TRADITIONAL FESTIVAL IN YORUBA LAND (EDUCATION PROJECT TOPICS AND MATERIALS)
CHAPTER ONE
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY (INTRODUCTION)
Festival can be defined as the time or period of remembrance of an occasion. It is the period through which merriment are made to all friends and sundry. Also festival can be defined as day of season for rejoicing, public celebration, series of performances cot music, ballet, drama, etc, given periodically usually once a year.
Apart from Christian festival which are celebrated every year, Irele people have other traditional festivals which include Ere festival, Ijoye-jesu festival, Eje festival, Oba-gboghwo festival, etc.
Ere festival as one of the most population traditional festival being celebrated in Irele land is celebrated annually during the month of June and July by the Oba of Irele Kingdom known as Olotun of Irele kingdom, the Ijamas, the Ijoyes and the Ope Ere which comprises of many people. Each people in this group is assigned to a certain work.
Ere festival started a long ago as a result of their originated festival accordance with their ancestors land of origin (Ile-Ife and Benin). The festival is done yearly to appease the wrath of gods and their ancestors for the betterment of the people’s endeavours.
The festival is celebrated by all sons and daughters of Irele community. It is seen as a symbol of unity among the people far and wide to the community during the celebration of the festival.
1.2 THE ORIGIN OF IRELE PEOPLE
The history early Irele people in Ikale land of Ondo State is a history of pre-literate society i.e. a society where literacy is absent: Notwithstanding the early Irele people have method of preserving their own history, these preserving history by way of memory is called “oral history”. And this method use in oral history is fell down from generation to generation, in this way the history of society continuous and the history become a legend.
The history of Irele land is one of the famous history of descendant of Oduduwa who was the founder of the Yoruba land having it cradle in Ile-Ife and Benin Kingdom respectively. For all the Irele people they have their common tradition about their origin, the first traditional vision is the “Olumusokun, Lumure and Abodi word mythical vision”.
According to this vision, Olumusokun is said to be one of the son of Oduduwa the founder of Yorubas having it cradle in Ile-Ife to Benin Kingdom. When there was need of king in Benin. In the olden days a request was to be made at Ile-Ife to said one of his son named “Olumusokun” to go and crowned a new king in Benin during the coronation of His Royal Highness Oba Akinsuwa, the then King of Benin Kingdom. Meanwhile Olumusokun refused to go back to Ile-Ife and later settled at Benin Kingdom.
