Onereflection, I do subscribe to that white paper by the Yoruba groups tho, but couldn't we assess how to partner with the ohanaeze at least where we agreed(regionalism)....??
2. Afenifere has been infected by political jobberism....I don't trust them a nadir- a feeling shared by most people I've spoken with on this matter
3. Whatever the Yoruba elders are doing without carrying the Yoruba youths along is DOA
4. NOW, THERE MUST BE A TIME FRAME. A time frame keeps a kinda pressure on us and erodes laxity and complacency
5. We don't actually have the masses along, and relating to the 3rd point I made, a sensitization of our students in various higher institution is imperative- university should be rallying point for intellectuals (and thank God I'm back to school, lol).
There should be first and foremost, a conference in all Yoruba towns, LGAs, states and then nationally.
And have a common standpoint that any central government that can't give us our aspiration shouldn't expect block votes from the south west, albeit this would come with initial sensitization of our people....
And yea....there should be a template for development which sadly is lacking in the Yoruba states
I did follow the conference through its entire duration. Yes, it is true that the Lagosian delegates threw a curveball of their own. Yes, it is true that the MURIC folks put a stake in the ground around some indeterminate Islamic agenda. Yes, it is true that adherents of Yoruba Traditional Religion (YTR) threatened fire and brimstone at their exclusion - and rightly so, I might add.
But it was a conference after all... Tempers were expected to bubble to the surface. Refuseniks were to be accommodated from even our own ranks.
Come on now; don't tell me you did not see the fisticuffs which characterised the South-South summit? Aside from the North which travelled mobb deep with a one-shop agenda, no other geographical zone attended the conference without home-grown detractors, fifth columnists, jesters,...etc.
I will tell what saddens me now, though: our insouciance, inaction, and inertia. For reasons that I find pretty hard to fathom, a lot of us appear to have gone to sleep again - content that our interest is somehow protected because Yoruba politicians are once again visible at the centre. And expectedly, those who are most guilty of this charge are APC affiliates on NL and elsewhere.
quimicababes: Initially I was thinking about doing this in-depth in terms of the history of how Yorubas ended up in Trini and the areas settled etc but I decided to treat it superficially and just speak about the present. Yoruba's contribution to Trini is mostly via religion and music.In terms of religion,Yorubas Orisha religion influenced the Shango Baptist faith also known as Trinidad Orisha.
The Shango Baptist sect is a syncretic religion combining Christianity and Orisha tradition.In Trinidad ,Shango Baptist faith is closely related to the Spiritual Baptist faith that came from America via Black Americans in the 1800s, that you find churches that have both members so it can be confusing.There are some orisha and spiritual baptists folks that say that there is nothing such as Shango Baptist but the reality is that folks mix both faiths.You also have those Orisha folks who are strictly Orisha where they have sort to clean up the Trinidad Orisha by removing non Yoruba elements.Btw to Trinidad Orisha folks...Trini is known as Shango country hence Shango is one of the most important Orishas here relative to the others.
In terms of the practitioners of the religion, it has infiltrated the middle class in Trinidad that you meet university graduates and etc who are Orisha practitioners besides the working class folks.
Trinidad celebrates a national holiday known as Emancipation Day which celebrates the freedom of enslaved Africans.That holiday is due to the efforts of a Orisha guy known by the name of Jaja Onilu who started it with just 7 folks.Now its a big event attracting thousands of Trinidadians.Jaja Onilu also was also well known in Trinidad local music scene and his two sons Modupe and Ayinde are continuing his works in terms of music.
In terms of music and arts..several persons of orisha origin or having dt influence, influenced Trinidad music such as calypso which birthed soca.For example, David Rudder who is a big Calypso artist here,his music is influenced by Shango baptists rhythms and chanting.He grew up around a Shango Yard.Others who influenced our music is Ella Andall,3Canal,Singing Sandra,Brother Resistance and so forth..these are folks who used shango baptist influence in their music.
Ella Andall is a staunch Orisha lady and she have sang songs in Yoruba...a lot of Trinis love her music and dance to it despite some of them being Orisha music btw.A few months a back some dancers and others in the arts launched a company called Trinidad and Tobago Orisha Performing Company in honour of her and they did a production called Ajo feautring various Orishas.
In terms of arts one of our best artist Leroy Clarke here is Orisha...his works is influenced by that to some extent.I am not into abstract art but Leroy Clarke work is dope.Y'all should check it out lol.Also Briana McCartney.For whatever reasons I find Orisha folks tend to be attracted to the arts here.
Another practice Trinis still do is what we call sou sou dt is derived from Yoruba esusu.I know some folks claim its other African ethnic groups but it no be true lol,the reality is though the Yoruba population was small for Trini compared to others...they were able to influence and absorb other ethnic groups culturally.
In terms of those who might care for in-depth knowledge,a historian by the name of Maureen Warner Lewis did a lot of research on the African influence for Trinidad and to a lesser extent other islands but she did quite a bit of research on Yorubas lol.Below are links to some of her books;
1.Guinea's Other Sun:The African Dynamic in Trinidad Culture https://books.google.tt/books? id=q6oEEPlJeAcC&pg=PA200&lpg=PA200&dq=africans+in+19th+century+trinidad+maureen+warner&source=bl&ots=FClGRIKTmP&sig=YxKsvk3yZnOvRMHhJvD4JGV_Oz8&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj4g5bK57HJAhXI7CYKHUT4DcI4ChDoAQg3MAU#v=onepage&q=africans%20in%2019th%20century%20trinidad%20maureen%20warner&f=false
Some folks in Trini again Orisha folks lol used this book to make a play dt is done on Emancipation day.A lovely play btw and heart wrenching lol.
