Clash between church and masqurede It was the annual thanksgiving and public celebration of the Biblical ancient Ark of Covenant, (otherwise known as the Apoti Eri and one of the distinct features of the Cherubim and Seraphim church), in Tuube village, in the Ipokia area of Ogun State. The year 2024 annual thanksgiving for the Apoti Eri was a seven-day event that started with a week seclusion by the prophet and those to carry the wooden box. It was followed by another one week revival inside the church.
On the last day of the revival, members and leaders of the church would proceed round the town with the Apoti Eri. Four hefty, fierce looking men, who have observed the seclusion were the chosen ones to carry the Apoti Eri on their shoulders, two at the front and two at the back, with members beating drums, singing and clapping while following behind. As the procession was ongoing, people of the town would say their prayers as the wooden box (Apoti Eri) was carried past their frontage.
They said their prayers and threw money at the Ark, believing that their prayers would be answered. It is the church’s annual event that usually welcomed many important dignitaries from all over the world, including, the Eris born into Cherubim and Seraphim. The Eris are children born and named by the church.
They are either conceived during the month of the Ark of Covenant, or born during the thanksgiving ceremony. They are usually named like: Eritomiwa, Eritosin, Erijesu, Eriseun, Erisimiwa, Erigbadee.t.
c. The Cherubim and Seraphim does not joke with all that concerns Apoti Eri and its celebration. However, that fun filled event was disrupted by the procession of the members of the traditional (Isese) worshippers, called Toran, who also chose that same day to proceed with their members around the town.
Coincidentally, some of the members of the church were also secret members, elders of the Toran society. They were known as Gbefa. The Gbefa are supposed to be the organisers of the annual Isese for Toran, but they have been unfortunately caught in the web of confusion and choice of religion.
This annoyed the elders of the traditional worshippers. To worsen their annoyance was that they felt the church had been smarter to have been the first to enjoy the benevolence of the people of the town, leaving little or nothing for them to enjoy as well. The Toran group accused the Cherubim and Seraphim worshippers, also of idol worshipping.
“They accused us too of practicing Isese, asking what was inside the wooden box and why make it an annual event, if it was not Isese? They went further, saying that it is Isese because they believed we worship the Ark of Covenant; hence, they declared it as the Cherubim and Seraphim Isese,” Prophet Eriseun told Sunday Telegraph. While the two religious groups were hauling insults and subtly attacking each other, claiming superiority of faith, another Isese group called Zangbeto came out with its members and was unruly in its parade. The men leading the Zangbeto tried to prove that they were superior to the two other groups by performing different magical shows.
First, the masquerade was dancing by whizzing and gliding crazily, in an eye-turning cycle. Mysteriously, from underneath the masquerade’s haystack dress, different creatures and objects like banana, chicken, iron, broom and more e.t.
c. were brought out into the open, claiming that the person inside the masquerade was the one turning into those objects and creatures. Suddenly, all attention shifted to them and they made money without asking for it.
Seeing that this was winning more attention and making money for them, more magical performances were displayed. In fact, some members of the church and Toran got carried away and were even applauding the show. Suddenly, the church leaders were jolted back to consciousness and commanded its member to go on with the procession but the Zangbeto and its crowd had blocked the way.
Seeing that tension was growing and threatening to escalate into anarchy, another religious group called Atenga came to the rescue of the church with their members. They came with weapons of sorts, threatening to kill anyone standing in the way of the church. That scene shook the small Town of Tuube with some of the youth clashing among themselves.
Luckily, no death was recorded except for different degrees of injuries. The Atenga-Isese group are very similar to the White garment churches, mostly the Celestial church; in mode of worship and dressing. The only difference is their Bible.
It is different from the popularly acknowledged Bible by Christians. Their Bible is mostly about traditional rites, beliefs, culture and norms. It tells of stories of Orumila and his wives and other myths.
