Adeyinka Olaiya/
The Alaafin of Oyo (Iku Baba Yeye), Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III, was today honoured in Brazil at the ongoing annual carnival for arts and culture.
The Oyo Empire was also celebrated and the spirit of Sango invoked at the outing of the Salgueiros Escola de Samba in Sapucaí, Rio de Janeiro.
Sango’s proverbial Axé of Justice was beautifully sculpted to suit the colours of the deity who, according to Yoruba history was the third Alaafin of Oyo. The seat of the King of Oyo was highly decorated along with the constructed moving stage. Participants sang and chanted incantations in the Yoruba language to describe the sovereignty of the Oyo Empire.
They also dabbled into a controversial subject as stories were told in their songs describing Alaafin of Oyo as the number one in the Yoruba Kingdom, the legitimate representation of Oodua, the one that ruled after his father.
The homage was made as credit to the Yoruba kingdom and the Orishas that influenced the culture and tradition of the African-Brazilian people since the end of the trans-atlantic slave trade in 1882.
The songs, sculptural representations of Sango at Sapucaí described Orisha Sango as God of Justice and a one-time Alaafin of Oyo.
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Drums, songs and dances in the Yoruba rhythm having Sango as the chorus ( Ori Sango ) took over the whole Avenue in Rio de Janeiro as this homage was paid to the Oyo empire by one of the greatest Samba college in Brazil with television coverage in over 77 countries around the world.
Brazil is widely known for the practice of the African traditional religion among the African-Brazilian and many have linked their roots to the Yoruba people from the western part of Nigeria
The Honorable President of the College, Dr Djalma Sabia, said: “We thank His Royal Highness, Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, for his letter of appreciation for the honor and we shall continue to recognize him as our king and the leader of the Yoruba in Brazil, the rightful stand of our father Oduduwa.”
According to the federal annual balances, Brazil makes over $5billion in every carnival period with over 7 million tourists flooding the whole country from every part of the planet.
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