IRESELAND: PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE
Socio-Cultural Dynamics
Before the incursion of Fulani (Ilorin) influence, Irese people had very strong relationships with the old Oyo Empire and consulted with the authorities before major decisions were taken. During wars, the Ireses had roles to play: participate actively, alongside the Oyo warriors to fend off enemies and “closing the door on war”; during festivities, bring gifts and presents to pay homage to the Alafin, as a show of loyalty and respect, in addition to participating in most traditional rites and ceremonies, but not without the invitation of the Alafin.
One vital aspect of this relationship is that the Elese never took any decision without the active participation of other chiefs, who must also consult and secure buy-in of their subjects. Together, the Elese, the kingmakers and council of chiefs discuss the issues at stake and carry the message down to their people in the villages and wards, who never quivered in supporting any affirmative action to contribute and participate in the endeavour. Overall, the Ireses, before the advent of Ilorin Empire, looked on the Alafin as their “father” and the Alafin, acting in this capacity, also gave orders to the Ireses to undertake certain duties, military or civic in nature.
Apart from their strong affiliation to Oyo-Ile, Irese people were irrevocably attached to their socio-cultural heritage, religious beliefs and values; and observed them with enthusiasm and in convivial atmospheres. But the influence of modern religious beliefs embedded in Islam and Christianity have gradually eroded confidence in the indigenous African traditions and religions which propelled their sense of community in the past. In fact, reports suggest that less than 10 per cent of the Irese population, today, still engage in the rites associated with the original traditional values which bond them together in the old.
Hitherto, “Oro Ita” was a vital communal festival observed annually in all Ireseland. It was the “Etutu” traditional rite believed to have been initiated by the first Elese at Obin. The descendants of Elese in the communities participated in the ceremonies on behalf of all the people of the land. The rite was and is still performed at Ita’s forest (Igbo Ita) on a hill at the outskirt of Alasoro where the celebrants will go in the morning and not return until the next day. The significance of the annual ritual is to secure the protection of the whole Ireseland against all evils and dangers of the year. To assure the acceptance of the sacrifices, rain must fall and soak them as they descend the hill and return home, with joy and in celebration mood.
The “Ope Isa” festival, which lasts seven days, is celebrated after the “Ita” festival. The significance of the “Ope Isa” festival is that it is performed for the protection of the land and the people against misfortunes. Throughout the seven nights that the rituals are performed, the Egungun (masquerade) must guard and parade the streets from midnight through the early hours of the day, and no individual, who is not associated with the rites must come out or see the masquerade.
The Egungun was and still remains a unique, seven-day annual festival. It is a unifying socio-cultural activity of the Irese people with a multiplicity of origins. The most common is the Egungun Elewe, which could be found in virtually all Igbomina communities and is believed to have been brought by immigrants from the old Oyo. In the whole of Igbominland, the Elewe is believed to have originated from Oyo-Ile through the instrumentality of the Elese of Igbaja.
However, the Egungun can still be traced to a number of houses in Igbaja, including the most senior of them all: Sanbeleke at the Balogun Abaanigbe’s compound; and Obadimeji from the same Balogun Abaanigbe’s compound. There is also Egungun Eleru at the Sangote’s compound, said to have been brought from Idofian during their migration to Igbaja. During the Egungun festival, some Idofian people join their ancestral kinsmen at Igbaja to celebrate. Another Egungun Eleru at Agboku’s compound was brought from Ilota, near Idofian, and the people of Ilota also join their kits and kin in Igbaja to celebrate during the annual festival. The Paaka is also an Egungun mostly associated with the youths and young children and usually adorned with clothes and rags. Children look up to it every year!
The significance of the Egungun cult is the belief that the rites performed during the seven-day festivities help protect the communities from all evils and misfortunes within the year. Celebrated during the dry season, the people of the four communities of Igbaja, Adanla, Obin and Ofarese joyously troop out in their numbers to the rhythm of the drums as they dance to the palace of the Elese to pay homage, amidst the rituals. One characteristic of the Egungun is the fact that it manifests the people’s ancestors who come once a while into the world to see his children and bless them.