Members of the entire religious group were invited to the king’s palace for peacemaking. At the palace, Sunday Telegraph witnessed the peace process and learnt about the distinct roles of each religious group. The Oba, who refused to speak officially to Sunday Telegraph because he was not a first class Oba and officially permitted to do so, said he would only allow the correspondent to witness the process but mustn’t quote him.
Sunday Telegraph learnt that Zangbeto had no business to come during the day. It was explained that Zangbeto had always been the traditional religion of the Ogu (otherwise known as Egun) before the advent of other religion. But since there have been emergence of other religions, the roles became clearly defined, describing Zangbeto as the ‘unofficial’ police of the Town and its procession time has always been at night and not broad daylight as they had come out that day.
“You are the guardian of the night for us the Ogu people. You are not to foment trouble but maintain law and order and ensure safety of the people,” the Oba said. While Toran and Atenga are the liberal form of Zangbeto, the Oba explained that the aforementioned religious groups are also traditional religion, which gives room for both sexes to practice unlike Zangbeto that is strictly meant for the male folks.
“Atenga and Toran conduct their services like the white garment churches. They sing similar church songs, beat drums same way. So, I am surprised that you cannot display religious tolerance among yourselves.
You claim you are the white and clean version of other Isese worshippers. Yet, it didn’t reflect in your disposition during the crises,” he said. He however, charged both religious groups (Atenga and Toran) to continually see to protection of the people from bad witches and progress of the Town.
“Cherubim and Seraphim, you should have let the Bible that you professed so much in speech and acts reflect in your interaction with the people. Although you are Christians, you shouldn’t be oblivious of the culture and beliefs of the environment you are in. You cannot be insensitive to the people’s culture and ways of life in your environment.
Before the introduction of Christianity, the people have been neck deep in their traditional religion. Hence, you have to be tactful and diplomatic with your religion,” he chastised the church leaders. He charged them all to go and be at peace with one another and demanded for fine from each of the group, according to the traditional practice of the community.
They were warned to pay the fine within seven days after the peace meeting otherwise, heavier task would be levied against any defaulter. Banished by gods of the land Aolat Ajagbe, 34, mother of two, was an epitome of beauty, a goddess everyone was after in her community. She is dark in complexion, has full dark coloured hair, tall and huge, full and rounded with native facial lines on her face.
Despite her beauty, she is unfortunately one of the women caught in the web of traditional belief, religion and community woes. She was rejected by her husband and community and cast to the outskirt of the village. To make a living, she joined the ‘Charcoal women’, who specialise in sorting charcoal dust from main charcoal bulk.
They are outcasts because they are unfortunate women of rape by herdsmen who invaded their community farm in Iwere-ile, Okeho, axis of Oyo North in Oyo State. By tradition in this part of Nigeria, their women are forbidden to have sexual intercourse with another man either by adultery or rape. They are simply forbidden by their tradition and culture.
Reason, the women who happened to be victims of herdsmen’ rape were rejected by their husbands and society. Even if the husband is unwilling to reject his wife, the truth will somehow be out. For them, their slogan is “the best way to keep a secret as secret is never to do anything secret.
” Ordinarily, Aolat wouldn’t have been rejected by her husband if the truth had not been let out and if it was possible to be able to manipulate her community culture and tradition (Isese). According to her, she went to her charcoal farm to check out if the charcoal had been riped enough to unearth. It was such an unfortunate day that she ought not to go to the farm for the herdsmen were out there already with their cattle.
“Four of them took turn on me and beat me blue black when I struggled with them. They also wanted to abduct me. Somehow, I managed to wriggle myself out of their captivity and ran as fast as my leg could carry me.
I was able to escape because two of their cattle were delivering their calves. So, their attention was divided. I got home, washed up thoroughly and pretended like nothing happened.
I couldn’t eat or think straight but I managed to act along. Unfortunately, it was that same night that my husband got horny and wouldn’t take any excuse, especially as it was five days after my period. He had the intimacy with me and was struck with unknown ailment seven days after.
