The Office of the State Government
As Government, we are committed to building viable system for socio-cultural and economic progress, and we won’t stop till we get there. Art, culture and tourism are sectors we hild so dear. We will make Ondo State the centre of tourism in Nigeria.
Festivals promote cultural diversity. They are catalysts for intercultural dialogue and they reach out to people from different backgrounds and across generations. And in addition, Ondoarts festivals are engines for economic growth – creating jobs in our regions and cities, and attracting visitors from across Ondo-state and further afield. All of this enriches our lives and allows us to enjoy a diverse range of cultural art forms. In many ways, your festivals are the embodiment of the ondo-state Union’s motto – United in Diversity.
About Ondo State
Ondo State, generally referred to as the “Sunshine State”, was created from the defunct Western Region on 3rd February, 1976. Before its creation, the state existed as the Ondo Province of the old Western Region. The State covers a land area of 14,793 square kilometers with its administrative capital at Akure. The population of the state as revealed by the Year 2006 population is 3,441,024.
The State contains eighteen Local Government Areas and blessed with a rich ethnic composition largely from the Yoruba subgroups of the Akoko, Akure, Ikale, llaje, Ondo, and Owo peoples. Ijaw minority (such as Apoi and Arogbo) and llaje populations inhabit the coastal areas; while a sizable number of the Ondo State people who speak a variant of the Yoruba language similar to Ife dialect reside in Oke-Igbo,
Ondo State contains the largest number of public schools in Nigeria – over 880 primary schools and 190 secondary schools. Noteworthy however is the Construction of the World Class Mega Schools. The Mega Schools are built in the 21st century pattern and provided with State of the heart facilities. Hence, further increasing the quantity and quality of Primary and Secondary Schools in the State with a view to maintaining the lead in Education Provision in Nigeria.
THE PEOPLE: The State is peopled predominantly by Yorubas who speak various dialects of the Yoruba language such as the Akoko, Akure, Apoi, Idanre, Ikale, Ilaje, Ondo and the Owo and a minority speaking the Ijaw Language. Ondo State, which is indeed a microcosm of the Nigerian nation, is blessed with resourceful, industrious and hospitable people. Her crop of educated elite has led to its being classi ed as one of the most educationally advanced states in Nigeria. The people are mostly subsistence farmers, fishermen and traders.
CULTURE & HERITAGE: The life patterns of the people represent an embodiment of culture, ranging from the local foodstuff to the mode of dressing, dancing, wood crafts, such as, carved house posts and decorated doors. The culture of the Ondo State people speaks volume. In the variety and quality of its traditional
sculptures and cultural ceremonies, Ondo State is rich and well endowed. The people are lovers of arts, music and literature. The arts and crafts of the state are dependent on the products of its luxuriant vegetation for the raw materials: wood, bamboo. calabash carvings etc. The ivory carving, bronze and brass work and wood carving from Owo is basically Yoruba and sculptures excavated at Egberin Street in the town in 1971 showed the naturalistic art of classical life. The carved house posts and decorated doors from Owo and Idanre are among the best known internationally. Small-scale museums of antiquities are to be found in parts of the state, mostly in the palaces of traditional rulers who are the custodians of the people’s rich culture and ancient traditions. The palace of the Deji of Akure is for instance a national monument where relics of the Yoruba’s past can be found.
TRADITIONAL INSTITUTIONS: An Oba or King heads THE TRADITIONAL INSTITUTION. By custom. Obas are not only the heads of their towns and kingdoms, but personify deities and represent ancestral authorities. They are also the titular heads of all the religious sects in their kingdoms. Their appointments are partly by divination, made by the kingmakers who are invariably the high chiefs. They are appointed from among the children of past rulers. The ceremonies between their appointments and coronation are elaborate. The sacredness of their offices is neither empty nor nominal for their people regard them as deities.
JUSTICE: Obas were traditionally saddled with the tasks of dispensing justice. Courts were maintained by the traditional rulers and were assisted in this function by their chief. In Akure for instance, the Deji maintained a local court at erekesan. And the palace still adjudicates in variety of matters even till date despite the fact that the power of an Oba to dispense justice and his influences are gradually waning.
The Idanre Hill, Oke Idanre
The Idanre Hill or Oke Idanre is located in Ondo State, SouthWest Nigeria.
O k e I d a n r e h i l l consists of high plain w i t it s p e c t a c u l a r valleys interspersed with inselbergs of about 3,000 ft above sea level. Its physical attributes include Owa’s Palace, Shrines, Old Court, Belfry, Agbooogun foot print, thunder water (Omi Aopara) and burial mounds and grounds. It also has diverse and v a r i e g a t e d e c o -systems of flora and fauna.
Oke Idanre c o n t a i n s v e r y i m p o r t a n t b i o -physical and land form f e a t u r e s w h o s e interaction with the p h y s i c a l f e a t u r e s created an enduring cultural landscape within the setting.
According to history, Idanre people used to live high up on the hills, in an area which is now known as Old Oke-Idanre, a major attraction at Idanre Hills Tourist Center.
This area consists of old and dilapidated mud buildings roofed in rust-brown iron sheets, set on well l a i d – o u t s t r e e t s .
A t t e s t i n g t o t h e architectural taste of the old Idanre people, the old magistrate c o u r t , t h e fir s t primary school, the Oba’s palace and the market square hold their original place and location at Odeja Village, Old OkeIdanre.
It was recorded that the old Idanre people descended the hills and resettled at the p r e s e n t f o o t h i l l location of Idanre town.
It has also been noted that every street in the new Idanre town has a replica at the Old-Oke Idanre and every f a m i l y h a s b e e n allowed to retain ownership of their family houses at the Old enclave.
The people are known to be very proud of t h e i r h e r i t a g e i n culture and history and these have never c e a s e d t o d r a w
t o u r i s t s o f a l l ramification to the hilltop site. However, in order to reach the hilltop village site, one will have to ascend 653 steps that leads up the hills.
Igbo Olodumare
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We’re glad to discuss the growth and the development of Ondo State and its community through tourism, art and culture.
Our head office address:
Call for Inquiry:
(234) 913 820 6066
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oshodiartgallery.com
