Part 2 — Chapter 4

Chapter IV A SUCCESSION OF DESPOTIC AND SHORT-LIVED KINGS § I. Obalokun Agana Erin Obalokun succeeded to the throne of his fathers. His mother was the daughter of the Alake, the Primus of the Egba chiefs. The most memorable event of this reign was the introduction of salt into the Yoruba country. The article hitherto used for it was an insipid rock salt known as Obu. Salt now known as iyo was at first called dun-mdmd. This King was said to be in friendly relations with the King of France (probably Portugal) with whom he had direct communi- cation. It was said that the King sent 800 messengers with presents to that European sovereign, but that they were never heard of again. Tradition says that the sounds of bells ringing in the skies was plainly heard in the Akesan (King's) market, and it was conjectured that it was the voices of the unfortunates speaking to them from the other world to tell their fate. What natural phenomenon this may have been due to which was interpreted thus, we do not know, but so it was believed at the time, and similar omens are not unknown to history. It was said that a white traveller visited Oyo during this reign. This King placed the first Ajele (political resident) at Ijana near Ilaro, with the title of Onisare. The appointment of an Onisar^ was regularly from Oyo and he must be a Tapk by birth. More of this will be noted hereafter. He sent an expedition into the Ijesa country which was ambushed and defeated by the tribe known as Ijesa Arera, the Ovos being then unaccustomed to bush fighting. So great was the loss of life in this expedition that the Ologbo was sent out as a town crier to inform the bereaved of their losses in this war. During this reign Sabigana emigrated from the Sabe to the Yoruba country. TheBasorun of this reign was Iba Magaji. § 2. Ajagbo Ajagbo who succeeded Obalokun was remarkable for a long reign. He was said to have reigned 140 years and is an exception to the recent rule. He was born a twin, and so striking was the resemblance 168 between himself and his brother Ajampati that the one was often mistaken for the other, and very often royal honours were paid to the latter as to his brother. Ajagbo was also a warlike prince ; several expeditions were sent out by him. He had a friend at Iwoye called K6koro-gangan whom he made his Kakanfo (vide p. 74). This was the first Kakanfo in the Yoruba country. It was his custom to send out four expeditions at the same time under four commanders. One under the Basorun, the next under the Agbakin, the third under the Kakanfo, the fourth under the Asipa. Those under this last consisted of the youths of the metropolis. He destroyed Iweme in the Popo cpuntry. He Olgpa, Onko and his maternal town Ikereku-were an Egba town. The rest of his reign was peaceful. The Basorun of this reign was Akidain. § 3. Odarawu Odarawu was the successor. His reign was very short. He had a bad temper which was the cause of his being rejected. His short reign became a proverb, and often used to point a moral, and as a warning to succeeding Kings and also to inculcate a lesson of patience and forbearance. On his accession he was asked according to custom who was his enemy ; he replied Ojo segi, i.e. a town in the kingdom named after the Bale thereof. The reason he gave for this was that when a private man, he was once insulted by the Bale's wife. The alleged insult was under the following circumstances : — He was accustomed then to trade in the provinces, and on one occasion he went to the market to buy eko for his dinner, the seller whom he approached happened to be the Bale's wife ; both buyer and seller were ignorant of each other's position. Eko then was sold for one cowry each ; he bought six and paid five cowries as a privilege of his birth. The seller not knowing that he was an Akeyo (prince) and considering herself insulted thereby, in the heat of passion gave him a slap, and called him a thief for the one cowry withheld ! The King's order for the destruction of the town was obeyed, but the Oyo people surmised that this would be a heartless tyrant, who, on account of a single cowry harboured such malice and resentment within him as subsequently to order the destruction of so many lives of his peaceful and loyal subjects. On this account, having fulfilled his wishes, he was rejected. He, therefore committed suicide. Akidain survived the late King and was the Basorun of this reign also. § 4. Karan Karan succeeded Odarawu, but he proved to be an unmitigated tyrant. He tortured many of his subjects by ordering them to be scourged front and back until they expired ; so great were his cruelties that his name ha-^ ^"^c-^^ i^f^ a proverb " as cruel as Karan " and this led to a c,^^.