Please read this history piece without being biased

https://www.edoworld.net/The_Oduduwa_Controversy.html

charsoso:
Please read this history piece without being biased

https://www.edoworld.net/The_Oduduwa_Controversy.html

I don't know how you can share a biased piece and still ask people to read it without being biased.

RedboneSmith:


I don't know how you can share a biased piece and still ask people to read it without being biased.

Yes without being biased, simply means come up with a more logical aguement that can efficiently counter what had been presented by the historian, it's as simple as that

charsoso:


Yes without being biased, simply means come up with a more logical aguement that can efficiently counter what had been presented by the historian, it's as simple as that

Ok. Here goes.

First of all, I will have to point out that Naiwu Osahon is not a historian - the man has no advanced degree of any sort in any field of history. His LinkedIn page lists all sorts of esoteric titles: Hon. Khu Mkuu (whatever that means), Ameer Spiritual, etc. There's nothing anywhere to suggest that he is a professional historian or has ever published anything on history in a peer-reviewed academic journal. So I'm not going to be referring to him as a historian; I will be referring to him as the author.

1.The author claims the name 'Ife' comes from the Edo word 'Uhe' and means 'va.gina'. Okay, cool story. Considering the fact that Ife or Ufe is a common place-name across the Yoruboid world - from Igala (which speaks a Yoruboid language), to Okun area, to central Yoruba area and even all the way in Benin Republic - but does not occur even once in the Edo area as a place name, it is very easy to identify the Edocentricism in the author's claim. Also the Yoruba do have a Yoruba etymology for the name 'Ife', and I can think of at least one more etymology which matches the topography of the place-name. So your author was definitely incorrect when he claimed Ife to be a non-Yoruba word.

2. Then he went further to make the claim that Ifa rituals and ceremonies must involve Bini traditional faith custodians to be considered authentic. A historian would attach at least one good reference to this claim. There is a vast literature on Ifa. I mean, literally hundreds of books and academic papers have been written on Ifa. He could not bring one of this sources to support this claim? Now, even assuming that no scholar has explored that particular aspect of Ifa rituals, did he witness it himself? Or did he hear about it from a reliable person? A historian who understands the historical method would include that source and relevant details about them in a footnote. There's no such thing here. The author just throws in an unreferenced claim and quickly moved on. That's not scholarly. Again, the authors Edocentric bias is clear to see.

Anyway, on this Oduduwa-Ekaladerhan issue, if Edo historians (trained historians, not accidental ones, like Osahon) are objective and honest with themselves and are willing to apply strict historical methods to the story of Ekaladerhan, they will easily see how the original traditions about Ekaladerhan was deliberately distorted especially since 1970 and they will understand why it has happened.

1. I challenge you or anybody else to find a single account that predates the 1960s and 1970s where it was said that Ekaladerhan went to Ile-Ife or even had anything to do with Ile-Ife. The original story of Ekaladerhan was that he was the son of the last Ogiso Owodo; due to some unfortunate events, he had to flee from Benin; he went south and established himself at Ughoton. Years later, back home in Benin, it was found that Ekaladerhan's exile had been an unfortunate mistake or a malicious plot and an embassy was sent to bring him back. Ekaladerhan refused to return and even fought an army that was sent from Benin to forcibly bring him back. Ekaladerhan lived the rest of his life in Ughoton and died there.

This is the account you will find in all pre-1970 records of Benin history. From Ling Roth in 1903 to Egharevba in 1934 and all the subsequent editions of his work down to 1965. They all agree that Ekaladerhan went to Ughoton, lived the rest of his days there, never returned to Benin and certainly never went to Ife. Again, if you can find a single account from before 1965 that says Ekaladerhan went to Ife, I will immediately apologise for typing rubbish.

2. It was not until around 1970 that the claim of Ekaladerhan going to Ile-Ife surfaced for the first time in the writing of Osaren S. B. Omoregie. Omoregie's story is even different from the one told in Benin today, but it was the first recorded step in that direction. According to Omoregie, Ekaladerhan fled from Benin to Ughoton, then he fled again from Ughoton and wandered around until he came to Ile-Ife. In Ile-Ife, he was adopted into the royal family and adopted the name Omonoyan, which was corrupted to Oranmiyan. Ekaladerhan-now-Omonoyan returned from Ile-Ife to Benin to found the Oba dynasty. Cool story. But apparently, some people in Benin didn't think it was cool enough. Why make Ekaladerhan an adopted prince and a protege of a Yoruba kingdom when he could be a bonafide founding king of a Yoruba state and a pivotal figure not only in Edo history but in the history of all Yoruba as well? Greater Benin and all. So they decided to again change it a little bit.

