Resurrecting a Culture on the Decline
After decades of neglect, Ile-Ife recently went agog as the once forgotten New Yam Festival was resurrected in fulfilment of the cultural agenda of the Ooni of Ife. Yinka Kolawole, in Osogbo, reports
These days, it is commonplace to see Nigerians trying to adopt foreign cultures and neglect their local traditions, which more often than not are deemed to be diabolical. However, much has been done to try to counter that narrative through various forms of cultural revolution. Perhaps, nothing succinctly captures the decline of traditional values like the quote by Barack Obama in his book, Dreams from my Father, “For a people already stripped of their history, a people often ill equipped to retrieve that history in any form other than what fluttered across the television screen, the testimony of what we saw every day seemed only to confirm our worst suspicions about ourselves.”
In fulfilment of his cultural tourism agenda, the Ooni of Ife, Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, who also doubles as the Arole Oodua, was recently joined by indigenes, tourists and invited guests to celebrate the New Yam Festival, which hitherto had not been so elaborately celebrated in the last 120 years.
The newly revived festival known as "Odun Isu" in Yorubaland held at the Ile-Oodua palace, Ile-Ife, where citizens from other Yoruba towns came in large numbers to celebrate the occasion , which was a colourful display of culture and traditions.
Ogunwusi while addressing the mammoth crowd at the festival chronicled the history of the festival. According to him, a deity called 'Oreluere'', who was one of the 401 deities sent by God(Olodumare) to establish the world, was the first hunter on the planet earth that planted yam before Oduduwa supported him to make on it a success.
The African foremost monarch acknowledged that God had provided all different but necessary foods for sustainability of humanity and annual germination and growth of yam for human consumption.
Ogunfuyi, who is regarded as the spiritual father of Yoruba race worldwide, observed that the process of originality of yam production emanated from the cradle of Yoruba's; Ile-Ife, while adding that yam is one of the foods with high carbohydrate that gives energy.
He further stated that Oduduwa collaborated with other deities on how yearly plantation would be guaranteed, adding that "Owo" dynasty also value the celebration yearly. He also maintained that the New Yam Festival is a very big event across the world, which explains why the Yoruba cultural heritage is very keen about it.
He said, "I charge all other neighbouring towns especially Yorubas to emulate the ancient city of Ile-Ife in making the event a continuous exercise.
Our youths must go into huge commercial farming as Yoruba communities are known as producers of yam for the entire world.
"This belt is called yam belt and these yam belts produce 70 per cent yam for national consumption, while others share the remaining 30 per cent. The plantation started from kingdom of Ife to the Middle Belt of Nigeria, straight to Central African Republic and other West African nations down to Southern Africa.
Every individual has the capability and strength for production and Yorubas have mastered it and become the experts in yam production."
Commendations Also speaking, the Co-chairman of the National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria, Sultan Mohammed Abubarka III, who also doubles as Sultan of Sokoto, added that since the past heroes had suffered for the sustainability of human race, therefore, people ought to crown their efforts by appreciating