The thing is the Baba Alado is just the powerful guy.I don't think he carries guns.The guy is a mystery lol
He's the Boss of those who carry guns.Some even said he's a cripple.
Lmfao!!! I can't believe you've heard of baba alado. You're right, the guy is a mystery. Personally, I think he has a cut in all the taxes levied at road junctions and markets. There was one small street in mushin that tried to overthrow him, he came back and wiped them out! I think he did the thuggin himself when he was younger, but now he has underlings doing his bidding. He's like Keyser söze in "the usual suspects" movie.
I harbour the same concern too, as you would note from my subsequent post.
Like you, I believe this is the way to go. But wait a minute...I think we may have to leave Lagos out of the equation to begin with. The combo of Lagos-based politicians who fear being subsumed and E-siders that only pay lip service to regionalism, are likely to rail against any attempt to merge with Ogun state.
Nah, we need to demonstrate the benefits of a merger with our interior states first - lest we end up with some semblance of the much derided Sene-Gambia union.
I agree with you.
Now, what's your template for the way forward. Want to see ur own personal perspective
angiography: Onereflection, I do subscribe to that white paper by the Yoruba groups tho, but couldn't we assess how to partner with the ohanaeze at least where we agreed(regionalism)....??
2. Afenifere has been infected by political jobberism....I don't trust them a nadir- a feeling shared by most people I've spoken with on this matter
3. Whatever the Yoruba elders are doing without carrying the Yoruba youths along is DOA
4. NOW, THERE MUST BE A TIME FRAME. A time frame keeps a kinda pressure on us and erodes laxity and complacency
5. We don't actually have the masses along, and relating to the 3rd point I made, a sensitization of our students in various higher institution is imperative- university should be rallying point for intellectuals (and thank God I'm back to school, lol).
There should be first and foremost, a conference in all Yoruba towns, LGAs, states and then nationally.
And have a common standpoint that any central government that can't give us our aspiration shouldn't expect block votes from the south west, albeit this would come with initial sensitization of our people....
And yea....there should be a template for development which sadly is lacking in the Yoruba states
I agree with your points but i am slightly uncomfortably with your first suggestion. Going by the last Confab, the SE delegates also didnt speak with one voice. Ebonyi state was seriously against regionalsim, they opposed it vigorusly. Micheal Ahamba, another SE delegate, argued against any form of secession and balkanisation.
Partnering with the SE might be a good idea but one thing you should know about them is that they always want an offer that would make them the Alpha & Omega. They always want to dominate. Prof Ben Nwabueze, a SE delegate at the conference, asseretd that the indigene/non-indigene dichotomy be removed so that the SEasterners can also have equal political and social rights as the natives in Lagos
FFKfuckedBIANCA: I agree with your points but i am slightly uncomfortably with your first suggestion. Going by the last Confab, the SE delegates also didnt speak with one voice. Ebonyi state was seriously against regionalsim, they opposed it vigorusly. Micheal Ahamba, another SE delegate, argued against any form of secession and balkanisation.
Partnering with the SE might be a good idea but one thing you should know about them is that they always want an offer that would make them the Alpha & Omega. They always want to dominate. Prof Ben Nwabueze, a SE delegate at the conference, asseretd that the indigene/non-indigene dichotomy be removed so that the SEasterners can also have equal political and social rights as the natives in Lagos
True talk! I spoke about it in my earlier post.It was difficult to find info about some kings tho
I'm also thinking of profiling the ones in the diaspora as well
Quimicababes do you have any Obas in Trini? we still dey wait for the treatise
Eleko oun re
Aare, Ikire own is actually Akire of Ikire and not Alakire. tbh, I'm in love with ds thread but I hardly have time. I only check once in a while even though I put it on permanent viewing mode on mobile most times. I will try and see if I can compile some information about Ikire this week, there's a book written by my late uncle(journalist/politician) IKIRE A-Z by Chief Wahab Toye. I will call dad if I can still get a copy anytime I visit home.
Here is the next stage on this website. We need to know our Obas. Please raise the point. Lets start from Jebba and work our way down to the coast. People should post pictures of their Obas and name his/her domain. It is optional to add a short history.
What ya think?
Sir, I like this. I'll post all the kings of Ijebu/Remo towns - I've got a link for that. Hopefully, other folks will post the names of the kings in their own areas.
Also, I like the story of Moremi. And I think we should also celebrate some of those great Yoruba women of yore. I know the stories of Moremi, Oya, and Efunroye Tinubu. Know of Osun but her story isn't out there like that. I believe there were more of them and it would be nice if folks can educate/enlighten us about these women. Yoruba women back then were powerful.
It's Saturday and I'm going to be on/off till later in the day cos I need to tidy up and do my own shopping as a bachelor. This is the day of the week where you miss big momma. Mums are the best, I tell ya.
DrMoffy: lol to sis. Modath comment.... Igboro indeed! I can smell combination of OAU aluta spirit here.
Me ke? , Jeje ni omo eko mi ma n lo..
* in queen Salawa Abeni's voice* " Gentle lady ni mi, emi ki n se fighter oo, keni keni ma sin mi lo si iba ija"... *dancing fuji garbage style dance out of thread*..
