Residents of ancient town of Ilesa in Osun State have been thrown into fear following announcement of a cleansing ritual rite to be carried out in the town today.
The Point gathered that the ritual, which involves demonstration of masquerades and other traditionalists around notable areas in the town, is one of the rites ahead of the ascension of the throne of Owa Obokun of Ijesaland by Owa Clement Adesuyi Haastrup.
The prominent traditional ruler has been in seclusion, popularly known as Ipebi in Yoruba parlance, for some weeks, in preparation for his enthronement ceremony on the stool of his forefathers.
However, many residents expressed shock and fear following the announcement on Saturday by a media aide to Owa Obokun, Isaac Haastrup, that a cleansing ritual rite would be held by the Erin clan in the town today and that people of Ilesa should expect looting of their shops and carting away of their livestock.
Haastrup warned residents to keep their goats, dogs, fowls, cows and cats away from the sight of the masquerades, advising traders to shut their shops in order to prevent looting of their wares, which he said is part of the cleansing rite.
He also warned men who live in Ilesa to desist from wearing any form of headgear as the masquerades are permitted to flog anyone who is seen with headgear.
The announcement he posted on his Facebook page read, “WARNING!!! Today, Saturday, April 19, the Erin people will perform the cleansing ritual rite in Ilesa, during which stealing of livestock and looting of shops is allowed as part of the cleansing rite.
“Residents are advised to keep their goats, dogs, fowls, cows and cats away from the sight of the masquerade.
“In order to prevent being flogged by the ritualists, men should also refrain from wearing headgear.”
Meanwhile, the announcement has generated mixed reactions with many residents questioning the ritual practice in this modern time.
For Olusola Jacobs, the ritual is archaic, saying stealing of other people’s belongings in the form of tradition does not portray the ethos of Omoluabi that the Yoruba people are known with.
“Archaic! Why should looting of shops be allowed? That is not one of the ethos of ỌMỌLÚWÀBÍ. That should be expunged from the traditional and cultural ethics of ÌJẸ̀SÀ!,” he wrote.
However, an indigene of Ijesaland, Victor Kolawole, frowned at the use of the word ‘stealing’ in the announcement, saying the act of taking what belongs to others during the ritual is the adherents’ right.
“Prince, please remove the “stealing” from the notice, the action is a traditional rite,” he argued.
Shedding light on the essence of the ritual rite, Olawole Paul Fabiyi said, “The actual exercise is to tidy and clean up the Palace in readiness for occupation by the new Imperial Majesty, and in the process, anything deemed unfit will be removed from the palace and its environs. It’s uncharitable to refer to an essential part of our rich culture as ‘stealing.’ We shouldn’t allow those with little knowledge of history to destroy our culture. The people of Erin should demand an unreserved apology from the person who wrote the notice.”
Adejuwon Bolatito warned against looting female traders’ shops, saying, “They should not loot women shops because majority of ijesa women are the breadwinners for their families!”
Olaniyi Temitope opined that, “The looting of shops is not encouraging because some touts will use this avenue to do more looting and the country is not easy now… #say no to looting of shops.”
But, an indigene of Ilesa, Balogun Alowonle, replied Temitope, saying, “Olaniyi Temitope, looting of the shops is allowed, that’s part of tradition.”