Monday, June 15, 2009

Celebration of eyo festival


History indeed is a story to tell to everybody and pass it to the next generation.
This story is intended to some reading about Lagos Adamu Orisha Festival.
Beyond reasonable doubt the day of performance of an Adamu Orisha play is unquestionably a very joyous day of splendor and gaiety, The trace of its public performance must be rooted in Legend, but those Legends are completely lost to history.The point of performance was at Oke-Ita(outside mount) that was the site where successive kings and Obas of Lagos State traveled to watch the Adamu Orisha Festival for many years before the middle of the nineteenth century staged at Agbadrigi(Badagry).
In order to view the performance, five days at least was set aside by everybody to participate in the early pilgrimage.
The Adamu Orisha Festival is by tradition staged in memory of a deceased person , but almost always a great occasion or even is usually chosen to perform the festival .Hence the staging of an Adamu Orisha is significant both for the greet occasion and the relations and friends of the deceased person being honored.
Several illustration sons and daughters of this country had been honoued with unique performances of the Adamu Orisha Festival.
Today the festival retains in its entirely the richness of the culture. the performers themselves derives considerable style of movement, acrobatic dancing and display of their masquerades. The Eyo wield a staff called opambata, which he uses and manipulate with peculiar skill and agility and only occasionally employs it to beat an erring bystander. He wears a headgear called Aga by ceremony .there are various Eyo GROUPS MAINLY Eyo Oloku, Eyo Oniko , Eyo Agere ,Eyo Ologede Eyo Alakete-pupa.its is noted that Eyo group must belong to a ruling house or chieftaincy family house.
The Eyo resound an UNCOMMON LANGUAGE i.e ventriloquial voice, suggesting that he was not human and also that he represents the spirit of a depar4ted person. The yorubas, believes inn the reincarnation of the spirit of their loved deceased ones, they believe that the spirit of their departed ancestors is always with them at all times ready to strike in order to protect them.
THE Eyo symbolizes the arrival on earth of the spirit, and whenever you meet Eyo and greet him with the word Agogoro Eyo! He is expected to answer Mo Yo Fun E, Mo Yo Fun Ra Mi, I rejoice with you I rejoice with myself.

Celebration of eyo festival
What a day to remember at the staging of the Eyo Festival in memory of the late illustrious son of Lagos State Chief Theopulius Otunba Shobowale Benson, at Tafawa Balawe Square, TBS, Mainland Lagos.

Lagos State Governor, Barrister Babatunde Raji Fashola,SAN, during the displaying of the Eyo noted that it goes beyond tradition culture but also expressing the life of late TOS Benson, noting that the life of TOS Benson shows that indeed he is an illustrious person.

Governor Fashola, noted that these has shown to the world that Nigerian culture is very rich.

Some of the dignitaries in event include the Oba of Lagos State Oba Aiyealuwa Chief Riliwan Akiola 1,former governor of Ogun State Chief Olusegun Osoba, former governor of Cross River State ,Dr Donald Duke, and the famous movie producer, director Tunde Kelani
Tourists around the world also witness the occasion of the Eyo Festival.

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