ODO OGUN: THE HUMAN RIVER OF SAKI

Saki was once a Yoruba refugee settlement after the destruction in 1835 of old Oyo.  Ogun (god of Iron) was from this town. Traditionally, the work of inhabitants in the olden days of Saki were hunting, farming, blacksmith, goldsmith and clay pot mouldering
 According to Omoba Olawuyi Maranroola, one of the princes in the royal family of Iji-ojiele, Iganran area of Saki town who made it known that in the ancient time, the first king that reigned in Saki was Akebekun meaning someone that shouts like tiger. He was a powerful king that married two wives. There was also a powerful woman who lived in Saki at this time whose name was Omujelewu, Ekunsumi meaning her breast was so big to the extent of falling out of her clothing.
This prevented men from approaching her for marriage. Her parents tried all what they could do to get her problem solved, they tried all what they could, going from one herbalist to another but to no avail. Not until her father’s friend took her to an herbalist in order to help her get a spouse and the herbalist gave her a charm. The herbalist said she should marry any man that shouts when she uses it.
At that time in Saki town, they use to observe Odun Oko meaning farming festival.
On the festival day, Ekunsumi used the charm and the first man to shout “haaaa!” at the sighting of her was the king, then she ran and hugged him. Ever since then, the king fell in love with her without seeing her defects.

Shortly afterwards, the king sent message to Ekunsunmi’s parents indicating his interest in marrying their daughter. In those days, it was forbidden to reject the king’s offer in Yoruba land generally, though her parents were glad to receive the king’s message. They replied the king that “everything in the land belongs to the king”.
The wedding day was fixed by both parties and it was observed for seven days as it was the tradition in the land. There were lot of activities, merriment and celebration during the period, some of which included cultural dance, masquerade display, virgin display and horse race among others. The whole town was fed by the king throughout the seven days of the wedding ceremony.
After marrying Ekunsumi, the king abandoned the first two wives and always cleaved to Ekunsumi. One day Ekunsumi asked the king, “What are his dislikes” in order not to offend him. Then the king replied that his only taboo was that “on no account should a female enter his power room”. Ekunsumi also told the king hers, that under no circumstances should the king use her physical challenge to insult her. Then, they both promised to avoid each other’s dislikes.

Despite being the king, Akebekun did not stop his profession as a hunter and always go hunting as his custom to get his newly wedded wife fresh bush meat as the most precious gift in those days. Ekunsumi became a threat to the senior wives and they always find ways to conspire against her in order to make her leave the palace.
On several occasions, they consulted oracles against her but none of their attempts succeeded because Ekunsumi was not an ordinary woman. Shortly after Ekunsumi entered the palace, she became pregnant and the other wives saw her physical changes as another challenge, they both gossiped that Ekunsumi was now suffering from fibroid.
Ekunsumi always face hell in the palace whenever the king goes for hunting. On many occasions, the other wives said it to her face that the gods of the land is angry with the palace since the day she stepped in and peace could only return if she packs out of the palace.
Few months later, Ekunsumi gave birth to a boy. The king was highly pleased with the divine gift; he offered several kinds of thanksgiving offerings as an act of appreciation to the gods of the lands. On the naming ceremony day, the town people and the neighbouring villagers assembled in the palace for days and they all had splendid exuberance with lined up activities, where bush meat and undiluted palm wine were being served regularly.
King Akebekun was highly pleased at the sighting of the crowd as sands of the sea and he made a wonderful declaration under the influence of alcohol; he declared the newborn baby as the next king that will succeed him. The declaration complicated Ekunsumi’s issue the more and the other wives were looking for ways to kill the newborn baby. On several occasions, deadly poisons were poured into the baby’s herbal pot (oru agbo) but did not always have any effect on him since his mother was a powerful woman.

On a fateful day, history made it known that king Akebekun went hunting as his usual practice but hung his charm cloth in the sun to dry. Not quite long, the weather suddenly changed and the cloud was highly heavy for rain but it was a taboo for rain to touch the said cloth. Having known this, Ekunsumi consulted the her senior wives to look into how to protect the cloth to prevent it from being beaten by rain since the cloth can only be kept in the power room and a female must not enter there. The other wives encouraged Ekunsumi to help protect the cloth from rain.Ekunsumi used a very long stick to pick the cloth and stretched it into the power room from outside.
Akinbekun in his mighty power felt from far distance in the bush that something was about to happen at home. Then he used his supernatural power to travel home within a twinkle of an eye. On getting home, he discovered that his charm cloth had been packed to the power room by his wife who was forbidden from entering the room. Having known that the cloth was packed by Ekunsumi, he was furious and unconsciously insulted her by calling her “abomu janran janran” meaning “big breasted”.

After uttering such abusive words to qualify her, Ekunsumi without hesitation carried her baby boy and his herbal pot, and left the palace into the bush for an unknown destination. When the king discovered that Ekunsumi was no longer in the palace, he ordered the guards to search for her and the baby and they must not return until they bring them back to the palace. Numerous guards were sent out in search of Ekunsumi throughout the knocks and cranny of Saki town, neighbouring towns and villages. The guards spent days in the thick forest without any traces of her and several guards died of hunger in the course of searching.

Ekunsumi’s baby was eventually found under a tree while history said his mother laid her there and went in search of fruit to eat. At the sighting of the baby, the guards carried him and were carefully looking around for the mother. Suddenly, the mother from where she was discovered that someone has carried her baby, she transformed the baby to a wild cat and the cat escaped from the guards to the mother. The guards pursued the cat till they saw it transformed back into a baby on the mother’s back.

They begged Ekunsumi to return to the palace that the king was very disturbed since her disappearance in the palace and the king had regretted his action. In attempt to grasp her and carry her to the palace, she tried to escape from the King’s emissaries, at the process, she furiously smashed the clay pot she carried and water gushes out continuously from the said pot to have become a pool of water, which later turned out to be the source of River Ogun located in Saki East Local Government Area. A location close to Iseyin was named Ibukere or Ibu Okere (meaning the pool of Okere) which the Oba retains the ownership till today.

 Since the existence of the river, it is now forbidden for any king reigning in Saki to sight the river till date. Hence, whenever any Saki king is passing the bridge made across the river, they always cover their faces with cloth. Any Saki king who dare look into this river will die

instantly.