Iluku, Obatala hills, where religion, mystery, culture, history find balance

The Ibarapa and Oke Ogun zone of Oyo State are known for their hilly terrains. Indeed, many towns in this zone boast of being surrounded by mountains and hills. But for some, the hills hold a significant place in the history of the land and have become scared grounds for various purposes.

And Ofiki, in Atisbo South Local Council Development Area of Oyo State, is one of such towns with obvious hills with rich history. Ofiki community is one of the six major towns that form part of the Atisbo South Local Council Development Area created by Senator Abiola Ajimobi in 2017.  The towns;  Ofiki, Ago Are, Agunrepe, Sabe, Baasi and Liwo also fall under Oyo North federal constituency and is made up of three quarters namely Sanndo, Ito and Agere.

The purely agrarian Ofiki community has its administrative headquarters at Sanndo and it is a town blessed with a rich historical background as it lays claim to being a part of the liberation of the Yoruba race, dating back to the 18th century.

Ofiki town can be placed in the category of communities with historical mountains as though it has some mountains; two are of great significance to the people because of its historical attachment. The hills are the Obatala Hill and the Iluku Hill and these hills, according to the traditional ruler of Ofiki, have great significance to the cultural heritage of the town

The Aare of Ofiki, Oba Adeoye Gbenga Adigun JP, stated that, “what stands the Obatala Hill and the Iluku Hill out is their place in our historical heritage. The Obatala Hill is where Aare and his followers first settled, it was named Obatala by Aare Ajibesin, the progenitor of Aare Ofiki and  Agoare dynasty. Aare is the sole custodian of Obatala and the priests are the traditional worshippers. In the royal family currently, we have a princess known as “Iya Oyerogun” in charge of that.”

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He however explained that Iluku Hill which fully means “Ilu kii Ku”, that is, a town never dies, is the most popular as it was the hill that accommodated the amalgamated settlers of Sanndo, Agere and Ito, who later formed Ofiki and Agoare.

The Alagere is said to be the custodian of the hill and the priest of Iluku is called Aboluku. The peculiarity of the Iluku Hill is that it is owned by all the three quarters in Ofiki and Agoare whereas Aboluku is the chief priest.

The hills were a place of sanctuary where people hid in the olden days during wars, especially when the army of Dahomey and Sokoto Fulani invaded Yoruba land. Iluku is said to be more of a sanctuary as it is more secured than Obatala Hill due to its many caves and the topography.

Iluku is also said to have mystical powers which come from a pond on top of the mountain that never dries and is used for healing power while Obatala Hill also has a stream that never dries at the foot and an “Ojubo” where sacrifice is made annually to appease the forefathers.

 However, on these hills, there are three significant spots where prayers are offered as well. In spite of its rich cultural background, the hills also serve as a prayer ground for the three major religions in Nigeria without one affecting the other. The traditional head of the community attested to this when he stated that, “in accordance with religious liberty and freedom, as a king, you are expected to pray in the mountains by your belief and not to hinder the belief of others.

“This however brings peace to the community. My first celebration, I allowed the priests at both Obatala and Iluku hills to do their things at the foot of the hills while I climbed up to do my prayers according to my belief and later we all came together to feast,” he stated.

Because of the closeness of the people in the community and the tolerance they have for the belief of others, every man goes to the mountain to pray in whichever mode his religion dictates without disagreements.

“Anyone is allowed on the hills, both male and female, indigenes and non-indigenes, young and old. It is open to all and no religion is restricted from performing prayers here in their own way,” Oba Adeoye stated.

The two hills are powerful and tied historically to royalty; the Aare dynasty as they were seats of power in the olden days. History has it that the Aare Akioso Oluwonde from Obatala joined the Alaafin Abiodun Adegoolu army at Oyo to conquer the Aare Latosa who usurped the Alaafin’s powers at the time.

Aare Oluwusi was said have joined the Alaafin Oluewu army to fight the Fulani emirate of Shitta Emire of Ilorin who captured and established empire on Ilorin which was wholly a Yoruba town. Also, Aare Oladimeji Adefunbi “Aare Alawo ekun” was the brave warrior from Iluku who joined Alaafin and the Ibadan army to conquer Kurunmi of Ijaye during the reign of Alaafin Adelu.

Iluku, according to history, also has some warriors among the Agere and Ito people who both protected their territory from invaders.

Today, activities on the two hills are usually religious based but the town is looking at boosting the tourism potential and open up the hills for people to learn about the warriors that inhabited the hills and saved the Yoruba race from marauders.

Speaking on the importance of the hills to his community, the Aare Ofiki stated that, “the Iluku and Obatala are powerful hills; they are very significant and have great tourism potential. We have found that the surrounding of the Obatala hills is filled with a lot of precious stones; this is also the situation of the Iluku Hill. Ofiki as a town has great potential and values that can bring economic fortunes to the town, state and the nation at large.

“Both hills are special because they are where our progenitors first settled and they also have some features with mystical powers. There are so many unexplainable features on those hills that speak of things gone on in the past; the ponds and their healing powers, the trees, spots on the rock with footprints and so many others.

“I have great plans to make Obatala hill a tourist attraction centre. I mean to make this happen and I have discussed with those that are stakeholders on the issue; I discussed with Alagere Ofiki and Agoare during the 2018 Iluku festival. We spoke on the need for all the entities that make up Ofiki and Agoare to come together and make it a tourism centre and we will achieve this,” Aare Ofiki said.

In spite of the liberal approach of the people to religion and activities on the hills, the taboos associated with the worship of the original owners are maintained strictly. Each hill has a specific type of animal used as sacrifice of worship; for the Obatala Hill, a multi-coloured she goat, snail, kolanut and dry gin are used while for Iluku hill, the requirement of sacrifice is a plain white ram and kolanut to be administered by the Aboluku, who is the only one that has the right to do it.

However, Nigerian Tribune learnt that recently, Muslims have also started offering white rams for prayers on the mountain while Christians who visit during the annual celebration also pray in the Christian way.