Oyo State Government

TOURIST ATTRACTIONS IN OYO STATE

BOWER’S TOWER

Bower’s Tower was erected in honour and memory of Captain R. L. Bower, one of the earliest colonial officers that once administered Ibadan metropolis. The monument was erected in December 1936 at Oke-Are as a result of his effort at effectively checking the anti-social behaviours such as kidnaping, human sacrifice and inter-community strife then common in the fast growing city of lbadan. Captain Bower’s rule witnessed the provision of basic and fundamental freedoms. It also ushered in an era of relative peace as well as progress in education.

CALABASH CARVING AND LEATHER WORKS AT OYO

Oyo is the chief town and headquarters of the Old Oyo Province. The Province occupies an area of about 12,920 square kilometers, situated in an open country 244 kilometres north of Ibadan.

Oyo is one of the largest town in the state with an urban population of about 198,252. Originally the town was situated some 190 kilometres to the north of the present site, on the borders of what is now Kwara State. This early settlement is called Old Oyo. (OyoIle), the former chief seat of the government of the Yoruba people and the headquarters for the former Oyo Empire.

During the Yoruba internecine wars of the 19th Century, Old Oyo was attacked and destroyed by enemies, the survivors moved south to the present site named Agodoyo (later to be called its original name). With the rising importance of towns such as Ibadan, Oyo has lost much of its ancient grandeur but there still has much to interest tourists.’

ADO-AWAYE SUSPENDED LAKE

Ado-Awaye lies about 20 kilometers West of Iseyin. The Suspended Lake is housed on one of the crests of rocks commonly referred to in surveyors’ terminology “the sleeping lion”. The rocky outcrop can be climbed to gain a full view of the whole range of hills lying towards the Benin Republic border. People who have succeeded in climbing to a point called by the inhabitants “Esekan Iku” translated “on the verge of death” write their names with pieces of stone on the rock. The place gives a panoramic view and wonderful scenery of hills and areas perceivable near and far from the top of this hill. The climbing of the hill can conveniently take forty-five minutes for those who enjoy good health.

The suspended Lake is about 12 feet in diameter and its water is greenish. A small palm tree, a baobab tree all stand at an angle to the Lake. Few people ventures to touch the water of the Lake apparently because of the fear of the unknown. Beyond the lake is a large sloppy rocky plain which can be developed into a picnic/camping site. These sceneries apart, the place offers visitors the opportunity of seeing the sanctuary of various shrines of Ado and Awaye Communities. Among the gods and goddesses which featured prominently on the lives of these communities are: Iyake, Isata, Igbe brought from Egun in A wori area of Ogun State, Oduduwa brought by Alado from Ife, Olufon, Aba etc.

OYO STATE CULTURAL CENTRE

The Oyo State Cultural Centre, situated at Mokola Hill, lbadan is managed by a body known as the Oyo State Council for Arts and Culture established with edict No. 14 of 1977. The Board formulates guidelines for the Centre with regard to the State’s Cultural and Arts collections, documentation and preservation. The center caters for visual arts, theatre management, field research and documentation.
Facilities available for use at the Centre comprise the followings:
(a) The main theatre, a multi-purpose auditorium with a seating capacity of 1,300 with 800 standing.
(b) Music Rehearsal Hall, with a seating capacity of 500, which also caters for wedding receptions, seminars, symposia, meetings etc.
(c) Cinema Hall, with a seating capacity of 250.
(d) A large parking space that can accommodate 500 cars.
(e) A spacious foyer for permanent and temporary exhibitions, Open Theatre Stage could be set up on the two available open spaces for drama.
(f) A modem hair-dressing saloon for both traditional and modem styles.
(g) A craft-shop and
(h) A modem Photographic Studio for all photographic needs.
Also available at the Centre are such Programmes as Children Ensemble, Craft Village, the replication of an ancient palace within the Centre complex, Children’s Museum etc.

CLOTH WEAVING AT ISEYIN AND OGBOMOSO

The present system of weaving in Oyo State is only a modem revival of the craft that was once widespread in the Country. Our grand-parents have been fashioning garments from wool, fix dye since the medieval times.

