The Grand Finale of the Annual Osun Osogbo Festival is Schedule to hold on Friday 18th of August 2017

The Osun Osogbo Festival is a fun-laden occasion that lasts for two weeks, beginning with the traditional cleansing of the town called Iwopopo.

The festival’s grand finale for 2017 which was schedule to hold on Friday 18th showcases the cultural procession of the people to the Osun Grove. Osun Grove has been enlisted officially as a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in Durban, South Africa.

The Dos and Dont at the Eyo Festival

Come May 20th 2017, below are the dos and dont at the Eyo Festival lagos state.

1. No smoking
2. No wearing of shoes/sandals
3. No shuku hairstyle by women
4. No riding of bicycles
5. No riding of okada
6. No headgear for men and women
7. Muslims can wear their white prayer caps
8. No picture taking of Eyo Orisha
9. No selfies with the Eyo.

 Be warned!!!

 

Lagos storm Notting Hill Carnival in London

The sound and sight of Lagos will on Monday dominate the popular Nothinghill Carnival in London as the #LoveLagosWeekend campaign enters Day three.
To this end, the popular Nigerian Corner on Adelaja street at Nottinghill carnival will on Monday transform to Lagos Corner courtesy of the Lagos branding campaign by the Lagos State Government that has taken the city of London by storm since Saturday.
The #LoveLagosWeekend started on Saturday with a town hall meeting and media parley addressed by Lagos State top officials and continued on Saturday evening at I Laugh with MC Abbey and the Love Lagos Crack Ya Ribs with Julius Agu on Sunday.

Promoter of the Lagos Corner, Mr. Ayo Sonaiya said that Monday’s event coincides with the Nothinghill Carnival’s 50th edition.
“We are happy that at a time that Lagos State is counting down to its 50th anniversary, the administration of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode is using the huge platform of Nothinghill Carnival, which is also celebrating its 50th edition this year to reach out to millions of Nigerians and Lagosians in particular about the emerging powerful brand that Lagos has become in the areas of arts and entertainment and in connecting with the Diaspora about the great things being recorded in Lagos,” he said.

The Lagos Corner will provide a veritable platform for performing artistes from Lagos State to showcase their talents and further give verve to Brand Lagos as the home of creativity.
The Love Lagos Weekend, according to the State’s Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Steve Ayorinde, is a three-day event designed to communicate the Lagos tourism brand initiative to the world.

ADIRE HERITAGE FESTIVAL 2016

WHAT IS ADIRE?

Adire is the name given to indigo dyed cloth produced by Yoruba women of south western Nigeria using a variety of resist dye techniques. Adire translates as tie and dye, and the earliest cloths were probably simple tied designs on locally-woven hand-spun cotton cloth much like those still produced in Mali. In the early decades of the twentieth century however, the new access to large quantities of imported shirting material made possible by the spread European textiles merchants in certain Yoruba towns, notably Abeokuta, enabled women dyers to become both artist and entrepreneurs in a booming new medium. New techniques of resist dyeing were developed, most notably the practice of hand painting designs on the cloth with a cassava starch paste prior to dyeing. This was known as Adire Eleko.

Alongside these a new a new style was soon developed that speeded up decoration by using metal stencil cut from the sheets of tin that lined tea-chest. Another method was to use sewn raffia, sometimes in combination with tied sections, while other clothes were simply folded repeatedly and tied or stitched in a place.

How and what made Oyo Empire colapse

Shortly after Oyo Empire expanded her influence westwards, capturing Port Novo and making Dahomey (present-day Benin Republic) a vassal state pay tributes of 40 guns and 400 loads of cowries and corals regularly to Oyo, of course after phases of wars that made Oyo army a dread to the Dahomeyans, Alafin (Emperor) Labisi appointed a new Basorun (Prime Minister). 

To check the Alaafin from becoming too dictatorial, the Prime Minister according to the constitution could pass a vote of no confidence that would turn the Oyo Mesi (Legislators) against the Alaafin and an empty calabash would be handed to the emperor signaling that he was required commit suicide and pave way for a new Alaafin since the Oyo Mesi had lost confidence in his rule.

The Basorun was a high priest controlling all the cults except Sango and Ifa, so this could make him declare that the ancestors and Heavens had lost confidence in an Alaafin. Prior to the appointment of Ga, the unwritten constitution of the empire had been amended from the more ancient style that the Aremo (heir apparent) ruled after an Alaafin passed on.

The new constitution demanded that the heir apparent died with the Alaafin so as to pass on succession without disputes and in a way make the monarchical system a sort of republic. This made Basorun Ga more powerful. Ga became despotic and power drunk and from the slightest accusation that an Alaafin or his Prince disrespected the Oyo Mesi to the accusation that an Alaafin was assuming airs of superiority, Basorun Ga raised five Alaafins to the throne and successively destroyed four of them.

He and his family ruled despotically for twenty years, almost as if they were the Alaafins. By the reign of the fifth emperor, Alaafin Abiodun, the people were fed up of Ga’s dictatorship. On an appointed day, with the support of Are-Ona Kakanfo (Military Commander of Oyo army) Oyabi, the Alaafin and the people broke the jinx of Ga’s powerful magic and rounded up all his family (except Ojo, Ga’s first son) and were seized and killed, Ga himself was burnt to death in his house.

Abiodun’s reign then went on peacefully and lasted from 1774 to 1789, his was a golden reign. However, the center was no longer holding the seams of the Empire together after 20 years of internal imbalance triggered by Ga. Taking advantage of the lawless years, Egba province under the warrior, Lishabi, had proclaimed their independence and migrated towards their present location in Abeokuta. The Egbas had been aggrieved by the oppression of the resident Ilaris (governors) in their three provinces within the empire and the absence of any authority to hold them in check.

