Part 1 — Chapter 2

Chapter II THE ORIGIN OF THE TRIBES All the various tribes of the Yoruba nation trace their origin from Oduduwa and the city He If§. In fact He Ife is fabled as the spot where God created man, white and black, and from whence they dispersed all over the earth. We have seen in the previous chapter which are the principal tribes that sprang from Oduduwa's seven grandchildren, viz. : The Yorubas proper from Orafiyan, the Benins, Has, Owns, Ketus, Sabes, and the Popos. Some of the other tribes were offshoots of one or other of these, as we shall see further on. Some authentic tradition will be given relative to the formation of some of them. An important fact which must also be borne in mind is, that the country was not altogether unpeopled when Oduduwa and his party entered it from the East; the probabiUty is, that the abori- ginal inhabitants were conquered and absorbed, at least at the central if not at the remote provinces of the Yoruba kingdom. In ancient patriarchal times, the king of a country was regarded as the father or progenitor of his people. This view will to some extent explain what would otherwise appear to be a marvellous (if not impossible) instance of fecundity in any one king, e.g., Orafiyan peopling so vast a region as that attributed to him, in so short a time—the more warlike the king, the more extensive his dominion, and the more numerous, it would seem, his progeny. In fact we may almost take it as proved that as Orafiyan and his army, as well as his brothers', pushed on their conquests in every direction, the princes and the war-lords were stationed in various parts to hold the country, and from them sprang the many provincial kings of various ranks and grades now existing. This also accounts for the tradition that the Yoruba sway once extended as far as Ashanti and included the Gas of Accra, for the Gas say that their ancestors came from He Ife; and the constitution of the Ga language is said to be more like Yoruba than hke Fanti, the language of the Gold Coast, and the area in which that language is spoken is strictly hmited. And, certainly, until comparatively recent times the Popos and Dahomians paid tribute regularly to Oyo as their feudal head ; it is certain, therefore, that the generals and war-lords of Orafiyan pushed on far beyond the Umits of the Yoruba country as now known, and although in places remote from »5 the centre, as the Benins and Sekiris in the east and the Popos, Dahomians and Gas in the west, the Yoruba language is not spoken, yet the knowledge of it exists among the ruling chiefs and the priestly caste who still maintain their connection with He Ife, the place of their common origin. This view will also to some extent explain the mutual understanding and bond of sympathy existing between the Ifes, Ekitis, and allied families as remnants of the largely diluted aboriginal elements still having many things in common, and their natural antipathy—more or less—to the Oyos or Yorubas Proper. It is also worthy of remark that all the principal rulers of the country, to show the validity of their claims, must trace their relationship by one way or another to the AlAfin of Oyo, who is the direct descendant of Orafiyan, son and successor of Oduduwa, the founder; which simply impHes that the children and offspring of the conqueror are the chief rulers over the different parts of the conquered territories. Yoruba Proper Oranyan was already distinguished as a brave and war-like prince during his father's lifetime, and he probably owed his succession to this fact, as was usual in those stormy times. On his accession to the throne, when he set out from lie Ife on his famous expedition to " Mecca " to avenge the death of his great grandfather, he was certainly accompanied by his conquering hordes ; and if we trace his route from He Ife northwards to the banks of the Niger, whence he turned westward to the borders of the Baribas, and then to the ancient Oyo (Eyeo) which he founded, and where he settled, and from whence he spread southwards towards the coast, we shall see that the people embraced in this vast region, viz., with the Ifes in the east, the Niger on the north, the Baribas on the west as well as the Dahomians, and the Egbados on the south, are those known as the Yorubas Proper, or as they are generally termed by the other tribes the Oyqs, and are the so-called descendants of Orafiyan, and the cream of his conquering army. These then constitute Yorubas Proper. We have stated in a previous chapter how they are divided into four distinct provinces, but there has always been among them a bond of sympathy and union, apart from what they have in common with the other tribes. They have always retained their loyalty—more or less—to the successors of Orafiyan, their common father, even when the revolutionary wars left the country no longer united under one head as in the days of Sango down to those of Abiodun The Egbas The Egbas are a small offshoot of the Yorubas Proper, who occupy the south-eastern districts of that province. They origin- ally occupied the area bounded by certain imaginary lines drawn, say, from Ijaye to meet the Ogun River at Olokemeji, and along it to its mouth, and another from the same point via Ibadan to the west of Jebu Remo down to the coast. They lived in hamlets and villages for the most, part independently of one another, and never under one rule. All the principal