ORE FESTIVAL[b][/b][color=#000099][/color]: A former festival in which Owo chiefs swore allegiance to the Olowo. The celebration was discontinued in the first half of the twentieth century.-- When the celebration of the Ore was revived in the 1940's, it was renamed Ugbade to commemorate the ascension to the throne of the Olowo.

The only other day the Olowo appeared in state was the day of Ore, the grandest of the ceremonies by the Olowo. Ore took place in March or April to commemorate the ascension of the king. The Ore was prohibited early in the 20th century because it was deemed too expensive by the British Colonial Government but ostensibly, it was banned because it rivaled the celebration of the British Empire Day. In the 1940s, when the celebration of the Ore was revived, it was renamed Ugbade by Sir Olateru - Olagbegi II and celebrated in March of every other year to commemorate his ascension to the throne.

On the occasion of Ore, the glory of the Olowo and that of the Owo people were on display. It was a two -day affair in which the whole town was agog and presents were brought from the outlying settlements and dependencies of Owo. The celebration of the Ore was much more pronounced in the 19th century particularly during the reign of Olowo Adedipe Elewu-Okun.

On the eve of the Ore celebration, at about 09:00pm, all the musical bands in the capital town of Owo would assemble at the Eyin/Ehin-Ode hall, Ugha Eyin/Ehin-Ode, These bands included the Umoba, an ensemble of the princes and Esha, an ensemble of the princesses. The other bands were Ugbade, Osijin, Are, Laghalogho, Ogagango, Apapara, Ajabure, Agherebe, Reso,Bembe, Oghotoro/Owotoro, Ijebutoro, Aje, Oseghe, Arile, the last two were women bands. Each band would stake out a vantage position to display the talent of the group.

At the beginning of the eve, the Olowo would come out through the Ona Agodo, ensconced in the midst of his many retainers. Two males were on either side of him, each carrying a small pillow upon which each arm was resting. The Olowo wore an embroidered agbada, with an ordinary cap and digo pants. The women would call out his cognomen, Odigho, Oke ila eyin Ogho, etc (‘The disciplinarian,’ ‘the high hill behind Owo,’ etc), above the din and cacophony of musical sounds and trumpets. When he got to the stand of the first band, it struck up a tune in praise of the Olowo. Then the king would dance to the tune of the band. Once the king was on the floor, the musical beat became more intensified. It was always a great spectacle to behold. All the chiefs would dance with the king- each kneeling down at intervals to salute him. The afunfere, onikankanki, oloye and the retainers and the stewards would be praising him and would be dancing and milling around him. The retainers served as bodyguards for the king. After spending about fifteen minutes with the first band he went to the next one and spent as much time with the band and so on, until he got to the last one. Sometimes, this might go on till about 03:00 A.M. As this was going on, there would be drinking and merrymaking by the people. The hall was always packed full with people and in spite of the number of people, there was enough to eat and drink.

The following day, the messengers of the Olowo delivered mounds of pounded yam called udado iyan, each the size of, at least, a butterball, to the quarter heads’ house. Each load of forty udado, with a whole deer meat (Uli etu), would be delivered to each quarter- Uloro,Ugboroko, Eyin/Ehin-Ogbe, Isaipen and Ijebu (from cl781 when the quarter was created), with Ugboroko receiving double that portion. The Olowo also gave each quarter and the youths a cow, with two going to Ugboroko. The Olowo sent a goat with two big kegs of palm wine to each quarter, again double that number went to Ugboroko. Most of the food and drinks sent to the quarters were from gifts coming into the capital from the outlying districts, (Annual tributes from the Akoko settlements included cows, rams, ‘egbo,’ (bean cakes); yams, fish, cowry currency and casks of palm oil brought to the Olowo’s palace during the Igogo and the Ore festivals). The Olowo slaughtered two hundred goats for his guests who would be calling at the palace on the occasion.

