Ijakadi Offa is a 14th century cultural
festival of Offa Kingdom in Kwara State. It was enacted around 1498 AD during
the Moremi Festival. Moremi was an Offa woman who became the queen of Oranmiyan
of Ile-Ife. She single handedly rescued the people of Ife from their enemies.
Ijakadi is a mock wrestling bout between the
Olofa and Essa, his second in command, while the whole town cheer. Thus goes
the popular saying “Ijakadi loro Offa,” a Yoruba phrase, meaning, “wrestling is
an Offa game,” The colorful ceremony features traditional drummers, singing and
dancing groups and hunting display. The symbolic winning of the bout by the
Oloffa is a constant reminder of his indisputable authority of the town while
the Essa would always give excuses for his loss. All his excuses elicit ovation
of “Kabiyesi o” from the crowd.
The festival takes place in December and is a
meeting point for indigenes from all walks of life and coincides with the
eating of the new yam characterized by the cutting of the yam into two halves
which is referred to in vernacular as “la’are”.
It is a festival, which reinforces a tradition
that abhors laziness and docility but encourages strength and determination,
showcasing a culture that projects equality among the indigenes and between the
Olofa and his subjects.
Speaking at the event, which took place at the
Offa Township Stadium, the culture-loving monarch of Offa, Oba Mufutau
Gbadamosi Okikiola EsuWoye II, said his firm support for the festival was due
to his burning desire to renew the rich culture of his people and to further
open Offa town to visitors and investors, as well as enhance tourism for the
town and the state at large and that new activities were being introduced to
make the festival bigger in scope and more attractive to potential tourists.
Activities that featured during the last
edition of the festival included a Road Show which paraded the five districts
of Offa in their dazzling colours, the Arewa Offa Beauty Pageant, which
celebrates the traditional Offa woman, a Food Expo which showcased different
dishes of sweet potato-Offa’s main food crop and Traditional Wrestling. There
were displays by various cultural groups, paying of homage by district heads to
the Olofa, as well as the presentation of trophies with cash awards to the
participating districts.
The Ijakadi Offa festival will henceforth be
included in the list of national festivals being promoted by the Nigerian
Tourism Development Corporation because of its consistency and rich cultural
content.
