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Like many ancient dynasties, The Idanre Kingdom has a number
of mythical tales that all describe how the kingdom came to be, the most
popular of them describes a situation where an offspring of Oduduwa (the
originator of the Yoruba Race) stole an item of immense value, believed to be a
magic crown called “Ade Omo oduduwa” which can be directly translated to “The crown
of the son of Oduduwa”-and fled Ile-ife (the
Ancestral home of the Yorubas) along with
his band of followers to avoid the wrath of his kinsmen. In his bid to escape
his kinsmen, he made his way deep into uncharted territories in the jungle, basically
to distance himself from Civilization. After many years of nomadic existence,
they stumbled upon a range of hills which bedazzled them and in amazement they
exclaimed “idanree!” (This is
wonder). The hills became their source of refuge for the next 800 years,
protecting them from their warring kinsmen and invaders although they later
migrated downhill in the year 1923.
All
that though: happened some 800 years ago, how would you like to hear about what
happened at over 3,000 ft of wonder a few weeks ago? Yes? I embarked on this
trip to find out for myself the magic that exists at the top.
We were
on our way, slightly delayed but that did nothing to reduce the excitement as
the 17-seater vehicle conveyed us to what was probably going to be the most
intriguing and amazing site most of us had ever witnessed. The Journey to the
site was somewhat distorted due to issues with our Navigation but it all came
together to make the trip more exciting as most of us took advantage of the
opportunity and made new friends while others just strengthened their
previously existing bonds with each other.
As seconds
turned to minutes and minutes turned to hour our excitement boiled over, I
could barely stay rooted to my seat and as we approached the legendary town of
Idanre, nothing could go wrong, the forces of nature were on our side this
time, it felt like destiny and more so whenever we felt lost and asked for
direction-what we always got from by standers was go straight, in time, it
became the theme of our journey. After hours and hours of the excruciating pain
felt in my chest from my heart beating so fast it could match the wheels of the
vehicle, we were there. The excitement had clouded my vision, but no matter
where you turn, it seemed the sign boards were constantly reminding us of what
to expect “The Magical Idanre Hill” “11km to Idanre Hills” “5km to Idanre Hills”
all I could really think about was “can we get there already” and now here we
are “Touchdown” is what I whispered to myself as I suppressed my excitement and
walked towards the authorities at the base of the hill.
We were
hospitably greeted at the bottom of the hill and it seemed like the excursion
had already begun as the men and women at there taught us how the Idanre men
and women salute each other, of course we gave it a “21st Century
makeover” while the NUIS President
went in to make arrangements for our tour guides that would chaperone us
through the expedition. While at the bottom though, everyone could sense the
excitement in the air, the euphoric feeling of standing so close to these giant
monuments, looking at them from the bottom, you can’t help but wonder what you’re
going to meet up there, and yes, it was absolutely worth the wait.
So
there we were, at the bottom of a 660step climb to the top of a 3000ft hill and
though the instructor at the mountain gave an elaborate description of what to
expect while we were up there, there was an ostensible feeling of excitement
that tingled within my bones because the steps were right in front of me.
Through the mist of fun in front of me, I did however take note of the fact
that there were 5 resting points along the way to the top. I also caught a
glimpse of other aspects of the hill he stated we were going to see, viz; the
Igbore Primary school, the tourist chalice, the native court and prison, the Matolen (kings’ burial ground), the
unreadable letters on the rocks, the ark of Noah and the ancient palace. These
were the sites we were set to see while he also mentioned the “Agbogoku footprint” which was an 8 hour
hike after we get to the top, so obviously, it was out of the question due to
our time constraint but that notwithstanding, it was all set to be one awesome
trip.
So up
we went, one step at a time to the top of the hill, the first resting point
came around quick enough-just over 100 steps it took us to get there and by
this time I liked to think it was on everyone’s mind now that this was going to
be a test of our virility because the other resting spots seemed farther and
farther apart than expected but we all made it through the climb…well enough,
at different times of course but all in good health, all clammy and drenched by
our sweat and water pouring down from the topmost part of the hill-that’s well
enough.
