Recalling the history and importance of one of the greatest masquerades in Ibadan and Yorubaland as a whole, the head of Aje family in Ode Aje, Ibadan, where the Oloolu masquerade originated, Chief Oyerinde, disclosed that their great forefather, Ayo̩rinde Aje, who was a warrior along with Ogunmo̩la, Ajayi Ogbori-e̩fo̩n, Ibikunle, O̩de̩rinde, O̩de̩rinlo̩ went on a war expedition in O̩gbagi in Akoko local government in Ondo State and Oloolu was a great war masquerade in that town and was so powerful such that no one could confront him during the war…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>
”Nobody could defeat Oloolu during that war but it was our father, Ayo̩rinde Aje that fought him and removed his regalia and costumes, before he was brought to Ibadan as a slave.
His eyes caught the Egungun’s outfit that attracted him. But as he moved towards the shrine where the outfit was kept, the war captive warned Aje Ayo̩rinde not to go near it because it could put his life in jeopardy.
Hence the name Oloolu, that is, O-LU-NKAN, meaning ‘you will put your life in peril. Ayo̩rinde took the advice but ordered his captive to take the outfit along with him back to Ibadan. He also ordered the wife of the captive to accompany her husband to Ibadan. The woman refused. In his annoyance, Ayo̩rinde beheaded her and ordered the captured husband to carry the woman’s head along to Ibadan in addition to the Oloolu outfit.
That woman’s head is what is permanently placed on the masquerade. It is the original one. It is because of the head that every woman is barred from setting eyes on the Oloolu. Any woman who sees the real Oloolu – not his pictures – will surely die. It is also true that the first person the Ololu sees on his first day in an annual Egungun festival will die. The Olubadan usually warns the populace to take precautions.
During an ancient time in Ibadan, there was famine, ill-health and crisis in the land and all the elders and chiefs were looking for a way out, that was how Ayo̩rinde Aje suggested that Oloolu should carry the rituals to appease the gods, immediately he carried the rituals, there was rain and everything got back to normal in Ibadan.
Oloolu helped Ibadan to be what it is today. Since then anybody that is the head of the Aje family becomes the custodian of Oloolu masquerade.
No other Egungun must be seen on the streets whenever the Oloolu is out. That Egungun will certainly perish. During the reign of Olubadan Dada, and Egungun called Ipo̩nri-Iku tried it, I was then a small boy, quoted Chief Oyerinde. “Ipo̩nri-Iku came out on the same day the Oloolu was out. He challenged the Oloolu to do his worst.
Oloolu then dropped a special cowry on the ground and challenged Ipo̩nri-Iku to pick it up. Ipo̩nri-Iku bent down to pick the cowry. He could not. His backbone was broken instantly. Ipo̩nri-Iku could no longer stand up.
According to Chief Oyerinde, ”any area in Ibadan where the people try to fight the Oloolu anytime he is out, such areas will continue to experience bloodshed, and that is what is happening in Opopo Yeo̩sa area till date, because they tried to beat Oloolu there sometimes ago.
Oloolu is so great that he gives the barren children, he provides for the needy, he prospers business among other good things he can give an individual who is ready to serve him”
The Oloolu masquerade is an individual masquerade. It has its unique attire which looks like an elongated pyramid made from different pieces of clothes and a net.
The most bizarre piece of the Oloolu masquerade is that it has the skull of a woman as its crown. As the Oloolu dances round the city in its strange rhythm with a female skull dangling on its head, the bearer proudly displays the human bone while accompanying the dreaded cult figure.
The bearer of Oloolu must not wear shoes nor carry any kind of load on his head. Also, he must not go to bed with any of his wives 30 days before coming out.
In fact, a few days before the festival opens, all females must vacate his compound and return after the Oloolu festival is over. Besides, he must not carry a child on his shoulders with his feet slung round his neck.
Of all the Egunguns worshipped in Ibadan and probably in all of Yorubaland, none is as dreaded as the Egungun Oloolu (Oloolu Masquerade).
