World Sango festival: a celebration of ritual and culture
The 2016 edition of the annual World Sango Festival provided an opportunity for Sango devotees to observe their age-long ritual but beyond this, culture was exalted . Since it was rebranded as World Sango Festival in 2013, the festival has grown beyond an ordinary Oyo ritual as its tentacle as spread to other countries especially south America and the Caribbean. The 10-day programme attracts visitors, devotees and tourists from more than 42 countries all over the world as this has propelled the Yoruba culture to a global state. The 2016 edition of the UNESCO-recognised festival began on Thursday, August 18 and from then till Friday, August, 25, different rites were performed while the Sango of each Yoruba state and towns were exhibited. These formed the build-up to the grand finale of the festival which took place at the Alaafin’s palace on Saturday, August 27. The legend of Sango recognizes the Alaafin of Oyo as a descendant of the former powerful king while the Sango Koso is consider