Sango Festival is an annual festival held among the

Yoruba people The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute ...

in honour of Sango, a thunder and fire

deity A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greate ...

who was a warrior and the third king of the

Oyo Empire The Oyo Empire was a powerful Yoruba empire of West Africa made up of parts of present-day eastern Benin and western Nigeria (including Southwest zone and the western half of Northcentral zone). It grew to become the largest Yoruba language, ...

after succeeding

Ajaka Ajaka was an Oyo emperor who was twice on the throne. His father was Oranyan or Oranmiyan and his brother, according to the historian Samuel Johnson, was Shango. Life Ajaka lived in a fierce and tumultuous age, but he was originally a man of a p ...

his elder brother. Renamed in 2013 to World Sango Festival by the government of

Oyo State Oyo State is an inland state in southwestern Nigeria. Its capital is Ibadan, the third most populous city in the country and formerly the second most populous city in Africa. Oyo State is bordered to the north by Kwara State, to the east by Osun ...

, the festival is usually held in August at the palace of the

Alaafin of Oyo Oyo, Oyo State, is the seat of the line of the rulers of Oyo. Their territory, a constituent rump state, is located in contemporary Nigeria. Since the 1900 political absorption into Southern Nigeria of the kingdom that it once served as a metro ...

and also observed in over forty countries around the world.

History

The Sango Festival celebrations can be traced back to 1,000 years ago following the departure of Sango, a popular Yoruba '' òrìṣà'' who is widely regarded as the founding father of the Oyo people Sango was a notable strong ruler and magician who became king of the Oyo Empire after succeeding his elder brother who was perceived to be a "weak ruler". Believed to bring prosperity to the people of the Oyo Empire during his reign, Sango's death has been linked to different mythical stories. It is believed that Sango committed suicide by hanging himself in order to avoid humiliation from one of his powerful chiefs who ordered Sango to vacate his throne or face war. Sango was said to have reigned for just seven years as King over Oyo but with such a powerful leadership he was counted as the best King ever in the history of Oyo rulers. During the 2021 festivity, the Ayabas i.e. the wife's of King boast of how they stopped rain from falling which would have disturbed the ceremony after consulting the Yemoja and the Sango priest. Also, the festival is said to start with Iwure Agba meaning the prayer of the elders that is usually led by the Sango priest.

Significance

Since its renaming in 2013, the event which is usually held in August and runs for a week attracts over 20,000 spectators around the world including

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

and the

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. The event which is recognized by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

, is organized to facilitate the home-coming of the Yorubas in the diaspora and also celebrate Sango who is regarded as the greatest hero in the history of the Yoruba race. How sango festival is celebrated The Sango Festival is a 10 days event, which is marked with pomp and pageantry. Worshippers and visitors can be seen in a happy mood. The worshippers are usually adorned with white or red attire. Some of the activities lined up for the festival include: Ayo competition, Ogun Ajobo day, Oya day, Aje Oloja day, Iyemoja day, Esin Elejo day and Sango Oyo day.

References

{{Reflist Festivals in Nigeria August events Annual events in Nigeria Yoruba culture Yoruba festivals

History

Significance

See also

Further reading

References