Part 1 — Chapter 1

THE HISTORY OF THE YORUBAS PART I Chapter I ORIGIN AND EARLY HISTORY The origin of the Yoruba nation is involved in obscurity. Like the early history of most nations the commonly received accounts are for the most part purely legendary. The people being un- lettered, and the language unwritten all that is known is from traditions carefully handed down. The National Historians are certain families retained by the King at Oyg whose office is hereditary, they also act as the King's bards, drummers, and cymbalists ; it is on them we depend as far as possible for any reliable information we now possess ; but, as may be expected their accounts often vary in several important particulars. We can do no more than relate the traditions which have been universally accepted. The Yorubas are said to have sprung from Lamurudu one of the kings of Mecca whose offspring were :—Oduduwa, the ancestor of the Yorubas, the Kings of Gogobiri and of the Kukawa, two tribes in the Hausa country. It is worthy of remark that these two nations, notwithstanding the lapse of time since their separa- tion and in spite of the distance from each other of their respective localities, still have the same distinctive tribal marks on their faces, and Yoruba travellers are free amongst them and vice versa each recognising each other as of one blood. At what period of time Lamurudu reigned is unknown but from the accounts given of the revolution among his descendants and their dispersion, it appears to have been a considerable time after Mahomet. We give the accounts as they are related :— The Crown Prince Oduduwa relapsed into idolatry during his father's reign, and as he was possessed of great influence, he drew many after him. His purpose was to transform the state religion into paganism, and hence he converted the great mosque of the city into an idol temple, and this Asara, his priest, who was himself an image maker, studded with idols. 3 Asara had a son called Braima who was brought up a Moham- medan. During his minority he was a seller of his father's idols, an occupation which he thoroughly abhorred, but which he was obliged to engage in. But in offering for sale his father's handi- work, he usually invited buyers by calling out: " Who would purchase falsehood ? " A premonition this of what the boy will afterwards become. By the influence of the Crown Prince a royal mandate was issued ordering all the men 'to go out hunting for three days before the annual celebration of the festivals held in honour of these gods. When Braima was old enough he seized the opportunity of one of such absences from the town of those who might have opposed him to destroy the gods whose presence had caused the sacred mosque to become desecrated. The axe with which the idols were hewed in pieces was left hanging on the neck of the chief idol, a huge thing in human shape. Enquiry being made, it was soon discovered who the iconoclast was, and when accosted, he gave replies which were not unUke those which Joash gave to the Abiezrites who had accused his son Gideon of having performed a similar act {see Judges vi, 28-33). Said Braima, " Ask that huge idol who did it." The men replied, " Can he speak? " " Then," said Braima " Why do you worship things which cannot speak ? " He was immediately ordered to be burnt aUve for this act of gross impiety. A thousand loads of wood were collected for a stake, and several pots of oil were brought for the purpose of firing the pile. This was signal for a civil war. Each of the two parties had powerful followers, but the Mohammedan party which was hitherto suppressed had the upper hand, and vanquished their opponents. Lamurudu the King was slain, and all his children with those who sympathized with them were expelled from the town. The Princes who became Kings of Gogobiri and of the Kukawa went westwards and Oduduwa eastwards. The latter travelled 90 days from Mecca, and after wandering about finally settled down at He Ifg where he met with Agb^-niregun (or Setilu) the founder of the Ifa worship. Oduduwa and his children had escaped with two idols to He He. Sahibu being sent with an army to destroy or reduce them to submission was defeated, and amongst the booty secured by the victors was a copy of the Koran. This was afterwards pre- served in a temple and was not only venerated by succeeding generations as a sacred reUc, but is even worshipped to this day under the name of Idi, signifying Something tied up. Such is the commonly received account among this intelligent although unlettered people. But traces of error are very apparent on the face of this tradition. The Yorubas are certainly not of the Arabian family, and could not have come from Mecca—that is to say the Mecca universally known in history, and no such accounts as the above are to be found in the records of Arabian writers of any kings of Mecca ; an event of such importance could hardly have passed unnoticed by their historians. But then it may be taken for granted that all such accounts and traditions have in them some basis in actual facts, nor is the subject under review exempted from the general rule, and this will become apparent on a closer study of the accounts. That the Yorubas came originally from the East there cannot be the slightest doubt, as their habits, manners and customs, etc., all go to prove. With them the East is Mecca and Mecca is the East. Having strong affinities with the East, and Mecca in the East looming so largely in their imagination, everything that comes from the East, with them, comes from Mecca, and hence it is natural to represent themselves as having hailed originally from that city. The only written record we have on this subject is that of the Sultan Belo of Sokoto, the founder of that city, the most learned if not the most powerful of the Fulani sovereigns that ever bore rule in the Soudan. Capt. Clapperton {Travels and Discoveries in Northern and Central Africa, 1822—1824) made the acquaintance of this monarch. From a large geographical and historical work by him, Capt. Clapperton made a copious extract, from which the following is taken :—" Yarba is an extensive province containing rivers, forests, sands and mountains, as also a great many wonderful and extraordinary things. In it, the talking green bird called babaga (parrot) is found." " By the side of this province there is an anchorage or harbour for the ships of the Christians, who used to go there and purchase slaves. These slaves were exported from our country and sold to the people of Yarba, who resold them to the Christians." " The inhabitants of this province (Yarba) it is supposed originated from the remnant of the children of Canaan, who were of the tribe of Nimrod. The cause of their establishment in the West of Africa was, as it is stated, in consequence of their being driven by Yar-rooba, son of Kahtan, out of Arabia to the Western Coast between Egypt and Abyssinia. From that spot they advanced into the interior of Africa, till they reach Yarba where they fixed their residence. On their way they left in every place they stopped at, a tribe of their own people. Thus it is supposed that all the tribes of the Soudan who inhabit the mountains are originated from them as also are the inhabitants of Ya-ory. Upon the whole, the people of Yarba are nearly of the same description as those of Noofee (Nupe)^" In the name Lamurudu (or Namurudu) we can easily recognize a dialectic modification of the name Nimrod. Who this Nimrod was, whether Nimrod surnamed " the strong," the son of Hasoiil, or Nimrod the " mighty hunter " of the Bible, or whether both descriptions belong to one and the same person, we cannot tell, but this extract not only confirms the tradition of their origin but also casts a side light on the legend. Arabia is probably the " Mecca " of our tradition. It is known that the descendants of Nimrod (Phoenicians) were led in war to Arabia, that they settled there, and from thence they were driven by a rehgious persecution to Africa. We have here also the origin of the term Yoruba, from Yarba, their first permanent settlement in Africa. Yarba is the same as the Hausa term Yarriba for Yoruba. It is very curious that in the history of Mahomet we read of a similar flight of his first converts from Mecca to the East Coast of Africa (the first Hegira), due also to a religious persecution; this fact will serve to show that there is nothing improbable in the accounts as received by tradition. Again, that they emigrated from Upper Egypt to He Ife may also be proved by those sculptures commonly known as the " Ife Marbles," several of which may be seen at He Ife to this day, said to be the handiwork of the early ancestor of the race. They are altogether Egyptian in form. The most notable of them is what is known as the " Opa Orafiyan," (Orafiyan's staff) an obelisk standing on the site of Oraiiyan's supposed grave, having characters cut in it which suggest a Phoeni- cian origin. Three or four of these sculptures may now be seen in the Egyptian Court of the British Museum, showing at a glance that they are among kindred works of art. From these statements and traditions, whether authentic or mythologic, the only safe deductions we can make as to the mosit probable origin of the Yorubas are :— 1. That they sprang from Upper Egypt, or Nubia. 2. That they were subjects of the Egyptian conqueror Nimrod, who was of Phoenician origin, and that they followed him in his wars of conquest as far as Arabia, where they settled for a time. How subjects term themselves " children " or offspring of their ^ Vide Narratives of Travels and Discoveries, by Major Denham and Capt. Clapperton, 1826. Appendix XII., Sec. IV. A'Tropical Dependency, by Flora L.Shaw (Lady Lugard), 1905, pp. 227—228. sovereigns is too well-known in this country, as we shall see in the course of this history. 