Obedu Festival Foregrounding continuity, ethics and environmental protection in Yorùbá celebratory art
Main Article Content
Abstract
Festival as an art form is a significant component of people’s cultural trajectory. Among Yorùbá, it recreates age-long traits of the people recognising and transmitting knowledge about a past that impacts the present and also foregrounds the future. Commemorative arts subsist in all cultures of the world articulating the socio-historical imaginaries of the people alongside their biological forms of identity. Although there are existing works on Yoruba festivals mainly focusing on festivals of big cities such as Osun (Osogbo), Eyo (Lagos), and Olojo (Ile-Ife). However, it is imperative to research the festivals of the smaller villages and communities because of their rich history and tradition. Therefore, this paper examines the Obedu festival of the Oba-Ile people of Osun State, Nigeria. Symbolic Interactionism serves as the theoretical framework and it is ethnographic in design. Data were collected through key Informant Interviews (comprising of the king of Oba-Ile, three high chiefs, and ten other participants at the festival) and Participant observation. Data collected were content analysed. The paper concludes that there is a need to reevaluate Indigenous performance as they continue to influence identity construction and social change despite modernity.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
References
Abimbola, P. O. 2005. Oba-Ile Town in History. Osogbo: Printoteque Press.
Adedeji, J. A. 1968. “The ALARINJO THEATRE: The study of Yoruba theatrical arts from its earliest beginning to the present times” PhD. A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Arts, University of Ibadan, Ibadan.
Adeoye, C. L. 1979. Asa ati Ise Yoruba. Oxford University Press.
Awolalu, J. O. 1979. The Yoruba Philosophy of Life. Presence Africaine, Nouvelle series, No. 73, pp20-28 Presence Africaine Edition.
Adekoya, S. 2014. Reflections on Oyin Ogunba’s Field Notes and Papers on Oral Literature in Nigeria Journal of Oral Literature (No. 2, August, 193-218)
Babawale, T. 2018. Reflections on the Need for the Promotion of Nigeria’s Cultural Heritage. A Public Lecture delivered at the Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding (CBCIU) Osogbo, Osun State
Babayemi, S. O. 1980. Egúngún among the Oyo Yoruba. Broad Publication. Ibadan, Nigeria.
Barber, K. 2007. The Anthropology of Texts, Persons, and Publics Cambridge University Press
Beier, U. 1959. “A Year of Sacred Festival in One Yoruba Town”. Nigeria Magazine, Lagos.
Blumer, H. 1969. Symbolic Interactionism. Perspective and Method. Eaglewood Cliffs, NJ Prentice Hall.
Boscolo, C. 2009. Odun: Discourses, Strategies, and Power in the Yoruba Play of Transformation Rodopi: Amsterdam – New-York, NY.
Clark, K. 2004. Mapping Yoruba Networks: Power and Agency in the Making of Transnational Communities. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
Fadipe, N. A. 1970. The Sociology of the Yoruba. Ibadan, Nigeria. University of Ibadan Press
Finnegan, R. 1970. Oral Literature in Africa. London: Oxford University Press.
Herskovits, M. J. 1965. Cultural Anthropology. Canada, Random: House of Canada, Limited.
Ibitokun, B. M. 1995. African Drama and the Yoruba World-View. Ibadan. University of Ibadan Press.
Idowu, E. B. 1962. Olodumare: God in Yoruba Belief. Ikeja: Longman Nigeria PLC.
Macgowan, K., and Melnitz, W. 1955. The Living Stage: History of the World Theatre. Prentice-Hall, INC. Eaglewood Cliffs, N. J.
Mead, G. H. 1934. Mind, Self, and Society Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Ogunba, O. 1965. “The Agemo cult in Yoruba land” Nigeria Magazine, No. 86, Pp. 176-86. Print.
_________1967. “Ritual Drama of the Ijebu People: A Study of Indigenous Festivals” An unpublished PhD thesis submitted to the Faculty of Arts, University of Ibadan.
_________1971/1972. “Studying Traditional African Literature”. Black Orpheus. 2.7, 42-50. Print.
_________1978. “Traditional African Festival Drama, Theatre in Africa. Ed. Oyin Ogunba and Abiola Irele. Ibadan: Ibadan UP. Pp 3-26. Print.
Okpewho, I. 1983. Myth in Africa. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Omigbule, M. B. 2017. Myth, Ritual, and (Re)construction of the Yoruba Identity in Olojo Ritual Performance. African Notes, Journal of the Institute of African Studies University of Ibadan, Ibadan. Vol. 41 Nos. 1&2, 2017, Pp. 45-66.
Oladipo, O. 2002. “An African Concept of Reality: A Philosophical Analysis. PH.D. Thesis submitted In the Department of Philosophy, University of Ibadan.
Rappaport, R. A. 1979. Ecology, Meaning, and Religion. Richmond: North Atlantic Books.
Soyinka, W. 1976. Myth, Literature, and African World. Cambridge University Press.
Stryker, S. 1987. The Vitalization of Symbolic Interactionism Social Psychology Quarterly Vol. 50, Pp 83-94.