Obirin Ojowu/Ebibi Festival of Ijebu and Igue Ewere Festival of Bini: an Examination of the Cultural and Historical Connections

OBIRIN OJOWU/EBIBI FESTIVAL OF IJEBU AND IGUE EWERE FESTIVAL OF BINI: AN EXAMINATION OF THE CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL CONNECTIONS. Ololade M. Ekundayo, ESCAE University (Anglophone Annex) Porto Novo, Republic of Bénin ololadeekundayo@gmail.com Key words: Bini, Benin Kingdom, Ijebu, Ijebuland, Ewere, Ebibi, Ebi, Obinrin Ojowu, Ritual Festival, History Introduction There are traditions of long-standing relationships between the Ijebu and Bini peoples in prehistoric times, but these traditions are vague and lacking in detail. The Ijebu are a sub-group of the Yoruba tribe of South-western Nigeria, occupying parts of Ogun and Lagos States. The Bini, a section of the Edo tribe, occupy a part of Edo State. This paper will contribute towards bringing clarity to the state of knowledge on the subject of Bini-Ijebu relations by providing details derived from the comparison of Igue Ewere (a festival of the Bini) and Obinrin Ojowu (a festival of the Ijebu) which appear to be strongly connected. Igue Ewere Festival of the Bini “It is a festivity in which all evil spirits are chased away with fire before dawn and the ‘leaves of peace’ (Ebe-Ewere) are brought into the land and distributed to all inhabitants. This event was initiated by Oba Ewuare the Great around 1400 A.D.” This quote from Osagioduwa Eweka (Eweka, 2015) is an apt introduction to the festival. As the myth goes, Oba Ewuare married a maid named Ubi. “However, as fate would have it, she proved stubborn and difficult to handle and eventually was driven out by the Oba’s maids who struck her with burning firebrands while chanting “Ubirie” (Ubi go)” (Omoera, 2008). In her place Ewuare married another maid named Ewere, who was found to be well-behaved and a source of good fortune to the Oba and his people. This fortunate woman finally attracted another bride named Oghogho (Happiness) to the Oba. These three women are presented in the myth as the daughters of the same man, the Ogieka, a chief who resided on the Bini-Ughoton road. The word ‘ubi’ is today a common Bini word meaning ‘evil’, while ‘ewere’ has become a symbol of goodness. Page 2 The historicity of this narrative and the characters (except of course Ewuare) may be questionable, but that is not significant. The important point is that the Igue Ewere festival is celebrated till today as a form of New Year ritual in which evil is chased out of the kingdom and good fortune ushered in. At dawn on the Ugie-Ewere day young men and women move in groups to re-enact the procession of warding off evil spirits. “They carry firebrands during this cleansing ritual to rid the land of any evil…” (Isekhure, 2007). While doing this they sing: Ubi rie Azen, Ubi rie Oso, Ubi rie Evil, go Witch, Evil, go Wizard, Evil, go (Ighile, 2013) “…on their way back from the outskirts of Bini, around six or seven am, they engage themselves in a boisterous dance to pluck the “Ebe-Ewere” (leaf of good fortune) – a symbol of hope, prosperity and peace” (Isekhure 2007). On this return journey they sing: Eb’ Ewere o Ęwere-werę remwana o! Ewere leaves Ewere leaves are here “The fortune leaves are subsequently given out as New Year gifts to all citizens who anoint their foreheads with them. Children and adults are to be seen dancing along the streets visiting every home and distributing Ewere leaves. Ewere leaves are presented to the Oba by Chief Ihama of Ihogbe and Chief Isekhure.” (edoworld.net, 2020) Obinrin Ojowu Festival of the Ijebu Obinrin Ojowu means The Jealous Woman and is recognised as a deity, if only a minor one, with a custodian who sees to it that she is worshiped as required. It is also known by other names such as Ebibi (often shortened to Eibi or Ebi), and is one of the three defining and exclusive communal rituals of the Ijebu, the others being Agemo and Eluku. The central purpose of Obinrin-Ojowu Festival is to ward off evil (ubi in Ijebu dialect) and bring good fortune (ure) into the Ijebu kingdom. Page 3 There is an interesting story behind the festival which is connected with Ogboroganluda, also known as Obanta, the acclaimed founder or hero of Ijebuland. Tradition records that during his migration to Ijebuland, he passed through Ibu, a town in the riverine area of Ijebuland. There a ‘supernatural’ phenomenon occurred whereby darkness suddenly descended at day time, and upon enquiry it was discovered that the deity Obinrin Ojowu, which resided in those parts, was responsible for the happening. The deity was