families of the Egbas trace their origin from Oyo, hence the common saying " Egbas who have not their root in Oyo are slaves," i.e., belong to the conquered aboriginal population. Most of the chiefs sprang from the Esos of Oyo. It would seem then that during the wars of conquest, a number of these warhke Esgs, under the leadership of the King's half-brother, was detached from the main army, carrying their arms to those regions where they subsequently settled, in the immediate neighbourhood of the Owns. Abeokuta, as we now know it, of course had no existence then. Each of what is now called the " townships " was a separate village or hamlet with its own chief ; they were loosely grouped into three divisions, but rather independent of one another, but all acknowledging the King's brother (the Alake) as their Primus. They were : 1. Egba Agbeyin. These were the Egbas proper, and nearest the I jebu Remos. The principal towns were : Ake, the chief town, Ijeun, Kemta, Iporo, Igbore, etc. 2. Egba Oke Ona, i.e., those situated near the banks of the River Odo Ona. Oko the chief town, Ikereku, Ikija, Idomapa, Odo, Podo, etc. Their chief is called the Osile. 3. Egba Agura or Gbagura : these were situated near the Oyo districts, and indeed they contain genuine Oyos in large numbers, and generall}'^ they partake of their characteristics largely, hence they are nick-named " Oyos among Egbas." The principal towns were : Agura the chief, Ilugun, Ibadan, Ifaye, Ika, Ojo, Ilawo, etc. The Egbas were on the whole few in number, and occupied a limited territory ; this can very well be proved by the fact, that after a period of more than half a century, they have been compelled by stress of circumstances to live together within one wall, and in spite of large accessions from other tribes, they still form but a single large town. Situated, as they were then, far from the centre of life and activity, they were little thought of. They had no separate king because all the principal chiefs and distinguished personages were office bearers of the AlAfin, hence the common saying, " Egba ko I'olu, gbogbo nwon ni nse hi Oba " (Egbas have no King, they are all of them like masters) " Olu wa' rOyo " (The King is at Oyo). It may be noted, that every child born to a reigning Alake must have an Oyo facial mark ; and that is so to this day. In early times the Alake ranks among the junior members of the Royal Family ; for that reason there has never been a distinct royal family arnong the Egbas. The chief rulers in each division were usually elected (by divination) from any one of the 153 townships ; an Ikija man for instance has been " king " of Itesi, an Ijeun man an Alake, etc., as we shall see in the Appendix. In this respect also the Gbaguras differ from the others. In later times, at Abeokuta, one Jibode, a wealthy trader and traveller, who vainly endeavoured to obtain the Primacy of Ake, left children and grandchildren who eventually attained the coveted position, which was a singular instance of more than one member of a family becoming an Alake, ^ but then they were all born in different townships. The Osile is said to be an unfortunate title because, more than any of the other divisions, the Oke Ona people were more ptone to slaughter human victims ; everytime the Osile entered the Ogboni house, he must walk on the blood of a male victim, and when he comes out on that of a female ! Also that Osiles never die a natural death ; when their excesses became unbearable they were usually stoned to death ; hence the appellation of their chief town, " Oko " —i.e., a pelting stone. For that reason the Egbas were reluctant to resuscitate the title at Abeokuta until Governor McCallum of Lagos in 1897 on the occasion of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee ordered the Egbas and others to reorganise their government, and fill up vacant titles. Since the destruction of the City of Owu (as we shall see below) and the unification of the Egba villages, the Owus have domiciled amongst them. Hence the so-called Four United Kings of the Egbas : although Owu is not Egba. The Ijebus The origin of the Ijebus has been variously given ; one account makes them spring from the victims offered in sacrifice by the King of Benin to the god of the ocean, hence the term Ijebu from Ije-ibu, i.e., the food of the deep. The Ijebus themselves 'The case of Gbadebo, son of Okukenu, occurred subsequently to the estabhshment of the British Protectorate. claim to have descended from Oba-nita, as they say of themselves, " Ogetiele, eru Obanita," i.e., Ogetiele/ servants of Obanita. But who was this Oba-nita ? Tradition says he also was a victim of sacrifice by the Olowu or King of Owu. It was said that the Olowu offered in sacrifice a human being where two roads cross ; this was termed " Ebo-ni-ita," a sacrifice on the highway, the victim being mangled and left for dead ; he, however, revived at night, and crawled away into the forest, where he subsequently recovered and survived. He lived on fruits, on the chase, and then did a bit of farming. With an access of population, being the oldest man met in those parts, he was regarded as the father, and subsequent generations call him their ancestor, and so the Ijebu tribe was formed, and the term " Ebonita " (a sacrifice on the highway) was converted to " Obanita " (a king on the high- way). There was really nobody of that name. A forest is still shown near the village of Aha where he is annually worshipped, from whence he was supposed to have ascended into heaven. It is rather curious that both accounts should have made them descended from victims of human sacrifices. This latter account is reconcilable with the former, which says they are " the food of the deep," for the population of which Ebonita was the head may have been largely augmented by the victims of the ocean so as to give the name Ije-ibu to the whole of them. There are also other important facts and curious coincidences connected with the Ijebus which have strong bearings on this tradition of their origin. 