After our momentary rest we took a walk through a marshy path that in the least intrigued me but what struck me the most was the presence of a rich and dense vegetation and constant presence and/or fragrance of “goat poo” that seemed to follow us throughout the hike. And it was no different at the tourist chalice, which was a detour along the path we were on. Now call me eccentric if you may, but the feeling of being at the top of this place is nothing short of divine. At the Chalice, you stand in the open air on top of giant boulders with a feeling that you are truly closer to the gods or at least could take a strand of the clouds with you. The view from the top of the hill really makes you understand why the hills are held in such high regard because it depicts the Idanre community as though it is indeed gaining some form protection from these giant monuments evident from the giant shadow that is cast upon the downhill community.
I
honestly didn’t feel the need to go back into the woods but that wasn’t my
choice to make, I did however do some snooping around where I found some
inscriptions made by other groups and individuals who had visited the site. So,
on we went until we arrived at the ancient primary school established roughly
116 years ago that most of wondered what it was doing situated in such a bush. It didn’t have much of a wow factor, but it did serve as a
momentary resting point and the centre piece for most of our jokes at the time.
The
prison yard and court room were only a short walk away from the Matolen which is basically where kings
are buried. Along the hike though, we met something I would like to describe as
a mini-cascade, probably the most refreshing source of naturally flowing water
that seemed to carve out its own flow path along the surface of the hill. We
did everything but strip down and bathe in the water then and the presence of
floating impurities didn’t seem to
deter anyone from drinking this water either because like I said, it is
probably the most refreshing source of flowing water I ever saw. The more we walked,
the slipperier it got and that didn’t dampen the excitement the least bit, as
we got to the giant rock forms that had something like hieroglyphic
inscriptions on their sides that till date haven’t been read or understood by
anyone, thus, dubbed “unreadable letters”
after which we made our way to another rock form called the “Noah’s ark” which
is basically one giant rock form improperly placed on another which makes for a
good rest spot for physically weary hikers.
On our
way to the king’s yard, we encountered death defying traps made by mother
nature herself-suicide rocks, slippery as an eel that would probably spell the
end of our expedition on a grim day but that was not to be. While we were
sliding down the rocks on our back sides, I did indeed feel a tad bit silly
doing it but all I could think about was the kind of warnings parents of then
would have fired at their kids on playing around that area because these were
rocks at least 20 ft high. After all the slipping and sliding up and down the
rocks was over with, we made our way through the ever green lined path and got
to the vicinity of the town’s Native
Doctor, which as expected was a few meters away from the palace. Not much
was said about the this place, except of course that the native doctor still
exists and he makes his way up here during festivals and traditional rites,
“that’s good enough for me” I said to myself. So, we got into the royal
palace’s environ and while there, you get the sense that this indeed is a place
fit for royalty. The building surrounding the small area was no bigger than 2 meters
high in a hollow rectangular form of about 6m by 4m carving out an open space.
There was also something that seemed like a watchtower on top of the building
but what caught my attention the most was a sequence of wooden status
strategically crafted at the base of the building like the pillars for support
and judging by the look of those pillars, one might draw that they were
believed to bring something more than mere physical support. Mentally drained,
we made our way down the hill, going through a different sequence of rocks that
honestly looked identical to the previous set we just risked our lives climbing,
walked through familiar marshy paths and down the 660 steps back to
civilization.
So,
what is Idanre Hill? A tourist destination with a rich cultural heritage,
mountain goats in the background, ever green lined path no matter where you
turn, giant rocks the size 3 story buildings formed by mother nature, ancient
monuments and one hell of a view from
the chalice? Even while leaving I sensed a bit of regret, like a part of my
being has been taken by this beauty and I can only get it back when I come
again, but that’s another day’s story. It borders on my imagination though, the
thought of how the ancient people centuries ago used to live here, what they
did to get by and how they felt living up here, I’ll have to go back 800 years
to find that out, better is that I was there a few weeks ago and it was an
awesome spectacle to behold. We will all keep fond memories of the expedition,
the jokes we made, the new friendships that were established and the bonds that
were tightened, the landscape and rock forms, the slippery paths we walked
through, the games we played and the new-ancient civilization we learned about.
It all came together to make it quite an experience-THE IDANRE EXPERIENCE
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| Noah's Ark |
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