Omo Oriso
The People - Omo
Oriso”
CLBA Journal 1999-2005
By: Obalorun Temujin Ekunfeo
Copyright 1994
The People The Yoruba are an indigenous people of West Africa, one of the most culturally diverse and densely populated regions of the African continent. Though there may be great diversity as to the precise numbers, all the sources agree that Nigeria, the historic center of the Yoruba culture, is the most culturally diverse country in West Africa. Some sources have quoted a figure of a round 250 different ethnic groups. While others have quoted, a figure close to 500 different ethnic groups.
Like all groups of aboriginal peoples, Yoruba have stories of the creation of the world which make them the first people to walk the planet. All aboriginal peoples have a history that is partly verifiable and partly shrouded in the mists of unrecorded and faintly remembered time. The Yoruba and those closely related to, or influenced by the Yoruba, number approximately 40 to 50 million people and currently occupy a span of the West African coastal plain that encompasses a territory of about 250 miles long north to south and approximately 400 miles wide from east to west. This east to west expanse of territory now crosses the political borders of Nigeria, the Republic of Benin, Togo, and some eastern areas of Ghana, and marks the eastern terminus of the empire once ruled by the Yoruba.
It is only a historically recent development that the word Yoruba was used to name or describe this group of people. Perhaps it would be more accurate to call the peoples now known as “Yoruba” Omo Ife, children of Ife. Ife or Ile Ife is believed to be the spot where the world was created, the Yoruba “Garden of Eden.” Ife is the royal city of the Ooni (king) of Ife which is the site of the oldest hereditary kingship in what is now known as Yorubaland. The Ooni of Ife, grants sanction and sword of office to all of the Oba (kings) of Yorubaland and to kings in some neighboring cultures as well. The Ooni is the spiritual head of all Yoruba. Those who hold the title are considered direct heirs of the deities who founded Ile Ife and thereby were founders of the Yoruba Nation and the progenitors of all humankind. Because of this, Ife is considered the holiest of all Yoruba cites and those who hold the title of Ooni are considered the leaders of the Yoruba people. The city of Ife, is recognized by all Yoruba (even those in exile), and at least one Yoruba influenced group as their ancestral home. There are two major ethnic groups who fall into the category of Yoruba-influenced, the Ewe and the Edo. The Ewe are the largest and most diverse. Their territory extends west and southwest from the Nigerian base of Yoruba and across the political boundaries of the Republic of Benin, Togo, and Ghana.
The Fon and Mahi branches of the Ewe, are in close proximity to several Yoruba principalities. The Fon gave rise to the Kingdom of Dahomey. The Mahi peoples, were in the Dahomey sphere of influence. Both were later conquered in the Yoruba imperial expansion. The Kingdom of Dahomey became a tribute paying vassal of the Yoruba Empire.
The Fon and Mahi share several deities with the Yoruba and at times they came together for religious festivals. It may be surmised that as a result of this shared religious experience a mutually intelligible language, called Aja by some researchers, was developed between them. In spite of their numerous religious and cultural connections current research indicates that neither the Fon nor the Mahi claim descent from Ife. However, according to current research the Anglo branch of the Ewe, who are to be found far to the west of the Nigerian epicenter, center of the Yoruba culture, claim descent from Ife. The Anlo speak a dialect of Ewe which could not be understood by either Fon, Mahi or Yoruba speakers and according to current research they share only one deity, with the Yoruba; Elegba or Legba.
Though the aforementioned peoples share deities with the Yoruba, the name used to describe these deities is different. The Yoruba word for deities which are subordinate to God is Orisha. The Fon and Mahi word for the deities which are subordinate to God is Vodun, from which the word Voodoo is derived. The Anlo call the deities subordinate to God Abosum.
To the southeast of the Yoruba is the great historical Kingdom of Benin and the other Edo speaking principalities. Current research indicates that the Edo and the Yoruba share only one deity, Olokun. The Edo peoples do not claim to descend from Ife yet the Kings (Oba) of Benin do. This is due to an event equally shrouded by mists of antiquity.
