₦airaland Forum

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Omotorlani5007:
In an argument like this, you bring facts to prove your point if you have any contrary view to what the OP has written. yorubas will gladly embrace the traditional story from our benin brothers if only they come with facts not "argument" because yorubas are truly sophisticated. lastly, I need to ask any benin brother to tell us more about IFA oracle, the genesis of it, the first creature that used it because in yoruba we have answers to that and the last time I checked, benins have made claim to it...peace

That's because as with anything else in their history, they are conflicted in confusion. They mis-place IFA with EFA. See the following attachments about an interregnum between the Ogiso and Oba dynasties and what they say about EFA. Igodomigodo itself is only limited to the brief time Evian acted as place holder or in ACTING capacity to the throne, and does not correspond to a monarchy reign, but again, in their confusion, they equate igodomigodo with a reign.

Notice where it says also that both Yoruba and Edo know Oduduwa by name. So where did their confusded minds fabricate some Ekaladheran to be Oduduwa? Likewise, the EFA (which is a council similar to the Yoruba Ogboni) placed an SOS and cried for rescue from Ife. The Yoruba colonists in the second dynasty then recognised the indigenes by paying a levy for occupation of the land.

So if indeed it is true Ekhaladeran, a supposedly Edo indigene was borrowed or exiled to Ife and became ruler over there, and his descendants returned to their fatherland in the person of Oranmiyan or Eweka, enthroned as Oba, why the need to pay levy on a land that undisputedly their ancestors once ruled over? There is a gap in Edo story.

Anyway, these papers are open for Edos interested to challenge it. Areafada2, please have a field day with this work of scholarship. I have many more revelations to bring....Im only playing it wise. We will conclusively lay your fables to rest and bury it permanently with the materials I will be releasing at stages on this thread. Start defending your claims against the facts stated in this book, your arguments on popularity and map will not help you against the tide of facts and truths exposed here.

"Ifa, the voice of the people."
I like that!

Nice analysis and social commentary. I hope the afobajes in Akure hear this message and act. It applies equally to all urban centers of the Yoruba commonwealth.

Thanks for bringing this.

Why is Ooni of Ife staying in Eko Hotels, a public residential unit?

Can any of the Ife custodians please explain?

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It has become a pastime for people of Edo to challenge the origin of their Supreme Monarch, Oba of Benin.

There are many historical accounts on line dating back to centuries and archived as records of:
1. Bini myths
2. Oral accounts of Benin palace
3. Written narrations of Portuguese traders in contact with Benin people
4. Accounts of British colonialists

and then followed by academic works of:
Archaeologists
Historians
Linguists
Investigative scientists
Museum curators
Writers and Authors


In the following I share with you an article that attempts to summarize the beginning and institutionalizing of the Benin throne, starting with the root of Ogiso as a Yoruba dynasty originating from Ile Ife, their station in Udo, their conquest of Edo and ruling over the Edos in the beginning, their invitation of Oranmiyan from Ife, the deletion of first dynasty Ogiso and establishment of a second dynasty Oba to continue the rulership.

Igodo, a popular label by Edos is reference to Udo, a settlement between Ife and Benin, where the first Monarchs were based before moving to Benin.

This article is a collection, a summary taken from many books and sources, all in agreement that Edos historically did not have a monarchy system. Monarchy was forced on them first by Ogiso and second by Oba dynasties. Both dynasties originated from Ile Ife.

Please pay attention to the reference list, it is vast and deep and also broad. If you have the interest get some of these referenced books and read.

I took the pain to add the long list of references so the authenticity of this article is not questioned.

YonkijiSappo:
Well, you have a right to your own beliefs and opinions.
But Hausas and Yorubas to me, aren't that close. Maybe you are talking about CERTAIN groups within the Yoruba fold like Northern oyos and some Igbominas having some elements of northern affinity, especially and mostly with Nupe and not even really Hausas. Due to hundreds of years of living in close proximity, similar life views in general, certain similarities in aspects of their cultures, and so forth.

But if you visit some other Yoruba people groups like Ondo, Ilaje or those of Ketu in Benin ~ Those of Ife or Ekitis, you would realize that sometimes, the cultural distance between both groups can be like night and day.
Nice submissions by the way.