At 04:00pm, the Ugha okonren, the men’s hall near the Ugha Eduma, whose size was about twice the size of a football field, would start to fill up with people. A stage was set up for the Olowo with a dais and a canopy where he would appear in state, surrounded by the senior queens, the king’s consorts, called Olori or Ilori, each wearing her crown. At the site, about two dozen slaves or Ayewase, half cut (cf. the ilari in Oyo), wearing beautiful clothes, were seated on the left and right in front of the throne but in the open air under two large umbrellas, one on either side, a wide space being left between them.

There was a row of about twenty to twenty-five large umbrellas each on the right and the left, both rows facing each other, leaving a wide avenue between them from the throne to the main entrance gate.(Today it is canopies) Under those on the right were seated the Edibo Olowo chiefs and on the left, the Olojas (kings) and Bales of the townships and villages surrounding Owo and subject to Owo’s authority. On the great distance, opposite the Olowo’s dais, were seated the Ighare chiefs of Uloro quarter. Behind the rows of seated dignitaries were throngs of people, some of who were members of the chiefs’ parties and some of whom were spectators. It was usually a concourse of people out there gawking at the spectacle, During the colonial period, British officials would come from the surrounding Districts and Provinces,far and near, with their cameras, taking pictures of the people, places and events. They would be sitting with the king’s party high up on the dais when they were not taking pictures with the people or dancing themselves..The first group to take the stage was the Omobas and the Ikens, princes, who were members of the Umoba band. They danced before the king, knelt/sit down and saluted him. Then the Esha, the princesses’ band, would take the floor after saluting the king. After their appearance, they would salute the king again.

Each chief, starting with Chief Ojumu, in their turn, saluted the king and took the floor to dance to the olusherepe drums.Each important chief had his own patented beating style of the olusherepe drums to which he danced on this occasion. Each chief appeared in his own bloated ibolukun with the Orufanran, chiefly regalia. Otherwise, he wore the standard chiefly uniform of Udaigha, pakato, and Udamalore and held the dancing sword, ape, (eben in Benin); he twirled this in the air as he moved to the rhythms and beats of the olusherepe drums.</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p>After the Edibo Olowo chiefs had danced, the Ojomo would salute the Olowo and danced. Then the Ighare chiefs of Uloro took the floor, saluted the Olowo, danced in turn and then returned to their places, standing and holding their dancing swords upside down. At that point, the Olowo would prepare to take the floor. He wore a coral gown and the coral four-angled beaded crown, ade olugege merin or Geru, with a bunch of urere oken on top of the crown. He also wore a coral gown of ankle length, on top of his own ibolukun and this made the Olowo look bloated and red all over. He held two dancing scimitar-like swords, ape, one with a flat blade and the other with crossed blades, (ape olugege merin). The Olowo twirled these dancing swords in the air as he danced to the rhythm of the olusherepe drums. The retainers, who were at his side at all times, would yell, at regulated intervals, E wu mo ro, ewu mo ro; Oro o o, Baba o ' The Olowo’s special beat of the olusherepe drums would be roaring. It was a thing of beauty to behold as the Olowo appeared at the highest point of his glory. He danced from the foot of the dais towards the center of the rectangle that had been constructed by the position of the chiefs under the state umbrellas. He then danced to the opposite end of the rectangle, where the Ighare were standing with their dancing swords turned upside down. After that, he would dance back or may stop to walk back to his throne on the dais, if he felt tired.

When he returned to the dais after about forty-five minutes later, the Umoba band would strike up a tune again and the Iloris or Oloris (king’s consorts or queens), would start to sing in praise of their husband. As these were going on, the Oshowe would announce that the Ore had come to an end and the chiefs would then depart for their homes.

cool write up do you have a blog?

lovely piece . Showcasing this enlightens the readers about Owo history. Kudos

Nice one OP.
though am not from owo. Am from ondo

But I'll say owo has a very rich cultural heritage

This is an eye opener and very illuminating account of ORE FESTIVAL,but there appear to be an omission of the part played by Elegba of Amuren Odijo on closure of the event.It is reported that Chief Elegba Asikan will use the tip of his Ape to touch the ground to signify full and final closure of the event,announce the date for next event,hence the name Amuren Odijo,not Amuren Oganyin.