The weavers specialize in the production of beautiful and distinctive cloths from yams which are often hand-spun and hand-dyed. Hand looms are used in a number of places in Oyo State till today, particularly in Iseyin, generally referred to as the “Manchester of Oyo State”. Ogbomoso is also famous for the production of the popular handwoven cloth called “SANYAN”.

AGODI GARDENS, IBADAN

This is a lovely park right in the midst of Ibadan. Agodi Gardens spread over 13 acres of land. This delightful spot shares the same locality with the posh Premier Hotel, Cultural Centre, University College Teaching Hospital, Government Secretariat, and Bodija Housing Estate.

Among the attractions are a nursery of varieties of plants, seedlings and a variety of animals such as tigers, lions, baboons and monkeys. This garden is a fine example of multiple land use for forestry, entertainment, and recreation, its nursery, arboretum, park and Zoo blend into one another to make the garden unique. A visit to this garden is worth-while.

OLD OYO NATIONAL PARK

Upper Ogun Games and Old Oyo were separate reserves until 1963 when they were merged and re-named Upper Ogun Game Reserve. The rationale for the merger was that there was no natural boundary between the two reserves, the merger merely took account of the free movement of animals from one part of the reserve to the other. Upper Ogun Game Reserves is now Old Oyo National Parks and lies in the North-Western part of the State, about 160 kilometers from Ibadan. It has an area of about 2,500 square kilometers and harbours a wide variety of wildlife. At its Northern end are the ruins of Old Oyo, the former capital of the famous Oyo Empire which was sacked by the Fulani in 1837.

The base camp is at Ibuya along Oyo-Iseyin Sepeteri Road where tourist chalets are built. The chalets have catering facilities and modem conveniences. They provide a safe base from where visitors and researchers can watch or study the movement of wilc!life in their natural habitat as they come in and go away after quenching their thirst from t4e waters of River Ogun at Ibuya. Tracks are being provided in the Reserve to enable visitors to move freely from one point of the Reserve to the other.

OKE-OLORUNKOLE

The site was’discovered by one Prophet Moses Orimolade, the Founder of the Cherubim and Seraphim Church in Nigeria. There is mystical water for healing on the mountain. The places is a religious site.

IREFIN PALACE

This ancient palace was constructed over 200 years ago. There are about one hundred and eighty five rooms inside this palace.

ELUKU ROCK FORMATION AT OLUYOLE LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Eluku Rock Formation is a large expanse of land which stretches about 15 kilometre. It was discovered that, there was a possibility of a river on the mountain in the ancient time because the basement attested to it. Archeological findings may be carried out at this site. Religious devotees were on this mountain. There is a stream inside the mountain. It was gathered that the water which flow from a cave on top of the mountain is curative and has healing power.

OKE-IBADAN HILL

Oke Ibadan Hill is a old as Ibadan Land. Its historical significance cannot be underestimated in the development of Ibadan. Oke Ibadan is a prodigious rock formation which housed the deity that protected Ibadan people during internecine war.

ELEYELE RIVER

Eleyele river depicts in a national manner, the beautiful scenery of the place. The presence of the river with its attractive bank assets to the fact that, the possibility of making the place a tourist site is indisputable fishing activities can be organized in Eleyele river. Sporting activities can also be embarked upon annually at Eleyele river.

AGBELE ROCK FORMATION

Agbele Rock Formation is a living symbol ofOyo State tourism Board. It depicts a picture of a woman that carries a tuber of yam and a baby at her back. It is a wonderful cultural and historical site. Its historical significance is rooted in oral traditional history of gbeti people.

DUNDUN TALKING DRUMS

Dundun drums are said to have originated from among the Ibaruba ethnic group in a town called Saworo, (just 18km from Shaki) when the group was under the rule of Old Oyo Empire.