African Teams that Lit up the Rio Olympic Opening Ceremony

The Rio 2016 opening ceremony began with a bang. As the first Olympics to be held on South American soil came to life in stunning fashion after months of negative publicity on and off the track.

207 countries took part in the famed parade of nations (including a team made up of refugees) as each team soaked up the grandeur before the hard work of competition started. Some African teams at the ceremony came out in formal suits, but we take a look at five teams that rocked their local attire.

1.

Burundi

Not to be mistaken for javelin competitors, the Burundi team stand out in this beautiful two-piece attire finished off with neon trainers. Stylish!!!

Members of Burundi walk during the Opening Ceremony of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games © Jamie Squire /Getty

2.

Cameroon

Colourful ensemble by the Cameroonian women at Rio. No doubt a post-ceremony party played a role in the choice of this outfit.

Cameroon’s delegation parade during the opening ceremony of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games © Olivier Morin
AFP/Getty

3.

Mali

Add caption

The Mali team show that they will be competing clean at Rio with their all-white attires.

The Annual Penis(Phallus) Festival in Japan

The popular festival — Kanamara Matsuri — is marked annually on the first Sunday in April every year, attracting hundreds of visitors from both inside and outside Japan.Participants sucked on phallus-shaped lollipops and posed for photographs in
phallus-shaped masks as several men pushed the portable penis shrine through the street, Hundreds of locals have been parading through the streets with three giant phalluses, some as big as a full-grown man, in a tribute to the humble penis.

Ram Fighting to feature at Nigerian National Sports Festival this year

Lagos – Basheer Agusto, Chairman, Traditional Sports Federation of Nigeria (TSFN), on Sunday said that arrangements were in progress to feature Ram Fighting at the 19th National Sports Festival (NSF) in Calabar.

Agusto told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the side lines of the National Ram Fighting Competition holding in Lagos, that the sport had contributed immensely to the development of traditional sports in the country.

Agusto said, “We were at the EKO 2012 festival for demonstration.

“Since then, the development of the sport has been significant especially among the states in the west who are also promoting ram competition.

“This is one arm of traditional sports that has gained ground, with Lagos State setting the pace.
“Oyo, Ogun, Kwara, Plateau, Sokoto and FCT, Abuja have also keyed in.

curlled: ATQ

'BEBE' A CELEBRATION OF WONDERS

"o ga o, e n se bebe o" is an expression anyone who has lived in Yoruba speaking southwestern part of Nigeria has heard at one time or the other. The expression, loosely translated means "wow, you are doing wonders". It is a phrase usually employed to show the achievement of a great feat. It is also usually used when a party is a big success with plenty food and booze. You would usually hear something like, "Ha, ee wa si inawo ana, won se bebe ni inawo yen o" ( Ha! You didn’t come for the party yesterday, the hosts did wonders).
Many people think the word "Bebe" is a slang, probably coined by the Isale Eko (Lagos Island) boys. But no! The word "Bebe" is a proper Yoruba word which has a proper meaning and origin.
The Bebe is the golden jubilee anniversary of the king's reign. That is, the 50th year celebration of a king being on the throne. There have been just a few Bebes celebrated in the history of the Yorubas. On some VERY rare occasions, a king may evoke the Bebe celebration without being the golden jubilee celebration, but

NTDC Director General, Mrs Sally Mbanefo and Ooni Extols Ife's Tourism Potentials

                In his remarks before officially declaring Ile-Ife “a Tourism Zone”, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi has said that the historical assets of Ile-Ife, the cradle of Yoruba, was enough to empower Nigeria and Africa at large and urged tourists across the world to thrill themselves with artifacts available in the town. Oba Ogunwusi who spoke at the weekend during the official declaration listed some of the already discovered tourist attractions in the town. Ooni Ogunwusi said: 

“Ark of Noah, which the entire world has been searching for is in Ile-Ife. The Ark of Noah has been in existence and it is in Ife land. “We want to bring out the mysteries for the whole world to see. God thrives on mystery and every inch of Ile Ife- the land of expansion-is full of mystery. “God has blessed us with some mysteries and we need to bless the world with those mysteries. For instance,

VALENTINE – THE AFRICAN WHO DIED FOR LOVE

By Yorubytes:

valentine, it is the celebration of love they say. Whenever sacrificial love is being talked about, they make it seem like Africans do not have the capacity to pay the ultimate price for love. They talk about how Jack died for the girl in Titanic, they talk about how Romeo died for Juliet, they talk about how St. Valentine died for a babe. You want to know the truth, they are all LIES! The Love story in Titanic was fabricated, Romeo was just a product of Shakespeare's imagination, and there was no St. Valentine death anywhere. Please confirm for yourself.

On the other hand, in Africa, we have some real genuine cases where guys died for the sake of their lovers. Guys who lived amongst us in flesh and blood, not some made up Jack Dawson, Romeo or St. valentine. Let me tell you the story of one of such people who gave his all for his love, here in Africa.

The Oyo empire was a very big empire in West Africa back in the days, it was situated largely in the country called Nigeria today. it formed one of the four major empires of Africa. To rise to become the king of the Oyo empire, a group of people called Oyo mesi (kingmakers) have to give their blessings. It so happened that at one time, the head of those King makers was a man named Gaa, his chieftancy title was "Bashorun", so he was called Bashorun Gaa!