The emergence of the Ondo kingdom which is also known as “Ondo Ekimogun” started in 1510 at the Palace of Alaafin of Oyo in the ancient city of Oyo when the wife of Oba Alaafin Oluaso gave birth to twins, a male child known as Orere and a female child known as Olu. At that time, the birth of twins is forbidden in the palace of every Oba in Yoruba land. It was said that Oba Oluaso loved his wife so much and on hearing the news of the newly born twins, he lamented that the children were mysterious; ese – omo re, which later transformed to Osemawe as Oba's title in the Ondo kingdom.
The twins and their mother were banished from Oyo under the command of the Oba Alaafin Oluaso. He further instructed that one stroke of the facial mark should be cut on each cheek of the twins as the kese or ibaramu mark will cause anguish for them on their journey. The single facial stroke mark became a modeled fashion in Ondo town to date. This is why the Ondo is referred to today as omo mula meji si oju s’eye.
Journey:
The twins were accompanied by the Alaafin of Oyo warrior's leader called ija or uja with their mother to Epin in the then Fulani kingdom. They later returned to Oyo after the demise of Oba Alaafin Oluaso in 1497 AD. The new Oba Alaafin Onigbogi also ordered them out of Oyo in 1498 AD with Alaafin warrior leader to the direction of Ile – Ife. They continued on this journey until they reached ita Ijama. This is why Ondo is referred to as Ekimogun ara ita Ijama today.
The twins and their mother were banished from Oyo under the command of the Oba Alaafin Oluaso. He further instructed that one stroke of the facial mark should be cut on each cheek of the twins as the kese or ibaramu mark will cause anguish for them on their journey. The single facial stroke mark became a modeled fashion in Ondo town to date. This is why the Ondo is referred to today as omo mula meji si oju s’eye.
Journey:
The twins were accompanied by the Alaafin of Oyo warrior's leader called ija or uja with their mother to Epin in the then Fulani kingdom. They later returned to Oyo after the demise of Oba Alaafin Oluaso in 1497 AD. The new Oba Alaafin Onigbogi also ordered them out of Oyo in 1498 AD with Alaafin warrior leader to the direction of Ile – Ife. They continued on this journey until they reached ita Ijama. This is why Ondo is referred to as Ekimogun ara ita Ijama today.
They didn’t stop at ita Ijama, they arrived at Epe where Iyanghede of Epe gave them a warm welcome with Royal hospitality treatment. This is why Ondo is referred to today as omo mude agogo mu omi.
After a brief stay at Epe, they continued with their quest to look for a permanent settlement. They arrived at a place now known as Ile Oluji, where Queen Olu(Alaafin's wife) slept for days without waking up. This specific place(or town) was named after the aforementioned incidence(Ile ti Olu sun ti ko Ji). After another short stay, Queen Olu and Princess Olu, the female twins left the town with one Ogunja from Epe, leaving Prince Orere behind at Ile – Oluji. They continued this journey until it ended at the foot of a hill now known as Oke Agunla. This is how Ondo is referred to today as opon inu odi Ogunja.
At the hill, they noticed a cloud of smoke rising from beneath and followed that direction down the hill and saw a man who identified himself as Ekiri. He was a lost warrior from Ado Benin(now Benin city). Ekiri decided to stay back at that particular place where he was found through a cloud of smoke in the air, with no family. He lived in a but which he vacated for Princess Olu as an expression of honor.
Ekiri later led them to a specific ground known today as Oriden where they tried to stick their yam stake proved futile as instructed by an Ifa Oracle before they left Epe. They were all glad and exa cloud of smoke:
Edo do,
Edo du do,
Idi edo.
Which was finally transmitted to Ode Ondo during the ancient time.
Princess Olu, the female twin who is also known today as the late Oba Pupupu, eventually became the first Osemawe of the Ondo kingdom in 1516 AD while Prince Orere became the first Jegun of Ile – Oluji.
Royal mark:
It is said that the other historical Royal mark is cut onto the right breast of the descendant of past Osemawes from both male and female lineage with a prestigious birthright to Otunba title as known and practiced till today. The Royal families and Otunbas title bearers in the Ondo kingdom are headed by Olotu omo-oba(lotu omo-oba-in-council) with the official quarter at Oke- Otunba and its environs.
Dialect:
The Ondo have their specific dialect. It must be emphasized that Ondo emigrant settlers also founded many towns like Igbado, Ajue, Araromi Obu, Bolorunduro, Oke – Igbo, etc. When you listen to the dialects of the people from the aforementioned places, you will agree with me that Ondo is their source.
