|
The Igogo festival is a Yoruba festival held in Owo, Nigeria. It is held annually in September to honor Queen Oronsen, a mythical wife of Rerengejen, a legendary King of the ancient Owo Kingdom. It is a colorful festival in which the incumbent Olowo of Owo and high chiefs of Owo Kingdom dress like women with brass ornaments, coral beads and plaited hair. They celebrate and pay homage to Queen Oronsen at "Ugbo Laja" and "Ugbo Oluwa" in appreciation of her protection. During the festival, Olowo dress reflects that of Oronsen's wealth and legend;. The festival often lasts for seventeen days, during which nobody is allowed to wear a cap in the case of men; and head ties in the case of women. The beating of drums is also usually forbidden and instead metal gongs are used. ==History== The Igogo festival began in 1601 AD, during the reign of Olowo Rerengejen, following the departure of Oronsen, a beautiful and affluent queen who was the most beloved wife of Rerengejen, a powerful king and hunter. Rerengejen met Oronsen in a forest while hunting and asked for her hand in marriage. This beautiful queen agreed to marry the king provided certain terms and conditions were met. Rerengejen, enchanted by her beauty, promised to adhere strictly to her rules. Queen Oronsen insisted on certain taboos, things she must not see people do in her presence, either accidentally or intentionally. She insisted that nobody should grind Okra in her presence or pour water into the yard. In addition, anyone arriving from the farm must not lump a load of firewood. The taboo is a negation of the common domestic activities in the palace. King Rerengejen promised that none of these rules would be violated and the Queen agreed to marry him. King Rerengejen cautioned the other wives not to carry out any of these activities and this warning provided a clue of her taboos. Although, Oronsen has married many powerful Kings who probably do not fulfill similar promises after a trial. Queen Oronsen has the mystical power to produce quality beads which enhanced King Rerengeje's riches and affluence. This led to the King placing a higher value on her than the senior wives, who were all jealous of the adoration and love shown by Rerengejen. One day, Queen Oronsen had a minor rift with the other senior wives of the King. They conspired against her with the intention of violating her taboo while Rerengejen was not in the palace. The confrontation resulted in an immediate vacating of the palace. While she was running out of the palace, some palace guards and chiefs ran after her to bring her back, an effort that was futile. She later felt tired and waited at a place called "Ugbo Laja" where she was persuaded to return to the palace. Her refusal frustrated the guards into forcefully capturing her but she disappeared into "Igbo Oluwa", now a sacred forest, leaving her head ties (oja) at "Ugbo Laja" which the guards returned to King Rerengejen. "Ugbo Laja" is now a sacred grove. Queen Orosen's terra cotta sculptured image from "Igbo Oluwa" by Ekpo Eyo stood at a distance to inform the Owo people that nothing will bring her back to the palace but that annually they should always sacrifice two hundred items of different articles, such as dried fish, kolanut, Aligator pepper, bitter cola and many more for ritual (Igogo) and in return she promised to protect the Kingdom. The people of Owo, led by King Rerengeje promised to follow her instructions. This marked the birth of the "Igogo festival". The drama behind Queen Oronsen's departure from the palace and the sacrifice at the sacred grove, "Ugbo Laja" are the basis of the ''Igogo festival''. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Igogo festival」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|