Without Osun deity, there is no Osogbo —Ataoja

The Ataoja of Osogbo in Osun State and custodian of the Osun Osogbo heritage, Oba Jimoh Oyetunji Olanipekun, is passionate about the cultural heritage and history of Osogbo town. In this interview with Yejide Gbenga-Ogundare, he narrates how Osogbo was founded with the help of the Osun deity, the effect of Osun Osogbo festival and why it must be celebrated annually, balancing religion with his cultural belief and other issues.

What is the significance of the Osun Osogbo festival?

Osun Osogbo festival is a unique one that is associated with Osogbo community and no other community and UNESCO has made it international, which means that Osun has become a festival of the world. The town originated from a situation; there was scarcity of water at Ipole Omu, the abode of the founder of Osogbo, King Gbadewolu Larooye; the first. During the scarcity of water, one great warrior who was a companion of the king, Timehin, while hunting in the forest came across a large body of water, he didn’t know the name but for the fact that they would be able to overcome the water problem, he went back to Ipole Omu and invited King Larooye and the peple, who followed him there and when they got to the site, they were happy and decided to resettle there. One will agree that as a matter of necessity, they would have to get somewhere to hide their head. So, in the attempt to construct huts, they were felling trees, one unknowingly fell in the river and destroyed one of the pots the spirit of the river was using to prepare dye. There was a voice from the river, ‘Oso igbo o, Oso igbo o, Oso igbo o, you have destroyed the pot I am using to make dye.’ They were shocked, it caught them unawares and Laro responded that ‘ore yeye o, ore yeye o, ore yeye Osun o’ meaning Osun, the water that is gushing out from unknown source and they decided to plead with the spirit that they were sorry and never knew it would destroy her property under the water. They asked for forgiveness and the spirit said they were forgiven and the offence forgotten, that she knows they need water which is why they stayed with her but it will be advisable they move a bit upland so that when her bank overflows, it will not take their life or that of their children. They agreed and moved upland and Laro constructed a hut there and that was the first settlement of Osogbo which was coined out of Oso igbo, the name which the spirit called them. Oso means wizard and igbo is forest. The spirit called them wizard of the forest and that’s where the name Osogbo came from. Oroki, the name of their first settlement changed to Osogbo; that was how the settlement came into existence at the grove of Osun River

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Is this why you worship the deity annually?

Like I said, they heard the voice of the spirit giving them instruction. At that spot where they heard the voice of the spirit, they used to go there to fetch water for their domestic purposes and then her voice came again that because Laro was obedient, she will give him a gift and presented King Laro a very big fish, mysterious fish because it was not just a big fish, it was a fish that could be said to be the size of a small baby. On collecting the fish, the spirit told him, you have stretched your hand to collect a fish from me; you can now go and continue living where you have settled. That is where Atewogbeja which became Ataoja came from; the spirit said you have collected fish from me today and prayed for him that he will be successful where he had settled. In appreciation, Laro promised that every year, he will be coming to the spot where he collected the fish to pay homage to the spirit in acknowledgement of the gift. And that is where every Ataoja must sit on the first seat used by King Larooye Gbadewolu, it was a stone, a natural stone seat and it is still there. Every Ataoja must sit there every year in celebration of Osun and in acknowledgement of King Laro Gbadewolu’s efforts in establishing the settlement.

Is this the only reason the deity is worshipped annually?

No, then, Timehin, the great hunter did not stop hunting because that was his occupation and one day when the population had increased and the spirit did not want to offend them, she told them they would continue to expand so they should move further upland, so they had to leave that settlement and move about half a kilometre away from former settlement to set up a new place far from the groove, that second settlement is named Ontoto and that is the Iledi of Larooye Gbadewolu, the place where the Yoruba spiritualists called Ogboni used to meet, the king of every Yoruba land then was the head of Ogboni cult in his environment. And because of their amazing development and growth, people from far and near started learning about the existence of that settlement, their association with Osun and the blessings they have been receiving from the deity. So people started visiting them whenever they wanted to celebrate to sacrifice with them and make rituals at Iledi, their population continued to grow and they established a market at Ontoto. Archeological findings have revealed prove that the place had been in existence for over 500 years, relics of that period can still be found in Ontoto, you will still see their grinding stone.

It did not end there, Osogbo continued to expand and became a city that has taken over surrounding settlements. What the deity has done for the indigenes of Osogbo is beyond what can be enumerated. So annually, Ataoja will never fail to pay homage to Osun and give her sacrifice. The Osun deity is a spirit, it remains where it is, it is static and cannot be moved. Ordinary eyes can never see Osun. By divinity, Ataoja knows the time he will meet Osun where he used to meet her from time immemorial. Osun is still with me, I cannot show it to anybody. Osun is the deity my predecessors left for me as heritage and I am protecting it and preserving it for the next generation. Osun is immortal; cannot be held, moved or sold like some nonentities claim.

How do you balance Osun worship with your faith and your relationship with Christians and Muslims in the town?

