Ojude Oba: Inside Nigeria’s Grand Festival Of Culture, Horses And Heritage

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[00:00:02][bell] [singing] [singing] >> The seeds of Ijebu Ode was planted in the 19th century.

[00:00:37]Islam had begun to flourish in Ijebu Ode by the 1800s.

[00:00:43]And it was in 1896 under Awujale Fidipote to worship that the new Muslim converts in the town were granted the right to openly celebrate Eid al-Kabir and pay homage at the palace.

[00:01:03]>> It was some 200 years ago when Islam formally made an inroads into Ijebu land. Of course, there will be some skepticism. There will be some uh apprehension because Islam met the traditional religions and Christianity.

[00:01:23]So, it became something that people were trying to were curious about the new religion. Of course, before then there had been some sprinkles of people who had traveled to Mali. Of course, you if you read history, you will have noted that the Saharan trade route in Timbuktu, the Kanem-Bornu Empire and much later the Sokoto Caliphate.

[00:01:54]So, some of our people who had business dealings with her.

[00:01:59]These people all of them decided to take Islam as a religion.

[00:02:04]And of course, it was for the people to weigh their preferences out of the three groups.

[00:02:14]The reigning monarch then saw what was happening in his domain within his empire.

[00:02:25]And he quickly admonishes people not to embark on anything whatsoever that will bring rancor, acrimony.

[00:02:40]Rather, he counsels his people to let those who are professing the new religion to be.

[00:02:57]This was some 200 years ago.

[00:03:05]>> From a simple homage, a legacy took root.

[00:03:10]It was Awujale Ademuwewo Fidipote II who widened the embrace, encouraging Muslim converts and traditionalists alike to gather.

[00:03:20]But it was Oba Daniel Adesanya Belewu II ruling from 1917 to 1959 who strengthened the Regberegbe, the age grade societies that now shape Ijebu Ode pageantry.

[00:03:51]>> To appreciate the reigning monarch, the society two days after Eid al-Adha Eid al-Adha to pay him homage.

[00:04:04]The homage they paid at that time was known as Sallah Dubar the forecourt of the king.

[00:04:18]yard You know, in the palace of course there'll be space outside.

[00:04:27]You see the building.

[00:04:29]So, the monarch will come out just like a what you have a a room when the pope will come out to greet his brethren.

[00:04:46]So, that was it. The the king will come out with his horse tail and acknowledge the greetings of the Muslims.

[00:04:58]So, that was the beginning of Sallah Dubar.

[00:05:01]So, as time went by this tradition grew.

[00:05:12]It was growing. It was growing. It was growing.

[00:05:16]In fact some 40 years ago when the regalia was introduced to we part of a the festival.

[00:05:32]It widened the scope.

[00:05:35]It widened the acceptability.

[00:05:42]It widened the love the friendship to the extent that it has now become a tourist attraction.

[00:05:59]>> We have something in Ijebu called age groups, which is a three-year span thing where people who go to Kabiyesi and he gives them a name of their age group.

[00:06:10]For instance, my age group is Bobagbimo.

[00:06:13]And there are other Bobayor and so on.

[00:06:16]So, um Kabiyesi then also introduced the fact that they should also come and pay homage and courtesies to him.

[00:06:27]And they have really gone overboard because they now come in the most beautiful dresses, most beautiful attires, the kind of things that uh will just make you proud to be an Ijebu person and a Nigerian.

[00:06:42]So, that's been added to it.

[00:06:45]And it's also The other thing that's happened also is that at the beginning it was a Muslim thing, but now is for all the Ijebus of all religions.

[00:07:01]>> Some 20 years ago, we discovered that the four court of the palace was inadequate to accommodate the parade of Regberegbe, the Balogun, and the Iyalaje.

[00:07:26]So, Kabiyesi approached the government to release the old PWD, that's the people uh People's Works Department of the colonial era.

[00:07:48]After a while, the government decided to release to seat the building to Awujale.

[00:08:00]And through communal efforts, we were able to build what is now named Oba S. K. Adetona Golden Jubilee Centre.

[00:08:17]>> When Ijebu Ode went to war, they went on horseback.

[00:08:21]When peace came, the horses stayed, [laughter] not for battle, but for display.

[00:08:34]The parade of the warrior families is no empty show. It is a salute to bloodlines.

[00:08:45]>> The Ojude Oba was started by Balogun Kuku.

[00:08:49]>> [snorts] >> And it was an extension of the fact that he had helped to convert most of the most Ijebus to Islam.

[00:09:00]And uh to be able to pay homage to the Kabiyeesi, he established this Ijude Oba, which is a third day after Ileya.

