As part of its inward looking drive, the Oyo State
Government through its Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, last year,
on the occasion of the World Tourism Day, introduced the Aso-Ofi festival in a
bid to revive local fabric. The celebration of Aso-Ofi has no doubt greatly drawn
attention to the fabric and Iseyin town. Omolola Itayemi. reports
I seyin, Oyo State is about an hour’s drive north of Ibadan.
As one enters the town, one is greeted with the battery of glowing lanterns
coming from the different market stalls at Oja-Oba. Different types of robo,
koko and eko are copiously displayed with the different traders announcing to
every passing patron the existence of their wares. One can’t stay out too late
for this night, an Oro ritual is taking place. All uninitiated must observe the
curfew which starts at 10pm.
As one makes to settle in for the night, one can’t help but
notice the overwhelming presence of sleeping goats — sleeping pregnant
goats — at every turn. It is hard to say which is more overwhelming, the smell
of livestock or the musky sweet smell of tobacco leaves wafting through from
the different expanses of Iseyin town. As I drift off I can’t help but remember
with a smile across my lips, the scent of Krizia Moods.
The morning greets me with cries from the hawkers selling
ogi (peeled mashed corn). Iseyin comes alive with green and white taxis
struggling with okada (motorcycle taxis) on the busy Iseyin roads. On a normal
day, visitors troop into town from Lagos and nearby towns Ibadan, Ogbomosho,
and Oyo to purchase original fabrics of aso-ofi.
Iseyin, a very expansive town is surrounded by four hills
including Ebeji, the largest of them all. In years of yore, it served as refuge
for the residents who were running away from the ravage of war. The other hills
are Olufi, Atamafon and Eyijue.
Oyo state itself has become famous for turning local food
and craft into viable industries which attracts both local and foreign
investors. It has again recorded another milestone in the textile industry.
Aso-ofi as it is indigenously called or Aso-oke as it is generally called is
the local woven textile for which the Iseyin part of the state is famous for
producing. The history of this textile craft dates back to as old as the Oyo
Empire and it has since been a major pre-occupation of the Iseyin people.
It is produced from raw cotton with the combination of herbs
to form colours. Its production methods are purely crude as no mechanized means
are employed. It passes through the process of cotton planting till the cotton
is mature and in bright white colour. The cotton fibre is separated from the
seed and the fibre is spun into thread with the use of corn cobs. It later
passes through for dyeing with products from plant leaves, bark or root and is
rolled into different sizes before it is starched to ensure durability. It is
thereafter spread out to the weaver’s desired length and is woven in the local
loom to produce the finished fabric.
The designs on the fabric are said to be both a mix of
creative art and a representation of hierarchy and job description, as there
are designs for farmers, for common people and for royals. This textile craft
which has registered its presence in the closet of young and old Yoruba people
and people from other climes has attracted much fame and has become a major
tourist attraction.
The government and people of Oyo state under the
administration of Governor Abiola Ajimobi has set aside a time in September to
annually celebrate the Aso-ofi festival. The festival which was launched on the
27th of September, 2016 (world tourism day) is handled by the Oyo State
Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism in collaboration with the Iseyin
Weavers and Marketers Association of Oyo state. This year’s edition was a
combination of the festival celebration and the foundation laying ceremony of
Aso-ofi International Tourism Market in Iseyin.
The event had an exhibition of varieties of fashion items
that were made from the fabric. Items like ready to wear jackets, caps, foot
wears, knapsacks, hand bags, head gears and materials were on the showcase. The
second edition witnessed sons, daughters, and friends of Iseyin land come out
in their number to display their Aso-ofi repertoire in solidarity with the
craftsmen.
On a courtesy visit to the Aseyin of Iseyin land, the deputy
governor of the state, Otunba Moses Adeyemo who represented the governor
thanked the Aseyin for the provision of the land for the proposed international
market and his overall support for the investment. He hopes that with the
Aseyin’s assistance and collaboration, continuity would be established. The
Iseyin monarch Oba Abdul Ganiyu Ologunebi commended the state governor for the
bold steps he had taken to ensure the growth of the state and its people.
The Oyo State Commissioner for Information, Culture and
Tourism, Toye Arulogun said part of the aim of the international market was to
structure the unstructured Aso-Ofi market and sell the benefits of the craft to
the global market because tourism rests on identifying tourist potentials,
packaging them for attractiveness, promoting them and partnering with
interested organisations.
Arulogun believes that tourism can grow and beat oil which
is the major economic back bone of Nigeria at present and expressed hopes for
the new market to thrive as the craft bears a strong economic content which
obviously has to be tapped into. As a way of boosting the industry, the
commissioner revealed that local cotton producers have been encouraged to grow
their produce in large quantity and a make-shift tent had been provided for the
weavers, away from the tree sheds they have been using. He further explained
that the efforts being made to register the Aso-ofi craft in the international
space would not compromise the quality of the hand-made fabric, even though
there would be some technological innovation to boost productivity, “the hand
woven material will remain and will cost more.”
Highlights of the occasion included performances by the
state cultural troupe and award presentation to deserving merchants and
customers. The 500 shop market plan is set to have a police station to ensure
peace and security, a clinic for emergency and out-patient health care, a food
court, an electronics session, a museum to record artifacts, a filling station,
a fire station and the parent session for Aso-ofi fabric. The first set of 50
shops is expected to be ready within the next 6–8 months.
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