ORO FESTIVAL IN OGBOMOSO

The word Oro means fierceness, tempest, or provocation, and Oro himself appears to be personified executive power. Oro is supposed to haunt the forest in the neighbourhood of towns, and he makes his approach known by a strange, whirring, roaring noise. As soon as this is heard, all women must shut themselves up in their houses, and refrain from looking out on pain of death. The voice of Oro is produced by whirling round and round a thin strip of wood, some 21/2 inches broad, 12 inches long, and tapering at both ends, which is fastened to a stick by a long string. It is, in fact, the instrument known to English boys as the "bull- roarer," and which Mr. Andrew Lang has shown to have been used in the mysteries. No women may see the "bullroarer" and live, and all women are obliged, under pain of death, to say that they believe Oro to be a powerful Orisha, and to act up to that belief.

In Yoruba land Oro is manipulated by the Ogboni Society. Criminals condemned to death are sometimes given to Oro, in which case they are ordinarily never seen again, but their clothes are shown entangled in the branches of a lofty tree, where Oro is said to have left them when flying through the air. In such a case Oro is said to have devoured the bodies. Sometimes, however, the headless corpse of the criminal is discovered in the forest on the outskirts of the town, but nobody is allowed to bury it. Unlike Egungun, Oro only appears on his feast-days, or, to use the native expression, when a town has an [1. "Custom and Myth," Art. "The Bull-Roarer."] Oro-day. The voice of Oro heard from night to Morning, -and all women are closely confined to their houses, while Oro himself, in a long robe hung with shells, and a wooden mask painted white, with the lips smeared with blood, parades the town with a numerous following. Just as Egungun is now used for social purposes, and to preserve order in private life, so is Oro

used for political purposes, to preserve order in the communitv at large; yet, from. the analogy of other peoples, and from the fact that it is death for a woman to see the instrument which produces the voice of Oro, there can be no doubt that originally Oro was the spirit that presided at the celebration of male mysteries, oro festival in ogbomoso is annual festival and Egungun festival follow someday after oro festival, as we are celebrating oro festival for this year, I advise all woman in ogbomoso to return home on time and avoid going out too early, as we are preparing for egungun festival for this year, Greetings to Kabiyesi Oba oladuni Soun of Ogbomoso land kabiyesi Onijeru of Ijeru, Isegun's and ogbomos people at large, Emi wa yio se pupo laye ati laye wa!!!