^ . mation of his reign. He sent out an expedition against Aga Oibo, and there the conspiracy against him was quickly developed. When the insurrection was ripe for execution, they sent a message home to him craving for his fan, as it has been told them by divination that the town cannot be taken except the King's fan be offered in sacrifice to the gods. This was complied with, and a portion of the sacrificial meat was sent him to partake of. As soon as he had tasted thereof, it was said to him " The King has eaten his own fan, his word is now of no value, " i.e., his commands have returned to his own mouth. This is a characteristic round about method the' Yorubas have of conveying intimations of what they intend to do. The army is now absolved from a charge of disobedience if they withdraw from the siege for the King has recalled his words ! All those who would stand by him were included in the plot. Iba Biri was elected to be the Basorun in place of Woruda who had succeeded Akidain. The Agbakin's son was chosen to succeed his father, and so on with the other titles. This done, they raised the siege and encamped against the city demanding the King's abdication or death. The King unwilling to die offered a stout resistance. He was personally courageous and brave, but he had the whole of his army against him. When they entered the city, he held out against them in the palace ; overcome by odds, he shot arrows until his hands were swollen. Dislodged from within the courtyard he climbed to the top of the roof, and there he sat fighting until the palace was set on fire and he perished in the flames. Thus ended a short and an inglorious reign. He was succeeded by his son, Jayin. Woruda was the Basorun of this reign. § 5. Jayin Jayin was the son of the late King Karan. He was an effeminate and dissolute prince. He had his harem full of all sorts of characters. His son Olusi was kind and generous ; he was the idol of the nation, and on him they built their hopes for a better future for the country. Brought up amidst such demoralizing influences, in an evil hour, he fell under the charms of one of his father's numerous wives and was caught in her embraces. The father already jealous of the son's popularity with the people never forgave this offence. According to one account he summoned the prince before him, and whilst reprimanding him for his conduct, he was for a moment off his guard and thus betrayed himself by letting out the feeling rankling in his breast. " Villain " said he, " the citizens of Oyo prefer you to myself, and you are at one with them against me." Whilst speaking thus to him, he had in hand a club, the top of which was spiked and tipped with poison ; this he pressed upon his head to the point of bleeding, and the poison proved fatal to him. According to another account, it was a poisoned cake made of beans that his father gave him, and of which he partook that caused his death. Anyhow, it was certain that he died of poison by the hand of his father. He was universally mourned. The Oyo chiefs were deteimined to find out the cause of his death. They had a strong suspicion of foul play and were determined to avenge it. The King gave it out that his death was due to an accident from the kick of his horse. The secret however, was divulged by one of his wives, and the disappointed citizens became much disaffected towards their King. The late Olusi had a public funeral, a national mourning was proclaimed, and the public undertook to perform his funeral obsequies. His Egugun was brought out, i.e. an appearance of his apparition clothed with the cloths with which he was known to have been buried. The Egugun was said to have repaired to the palace, as was usual to pay honours to the chief ruler of the town, and as soon as the King showed his face, he was grasped by it. He was then told to die, having been touched by an Egugun. 3ut according to another and a more probable account, when the King heard that his late son's Egugun in the company of others was coming to the palace, knowing what the most probable out- come of such a visit must be, he hastily took poison and died. And this has passed into proverb " O ku dhde ki a ko iwi wo Akesan, Oba,Jayin te ori gba aso. (At the approach to Akesan of a company of chanting Eguguns, King Jayin buried his head in a shroud.) Used of one who anticipates the inevitable. It was during this reign that an Ilari " Agbeja-ilfe " was sent to settle a land dispute between the Aseyin odo, and the Olowu Ipole ; he became the first Awujale of the Ijebus. Iba Biri was appointed Basorun in place of Woruda deposed. § 6. Ayibx An inter-regnum of some years followed the last reign, the affairs of the kingdom being left in the hands of the Basorun. The heir to the throne was the late King's grandson, the infant son of the lamented Olusi, who was too young to administer the government. The Oyo Mesi elected him in order to do honour to the memory of his deceased father. Ayibi was crowned when he came of age. Unfortunately he proved unworthy of the honour and respect done him ; he greatly disappointed the hopes of the nation. This may have been due to a great defect in his training when a minor, over-indulgence taking the place of strict discipline. He proved to be a tyrant who took delight in shedding blood. When any suit was brought to court for his decision he often gave judgment by ordering both com.plainant and defendant to be executed. He had no respect for age, or rank, but terribly abused his power. As an example of his cruelty and arbitrariness, the following story was told of him :— He was one day in his bath, being attended by one of his favourite wives ; and she, in a moment of self-forgetfulness (or rather of amorous regard) said jocularly to him, " And this is all of the man so much dreaded by all ! " He took offence at this remark, but disguised his displeasure by a smile, but inwardly he was determined to convince her practically of the power which made him an object of dread to all. After leaving his