Popular Yoruba actress Margaret Bandele Olayinka aka Iya Gbonkan has alleged that witches badly treated her after she appeared in the film “Koto Orun.”
The veteran, who is well known for portraying a witch in most films, claimed that they used to visit her every other night at midnight, pressuring her to join their cause.
But the 64-year-old actress said she consistently declined their requests because, in her words, “shedding and drinking of blood wasn’t in her lineage.”
Iya Gbonkan, who starred in the movie “Koto Orun,” claimed that the witches beat her one particular night and nearly disfigured her face in an interview with U & I EvergreenTV.
She was very grateful to God for protecting her despite all the attacks because of her candor.
She said: “Witches always come to me every night around 12 midnight. I’m very courageous, even what will scare me, I always endure it.
“There was even a time they beat me in my sleep to the point they dented my face. At that time, the father of my child was still alive. They tried to initiate me that I should come and join them in shedding and drinking blood but I resisted their attempt that it’s not in my lineage to do such.
“It became terrible after I acted ‘Koto Orun’ when we acted ‘Koto Orun’, everyone had a terrible encounter. I wasn’t just the only one but God vindicated me because of my honesty. I would have died during ‘Koto Orun’ because I went through a lot.
“I didn’t just start acting but since God said he would uplift me through that means I gave myself to it”.
The late Ajileye and Olori Abioye produced the 1989 film “Koto Orun,” which is one of the most well-known Yoruba films ever.
It was set in the pre-colonial era, when witches surrounded a particular community and tormented the residents willy-nilly.
Even though the good witches, known in the film as “aje funfun” (the white witches), frequently confront the wicked ones, it wasn’t enough to get rid of the evil ones’ infection of the town.
The gods promised the villagers a savior who would be sent by one of the king’s wives and would defeat the bad witches in response to their misery.
In order to assassinate the messiah-bearer predicted in prophecy, the witches—among them the first wife of the king—developed a number of elaborate plans.
