Festivals are a vibrant celebration of culture, tradition, and community. As the year 2025 begins, there are a number of Yoruba festivals that offer a glimpse into the rich heritage of the Yoruba people.
Whether you’re a local or a visitor, these festivals promise to be even more spectacular this year as they provide a unique opportunity to experience the music, dance, and rituals that have been passed down through generations.
In this article, there are some of the most popular Yoruba festivals to look out for in 2025.
1. Olojo Festival
Olojo Festival is an annual festival in Ile-Ife town in Osun State. It celebrates the creation of the universe and honours Ogun, the deity of iron, and Ooni, the ruler of Ife.
The festival’s highlight is the Ooni’s public appearance in a beaded crown known as “Ade Aare.” This crown is believed to be the oldest in Yorubaland, inherited by the Ooni from his ancestors, and weighs over 100kg. Its exhibition during Olojo is regarded as a holy and spiritually charged occasion.
READ ALSO: Cultural festival goes beyond tourism, more of spiritual gains — Gani Adams
2. Ojude Oba Festival
The Ojude Oba festival is a major cultural event held by the Ijebu people of Nigeria, particularly in Ijebu-Ode. Ojude Oba Festival is a festival that showcases history, legends, conquest, and diversity. It is traditionally observed on the third day of the Muslim celebration Eid-el-Kabir (also known as Ileya).
The festival is highlighted by a big parade and a large assembly of people of all ages, socioeconomic classes, and families.
3. Eyo Festival
The Eyo Festival, otherwise known as the Adamu Orisa Play, is a Yoruba festival unique to Lagos, Nigeria. In modern times, it is presented by the people of Lagos as a tourist event and, due to its history, is traditionally performed on Lagos Island. The festival features white-clad masquerades wielding long staffs, which serve as the focal point of the event. The festival sweeps through the entire city with a focus on Lagos Island.
4. The Igogo Festival
The Igogo Festival is a Yoruba festival that takes place every year in Owo, Ondo State, Nigeria. The festival is held in honour of Queen Orosen, a goddess and a mythical wife of ancient Olowo of Owo, Olowo Rerengejen. The festival takes place every year in the month of September and lasts for seventeen days. During the festival celebration, the king of Owo and the high chiefs all dress like women wearing beaded gowns, coral beads, and plaited hair.
The Igogo Festival is also a time for the celebration of new yams.
5. Osun-Osogbo Festival
The Osun-Osogbo Festival is a popular traditional festival among the Yoruba people in Osogbo and Nigeria at large. The event held yearly in the month of August honours Osun, the river goddess.
The celebration features a magnificent parade to the Osun River, where offerings and sacrifices are presented to the river goddess as a means of seeking spiritual cleansing and the goddess’ blessings.
6. Ṣàngó Festival
Ṣàngó Festival is an annual festival in Nigeria held among the Yoruba people in honour of Ṣàngó, a thunder and fire deity who was a warrior and the third king of the Oyo Empire after succeeding Ajaka his elder brother. Renamed in 2013 to the World Ṣàngó Festival by the government of Oyo State, the festival is usually a ten-day event observed between 8th – 17th August at the palace of the Alaafin of Oyo.
7. Orò Festival
Orò is a festival celebrated in almost all Yoruba settlements and towns in Nigeria. It is an annual traditional festival that is patriarchal, as it is only celebrated by male descendants who are paternal natives of the specific locations where the particular event is taking place.
During the Orò festival, non-natives and females stay indoors because it is believed that it is taboo for a woman or anyone who is not allowed to participate in the festival to see the Orò.
READ ALSO: Understanding Oro cultural festival in Yorubaland
8. Edi festival
The Edi/Moremi Festival is a celebration of independence for Ife. It started as a means of celebrating the role the legendary Queen Moremi played and the ultimate sacrifice Queen Moremi Ajasoro made for the people of Yorubaland.
9. Egúngún Festival
The Egúngún is any Yoruba masquerade or masked costumed figure. The festival is a part of the Yoruba traditional religion. Egúngún festival is a celebration of the visible manifestation of the spirits of departed ancestors who periodically revisit the human community for remembrance, celebration, and blessings. The festival is common among the Egbas, Egbados, Oyo, and other parts of southwestern Nigeria.
10. Aje Festival
The Aje festival is one of the most prominent festivals celebrated in Yoruba land. The Aje Festival which is celebrated in the town of Ile Ife by the Ooni of Ife is a celebration of wealth and fertility. It also enhances the role of women in lineage maintenance.