What happened to the Hausas in their invasion by Fulani is truly a large scale tragedy. All their traditional and customary divinities and beliefs were erased and replaced with Islamic doctrines.
Today the Hausa has no other God but the one given to it by Islam. Their indigenous divinities are all wiped out.

This explains why you disagree with me on the similarity. You are comparing a spiritual Yoruba with an Islanic Hausa, of course there will be no common ground. Compare spiritual Yoruba with spiritual Hausa and you will be surprised.

Ersan:
Arewa-North
Yamma-west
Gabas-East
Kudu-South

Yes, I get what you are saying.

In the ancient times people navigated using the Sun and the North Star. Travellers on animal and on the high sea use the Sun to find bearings and direction of travel during daytime, but in the pitch of darkness when the Sun has retreated they depended on the North Star for guidance.

In addition to that, there are other esoteric powers associated with the Star and it is believed that the night sky is a reminisce of the primordial space, dark, empty and without knowledge, it is a dimension in which dark energies project with strength. The Star is the enlightenement of souls. If you see the Star and follow it you can remove darkness, emptiness and you gain tremendous knowledge and control over the energy of darkness.

Beside having it as a naming convention for compass bearing and using it for political symbolism I am not sure Hausas have any spiritual meaning attached to it, as do, largely, the Yorubas.

YonkijiSappo:
but why are you posting those notes and other pictures in this thread when according to your own posts and external sources, the symbol is ubiquitous.
Why not create a separate thread for the expression of the symbol in yoruba motifs and designs, or just Africa in general?

I dont know the reason behind why the OP opened this thread. Hausa/Fulani and Yoruba are both in close proximity in all aspects of commerce, culture, rituals, customs and, if you remove the borrowed culture and religion of Islam and Christiany, we share belief systems as well. My response and highlights are given in this flavor so as to dispell and kill the suggestion and thought that the Eternal Knot is a symbol originally with Hausa but later donated to Yoruba.

There should at no time be a cultural competition between Yoruba and Hausa at all, we have so much in common that the line indeed is very thin between what is Yoruba and what is Hausa.

The Fulani is a foreigner and they met us here.

Suicide has become a stunt for gaining fame and attention.

The first step in this is to have States and LGs conduct referendum votes so indigenes and citizens can vote to indicate willingness to admit foreigners to graze cattle on their land.

bantudra:
they are cursing their own selfs...you can not drive away people from their ancestoral land and await everything will be okay with lagos.....

Ancestral land ke? Otodo Gbame is ancestral land to who?

Here are more collections...

Jagaban wears a single strand of the symbol on his hat.

It is popular to wear it on head covering or on the chest to signify illumination to those parts of being.

Here is a gallery of AREWA on the staff of Orisha Oko and as well on Crowns.

Similarly on the Aare Crown, carried here by the Ooni, the Priest King of the Yorubas, the symbol is blazoned, as a continuum, on one side. The Crown is placed on Ooni's head only once a year.

This Crown is the essence of covenant in Yoruba Sovereingty. Allegiance is given to it from all other beaded crowns on the land. This Crown has been with us for mutiple centuries.

The North Star is not only a beacon, it is a function of spirit in the divinities of Yorubaland.

So I can't understand why a Northerner would say Yoruba copied the eternal knot from them. That shows lack of cultural knowledge and understanding.

The greetings amongst initiates of Awo (Yoruba cults) is "Aboru boye, Aboye bo Isise".

In the Egyptian Esoteric, Horus and Isis were both deities dedicated to celestial representation. Akhenaten built a temple for worship of the sky illumination.

The Isise cult of the Yorubas use the North Star symbol, or Arewa, on their hats. This symbolizes an attraction of divine illumination to the Ori (head).

An article on Solomon's Knot in wiki.

Leo Frobenius, the famous German Anthropologist who entered Africa from Carthage (Libya), crossed the desert and explored the sub-Saharan cultures and history had a lot to say and share about the Yorubas.

Among the many items he found historically significant and worth preserving are items of clothing containing "Solomon's Knot".

Why is it called Solomon's knot? I will share later.

The first picture is the symbol in its primal state, used by the cult.

The second is a multiple, used for styling.

The third is the Christian version, the knot is super-imposed on the cardinal cross.