[00:09:14]And that's significant because the homage for the year used to be performed during a pagan um ceremony.

[00:09:27]And since he had converted to Islam, and most Ijebus had converted to Islam, it was easy for him to switch them into this Islamic trend.

[00:09:37]So, that was how it started and that started maybe 140 or 150 years ago.

[00:09:44]And it's been going on since then. It's getting bigger and bigger.

[00:09:48]And one constant thing was that Balogun uh the Balogun Kokumo family has appeared in every one of them.

[00:10:04]When we were very young, we looked forward to it with we would go with our parents, uh horse riding and everybody is dancing and it was fun.

[00:10:15]And then, of course, they kill the rams and everybody eats and then, you know, children we enjoy all that.

[00:10:22]Now, and then, of course, they we they buy clothes for you, new clothes and so, uh that is still there.

[00:10:33]But, we are now looking at a a carnival kind of thing.

[00:10:39]Uh it is it's been modernized to look more like what will interest the younger people without losing the traditional Balogun values.

[00:10:50]And that's what we hope will happen. And then, uh a lot of people are now participating who thought that the Eid el-Kabir was just for the Muslims or for uh the uh working class. No, no, when people like us start riding, you know, started riding, and now, uh you everybody wants to ride. Uh uh Chief uh Oba, everybody who really wants to ride, the professors, everybody is part of it now. Before, they used to look at it as a a show that all only all the uh elites will sit down and watch. But the elites themselves are now participating.

[00:11:38]And that is what we want it to be.

[00:11:41]And everybody will will let their hair down and everybody's wearing t-shirts and So, it's beautiful.

[00:11:48]I I used to ride horses.

[00:11:53]Then I brought in an innovation which is a horse-drawn carriage.

[00:11:58]Yeah.

[00:11:59]And uh at this point in time now as a Balogun of Oyoja I really uh I don't ride either the horse or the because I have to sit with Kabiyesi to to welcome the visitors.

[00:12:14]And I'm itching. You know, it's like if you're a footballer and you're a striker and you are now seated as a chairman of what association and you're watching, you want to go and kick, man.

[00:12:26]So, that that I'm missing a bit.

[00:12:29]But uh the family is there to do what they have to do.

[00:12:32]And we thank God for it.

[00:12:34]>> Thank you, sir. How many years do we have?

[00:12:36]>> On my behalf, last year I didn't ride. And you know, every they have this competition every year, you know. I've been winning it for I don't know how many years in a row, maybe 10 non-stop. So, everybody thought the Kukoyi family will not win last year. And they won again and I was so worried so upset that so I'm not I'm I'm so I I I'm I can't be replaced like I just like that.

[00:13:01]So, that just shows you that there is nobody who's dispensable.

[00:13:05]Before people thought it was me that was making them win and making them win the turban. But I I didn't ride last year. They still won hands down.

[00:13:14]So, let nobody be so pig-headed to think that they are so important that they cannot lose.

[00:13:20]Everybody is replaceable.

[00:13:22]>> The Regberegbe, the eight grades keep the festival alive. They are the hidden government beneath the crowd.

[00:13:30]Each group binding a generation to duty, honor, and memory.

[00:13:43]>> The Ojude Oba used to be uh uh for few people who will ride the horse, but now some family have over 100 horses.

[00:14:01]And uh everybody will wear the same uh Ankara.

[00:14:11]Big or small.

[00:14:18]>> The homage begins long before the drums call.

[00:14:22]In the days before Ojude Oba, kitchens fill with laughter and smoke.

[00:14:28]Rams are slaughtered.

[00:14:32]Robes are ironed. Beads are strung, and tailors work late into the night.

[00:14:53]And then, as dusk falls, the city pulse quickens. The Ojude Oba concert, a new tradition for a timeless festival, lights up Ijebu Ode.

[00:15:06]Young and old gather, not just to dance, but to remember that day when day breaks, the palace awaits.

[00:15:17]For one night, tradition and tomorrow stand side by side.

[00:15:24]One big drum leading to another.

[00:15:34]Through colonial rule, independence, civil strife, and modern politics, Ojude Oba never fell silent. Today, new generations honor the old promise.

[00:16:01]From Fidipote to Awujale's bold welcome in 1896 to Awujale Sikiru Kayode Adetona's enduring reign today, the longest in Ijebu history [music] since 1960, the forecourt stands open, ready to receive those who understand how tradition has found a place in modern times.

[00:16:29]The drums will fade. The horses will rest. But as long as Ijebu sons and daughters [music] gather, the king's forecourt will remain a living testament to history.

[00:16:56]>> [music]