3. That from Arabia they were driven, on account of their practising there their own form of worship, which was either paganism or more likely a corrupt form of Eastern Christianity (which allowed of image worship—so distasteful to Moslems). Again, the name of the priest " Asara " is also a peculiar one ; it is so much like " Anasara " a term which Moslems generally applied to Christians (which signifies ' followers of the Nazarene') as to make it probable that the revolution spoken of was in con- nection rather with Mohammedanism, and the corrupt form of Christianity of those days. Lastly, the sacred rehc called Idi from its being bound up and preserved, and which is supposed to have been a copy of the Koran, is probably another error. Copies of the Koran abound in this country, and they are not venerated thus, and why should this have become an object of worship ? The sacred book of the party opposed to them ! One can hardly resist coming to the conclusion that the book was not the Koran at all, but a copy of the Holy Scriptures in rolls, the form in which ancient manuscripts were preserved. The Koran being the only sacred book known to later generations which have lost all contact with Christianity for centuries after the great emigration into the heart of Africa, it is natural that their historians should at once jump to the conclusion that the thing bound up was the Koran. It might probably then be shown that the ancestors of the Yorubas, hailing from Upper Egypt, were either Coptic Christians, or at any rate that they had some knowledge of Christianity. If so, it might offer a solution of the problem of how it came about that traditional stories of the creation, the deluge, of Elijah, and other scriptural characters are current amongst them, and indirect stories of our Lord, termed " son of Moremi." But let us continue the story as given by tradition. Oduduwa and his sons swore a mortal hatred of the Moslems of their country, and were determined to avenge themselves of them ; but the former died at He Ife before he was powerful enough to march against them. His eldest son Okcinbi, commonly called Idekoseroake, also died there, leaving behind him seven princes and princesses who afterwards became renowned. From them sprang the various tribes of the Yoruba nation. His first-born was a princess who was married to a priest, and became the mother of the famous Olowu, the ancestor of the Owns. The second child was also a princess who became the mother of the Alaketu, the progenitor of the Ketu people. The third, a prince, became king of the Benin people. The fourth, the Orangun, became king of Ila; the fifth, the Onisabe, or king of the Sabes ; the sixth, 01up6po, or king of the Popos ; the seventh and last born, Orafiyan, who was the pro- genitor of the Yorubas proper, or as they are better distinguished Oyos. All these princes became kings who wore crowns as distinguished from those who were vassals who did not dare to wear crowns, but coronets called Akoro, a high-crowned head-gear, embroidered with silver. But it may be remarked that the Olowu's father was a commoner, and not a prince of the blood, and yet he became one of the crowned heads. The following anecdote will explain how this came about. The Yoruba princesses had (and still have) the Hberty of choosing husbands according to their fancy from any rank in life ; the King's eldest daughter chose to marry her father's priest, for whom she had the Olowu. This young prince was one day playing on his grandfather's knees, and he pulled at the crown on his head ; the indulgent parent thereupon placed it on the child's head, but Hke some spoiled children, he refused to give it up when required, and so it was left with him, the grandfather putting on another. The child had the crown on his head until he fell asleep in his mother's arms, when she took it off and returned it to her father, but the latter told her to keep it for her son, as he seemed so anxious to have it. Hence the right of the Olowu to wear the crown like his uncles. The same right was subsequently accorded to the Alaketu, i.e., the progenitor of the Ketu people. It was stated above that Orafiyan was the youngest of Oduduwa's grandchildren, but eventually he became the richest and most renowned of them all. How this came about is thus told by tradition :— On the death of the King, their grandfather, his property was unequally divided among his children as follows :— The King of Benin inherited his money (consisting of cowry shells), the Orangun of Ila his wives, the King of Sabe his cattle, the Olupopo the beads the Olowu the garments, and the Alaketu the crowns, and nothing was left for Orafiyan but the land. Some assert that he was absent on a warlike expedition when the partition was made, and so he was shut out of all movable properties. Oranyan was, however, satisfied with his portion, which he pro- ceeded forthwith to turn to good account with the utmost skill. He held his brothers as tenants living on the land which was his ; for rents he received money, women, cattle, beads, garments, and crowns, which were his brothers' portions, as all these were more or less dependent on the soil, and were deriving sustenance from it. And he was the one selected to succeed the father as King in the direct line of succession.