3. Between 1971 and 1973, three Benin writers (Prince Edun Akenzua, D.U. Edebiri and Air Iyare) re-recrafted the story of Ekaladerhan. In the new account that emerged from their workshop, Ekaladerhan was not adopted into the Ife royal family. There was no royal family in Ife to adopt him. Ife had no king, so the natives accepted to make this prince their king. According to Iyare in 1973, on the day he was installed as the first Oba of Ife, he proclaimed in Edo language, "Ikpomwosa! Idoduwa!" which means "I thank God! I have chosen the path to greatness!" Idoduwa was then corrupted by the Yoruba to Oduduwa.

One can trace the pattern of changing of the Ekaladerhan story thus:-

Up to 1965: Ekaladerhan was a Benin prince who was exiled to Ughoton and died there.
In 1970: Ekaladerhan did not die in Ughoton. He went to Ile-Ife and became Oranmyian
Between 1971 and 1973: He went to Ile-Ife, but instead of becoming Oranmiyan, he became Oranmiyan's father Oduduwa.

Who knows what he will become 75 years from today.

I will like to add here that students of African history will do well to study a phenomenon known as the lost-heir theme or the exiled-heir theme. This phenomenon was discussed albeit not exhaustively by David Henige in his paper "Oral Tradition and Chronology".

In brief, the legend of the lost or exiled heir is used especially by pre-literate cultures to hide the fact that they have experienced a change in dynasty or that they have accepted a new line of foreign rulers. So instead of admitting that one dynasty has ended and a new foreign dynasty has come to power, many pre-literate societies will come up with the claim that the founder of the new dynasty is actually a prince from the old dynasty who got lost or was exiled, but has now returned to re-establish the rule of his fathers and thus ensure dynastic continuity. This phenomenon accounts for why preliterate African kingdoms appear to have far fewer successive dynasties than their counterparts in Europe and Asia. Historians have identified instances where this exiled-heir device was used in other African kingdoms like Buganda and Rwanda. Robin Law also suspects that the Bariba exile of the Alaafin of Oyo in the 16th century has been used to cleverly mask the fact that Oyo may have experienced a dynastic change at this period which probably brought in a line of Bariba Alaafin. This is exactly what Omoregie, Edebiri and Iyare did with the Eweka dynasty between 1970 and 1973. (By the way, I don't think this is the only time this device has been used in Benin tradition. It may have been used at least two other times - but let me not get into that.)

It is more than likely that the line of rulers that replaced the Ogiso in Benin was of Yoruba origin.

I was showing you guys Historical facts that Ife founded Igodomigodo Kingdom and Benin and all of you ran Away since Yesterday

Na so it shock you reach?

Even your regular Back up Choir boys from the SE. are all missing in action




Lagos is Yorubaland 100%

Founded by the Yoruba Awori

On top of all that it was Ife that Founded Benin


Yes I said It !!!!!


Ife founded Igodomigodo and Benin!!!!

Ogiso Obagodo who founded Igodomigodo Kingdom was an Ife man who was sent from Ife

He and his followers from Ife founded Igodomigodo!


When the Truth is on your Side God Almighty is on Your Side


Ife Founded Benin!!!!!


Oya!!
Wetin you want talk again !!
Deal with it!!!!

Cc Tao11

RedboneSmith:


Ok. Here goes.

First of all, I will have to point out that Naiwu Osahon is not a historian - the man has no advanced degree of any sort in any field of history. His LinkedIn page lists all sorts of esoteric titles: Hon. Khu Mkuu (whatever that means), Ameer Spiritual, etc. There's nothing anywhere to suggest that he is a professional historian or has ever published anything on history in a peer-reviewed academic journal. So I'm not going to be referring to him as a historian; I will be referring to him as the author.