DrMoffy: Aare, Ikire own is actually Akire of Ikire and not Alakire. tbh, I'm in love with ds thread but I hardly have time. I only check once in a while even though I put it on permanent viewing mode on mobile most times. I will try and see if I can compile some information about Ikire this week, there's a book written by my late uncle(journalist/politician) IKIRE A-Z by Chief Wahab Toye. I will call dad if I can still get a copy anytime I visit home.
Yoruba tunes always have great melodies and they're spiritual.
Don't sleep on me when it comes to Yoruba worship songs - I grew up in Celestial Church till we moved to Redeemed Church in 1997. But I can still flow to a lot of Celestial Church songs.
There once lived a woman called Moremi Ajasoro who hailed from Ile-Ife, she had a young son whose name was Olurogbo. According to oral history, Moremi was from the royal family at Ile-Ife having been a wife to king Oranmiyan when Oranmiyan was the king at Ile-Ife before he founded Oyo-Ile, Moremi was beautiful and as well virtuous with uncommon intelligence.
Her oral history states that the nation of Ife was at her time faced with incessant incursions from adjourning tribe known as the Ugbo people who were of weird appearance in battlefield, this made the Ifes reckon that they were aliens from another world, The ifes thought they were probably a visitation sent by the gods as punishment for some evil deeds they had perhaps committed.
The Ugbo tribe often terrorised Ife with massive atrocities leaving behind sorrows, tears and grieve. The Ifes offered sacrifices to the Gods in vain; the raids of these uncanny beings would continue and the land was thrown into a state of extreme panic.
The heroic Moremi whose desire to change the destiny of her people overwhelmed her pride, she sought to bring an end to the condition of affairs, she resorted to letting herself be captured during one of the raids, so that she might be taken as a prisoner to the land of the Ugbos and afterwards, she would learn all their secrets .
She sought the assistance of her deity for spiritual guidance for the gallant mission, as oral history says, she went to a certain stream called Esinmirin to make an oath to it that, if her mission and hope were accomplished, she would offer to it the richest sacrifice she could afford.
As she cunningly planned it, she was indeed captured by the Ugbos and taken away to their capital as a prisoner. On account of her beauty she was given to the King of the Ugbos and considered worthy to be his wife and on the other account of her intelligence and noble heart, she soon gained the respect of all and rose to a position of importance, she later married the supreme ruler and became the anointed queen.
No sooner had she been in the Ugbo country than she had learned all the secrets of Ife’s major enemy. She found that they were not special but ordinary humans. She got to know that whenever they’re going into battle, they would wear strange mantles of grass and bamboo fibre, this accounted for their unnatural appearance.
She also learned that because of these mantles of dry grass, they were much afraid of fire, and that if the Ifes were to attack them with lighted torches, they would easily be defeated.
As soon as it was possible, she eluded from the Ugbol palace and from the territories of the Ugbos to return to her own people.She returned to her first husband, King Oramiyan of Ife (and later Oyo), who immediately had her re-instated as his Princess Consort. Her news was happily received at Ile-Ife, and shortly afterwards the Ugbos were completely defeated by the tricks Moremi had suggested.
Moremi proceeded to stream Esinmirin to make a huge sacrifice of fowls, sheep, and bullocks as vowed but the god of the stream wasn't satisfied, it demanded Olurogbo the son of Moremi.
Unwillingly, Moremi was forced to agree, she sacrificed the handsome Olurogbo. The Ifes sobbed to see this sad event but in order to make up for her loss, they promised to be her sons and daughters forever.
Olurogbo was laid on the grass, people thought he was dead. He was not, he was only unconscious just as the spirits of the stream wanted it. When the people had departed, he gained consciousness and sprang up. He made a rope from grass which he used to ascend to heaven. It is believed that Olurogbo will someday return to earth perhaps Ile-Ife to reap the rewards of his mother’s noble sacrifice.
Oluorogbo was/is a deity who started the art of writing.
Moremi's son was Ela.
Many parts of what you posted are wrong sir and misleading.
Yoruba history is full of conflict. Actual conflict in historical events and conflict in the retelling of such events. Such conflict appears in answering the not-so-simple question of who Obatala was or is.
Obatala is elevated for some Yoruba as Orisanla , a god, the creator of all human beings. Festivals hold annually in his honour in many Yoruba communities in the Homeland and in the Yoruba diaspora of Latin America and the Caribbean. In the Yoruba religion he is deeply revered.
Trying to understand Obatala from a current day angle is reminiscent of the 6 blind monks and the elephant.
The 6 blind monks each groped a different aspect of the elephant and came to very different conclusions about what an elephant is. Wall , spear, snake, tree, fan and rope depending on whether the flank, tusk, trunk, knee , ear or tail was felt.
Yoruba people in the Homeland and the diaspora , ‘blinded’ by the hundreds of years between the actual events and now, have contrasting views about who Obatala is /was. King, warrior, drunk, creator, etc etc…
We know only what has been passed down to us orally. And so what we believe about Obatala depends on what our ancestors believed about him.
Obatala the man?