bathroom, he gave an order to a Tetu (execu- tioner) privately to fetch the heads of the wife's father and mother each in a calabash, and decently covered up. This order was promptly executed The wife had by this time forgotten her remarks in the bathroom, as she had no reason to be apprehensive of any evil consequences arising therefrom. The calabashes being brought and set before him, he sent for her from her apart- ment, and asked her to uncover those, calabashes and tell the contents of them ! " Do you know them ? " asked he, " Yes I do," she replied trembling. " Then," rejoined he " that is the secret why I am so much dreaded by all, although to you I seem but commonplace and ordinary." She fully expected her own execution to follow, but he was satisfied with the pain and misery into which he had thrown her, and he graciously pardoned (sic) her. For this and similar acts of cruelty, an insurrection was stirred up against him by all the people, and being rejected he committed suicide. Oluaja, and after him Yabi were the Basoruns of this reign. The reason why these Kings after rejection invariably committed suicide is this. The person of a King is regarded as sacred. Kings are venerated as gods, indeed many of them have been actually deified ; but the moment a king's enormities provoke an open rebuke, or on being told publicly " We reject you," by the constitution of the country he must die that day. He cannot from the sanctity with which he has been regarded abdicate and continue to live as a private individual, or Continue to reign by sufferance, by the clemency of aggrieved subjects. Hence he must die ; and by his own hands, for it is an unthinkable horror among the Yorubas for any man to lay hands upon a being regarded as sacred. It is the prerogative of the Basorun to utter the sentence of rejection when the people are determined on it. Ev^en Noblemen also from their exalted positions are never ordered to execution. " The King rejects you. The ancient Kings Oduduwa, Orafiyan, Aganju, and others, reject you." He must then take poison and die. Such deaths are accounted honourable, public and decent funerals are accorded them. If any one allows himself to be executed his carcase will be treated like that of a common felon, and his house pulled down. Therefore a faint-hearted individual would be despatched by his nearest relatives to save themselves from indelible disgrace. An honour- able burial will then be. accorded to the illustrious dead. § 7. OSINYAGO Osinyago who succeeded to the throne was equally worthless. He was an avaricious man who by exactions, massacre, and con- fiscations amassed wealth which he did not live long to enjoj'. His firstborn son, like his father, was of a grasping propensity, which led to his early death. The second child Omgsun, although a female, was of a masculine character, and she considered the rank and privileges of the Aremo (Crown Prince) her own ; but the King adopted a cousin Woruale (contracted to Wurale or Irale) son of Gbagba, a physician, his maternal uncle, as the Aremo, and this Omosun resented. It happened that a dispute arose between these two as to the right of appointing a new Aseyin at the death of the then king of Iseyin, and Omosun from wounded pride that she was opposed by a commoner, in the heat of passion slew Irale ! H Irale's father Gbagba the physician was determined to avenge the death of his son, and this he did by poison said to have been extracted from one cowry worth of shea butter, 200 grains of beniseed, and other ingredients by which he effected the deaths of the King, Omosun, Apala the Basorun, and other notabilities of Oyo who were concerned with the misgovernment that was going on. He was said to have escaped to his own country by means of charms. One report says, he flew away like a bird, and was found at Ede ; another says he died and was buried, but his corpse became a red monkey which escaped into the bush. What was more probable was, that from the dread he inspired by his powers, he had an opportunity of escape, and was not slow to make use of it. The country was bereft of King and Basorun simul- taneously. The Basorun of this reign was Apalk. § 8. OjiGi Ojigi who was elected to the vacant throne, was a powerful and warlike King. He extended his conquests to the Dahomian territory. In three expeditions headed by the Basorun and the Gbonka Latoy6, the Dahomians were brought fully under sub- jection. Yansumi an Idahomian town was taken and destroyed. He sent an expedition also against the Igbdnas. This King in order to show his undisputed sovereignty over the whole of the Yoruba country, including Benin, sent out a large expedition which struck the Niger in the north, near the Ibaribas, and coasted along the right bank until they arrived at the coast and returned to Oyo by the Popo country. Great exploits were reported of the leaders. Personally, he was a very good man, but a too indulgent father. The Aremo by his cruelties and excesses brought about the father's rejection and death. He ordered Oluke the Basoran's son to be unlawfully beaten. As this wrong could not be avenged without serious consequences, and as the King did not punish the wrong doer, it was thought more expeditious to effect the King's death ; for about this time the custom began to prevail for the Aremios to die with the father, as they enjoy unrestrained