Newsletter Volume 5, Issue 1

And the People said: “Amen”. Yoruba Prayer Day 2001.

On Saturday, May 12, 2001, The Alliance of Yoruba Organizations and Clubs once again held their Annual Prayer Day. To start the Yoruba Community Prayer Day off on its intended path, Pastor Matthew Adeyemi and Alhaji Booriyamin Ojuolape said the opening prayers

Dr. Olusola Dada, the Chairman for the occasion, started out with the adage “Ma koja mi Olugbala, kii se orin akunleko. Bi o ba si kunle, ma diju, tori bi o ba diju, o o ni ri angeli ti n koja lo, ki o le mo ibi ti o o ti di i mu nigba ti o ba n koja.” In short, Ijafara l’ewu. – Pass me not, o gentle Saviour, is not a song to be sung kneeling down. And if you are kneeling down, don’t close your eyes, because if you close your eyes, you may not see the angel when it is passing by, so you can know where to hold it when it passes by. In bringing Yoruba of different backgrounds together to pray, the Alliance in essence, is not praying on their knees with their eyes closed.

Speaking to an attentive audience in a hall filled to capacity, the Keynote Speaker for the auspicious occasion, Dr. Olarinde quoted the story of God calling the prophet Jeremiah in the Bible. God took Jeremiah to a potter’s house, and Jeremiah watched the potter mold the pot over and over again, until he got it right. Dr. Olarinde then charged the Yoruba Alliance, in the spirit of Jeremiah, to never stop or be discouraged until their vision and plans for Yoruba people are perfected.

In his speech, Dr. Dada stated that Nigeria Must Stay United. He proffered various instances of the difficulties of living in today’s Nigeria: inflation, joblessness, hunger, lack of basic amenities and debilitating poverty. Dr. Dada said that what is needed is the identification of “…prepared, sincere, visionary, committed and capable leadership for our country.” “With the right leadership,” he insisted, Nigeria will work again for the benefit of all, North or South, East or West.” Dr. Dada closed his speech with this quotation from President John F. Kennedy: “So let us not be petty when our cause is so great. Let us not quarrel amongst ourselves when our nation’s future is at stake. Let us stand together with renewed confidence in our cause – united in our heritage of the past and our hopes for the future…”

From the Chairman’s Desk:

On the 11^th day of the month of September, at about the 9^th hour of the day, the devil reared his ugly head again. Masquerading in the name of religion, destroying and killing innocent people as the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center came crashing down. Our sincere condolences and prayers go to the families and friends and every one who directly or indirectly suffered the loss of loved ones.

During the dreadful days of 1940, Winston Churchill, summoning cooperation and support for survival, declared, “Let us brace ourselves to our duty, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say: ‘This was their finest hour.’ ” Brothers and sisters, can this be our finest hour? You all can help me answer this question. Let us give serious thought to the fact that the old order is changing and giving way to the new. Let us all examine the roles we are playing in our individual homes, communities, states and the world at large. Are you a destructive force, sowing the seed of discord everywhere, or are you a positive force, which is not self-centered? Can this be our finest hour? Yes, it can be, if we brace ourselves for the task ahead. There is plenty of opportunity in this difficult situation. Once again, friendship is the only cement that will hold the world together. There must be adjustments in our attitudes to each other. Husbands must stop terrorizing their wives, parents, it is time to lead by good example.

We have all heard the clarion call to action, commitment and discipleship. We have rejected the sermon on the mountain. We seem to have achieved brilliance without wisdom and we have embraced power without conscience. We seem to be living in our own world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. In these troubling times, is there a word from the Lord in all of these happenings? Let us seek Him, His wisdom and His guidance. HE IS LOVE. God bless us all, God bless the United States of America.

Prince Henry Ajibade Gbadegesin Chairman, Alliance of Yoruba Organizations and Clubs.