1. Of all the Yoruba tribes, with the exception of the Ifes they were the most addicted to human sacrifices, which they practised up to 1892 when the country was conquered by the Enghsh. The \'ictim also usually offered to " Obanita " annually was always a human being, but this was never killed; he was, however, always acted upon in some way or other unknown (by magic arts) that he always became demented, and left to wander about sheepishly in the Aha Forest, until he perished there. This is, no doubt, due to the fact that the ancestor " Ebonita " himself, when a victim, was not killed outright. 2. They were, before the conquest, the most exclusive and inhospitable of the whole of the tribes. Very few, if any, out- siders were ever known to have walked through the country with impunity under any circumstance whatever; not a few of those who attempted to do so were never seen nor heard of any more ! ^An untranslatable word, an onomatopoeic expression for whatever is immense and magnificent. Commercial transactions with outsiders were carried on in the frontier or in the borders of neighbouring towns. 3. And if the latter account of their origin from the Owu victim be the correct one, it is very singular indeed that it was mainly due to the Ijebus with their firearms that the Owns owed their fall and complete annihilation as an independent state to this day. A full account of this will be given in due course. The King of the Ijebus is known as the Awujale. His origin was thus given by authentic tradition, the event with which it is connected having occurred within authentic history : There were formerly two important towns called Owu Ipole and Iseyin Odo in a district between the Owns and If§s ; they were settlements from the city of Owu and Iseyin respectively. A quarrel once arose between them on the matter of boundaries, and the dispute having been carried on for many years, developed into an open fight, and both the Olowu and the Owoni of Ife (both being interested parties) were unable to put an end to the strife. Messengers were now sent to the King at Oyo who sent out a special Ilari and a large number of attendants to put an end to the strife. The person of an Ilari being inviolable, he came and settled down between the two contending parties, in the midst of the disputed plot, and thus compelled them to keep, the peace. The Ilari was named " Agbejaile or Alajaile " (an arbiter of landed dispute). This term was subsequently softermed, down to Awujale.^ This event occurred during the reign of King Jayin. As it was customary to pay royal honours to the King's mes- sengers out of courtesy, this Ilari was accorded royal honours in due form, and he remained there permanently and became the King of that region over the Ijebus who up to that time had no tribal " king " of their own and rather held themselves aloof from their neighbours. Subsequently he removed to Ode. The Awujale ranks after the Oyo provincial kings such as the Onikoyi, Olafa, Aresa, Aseyin. Origin of the Ijesas and Ekitis Two accounts are given of the origin of the Ijesas ; both may practically be regarded as in the main correct, so far as they are not really contradictory ; for it would appear that the Ijesas of the present day are not the same people or, rather, not the descendants of the aboriginal inhabitants of that province. The first account relates to the earUest period when the Yorubas have just entered into, and subdued, the country, and the AlAfins ^An Ilari title at Oyo to this day. then resided at He lie, i.e., prior to the reign of Sango. Human sacrifices were common in those days, and in order to have victims ready to hand, it is said that a number of slaves were purchased and located in the district of Ibokun; there they were tended as cattle, under the care of Owaju, and from them selections were made from time to time for sacrificial purposes; hence the term Ijesa from Ije Orisa (the food of the gods). They are described as stumpy, muscular, and sheepish-looking, with a marked want of intelhgence : they never cJffered any resistance to this system, hence the saying "Ijesa Omo Owaju ti ife opo iyk " (Ijesas children of Owaju, subject to much sufferings). There is also a legend that when the nations began to disperse from He Ife and members of the Royal Family were appointed kings and rulers in divers places, a young and brave scion of the house was appointed the first Owa or king over the Ijesas, but that he returned to the AlAfin and complained that his territory was tocv small, and his subjects few, the sire thereupon ordered a large bundle of sticks to be brought to him, and these sticks he converted into human beings for the Owa, in order to increase the number of his subjects. Hence to this day the Ijesas are often termed by