo , the name Apo Ole was given to the town because thieves or robbers from Benin used to steal from the town then , ‘’they used to come there to steal tubers of yam, farm products among othe things.
Another mystery about the town is that it has never been conquered by any town and it is a town that had never experienced war in all the Yoruba land and Benin Kingdom .’’In the olden days when other towns or kingdoms were experiencing warfare and turbulence Ipele had never witnessed one , it is forbidden .in fact when slave trading was thriving no any slave merchant dare to enter the town to either capture slaves or bring in any, whoever brought in slaves were always seized and set free. This is where the roles of the youths called Ogwo comes in. The youths in the olden days dug trenches round the town and these were where their enemies fall in and captured and eventually taken away as slaves.
Again this was corroborated by other chiefs that that is where the dreaded Eku Erinmi, who wears leopard skin cap and painted his body with native chalks comes in, ‘’this Eku Erinmi would then take his spear and some of the youths holding palm fronds- woven shields[Asa]would follow him to terrify the and instil fear in their enemies in case of invasion by enemies but notwithstanding they [enemies] would have fallen into the trenches and captured .
Chief Ibidapo Awobaikun[68] who will be participating in the Ero group said , he graduated from the Ogwo 21 years ago and will be celebrating with his group, Ero which is the group of elders falls in between 60 and 75years next week ,’’ it is like resting after a day’s job. I have toiled and laboured when in those three categories that is after the Ogwo, our group which will be celebrating next week had graduated from Amindami, Egbe Bolomidamin and now Egbe Ugbama [ the final stage ] spending seven years in each group, and will now celebrate Ero ,which is 21years of serving my king and town’’
Asked the roles the Ero Group be playing now, the man responded’’ now we belong to the town’s elders group and we don’t have the physical strength we used to have before but now we have gone spiritual and we are called agbeboyorun[the ritual carriers to heaven]. By the time we joined the Ero group next week we would be in charge of the town by offering necessary sacrifices and rituals , appeasing the gods, and to make sure there are no pestilences and diseases in the land .We have fought the physical war 21years ago and now ready to fight spiritual warfare at this stage , it is now our duty to safeguard and protect the town from invaders .
Apart from the festival the town is noted for one thing ; they are forbidden to plant melon [ egunsi]seeds and must not go into the farmland where they are planted but can take it as delicacy for soup but whoever plants the melon seeds will commit suicide by hanging himself , it happened many years ago, Chief Awobaikun declared.
Architect Akintunde Imolehin ,who is the Ipele Development Summit Chairman and coordinator praised the youths for turning up in large number and from all over the world and said’’ today is a history- making day in Ipele, we began a concrete journey into self discovery , re awakening of our body and soul to face challenges threatening our heritage .Today , we choose to break the yoke of self –imposed solitude , self –destruct, denial, depression , mediocrity and failure .This day , we declare ;never again will our cherished town play second fiddle, we are free born , and we are indeed first among equals .We shall by God’s grace witness next week Ero festival ‘’,while the thunderous of amen , shook the venue to its foundation.
..
Men and women between the ages of 40 and 50 years were all in attendance while the males wore immaculate white native knickers and native trousers with abeti aja caps to match , and were half naked, leaving their tummy and chest open for the people to have a glance and to judge who is well fed, healthy and strong among them .The females were not left out as they too wore their immaculate white native iro and buba .
They thrilled their visitors and admirers as they sang and giggled their waists as they rendered the soul searching and thought –provoking songs that sent message across that they had joined another rank higher than where they were before. In a nutshell they had been promoted from their strung of the ladder to another ladder called Oketa Ugbama or Ogwo and now matured enough to contribute their own quota to the development of the town, Ipele in Owo , Ondo state.
They in high spirits sang Ma wewu ma wewu ene ne bewu re .Ma wewu ma wewu ene ne bewu re[literally meaning don’t put on your clothes , don’t wear clothes ].About twelve of the men who led the crowd held palm frond- woven shields called Asa which were decorated with feathers .They all wore thick sandals made from motor tyres and with confidence and pageantry marched three times round the town displaying their bodies to everybody to see how broad chest, healthy, well fed and strong they are. Now with their healthy condition they can face war at this age and with their .Before this time they had prepared themselves for the D Day ; they would have being well fed and robust in order to be healthy and be are now manly enough to man the town and rescue it from being attacked or besieged by slave traders or enemies as it was done in the olden days
Rahman Abubakar a senior lecturer at Rufus Giwa Polytechnic described the occasion as one of the greatest in Ondo state, he said ‘’we treat this occasion like ‘exhibition’ time to show our bodies , protruding stomachs ,who is strong and who is weak , and who are healthy ,that was how our forefathers used to do when preparing for war in those days , they must look healthy no wonder medi.’’
This is the time a strange man of an average height called Eku Erinmi came out in his own costume .He was half -clad while his body was painted with native black and white chalk .Armed with a spear and his leather bag like a hunter strapped on his shoulder ,Eku Erinmi ‘s cap which was made of leopard’s skin and has a long tail long tail dangling on his shoulders as he walked along . Like a warrior he held his spear while the metals on his legs were clanging and making unusual noises as he briskly walked out in a frenzy and in a dreadful way that those who are not familiar with him would run away, yet he is loved by all as he displayed with dexterity his warfare skill ; running up and down , restless like a floated leaf on the river or like a bird perched on the rope .Not minding his nature the youth followed him about in ecstasy chanting some war songs and singing his praises.
