Title: THE HEALING POWER OF WATER: IMỌLẸ̀ FESTIVAL IN ÀKÓKÓ AREA OF OǸDÓ STATE, NIGERIA |
Authors: Dr. Deborah Bamidele AROWOSEGBE and Dr Martins Oladele OLORUNDIPE, Nigeria |
Abstract: Water has been revered for its healing properties across cultures and centuries. People use water for detoxification, rehydration and pain relief. Some Yorùbá Divinities use water to heal their initiates. There are few works on female cults that use water to take care of children in Yorùbá land. There are still more cults that take care of children, pregnant women and barren women that are yet to be researched. This work, therefore, tends to investigate the Imọlẹ̀ (a female cult in Àkókó land of Oǹdó State) festival, to depict how the cult uses water to meet the demands of both the initiates and non-initiates during Imolẹ̀ festival. The Interview and participant observer methods are used for the work. Both initiates and non-initiates are interviewed, and the researcher joins the initiates in places where culture allows the non-initiates to be. This enables us to study the festival better. Our findings show that the Imọlẹ̀ initiates use water from the Imọlẹ̀ brook to heal various diseases associated with children and to take care of pregnant and barren women. It equally provides possible solutions to such problems that may be identified. In addition, water from the brook is believed to have the prowess of curing epidemics when sprinkled over the land. The paper concludes that the cult of Imọlẹ̀ can augment the efforts of modern paediatricians and obstetrician-gynaecologists in the area where Imọlẹ̀ festival is being performed. |
Keywords: Imọlẹ̀ Cult, Imọlẹ̀ Priest, Imọlẹ̀ Shrines, Yèyémọlẹ̀, Ọ̀tùn. |
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59009/ijlllc.2025.0101 PDF Download |