Ogun Festival in Ondo. This festival is very popular among the Yorubas people, and Ondo town is one of the places where it is celebrated with full energy every year. Ogun, in Yoruba culture, is known as the god of iron and war. He is believed to protect people who work with iron, hunters, drivers, blacksmiths, and even warriors in the olden days.
The reason for the festival is an honour to gods called the Ogun (god of iron) for protection and blessings. Their worshipers believe Ogun has strong power to fight evil and keep his them safe. That is why every year, especially around August, the community gathers to celebrate him.
Staying in ondo that time is that the town is always lively. Street of Masquerades known as Egungun come out to dance, beating of drums like bàtá and dùndún fill the air people move in masses and people dress in traditional attires. Palm wine flows everywhere is unlimited, every places fill with goats and dogs that are used for sacrifice, and roasted yam with palm oil is shared among families. You will also hear chants like “Ogun ye! Ogun lakaiye!” which means “Ogun lives, Ogun, the one of the world.
The streets are decorated with colorful, and it is almost like a carnival, yes yow will see people with different color of powders in the face asking for money in their own way for celebration, also Children run around happily, women cook large pots of food, and men drink and celebrate. Hunters carry their dane guns, and drivers decorate their vehicles with palm fronds as a sign of respect to Ogun. Not only that all the vehicles we move in convoy moving around the town.
The importance of this festival cannot let to be mentioned, Apart from the religious side, it brings unity to the community. Families come back home, from abroad and overseas also visitors are welcomed, and everyone forgets their worries for those days of celebration. It also helps the younger generation to know about their roots and culture.
This festival is also about knowing where we come from as Yoruba people. Even if modernization is changing many things, seeing how Ondo people still honor Ogun every year gives me a strong sense of the existence of real source of Yorubaland.
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