Aramoko Ekiti

Odd
Aramoko Ekiti
Immediately a monarch is installed in this ancient town,Aramoko Ekiti, one of the chiefs who actively participated in the  installation would  not only depart  without  raining curse  on the monarch  and vice versa  while the two would also  ceased from seeing  each other  till their death. Taiwo Abiodun was there
The town
Aramoko-Ekiti is the Headquarter of Ekiti West Local Government in Ekiti State. It is an ancient town with access roads to all parts of Ekiti and Osun States. The ancien town is approximately 26 kilometers to Ado-Ekiti, the capital of Ekiti State, 15 kilometers to Ijero-Ekiti, 15 kilometers to the warm spring at Ikogosi Ekiti and about 42 kilometers to Ilesa in Osun State. Aramoko - Ekiti is peaceful, neat and rich in culture . As one walks down the streets one could hardly find  a piece of paper on the ground while the  beautiful architectural designed  Oba's palace  is decorated with many artifacts and with  captivating  wall murals of different artistic drawings.
According to the  monarch, Alara Of Aramoko ;Oba Adegoke-Olu Adeyemi," I am the monarch , custodian of culture and the community head of  this place .This town is peaceful  and with  cultural  interesting stories ".
How monarch  and Chief  departs with curse
For the town, according to tradition , immediately a new king is installed , the newly installed  king and one of the chiefs who  actively participated in the business of electing the King must on the very day the king is installed become arch enemy while the two would invoke supernatural power  cursing each other. According to  Alara of Aramoko "it is in tradition that the newly -installed monarch must not see eye to eye with this particular chief who was part of the selection and installation of the new Oba."
Alara of Aramoko , cleared the air over the issue of this particular chief he must not  see eye to eye and confirmed it  immediately after  installation, he said  "They
( monarch and chief) instantly  become arch enemies  whenever the monarch is installed and  would then lace curses on each other .Yes, they heap curse upon curse , and they must not see  or talk to each other for the rest of their lives .It is a tradition  and that is how  we met it ".
Asked whether perchance the two  met ,  the monarch gave an interesting story where the two  enemies would have coincidentally  met which the result could have been  fatal or caused a bad omen for the town , he said "it was   when one of the former  monarchs  and the   chief unknowingly  and coincidentally attended same function in the town , " but when this chief heard that the Alara was at the same function or venue  he was , the  chief ran  like a hunted  antelope  that sighted a hunter in the bush .This  action surprised those present  for it did not only caused a stir but amusement  and   embarrassment to  the people who were present for it was   like a movie that made many of them burst  into laughter and confused ".
But according to Alara, things have changed  as religion has changed  all these,        "Today we have modified the system , this chief and the newly installed monarch would exchange prayers and shower blessings  on  each other  before they finally depart and would not see eye to eye again for the rest of their lives .We have stopped all these manner of curses and replaced it with  prayers and blessings .
He stressed further  “On this second day of installation they would part ways with prayers. The chief  would pray for Alara for  a successful reign  while the Alara too will shower his own prayers and blessings  on the chief and they will both go their different ways.In the days of old, it used to be abuses, curses and reprimanding but that had gone with the past" , the monarch declared.
Asked of his own practical experience , Oba Adeyemi stated unequivocally  and without mincing words that during his own coronation as the present Oba, the chief in question didn’t only congratulate him  but also prayed for him for  a successful reign.
“He congratulated me and advised me to uphold the Aramoko heritage. He urged me  to consolidate the position of the ancient town in Yorubaland. The chief also urged me not to allow Western  culture to erode the traditional values of our dear town,”
Speaking further, Oba Adeyemi made reference to how the chief appealed to him not to ever trivialize the ideals the town stands for, adding that he was told not to allow bad thing to happen in the town.  He pointed out that after the prayers, they would turn  against each other and go their different ways and would not meet forever and ever again.
No record of kidnapping in the town
In Aramoko - Ekiti , no one has  ever been kidnapped or made an attempt to kidnap a fellow human being as one  used to hear  such stories from  other towns."This is not a strange story , it has been there from time immemorial that they don't kidnap anybody in this town", Asked  what could be the result if such occurred but the Alara declared  ' I am telling you that it  has never happened and can never .It has been   like that , Aramoko Deity  doesn’t allow kidnapping.The  town has never recorded any case of kidnap before.We  don't know how our ancestors did it but nobody has ever been kidnapped here",
No exposure of plantain and  no roasting of yam
In  other neighboring towns  and cities where one carries  a bunch of plantain across and  roast  tubers of yam but for Aramoko - Ekiti these  are forbidden !
The monarch spoke with confidence and convincingly " No one is allowed to carry openly a bunch of plantain across but  if he has to do that he has to cut the plantains into pieces  before carrying them across the streets .No woman must roast or cook food with the smoke going up and also  this is forbidden.
