It is believed to be a worldwide festival celebrating the black race and mainly unites the Yoruba people.
Olojo in the Yoruba language translates to ‘The Day of the First Dawn’, and as a popular myth, it is believed that Ile-Ife is the cradle of the world. Hence, they celebrate the festival to show how grateful men are to God for his creations and that Olodumare has blessed that day for them.
Also, this festival is believed to be used to celebrate the remembrance of the god of iron, described as ‘Ogun’ in Yoruba.
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The Olojo festival goes on for 3 days. Each day with, a different ritual to be done.
Before these 3 days, the Ooni of Ife, the King of Ife, goes into 7-day seclusion at a shrine to perform traditional rites and communicate with the gods. During this seclusion, he is said to be praying for the peace of Yoruba land and hearing from the gods.
It is traditionally believed that when he comes out on the first day of the festival, he comes out fully possessed by the power of the gods, and whatever he says becomes accepted by the gods. His subjects await his blessings for themselves and the land on this day, and also he blesses them.
Before he enters the palace, women sweep the palace, which symbolizes sanitizing the palace from evil. After this is done, the Ooni enters the palace wearing the ancient gown, which is believed to be the original crown Oduduwa wore in his lifetime.
Ooni only wears this crown at highly ceremonial festivals like the Olojo Festival.
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After he comes out, different rituals take place, and he goes from one shrine to another, renewing his Oath to the kingdom. He also visits important historical sites.
Asides from all of this, the Olojo festival also caters for some other traditional events, such as Olojo Festival, Ankara Carnival, Ayo Olopon Traditional Game, Adire Oodua Cultural Possession and many more.
The Olojo Festival brings people together to celebrate creation, their gods and the beauty of culture in Yorubaland.
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