The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, has officially presented a Certificate of Yoruba Territory to Quilombola territory in Brazil, making the city the first outside Africa to receive the title.
The highly revered Yoruba king also on Tuesday addressed Brazil’s Federal House of Assembly where he officially inaugurated the first-ever National Orisa Day in the South American country.
A statement from Ooni’s Media Aide, Moses Olafare, said Ogunwusi addressed the Brazilian Parliament on the special session for Isese Practitioners marking the national day for Orisa religion in Brazil.
The Ooni said the royal visit was undertaking to bridge the gap between the Yoruba race and the rest of the world through cultural integration and globalizing Yoruba culture in the diaspora.
According to him, the Royal Father and his entourage from Nigeria arrived in the Brazilian city of Bahia on Sunday and met with President Lula da Silva in the Brazilian capital, Brasilia, on on Monday.
The Ooni delivered the title in the Quingoma community, in Lauro de Freitas, in the Metropolitan Region of Salvador.
Residents of Quilombola celebrated the delivery of the title of Yoruba territory which would further strengthen and preserve the Yoruba history, culture and language in the community.
“The Quilombola was recognized for having received and welcomed Yoruba people, who were enslaved and forcibly removed from their base in Nigeria during the era of the slave trade in Africa.
“The recognition of Quilombola as Yoruba territory is another step in the fight for respect for African history; for the history of the Quilombola dates back to the 17th century.
“Currently, around 580 families live in the area covering approximately 1,200 hectares. Quingoma has been recognized as a Quilombola territory by the Palmares Foundation since 2013,” the statement said.
NAN