liberty with the father. A pretext was soon found for rejecting the King and fond father, and consequently he died, and his eldest son with him. One of the most famous men in Yoruba history Yamba was the Basorun of this reign. § 9. Gberu Prince Gberu who now succeeded to the throne was a wicked and superstitious King, much given to making charms. Before his accession to the throne he had a friend called Jambu whom he afterwards raised to the high rank of Basgrun. But it was not long before these former friends became disaffected towards each other. Both of them were one day sitting under a large Ose tree (the Adamsonia digitata) at Oyo. TheBasorun remarked on the magnificence of the tree which " bade fair to last for ever." The King made no reply, but afterwards poisoned the tree in order to cast the suspicion on the Basorun who had made remarks on it ; and before the next morning it had withered. Oyo we may remark is situated in a vast plain where trees are rarely seen. This was one of the few that grew there and it was much thought of, and was highly prized for*its magnificence when in full bloom. This circumstance caused a great sensation in the city among all who saw the tree flourishing in all its glory only the day before ! Enquiries as to the cause were keen and close ; it was at first thought this deed was done by the Basorun in order to frame an accusation against the King as both were seeking each other's life ; but the author of the deed was soon known. The chiefs of the town now grew suspicious and apprehensive of their own safety should the King add the use of secret poison to his unlimited regal power. They soon found a pretext for rejecting him, and he had to put an end to his own life. His quondam friend Jambu the Basorun who divulged the secret was not spared either, he soon shared the fate of his friend and sovereign. Gberu's reign was short and inglorious. He was succeeded by Amuniwaiye. Jambu was the Basgrun of this reign. § 10. Amuniwaiye Prince Amuniwaiye who now ascended the throne promised well at first, by his clemency and grace; but subsequently his low morals rendered him weak and despicable, and, as such, a disgrace to his high office. He had for mistress the wife of his principal " medicine man " Olukoyisi, with whom he became acquainted under the following circumstances :— The King engaged this " medicine man" to help him against the friends of Jambu the powerful Basgrun who effected the death of the former King. Being afraid that if his services to the King were known, his own life would be in danger, he worked warily by sending his wife Ololo with the pots instead of going himself personally. In this way the King had the opportunity of coming into contact with her, which he disgracefully abused, and the husband got to know it. He could not bring an open charge against the King nor had he any other means of obtaining redress but by secret revenge, and this he effected terribly! Olukoyisi prepared certain ingredients from the root of the Opgki tree which he applied to his wife unsuspected ; it was a fatal " tell-tale," for when next she was being indulged in the royal embraces, the pair of them got so inextricably adhered together, that it became necessary to resort to a surgical operation in order to separate them ! Thus both of them died in the act. Thus ended this inglorious reign. The Basgrun of this reign was Kogb6n son of the late Jambu. § II. Onisile Onisile who now ascended the throne was quite a different man from the former occupant. He was a great warrior, and for his exploits was nicknamed " Gbagida ! Wowo I'^won ab'esiri fo odi" (Gbagida [an expression of admiration] a man with clanging chains [for prisoners] whose horse can leap over a town wall.) He was remarkable for his indomitable courage and lion- hearted spirit. He was moreover very artistic, and was said to have made seven silver doors to the seven entrances of his sleeping apartment. During this reign the Sekere (calabash) drum was ornamented, not only with cowries, but also with costly beads e.g. lyiin (corals) Okun (stone beads, Benin) Erinla (striped yellow pipe beads) and Segi (blue pipe beads), strung with silk thread dyed red ; all of native manufacture. His rashness and fearlessness was the ultimate cause of his death. He was cautioned against experim.enting with the "sun leaf" a plant known to possess electrical properties, by which lightning can be attracted ; but he was not the man to heed any such remon- strance. The consequence was that the Sango worshippers managed to attract lightning on the palace, the King was struck, and from the shock he became paralysed. Thus he was incapacitated from performing the duties of his office. The chiefs of Oyo then assembled and waited on him, and told him that as he had challenged Sango to a single combat and had been worsted, he could no longer continue to live. Thus he was rejected, and he had to die. The feeling had gained ground by this time that Kings should not be allowed to die a natural death. Unchecked despotism, unrestrained licence, insatiable greed, and wanton voluptuousness should not be allowed to flourish throughout the full term of a natural lifetime. The excesses of the Crown Prince also were unendurable hence the earliest opportunity was usually sought, for putting an end to their reign. His Basorun's name was Soyiki alias £)sij6gb6.