A legend from the semi-mythic history of the Edo speaks of a time when they were ruled by succession of Kings who bore the title ogiso (ruler of the sky, ogie=ruler, iso=sky). The Edo have a mythic history of their origin which is similar to that of the Yoruba, in that they descent from god-ancestors who left ‘heaven’ to populate the earth. The Kings of the Ogiso dynasty became increasingly corrupt and therefore were deposed by the people and the chiefs of the royal court. The chiefs of the Edo royal court and the Edo people had a great deal of respect for Oduduwa the first Ooni (king) of the city of Ife, the cultural and spiritual center of the Yoruba people. That coupled with the fact that Oduduwa was descended from sky ancestors as well, it seemed a logical choice that a prince from Ife should rule in Benin. Oduduwa sent his son Oranmiyan, who married a Edo princess and settled in to rule Benin. After a short while concluded that and Edo should be ruled by one of their own as only a person who was familiar with Edo language and customs could rule wisely and well. Fortunately Oranmiyan’s wife was pregnant and later gave birth to a son. Oranmiyan named his son as his successor. There by establishing a dynasty of Kings in Benin which has lasted down to this very date who wear the Yoruba title Oba(King) and trace their sanction to rule to the Ooni (King) of Ife.
The following chart lists Yoruba principalities in existence today. The principalities are referred to as major or minor due to their size and/or sphere of influence.
CLBA Journal 1999-2005
By: Obalorun Temujin Ekunfeo
Copyright 1994
The People The Yoruba are an indigenous people of West Africa, one of the most culturally diverse and densely populated regions of the African continent. Though there may be great diversity as to the precise numbers, all the sources agree that Nigeria, the historic center of the Yoruba culture, is the most culturally diverse country in West Africa. Some sources have quoted a figure of a round 250 different ethnic groups. While others have quoted, a figure close to 500 different ethnic groups.
Like all groups of aboriginal peoples, Yoruba have stories of the creation of the world which make them the first people to walk the planet. All aboriginal peoples have a history that is partly verifiable and partly shrouded in the mists of unrecorded and faintly remembered time. The Yoruba and those closely related to, or influenced by the Yoruba, number approximately 40 to 50 million people and currently occupy a span of the West African coastal plain that encompasses a territory of about 250 miles long north to south and approximately 400 miles wide from east to west. This east to west expanse of territory now crosses the political borders of Nigeria, the Republic of Benin, Togo, and some eastern areas of Ghana, and marks the eastern terminus of the empire once ruled by the Yoruba.
It is only a historically recent development that the word Yoruba was used to name or describe this group of people. Perhaps it would be more accurate to call the peoples now known as “Yoruba” Omo Ife, children of Ife. Ife or Ile Ife is believed to be the spot where the world was created, the Yoruba “Garden of Eden.” Ife is the royal city of the Ooni (king) of Ife which is the site of the oldest hereditary kingship in what is now known as Yorubaland. The Ooni of Ife, grants sanction and sword of office to all of the Oba (kings) of Yorubaland and to kings in some neighboring cultures as well. The Ooni is the spiritual head of all Yoruba. Those who hold the title are considered direct heirs of the deities who founded Ile Ife and thereby were founders of the Yoruba Nation and the progenitors of all humankind. Because of this, Ife is considered the holiest of all Yoruba cites and those who hold the title of Ooni are considered the leaders of the Yoruba people. The city of Ife, is recognized by all Yoruba (even those in exile), and at least one Yoruba influenced group as their ancestral home. There are two major ethnic groups who fall into the category of Yoruba-influenced, the Ewe and the Edo. The Ewe are the largest and most diverse. Their territory extends west and southwest from the Nigerian base of Yoruba and across the political boundaries of the Republic of Benin, Togo, and Ghana.
The Fon and Mahi branches of the Ewe, are in close proximity to several Yoruba principalities. The Fon gave rise to the Kingdom of Dahomey. The Mahi peoples, were in the Dahomey sphere of influence. Both were later conquered in the Yoruba imperial expansion. The Kingdom of Dahomey became a tribute paying vassal of the Yoruba Empire.
The Fon and Mahi share several deities with the Yoruba and at times they came together for religious festivals. It may be surmised that as a result of this shared religious experience a mutually intelligible language, called Aja by some researchers, was developed between them. In spite of their numerous religious and cultural connections current research indicates that neither the Fon nor the Mahi claim descent from Ife. However, according to current research the Anglo branch of the Ewe, who are to be found far to the west of the Nigerian epicenter, center of the Yoruba culture, claim descent from Ife. The Anlo speak a dialect of Ewe which could not be understood by either Fon, Mahi or Yoruba speakers and according to current research they share only one deity, with the Yoruba; Elegba or Legba.
Though the aforementioned peoples share deities with the Yoruba, the name used to describe these deities is different. The Yoruba word for deities which are subordinate to God is Orisha. The Fon and Mahi word for the deities which are subordinate to God is Vodun, from which the word Voodoo is derived. The Anlo call the deities subordinate to God Abosum.
