Mystical and mythical Palace of Alale

Meeting this 85 year old  Community leader, HRH Oba  Kabiyesi Oba Okikiola Folagbade Adetifa III  is interesting. He is the Baba Aladura of Cherubim and Seraphim and  a royal father  who believes fervently in God too. Welcome to Alale palace at Idashen Quarters in Owo. The palace that is  rich in culture and  full of  mythical and mystical stories.                                ............ Mysterious chain                         ..........Mysterious Staff                            .......... Strange room                           ...........Haaaa! don't look at the  king's head or...                            ........Aisenwen river that never flows                           ........ Trees over 400years old

  

DON'T TOUCH THE  CHAIN!      As this reporter  made effort to touch a  chain  nailed on  the wall  the royal father screamed '' Don't, Kai ! please don't touch it, it is forbidden. Don't touch it if you love yourself. Kai , please don't touch it or you will be paralyzed''. The old man cried to high heavens. Shock, fear  and  embarrassment engulfed  this reporter's mind   and  he  started shaking like a leaf floated on  water. He developed goose pimples. No matter how bold you are even  if you have a lion's heart your heart beat would increase not because of high blood pressure but seeing a ''mere'' rustic chain nailed on the wall and being told  how sacred it is .    The monarch said ''the chain  is called ' eghan'  that is the chain one of our ancestors   came down with  from the  above''. No wonder  this forms part of the 'oriki' (panegyrics) Ulale   quarter, Oma  Alale ateghan ro [ Siblings of Alale that came down with chain]. That is what  was on the wall of  one of the courtyards in the  palace,the rustic  chain  nailed on  the wall , it coiled round the small  rustic iron  nailed on the wall.The nail and the chain had become rustic as they have seen ages. According  to Oba Julius Okikiola Folagbade Adetifa III,  the  Alale  of Idashen ,  "It is forbidden to touch the chain, whoever touches it will become paralyzed.I must confess to you that such  calamities had happened in the past as our forefathers told us.  And  this is  known in this vicinity .So  no  one touches it !  The chain has been there  for over 400years  and it is what the first Alale  used to  descend from heaven''. He continued '' the Alale first landed in Okejeti , Ile -Ife, later at Ora and Oke Owo where  the Government Primary school it today, and  ended here at Idashen'', he said , while nodding intermittently and with full confidence of the approval of his story . Alale said  ''people  from all  places  come here to do research on it and they found out that it is true'' .        The royal father  , who is  now the 35th Alale  of Ulale said the chain is highly significant because it has a role to play before, during and after their  festival, he continued ''Our  festival  called Agwe is held every five years  and it is the most  popular and important one in all our festivals .When  it is the time for the festival the mysterious chain  gives signs and would  unwind itself  gradually especially in the month of June  till July , and that means  the festival is ready to be observed, while those in charge of the festival would know  and request for all the requirements  needed . The community   will then informed . And immediately after the festival  the chain  goes back  or recoils back  to its former position until the following   five years  for another festival", he proudly explained.     SLAVE DIED AFTER NAILING IT ON THE WALL  On how it was nailed there the monarch said he could not say since it has been there for centuries as he who happened to be the 35th royal father met it there also. He said  ''According to history  my father told me  ,it was one of the slaves that nailed the mysterious chain   on the wall, after nailing it on the wall the slave  died!'', the old man said,  looking straight at  the reporter's eyes.           RULES OF THE FESTIVAL According to the monarch, Agwe festival is held every five years . Agwe means bath , he said. During this period   necessary rites  are performed , some of  the  rules to be observed  and strictly  adhered to are: one must not eat  leftover  food or wear the clothes he wore the previous day, in a nutshell new clothes are worn everyday.Mothers and women would plait their hair  while the Monarch's wives would do same . There is also a stream  where water is fetched for bathing daily and those fetching the water must not be met on the road to avoid calamity befalling on those who met them on  the way.  Alale said the reason why it is observed is that   ''the festival, Agwe brings peace, love and progress to the community''. What if not observed? The Oba was asked. ''Haaaa,eewo!, it must be observed , it is compulsory and if not done to the fullest  there will be  calamity, problems, wahala , war and many will not bear children. please don't ask this type of question , haaa, it will be fire on the mountain and I pray never to let it occur ," he replied.                  