Ooni of Ife, Canada’s PM to attend maiden edition of ‘The Drum Festival’

Adeyeye Ogunwusi, the Ooni of Ife, and Justin Trudeau, prime minister of Canada, are among dignitaries scheduled to attend the maiden edition of ‘The Drum Festival’ in Ontario, Canada.

Segun Akanni, publisher of The Drum Online Media Inc., announced the development in a statement on Monday.

The festival is scheduled to take place on July 28, 2023, at 8pm, at the Fuzion Banquet Hall in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.

The festival has as its theme: ‘Rejigging Yoruba Cultural Heritage as Catalyst for National Unity, Progress and Development – The Ayangalu Example’.

Akanni, who is also the convener of the festival, said dignitaries are expected from Nigeria, Ghana, Togo, Benin Republic, and Canada.

“The history of Ayan-Agalu Festival is as extremely fascinating as that of any other Drum festival staged across the globe,” the statement reads.

“With a plethora of healing, educative, entertaining and prosperous cultural festivals, the Yoruba race is, undoubtedly, one of the most endowed races replete with rich and prestigious traditions and cultures in the world today.

“One of such celebrated and prestigious cultural festivals is the Drum Festival – (Ayangalu Festival). The origin of Ayan Agalu dates back to the epoch when the Yoruba primogeniture, Oduduwa, descended on the earth at Ile-Ife.

“Ayangalu was said to have descended next to Oduduwa at a historic place called Atiba and this obviously accounts for why Atiba remains the hub of traditional drummers in Ile Ife – Yoruba ancestral abode – till date. The term ‘Ayangalu’ refers to the ‘spirit or god of the drum’.

“According to the account of Ayandapo, Ayangalu was a deified personage of drums and a normal human being with extraordinary powers. Ayangalu was indeed a jovial drummer who played a lot with children and derived immense joy in making people happy, but he was unfortunately antagonised by conspirators or foes to a ridiculous dimension that he became frustrated and decided to turn to a tree out of uncontrollable anger.

“Ayangalu was a great deity that cannot be forgotten and whose drumming prowess and legacy deserve monumental immortality.”

Activities for the festival include “street-wide procession” across Toronto and Mississauga; lecture to be delivered by Adekunle Okunoye, the Eburu of Iba in Osun state; art exhibition; beauty pageant; drum competition; and presentation of awards of excellence.