The Olowo of Owoland in Ondo State, Oba Ajibade Gbadegesin Ogunoye III has revealed the sacrileges and taboos of his Kingdom which every resident is expected respect with grave consequences for violators of such traditions and norms.
Oba Ajibade who disclosed to PMParrot in an exclusive interview said that the kingdom has up to one thousand sacrileges and taboos, among which nobody except the Olowo can use an umbrella in the Palace premises and any woman that is within the premises of the Olowo Palace or inside the King’s Market must always cover their hairs and head.
According to the Olowo, the tradition of the land requires that whenever you see a King in Yorubaland, you must greet and pay obeisance, he stressed that whoever goes contrary to these customs highlighted above will face grave consequences.
Oba Ajibade stated further that most of the taboos in the kingdom are historically formed with stories surrounding heroes and heroines of yesteryears.
“We have a lot of customs and there are equally taboos in relation to our festivals. One of our festivals even started as a result of the affront of one of the Queens of Owo kingdom who married the Olowo Oregeje, the 9th Olowo. After breaking one of the taboos, she ran away to the forest because she was a spirit who came to inform a woman and got married to the King.
“The Olowo came from Ile-Ife. He migrated from Ile-Ife. Olowo is one of the Sons of Oduduwa. The first Olowo was Olowo Jugbelu who established this Kingdom in the year 1019 AD. He was succeeded by his Son; Olowo Imade. And today, I am the 32nd Olowo of Owo Kingdom”.
Speaking on the importance of the festival, the respected monarch stated that “the Iro Festival is our retirement Festival, it is being observed now as we speak. It usually holds every nine years or seven years as the case may be. We also have the Ore Festival; we have Gbade Festival which is the Coronation celebration. The Ulabi Festival is the Kolanut celebration. This town is a town of festivals, traditions and cultures”, said the monarch.
He added that in the immediate distant future, Owo Kingdom will be a place to be reckoned with in terms of the preservations, promotions and the development of core values of culture and traditions and prominent festivals.
While remarking on the leadership quality of the town, Olowo described Owo as a political school, recalling that one of the prominent parties in the first republic, the Action Group was launched in Owo.
“Prominent sons and daughters of this town then, the likes of Chief Adekunle Ajasin were at the forefront, and he eventually became the Governor of Ondo State, and now we have another son of this Kingdom who is the Governor of Ondo State, who has established industries and is managing the economy of the State well with an open policy style of governance.
“When Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN) became the Governor three and half years ago, he informed the people about his manifestoes and he has followed the manifestoes well and has been able to manage the resources of this State to the benefits of the people”, Olowo noted.
He explained further that “since Chief Adekunle Ajasin left government, there was no industry added to what Ajasin put in place, but today, Aketi has created the Ore Industrial Hub, there, we have five functional and running Industries. Others are near completion. So, aside from that, he has been able to construct good roads all over Ondo State”
Packaged by Emmanuel Adeniran