appeased and light returned, and Ogboroganluda decided to take the symbol of the deity with him to his destination. It was finally installed at Ijebu Ode and became an object of worship and an annual festival. (Okubote, 2009) During the festival, specified rituals are carried out at the shrine of Obinrin Ojowu and at the Oba’s palace. People then light fire brands at dawn and head for a designated river on the outskirts of the kingdom, where the fire brands are ceremonially dipped into the river and quenched along with the shouting of curses on all evil forces which are ritualistically ordered out of the kingdom with the chorus: Oso yoo! Aje yoo! Iku yoo! Arun yoo! Dede urunbi yoo! Etc. Unto wizards, Woe! Unto witches, Woe! Unto death, Woe! Unto sickness, Woe! Unto all evil, Woe! Etc. On their way back to town, the celebrants pluck ewe woro (leaves of peace/good fortune) and break into song and dance: Ewe woro de o Gbagbe ote Aa ro’gba ile Gbagbe ote Aa r’awo ile Gbagbe ote Ewee woro de o Page 4 Gbagbe ote Lead: Woro leaves are here Refrain: Cease all strife Lead: Peace unto all homes Refrain: Cease all strife … Lead: Woro leaves have come Refrain: Cease all strife (Okubote, 2009) They dance homewards with the woro leaves which they give to others all over the kingdom as gift of good fortune. Over time this festival has assumed various forms in different parts of Ijebuland. In some places the two aspects of the festival have been separated, the one known as Obinrin Ojowu and the other as Woro, and are seen as consecutive rituals rather than parts of a whole. Some celebrate Woro without celebrating Obinrin Ojowu. In Ikorodu, the Ebibi Festival is now connected with Agemo Festival. In Epe the Ebibi Festival bundles together so many activities that the original Ebibi rituals are hardly identifiable. But the purity of the original festival is largely preserved in Ijebu-Ode and its immediate environs. Below is a description of the modern version in IjebuIgbo as captured by a researcher (Osisioma, 2020). “Woro Agere festival is celebrated after the traditional festival of Obirin-ojowu had been performed in Ijebu Ode. The evolution of the name Woro can be traced to a popular leaf in Ijebu Igbo known as “Woro.” This leaf has a long stalk with broad leaves. It is usually in the forest, around broads (sic) and streams. Woro leaf signifies peace and tranquillity… The major assemble (sic) place for the last phase of the festival is approved by the local government since the celebration had taken modern dimension. All the women in the village were advised to put woods in the fire at about 3 pm in the afternoon on the festival day. After about 10 minutes in the fire, the Baale or Olori-ilu would take a wood each from the fire and run outside to the middle of the village and shout “Oso yo Aje yo” which means “witches and wizard should stop.” Other women would similarly carry their woods which were in the burning fire and join the Baale or olori-ilu in the shout and everyone would drop their burning wood on the ground to make a massive bonfire. The women folk would form a round circle surrounding the fire shouting “Oso yo Aje yo.” After some minutes, they will pick the wood and go to another spot and drop the burning woods. When they get home they will hang the leaves at the entrance of their houses door (sic). Woro means “let there be peace in and around the village” and in Yoruba parlance which is the authorized and indigenous language of celebration is “ki ara ko tu wa-ko ro wa” meaning “let there be peace in our body too good health (sic).” Page 5 Analysis There are obvious similarities in these two festivals, strong enough to suggest that they might have developed from the same source. These include: a) Presence of a ruler or community head, as the central character of the myth that originated the festival, who suffered the occurrence of an ‘evil’ manifestation b) Focus on driving out evil and ushering in good fortune; c) Use of fire brands as the instrument of expulsion of evil; d) The leaf of peace/good fortune; e) Ritual songs that are parallel in content and structure f) The existence of cognate words across the two cultures relating to the two festivals, viz: Bini Ijebu Gloss Ubi Ubi Evil Ewere Woro Good fortune, peace Ebe ewere Ewe woro Leaf of good fortune/peace Beyond these basic similarities, there are others below the surface which shall now be examined. a) As previously stated, Obinrin Ojowu means The Jealous Woman. Viewed in context, the woman is not just jealous but also evil by causing darkness to fall on Ogboroganluda’s party and deter their