The mystery of the Egungun is that only those connected with the secret rituals know what it is made of while the ordinary people cannot see beyond the physical regalia and dressing. However, once an Egungun is out, members of the family must gather to receive blessings. Incidentally, the Egungun knows every member of the family and calls them by their respective names as he blesses them. Relatives outside the community are usually informed of the date the Egungun will appear and on the seventh day, as he bids farewell to the people, those who see him as their “father” literarily weep because he will be leaving them for the unknown world he came from.
In the past, apart from the Egungun cults, there was hardly any family without one kind of traditional god (idol) or the other, such as “Orisa” as ‘Sango’, “Oya”, “Sigidi”, “Ifa”, “Orisa Oko”, “Orisa Osun” and “Orisa Einle”. As obtained in other Yoruba communities, Irese people call the name of God, the Creator and Supreme Being, as “Olodumare”. They make regular consultations and worship the “Olodumare” through the “Orisas”, which they see as His representative. In the past, virtually every family house in Irese believed in Divinities and ancestors, represented by man-made shrines and idols. But not so anymore!
The significance of these Divinities and ancestors to the people lies in their religious concept in relation to “Olodumare”, the Creator and Supreme Being. To them, the Divinities and ancestors represented messengers, ministers and agents of God. As they were indoctrinated to believe, the Divinities were intermediaries between God and man, an idea shaped by their socio-cultural setting, where the highest authority, for example, the Oba or Elese, is not approached directly but through lesser agents, sometimes, chiefs. The Yorubas have such revered and exalted notion of God that they could not have thought of approaching Him directly but through His messengers – the Divinities. It is this religious belief that was misinterpreted by the Europeans, when they came with their own religion and erroneously concluded that the people did not know God, thereby using derogatory terms as “Idol worship”, “paganism”, “fetishism” to describe them and their religion.
In Ireseland, marriages and child-births follow the same traditional rites and processes. Inter-marriages were, and are still an acceptable form of union, celebrated in the communities. A daughter given away in marriage by one family to another in the other community is seen as conforming to tradition. It is also seen as a union not sealed in strange land.
In the past, when a child was born to a family, the first thing that happened was that the Ifa Oracle was consulted to seek and know the future of the child; and to know whether the Orisa or Egungun desired any ritual or sacrifice for the good of the child. The people also believed that a newly born child made a journey from another world into this world and consequently was expected to bring presents for the gods, that they might receive him or her with all the necessary love and admiration. In this regard, on the first day of birth, the child’s mother will go to the gods for the necessary rituals with palm oil (which signifies ‘Ero’ – well-being or peace), and as many as two “abata” kola nuts on behalf of the child.
Also, on the eight day after birth, all members of the family, along with their relations and well-wishers gathered together in the house’s ancestral shrine for the naming ceremony. The significance of the rites performed during the ceremony is not in the fact that a name is announced for the new born baby but that the child is delivered into the hands of the ancestors for protection, direction and guidance against rampaging evils and locking dangers into successive feats all the days of his or her life.
Presided over by the ancestral priest and head of the house, rituals were performed inside the shrine with, among others, edible things such as hen and kola nuts for a female child; and cock with kola nuts for a male child. After killing the hen or cock, the blood will be spilt inside the shrine and the kola nut broken and passed round for all to eat. Shortly after that, the priest will announce the child’s name and every will join their voices in prayer and blessings for the child and the parents. Entertainments follow immediately at the same venue. The child’s head is also shaved any time of this day or soon after to complete the induction process. But only a few families follow this process today as modern religions have wiped out such beliefs. No more consultations with Ifa Oracle or visits to shrines for child naming. Churches now do child naming, dedication and baptism.
The idea of facial marks has been a common denominator of Irese people’s cultural beliefs. As in most Yoruba communities, facial marks depict a family’s lineage and heritage. In the past, the Abaja was peculiar to the descendants of Elese in the four communities. But nowadays, Pele is the mark common on their faces.
