By Motolani AbdulGafar
The President, Board of Trustees of Ejigbo Indigenes Forum, Prince Jelili Atiku, has said that the annual celebration of Yemoja festival is to prevent evil and cleanse the community of sins.
Noting that human creation and existence are the central values, Oniyemoja Atiku, as he prefers to be addressed, explained that the importance of the water used in the festival signifies the sperm with which humans are created as well as the water used for human existence.
He emphasised that water is used as a substance for purification during the traditional processes according to the religious rite to cleanse negativities in the community.
Citing instances of Islam and Christianity where water is used for purification (ablution) baptism, Atiku said water is used the same way in traditional religion.
He said Orisa Yemoja is believed to be the basis of human formation right from the womb, giving an instance of a foetus from about 4 to 10 weeks formation which is like fish in the womb of a pregnant woman.
He said Yemoja, when consulted during this year’s festival, advised the residents to embrace peace and unity, to be law-abiding and to strengthen their supernatural being for continuous protection.
He said the deity also advised residents to be well behaved and calm, believing that the sacrifice made to the deity during the festival has warded off the evils in the community.
On August 4, the final day of the festival, the procession of Yemoja devotees began from the Fadu area of the town and trekked to the Egbe river to worship the Orisa.
At the river, they presented sacrifices such as pigeon and corn porridge place in local pots on the river and prayed for peace and good health in the community.
Atiku said the four-day event from August 1 to 4, this year was in line with the four day week of the Yoruba people.
He said the festival began on Sunday, August 1 with divination of the Ifa corpus to receive a message on the manner the festival must take.
On the second day, the devotees and their children held a feast in honour of Yemoja, the orisha of the waters.
In an earlier interview with ECHONEWS, Atiku had spoken about the fact that the Ejigbo community is surrounded by various water bodies such as the Oke-Afa canal, Ogbere river and Egbe river.
According to him, these rivers play critical roles in determining the weather of the town, the safety of the properties from erosion, the survival of crops and even the water available in many boreholes.
He said the water bodies are governed by supernatural elements including orisa such as Yemoja and by seeking their co-operation, the community can be saved from negative developments.
He said the onset of the third wave of the Covid-19 made the worship of the orisha necessary to save the community members from any tragedy.
