“The Next Ooni Will Not Eat Sijuwade’s Heart” - Ife Chief - Culture -

Following reports that the Sarun, otherwise known as Abobakun, was on the run to escape being buried with the late Ooni of Ife, Ife chiefs have denied these as untrue. According to the Lowa Adimula of Ife, Oba Joseph Ijaodola, who is the Head of Inner Chiefs, he said, “No one was caught during the Oro festival, it is all lies. It has never been done in Ife land that somebody must be killed or buried with the Ooni.” The Secretary of the Royal Traditional Council, High Chief Adekoye Odewole, also said, “We don’t use human beings for rituals in Ile-Ife. We can use rams, goats or other animals, but not human beings.” Meanwhile the Araba of Osogboland, Chief Yemi Elebuibon has said the heart of the late king would not be fed to the next Ooni.In his words, “The eating of the heart of a departed King by an incoming one belonged to the past. It no longer exists. People still make this insinuation because many are barred from witnessing the burial of a king. What the incoming king will eat is the heart of an animal and not that of a human. Nobody would be buried with the Ooni. Nobody would be killed for any form of sacrifice.”