Thursday 23 March 2017

TRADITIONAL INSTITUTIONS AND CULTURAL HERITAGE: SANGO

His Royal Majesty Oba Lamidi Adeyemi; Ikubabayeye and Alaafin of Oyo. The revered representative of Sango on earth today.

Going back to the primordial age (earliest of times) there was laid down patterns of life imparted upon one generation to the next. These ‘patterns of life’ were in the form of ‘Cells of Culture’, which have their origin in the ancestral celestial-habitat, existing within the cosmos and life being a continuum stipulates that ‘what goes around comes around’. It has only been more pertinent over the years especially for  us Africans to infuse back into our various cultural nomenclatures our way of life as a matter of urgency for the sake of coming generations. The Osun Osogbo festival is an example of a celebration of Cells of Culture of the Yorubas where different deities are revered or worshipped. And speaking in this light I would introduce one of such deities of the Yorubas known as SANGO.
Sango was once the most powerful king in the entire Yoruba race both far and wide. Sango was child of Oranyan and it was when Ajuan who was king at that period left the throne that Sango was made king by the people of Oyo Empire which is a known town that exists in the South West region of Nigeria. Sango was an exceedingly strong an individual; he was said to posses various charms and black magical powers. The people of that period confirmed that when Sango Spoke fumes of fire emitted from his mouth, which is why he was referred to as the ‘god of thunder’.
In one of his Epic battles which was during the reign of Ajuan who at that time was always paying tribute to the then Olowu of Owu Abeokuta, presently in Ogun State, South West Nigeria; being what brought the dethroning of Ajuan by the people of Oyo Empire leading to the enthronement of Sango. When it was time for him to dance to the tune of the Olowu, he declined; this made the Olowu declares war against Oyo. By the time Sango encountered the troops of the Olowu; they witnessed fire emanating from his mouth as he spoke that those that survived the encounter barely made it alive while they  took to their heels and this meant victory for him and hence it made him have control over a vast region. But sadly , he started getting power drunk and it was in this state he decided to take his empire which was in deep forest to Oyo town of today which eventually took place.
Though Sango’s end was quite sad; this was due to his way of dealing with certain issues of life. What can be deduced positively from this is avatar, which is applicable in today’s life process, principally as ‘Africans’ which are largely scientific and Humanistic in nature as life-guiding/guarding principles of everyday life. Such as being confident, principled, disciplined, strong spiritually and physically, in proper relationship between nature and man, being respectful of cosmological-natural ordinances such as sunrise/sunset, and being reverent of the sea river and natural grooves.
Sango had a wife called OYA who is currently belived to be a ‘river godess’ and he engaged in some form of nocturnal worship process of the sea. Which scientifically explained; equalizes to the evaporative power exhibited so to speak such as when a red-hot rod is immersed in water which occurs on a daily basis when a finger of the sun (sunray) penetrates the ocean surface leading to the transcention of a potent power of the sea towards the sun which lies within the cosmological plane giving birth to a new life form. Which is physically and spiritually (action and thought process) represented in various forms of black power given capable hands (bodies) to control one of whom such individuals is SANGO



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