Traditionally, while Abaja belongs to their father’s lineage, Pele belongs to their mother’s lineage. Characteristically, the facial marks give out their wearers so quickly to those who appreciate the origins of the marks. For instance, Abaja consists of four or seven vertical lines of marks made on each cheek. For those conversant with tribal marks and their origins, it is easy to look someone in the face and tell him or her where he or she hails from.
But society has changed exponentially. Descendants of Balogun now wear “Pele” marks on their faces, consisting of three horizontal marks on each cheek. Another popular mark, “Keke” runs down from the head to the cheek and mostly belongs to Mogaji’s descendants. However, the storyline of today is that most of these facial marks are disappearing fast from the streets of Igbaja and Ireseland, except among some of the elders who enjoyed the value and associated respect such marks accorded them in the olden days.
Blend of Culture and Modern Religion
History indicates that Irese people originated from Oyo-Ile and were, therefore, subservient to the authority of the Alafin of Oyo until the advent of the Ilorin Empire. However, there is no consensus as to how the people became subjects of the Emir of Ilorin: whether it was voluntary or by conquest. But one thing is clear: Igbomina communities such as Igbaja, Iwo, Oke-Aba and Ijara came under the control of Ilorin during the reign of Emir Abdulsalam (1831-1842) and that was also during the time of the 16th Elese of Igbaja, Abidolu. He became the first Elese to be turbaned by the Emir rather than being crowned by the Alafin as it had been the tradition.
Traditionally, accepting the authority of a particular overlord, whether by conquest or voluntary submission, translates to accepting its political, religious and cultural values. Thus, the conversion of Elese Abidolu into Islamic religion and also accepting the turban from Emir Abdulsalam meant subjugating Irese people to the whips and caprices (power and authority) of Ilorin.
Influence of Islam
At the time of Emir Abdulsalam, Ireseland was administered by one Malam Ali Gambari, a fief, who consequently appointed his relatives as Ajeles, such as Pelu and Alufa, over the communities. These characters freely gave land to those they favoured and many Ilorin farmers took advantage of this deliberate policy to move over to settle in Ireseland: Oroki (1831 and 1842), Sabala (1842 and 1860), and Durosoto (1842 and 1860).
As with Islam, virtually all the new settlers were already believers in Prophet Muhammad as the messenger of Allah and the Koran (Qu’ran) as the original message guiding the Islamic religion. Therefore, their custom and traditional values, socio-cultural behaviours and habits, and mode of interaction with others had been shaped by these traits. For instance, they abhorred western education but took Qu’ranic recitation in the Mosques seriously, just as they relished nomadic farming, especially livestock: ram and sheep, goats, cattle, and even camels. Their lifestyle is lubricated by polygamy; something akin to the traditional value system of those enmeshed in traditional African religion.
Besides, they had an appreciation of leadership through indirect application of political power and subtle diplomacy and deployed it very well in the use of indirect rule to administer the affairs of the people without making it obvious that they were controlling their lives. For example, Irese people paid no tribute or taxes in form of money directly to the Emir of Ilorin, but they pledged their loyalty to the Emirate by selecting able-bodied men to work in the royal household’s farms, build mud houses, bans and gardens for them over a period of two to three months, for free. In addition, the Elese and his chiefs went annually to Ilorin to celebrate Eid-el-Kabir festival with the Emir, but not without carrying yams and goats contributed by their subjects for the Emir and his household. Who says these were not tributes? Of course, there were used to pay homage to the Emir.
Although the Elese of Igbaja was given the right to judge certain cases within his jurisdiction, including divorce, intra and inter-family crisis as well as family land disputes but the authority to adjudicate on boundary disputes, chieftaincy problems and criminal cases rested in the Emir, who could either wield such powers or delegate same to the Balogun. These value systems were more easily inculcated by the Irese people, and helped the spread of Islam.
Jane Smith
April 26