their neighbours " Qmo igi " (offspring of sticks !) This, of course, is a pure myth invented by their more wily neighbours to account for the notorious characteristics of the Ijesas generally, who are as proverbially deficient in wit as they are remarkably distinguished for brute strength. But one fact holds good down even to our days, viz., that up to the recent total abohtion of human sacrifice by the British Government (1893) the Ifes, who, far more than any other, were addicted to the practice, always preferred for the purpose to have an Ijesa victim to any other ; such sacrifices were considered more acceptable, the victims being the " food of the gods." This preference was the cause of more than one threatened rupture between the Ifes and their Ijesa aUies during the recent 16 years' war, and would certainly have developed into open fights, but for the Ibadan army vis-d-vis threatening them both. The other account relates chiefly to the present day Ijesas of Ilesa (the home of the gods) the chief town. According to this account, they hailed from the Ekitis ; or as some would more correctly have it, they were the Ijesas from the neighbourhood of Ibokun who first migrated to Ipole near Ondo, and thence back to Ilesa. It appears that a custom then prevailed of going out hunting for their king three months in the year, and on one such occasion they found game so plentiful in the neighbourhood of Ilesa, the chmate very agreeable, the country well-watered, and the Ijesas there extremely simple, peaceful, and unwarhke (probably the remnants and descendants of the old sacrificial victims) whilst at home they endured much oppression from their Owa, that they there and then conceived and carried out the idea of settling on the spot at once, making it their home, and of reducing into subjection the aboriginal inhabitants. These objects were easily enough accompHshed ; but they spared the principal chief, a kindly old gentleman who had an extensive garden plantation. He was called " Oba Ila," i.e., Okra king, from his Okra plantation, and he was placed next in rank to the chief of the marauders. That nickname is continued to the present time as a title Oba'la^ and is conferred on the most distinguished chief after the Owa of Ilesa. It would appear then that although the term Ijesa is retained by the people of that district, and those who are ignorant of the origin of the term take some pride in it, yet it is evident that the present inhabitants are not all of them the descendants of the aboriginal settlers, the " food of the gods," but are largely from the Ekitis by admixture ; the pure type Ijesas are now and again met with at Ilesa and neighbourhood. This fact is fuither shown by the want of homogeneity amongst the principal chiefs of Ilesa at the present day, for when the town was growing, the settlers did cast about for help ; they sought for wiser heads to assist them in the building up and the management of their country, e.g., from the Oyos or Yorubas Proper they had the Odgle from Irehe, the Esawe from Ora, the Saloro from Oyo (the ancient city), and the Sorundi also from the same city—all these came with a large number of followers ; from the Ondos, the 'Loro, and the Salosi from I jama in the Ondo district ; from the Ekitis, the Arapate from Ara, the Lejoka from Itaje; and lastly, the Ogboni from the white cap chiefs of Lagos, the only one privileged to have on his headgear in the presence of the Owa. The Owa himself is as we have seen, a junior member of the royal house of Oyo. It is also said that when the town of Ilesa was to be laid out a special messenger was sent to the AlAfin to ask for the help of one of the princes to lay out the town on the same plan as the ancient city of Oyo. That prince ruled for some years at Ilesa. The Ekitis The Ekitis are among the aboriginal elements of the country absorbed by the invaders from the East. The term Ekiti denotes a Mound, and is derived from the rugged mountainous feature of ^Often miscalled Obanla by young Ije§as outside Ilesa. the country. It is an extensive province and well watered, includ- ing several tribes and families right on to the border of the Niger, eastward. They hold themselves quite distinct from the Ijesas, especially in pohtical affairs. The Ekiti country is divided into i6 districts, each with its own Owa or King (Owa being a generic term amongst them) of which four are supreme, viz. :— 1. The 6w6re of Otun 3. The Elewi of Ado 2. The Ajero of Ijero 4. The Elekole of Ikole The following are the minor Ekiti kings :— 5. Alara of Ara it. Qlgja Oke of Igbo Odo 6. Alaye of Efon Ahaye 12. Oloye of Oye 7. Ajanpanda of Akure 13. Olomuwo of Omuwo 8. Alagotun of Ogotun 14. Onire of Ire 9. Olojudo of Ido 15. Arinjale of Ise 10. Ata of Aiyede 16. Onitaji of Itaji The Orangun of Ila is sometimes classed among them, but he is only Ekiti in sympathy, being of a different family. An Ijesa account of the Owa ot Ilesa and some of the principal Ekiti kings : The Olofin (? Alafin) king of Ife had several children, grand- children, and great grandchildren; amongst them were, the king of Ado or Benin, the King of Oyg, the Osomowe of Ondo (from a daughter), the Alara of Ara, the Ajero of Ijero, the Alaye of Efon, the Owore of Otun, the Orangun of Ila, the Aregbajo of Igbajo, the Owa Ajaka of Ilesa. When the Olofin became bhnd from old age he was much depressed in mind from this cause ; efforts