To the southeast of the Yoruba is the great historical Kingdom of Benin and the other Edo speaking principalities. Current research indicates that the Edo and the Yoruba share only one deity, Olokun. The Edo peoples do not claim to descend from Ife yet the Kings (Oba) of Benin do. This is due to an event equally shrouded by mists of antiquity.
A legend from the semi-mythic history of the Edo speaks of a time when they were ruled by succession of Kings who bore the title ogiso (ruler of the sky, ogie=ruler, iso=sky). The Edo have a mythic history of their origin which is similar to that of the Yoruba, in that they descent from god-ancestors who left ‘heaven’ to populate the earth. The Kings of the Ogiso dynasty became increasingly corrupt and therefore were deposed by the people and the chiefs of the royal court. The chiefs of the Edo royal court and the Edo people had a great deal of respect for Oduduwa the first Ooni (king) of the city of Ife, the cultural and spiritual center of the Yoruba people. That coupled with the fact that Oduduwa was descended from sky ancestors as well, it seemed a logical choice that a prince from Ife should rule in Benin. Oduduwa sent his son Oranmiyan, who married a Edo princess and settled in to rule Benin. After a short while concluded that and Edo should be ruled by one of their own as only a person who was familiar with Edo language and customs could rule wisely and well. Fortunately Oranmiyan’s wife was pregnant and later gave birth to a son. Oranmiyan named his son as his successor. There by establishing a dynasty of Kings in Benin which has lasted down to this very date who wear the Yoruba title Oba(King) and trace their sanction to rule to the Ooni (King) of Ife.
The following chart lists Yoruba principalities in existence today. The principalities are referred to as major or minor due to their size and/or sphere of influence.
|
Major Principalities
Ife Oyo Ketu Ijesa Ijebu Egbado Egba Yagba Owo Ondo Imago (Ango) Ifonyin (Aja) Eko (Lagos) Isabe Ekiti |
Minor Principalities
Ikale Igbomina Oworo Abinu (Bunu) Ijimu Akoko Popo Gu Idaga Idasa Isa Ana Itsikiri Itsikiri Odo |
All of the
principalities listed speak their own dialect of the language known as Yoruba,
which many not be intelligible in other principalities. Each principality has
aspects of history and culture that may not be shared by others. It would not
be extreme to say that each principality was a “people” unto themselves and
that they were only vaguely connected by similarities of language, custom, and
mythic history. In the past the Yoruba as “group of people” separated by
similarities of language custom, and mythic history, saw no problem with
plotting and warring against each other. After all, Oyo are not Egba, Egbado
are not Ekiti, Ijesa are not Eko, etc. So how did it come to pass that all of
the 29 principalities were dubbed Yoruba?
Perhaps it would be best to set the stage for that answer with some history of the Oyo, because the name Yoruba once applied only to Oyo people. The Oyo people whose capital city Oyo, which is north of Ife, is reputed in legend to be the second city established by the God founders of the nation. Oyo became the seat of the empire in the late 1600s. The Oba (King) of Oyo whose title is Aalafin, (Lord of the Palace) claimed primacy over all Oba (Kings) and Bale (chiefs). Only the Ooni of Ife remained “independent” as the “spiritual head” of the empire. Oyo’s political and military position was achieved through the power of their cavalry in 1698. Various old principalities were consolidated and new ones established, as a result, many Oba trace their royal lineage to the Ooni through the Aalafin of Oyo. In about 1839 Oyo was sacked by an invading army of the Fulani and Hausa. It was then abandoned and a new capital with the same name was established about 90 miles south. The site of the former Imperial capital is now called Oyo Ile. The Oyo managed to maintain a tenuous hold on the remnants of the empire until 1886 when they signed a treaty with the British. By 1900 all of the Yorubaland and most of the other cultures that surrounded them had become subjects of the Queen Victoria’s British Empire.