1.The author claims the name 'Ife' comes from the Edo word 'Uhe' and means 'va.gina'. Okay, cool story. Considering the fact that Ife or Ufe is a common place-name across the Yoruboid world - from Igala (which speaks a Yoruboid language), to Okun area, to central Yoruba area and even all the way in Benin Republic - but does not occur even once in the Edo area as a place name, it is very easy to identify the Edocentricism in the author's claim. Also the Yoruba do have a Yoruba etymology for the name 'Ife', and I can think of at least one more etymology which matches the topography of the place-name. So your author was definitely incorrect when he claimed Ife to be a non-Yoruba word.

2. Then he went further to make the claim that Ifa rituals and ceremonies must involve Bini traditional faith custodians to be considered authentic. A historian would attach at least one good reference to this claim. There is a vast literature on Ifa. I mean, literally hundreds of books and academic papers have been written on Ifa. He could not bring one of this sources to support this claim? Now, even assuming that no scholar has explored that particular aspect of Ifa rituals, did he witness it himself? Or did he hear about it from a reliable person? A historian who understands the historical method would include that source and relevant details about them in a footnote. There's no such thing here. The author just throws in an unreferenced claim and quickly moved on. That's not scholarly. Again, the authors Edocentric bias is clear to see.

Anyway, on this Oduduwa-Ekaladerhan issue, if Edo historians (trained historians, not accidental ones, like Osahon) are objective and honest with themselves and are willing to apply strict historical methods to the story of Ekaladerhan, they will easily see how the original traditions about Ekaladerhan was deliberately distorted especially since 1970 and they will understand why it has happened.

1. I challenge you or anybody else to find a single account that predates the 1960s and 1970s where it was said that Ekaladerhan went to Ile-Ife or even had anything to do with Ile-Ife. The original story of Ekaladerhan was that he was the son of the last Ogiso Owodo; due to some unfortunate events, he had to flee from Benin; he went south and established himself at Ughoton. Years later, back home in Benin, it was found that Ekaladerhan's exile had been an unfortunate mistake or a malicious plot and an embassy was sent to bring him back. Ekaladerhan refused to return and even fought an army that was sent from Benin to forcibly bring him back. Ekaladerhan lived the rest of his life in Ughoton and died there.

This is the account you will find in all pre-1970 records of Benin history. From Ling Roth in 1903 to Egharevba in 1934 and all the subsequent editions of his work down to 1965. They all agree that Ekaladerhan went to Ughoton, lived the rest of his days there, never returned to Benin and certainly never went to Ife. Again, if you can find a single account from before 1965 that says Ekaladerhan went to Ife, I will immediately apologise for typing rubbish.

2. It was not until around 1970 that the claim of Ekaladerhan going to Ile-Ife surfaced for the first time in the writing of Osaren S. B. Omoregie. Omoregie's story is even different from the one told in Benin today, but it was the first recorded step in that direction. According to Omoregie, Ekaladerhan fled from Benin to Ughoton, then he fled again from Ughoton and wandered around until he came to Ile-Ife. In Ile-Ife, he was adopted into the royal family and adopted the name Omonoyan, which was corrupted to Oranmiyan. Ekaladerhan-now-Omonoyan returned from Ile-Ife to Benin to found the Oba dynasty. Cool story. But apparently, some people in Benin didn't think it was cool enough. Why make Ekaladerhan an adopted prince and a protege of a Yoruba kingdom when he could be a bonafide founding king of a Yoruba state and a pivotal figure not only in Edo history but in the history of all Yoruba as well? Greater Benin and all. So they decided to again change it a little bit.

3. Between 1971 and 1973, three Benin writers (Prince Edun Akenzua, D.U. Edebiri and Air Iyare) re-recrafted the story of Ekaladerhan. In the new account that emerged from their workshop, Ekaladerhan was not adopted into the Ife royal family. There was no royal family in Ife to adopt him. Ife had no king, so the natives accepted to make this prince their king. According to Iyare in 1973, on the day he was installed as the first Oba of Ife, he proclaimed in Edo language, "Ikpomwosa! Idoduwa!" which means "I thank God! I have chosen the path to greatness!" Idoduwa was then corrupted by the Yoruba to Oduduwa.

One can trace the pattern of changing of the Ekaladerhan story thus:-

Up to 1965: Ekaladerhan was a Benin prince who was exiled to Ughoton and died there.
In 1970: Ekaladerhan did not die in Ughoton. He went to Ile-Ife and became Oranmyian
Between 1971 and 1973: He went to Ile-Ife, but instead of becoming Oranmiyan, he became Oranmiyan's father Oduduwa.