EYO

As in years past, the Yoruba Festival 2001 was given a fitting finale by the coming out of the Eyo. This magnificiently robed spectacle is one of the traditions that the Alliance of Yoruba Organizations and Clubs proudly display every year. The Eyo is a masquerade that is native to Lagos State, the southernmost state of Yoruba land.

The Eyo is a masquerade that comes out only on Lagos Island. It represents the spirit of an ancestor. The Eyo festival may be held in honor of a chief or elder of a ruling family or an oba who has died. It may also be held when a new head of an Iga or a new oba is installed. With the advent of Westernization, a political

governor may also request the festival, to display Lagosian tradition and pride to visiting dignitaries. Whoever requests the Eyo must put down a considerable sum of money, for the rituals that it will involve. The Eyo festival is usually held on a Saturday.

Each Eyo comes out of an Iga ‘Palace’ of a ruling family in the morning and heads for the shrine, 'Agodo'. The Eyo is robed from head to toe in white flowing sheets. The white flowing sheets consist of an ‘agbada’ the top robe, and the ‘aropale’, the bottom wrap around. No part of the human being carrying the eyo should be seen. The Eyo also wears an 'Akete', a hat that bears the colors and shield of the Iga from which he comes. An Eyo may tie ribbons in his Iga's colors to the Opambata ‘palm branch’ that he carries. An Iga's Eyo may have up to 50, 100 or more members. Each person carrying / robing as an Eyo must pay a fee for the privilege. This fee is paid to the Iga - ruling house whose colors and Akete that the Eyo wears.

Only adult males may robe as Eyo, but sometimes, there may be a child Eyo in a group. The sons, daughters and wives, as well as friends and neighbors of the Iga follow the Eyo on a parade from one end of Lagos Island to the other. The route of each Eyo goes from the Iga, where the Iga’s Eyo leave en masse, and then on to the Agodo – the shrine of the Orisa Eyo. After this, the Eyo may go wherever on Lagos Island their feet can carry them, all the way from Ebute Ero to Obalende, via Oke Popo, Campus, Lafiaji and any and all neighborhoods the Eyo’s whims may carry him. In fact, an Eyo may easily cover 20 to 30 miles in that day alone. The crowd of supporters following the Eyo do not wear white robes, and they sing:

Eyo o, Onikoyi Eyo o! Hail! Eyo Onikoyi!

Eyo baba ni t'awa! Eyo our father!

T'o n fi goolu sere! Who plays with gold!

Awa o ni sanwo We won’t pay the onibode! tollkeeper! O d'ile ! Home we go!

Eyo o, Obanikoro Eyo o! Hail! Eyo Obanikoro!

Eyo baba ni t'awa! Eyo our father!

T'o n fi goolu sere! Who plays with gold!

Awa o ni sanwo We won’t pay the onibode! tollkeeper!

O d'ile ! Home we go!

Imagine the spectacle of thousands of white robed figures in colorful hats, flowing ribbons, men, women and children milling about the streets singing and dancing. The Lagos Eyo give good meaning to the words “festival” and “spectacle”.

The only Eyo that is not part of a group is the most senior Eyo - Adimu Orisa. This Eyo’s nose is forever running, hence the name Adimu. Only a very old and spiritually advanced male can robe as the Adimu. It is the last Eyo to leave the Agodo.

The Eyo, when it encounters people, greets them with the phrase "E sunrunkunrun, we ma jagbon die!" 'Don't fear anything, have a taste of the palm tree', and taps the individual on the shoulders with the opambata. When he is given money, he will pray for the person and recite the praise song of his Iga. The phrase "E sunrunkunrun, we ma jagbon die!" is in the Ijebu dialect of Yoruba. Oral history tells us that the orisa of Eyo was given as a gift to an Oba of Lagos as a wedding present when the Oba married an Ijebu princess.

One of the taboos regarding the Eyo is that whoever carries the Eyo must not cross a body of water such as the lagoon, or a river while wearing the robes. Another taboo is that an Eyo may not sleep in the robes after the festival is over