Ogunfunminire Festival Kicks Off in Isheri Olofin with Royal Presence of Olori Ashley Afolashade OjajaOgunwusi

Ogunfunminire Festival Kicks Off in Isheri Olofin with Royal Presence of Olori Ashley Afolashade OjajaOgunwusi

Olofin of Isheri Mole Sulaimon A. Bamigbade Ayodele III, Her Majesty Queen Ashley Afolashade OjajaOgunwusi and Hon. Adijat Adeleye at the Ogunfunminire Festival 

By Olufemi Odeyemi

The ancient, historic cradle of Awori land, Isheri Olofin, erupted in vibrant cultural display on Monday September 14, 2026 as the community commenced its highly anticipated, week-long Ogunfunminire Festival. Royal grandeur took centre stage as Her Majesty, Queen Ashley Afolashade OjajaOgunwusi, graced the occasion as the special guest of honour, joining the Kabiesi, Olofin Sulaiman A. Bamgbade Ayodele III, the Olofin of Isheri Mole, and the people of the kingdom to kick off the sacred celebration.Representing the Arole Oodua, His Imperial Majesty the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, Queen Ashley's royal presence brought immense prestige to the traditional rites.

The day's spiritual engagements began with a ceremonial procession to the Aje River, where prayers were offered for wealth, prosperity, growth, peace, and protection of the town and its people.

Prayers were offered by the River

The procession then advanced to the Ile Aje for traditional supplications. There, symbolic offerings, including an assortment of fresh fruits, sugar, salt, and ekuru, eggs, blood of a pig, were sanctified and shared among the people. This represents wealth, abundance, good fortune, and the invocation of sweetness into the lives of the community members.

Ile Aje

A striking visual highlight of the festival procession was the active participation of priestesses and initiate women carrying deeply symbolic traditional objects on their heads.

The shell-encrusted Awo Aje structures stood out as several women balanced impressive, tiered conical crowns and dome-shaped structures painstakingly covered in thousands of sacred cowrie shells, also known as Owo Eyo. Symbolising wealth, divine authority, and the presence of the deity Aje, these heavy headpieces feature dangling bead veils that partially obscure the wearer's face, adding an aura of mystique to the procession.

Other women bore large head loads decorated with sacred dolls, traditional figures, and wrapped bundles, representing offerings, ancestral lineage, and prayers for fertility and spiritual guardianship over the town's children.

Accompanying the procession were women wearing sheer white lace veils and traditional white lace attire, Aso Aje, balancing white-draped bowls and cowrie-beaded calabashes on their heads to hold the blessed items used during the river rites.

The colourful procession eventually moved to the palace of the Kabiesi, Olofin Sulaiman A. Bamgbade Ayodele III, where additional prayers were offered. A poignant moment occurred when Queen Ashley OjajaOgunwusi addressed the gathering, bestowing royal blessings on the people of Isheri Olofin on behalf of her husband, the Ooni of Ife.

The festival honours Ogunfunminire, the progenitor of Isheri Olofin, whose reign is traditionally dated to 1425. Over the six centuries that followed, the throne has passed through a long line of Olofins who have shaped the kingdom's history, among them Olofin Ogunneru in 1505, Olofin Ogunbiyi in 1570, Olofin Adeyinka Ogunneru in 1628, Olofin Adedotun Adeyinka in 1647, Olofin Olaibeilo Agbojo in 1677, Olofin Adediran Awogunjoye in 1710, Olofin Adeyemi Atesajoye in 1737, Olofin Ontoni Atejejoye in 1760 and Oba Gbokun Atepojoye in 1791, whose reigns span the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

The nineteenth and twentieth centuries saw the reigns of Olofin Onigbakule I in 1841, Olofin Taiwo Olowo in 1880, Olofin Sarumi Ogunsi in 1902, Olofin Ayodele I in 1928, and Olofin Akinlolu Olubiyi Baruwa in 1937, followed in later decades by Olofin Salami Ayodele II in 1956 and Olofin Ishola Taiwo Olowo II in 1972. More recently, the throne was occupied by Olofin Obatula Eniadenwa Onigbakule II in 1992 and Olofin Nurudeen Adekanbi Akilolu II in 2004, before the current monarch, Olofin Sulaiman A. Bamgbade Ayodele III, ascended in 2021.

It is this unbroken royal lineage, stretching back to the town's founding six hundred years ago, that Isheri Olofin gathers each year to honour through the Ogunfunminire Festival.

The event was attended by traditional rulers, priests, priestesses, chiefs, political leaders, members of the community, visitors, and well-wishers. 

The week-long celebration honouring the progenitor Ogunfunminire continues tomorrow with a full schedule of traditional, cultural, and intellectual events.