Uncovered: New Tourist Attraction on Idanre Hills
“The spoors of our ancestors, etched as depressed ovoids in granite, punctuating the slopes of Òdejà enclave- these we found while sniffing along Idanre’s trails.
Recently, a new attraction which has (before now), been hidden for centuries, have now been uncovered and opened up to tourists at the Old Oke-Idanre ancient settlement of the idanre people. They are the Awóláta footprints.
The prints- foot-sized depressions, etched on rock-hard porphyritic granite, found on a street walled by centuries-old mud houses at Odeja ancient settlement; now constitute an irresistible sight on the massive inselbergs of Idanre. The footprints can be found at a corner of awolata street at Old Oke-Idanre, which have been hitherto kept away from easy access by the throng of visitors at the hilltop settlement. The footprints are said to possess spiritual powers that can cause harm to anyone who is not from the Awolata clan in Idanre and dares to put his/her feet inside them. It is said that the person will be cursed with the ‘African pepper‘ on his feet- a variety of viral attack that is characterized by the swelling of body part. The yoruba word ‘Awóláta’ means “one who can curse with the ‘African pepper“. It is widely believed that there is no Western cure for this disease apart from the traditional means.
It is worthy of note that these depressions are different from the Agboogun mysterious footprint.
A visit to the Idanre Inselbergs will not be completely fulfilling without a sight of- and a treat to the exciting history of the Awolata clan of Idanre Kingdom.
Related Posts: Idanre Hills- The City of Caves and Inselbergs
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