Who knows what he will become 75 years from today.

I will like to add here that students of African history will do well to study a phenomenon known as the lost-heir theme or the exiled-heir theme. This phenomenon was discussed albeit not exhaustively by David Henige in his paper "Oral Tradition and Chronology".

In brief, the legend of the lost or exiled heir is used especially by pre-literate cultures to hide the fact that they have experienced a change in dynasty or that they have accepted a new line of foreign rulers. So instead of admitting that one dynasty has ended and a new foreign dynasty has come to power, many pre-literate societies will come up with the claim that the founder of the new dynasty is actually a prince from the old dynasty who got lost or was exiled, but has now returned to re-establish the rule of his fathers and thus ensure dynastic continuity. This phenomenon accounts for why preliterate African kingdoms appear to have far fewer successive dynasties than their counterparts in Europe and Asia. Historians have identified instances where this exiled-heir device was used in other African kingdoms like Buganda and Rwanda. Robin Law also suspects that the Bariba exile of the Alaafin of Oyo in the 16th century has been used to cleverly mask the fact that Oyo may have experienced a dynastic change at this period which probably brought in a line of Bariba Alaafin. This is exactly what Omoregie, Edebiri and Iyare did with the Eweka dynasty between 1970 and 1973. (By the way, I don't think this is the only time this device has been used in Benin tradition. It may have been used at least two other times - but let me not get into that.)

It is more than likely that the line of rulers that replaced the Ogiso in Benin was of Yoruba origin.

Interesting points

RedboneSmith:


Ok. Here goes.

First of all, I will have to point out that Naiwu Osahon is not a historian - the man has no advanced degree of any sort in any field of history. His LinkedIn page lists all sorts of esoteric titles: Hon. Khu Mkuu (whatever that means), Ameer Spiritual, etc. There's nothing anywhere to suggest that he is a professional historian or has ever published anything on history in a peer-reviewed academic journal. So I'm not going to be referring to him as a historian; I will be referring to him as the author.

1.The author claims the name 'Ife' comes from the Edo word 'Uhe' and means 'va.gina'. Okay, cool story. Considering the fact that Ife or Ufe is a common place-name across the Yoruboid world - from Igala (which speaks a Yoruboid language), to Okun area, to central Yoruba area and even all the way in Benin Republic - but does not occur even once in the Edo area as a place name, it is very easy to identify the Edocentricism in the author's claim. Also the Yoruba do have a Yoruba etymology for the name 'Ife', and I can think of at least one more etymology which matches the topography of the place-name. So your author was definitely incorrect when he claimed Ife to be a non-Yoruba word.

2. Then he went further to make the claim that Ifa rituals and ceremonies must involve Bini traditional faith custodians to be considered authentic. A historian would attach at least one good reference to this claim. There is a vast literature on Ifa. I mean, literally hundreds of books and academic papers have been written on Ifa. He could not bring one of this sources to support this claim? Now, even assuming that no scholar has explored that particular aspect of Ifa rituals, did he witness it himself? Or did he hear about it from a reliable person? A historian who understands the historical method would include that source and relevant details about them in a footnote. There's no such thing here. The author just throws in an unreferenced claim and quickly moved on. That's not scholarly. Again, the authors Edocentric bias is clear to see.

Anyway, on this Oduduwa-Ekaladerhan issue, if Edo historians (trained historians, not accidental ones, like Osahon) are objective and honest with themselves and are willing to apply strict historical methods to the story of Ekaladerhan, they will easily see how the original traditions about Ekaladerhan was deliberately distorted especially since 1970 and they will understand why it has happened.

1. I challenge you or anybody else to find a single account that predates the 1960s and 1970s where it was said that Ekaladerhan went to Ile-Ife or even had anything to do with Ile-Ife. The original story of Ekaladerhan was that he was the son of the last Ogiso Owodo; due to some unfortunate events, he had to flee from Benin; he went south and established himself at Ughoton. Years later, back home in Benin, it was found that Ekaladerhan's exile had been an unfortunate mistake or a malicious plot and an embassy was sent to bring him back. Ekaladerhan refused to return and even fought an army that was sent from Benin to forcibly bring him back. Ekaladerhan lived the rest of his life in Ughoton and died there.