For those who accept that Obatala was an actual man who lived once in Yoruba land,they agree that
he lived at the same time as Oduduwa ie 10th / 11th Century there was a struggle for domination between the two (this represented somewhat in the creation story as well) Obatala ruled the indigenous people around Ife in Yoruba land before Oduduwa Obatala was given to occasional drink ( in the creation story as well) Obatala was defeated by Oduduwa Oduduwa’s historical achievements dwarf Obatala’s as his kingdom came to an end through Oduduwa. (Even in the Yoruba creation story, Oduduwa took over the creation of human beings which was botched by a drunken Obatala) Above explains then why Obatala would be seen by some Yoruba as an actual man , a warrior, one who liked his drink…
Obatala the god?
The Yoruba , as noted by OB Lawuyi, being very religious ascribed spiritual meanings to objects, humans and events, eg Thunder was the wrath of God, iron the symbol of war or conflict, water the sign of fertility and political heroes became gods. So not unusual then that the two principal characters in the forming of the new Yoruba political order became gods…
But how has the defeated Obatala come to be represented in the Yoruba religion as the overall king of the Orisa, and elevated even higher than Oduduwa?
Some versions of the conflict between Oduduwa and Obatala say NOT that Obatala was humiliated in defeat , but that he avoided conflict and ceded power to the warlike Oduduwa. Obatala the peacemaker….
And so like that other peace loving man from Christian history, Obatala ceded his status as king. In so doing he displayed god-like character over and above his rival Oduduwa who was more concerned with power and land, and ascended in Yoruba folklore from man to supreme god. Obatala the supreme Orisa…..
obatala sacerdotes Obatala priests – Pierre Verger Finally, some interpreters of tradition say that the period before Oduduwa was a peaceful and creative one , and that that “period when Obatala title was supreme,” was when ” the artistic masterpieces of Ile Ife were produced”- Ade Obayemi. ( Masterpieces presumably the Ife bronzes and terracottas). Obatala the creator….
The imagined sacred city, findings of Western explorers, the Ile-Ife and ancient kingdom of Benin connection stories IFA: Divination Rituals and the New Yam Festival IN the first three chapters of this book, I alluded to the role of Ifa divination and Ifa priests in various rituals in the sacred city, especially those relating to the resolution of the conflicts between Oduduwa and Obatala. I will devote this chapter to the place of Ifa divination and the Ifa deity in regulating and managing the spiritual and social affairs of the city and will introduce the myths and rituals of Orunmila, also known as Ifa, the Yoruba god of divination; Ifa divinatory practices; and the religious, ethical, and thought systems espoused in the rich Ifa divination texts, otherwise known as ese Ifa or Ifa divination poetry. By analyzing certain related festivals of Ifa—Odun Egbodo Ooni (the King’s New Yam Festival), Odun Agboniregun (the Diviners’ New Yam Ceremony), and the annual Ifa Festival, together with the sacred narratives associated with them, I will show how the symbols and rituals of Ifa sanctify the sacred city. Ifa has a pivotal role in maintaining and legitimizing the Ooni’s sacred kingship and the lineage identity of Ifa devotees, particularly the Araba, the chief priest of Ifa, just as the sacred kingship legitimizes Ifa’s authority as the spokesperson for the 201 divinities of the Ile-Ife pantheon. IFA IN THEORY AND IN PRACTICE In traditional and contemporary Yoruba culture and society, the Ifa divination system occupies a vital role in ordering and regulating the social and moral order. In addition to providing a plausible theory and practice aimed at explaining and controlling events, space, and time, Ifa represents a boidy of deep knowledge that deals with the past, present and future all at once. The Babalawo or diviners memorize Ifa as poetic oral texts and recite them on appropriate occasions, especially during rituals to secure healing and good health for clients. As a prelude to examining the rituals and ceremonies of Ifa in Ile-Ife, it is useful to discuss the practice,logic and meaning of Ifa. The Ifa divination system of belief and ritual practices derives its authority in Ile-Ife from the sacred kingship and the lineage traditions of the diviners. The ritual and ceremonies discussed later in this chapter follow the archetypal format upon which Ifa beliefs and practices throughout Yorubaland, if not abroad, are based. The Yoruba consult Ifa diviners on a wide range of personal, social and religious matters: for example, before undertaking an important obligation such as marriage, travelling to a distant place, and whenever they are in doubt. They use divination in situations of serious illness, especially when the illness is prolonged. Below, I interpret the symbolic and metaphysical meanings surrounding an Ifa consultation. As in the consultation that my research assistant sought in the Araba’s house, a client visits a Babalawo to determine the cause of a problem, typically a physical ailment. The client sits on a mat in front of the diviner while the Babalawo lays out his divination paraphernalia, which consists of a divinatory chain of linked half nuts and a tray of yellowish pollen. The client takes a coin, touches his forehead with it, and whispers into it his prayer or request, asking Ifa to reveal the secret behind his problem and to find an appropriate solution. He places the coin in front of the diviner, touching his chain with the coin as if conveying the request to it. The diviner begins the session by invoking Ifa and reciting the words that begin this chapter. Ifa is showered with presents to assist in the process. The diviner requests that Ifa not mislead his client. The invocation also allows the diviner to pay homage to the spirit world, the ancestors, the great diviners before him, and the four directions of the Yoruba universe as he moves the chain to the front, back, left, right, and center of the tray, acknowledging all the relevant spiritual forces connected to the process. To cast the divination, the diviner holds the chain in the middle and throws it on the mat, making a “U” shape on the floor, so that four nuts fall on each side. The nuts will expose either convex or concave sides, thus displaying sixteen possible forms of the “signature” of Ifa. Each signature stands for an odu (divinatory sign or symbol), and each odu is linked to several verses of oral poems that interpret it. The diviner then recites the odu that appears in the divination castings. The client listens carefully, and after the recitation comments on whether any of the poems is relevant to his illness. At this stage the client may reveal to the diviner the nature of his inquiry. The diviner will interpret the text and, through further questioning, arrive at a definite cause of his client’s problem. The diviner will prescribe the appropriate remedy, usually a sacrificial ritual and the use of medicinal herbs.
