It was an atmosphere of festivities on August 20 at the palace of Onisabe of Igbobi-Sabe in Yaba, Lagos, as the monarch, Oba Owolabi Adeniyi, hosted various groups of traditional religion worshippers at his palace to mark this year’s Isese Day celebration. Writes GBOYEGA ALAKA
The day, which has been designated in Southwest Nigeria as a day of festivities for traditional religion worshippers, was well celebrated across the region and among the Yoruba people in the Diaspora.
As part of this year’s celebration, Oba Adeniyi played host to the Onisabe of Sabe Kingdom in the neighbouring Republic of Benin in company of his Olori, whom he described as his father, who had come to celebrate with him.
The Onisabe of Sabe crown in Republic of Benin is reputed as one of the seven direct children of Okanbi, the only son of Oduduwa, who inherited crowns, and according to Oba Adeniyi, the Igbobi-Sabe throne is its offshoot. The other six crowns, legends say, are Olowu of Owu, Alaafin of Oyo, Orangun of Ila, Oba of Benin, Alaketu of Ketu, Olopopo of Popo.
Extolling the visiting monarch, Oba Adeniyi said he would still have been happy and content if he was the only one sitting with him on the occasion of the celebration, stressing that any child who forgets his ancestry is like a river that forgets its source.
Oba Adeniyi also seized the occasion to officially present a Gelede masquerade head to officials of the Lagos State Records and Archives Bureau (LASRAB) to be placed in their museum for future referencing.
While making the presentation to an official of LASRAB, Mrs Bilikis Abiola, Oba Adeniyi said, “On this day, I present to you this Gelede masquerade head to put in your office museum. This, in a nutshell, is what makes the Gelede masquerade. Without the Gelede head, there can be no Gelede masquerade. Place it in your museum, so that every visitor who comes in would see it. I implore you not to let them steal it. What I am gifting you is a great treasure. And I pray that you keep prospering. This is a special gift from Igbobi-Sabe town, so that we can also have a name in your museum.”
Responding, Mrs Abiola thanked the Oba and expressed joy at the gift, stating that the gift would further promote the culture and heritage of the Yoruba in Lagos, which is her agency’s primary assignment.
” What you have given us is of immeasurable value, and I want to assure you that we are taking it very seriously. As you have presented it to us at LASRAB, you have presented it to the Lagos State government and I’m sure you are aware that at LASRAB, we have an ultra-modern museum and we are going to make sure that this mask is properly taken care of. Most importantly, as children come to LASRAB to learn about the history of Lagos, they are going to see this Gelede mask, we are going to teach them about the Gelede masquerade and Igbobi-Sabe Kingdom.”
On special appearance to entertain the royal audience and guests was the magical Izangbeto Masquerade from Badagry.
Also in attendance to felicitate with Oba Adeniyi were the various baales under his domain and the various traditional worshippers, notably the Ogboni Fraternity and the Ijinla fraternities.