^ To his brothers were assigned the various provinces over which they ruled more or less independently, Oranyan himself being placed on the throne as the AlAfin or Lord of the Royal Palace at He Ife. According to another account, Oranyan had only a bit of rag left him, containing earth, 21 pieces of iron, and a cock. The whole surface of the earth was then covered with water. Oraiiyan laid his portion on the surface of the water, and placed on it the cock, which scattered the earth with his feet; the wide expanse of water became filled up, and the dry land appeared everywhere. His brothers preferring to live on dry land rather than on the surface of the water were permitted to do so on their paying an annual tribute for sharing with their younger brother his own portion. It will be noticed that both traditions attribute the land to Oraiiyan ; hence the common saying " Alafin I'oni ile " (the Alafin is the lord of the land) : the pieces of iron representing underground treasures, and the cock such as subsist on the land. The former account seems more probable, the latter being httle else but a travesty of the story of the creation or the flood. But it is fair to mention that the more generally received opinion is, that Oranyan became more prosperous than his brothers owing to the fact of his living virtuously, they bemg given up to a life of unrestrained licentiousness ; and being also by far the bravest of them all, he was preferred above them and was seated on the ancestral throne at Ile Ife which was then the capital of the Yoruba country. The Alake and the Owa of Ilesa are said to be nearly related to the Alafin ; the former was said to be of the same mother with one of the earliest Alafins. This woman was called Ejo who after- wards took up her abode with her youngest son until her death: hence the common saying " Ejo ku Ake " Ejg* died at Ake. The Owa of the Ijesas claimed to be one of the younger brothers, but his pedigree cannot now be traced; the term "brother" being a very elastic one in Yoruba and may be applied to any relative far or near, and even to a trusty servant or to one adopted 1 The reason assigned for this was that he was "born in the purple," that is to say born after the father had become King. This was at one time the prevailing custom for the " Aremo Ovh," i.e., the first born from the throne, to succeed the father. 2 Ejo means a palaver. The phrase then means a case decided at Ake is final. into the family.^ In olden times when there was universal peace throughout the country, before the commencement of the destruc- tive intertribal wars which broke up the unity of the kingdom and created the tribal independence, this relationship was acknowledged by the Owa paying a yearly tribute of a few heads of cowries, mats and some products of his forests to the AlAfin, while the latter sent him presents of tobes and vests, and other superior articles well worthy of him as an elder brother. That the AlAfin, the Alake, and the Owa were children or grandchildren of Oraiiyan seems probable from the fact that to this day none of them is considered properly installed until the sword of state brought from He Ife where Oraiiyan was buried is placed in his hands. Oraiiyan was a nickname of the prince his proper name being Odede. He was a man of great physical powers. He first obtained renown as a mighty hunter ; and in process of time he also became, like Nimrod, a mighty conqueror. The expedition against Mecca.—When Oraiiyan was sufficiently strong, he set off for an expedition against " Mecca " to which he summoned his brothers, to avenge the death of their great-grand- father, and the expulsion of his party from that city. He left Adimu one of his father's trusty servants in charge of the royal treasures and the charms, with a strict injunction to observe the customary worship of the national gods Idi and Orisa Osi. This is an office of the greatest importance pertaining to the King himself • but how slaves or high servants are often entrusted with the duties of the master himself is well-known in this country as we shall see in the course of this history. It is said that the route by which they came from " Mecca " and which occupied 90 days, was by this time rendered impassable owing to an army of black ants blocking up the path, and hence, Oraiiyan was obliged to take another route which led through the Nupe or Tapa Country. All his brothers but the eldest joined him, but at Igangan they quarrelled over a pot of beer and dispersed refusing to follow his lead. The eldest brother calculating the distance through the Tapa country lost courage and went eastward promising to make his attack from that quarter should his brother Oraiiyan be successful in the West.