Igbo Olodumare – The Forest of Friendly Beasts
Igbo Olodumare, a world within a world, is just a baffling location that is, as its name says, “The Forest of the Almighty.” It is covered in velvety vegetative clothing. Two of D. O. Fagunwa’s masterpieces, “gbój ode nn Igbó rnmolè” and “Igbó Olódùmarè,” first attracted attention to the enigmatic forest. Prof. Wole Soyinka, a Nobel laureate, later translated these works into English. He characterized the woodland as being home to witches, magicians, spirits, and several more enigmatic creatures.
He wrote about enormous snails and crabs, things that make one ponder, and things that ignite the reader’s wanderlust. The Oke-Igbo land in Ile Oluji-Oke Igbo L.G.A., Ondo State, contains the same forest. Pa Fagunwa is himself an Oke-Igbo native.
The state capital of Akure is two hours away from the enchanted forest. Most of the inhabitants of Ile-Oluji are farmers of cocoa and oil palm. They also earn a living by tapping palms for wine, which is a popular occupation in the south-west of Nigeria. A strange-looking settlement may be found 20 minutes from Igbo-entrance. Olodumare’s Locals consider it to be the long-standing “guard” of the ancient forest.
Visitors can’t help but be distracted by the picturesque “gèr”wèsé Rivulet, the first sight in the enigmatic woodland. Locals say it has the spiritual power to keep evil spirits out of the hamlet and to counteract any kind of charm that evil-minded people could try to bring with them. Igbo-Olodumare is a rough landscape that is frequently accented by lovely inselbergs of various sizes, which are interspersed with lush forest covers.
A t-junction on the riverside trail leads to the locations of kè-Lángbd and sál-run; it is from these two locations that one can access further areas of the forest. Sál Run is rumored to be an area where tourists are not permitted since it is thought to be the residence of the spirits.
Before entering the enigmatic woodland, prayers are said in a little opening that is marked by a large granite boulder at kè-Lángbd. At the entryway is a sculptured representation of an old hunter who, according to Pa Faguwa’s tale, was once a person before being transformed into a rock.
The specific location the author described as the occurrence’s location was the kè-Lángbd woodland entrance. Due to its steep and slippery slopes, the peak of “kè-Lángbd” has always been a tough task for daring rock climbers visiting the area. Yet without climbing this hill, a trip to the forest won’t be entirely satisfying.
One gets given panoramic views of the entire forest as they ascend, as well as picturesque scenes with the uncommon ewé àkok plants dotting the hilltops. A new monarch in the land is crowned with the ewé àkok plant.