Ooni with the sacred crown. Although the most frequently employed form of divination involves the use of the opele chain, a more prestigious and elaborate form of divination, the ikin, involves the use of sixteen palm nuts. The diviner takes the palm nuts from a beautifully carved divination bowl into one hand. He then attempts to grab with his other hand most of the palm nuts in his first hand, leaving one or two. He marks the result of the exercise in the powder in the divination tray. When one palm nut is left in the other hand, the diviner makes two marks, and when two ikin are left, he makes one mark. When no palm nuts remain, he makes no mark. This process is done several times until the diviner can make four signs on each side of the tray. Each divination session produces an odu divination sign out of the 256 possible signs. The process of reciting the odu that appears to the client is similar to the above divinatory session with the opele. Below is an example of verses from an odu called Eji Ogbe, which explains how important divination practice is on earth. Ko sibi ti afefe ki i fe e de Ko sibi ti iji ki i ja a de A d’ifa fun Ojise Olodumare Eni ti Olodumare ran wa sile aye Eni ran’ni nise la a beru A ki i beru eni ta a je fun Olowo ori mi ko je t’Ikole orun bo wa s’Ikole aye Olowo ori mi o re’bi Kankan To fi n se gbogbo ohun ti o fe e se Eni to ba ko’ti ikun s’Ifa Eniyankeniyan to ni eni wo’fa o logbon lori Enikeni to ni eni n wofa n sese ibi O setan to fe e lo s’alakeji Ojo to jade nile koje pada wale omo Ebi iru won nii jese owo o won Enikeni o gbodo so pe Ifa o nii se e Ohun t’Ifa ba so nii fun babalawo lounje Eni to n’Ifa n puro o lere kankan. There is no place that the wind does not blow. There is no place that the hurricane does not blow. Who divines for the messenger that Olodumare the Supreme sends on an errand? He who sends you on an errand He [whom) only you will respect. Your Master never travels from heaven above. Your Lord does not go out visiting. Your Lord stays in one place and accomplishes everything he wants to bring about. Whoever refuses to obey the diviners’ words, Whoever says the client’s work is not good, Should be prepared to see Olodumare in heaven [i.e., be prepared to die]. When the enemy leaves his house, he will not return home. The family he leaves behind will have to take charge of his affairs. No one must doubt the stories of the diviners. The stories the diviners tell provide for their daily bread. The enemy who says the diviners are lying will make no progress in life. In this powerful narrative the heavenly Ifa commands his devotees to take the work of the diviners seriously and spells out consequences for disobedience. Ifa diviners see this passage as proclaiming the authority given to them by Orunmila to control, determine, and mediate the affairs of the living. The diviner’s role recalls that of the Holy Spirit, who according to Christ’s promise would guide the affairs of the world after Christ departed. The Logic and Meaning of Ifa African societies recognize two forms of divination: the mechanical and the mystical. The mechanical form involves manipulating divining instruments or objects to arrive at an appropriate answer and treatment for the client. The mystical form centers on possession by a deity and appeal to a deity. In discussing the !Kung or San divination system, Lorna Marshall has argued that mechanical forms of divination fall into the category of magic and “secular” rather than religious forms because they involve no communication with mystical powers. But although Ifa divination is primarily mechanical, the preamble to an Ifa divination session indicates that mystical powers in control of the cosmos are invoked. Ifa divination is also premised on the communication process between the diviner and the spiritual agencies responsible for proper divination performances. William Bascom remarked that the result is influenced by divine guidance. As in the divination process used by the Ainu of Japan, an invocation and prayer to the mystical forces precede the actual mechanical manipulation of the divinatory instrument. The invocation of Ifa provides an important clue to the logic of the divination mechanism. Here we focus on the Ifa divination performance for healing, and our exploration of its three stages – consultation, diagnosis, and sacrifice-must begin with the ritual invocation. It is a poetic ritual prayer addressed to the relevant cosmic powers (the gods, ancestors, spirits) that the diviners know could influence the outcome of the client’s diagnosis. The Ifa ritual invocation that I witnessed in 1991 was intoned as follows: The front of Ifa The back of Ifa, The right side of Ifa, The all-knowing on the left, the centre of Ifa, The centre of heaven From the dawn of the day to the setting of the sun, Never say it is good when the message is evil Never say it is evil when the message is good. Never speak in a voice of deceit! These lyrics are the diviner’s invocation to Ifa, spoken as a prayer to guide his consultation rightly so that an unequivocal truth may emerge. By his invocations, the diviner symbolically dramatizes the creation of the cosmos, the three layers of the Yoruba world. At the core of the divination is the idea that the universe and its events are guided by Ifa. He is the regulator of events in the universe (Agbayegun), and his divination process and activities bring order to a potentially chaotic universe. That spiritual order is symbolized by the regulating grid of the four cardinal points of the universe plus the centre, the fifth and the most central point. The five important axes of power are replicated in the Ifa divination tray, usually carved out of wood, which represents the universe. The circular tray is a replica or “reproduction, on the human scale, of the cosmos [and] of Creation itself. It is an imago mundi, an image of the original world order.” At times in the course of divination, the Babalawo may trace these axes in the yellow powder on the Ifa tray, indicating the connection between the four cardinal points and the center. The centre of the divining tray, like the centre of the world, is the link to the centre of heaven, the abode of the Supreme God (Olodumare) and the storehouse of sacred knowledge required to discover the “secrets” surrounding the client’s ailment, the hidden forces that have produced it. This is analogous to Victor Turner’s notion of the centre “out there;’ a place outside the immediate domain of the client, which nevertheless can be accessed through divination. The act of touching the divining chain or opele on the four cardinal points and then the center of the tray captures a complex religious symbolism. By this visually significant act, the tray becomes the earthly sacred centre from which the diviner makes present the heavenly centre and the ultimate storehouse of Ifa’s knowledge.”