This cult figure is believed to have immense supernatural powers and one of these is the ability to mysteriously kill the first person, man or woman who sets his or her eyes on the Oloolu (in his weird costume which is usually kept inside its own special shrine
As at 1850, Ara was one of the most powerful towns in Ekiti with a settlement spaning as big as that of Ijaye in Egbaland. In August 1855, the people of Ara (also called Ara-Ekiti) committed mass suicide to avoid getting enslaved by Ibadan.
The mass suicide was initiated by the leader of Ara town, Alara Elejofi, who (with the help of his first son) destroyed his properties, killed his family and himself. Many other households in the town replicated this act, and when the Ibadan army arrived with their wide array of weaponry, they turned back at the gory sight of dead bodies that littered the town…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>
Earlier, the people of Ara had rebelled against their former Alara (ruler) because of his bad governance and the grevious offences he had committed against his townspeople. He was exiled. It was during his exile that Chief Elejofi took over the rulership of the town.
The exiled Alara was not willing to let go of his throne and thus sought help from Ibadan. His request was granted because Ibadan, which as at then was gradually filling the vacuum created by the fall of Oyo, was hungry for towns to shove under its administration. The Ibadan army had just returned from an expedition in Ijebu-Ere and with their help, the deposed Alara returned to Ara and was fearfully accepted.
Shortly after Ibadan restored the deposed Alara of Ara, its army attacked Ikoro, another town in Ekiti, because they prevented Ibadan army from foraging on their crops, and also because there were rumours that Ikoro was planning to attack the Ibadan army.
During the attack on Ikoro, some other towns in Ekiti, including Ara-Ekiti, tried to defended Ikoro. The restored Alara prevented his townspeople from joining the fight against Ibadan, hence another unrest ensued in the town. Ibadan eventually defeated Ikoro and went ahead to punish the towns that helped Ikoro during the war, including Ara. READ FULL STORY HERE>>>CLICK HERE TO CONTINUE READING>>>
During this period, Chief Elejofi had again taken over the rulership of Ara and held on to it for some months before it eventually crumbled due to starvation, and to avoid being enslaved by Ibadan, the people of Ara-Ekiti committed an unprecedented mass suicide. This incident is quite similar to the mass suicide of Igbo slaves off the U.S. coast in 1803.
The town of Ara was left deserted for many years before some of its exiled descendants returned home. Ara suicide remains one of the most disturbing chapters in the history of Ekiti and the entire Yoruba land.
This past summer, Kelsie Skillen, 19, was beaten by her boyfriend, James McCourt, 19 in Glasgow, Scotland. Kelsie, a makeup artist, shared pictures of her injuries on Facebook.
Mother says boyfriend forced her 5-year-old daughter to put uriine-soaked socks in her mouth and then pulled it out so aggressively that two of her teeth fell out, but that’s not the worst of it!
Prosecutors said the 23-year-old mother, Katrina, and her 27-year-old boyfriend Jose forced her 5-year-old daughter to put uriine-soaked socks in her mouth and then pulled it out so aggressively that two of her teeth fell out.
But, unfortunately, that’s not the worst of it! Last week, the mother pleaded guilty to her role in the death of her 5-year-old daughter. Prosecutors said the mother pleaded guilty to a first-degree felony count of injury to a child causing serious bodily injury by omission, NYP reported…Click Here To Continue Reading>> …Click Here To Continue Reading>>
According to the court documents, the District Attorney’s Office agreed to reduce her sentence at 45 years if she pleaded guilty. Investigators revealed that the 5-year-old child, Mercedes, suffered weeks of extreme physical abuse that left her with cuts and bruises and caused her to lose large chunks of hair and several toenails.
Both the mother and her boyfriend abused the child for three weeks after she asked him to help discipline the girl. She claimed he forced her daughter to put dog fe-es in her mouth as he screamed at her. The mother also said that her boyfriend stuffed a sock soaked in ur-ne into the girl’s mouth and then pulled it out so aggressively that two of her teeth fell out, officials have said.
Her boyfriend claimed he only slapped the girl on the a-s and accused the victim’s 6-year-old sister of pulling out her hair. Ruiz, who pleaded not guilty to injury to a child causing serious bodily injury, is scheduled to go to trial in October.
