OLOBINRIN ILE IN OFFA LAND. Before the advent of western education, Yoruba people had and still have relics of noble assemblages, groups identity and categorisations for noble purposes. One of such noble assemblies is the group of ladies, married and wives of men living or belonging to same wards in a compound called agbo-ile . Agbo-ile is most times composite of inhabitants with family ties and tracing their origin almost to same forebears or an admixture of such but upholding same tradition and norms. Offa is one of the most popular Yoruba cities, with most popular oriki praise singing and pride in the fact that Moremi the ancient heroine had her origin in Offa. When men in same compound Agbo-ile brought in a new wife whether or not previously sampled, tokunbo, tear rubber or new chassis, such a wife would be taken to the compound gate by those older women in the compound, have a bowl of water poured on the two legs as such given the baptism of acceptance into the family in an enlarged capacity. There is that assumption that such a lady, now a wife must have been given home training, properly brought up on handling the daily domestic house chores, prepare good soup, learn how to serve and share such amongst family members and also be a good ambassador of her family at the new family where she should be seen to belong. A wife with good home training would sure project the light in her human relations at the new home and if a regular defaulter, her family reputation is at stake. Communal living and life amidst other wives the obinrin Ile is as important measuring device to detect the trained or the untrained amongst the compound womenfolk. Misdemeanour of any kind is frowned at and disrespect to elders be in terms of age or who first got married to men in the compound invites punitive action. There are innumerable spelt rules as to who cleans the family house, compound and when a general occasion arises, order, respect and orderliness must be observed. When on public outings, in group they go as true representatives of obinrin Ile and when dividends come as a result of their compound and community based democratic practices, reference and report must be made to the compound parliament. As they have the common pot from which the food is shared during outings, so is the common purse from which they draw some funds for common good and usage too. We used to cherish them though occasionally there could be accusations or/ and counter accusations of a few of them being pilots of Unidentified Flying Objects, UFOs. Modern ladies and wives in their penchant for always wanting to exhibit superiority/ inferiority complexes have greatly impacted though negatively on the norms, tradition and beauty inherent in OLOBINRIN ILE of old. We today have dysfunctional system and almost in everything that modern religious sentiments impute today, you can be rest assured of systemic failures in all ramifications. I cannot deny the fact that society has to be pragmatic and more encompassing but does it mean foreign modes of living always have o be taken hook, lline and sinker? I detest with passion the Improvised Pentecostal Devices which see and perceive nothing good in our tradition and ideal communal living but always get us mentally poisoned that associating with our home breed groups is synonymous with young with sinners. They daily discourage us from travelling home so we dont get infected by what they most times refer to as generational curse most times associated with such interactions with family groups with noble ideals better than what they do in their spiritual Eboracum infested enclaves. Ralph Mcdonald in the late 7th sang and Son of Man submits and subscribes thus: Going Back to Root, I, am Going Back to Root.
Posted on: Mon, 08 Dec 2014 08:03:59 +0000
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