There are five drums in the set, namely: Gudugudu, lya-iIu, Omole isaju, Omole ikeyin and Kerikeri or Agada. About five to six play the set at once with one or two persons in the reserve. There are other drums of dundun family such as Gangan or Adamo, Apala, Dadakuada or Pankeke. Dundun is used to communicate words to the hearing of the dancers and to inform the public on certian happenings in the town. Such as war or when there is communal work to be done. The set is played during any kind of ceremonial occasion in all parts of Yorubaland such as at ritual or masquerade dances, celebrations, clubs. and in the past. during inter-tribal wars. During installation of Obas or chiefs and at naming, marriage. or burial ceremonies. the dundun drums are played with Aro-iro rattles and Sekere-gourd shakers.
Dundun drummers are easily identified Without their carrying the drums. Ayan is said to be the goddess of dundun drums. so Ayan is always added to the names of children born to dundun drummers apart from their Christian or Muslim names. Hence we have Ayankola, Ayandele, Ayan-Bunmi. etc.

Dundun drumming is hereditary and in the family, each drummer chooses which of the drums he likes to play most either Dundun, Apala, Gangan, Adamo, Pakenke; or Dadakuada set.

BADAGRY DRUMS

The Badagry Drums are an extraordinary set of drums with a story to tell. Information has. it that they were produced on the revelation of an oracle Consulted by the Egun people of Ere- Tardome village near Badagry town.

These people of Ere-Tardome came from Dahomey to their present location during the Dahomean war. They had wandered in

MASQUERADES

Masquerades are important events involving varied masked dancers, musicians and their audiences. Each character has attributes, songs, dances and a costume and has many meanings peculiar to itself.

The masquerade costumes are made to cover in most cases, the entire human form, usually in a non-human spirit-associated character. Hence, cloth and raffia costumes with attached decorations often musical headpiece elements, jewelry, medicinal amulets rattles, anklets, hand-held fly whisks, and weapons-all also help to form a spirit. The wearer of the costume is usually transformed into a pretty girl as among the Igbo of Eastern Nigeria, an old man or ancestor as the Egungun of the Yoruba of Western Nigeria, a mother, a hunter, a stranger or even an animal as among the Mumuye of ‘ Taraba State.

The masquerader may be armless and extended on a pole or frame. The being glides, spits fire, and speaks in a strange language. He gesticulates, has special dance steps, songs or guttutctt utterances and special attendants who restrain the spirits or act as their foil. The masquerader neither talks nor acts like a true human, usually careens wildly through the villages and acts outside most human laws.

With appropriate costuming and ritual preparation to cancel out the human wearer’s personality therefore. a spirit being is created and made manifest.
However, masquerades are transient, being present only for short periods in a year. And when the spirits are gone, it is then that the costumes, which are sometimes ritually put to sleep, assume the more static material form in which ‘they are stored away to be revitalized for future use.

The disposal bowls (Idami omo) look like the ceramic seats, but their uses are different. In them are collected for disposal, water that has been used in bathing babies. These are therefore not perforated.

COOKING POTS AND PLATES (ISAASUN ATI AWO KUTUPU)

The cooking pots (isa-sun)are bowls, with a diameter greater than their depths. They are made with or without a lid, have wide mouths, slightly flared or everted rims, carinated shoulders and round bases. The different varieties of isaasun include: isaasun agbebi which is small and is used for burying the placenta of newborn babies; the isaasun aseje also-small, but used for preparing medicinal soups which are eaten at once by only only one person and are broken immediately after use; and the isaasun ademofila which is the smallest of the isaasun family. It is used for charms and so its contents are never eaten. The pot is hung at the door when not in use. All others are used for cooking food generally. Displayed along with the pots are plates. These are shallow bowls and slightly curved. They are used for serving food. Some modern ones are made a little deeper with horizontal lugs and lids and serve as dishes.

PITCHES AND COOKING POTS (ORU ATI APE)

Pitches (Oru) are spherical pots with small mouths, everted rims and round bases. They are built in different sizes and with lids. They are commonly used for fetching water and boiling herbs. Their round bases make them balance well when carried on a head pad while their small mouths prevent their contents form spilling out easily.

