The Osun Osogbo Festival: Its Functions and Aesthetics
Chapter One
PURPOSE OF STUDY.
Osun Osogbo festival is the most important and significant components culture of Osogbo. The major purpose of this study us to analyse the aesthetics and functions in the Osun Osogbo festival and to look at the way the people of osogbo have been celebrating these festival in the past years and recent years, to look at the difference between the past years and recents celebrations. These work will also look at the way the people of Osogbo react to this festival despites the numerous of Africans that identify themselves as either Christianity or Islam, and ancients beliefs still have its plaxe in their lives. It will also look at the roles these festival performs among the people of osogbo.
CHAPTER TWO
THE CONCEPT OF ORAL LITERATURE.
Oral literature is the embodiment of African values, which includes what we do, what we think and what we say. This has to do with the culture, tradition, custom and of life of the Africans which could be expressed through traditional performances like folklore and festivals.
African oral literature encompasses African way of life, thought, feelings, behaviour and so on and these thoughts, customs, traditions are expressed in either spoken expression (prose) which could be legend, epics, folklores, myths, and so on it could also be in a song expression such as chants, recitations and poetry could be epideitic poetry, religious poetry and occupational poetry. African oral literature could be also be oral theatrical (drama) such as the various festival like oro festival, Ogun festival, Osun Osogbo festival, Eyo festival, Ogun festival e .t. c. These are carried out by the people of a particular community. For instance, the Osun Osogbo festival is carried out by the people of Osogbo. In such festivals, there is communalism, as every member of the community participate either actively or passively. These traditional performances i.e festivals are rich in aesthetics components like drums, rituals, dances, chants, costumes, songs and so many other devices of attraction apart from being entertaining. The songs and chants are based on the tradition of oral text.
Oral literature performes the same function as written literature. The functional aspect of oral literature in the literary form is communication, which reflects social and political values. The theme of traditional festival are typically related to the moral issues of love, and the strengthening of communal bonds which are still relevant today. Such festival brings the secular and sacred together in the same socio-aesthetic environment and also serve as a means of handing down information, opinions, beliefs and custom to the people through the oral tradition.
It is obvious that traditional literature is still very much alive in Africa.
THE ORIGIN OF OSUN OSOGBO FESTIVAL.
River Osun takes its source from Igede-Ekiti through Ilesha and the grove in Osogbo. The Osun goddess established her kingdom there. Olaguna(1952:16) writes that many centuries ago when Oba larooye of iple omu, olutimeyin, a great hunter and their subjects migrated from ipole omu because of water scarcity they then settle at the Osun groove where the goddess has established her kingdom. One day, as they were preparing the ground for the planting season, a tree fell across the river crushing many of Osun tools of trade. It is recorded that the goddess was at her.
CHAPTER THREE
THE AESTHETICS IN THE OSUN OSOGBO FESTIVAL.
DRUMS
The different types of drums used during the annual osun osogbo festival ars bata, dundun, gangan, bembe, and ayan ( beaten by the ifa drummers). The drums can be used to praise, abuse, or warn. Drums are powerful means of communication during the annual osun osogbo festival. It is the drums that announces the day of the festival. The drums are beaten to the praise of osun, the past Ataoja, and the present Ataoja during the annual festival. During the festival, the Aworo (osun preist) plays the dundun drums, while the osun chanters accompany them with their chants and praise songs.The Ifa drummers invoke the spirit of osun and other orisa by playing then ayan drums. The festival drums are often beaten to the rhythm of the songs in honour of osun such as the beating of a drum to the song.
As the drums are beaten to the rhythm of these songs, the women, children and men begin to dance to the rhythm of the drum beat.
CHAPTER FOUR
IMPORTANCE OF OSUN OSOGBO FESTIVAL.
Osun osogbo festival as the aryistic institution of osogbo fulfils its roles in educating, and passing on values, beliefs to the coming generations. Through osun festival, the most cherished culture of osogbo people is emphasised and transited inspite of the challenges that comes through modern civilization and culture. In each years performance, people made reference to the history of the community and how the history of the late Ataojas (king) performs their sacrificial rites to osun and their success in the running of the community as kings. Osun festival is the most dominant of all other traditional festival in osogbo. The festival ensures a unique experience in the social cultural solidarity. Both the performers and the audience are united into an inseperable acts through their expectation and participation. The festival also affords the people of osogbo an opportunity to interact with their physical environments. The period of the festival is a time of relaxation time for the entire people of osogbo because both the young and old participate actively and passively in the festival, all are seen dancing, singing, rejoicing, and laughing, they are also fill of feeling, feasting, and drinking i.e every one is in a joyous mood as the festival begins and to the end of the festival.
CHAPTER FIVE.
SUMMARY.
Through the in-depth study of the osun osogbo festival, is shows that the review of African oral literature that the osun osogbo festival is a sharp contrast to the erroneous perception of the Eurocentric writers about African oral traditional values. Rather it combines excellence with performance, though it is not in written form like some Europeans works of art, we see that the festival is full of aesthetics elements of drums, songs, costumes, dance e.t.c. that is necessary to make a work of art in terms of festival valuable. These works aims to rebuild image created by some Eurocentric scholars that African has neither history nor culture. The Eurocentric scholars belief that European culture is superior to African culture, and that African literature is primitive, and as such nothing can come out of African oral literature.
CONCLUSION.
Traditional festivals have strong influence on the community because of the power such festival commands, these festivals are most spectacular and are representative of any art form which calls for the highest participation in African indigenous life. Therefore, through traditional literature, social conscience and cultural wisdom are taught to the people. It can be seen that traditional performances play an integral role in the ceremony connected with the regulations of the spiritual, political, and social forces with society, such that activities which are seen as immoral and destructive to the society are looked at with disdain to the delight and satisfaction of the audience.
RECOMMENDATIONS.
The listing of the osun grove as world heritage sites should encourage the protection and preservation of other sites of tourist attractions in Nigeria, so that they can be listed as a world heritage site in the nearest future. Much should also be done to increase its documentation for future generations, because this has a role in the propagation of cultural and intellectual products to ensure the continuity the refined and noble aspects of our tradition as well as transmitting to the audience to capture all aspects of the performance. However, records should be made available for peoples use at tourism boards, centre for arts and culture and in schools where literature is taught. African culture and tradition should be included in the educational activities of the country education sector and it should be made compulsory at all levels of education so that the young generation would learn the Africans way of life, culture and tradition as they grow. However, if all these are considered diligently as recommended, it will not only improve the festival but it will go a long way to help our country both economically and socio-politically.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
- Akpan, and Udo Etuk 1990. Aesthetics philosophical and Artistic Dimensions: Uyo: Modern Business Press
- Bier, U. 1966; The Water Queen. Austin; University of Texas Press.
- Ekpenyong, G .1981. Festivals in Nigeria. A Bibliography Nigeria magazine Lagos, Emmacon Print Ltd.
- Encyclopaedia Britannica 1 Hamtyn Encyclopaedia Dictionary