What is culture? That is what I expect to be asked first before asking what is religion; then how do I combine the two successfully? I am the custodian of culture in Osogbo and this culture embraces way of life, religion, association even the food you eat and the type of cloth you wear and all these are embedded in culture, so it is culture that gave birth to religion. No culture, no religion because all you need to make sacrifice for your religion will emanate from the culture of the land. For instance, see what nature has done for Saudi, the intensity of sun is almost unbearable so you will hardly see them wearing black dresses, they usually appear in white because it reflects the ray of the sun but in this place where the weather is variable, when there is heat, we wear things that give space for air but when it comes to religion, religion is belief. And what is religion? It is faith. Larooye Gbadewolu was the first Ataoja of Osogbo, if you believe that it is part of your religion, if you don’t believe it, you don’t have religion because Islam teaches that you cannot accept the existence of God unless you have good faith. What do Muslims believe? They believe in what they do not see. Why are you asking me about my God then? You can only perceive the existence of your God through your inner being and that is inspiration. And once that is established you can only pass it on from generation to generation and it becomes a religion. Though there is no compromise in religion but as the custodian of religion, culture and tradition, Ataoja is the father of all, so I don’t have any challenge in the worship of Osun Osogbo because Osun Osogbo founded Osogbo. Without Osun, there is no Osogbo. That mosque that you see over there, the land belongs to Laro, it was Ataoja that gave it to the Muslims then and it is their children that are now enjoying the mosque for prayers now. So if you see any Ataoja that happens to be a Muslim, he will go there and pray; that doesn’t stop him from performing his traditional rights. I am a Muslim; I was born a Muslim and an Osun faithful. My mother was a worshipper of Osun, my father, Prince Oyetunji was a worshipper of Osun, I had a pot that my mother used to collect the water from Osun grove every five days and it was the water they used to nurse me to a full adult before I knew that I should learn about Islam and I went to learn Arabic as a Muslim. I was named Osundagbonu, that’s the name I have been bearing right from birth, I cannot use hot or warm water for bathing like some do, otherwise I will fall sick. My mother was faced with what people know as Abiku or ogbanje in series. When it got to the 17th time, then I survived, that is where the name Osundagbonu came from. That’s why the issue of the water pot came about. My parents believed in it, if they didn’t, maybe I would also not have survived. And after I learnt Arabic and I learnt the meaning of Jamiu, that it is someone that brings people together, I loved the name because I like seeing myself in the midst of people and I started using the name. Our father Kabiesi Samuel Oyedokun  was a Christian during his time because of his education; when he read about Christianity and found it useful, he joined  Christianity and was succeeded by another Christian, Oba Samuel Adenle, they attended All Saints Cathedral, that is where every Ataoja on the throne must go every year for thanksgiving. When it came to the turn of the immediate past, Oba Iyiola Oyewale Matanmi, he was a Muslim by accepted religion but became an Oba and must perform the duties of an Ataoja, so he was combining Osun with his mosque. During Eid-el-kabir, he will go to the Eid, when it is Christmas, he will celebrate Christmas in the palace and then the first Sunday of every year, he will be at the Cathedral of All Saints. So every Ataoja is a unique king in Yoruba land because no Ataoja will say he is a complete Christian or Muslim but a complete traditionalist whose belief is sandwiched with foreign beliefs.

How does annual celebration of Osun help the town in terms of security, economy and peace?

Osogbo had been peaceful before it became a city; right from the time of acquaintance between Larooye Gbadewolu, Timehin and the Osun deity. What she prayed for them was peaceful coexistence and don’t forget I said by the time she gave them the live elephant which Timehin tied at the Ogun shrine over there, the elephant did not die until its time was up, it wasn’t killed by anybody. That had been giving Osogbo the opportunity to expand till the state it is today. That peaceful coexistence was to be truncated during the Fulani jihad that extended to Osogbo, it nearly captured the Yorubas when they faced the troop of the Fulanis but the Ataoja through his worshippers consulted the deity and Osun told them what to do which they did and succeeded in subduing the jihadists. We were able to get rid of the Fulani through the support of Osun Osogbo deity. So the warriors then knew what they faced before Osun helped them and rescued the Yorubas from the Fulani warriors or jihadists. The deity had been helping us in that way for many years and there are many ways in which we benefit economically, Osogbo bear the name state capital today with the help of the deity; we did not have children in the forefront, we know the position of some Obas in the state then in terms of wealth but our wealth and our source is the deity, having consulted the deity, she helped us and gave us assurance that we will be given the state capital which we now have. And since we got that, you can imagine the buoyancy in our economy. And during Osun festival, you know how much the festival is fetching individuals and groups; you can imagine the number of vehicles, influx of people and how it affects the economy. Trade and crafts; tie and dye, woodwork, metal work, carvings and hospitality  are boosted during this period. Everybody benefits and the town is affected positively. Osun has helped us a lot in everyway, we cannot enumerate the success of Osun in developing Osogbo

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