This is the account you will find in all pre-1970 records of Benin history. From Ling Roth in 1903 to Egharevba in 1934 and all the subsequent editions of his work down to 1965. They all agree that Ekaladerhan went to Ughoton, lived the rest of his days there, never returned to Benin and certainly never went to Ife. Again, if you can find a single account from before 1965 that says Ekaladerhan went to Ife, I will immediately apologise for typing rubbish.

2. It was not until around 1970 that the claim of Ekaladerhan going to Ile-Ife surfaced for the first time in the writing of Osaren S. B. Omoregie. Omoregie's story is even different from the one told in Benin today, but it was the first recorded step in that direction. According to Omoregie, Ekaladerhan fled from Benin to Ughoton, then he fled again from Ughoton and wandered around until he came to Ile-Ife. In Ile-Ife, he was adopted into the royal family and adopted the name Omonoyan, which was corrupted to Oranmiyan. Ekaladerhan-now-Omonoyan returned from Ile-Ife to Benin to found the Oba dynasty. Cool story. But apparently, some people in Benin didn't think it was cool enough. Why make Ekaladerhan an adopted prince and a protege of a Yoruba kingdom when he could be a bonafide founding king of a Yoruba state and a pivotal figure not only in Edo history but in the history of all Yoruba as well? Greater Benin and all. So they decided to again change it a little bit.

3. Between 1971 and 1973, three Benin writers (Prince Edun Akenzua, D.U. Edebiri and Air Iyare) re-recrafted the story of Ekaladerhan. In the new account that emerged from their workshop, Ekaladerhan was not adopted into the Ife royal family. There was no royal family in Ife to adopt him. Ife had no king, so the natives accepted to make this prince their king. According to Iyare in 1973, on the day he was installed as the first Oba of Ife, he proclaimed in Edo language, "Ikpomwosa! Idoduwa!" which means "I thank God! I have chosen the path to greatness!" Idoduwa was then corrupted by the Yoruba to Oduduwa.

One can trace the pattern of changing of the Ekaladerhan story thus:-

Up to 1965: Ekaladerhan was a Benin prince who was exiled to Ughoton and died there.
In 1970: Ekaladerhan did not die in Ughoton. He went to Ile-Ife and became Oranmyian
Between 1971 and 1973: He went to Ile-Ife, but instead of becoming Oranmiyan, he became Oranmiyan's father Oduduwa.

Who knows what he will become 75 years from today.

I will like to add here that students of African history will do well to study a phenomenon known as the lost-heir theme or the exiled-heir theme. This phenomenon was discussed albeit not exhaustively by David Henige in his paper "Oral Tradition and Chronology".

In brief, the legend of the lost or exiled heir is used especially by pre-literate cultures to hide the fact that they have experienced a change in dynasty or that they have accepted a new line of foreign rulers. So instead of admitting that one dynasty has ended and a new foreign dynasty has come to power, many pre-literate societies will come up with the claim that the founder of the new dynasty is actually a prince from the old dynasty who got lost or was exiled, but has now returned to re-establish the rule of his fathers and thus ensure dynastic continuity. This phenomenon accounts for why preliterate African kingdoms appear to have far fewer successive dynasties than their counterparts in Europe and Asia. Historians have identified instances where this exiled-heir device was used in other African kingdoms like Buganda and Rwanda. Robin Law also suspects that the Bariba exile of the Alaafin of Oyo in the 16th century has been used to cleverly mask the fact that Oyo may have experienced a dynastic change at this period which probably brought in a line of Bariba Alaafin. This is exactly what Omoregie, Edebiri and Iyare did with the Eweka dynasty between 1970 and 1973. (By the way, I don't think this is the only time this device has been used in Benin tradition. It may have been used at least two other times - but let me not get into that.)

It is more than likely that the line of rulers that replaced the Ogiso in Benin was of Yoruba origin.

Nice constructive criticism.
However, i guess you are aware just as there are loopholes in the Benin versions of Oduduwa's history, there are also loopholes in the Yoruba's history of Oduduwa.
Infact the Benins version may seem to some people more credible because the story of Oduduwa coming all the way from Egypt or that he climbed down from the sky using a chain is at best ridiculous tales.

Also, most of the early Nigerian historians who wrote on the History of Benin and Ife were Yorubas.
Their conflict of interest was very obvious in their works. The half-truths in their works were beginning to pass off as facts before some Benins started countering them and writing their own versions.