* . Orafiyan pushed on until he found himself on the banks of the River Niger. The Tapas are said to have opposed his crossing the river, and as he could not force his way through, he was obhged to remain for a while near the banks, and afterwards resolved to retrace his ^ A fuller account will be found under "The origin of the Ijesas." "^ The geography of our historians may be excused.—Ed, steps. To return, however, to He Ife was too humiliating to be thought of, and hence he consulted the King of Ibariba near whose territory he was then encamping as to where he should make his residence. Tradition has it, that the King of Ibariba made a charm and fixed it on a boa constrictor and advised Orafiyan to follow the track of the boa and wherever it remained for 7 days and then disappeared, there he was to build a town. Orariyan and his army followed his directions and went after the boa up to the foot of a hill called Ajaka where the reptile remained 7 days, and then disappeared. According to instructions Oranyan halted there, and built a town called Oyo Ajaka. This was the ancient city of Oyo marked in ancient maps as Eyeo or Katunga (the latter being the Hausa term for Oyo) capital of Yarriba (see Webster's pronouncing Gazetteer). This was the Eyeo visited by the EngHsh explorers Clapperton and the Landers. Orafiyan remained and prospered in the new home, his decendants spread East, West, and South-west ; they had a free communica- tion with He Ife, and the King often sent to Adimu for whatever was required by him out of the royal treasures for the new city. In process of time Adimu made himself great because he was not only the worshipper of the national deities, but also the custodian and dispenser of the King's treasures, and he was commonly designated " Adimu Ola " i.e. Adimu of the treasures, or Adimu 1^ i.e. Adimu is become wealthy. But this Adimu who became of so much consequence from his performing royal functions was originally the son of a woman condemned to death, but being found at the time of execution to be in the way of becoming a mother she was temporarily reprieved, until the child was born. This child at its birth was dedicated to the perpetual service of the gods, especially the god Obatala, to which his mother was to have been sacrificed. He was said to be honest, faithful and devoted to the King as to his own father, and therefore he was loved and trusted. When Adimu was announced to the Kings and Princes all around as the person appointed by the King to take charge of the treasures, and to worship the national deities during his absence, it was generally asked " And who is this Adimu ? The answer comes " Omo Oluwo ni " the son of a sacrificial victim: this is contracted to Ow6ni (Oluwo being the term for a sacrificial victim). So in subsequent years when the seat of government was removed permanently to Oyo but not the National Deities, Adimu became supreme at He Ife and his successors to this day have been termed the Olorisas i.e. high priests or fetish worshippers to the King, and people of the whole Yoruba nation. The name Adimu has since been adopted as the agnomen, and the term Owoni as the title of the " Kings " or more properly the high priests of Ife to this day, the duties of the office being not local or tribal, but national. According to another account, after the death of Okknbi, Oraiiyan having succeeded and assumed the command emigrated to Oko where he reigned and where he died, and the seat of government was removed thence in the reign of Sango to Oyokoro, i.e., the aforesaid ancient City of Oyo. Oraiiyan may have actually died at Oko, but his grave with an obelisk over it is certainly shown at He Ife to this day. It is a custom among the Yorubas—a custom observed to this day—to pare the nails and shave the head of any one who dies at a con- siderable distance from the place where they would have him buried. These relics are taken to the place of interment, and there decently buried, the funeral obsequies being scrupulously observed as if the corpse itself were buried there. Hence although (as we have on probable grounds assumed) Oraiiyan may have died at Oko, and the art of embalming lost or unknown, his relics could thus have been taken to He Ife where to this day he is supposed to have been buried. A more romantic account of his death, however, will be given in Part II of this history. As the Yorubas worship the dead, and have the belief that prayers