‘’The Eku Erinmi prays for the town and for the unity and long life of the people living in the community. He goes into people’s houses and prays for them, if he carries any sick child on his palm and prays for her the baby becomes sound and well’’said Alabi Ojo, one of the celebrants .
High Chief said Eku Erinmi is like father Christmas , any time you see father Christmas then you will know that Christmas is coming , while another says he looks like a masquerade another man told The Nation.
All these are in preparation of the Ero .festival held every seven years. It heralds the coming of the age grade festival called Ero. According to his His Royal Majesty the Olupele of Ipele, Oba Abel Olaleye Alade describes the occasion as a festive period when the natives home and abroad come home to attend and contribute to the development of the town.
His words ‘’ this is a festive period , we celebrate and rejoice together for attaining certain ages. It is like celebrating birthdays , many will cut cake , prepare food and serve drinks to visitors. It is another way of thanking God for protecting our lives .Many even go to church and mosque to offer prayers .It shows how we love ourselves and each person will also prove how they are loved and compete with the number of their people and well wishers .It is like Christmas when all will come home to spend good time with their kinsmen as they would from far and near’’.
According to the age grade system , seven years’ time those who belonged to Ogwo will graduate to Omindami stage and from here to Ugbama and then to the last stage which is Olori Ugbama , here when one attains the Olori Ugbama he stopped serving the town and the royal father for this last stage is a resting stage, as they now become elders of the town.s.
Bayo Ogundowole, one of the participants of the Ogwo said the Ogwo group is a preparation to the Ero festival and it is their own preparation for the Ero festival of which their group would partake in 21years time when they would clock between 60 and 70years.He stated the categories, ‘’after this we would graduate from here in seven years time to Omindami , then another seven years to Ugbama and another seven years they will graduate and elevated to Olori Ugbama and this is 21years time when they will then observe their opwn Ero festival. , here we will retire from active service of the king and the town , this is our resting period.
Going further , Balogun Olupitan and Gabriel Ola Orisadipe who are High chiefs in the town described Ipele as a historical town founded over 500years ago., they said the town was once called Apo Ole , [meaning the thieves pouch]
Until they changed it to Upele which is native pronunciation and later called Ipele due to civilization. According to the duo , the name Apo Ole was given to the town because thieves or robbers from Benin used to steal from the town then , ‘’they used to come there to steal tubers of yam, farm products among othe things.
Another mystery about the town is that it has never been conquered by any town and it is a town that had never experienced war in all the Yoruba land and Benin Kingdom .’’In the olden days when other towns or kingdoms were experiencing warfare and turbulence Ipele had never witnessed one , it is forbidden .in fact when slave trading was thriving no any slave merchant dare to enter the town to either capture slaves or bring in any, whoever brought in slaves were always seized and set free. This is where the roles of the youths called Ogwo comes in. The youths in the olden days dug trenches round the town and these were where their enemies fall in and captured and eventually taken away as slaves.
Again this was corroborated by other chiefs that that is where the dreaded Eku Erinmi, who wears leopard skin cap and painted his body with native chalks comes in, ‘’this Eku Erinmi would then take his spear and some of the youths holding palm fronds- woven shields[Asa]would follow him to terrify the and instil fear in their enemies in case of invasion by enemies but notwithstanding they [enemies] would have fallen into the trenches and captured .
Chief Ibidapo Awobaikun[68] who will be participating in the Ero group said , he graduated from the Ogwo 21 years ago and will be celebrating with his group, Ero which is the group of elders falls in between 60 and 75years next week ,’’ it is like resting after a day’s job. I have toiled and laboured when in those three categories that is after the Ogwo, our group which will be celebrating next week had graduated from Amindami, Egbe Bolomidamin and now Egbe Ugbama [ the final stage ] spending seven years in each group, and will now celebrate Ero ,which is 21years of serving my king and town’’
Asked the roles the Ero Group be playing now, the man responded’’ now we belong to the town’s elders group and we don’t have the physical strength we used to have before but now we have gone spiritual and we are called agbeboyorun[the ritual carriers to heaven]. By the time we joined the Ero group next week we would be in charge of the town by offering necessary sacrifices and rituals , appeasing the gods, and to make sure there are no pestilences and diseases in the land .We have fought the physical war 21years ago and now ready to fight spiritual warfare at this stage , it is now our duty to safeguard and protect the town from invaders .
Apart from the festival the town is noted for one thing ; they are forbidden to plant melon [ egunsi]seeds and must not go into the farmland where they are planted but can take it as delicacy for soup but whoever plants the melon seeds will commit suicide by hanging himself , it happened many years ago, Chief Awobaikun declared.
Architect Akintunde Imolehin ,who is the Ipele Development Summit Chairman and coordinator praised the youths for turning up in large number and from all over the world and said’’ today is a history- making day in Ipele, we began a concrete journey into self discovery , re awakening of our body and soul to face challenges threatening our heritage .Today , we choose to break the yoke of self –imposed solitude , self –destruct, denial, depression , mediocrity and failure .This day , we declare ;never again will our cherished town play second fiddle, we are free born , and we are indeed first among equals .We shall by God’s grace witness next week Ero festival ‘’,while the thunderous of amen , shook the venue to its foundation.
..
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