“Eekun Iyawo” It is a tourist centre in Lanlate, One of the seven Ibarapa towns in Oyo State, Nigeria. Lanlate shares a common boundary with a neighbouring town called Eruwa, which is about ten minutes drive.
Onifade was my tour guide to Olofin rock, Lanlate. Ifaseun joined Onifade as my tour guide as we climbed through rocks and trekked the forest to the mystical site; Eekun Iyawo (KNEELS OF THE HOUSEWIFE).
There is a Chinese saying that: “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me”
Just like Onifade scared me when we visited the “Olofin lake water” beside “Olofin Rock”, he succeeded again in scaring me. He gave me a stern warning not to move close to the pool beside Eekun Iyawo. He said anyone or anything that falls inside the pool will not be able to come out as the water inside the pool leads straight to heaven, I must confess that he succeeded in “fooling me again”.
In truth, it was said to be one of the rumoured myths attached to Eekun Iyawo tourist site, not a discovered fact. Although there are lots of myths attached to the pool beside Eekun Iyawo. It was even concluded that the water leads somewhere, although nobody knows where.
INTRODUCTION
On a certain day, before noon, the said housewife (Iyawo) climbed to the top of the Rocky Mountain to wash her husband’s clothes at the same time cook.
As she was doing both, the soup she was cooking wanted to fell so as she was struggling to retrieve the pot of soup, her kneels imprinted on the rock.
She fell into a pit very close to where she was washing with the water she was using to wash. She disappeared, nobody saw her corpse, till date. But the water she was using to wash formed a pool mystically on the rock. The pool is still there up till now, and the water never gets dry.
Due to constant experiments, it was concluded that the water leads somewhere, it’s not a stagnant pool.
The incident drew the attention of the community to the mountain but no one could enter into the pool due to uncertainty of where it leads, even till date.
THE STORY BEHIND “EEKUN IYAWO”
The story has it that a certain housewife (Iyawo or Iyawo-Ile) was said to be very dutiful and hardworking, she was always multitasking herself and impressing her husband with her caring deeds.
On a certain day, she had to wash her husband’s cloth and at the same time cook a delicious meal for her husband before returning from where he was working (probably farm) in the afternoon.
But the water was scarce in Lanlate that time, she couldn’t get water to wash and cook for her husband like she wanted to. This didn’t dissuade her from performing her responsibilities has a housewife (Iyawo-Ile).
Lanlate as a settlement was surrounded by four major hills namely; Onidan, Ota-epo, Olofin and Araye. Lanlate his known to have lots of rocky hills, so the housewife (Iyawo) concluded that if he could climb to the top of a mountain, he would most likely see a waterfall, flowing water or a stagnant pool of water she can use to wash her husband’s clothes and cook for him as well.
Before noon, she packed all she needed to cook together with the dirty clothes and after climbing mountains and walking inside the forest for a while, she came across the water which she can use to cook and at the same time wash clothes.
Even up till date, as discovered when I visited “Eekun Iyawo” the route to “Eekun Iyawo” is a forest with lots of mountains to climb.
The time was fast spent, so the housewife (Iyawo-Ile) was in haste to cook, wash the clothes and still get back home in time before her husband’s arrival from work (probably farm). She looked for a suitable spot to cook and wash at the same time, set up everything she needed to cook and while waiting for the food to be well cooked, she decided to wash the dirty clothes.
On the spot (apparently where Eekun Iyawo is situated today) there was a deep pit directly in front of where she was cooking, she decided in her mind to be pouring the dirty water used in washing clothes in the pit.
She assumed a position on her knees directly in front of the food she was cooking and started washing her husband’s cloth. She was in a hurry, trying to supervise the food she was cooking and at the same time rushing to finish washing the clothes on time.
While rushing, the food didn’t balance well on the firewood cooker she set up, so she tried using one hand to balance the food well on the firewood cooker and before she knew what was going on, the food fell from the firewood cooker into the pit she was pouring water from the cloth to.
As she struggled to retrieve the food from falling into the pit, she also slipped from where she knelt washing clothes and fell into the pit together with the food she was preparing and the water she was using to wash the clothes.
It was said that her knees imprinted on the mountain and the pit became a mystic pool. The knees are still imprinted on the mountain till date and directly beside the imprinted kneels (Eekun Iyawo) is a pool, the water inside the pool never gets dry no matter what.
The incident drew the attention of the community to the mountain but no one could enter into the pool due to uncertainty of where it leads, even till date.
Nobody is truly certain if the pool leads to heaven like my little tour guide, Onifade claimed but due to constant experiments, it was concluded that the water leads somewhere, it’s not a just a stagnant pool. But no one knows where it leads.
CONCLUSION
Eekun Iyawo as a tourist site is not well kept or modern in any way. It seems neglected and not taken seriously at all. The route to Eekun Iyawo is not encouraging and if you’re not really determined, you’ll turn back; I almost did!
The story behind the tourist site and the spots seen on Eekun Iyawo demonstrates a “noble” and “proud” history, myths and legends of Yoruba heritage; which seems to be going into extinction already.
The Oyo State government can actually do something about it, that’s all we say every time and dodge our own responsibility. But I believe Lanlate doesn’t have to wait for the Oyo State Government. The natives of Lanlate can actually make the tourist site more attractive and welcoming.
SPECIAL THANKS TO:
- Onifade and Ifaseun; both of them served as my tour guide to Eekun Iyawo
- Chief Falola Adigun Okunade; Asoju awo of Lanlate.
- Chief Adesokan; The Asipa of Lanlate.
- His Royal Majesty, Oba Alhaji Abdul-Lateef Olawuyi Olagoke, Arowooje II, Onilala of Lanlate.
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