The cooking pots (Ape) on the other hand, are shallow hemispherical bowls with wide mouths (though sometimes small). The wide-mouth ape are used for cooking starchy foods made from yam or cassava flour. The wide mouth permits free movement of the specially shaped wooden stick used for stirring oka or amala (stiff cassava or yam flour paste). The small mouth ape are used for cooking yam because they enable the pots to retain heat.

GELEDE MASKS

Gelede masks are used in the Gelede Cult, which is connected with witches. It takes place only in the South-West parts of Yoruba, on both sides of the border with the Republic of Benin, ie., in the Egbado, Sade, Awori, Ohori, Nago and Ketu Kingdoms. The witches of Ketu are said to have founded the cult, whose purpose is to appeae the spirits of witches and to utilise their power to protect the communities against malevolent forces.

The ceremonies usually take place annually and at funerals on the death of members and, as in Epa, the masks consist of two parts, a mask and a superstructure. The superstructure may depict many secular motifs, for example, sewing machines, farmers. motor-cars and cycles. intertwined snakes or bananas. Masks may be made to represent a great mother of the society.

Membership of the society is open to both sexes, but women hold some of the most important titles. In fact, the festival is often in celebration or honour of the great mother, the ancestor of all women and of witches - Iya Nla. When the dances are to be performed, the participants and old women gather in the market square and pray to the spirits. The ceremonies start at night with an Efe (a special masquerade) performance; and the following day, the main Gelede ceremonies begin. The masks appear in identical pairs propped in multi-coloured costumes.

Efe is the senior male dancer whose songs are mostly satirical consisting of a running commentary on current events. This is usually very entertaining and sometimes predicts future happenings.

EGUNGUN MASQUERADES

Most African societies do not dissociate the dead member of their families from the living. This is true of the Yoruba. Dead parents are believed to continue to exercise control and influence on the lives of the living. For this reason. once a year or sometimes more often, the spirits of the departed parents return to earth in the guise of robed masquerades. some of whom may wear masks or head-dresses carved in wood. When they appear, they may represent specific individuals who died or the generality of ancestors of the lineage or town. Usually, the whole town participates in the festive occasions when the living people are symbolically re-united with the dead. It has been suggested that, the cult originated in the Nupe country and it is widely adopted in many Yoruba Kingdoms. However, it is observed in lIe-lfe, the acclaimed ancestral home of most Yorubn Kingdoms.

The Egungun masquerades that are exexhibited in the gallery include: Eleru, Owiyalau and Elereko.

BLACKSMITHING

Blacksmiths produce hoes, axes, adzes, machetes (known locally as cutlasses), knives, swords, traps, shackles, chains, bells and gongs, the specialized knives and scrapers of the calabash carvers, the iron tools of the leather workers, and their own hammers, tongs, pincers, pokers, chisels, and knives for dressing wooden tool handles. In addition to these utilitarian objects they fashion the iron necklaces worn by some worshippers.

Some blacksmiths also engage in brass working, producing rings, bracelets, small knives, swords and sword-handles and belts for pressure drums.
The process of smithing involves keeping the fire red hot by pumping the bellows through a stick held in each hand at great speed, making a”thump, thump” sound. The smiths assistant keeps up this rhythm the whole time while the smith makes the bracelets and other metals.

TYE AND DYE (ADIRE)

The Yoruba are the finest practitioners of pattern - dyeing, which they called adire. There are several techniques, but all are based on the same principle of reservation of certain areas of the cloth from the dye, so that the pattern is seen in white or in lighter blue on the dark blue background. The reservation may be effected by tying up parts of the cloth with raffia, string or thread small stones or seeds into it, or by the resist method, in which cassava starch is painted on to the cloth either freehand or through stencils (originally of leather, then of zinc, and nowadays of tin). The main centres of adire dyeing are at Abeokuta and Ibadan, but it is practised almost universally by the Yoruba where they are found in West Africa, especially in SierraLeone and Senegal.

