Image caption: Onpetu Oba Sunday Oyediran
Odoje festival kicks off today: Who are the Ojes? – Onpetu
Femi OGUNLANA
Odun Oba Onpetu (formerly known as Odoje) 2024 will commence today February 14 at the palace of Onpetu Oba Sunday Oladapo Oyediran Lagbami Osekun III, who is head of Oluoje race worldwide.
Oba Oyediran concluded a seven day seclusion today during which he offered prayer for his people, community, state and Nigeria as a whole.
An all night vigil will herald the festival, which will hold at the palace in Ijeru.
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Culture event will hold on the second day at which “participants will be treated to an authentic cultural immersion as seasoned traditional drummers, skilled bards, expert cultural dancers, and local acrobatic professionals will be present to entertain the audience.”
The cultural event planned to be a total package will also feature serving of “an array of indigenous dishes including eko (solid pap) and various types of bean cakes such as atuunu, seekesinin, akara elepo, fule et cetera to be served piping hot.”
The grand finale on the 16th at the Altar of Praise, Orile (Ikefun), will feature prayers for “peace, progress and development of Onpetu Throne, Oluoje people both at home and diaspora, Oyo state and Nigeria at large.”
Also, traditional Iwure with adorning of the historical Ade Are by Onpetu will follow, while events will be rounded off with the paying of homage to the monarch by members of the four Onpetu ruling houses, namely Lagbami Osekun, Oluyale, Asamu Atoyebi and Atobatele.
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Ade Are is a special, rare crown of the Onpetus brought from Ile-Ife, the cradle of the Yoruba people, by their progenitor, Olurefe Obandi, and is worn by the reigning Onpetu on special events.
In a social media post, specifically mentioning the cultural day event, the Onpetu stated, “Cultural day – 15/02/2024 @ Aafin Onpetu by 4:pm. Dress code is Aso ibile towapa. We invite you all both home and abroad. Before the Orile Oje festival which will come up on 16/02/2024.
“We will be displaying inheritance, traditional dance on stage to embrace our integral part of yoruba culture and also to reflect the rich history and traditional of our forefathers.
“Aku odun ooo gbogbo Omo Onpetu home and in diaspora.”
In a telephone interview with ogbomosoinsightonline.com, Oba Oyediran said the festival “is an agelong one which we are sustaining. The seven day seclusion, which l just ended was devoted to praying for our people, community, Oyo state and Nigeria as a whole.”
The monarch also on his Facebook page gave a brief history of the Oje people, whose capital town is now Ijeru.
Titled, “KNOW LITTLE OF OUR HISTORY AS OUR ODUN OLU OJE IS APPROACHING,” the Onpetu writes, “At this crucial juncture, I want to brief us on our history, our culture, our pride.
“As part of efforts to strengthen historical ties, in order to put history in perspective and to locate the Olu-oje’s family in their pride of place among the Yoruba people, Olu Oje’s family, we are from Ile-Ife according to the history, and we have children in all states of the south west and across the globe where their forebears had settled, in order to foster unity we are one big family, let’s unite ourselves.
‘According to history, Adeori, the forebear of the Olu-oje had ascended the throne of Onpetu in Ile-Ife before the death of Oduduwa as he had previously received his crown, the Opaga title bead and blessing from Oduduwa to found his own town like his contemporaries.
“But he stayed with his aged father as Onpetu Ido – at Moore, Ile-Ife while his son, Olu-Ominniminni set up with his huge followers at Ipetu Ife, from where he moved to Ipetumodu. Don’t forget to note this,our descendants claim that the origin of Onpetu Kingdom dates back to time immemorial,even before the arrival of Oduduwa to Yorubaland and the Onpetu as the head of Olu-oje Dynasty is a traditional stool that goes way back in history.
“Then, we had Onpetu of Ife before it was changed to Olojudo of Ife. Onpetu of Ijeru Land, we migrated from Ile Onpetu in Ife to establish Oje Kingdom near Ogbomoso area where we are till date, Onpetu is head of Ido community in Ife which has also produced Oonis.The Olu-oje of Abeokuta and Gbongan in Osun state, Oje market in Ibadan is synonymous with Onpetu and also as old as Ibadan itself, if Oje is named after descendants of Onpetu, we need to visualize where Onpetu is coming from.
“We settled in a vast portion of land between Olugbon, Aresa, Onikoyi, and Oluwo, Onpetu settled in between the land these are our boundary men.
“The Onpetu of Ijeru Land as the head of the Olu-oje kingdom across the country consequently summoned his kinsmen from wherever they might have established kingdoms across the south west and across the country at large, to trace their roots in order for us to foster development together in our fatherland.”