To answer the question of how peoples of various principalities came to be grouped under the name Yoruba. In the late 1800’s when the British moved in they brought with them many “repatriated” Africans, people who had been taken to the British Colony of Sierra Leone from captured slave ships. They had tried to run the British Naval blockade that was set up after Briton had banned the exportation of African people for the purpose of slavery. Many of these “repatriated” were Oyo people. One of the most famous of whom was Reverend Samuel Crowther. Reverend Crowther wrote the first dictionary of the Yoruba language, which was of course based on the dialect he spoke; Oyo Yoruba. His work set Oyo dialect (Yoruba) up as the standard used by British Colonial Officials. Needless to say there was quite a bit of uproar about this. After all, Reverend later Anglican Bishop Crowther was not the only British trained repatriate there were many from other groups, Egba, Egbado, Ife. Etc. In time not only was “Yoruba” the standard for the spoken language, the name Yoruba was applied to all those who spoke ant dialect of this language. There must be some truth to the old saw time healing all wounds, because now all of the people of the 29 principalities accept Yoruba, and either called themselves Egba Yoruba, Egbado Yoruba, Ife Yoruba, or just Yoruba. The origins of the word are also shrouded in the mists of time. Most accounts agree that it is of foreign most likely Hausa derivation and is an uncomplimentary nickname for the people of Oyo. A version of that story is as follows: Once an Oyo man was sold as a slave to a Hausa man. On the trip back to Hausa country, the Oyo man managed to escape and encountered a merchant, who much to the escapees joy and surprise was Oyo as well. They traveled in each other’s company until they reached a town with a market place. Where much to the surprise and horror the Oyo man who had just escaped the captivity at the hands of the Hausa Merchant was sold back into slavery by his Oyo countryman. Fortunately the man who has been sold was discovered in the slave market by members of his own family and ransomed. He told them how he came to be there and the story got around, all the way back to the Hausa merchant who had lost him. When the Hausa merchant heard the story, he was said to have remarked that people from Oyo were “Yaoruba” which is to say; the Oyo are a slick and sly people. The validity of this tale is uncertain but the fact remains that Yoruba became the name applied to the people of Oyo.
Perhaps it would be best to set the stage for that answer with some history of the Oyo, because the name Yoruba once applied only to Oyo people. The Oyo people whose capital city Oyo, which is north of Ife, is reputed in legend to be the second city established by the God founders of the nation. Oyo became the seat of the empire in the late 1600s. The Oba (King) of Oyo whose title is Aalafin, (Lord of the Palace) claimed primacy over all Oba (Kings) and Bale (chiefs). Only the Ooni of Ife remained “independent” as the “spiritual head” of the empire. Oyo’s political and military position was achieved through the power of their cavalry in 1698. Various old principalities were consolidated and new ones established, as a result, many Oba trace their royal lineage to the Ooni through the Aalafin of Oyo. In about 1839 Oyo was sacked by an invading army of the Fulani and Hausa. It was then abandoned and a new capital with the same name was established about 90 miles south. The site of the former Imperial capital is now called Oyo Ile. The Oyo managed to maintain a tenuous hold on the remnants of the empire until 1886 when they signed a treaty with the British. By 1900 all of the Yorubaland and most of the other cultures that surrounded them had become subjects of the Queen Victoria’s British Empire.
To answer the question of how peoples of various principalities came to be grouped under the name Yoruba. In the late 1800’s when the British moved in they brought with them many “repatriated” Africans, people who had been taken to the British Colony of Sierra Leone from captured slave ships. They had tried to run the British Naval blockade that was set up after Briton had banned the exportation of African people for the purpose of slavery. Many of these “repatriated” were Oyo people. One of the most famous of whom was Reverend Samuel Crowther. Reverend Crowther wrote the first dictionary of the Yoruba language, which was of course based on the dialect he spoke; Oyo Yoruba. His work set Oyo dialect (Yoruba) up as the standard used by British Colonial Officials. Needless to say there was quite a bit of uproar about this. After all, Reverend later Anglican Bishop Crowther was not the only British trained repatriate there were many from other groups, Egba, Egbado, Ife. Etc. In time not only was “Yoruba” the standard for the spoken language, the name Yoruba was applied to all those who spoke ant dialect of this language. There must be some truth to the old saw time healing all wounds, because now all of the people of the 29 principalities accept Yoruba, and either called themselves Egba Yoruba, Egbado Yoruba, Ife Yoruba, or just Yoruba. The origins of the word are also shrouded in the mists of time. Most accounts agree that it is of foreign most likely Hausa derivation and is an uncomplimentary nickname for the people of Oyo. A version of that story is as follows: Once an Oyo man was sold as a slave to a Hausa man. On the trip back to Hausa country, the Oyo man managed to escape and encountered a merchant, who much to the escapees joy and surprise was Oyo as well. They traveled in each other’s company until they reached a town with a market place. Where much to the surprise and horror the Oyo man who had just escaped the captivity at the hands of the Hausa Merchant was sold back into slavery by his Oyo countryman. Fortunately the man who has been sold was discovered in the slave market by members of his own family and ransomed. He told them how he came to be there and the story got around, all the way back to the Hausa merchant who had lost him. When the Hausa merchant heard the story, he was said to have remarked that people from Oyo were “Yaoruba” which is to say; the Oyo are a slick and sly people. The validity of this tale is uncertain but the fact remains that Yoruba became the name applied to the people of Oyo.