were put forth to effect his cure, all of which proved fruitless, when a certain man came forward and prescribed for him a sure remedy which among other ingredients contained salt water. He put the case before his children, but none made any effort to procure some for him save his youngest grandson. This was a very brave and warlike prince who bore the title of Esinkin amongst the King's household warriors, a title much alHed to that of the Kakanfo, He was surnamed Ajaka, i.e., one who fights everywhere, (on account of his procHvities) being fond of adventures. He volun- teered to go and fetch some wherever procurable. Having been away for many years and not heard of, the aged sire and every one else despaired of his ever coming back ; so the King divided his property amongst the remaining grown-up children. Although the Alado (king of Benin) was the eldest yet the Oloyg was the most beloved, and to him he gave the land, and told him to scour it all over, and settle nowhere till he came to a slippery place, and there make his abode ; hence the term Oyg (shppery) and hence Oyos are such shppery customers ! After they had all gone and settled in their respective locaHties, all unexpectedly, the young adventurer turned up with water from the sea ! The monarch made use of it as per prescription and regained his sight ! Hence the Ijesas who subsequently became his subjects are sometimes termed " Omg Obokun," children of the brine procurer. Having distributed all his property he had nothing left for Ajaka he therefore gave him a sword lying by his side with leave to attack any of his brothers, especially the Alara or Alado, and possess himself of their wealth, but should he fail, to retire back to him; hence the appellation " Owa Ajaka Onida raharaha " (Owa the ubiquitous fighter, a man with a devastating sword). The Owa Ajaka settled a Uttle way from his grandfather, and on one occasion he paid him a visit, and found him sitting alone with his crown on his head and—out of sheer wantonness—he cut off some of the fringes with his sword. The old man was enraged by this act, and swore that he would never wear a crown with fringes on.^ The Aregbajo was one of those who had a crown given to him, but the Owa Ajaka, paying him a visit on one occasion, saw it, and took it away, and never returned it : hence the kings of Igbajo never wear a crown to this day. The Owa also attacked the Olojudo and defeated him, and took possession of his crown ; but he never put it on. On every public occasion however, it used to be carried before him. This continued to be the case until all the tribes became independent. The Owa's mother, when married as a young bride, was placed under the care of the mother of the Qloyo, hence the AlAfin of Oyo often regarded the Owa as his own son. The Orangun of Ila, and the Alara of Ara were his brothers of the same mother. The Ow6ni of Ife was not a son of the Ololin, but the son of a female slave of his whom he offered in sacrifice. The Olefin kept the boy always by him, and when he sent away his sons, this httle boy took great care of him and managed his household affairs well until his death: hence the Oloyo on succeeding the father authorised the boy to have charge of the palace and the city, and he sent to notify his brothers of this appointment. So whenever it was asked who was in charge of the house the answer invariably was ^Only those with fringes on are really crowns. " Omo Oluwo ni " (It is the son of the sacrificial victim). This has been contracted to the term Ow6ni. The Owa and his brothers used to pay the AlAfin annual visits, with presents of firewood, fine locally-made mats, kola nuts and bitter kolas ; the Ow6re of Otun with sweet water from a cool spring at Otun—this water the AlAfin first spills on the ground as a Ubation before performing any ceremonies. The other Ekiti Kings used also to take with them suitable presents as each could afford, and bring away lavish presents from their elder brother. This Ajaka subsequently became the Owa of the Ijesas. The Ondos The custom of killing twins prevailed all over the country in early times ; it has died out all over the greater part ot it so long ago, that no one can say precisely when or by whom a stop was put to it. But it happened once upon a time when the practice still prevailed that one of the wives of the AlAfin (King Ajaka) gave birth to twins, and the King was loth to destroy them, he thereupon gave orders that they should be removed—with the mother—to a remote part of the kingdom and there to remain and be regarded as dead. So she left with a large number of friends and retinue to the site of the present Ode Ondo, then sparsely peopled by a tribe named Idoko, and there settled, hence the term " Ondo," signifying the " Settlers." The people of the district knowing who the strangers were, yielded them ready obedience, and the strangers became rulers of the district. Probably it was from this time infanticide received its death blow—in Yoruba Proper at least. It is said to hnger still at Akure and the adjacent regions, but as a rule, in ancient times, whatever the custom set or discountenanced at the Metropohs, the effect thereof was rapidly felt all over the country. The Ondos are sometimes classed among the Ekitis but that is hardly correct; although lying at the border of the Ekitis, they are really a mixture of Qyos and Idokos, and their sympathy is with all.