Erin-Ijesha
Waterfall, which is also known as Olumirin Waterfalls, is a tourist attraction
located in Erin Ijesha, Osun State.The waterfall is 2km off Erin Ijesha town.
According to one of the custodians of the waterfall, it was discovered by a
woman called Akinla, founder of Erin-Ijesha town and a granddaughter of
Oduduwa, the progenitor of the Yoruba race, in the year 1140 AD during the
migration of Ife people to Erin- Ijesa. Legend has it that when it was first
discovered, the waterfall had the appearance of a mysterious figure.
Erin-ijesa as part
of south western Nigeria falls within the tropical climatic belt with
alternating hot dry and warm humid seasons. Atmospheric temperatures only
slightly from 30-340C ranges while the annual rainfall averages
1500cm.
“It was believed
to be a living spirit through whose several mouths water gushed out; a very
tall and huge spirit whose height reached to the high heavens. The inhabitants
therefore named the fall Olumirin.
“They thought this
was another god whose power over the whole area was only similar to Akinla, the
founder of Erin Ijesha town.”
Climbing
the waterfall
According to a
tourist who has visited the waterfalls, “it doesn’t look like anything out of this
world until you begin climbing the seven levels of the ascending plains of the
waterfalls.
“So, we begin the
climbing, the view at all the levels is wonderful and the freshness of the
water is energizing. However, the last and seventh level is definitely the most
intriguing, well that’s if you ever dared the torturous climb.”
The tour guard seeing the panting of some
of us said only few tourists can climb beyond the second layer.
He said: “Climbing up to the third
level can best be equated to traipsing the snowy steeply Mount Everest.
“The area can also
serve for mountaineering exercise. Obviously, being at these different levels
and just basking in the invigorating freshness of the falls is an unforgettable
experience.”
But guess what?
The place to be is definitely the seventh level. Why? Not only does it lie at
the peak of the falls, it also hosts a
settlement where many of its inhabitants have lived for several years!” Still
another enraptured tourist could only wax poetic when he was confronted with
the sheer splendour of nature at Olumirin. “I could not resist the seduction of
this beauty, for Olumirin Water Falls is craft of supreme architecture.
Overcoming his inertia, one of the trio plunged deep into
the fresh flowing fountain, burying his
fears and anxieties in the clear water. This was the first fall. Each
fall distinctly marks the mystical propensity of the fountain. Its ability to
sieve out the adventurous from the lilly-livered enjoys universal acclaim.
“Ascending the
first steps that point to the first fall is usually for all. Though its dancing
bridge and the mould covered greenish stones leave a bare feet squirming in
pain, yet the first fall is all embracing. Like a mother, she opens her bosom
for all visitors to the fall to soup from her clear spring.
It’s after this
that the ascent to the second fall begins. We made it to the second fall. “We
had erroneously believed that we had seen the best of Olumirin Water Fall. But
we saw nothing in the first fall. The second fall was out of this world, we
came to appreciate why we are human, not an animal.
A tourist, Wale
Folarin, narrating his experience at the falls said “My eyes beheld beauty. I
saw, touched and tasted beauty. I flew off on the wings of contemplation. As
the water like a snake lazily sliced through the heights, it picked up velocity
that slapped the flesh, pumping out like an imprisoned rebel through the
thickness of the woods. The third fall was something else…”
Yet another dazed
visitor said, “The breeze at the waterfall is cool and refreshing, the water
flows among rocks and splashes down with great force to the evergreen
vegetation around. The whole scenery is fascinating.
Erin-Ijesha
Waterfall’s Myth
Erin Ijesha water
falls was dicovered in the year 1140AD. It has 7 stages and 3 major
falls.Legend has it that after the death of Oduduwa, the people of present day
Erin-Ijesha migrated from Ile-Ife.This migration was led by a lady called Yeye
Aye Akinla who consulted the Ifa Oracle on how it would go. The Ifa Oracle’s
chief priest informed her that after 17 days of trekking out of Ile-Ife,
wherever she got to would be the new home for her and her followers.Off Yeye
Akinla went with her followers on their journey and on the seventeenth day,
just as the chief priest said, they arrived at Erin Ijesha. Then it was called
Erin Itadogun loosely translated as ‘the 17 day journey’. They settled down and
lived a happy life.
Hunters seem to find
everything in Yoruba stories!!! This little clan had been living in Erin-Ijesha
and didn’t know there was a ‘river’ (the waterfalls). A hunter went looking for
game and came across it. With so much fear in his heart, he ran to Yeye and
told her he had seen another god. She asked
“Nwon ni awon ti ri Oluwa Mirin’ (where did you see another god? this is
where the name Olumirin comes from).
Quickly, she
summoned the Ifa priest and asked him about this so called god the hunter
claimed to have found. The priest then told her it wasn’t a god but the
handiwork of God and to show how marvelous and great He is.
He then instructed them to worship
the river every year and this turned into a festival where human sacrifices
were made. This continued till Yeye Akinla died.
After her death,
her son became king and put an end to the human sacrifices and instead used cows.
This continued from king to king until 1959 when HRH Oba Stephen Adeyinka
Adeosun took over and cancelled everything all together. He also showed off the
waterfall to the government of the Western Region headed by Chief Obafemi
Awolowo and it has been used for domestic purposes and tourism ever since then.
SOURCES: erin-ijesa.com
Pulse.ng
Propertypro.com
And that is the
story behind the legendary Erin Ijesha waterfalls. Have you heard any other
stories? What were they?
Write it in the space below…
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