* It is a taboo for anybody to parade the streets of Aramoko with a bunch of plantain, it must be in pieces.Unlike other Ekiti towns like Ikere, Iyin and Ifaki, it is against Aramoko tradition to roast yam for sale", According  to the monarch these forbidden make the town be peaceful and unstained!
Going through the town one can hardly see smoke , which the monarch said the market women had known for a long time .In his words  "It is a taboo to make fire with smokes coming  out  in the town’s main market .The town is peaceful, silent  and everybody goes doing  his own business .But one thing is conspicuous, market women are conscious of what they sell and what they cook , no wonder  what obtains in one town does not in another ", one man's meat  is another man's poison, the saying goes.
It is hard to know where Oba Alara is when it comes to religion as he copiously quoted from the Bible, Quran and some traditional sources as he spoke. In fact, placed before him  was a copy of the Holy Bible, the Quran and artifacts that represents the traditional institutions.
When asked what his belief is , he declared “As an Oba, I identify with my people equally, regardless of their religious affinities. Though I’m a Muslim, I’m well versed in the Bible and Christian doctrines. And as a Yoruba man, who appreciates the origin, I’m at home with traditional ethos of the Yoruba nation. We shouldn’t forget too that primarily, an Oba should oversee the welfare of his people as well as act as the custodian of their culture.  A traditional ruler needs all these diversities to be able to carry all people along. An Oba should be able to deal with the Christian the way a Christian should be treated, same for Muslims and even the free thinkers", as he said this he recited  passages  from the holy Bible and Koran , the. chanted incantations and laced it up with panegyrics while singing the praises of his ancestors!
Reminded that in the days of old the educated ones would shun traditional titles believing it was mainly for the illiterate , but now things have changed .The Alara said " it is out of interest.Things have changed. I have come  to develop the town to the best of my ability and to make sure it goes with the world's standard one can be proud of in Yorubaland ."I studied political science and graduated from the University of Lagos in 1971. I later joined the Western Region Civil Service, from where I was moved to Ondo State following its creation in 1976"
According to him he was privileged to have worked as the private secretary to the first Military Administrator of Ondo State, Ita David Ikpeme in 1976. "I rose through the ranks in the civil service and oversaw various ministries; Agriculture, Finance, Education and most especially Local Government.I contested for this throne of my ancestors and won , though challenged in Court   but I won at the Appeal Court" .
The name ‘Alara’ is not new to an average Yoruba man, especially those who are familiar with the relationship between Alara, Ajero and Orangun but only a few know that some things are sacred about the ancient town.
As the indigenes of Aramoko gathered in the palace of Alara to celebrate this year’s Ukedi festival, a lot of revelations were made. The 2014 edition of the traditional festival was special because it was also used to celebrate the victory of Oba Adegoke-Olu Adeyemi, in an appeal case.
Having witnessed tremendous progress under Oba Adeyemi, in the last few years, indigenes saw his victory as victory for all and so danced and sang very well while the festival lasted. It was a gathering of hunters, market women and various groups.
The history of Aramoko
From time immemorial, Aramoko-Ekiti has been a sovereign town. The founder and the first ruler was one of the sixteen Obas and foremost Paramount Rulers in Yorubaland with full traditional right and authority to wear without any harm of danger the Original Special beaded crown decorated with sixteen birds. (The Eiye Okin, 'Iyere Okin', symbolised it) was bestowed on him by the ODUDUWA (The progenitor of all Yoruba race) and other emblems of ruling Authority before they were sent out of Ile-Ife (The cradle of Yoruba Race) to search for suitable land on which they could set-up their respective kingdoms independent of one another's control.
As an ancient town, its history dates back to many centuries ago. Aramoko Ekiti has a unique historical beginning with very rich traditional and cultural heritage to be proud of. In those days, the administration of the town was entirely in the hands of a council of 17  high chiefs which also constitute the kingmakers.
The traditional institutions in Aramoko are very much alive till date. Special festivities for peace, good harvest, prevention of diseases and death of young people are staged or held annually and occassionally as they are due for such ancestral gods such as OGUN, IJUKU, ALELE, ORISA OWARUNLA and all they give OSUNS of Ara. The two of the important annual events which attract many visitors to the town are OLOKUN and ODUN EGUNGUN ARA festivals. Because of her peaceful co-existence, and traditional hospitality of the people of Aramoko, many people have come to Aramoko Kingdom to settle and make a living either as farmers, traders, professionals and civil servants. It is interesting to note that some communities such as the Igbos; the Urhobos, the Itsekiris; the Hausas, the Oyos, the Igbiras e.t.c. who have settled and inter-married with the indigenes.
Agriculture is the main stay and traditional occupation of the community. This is supplemented by petty trading by the womenfolk. The farmers cultivate wide range of food crops viz:- yam, cassava, maize, rice, plantain and banana. The cash crops are mainly cocoa, kolanuts and timber.