progress. Therefore, the essence of the festival is the expulsion of the evil represented by the jealous woman, to create room for goodness to advance and flourish. Similarly, the Igue Ewere is about expunging the evil ‘wife’ while welcoming the fortune-bearing one. In each case, at the root of the ritual is the image of a prominent woman: an Oba’s wife in the Bini case; a goddess in the Ijebu case. These symbols, as well as the central metaphor of the two festivals, can hardly be a coincidence. b) In the myth surrounding Obinrin Ojowu, the Ijebu progenitor first encountered the goddess at Ibu town. Interestingly, the tradition of origin of this town states that the people are of Bini origin. Indeed, the town’s name Ibu is a word related to the Bini root verb bue, which means “to stay long in a certain place” (Melizan, 1937: 21) – a clear indication that it is indeed an original Bini settlement. Is it mere coincidence that the encounter with the Jealous Woman is claimed to have happened in that particular place? That is not likely. c) An alternative name for the Obinrin Ojowu Festival in Ijebuland is Ebibi Festival. The word ebibi, which is sometimes shortened to eibi or ebi, arouses curiosity because its Page 6 meaning is lost to the Ijebu dialect and to the larger Yoruba language. Yet ebibi has a cognate in Bini language, ebiebi (with a short form ebi) which means darkness (Melzian, 1937: 27). In this light, Ebibi Festival would mean Festival of Darkness, which is an apt description since, as already narrated above, Obinrin Ojowu is identified with darkness from its very foundation. It is suggested, therefore, that the Ijebu Ebibi came from the Bini Ebiebi, a further attestation to the common source of the two festivals. Ebibi is apparently the original name of the ritual in Ijebuland, since it depicts its original cultural and linguistic context, while Obinrin Ojowu later developed as a descriptive name. On the basis of available evidence, however, we cannot totally rule out the possibility that the two names have been used as alternatives from the beginning. Two Possible Constructs If we take together the analysis made so far, the myths seem to admit of constructs along two lines. a. Bini migrants brought the festival with them to Ijẹbuland, and made Ibu one of their early settlements from which they dispersed further into the hinterland. The Obinrin Ojowu myth was later invented to localise the inherited ritual to Ijẹbuland. b. The festival originated from Bini long before some Bini people migrated to Ijẹbuland (or what was later to become known as Ijẹbuland) and settled at Ibu. At a time there was an instance of darkness during the day, probably an eclipse. The people of Ibu being uninformed about the science of eclipse, they were baffled and read supernatural meaning into it, concluding that the ‘evil’ darkness befell them because they had failed to observe the Ugie Ewere Festival in their new location. They therefore initiated the festival, which now took a local colouration of ‘Darkness’ or Ebibi. For the moment the above constructs are only conjectures, though not wild ones. They could serve as hypotheses for further research. Conclusion This paper has attempted to present and analyse evidence to establish the deep conceptual and ritualistic similarities between the Igue Ewere Festival of the Bini Kingdom and the Obinrin Ojowu Festival of the Ijebu. Given the foregoing analysis, it could be suggested that the two are one and the same festival which spread from Bini to Ijebuland and in that course acquired multiple dimensions. The superior antiquity of the Bini festival can be seen in the fact that Ibu, the town where the Ijebu’s Obinrin Ojowu originated, came into existence much later than the Page 7 time of Oba Ewuare when the Igue Ewere festival was initiated. This Ibu, a small Ijebu town which has received little attention from historians, appears to have played a central role in the transmission of the Ewere/Ebibi ceremonial rituals from Bini to Ijebu. It would not be surprising, therefore, if further research should reveal the town as equally central to the fusion of Bini migrants with the original inhabitants of Ijebuland. REFERENCES 1. Eweka O. (2015) Cultural Leadership, Festivity and Unity Rendezvousing in Bini Kingdom, Nigeria in Ibadan Journal of Peace and Development, Volume 6. 2. Ighile M. (2013) The Poetry of Igue Festival’s Song-Text in Studies in Literature and Language, Canadian Academy of Oriental and Occidental Culture Vol. 6, No. 1, 2013, pp. 87-93 3. Isekhure, N. (2007). 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