He couldn’t stand nor walk up to 500 metres without falling down. Initially, it was mistaken for stress of his cashew farming. He was administered with several herbs that ordinarily would heal the farm stress and fever but still no improvement.
After two weeks of no relief to my husband’s sickness, an Ifa oracle was consulted where it was revealed that I have committed an abomination! The room to explain myself was not given. I was beaten by my sisters-in-law and disgraced in the village square before I was escorted out of the village by seven council elders of the Town. Although my husband still loves me, he got well and always come to check on me and tell me about our children’s welfare; that is not my dream marriage as a caring mother to my children.
I wouldn’t wish my fate to befall my daughter,” she said. However, the general belief is that Aolat had been banished from the community and the husband had severed ties with her. As such, life goes on normally until catastrophe of different degrees began befalling them all in the community.
More herdsmen invaded the community; their crops in the farm got devoured by the cattle under the watch of the herdsmen. Their farm produce, including the charcoal they export, got rejected at the Port (Apapa wharf in Lagos). Thieves also invaded their community.
Doubling their frustration, their Ifa Oracle whom they have so much faith in, refused to talk to them nor directed them on what to do. The community became perplexed and wondered what really has happened to them. According to Jafta, the tour guard for Sunday Telegraph: “Even the two churches in the community knew that something odd has happened but their belief would not let them embrace the truth.
” He explained that a day came when the Baale’s son (chief) fell critically sick. All the local treatments administered on him did not work. Hence, an appeasement was carried out to the gods of their land, who directed them on what to do.
“Four ewes that was not more than three months old were offered in the four angles of the community to the gods to wade off the evil that had befell the Town. After that, the Ifa oracle spoke, revealed the course and what to do,” he said. Jafta explained further that, the Ifa oracle revealed that an abomination had been committed by Ajagbe’s family and Ajagbe must confess, so as to totally wade off the curse the gods placed on the community.
Ironically, Ajagbe’s husband-Niran had turned an absolute ‘Born Again Christian’ even to a fanatical Christian. Hence, he objected to partaking in anything demanded of him by the gods via Ifa custodians. The battle line was drawn between the gods and the community, the Baale and Ajagbe, and Ajagbe’s husband(Niran) versus the community! The gods felt spited, as such permitted more evil against the people of the community insisting on Niran must present himself for cleansing and must carry a certain sacrifice to the four corners of the community, according to the Tour guard.
Niran on the other hand, with the backing of the church people and alliance with Ajagbe and other outcast women, had become bolder against the community. The community people too, refusing to back down, too protested twice saying since Niran had been identified to be the harbinger of their ill luck, he should be banished as well. Youths of the community headed by Jafta, (the Tour guard) went as far as burning part of his house and harassing the church members.
It became a war of Isese (Culture and tradition), religion and humanity in the community. The taboo, according to the elders of the Town and Jafta, was that; Aolat brought the ill-luck of another man upon her husband and the community as a whole. He didn’t stop there.
He still went about to sleep with his wife at the outskirt of the village when she had been banished. This, they consider an abomination or betrayal against the community. The remedy demanded that the wife be chased further into the forest (forbidden forest) with dangerous cultural ritual rites that forbids women’s presence anywhere near the community, even on the outskirt.
According to Jafta: “There are many of our women living abroad and in Lagos and they are greatly successful. But no matter the level of their successes, they can’t come back home and shouldn’t think of contributing to the community in any way. Even when they die and their corpses are brought home, we reject them.
The few corpses the community accepted were not allowed to be buried within the community cemetry but at the outskirt where they were initially cast. That is supposed to be their abode till death.” Meanwhile, the fight continues as at the time of writing this report.
Divided by Isese Idowu and Helen had dreamt of a blissful future together. They had dreamt of having beautiful home, kids and prepared to weather the storm in thick and thin. In fact, Helen had relocated with all her businesses and other goods to Lagos where her fiancé lives, so as to make easy their plans of a blissful future.
