Chief Yemi Elebuibon Speaks On Traditional Burial Rites of Ooni of Ile-Ife

The Araba of Osogbo land, Chief Yemi Elebuibon, who spoke on Friday, disclosed that the corpse of the Ooni belonged to Ile-Ife and not his family.

He said, “The traditional burial rites of the kings of Ile-Ife and Oyo are strictly complied with and they are comprehensive.

“When the Ooni dies, the body becomes that of the town. The ‘Isoro’ cult group will take over. The ‘Isoro’ initiates are the ones who worship the ‘Oro’ deity.

“It is the ‘Isoro’ people that would inform the various deities, who were worshipped and appeased when the Ooni was crowned, that he (the monarch) is no more.

“It’s a rite. Nothing must stop it.”

The Araba dispelled the belief that the heart of the late king would be fed to the next Ooni.

He said, “The eating of the heart of a departed King by an incoming one belonged to the past. It no longer exists. People still make this insinuation because many are barred from witnessing the burial of a king.

“What the incoming king will eat is the heart of an animal and not that of a human. Nobody would be buried with the Ooni. Nobody would be killed for any form of sacrifice.”

Elebuibon explained that animals are now used for the burial rites of Yoruba Obas because of modernisation, noting that Christianity and Islam also stopped the use of humans for sacrifice when God stopped Abraham from sacrificing his son, Isaac.

Source: The Elites