GOURD CARVING

Gourds are versatile fruits. As elsewhere in Africa, they are put to many uses by the Yoruba of Nigeria. For example, they are used as containers (for medicines, etc.), storage vessels, dippers, spoons, musical instruments, quivers, ritual regalia, plates for serving food, trays for conveying wares for sale, flasks and cups for storing and drinking palm wine and water.

Their versatility lies in their inherent properties: they are light, durable, portable, tractable and watertight. Also, the fruits lend themselves to a rich array of decorative enhancements - from lustrous patinas, to complex patterns of incised or pyro-engrave designs, to the addition of elements as basic as fibre or as precious as beads or cowries.

Yoruba face of Esu and various combinations of animal figures and geometric patterns. The Ifa bell or tapper is of wood, ivory or brass, shaped like a small tusk and often with a human figure at the other end. Some Yoruba wood carvers also carve in bone, ivory and stone. Elephant bone is used for some of the specialized equipment of the diviner (babalawo). ivory for some of their bells or tappers and for elaborately carved armlets, and bone or ivory for the symbols of the “white deities”.

WEAVING (ASO OKE)

In Yorubaland, both men and women weave, using different types of looms. Women weave on the vertica’ “mat loom”, producing a cloth about 3 metres and 9 metres long. Men weave on the horizontal narrow-band tredle loom, which produces a strip of cloth as long as may be needed. The long strips are cut to the desired length and sewn together to make clothing. In both cases length wise patterns predominate, being laid down in the warps but weft patterns can also be made, using two shuttles with different coloured threads. Patterns are named, often after the clubs which first ordered them.

Several hundred different patterns are woven on the men’s loom alone in Oyo and Iseyin - two of the important weaving centres.
Cloth is woven from wild silk and from locally grown cotton. A mixture of cotton threads and raphia is also woven into cloth, but is not used for clothing. Cotton is ginned on a block using an iron roller to squeeze out the seeds. it is then fluffed on a bow string, spun with simple spindle, and rewound into skeins ready for dyeing.

Gourd craft is not exclusively a male or female occupation, but tends to be one or the other from culture to culture. Among the Yoruba, especially of Oyo which is a major centre of calabash carving, the carvers are men. They carve the gourds by outlining geometric or representational designs with sharp blades (as displayed in the showcase) then cutting away the cuticles. The remaining shell then stands out against the reduced background. The yellow patterns that emerge as yellow against white are often intensified by the addition of white chalk to the scraped ground and or stain to the remaining relief. Sometimes the outer shells are dyed by immersion into a compound made from the inner sheaths of guinea corn stalks and indigo leaves boiled in water. Various fixatives are then added to create a range of deep rich reds. Some of these works are used for decoration, while others are for other household uses.

WOOD CARVING

In Yorubaland, wood carvers are men. Their two most important tools are: the adze, with which sculptural forms are fashioned. and the knife, which is used in finishing the surface and with the carving, incised patterns. Both sculpture and geometrical designs are considered as art (ona), and those who “carve art” (gbenagbena) in making masks and figurines are distinguished from those who simply “carve wood” (gbegigbegi) into mortars, pestles, and utilitarian bowls. The former are also known as “those who make art” (onisona), along with the embroiderers and leather workers.

Of all the visual arts, wood carving accounts for the greatest variety of decorated and sculptural forms. Twin figures are carved at the death of twins. Palace and shrine doors are covered with humanfigures and other forms carved in low or high relief, and the roof of chiefs houses are supported by posts which are carved to represent horsemen, cyclists, and standing or kneeling figures, sometimes with one figure perched on another.

LIST OF TOURIST SITES IN OYO STATE

1. National Museum, Aleshinloye Ibadan

2. Captain Bower’s Tower Oke- Are Ibadan

3. Cultural Centre Mokola Hill, Ibadan

4. Ado-Awaye Suspended Lake Ado-A waye

5. Oke-Badan Hill Oluyole Local Government

6. Agbele Hill Igbeti

7. Mapo Hall Ibadan

8. Zoological Garden Agodi, Ibadan

9. Old Oyo National Park Sepeteri

10. International Institute of Tropical Ibadan

Agriculture (LLT.A.)