Lokoloko (palace guards) holding whips made of branches during the Olojo Festival Ifa divination connects the diviner’s probing act with the source of the client’s being, the ori (personal destiny). By this process, divination exposes the client’s destiny, the realities that influence his development, and the configuration of sacred powers that governs the world’s ceaseless transformations. CONVERSION AND THE NEW FACE OF MODERNITY IN ILE-IFE Today, in Ile-Ife and throughout Yorubaland, newer Pentecostal, evangelical, and “born-again” Christian movements that first emerged in the 1970s and 1980s are challenging the institution of the sacred kingship and the pluralistic order that has existed for over a century. These movements epitomize a new form of modernity encroaching upon Ile-Ife. Amid hundreds of evangelical Christian programs, revival meetings, open-air services, and nightly vigils taking place in the city, a newly emergent form of discourse is pushing evangelical Christian activities beyond the arena of the churches and private spirituality to public spaces, thereby directly challenging the orisa-based civil religion that has been in place. I should add that whereas in the Western world the crisis of modernity often connotes a struggle between religion and secularity, Ile-Ife’s current struggle over the negotiation of modernity concerns which form of religion will control its centre and civic life. This newer negotiation of modernity is driven by generally exclusivist religious movements whose theology subsumes the entire cosmos and its inhabitants under a single divine order, ruled over by a Supreme God. This theology renders implausible the older order, according to which there exists not only the sacred kingship but also a diverse range of spirits and ancestors. As a result, this shift of sacred power and authority-from rulers and principalities that inhabit the living world to a single divine order inhabiting an invisible world (called heaven) – creates significant tension between devotees of the orisa and members of the new, predominantly Christian, movements. In short, these new movements challenge existing assumptions about what it means to be human in the cosmos and how civil authority is to be understood. According to these new movements, all kings are simply human beings. Thus no king has any inherent religious or earthly authority that gives him power as head of the community, as the chief priest of the local civil religion. Central to this message is an emphasis on the personal salvation of individual converts. Moreover, unlike indigenous traditions, which were concerned with the temporal domain and a this-worldly proximate salvation, the new movements place significant emphasis on otherworldly salvation and benefits. Kings have become more concerned with their own personal salvation than with the proximate salvation of their people as a whole. Each individual is left to fight for his or her own salvation. Members of these new Christian movements are targeting the sacred authority of the Ooni, and Ile-Ife civil religion more generally, because they realize that debunking the legitimacy of the sacred canopy-the guardianship of religious pluralism-will make it possible to destroy all indigenous non-Christian Yoruba traditions. While this kind of exclusivity is often associated with the European and American missionary enterprises of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, I have shown that their accommodationist orientation actually tended to support a role for indigenously based Yoruba civil religion. Rather, native Yoruba are driving this second, far less tolerant, mode of conversion. Although the new Christian movements are part of a global effort to usher in a universal Christian moral and social order, the conversion tactics employed by native inhabitants of Ile-Ife are specifically adapted to their local context. These individuals are able to explore and exploit, to their advantage, their knowledge of the indigenous orisa tradition in order to turn that tradition against itself. They draw upon the indigenous tradition’s pragmatic orientation – its emphasis on religion’s use value – but claim that indigenous beliefs and practices no longer have such use value because they no longer meet people’s needs. Thus these new movements often blame disorderly events – particularly those perceived to be obstructing societal progress – on the continuance of traditional orisa religious practices and ways of life, which are regarded as “pagan.” Among these events are pestilence, natural disaster, famine, disease (especially the AIDS epidemic), and military coups, all of which are seen as signs of divine anger and Satan’s presence. Paradoxically, whereas indigenous religions have claimed that they were indeed performing rituals, engaging in calendrical ceremonies and holding festivals to explain, predict, and control natural phenomena, the new Christian movements have claimed that destructive natural phenomena and events are caused by the continuation of these very “pagan” rituals and festivals. Evangelical Christianity’s desire to trump indigenous religious symbols and practices has effectively devolved into a declaration of hostility and war against indigenous traditions. As the cultured despisers of indigenous practices, these new Christian movements aim at doing away with any forms of local knowledge, language, and ethos, even when they do not have any apparent religious connection. For example, by discouraging the use of vernacular liturgy and local dialects, members of these new movements aim to preach a universal message that is ultimately of global, rather than purely local, reach.