offered at the grave of deceased ancestors are potent to procure temporal blessings, all succeeding Yoruba Kings on their accession and before coronation are expected to send to perform acts of worship at the grave of Oduduwa and to receive the benedic- tion of the priest. The sword of justice known as Ida Oranyan (Oranyan's sword) is to be brought from He Ife and ceremoniously placed in their hands ; without this being done, the King has no authority whatever to order an execution. Orafi5^an's descendants in process of time were divided into four distinct famihes, known by their distinctive dialects, and forming the four provinces of Yoruba proper viz. the Ekun Otun, Ekun Osi, Ibolo and Epo provinces. The Ekun Otun and Ekun Osi or right and left, i.e., Eastern and Western provinces are the towns lying to the East and West of the City of Oyo. I. The Ekun Otun or Western province included all the towns along the right bank of the River Ogun down to Ibere kodo, Igana being the chief town. The other important towns are :—Skki, Oke'ho, Ise5nn, Iwawun, Eruwa, Iberekodo, etc. In this province two distinct dialects are spoken ; the people inhabiting the outer- most borders are known as Ibai^apas and are distinguished by a nasal twang in their speech. 2. The Ekun Osi or Metropolitan province comprised all the towns east of Oyo, including Kihisi and Igboho in the north, Ikoyi being the chief town. Other important towns are, Ilorin Irawo, Iwere, Ogbomoso etc. including the Igbonas in the utmost limit eastwards, and the Igbon-nas as far as Or6. The Igbdnas are distinguished by a peculiar dialect of their own. The Ekun Osi Oyos are regarded as speaking the purest Yoruba. The ancient cit}' of Oyo alsp lies in this province. 3. The Ibolo province lies to the south-east of the Ekun Osi towns as far down as Ede, Iresa being the chief town. The other important towns are Ofa (?) Oyan, Okuku, Ikirun, Osogbo, Ido, Ilobu, Ejigbo, Ede. 4. The Epos are the towns lying to the South and South-west of Oyo the chief town of which is Idode. Other important towns in this division are: Masifa, Ife odan, Ara. Iwo, Ilora, Akinmoirin Fiditi, Awe, Ago Oja. They are called Epos (i.e. weeds) because they were then in the remotest part of the kingdom, rude and uncouth in manners, very deceitful, and far from being as loyal as the other tribes. The Owns were usually reckoned amongst them, but they are rather a distinct tribe of Yoruba although now domiciled amongst the Egbas. Great changes have been effected in these divisions by means of the revolutionary wars that altered the face of the country about the early part of the XlXth century. In the Ekun Otun district Igana has lost its importance and its place taken by Iseyin. In'the Ekun Osi, Ikoyi the chief town has been destroyed by Ilorin, and Ilorin itself brought under foreign allegiance by the Fulanis. The city of Oyo now lies in ruins, its name and position being transferred to Ago Oja in the Epo district. In the Ibglg district Iresa has ceased to exist being absorbed by Ilorin and its place taken by Ofa, which in its turn was partially destroyed by the Ilorins in 1887 with several other towns in this district. Modakeke a large and growing town, peopled by Oygs of the Ekun Osi, has sprung up in the Ife district just beyond the borders of the Ibolgs. Owu has been destroyed never more to be rebuilt. The Epo district now includes Ibadan, Ijaye and other towns formerly belonging to the Gbaguras. Idode has ceased to be the dhief town, that position now properly belongs to Iwo, being a royal city. But Ibadan which was originally an Egba village then the military station of the confederate army which destroyed the city of Owu and the Egba villages, and afterwards a settled Oyg town, has by means of its mihtary force assumed the lead not only over the Epo district, but also over a large area of the country as well. It has a mixed population including every tribe of the Yorubas. Ijaye formerly an Egba town became peopled by Qyos chiefly from the 5kun Osi (Ikoyi) districts. All these including hundreds of important towns within the area are peopled by Yorubas proper or Oyos as they are generally called, and constitute the more important portion of Yoruba proper. The Egbas, who were for the most part off-shoots of these, and formerly Uving in hamlets and villages independently of one another have through the exigencies of these wars collected themselves from 153 hamlets or " townships " to form one town, Abeokuta. A further account of this will be given in its place. All these are reckoned as descendants of Orariyan. By the advent also of the white men from the coast, the centre of light and civilization has removed to the south, so that the Epos may soon cease to be the " weeds " of the country, as they may receive the inspiration of civilization from the south instead of from the north as hitherto.