By Lekan Adejuwon
Not even the yesterday’s heavy downpour and the distraction caused could erode the fun and festivities attached to the annual Isamo Aeregbe festival hosted by the head of Isamo dynasty, High Chief Emmanuel Abiodun Akinyede who is the Asamo Olodi-Odo of Ado Ekiti.
The mini carnival traditional shindig said to be celebrated annually has a history traceable to the founding fathers of the Asamo dynasty notably late Pa Ogunkorode and kept alive up to this day by their descendants.
The Tuesday colourful event was a combination of modernity and tradition as the ceremony opened with prayer by a retired teacher and one of the family’s elders in the Christian way.
The frontage of the Asamo country home, a beautiful and unique architectural masterpiece made of stones and located in the heart of Odo Ado was filled to capacity by the large turn out of enlarged family and invited guests who turned out in their numbers for the annual event.
High Chief Akinyede the Abasamo who had earlier took his seat at the podium with some members of Ewi-In- Council was in all white flowing Agbada waving his white horsetail to the elated crowd as he delivered his opening address.
Akinyede, who thanked God for making the event a reality and particularly the Ewi of Ado Ekiti who allowed all his chiefs to celebrate their traditional festivala in their various localities, however lamented the sad demise of some of the family members which according to him, made the celebration a low key event.
The ceremony went into the next stage where all the wives of the Asamo households paid traditional homage to the Asamo with dancing and rejoicing.
Different categories of family members including tenants followed suit as they filed to the high table to receive prayers and gifts from the family head.
One of the highpoints of the event was the full presence of Ebira community who also paid obeisance to the Asamo.
The occasion was lively up with superb light entertainment by a cultural group who treated the gathering with thrilling performance amidst thunderous applause from the ecstatic crowd.
The climax of the two day event came with the sudden appearance of masquerades to the scene who, despite the heavy downpour did not leave until they thrilled the audience with scintillating stage performance and weird dancing steps as the annual event came to a close.
Chief Akinyede in a chat with our correspondent said more about Isamo Aeregbe festival; “This Isamo Aeregbe festival is an annual festival inherited from our forefathers and the purpose is to offer prayers to our sons and daughters home and abroad for their progress, protection, prosperity and well being up to the extended family consisting the Onibedo and Aralogbon families”
Explaining the presence of Ebira people from kogi state at the festival, Chief Akinyede said; “Their presence is significant because our forefathers was the first to harbour the Ebira people in Ekiti and all Ebiras in Ekiti migrated from Isamo Igirigiri community to various communities in Ekiti. Our fathers went all the way to Kogi to bring them so that we were the first settlers to host the Ebiras in Ekiti” he said.
