The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, on Thursday flagged off the commencement of the 2024 Olojo Festival, revealing the event’s ancestral and spiritual significance.
Ogunwusi spoke at his palace at a news conference on the 2024 Olojo Festival with the theme: “Evolving Transformational Domestic Tourism With Community Festivals”.
According to him, the festival is significant because of the spiritual exercises that characterise it and the testimonies it attracts.
He said the celebration of the revered cultural event was held annually in the ancient city to celebrate the day of the first dawn.
The Ooni said the festival was in remembrance of “Ogun”, god of iron, who is believed to be the first son of Oduduwa, progenitor of the Yoruba people.
He added that the festival marked the birth of the “Aare Crown”.
Ooni said that several prayers rendered to Olodumare through the iconic “Aare crown” during the Olojo festival had been answered with so much testimonies.
“Olojo is the festival of dawn and the birth of the crown, “Ade Aare”, the crown of all crowns. The crown that gave birth to all crowns all over the world with all the colours of the rainbow. It is called the spectrum of rainbow crown.
“The crown does everything humans does, it is a very spiritual crown, very sacred. I am a living example and witness. I have actually charged the crown, I have prayed with it, that I want this done, this particular time.
“This is my ninth year on the throne, going to my tenth year by the grace of God, I have seen a lot of testimonies.
“I will pray with the crown worn on my head, I pray to the almighty God, Olodumare through the crown. I have never seen any failure in it. It is our strong heritage, our strong culture and tradition and we will continue to uphold it forever.
“We are not idol worshipers, these are things our ancestors left for us that are working and it will continue to work.
“These are things we should not joke about, It is our heritage, we should not compromise it with anything. It is created by nature, by God Almighty who is the supreme being,” he said.
Explaining the nature of the “Ade Aare“, Ooni described the crown as a sacred, mysterious being which bears the nature of humans.
According to him, the crown functions like humans.
“Olojo is the time when the crown comes out for blessings. This is a crown that has life in it till date, right from time immemorial.
“The crown changes the weather, it does not see the atmosphere except once in a year, during Olojo festival.
“In the crown, we see everything complete, we see the day, night, four corners of the world, the northern, southern, eastern and western poles.
“The birth of the crown is actually the first dawn pathfinded by Ogun, which is linked to our celebration.
“Olojo is the main new year celebration and this dovetails to everybody’s new yam festival all over because what is used to bring out yams are cutlasses and hoes made with iron.
“This is the time we get beautiful harvests, the time we get wallnuts, bitter kola. For us in Ile-Ife, we still uphold our heritage and that is why we celebrate the first dawn,” he said.
Ogunwusi appreciated the sponsors for the festival.
“I want to appreciate you all, our sponsors, for everything you have been doing. For always responding to my calls. May God bless you and may our ancestors guide you all. I appreciate the state government as well,” he said.
Earlier, Mr Abiodun Bankole-Ojo, Commissioner for Culture and Tourism in Osun, appealed to sponsors of the Olojo festival to look into the possibility of developing some tourism sites within the state, like the Oranmiyan Groove.
“Please corporate bodies, stop giving us monetary and material gifts, come and develop Oranmiyan site as a tourist site. Government will not be able to do it all,” he said.
Mr Ayo Olumoko, Olojo Festival Chief Consultant, urged Nigerians and international tourists to grace the festival.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Grand Finale for the 2024 edition of the annual Olojo Festival in Ile-Ife, will hold between Sept.
26 and Sept.30.
On Sept. 26, there will be Ayo Olopon Traditional Game, Festival Cultural Talent Hunt (Audition) and Olojo Festival Colloquium.
On Sept. 27 – Ojo Ilagun, Iwode Ile-Ife (Community cleansing) and Oonirisa’s terrestrial message to the world.
Sept. 28– festival grand finale official ceremony, Ojo Okemogun, and the Aare cultural procession.
Sept. 29 – Ojo Ajoyo (Asekagba). (Grand Royal Reception – Invitational). Adire Oodua Cultural Exchange Exhibition and Oonirisa’s Ife Award for Community Service, 2024.
Sept. 30– Ojo Ibile (Oonirisa’s ancestral yraditional propitiation) and cultural talents hunt.
