PROHIBITED! Authorities Say It Is A Taboo To Sell Pounded Yam In Omupo Town In Nigeria

Cultures around the world have different taboos and prohibited acts. Some of these border on the strange side while others are just confusing to the outsider’s eye. A typical example is a community in a Nigerian state where it is actually a taboo to sell pounded yam.

In June, Yakubu Buari, monarch of Omupo, in Ifelodun, Kwara state, declared it a taboo to sell pounded yam — one of Nigeria’s delicacies — in the community.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the traditional ruler, at a media briefing on Wednesday to mark his 10th year on the throne, said the practice has been in the community for several years.

According to him, different communities in Yoruba Kingdoms have their taboos and Omupo is no exception.

Buari said that the violators of the taboo in the past battered themselves to death with the pestles. He added that since that tragedy, the oracle had forbidden the sale of pounded yam in the community.

The monarch said that apart from getting killed with pestles, the violators of the taboo could also be hit with spiritual affliction.

Buari, however, said nothing negative would happen to those who prepare the delicacy and consume it at home either as individuals or as a group.

He said historically, Omupo kingdom used to be a place of refuge for the warriors, who enhanced their weapons by soaking them in a poisonous juice from the oro-agogo cactus.

“According to tradition, the early settlers in the town migrated from Ile-Ife, the source of Yoruba nation,” he said.

“The founder was Ikuojenrola Adebari Alomole, the surviving son of Awogbola Olomu Aperan, an Ifá priest and renowned herbalist, with metaphysical powers.”

Buari noted that Olomu Aperan, the progenitor, was a prince from Obadio royal family, one of the eight autonomous monarchs, in Ile-Ife by Oduduwa, the progenitor of the Yoruba race.

According to him, the major festivals in Omupo include Oba Agba or Baba Agba and Egungun festivals, in addition to the Omupo Day, which takes place every four years.