A week after relocating to Lagos, Helen believed she had indeed got to her last bus stop in husband hunting. Not only that, she enjoyed the love and pampering of her in-laws to be. They sent foodstuff and a few expensive aso-oke ( a traditionally woven-cloth) from Iseyin to her as a symbolic acceptance into Idowu’s family.
It was a blissful period with Idowu. However, as the awareness on Sickle Cell disease increases and so also the knowledge on steps to take before getting married. This, Helen was wise enough to not get carried away by the intoxicating love.
Hence, she insisted that they went for all the necessary medical checks to see their compatibility-healthwise. The test results revealed that Helen was alright in all her medical checks while Idowu was Hepatitis B positive. Helen told Sunday Telegraph that she still was not discouraged.
Rather, she advised Idowu that they start the medical treatment as soon as possible but she noticed Idowu’s countenance changed throughout their journey back home from the hospital. “Suddenly, Idowu told me that he doesn’t believe the relationship would work out between us any longer. I was shocked! I wondered if it was the discovery of his health status.
He took me aback by bringing up the discussion we had over flogged and forgotten- Isese religion! “Idowu and I had had serious religious argument on Isese and whose religion the children would follow. I told him that I cannot go for any other religion outside Christianity, Idowu said he cannot go back to Christianity.” She said.
The issue led to another round of heated argument that night upon return from the hospital and this time, led to physical fight, which led to Idowu’s arrest. At Wawa Police Station, where he was detained, he told Sunday Telegraph that he only slapped Helen out of frustration. He said she was not seeing to reasons of his choice of religion-Isese, as a true clean religion and because he realised that despite his love for her, he was about to lose her.
“Aunty Journalist, I was born a Christian and grew up into it but when I had complex problems in life, it was the traditional religion that sorted me out. That was where I got help from and decided to stay put in the Isese religion and I have no reason to regret so far about that decision. “I didn’t hide that from Helen and I promised that I would let her continue her church going but with a condition that our children would practice my own traditional religion.
Initially, she argued it but later agreed that we should go on, in our love journey. “My conscience kept telling me that we should sort it out once and for all. I agree that it should have been a well-thought plan before asking her to relocate to Lagos,” he said.
Idowu explained further to Sunday Telegraph that he would never go back to Christianity because it is filled with deceit and pretence. “I have seen to the brim, many pastors participated in our Isese activities, in the guise of seeking favour and other solutions. Let me reveal something to you, aunty.
There are now many youths practicing Isese because they have seen the truth,” he stated. Torture of the gods Ifadimu Olukayode is a successful doctor, with 22 successful major surgeries to her credit. She had participated in successful separations of conjoined twins, here in Nigeria and in India.
As successful as she was, she got tortured by the gods for not obeying what her prediction had said about her from birth. Dimu told Sunday Telegraph that she can’t really recall sustaining any moment of joy for long. Instead, it has been from misfortune to misfortune for her.
Starting from the marital front, there is no explanation for the level of discomfort and lack of peace for her. Dr. Dimu as she is popularly called, suffered high degree of domestic abuse, both physical, verbal and emotional from her Surgeon husband and many of life misfortunes.
She has lost four pregnancies, never got full salary, experienced rejections from patients, got many complaints from the Chief Medical Directors and patients, which led to her sack thrice. She found a small community health centre, where she said she was underutilized and underrated with salary a quarter of what she earned in the previous big hospitals. She also got attacked by armed robbers, who snatched her cars on three different occasions.
The question was what happened? Why all the misfortunes in her life? She answered with a narration that started from her birth. Like the Sophocles of ancient Greek mythology, Dimu (with full name as Ifadiyimu, meaning, held tight by the oracle) was predicted at birth never to go out of circle of the Ifa oracle/family, nor should she marry anyone outside Ifa tradition. According to her aged uncle, it was predicted that Dimu should be an Ifa priestess and should always dress like one(always in white attire with beads decorated on her).