STRANGE ROOM FOR FEMALE Asked why another room , called Ile Oru remained closed, the monarch pointed at it and declared with voice raised  "That room is a mysterious room (pointing) it has been there for centuries. It is forbidden for any female to enter that room and whoever does that will be barren for li...fe!" .  Has anybody fallen victim?" the answer is positive! . A Queen called  Aisenwen, wife of one of the Alale’s centuries  ago entered the place as a result of the curse her father placed on her .  When she entered the room her husband, Alale who knew the story behind it knew she was doomed .         FORBIDDEN  TO SEE OBA'S HEAD        As the royal father kept on  adjusting the  white skull cap on his head several times , one wondered why, but he has this to say  with total confidence   that it is a taboo for any royal father to leave his head open for public glaring , he said  no royal father must leave his head open to the public to see and since he is  a royal he has to be covering his head. "  I am a monarch and my head must not be seen . It is forbidden , that is why I don't leave my head open and  again I am also an ordained  spiritual Aladura Priest  whose head  has been poured  with anointing oil . The old man dropped a bombshell  ''whoever sees the   skull of this head will be stricken  by poverty .That is why many drivers did not like to drive monarchs .They will  live and die as a pauper if they dare see the monarch's head '' , he said .    Asked who drives him , the monarch quickly replied" Oh,  my son  drives me , and he is free to see my head for he owns me and could be the future King but for others they are afraid to drive a king as they will ever remain a pauper! ", he said with full authority . Roles as a traditional ruler and Baba Aladura "As a man of God and also a traditional ruler , I am doing both successfully ,  Oba as a traditional ruler  is  different thing from  the work of God .You place God's work on your shoulder and handle or hold tradition in your hand .I have no juju but I believe fervently in God , I know what to say , I know a little invocation ,but don't know more than that.I believe  fervently  in God.When it is also time for tradition , I also observe it but most of them are handled by the town's chief priest"              HOW THE QUEEN ENDED HER LIFE The Baba Aladura who doubles as the monarch and head of community said the forbidden   sacred room no man born of a woman must not open and had never  been opened in life sacred room  had never been opened , and nobody dare tries it .we believe there is  a special ritual performed  in the room to guard against destroying the town, so many things must have been done to guard against enemies in the town .It is a sacred room and a- no- go area to everybody .I have never been tempted to break into the place to sight what is there.  He added ''here is a river here called Aisenwen , it does not flow, we call it the river that never flows.It is also good in healing  as  many had got healed there also . .The water or river is worshiped , she was  a goddess from    another town, she got married to Alale, her taboos were broken and she ran into a clay pot and hide herself''. The monarch likened it to the story of  Oronsen   .           THE GREAT CONTROVERSY [Whose story is ORONSEN?] The monarch said the story of Idashen is like that of Oronsen's Igogo festival in Owo. According to Alale the Monarch's wife was a beautiful woman the royal father, Alale married. She was very rich and was excreting coral beads while she warned her husband to respect and honor her three taboos , thou shall not throw wood before her very eyes, thou shall not grind okra and threw firewood before her. According to Adetifa III, the wife of one of the ancestors, Alale was beautiful and loved by the King but other wives were envious of her . Apart from the beauty, the woman, Aisenwen  used to defeacate expensive coral beads which was strange and also made the king loved her. One day she stole her father’s precious stone called Ogun and presented it to her beloved husband, the king, during a festival of which the royal father gladly accepted not knowing where it came from. The father of Aisenwen who was powerful discovered what happened and then placed a curse on her daughter, Aisenwen that she would do the forbidden in her husband’s home. The story continued that the other wives of the royal father secretly discovered the taboos of the woman through their husband and plotted against her and broke her  taboos in her presence by throwing wood, throwing water among others before her eyes. The woman then ran into the forbidden room (Ile-Oru) weeping like a baby there. "When the royal father came, searched for her and later found her in the forbidden room he screamed as he put his index finger in her mouth since he knew the consequence. The beautiful lady narrated all what went wrong while the royal father was away and from there she fled into a bush in tears. As she was going she was weeping, shaking her head and cursing the day evil befell her. She was sorrowful. She was in tears and no amount of pleadings from her husband could rescue her." When Aisenwen got to the bush, she met a clay pot there and went inside to hide in case her husband sought for her. Truly, the royal father went