MayorofLagos: Book Serial: Ile-Ife : City of 201 gods By Prof. Jacob Olupona
In The Pivot of the Four Quarters, Wheatley indicates that no place in sub-Saharan Africa has such cosmic significance as the Yoruba city of Ile-Ife. Known as the City of 201 (or 401) Gods, Ile-Ife is the base of the entire Yoruba civilization and culture, and its significance goes far beyond the immediate geographical and national boundaries of Nigeria. The religious culture of Ile-Ife has influenced the development and growth of new African religious movements as far off as Brazil, the Caribbean, and the United States. Ile-Ife, a city of about half a million, is situated at the geographical centre of the Yoruba city-states. To the west lies Ibadan, the largest city in sub-Saharan Africa, and to the east lies Ondo, gateway to the eastern Yoruba city-states. Ile-Ife is about two hundred kilometres from Lagos, which was Nigeria’s coastal capital city for over a century. Pre-eminent sacred place Unlike the political, commercial, and administrative cities of Ibadan and Lagos, contemporary Ile-Ife is a ceremonial city par excellence; like the cities of Banaras, Jerusalem, and Mecca, in the people’s imagination it is the preeminent sacred place, beyond the secular and profane.
I begin with Ile-Ife’s various sacred place names, because epithets vividly show the significance of sacred cities. Stephen Scully argues in his book Homer and the Sacred City that “human centers such as Troy are richly and complexly described through the epithets attached to them.” Citing an earlier study by Paolo Vivante, Scully contends that “city epithets, whenever they occur, bring out the essential aesthetics and contextual quality of place names.” These epithets serve “as a resource of power and a medium of signification in their own right.” They are “visual and concrete in nature, and thereby evocative of an essential and generic quality” of whatever they qualify. Ile-Ife’s inhabitants have conferred numerous sacred Yoruba names on their city. It has been called Ife Oodaye, “The Expansive Space Where the World Was Created,” referring to the cosmogonic myth asserting that ritual creation occurred in this very place, and as Ibi Oju Ti Mo Wa (Where the Day Dawns). In Yoruba creation myth, Ile-Ife is conceived of as the place where the sun rises and sets, the center of origin of the universe. Ile-Ife is also called Ife Ooye, the place of survival or the city of life, because, like Noah’s ark, it was a place of refuge from a primordial deluge that destroyed earlier settlements and left survivors to establish a new era. Various oral sources refer to Ile-Ife as the place where the 201 gods came down from heaven to live and interact with humans on earth. Quote: ” The unprecedented visit of an Ooni to Lagos was chilling to all the other Yoruba Oba, including the Alaafin of Oyo. Before this visit, it had been taboo for an Ooni to leave the city of lle-lfe. The other Yoruba Oba viewed the announcement of his journey with such great alarm and seriousness that they decided to vacate their palaces and stay outside their city for the duration of his visit until they could confirm his safe return.”
* in queen Salawa Abeni's voice* " Gentle lady ni mi, emi ki n se fighter oo, keni keni ma sin mi lo si iba ija"... *dancing fuji garbage style dance out of thread*..
In comparison with territories like Benin and Dahomey, various sources obtainable and accessible on the history of Oyo are quite sparse. The main source is always Johnson's History of the Yoruba (which some aspects have been countered by recent scholars), and this can be supplemented with other local histories, information recorded by Europeans along the coast, photo evidence, and a variety of oral traditions including oriki and Ifa verses. Even when the evidence is largely available, as it is for the late 18th and early 19th centuries, the exact chronology is still often difficult to retell. The only Europeans to have visited Oyo-Ile were Clapperton and the Lander brothers reported between 1826 and 1830. This was shortly before the town was deserted, and when the empire was already in sharp decline.
There is no credible evidence yet for when the kingdom was founded, the first four Alaafin listed by Johnson were probably mythical figures. Although Sango, the fourth Alaafin, is still worshipped as the Oyo divinity of thunder, and the cult had great spiritual and political importance. Sango is said to have had a Nupe mother. Oyo-lle itself lies in the far north of Yorubaland, not far from the Bariba and Nupe areas, and it is possible that the original rulers were replaced by a dynasty from Nupe. Therefore, the explanatory variables appear acceptable and somewhat convincing.
Let us now focus on the components of The Old Oyo Empire
The Oyomesi
The Oyo Mesi were seven principal councillors of the state. They constituted the Electoral Council and possessed legislative powers, similar to today's United States Congress. The Bashorun, Agbaakin, Samu, Alapini, Laguna, Akiniku and an Ashipa are the seven members of this council. They represented the voice of the nation and had the chief responsibility of protecting the interests of the empire. The Alaafin was required to take counsel with them whenever any important matter affecting the state occurs. Each man had a state duty to perform at court every morning and afternoon. Each mesi had a deputy whom they would send to the Alaafin if his absence was unavoidable.
The head of the council of Oyo Mesi, the Bashorun, consulted the Ifa oracle for approval from the gods. New alaafins of Oyo were seen as appointed by the gods. They were regarded as Ekeji Orisa. The Bashorun was a sort of prime minister. He had the final say on the nomination of the new Alaafin. The Oyo Mesi developed as a check on the Alaafin's power. The Bashorun's power rivalled that of the Alaafin. For example, the Bashorun orchestrated many religious festivals; in addition to being commander-in-chief of the army, this gave him considerable independent religious authority.