But whereby she refuses to be an Ifa priestess, he said she must always come home for their annual Aje (wealth) festival. He explained that Dimu is one chosen by the gods to bless the gift of a burnt Ram and others, carry them to the shrine and to T-junctions as sacrifice to the gods. Once this is done, the town will be cleansed of negativity, prosper and would enjoy peace all round.
He added that even she would progress and enjoy peace wherever she is. “That is why, no matter how successful she may be, she must always be within the circle of the Ifa tradition. What the oracle, however, didn’t put into consideration was that Dimu would not always be confined to the round walls of the Ifa community but would also get exposed to refinement of life, get educated, interact, go places and meet with people of calibrer, sophisticated and unsophisticated among other types of human beings; and see a different world outside the Ifa community.
It became a great challenge for Dimu, who went abroad to study to become a doctor, even practiced within and outside the country. However, having gone through different types of challenges, she decided to accept her fate and go back to her father’s community to take on the role of the priestess (Isese). She was happy to learn that she needn’t come to seat at the shrine and attend to people (as practiced in movies or villages) but she must be always be around and willing to participate in the Isese activities of the community.
She was also instructed to bring her husband (who is a pastor’s son) to be baptized by the Ifa oracle inside the shrine; otherwise, they can’t be compatible. Both husband and wife would suffer untold hardship and frustration even if they decided to go their separate ways. Reason being that he was the one that deflowered her.
As such, a covenant had established between them. Hence, he must be baptized by the Ifa tradition as acceptance into the Ifa tradition. Sunday Telegraph witnessed the procession and baptism of both Dimu and her husband.
While Dimu, dressed in the Ifa native attire, danced and walked majestically like one controlled by the spirit from the spirit realm, the husband danced despairingly like one who just lost his identity and freedom. The Ifa priest (Dimu’s uncle) told her husband that Isese does not stop him from worshipping his God and going to church. “Isese does not forbid you going to church, does not snatch your faith from you.
This is simply traditional and our ways when our daughters are deflowered. That is why, it is very important men should carry out thorough background research about the type of women they intend to marry before falling deep into the river of love. Dimu has become your cross and you shall carry it.
The gods will grant you the strength and wisdom to carry it successfully,” he prayed. Isese as family DNA The Isese rites in some parts of Egun (originally known as Ogu) community entrance by Obanigbe through Ipokia in Ogun State is unique and not for the faint hearted. It sounds ridiculous but not worth daring, as the consequences are better imagined.
Senami (Oluwafunmi) and Sewanu (Oluwaseun) Awavueke, believed that getting married to each other was the utmost. Little did they know that there were thousands of more figures beyond figure 6, says the popular Yoruba adage. The bride, Senami got delivered of a baby of boy 13 months after the wedding.
Time for the child to be taken to the paternity home of her husband for the family traditional rites and unexpected drama ensued. Senami, a nurse and highly sophisticated lady, refused to carry out all the Isese instructions demanded by her husband’s family. “I don’t believe in all those fetish rites and I couldn’t subject my child to it,” she said.
All efforts for Senawu to persuade Senami to obey the traditional instruction fell on deaf ear. When Sunday Telegraph met with Senami, she explained how scary the traditional rites were and the reason she would not agree to carry out the traditional rites. “I would rather get divorced than stay married and get subjected to such barbaric culture in the name of tradition and marriage,” she vowed.
Sunday Telegraph went on an adventurous journey of about four hours in the Ipokia area of Ogun State, on a small river with a short- breadth wooden plank of about 14 centimeter thick, for passersby and motorbikes from Ipokia and Obanigbe communities. Crossing to either side of the communities, commuters and motorcylists must pay a crossing fee of N50 and N100 respectively to the men in uniform, who were on standby, guarding against smuggling of sorts..