into the thick bush weeping too in search of his beloved wife. He went with gifts begging her. He went with his chiefs and slaves to beg his beautiful wife to come back home but the woman turned deaf ears. In the end, the clay pot miraculously melted and turned into a river but refused to flow. To date , the river is there and called Aisenwen River. " Each time you pass this river, my son, you will see that, it does not flow. It is a true life story of love," River Aisewen is popular in the community and it is worshiped every year. According to investigation, the river cannot flow and must not flow to the other side. "It has been dredged several times but does not flow to the other side. If it flows a calamity will occur," a chief in the palace corroborated the story .              DOORLESS WINDOW "What of the strange window on the mud wall that has been there over 400 years?" It is here the powerful monarch, Alale disappeared into after he had come down with chain and landed on the Osayinagwe tree. The window must not be opened, yet it has no door through which you can enter, we call it the doorless room." The royal father said with a smile. According to the monarch,  the window has been there for centuries and no one has  ever tried to open it. "It has no door but only a window. And this is where our ancestor Alale used to disappear into anytime he left the hot war-zone'', he said with confidence and added  ''it is a mysterious window nobody must open or dare open it," he said. On the  animal horns,  the royal father said   "many believe that somebody was behind Obalisa who normally did whatever he was told to do.They are horns of cows. During the Agwe festival   they are brought out and they are only two pieces. The belief is that a man is behind Obalisa yet the man that does it is Oloke and this is still observed till date." The monarch said he enjoyed wearing his special occasional clothes like Keghojo, Olorimeji, Opanmeta, Egwu Okun all are traditional woven clothes made for special occasions. "I am the 36th Alale on the throne and we still observe our new yam festival. YES, I OBSERVE RITUALS AND OFFER SACRIFICES For the monarch who is not only  a Christian ,  but also holding a position like Pope as  Baba Aladura of a church, he sis not deny the fact that he observes rituals and sacrifices. Beating his chest, the monarch said that he offers sacrifices and rituals for peace to reign in the country adding that he prays as a Christian and a prophet for the country. "Despite the fact that I am the head and king of this place, I observe prayer, I fast and do vigil with my subjects. Again, as the royal father necessary things like offering sacrifices and rituals are   performed too," he said.     A SPECIAL DRUM and MYSTERIOUS STAFF            There is a special drum  called Oluseepe, it  is also positioned strategically there, the   leather drum must not be  beaten by just anybody and it is beaten during burial only.        In a corner is a  beautiful staff  wrapped with white clothe  placed   in a conspicuous place  where one of the Monarchs was buried , this staff can only be handled by the Oloris                      (Queens). Though,  it looked attractive but it is forbidden to be touched by any  living man, if it touches any man , he becomes impotent immediately . No antidote. No  wonder every male runs away from it to avoid touching him and face calamity. 400 YEARS OLD TREES      Also in the compound are five   trees , they are called the five strange trees - all the trees are touched only  when it is time for yam festival here , the monarch explained, "they are known in local parlance as  atori, ogbagbayobo, akoko, and so forth" At the time of visit there were kolanuts,, animal skulls and other sacrificial materials under the over 400years old trees.                         MY LIFE STORY      The royal father who was once a tailor , plumber and musician  narrated how he became a King. He said  he  had once been told at the age of 20 that he would become a king in his lifetime .   "I was born in  June , 1934 and  it had been predicted since 1954  that I  would become an Oba  and also a Church leader   but I never believed it because the two were believed to be opposite .Aside that I  was once a tailor, a plumber, and a musician .I had been told in my dream that  I would work for  the Lord and if I disobey   I would always be sick ''. The old man added that  ''three or four people told me   they saw a crown and feather on my head  but I never believed it since I am an Aladura until years after when  all these  came to pass".            PREDICTIONS CAME TO PASS The royal father continued his story ''My father died in 1977, and the mantle of assistance fell on me , and in order not to leave the palace alone without anybody  I was asked to be there temporary and be  assisting   for six years after  his  death  since we don't have  an Adele or Regent here like some other neighboring towns so therefore  whoever is assisting becomes  Adele until I became the real king . '' Infact  became Baba Aladura in 2002 .They installed me as a royal father of this community and I ascended the throne in  1992. I have spent 27years on the throne'' .