The Ogboni
The Oyo Mesi does not enjoy an absolute power or influence, and while the Oyo Mesi may wield political influence, the Ogboni represented the popular opinion backed by the authority of religion, and therefore the view of the Oyo Mesi could be moderated by the Ogboni. And most interestingly, there are checks and balances on the power of the Alaafin and the Oyo Mesi and thus no one is arrogated absolute power. The Ogboni was a very powerful secret society composed of freemen noted for their age, wisdom and importance in religious and political affairs. Its members enjoyed immense power over the common people due to their religious station. A testament to how widespread the institution was is the fact that there were Ogboni councils at nearly all sub-courts within Yorubaland. Aside from their duties in respect to the worship of the earth, they were responsible for judging any case dealing with the spilling of blood.[26] The leader of the Ogboni, the Oluwo, had the unqualified right of direct access to the Alaafin of Oyo on any matter.
Removing an Alaafin of Oyo
Chief among the responsibilities of the Bashorun was the all important festival of Orun. This religious divination, held every year, was to determine if the members of the Mesi still held favour with the Alafin. If the council decided on the disapproval of the Alaafin, the Bashorun presented the Alafin with an empty calabash, or parrot's egg as a sign that he must commit suicide. This was the only way to remove the Alaafin because he could not be legally deposed. Once given the parrot's egg, the Bashorun would proclaim, "the gods reject you, the people reject you, the earth rejects you." The Alaafin, his eldest son, and the Samu, his personal counsellor and a member of the Oyo Mesi all had to commit suicide in order to renew the government all together. The process and suicide ceremony took place during the Orun festival.
Military
There was a high degree of professionalism in the army of the Oyo Empire. Its military success was due in large part to its cavalry as well as the leadership and courage of Oyo officers and warriors. Because its main geographic focus was north of the forest, Oyo enjoyed easier farming and thus a steady growth in population. This contributed to Oyo's ability to consistently field a large force. There was also an entrenched military culture in Oyo where victory was obligatory and defeat carried the duty of committing suicide. This do-or-die policy no doubt contributed to the military aggressiveness of Oyo's generals.
Cavalry
The Oyo Empire was the only Yoruba state to adopt cavalry; it did so because most of its territory was in the northern savannah. The origin of the cavalry is disputed; however, the Nupe, Borgu and Hausa in neighbouring territories also used cavalry and may have had the same historical source. Oyo was able to purchase horses from the north and maintain them in metropolitan Oyo because of partial freedom from the tsetse fly. Cavalry was the long arm of the Oyo Empire. Late 16th and 17th century expeditions were composed entirely of cavalry. There were drawbacks to this. Oyo could not maintain its cavalry army in the south but could raid at will.
Cavalry in highly developed societies such as Oyo was divided into light and heavy. Heavy cavalry on larger imported horses was armed with heavy thrusting lances or spears and also with swords. Light cavalry on smaller indigenous ponies was armed with throwing spears or bows. Oyo's cavalry forces included not only nobles, the norm in West African warfare, but foreign slaves from the Hausa, Nupe and Bornu states.
Infantry
Infantry in the region around the Oyo Empire was uniform in both armour and armament. All infantry in the region carried shields, swords and lances of one type or another. Shields were four feet tall and two feet wide and made of elephant or ox hide. A 3-foot-long (0.91 m) heavy sword was the main armament for close combat. The Yoruba and their neighbours used triple barbed javelins which could be thrown accurately from about 30 paces.
Structure
The Oyo Empire, like many empires before it, used both local and tributary forces to expand its domains. The structure of the Oyo military prior to its imperial period was simple and closer aligned to the central government in metropolitan Oyo. This may have been fine in the 15th century when Oyo controlled only its heartland. But to make and maintain farther conquest, the structure underwent several changes.
The Eso
Oyo maintained a semi-standing army of specialist cavalry soldiers called the Eso or Esho. These were 70 junior war chiefs who were nominated by the Oyo Mesi and confirmed by the Alaafin of Oyo. The Eso were appointed for their military skill without regard to heritage and were led by the Are-Ona-Kakanfo.
After Oyo's return from exile, the post of Are-Ona-Kakanfo was established as the supreme military commander. He was required to live in a frontier province of great importance to keep an eye on the enemy and to keep him from usurping the government. During Oyo's imperial period, the Are-Ona-Kakanfo personally commanded the army in the field on all campaigns.
Metropolitan Army
Since the Are-Ona-Kakanfo could not reside near the capital, arrangements had to be made for the latter's protection in case of emergency. Forces inside metropolitan Oyo were commanded by the Bashorun, leading member of the Oyo Mesi. As stated earlier, Metropolitan Oyo was divided into six provinces divided evenly by a river. Provincial forces were thus grouped into two armies, under the Onikoyi and the Okere for the east and west side of the river respectively. Lesser war chiefs were known as Balogun, a title carried on by the soldiers of Oyo's successor state, Ibadan.
Tributary Army
Tributary leaders and provincial governors were responsible for collecting tribute and contributing troops under local generalship to the imperial army in times of emergency. Occasionally, tributary leaders would be ordered to attack neighbours even without the backing of the main imperial army. These forces were often utilized in Oyo's distant campaigns on the coast or against other states.
Ps: this has been carefully gathered from online sources including Wikipedia. — with Wasiu Olarewaju and Muyideen Salami
is lacking in the Yoruba states
, Jeje ni omo eko mi ma n lo..