Innovation:
The first Osemawe palace was built by the late Oba Airo who was the first son of the late Oba Pupupu. He became the second Osemawe in 1530 AD after his mother. Late Oba Adeuga Fidipote II built the first ancient modern palace in Ondo when he became 40th Osemawe in 1935 AD while late Oba Festus Ibidapo Adesanoye- Osungbedelola II built the multimillionaire and befitting Osemawe Palace in Ondo after he became the 43rd Osemawe of Ondo kingdom in 1992. The current Osemawe of the Ondo kingdom is Oba Dr. Victor Kiladejo Jilo III. He is the 44th Osemawe. And he was crowned the king on December 1, 2006
Religion:
The Ondo embraced Roman Catholic Christianity in 1875 and this move was approved by late Oba Ayibikitiwodi while late Oba Jimekun accepted the CMS Anglican Communion in 1884 and Islam in 1888.
Food:
The Ondo are fond of eating pounded yam with okra soup or black soup.
Clothes:
Ondo’s traditional attires dignify them in any society they find themselves in. They are known for their consistent use of the old Aso- oke types. A few of their traditional attires are etu, alaari, sanyan, etc.
Occupation:
They are also known to be traders, farmers, or produce merchants of kola nuts, cocoa, etc.
Festivals:
The popular traditional festivals in Ondo are Odun Oba, Odun Ogun, Odun Moko, etc.
And Ekimogun Day Festival was recently initiated with the sole purpose of bringing all Ondo indigenes together annually to celebrate their prestigious heritage.
At the hill, they noticed a cloud of smoke rising from beneath and followed that direction down the hill and saw a man who identified himself as Ekiri. He was a lost warrior from Ado Benin(now Benin city). Ekiri decided to stay back at that particular place where he was found through a cloud of smoke in the air, with no family. He lived in a but which he vacated for Princess Olu as an expression of honor.
Ekiri later led them to a specific ground known today as Oriden where they tried to stick their yam stake proved futile as instructed by an Ifa Oracle before they left Epe. They were all glad and exa cloud of smoke:
Edo do,
Edo du do,
Idi edo.
Which was finally transmitted to Ode Ondo during the ancient time.
Princess Olu, the female twin who is also known today as the late Oba Pupupu, eventually became the first Osemawe of the Ondo kingdom in 1516 AD while Prince Orere became the first Jegun of Ile – Oluji.
Royal mark:
It is said that the other historical Royal mark is cut onto the right breast of the descendant of past Osemawes from both male and female lineage with a prestigious birthright to Otunba title as known and practiced till today. The Royal families and Otunbas title bearers in the Ondo kingdom are headed by Olotu omo-oba(lotu omo-oba-in-council) with the official quarter at Oke- Otunba and its environs.
Dialect:
The Ondo have their specific dialect. It must be emphasized that Ondo emigrant settlers also founded many towns like Igbado, Ajue, Araromi Obu, Bolorunduro, Oke – Igbo, etc. When you listen to the dialects of the people from the aforementioned places, you will agree with me that Ondo is their source.
Innovation:
The first Osemawe palace was built by the late Oba Airo who was the first son of the late Oba Pupupu. He became the second Osemawe in 1530 AD after his mother. Late Oba Adeuga Fidipote II built the first ancient modern palace in Ondo when he became 40th Osemawe in 1935 AD while late Oba Festus Ibidapo Adesanoye- Osungbedelola II built the multimillionaire and befitting Osemawe Palace in Ondo after he became the 43rd Osemawe of Ondo kingdom in 1992. The current Osemawe of the Ondo kingdom is Oba Dr. Victor Kiladejo Jilo III. He is the 44th Osemawe. And he was crowned the king on December 1, 2006
Religion:
The Ondo embraced Roman Catholic Christianity in 1875 and this move was approved by late Oba Ayibikitiwodi while late Oba Jimekun accepted the CMS Anglican Communion in 1884 and Islam in 1888.
Food:
The Ondo are fond of eating pounded yam with okra soup or black soup.
Clothes:
Ondo’s traditional attires dignify them in any society they find themselves in. They are known for their consistent use of the old Aso- oke types. A few of their traditional attires are etu, alaari, sanyan, etc.
Occupation:
They are also known to be traders, farmers, or produce merchants of kola nuts, cocoa, etc.
Festivals:
The popular traditional festivals in Ondo are Odun Oba, Odun Ogun, Odun Moko, etc.
And Ekimogun Day Festival was recently initiated with the sole purpose of bringing all Ondo indigenes together annually to celebrate their prestigious heritage.
Post a Comment