Olokun Deity and Ekaba n'Orogho Festival in Orogho Town

About the interview
Olokun and Other DeitiesFestivals (Palace Rituals and Ceremonies)

This is about the Olokun festival and the accompanying Ekaba ritual dance from Orogho town. The Odionwere and elders interviewed narrated the origin of the Olokun deity in accordance with Orogho tradition and how the Olokun Priest (Iyase of Olokun) is appointed in Orogho town. Also, they spoke about the roles and responsibilities of the leaders of the town during the Olokun and Ekaba festivals. An account of the sojourn of Prince Oogun, later Ọba Ewuare I with the Orogho elders was also narrated and this was the origin of the ‘Edion n’Orogho’.

About the contributors

Referenced in this interview

Sensitive Content

Digital Benin collates digital material from institutions, and some of this material is inherently colonial and contains words, terms and phrases that are inaccurate, derogatory and harmful towards African and African diasporic communities. Catalogue transcriptions, book titles, exhibition titles and museum titles may contain harmful terms. We recognise the potential for the material to cause physical and mental distress as well as evoke strong emotions. Owing to the scale of the collection’s data, a process to implement sensitive-content warnings in the displayed data is still incomplete. The material within the catalogue does not represent Digital Benin’s views. Digital Benin maintains a strong anti-colonial, anti-racist position and affirms its support for centring the humanity of historically marginalised and disenfranchised communities. Read more about the background of this statement here