The third one is the version adopted by Ahmadu Bello for use as political symbol for Northern Region. I know the word cross or christian symbol might make the Hausa/Fulani uncomfortable but I want to share that the cross itself predated Christianity. Christians did not invent the cross, they adopted it. The Cross as an object can be classified as a symbol of universal application. It belongs to no one and can be used by everyone, Muslims included! In fact, a part of the Staff of Authority used in the Sultanate and Emirates has a cross on it, and is not in recognition of Christianity.

Olu,
Its nice to see you again. Your contributions in the discussion on Yoruba origin was very informative and I took some lessons from your input. Thanks!

If I may expand a little bit I will start with the origin of the Eternal Knot itself. How did it become a symbol of ritual with the Yorubas and why do we celebrate or idolize the North Star?

The first writing about the North Star was in the story of Jesus' birth in Nazareth and the appearance of the "three wise men" guided in by the North Star.

The three wise men were priests and worshippers of Celestial Illumination, primarily, North Star.

The interpretation of their presence in Nazareth is that they observed a change in the Star and divined to find meaning. Divination revealed that a king is born. They appeased through divination and offerings for the Star to guide them to the king. This is how they ended up in the manger where Jesus was born.

This would show that a spirituality of deity worshipping and celestial cults existed in Palestine and Jerusalem in the midst of Judaism and ahead of Christianity and Islam.

Who were those that practiced this spirituality?

I saw a mention about this ETERNAL KNOT in another topic discussing cross-cultural influences between Yoruba and Hausa/Fulani. I figured my contribution will be best appreciated here, under the subject, than anywhere else.

I will precede with pictures and then follow it up with the significance of AREWA to the Yoruba.

I say AREWA because the term itself is Yoruba and a denotion of the celestial bearing of the Norh Star. The eternal knot is the symbol Yorubas use to ritualize the North Star, which in our language is called AREWA.

Beautiful!

From the styling and composition of the article, this is a rushed submission. The material is in bad taste, not one befitting for the Ijebu people.

I urge the author or OP to modify and give it a befitting content.

You guys abandoned the topic and drifted off on somethjng completely different.

On the topic itself and the other tangents of discussion, the truth of the matter is that West Africa is partitioned, CULTURALLY, into two regions:

1. The Sudan
2. The Guinea

All the people of Sudan belt have a common mode of dressing, similar music and rhythym, similar food and sometimes rituals and system of rulership is similar. Their ways is distinct and different from that of the indigeneous Guineans.

Geographically, West Africa contains

1. Sahara
2. Sahel
3. Savannah
4. Riverine Forest
5. Swampy Forest

The 1, 2 and 3 are the Sudan Cultural Belt, and 4 and 5 are the Guinea Cultural Belt.

Yoruba is divided into both Sudan and Guinea but 70% of Yorubaland is Savannah and in the Sudan.

Traditionally, the mode of dressing for Yoruba women of the Savannah is consistent with the mode of dressing for all women of the Sudan. Therefore there is nothing missing in the cultural mode of dressing amongst Yoruba women, Fulani women, Hausa Women, Nupe Women, Kanuri women. THE SAME PRINCIPLE APPLIES TO MEN. The only difference in physical appearance will be the styling.

It is good to acknowledge that West Africans are socially ingenious and progressive. This is evident when you look and compare pictures taken sixty years ago and compare with today.

Yorubas should be proud of being the pioneers that lead the social evolution in fashion and socialization across the Sudan. This mode of dressing has spread beyond Nigeria and became the standard of Beauty and ELEGANCE of the African woman.

Kirigidi:
The collapse of the "Ogiso Dynasty" of the ancient "Aka Kingdom" was brought about by two major factors, namely: [1] Succession disputes among stakeholders, and [2] Distrust among the diverse inhabitants of the kingdom. Remember! The leadership structure of the "Ogiso Dynasty" was quite different from that of the later established "Oba Dynasty". In the Oba Dynasty, succession to the throne is by inheritance by the first son of the last Oba, while during the Ogiso era, succession to the royal throne is majorly by seniority and competence. In addition, the Ogiso kingship position was often rotated among the different quarters/ people that make up the kingdom. Among these different stakeholders who make up the Aka Kingdom in the ancient past and among whom the headship of the Ogiso throne is rotated are the Urhobo-Isokos, the Ishans, the Ikas [Agbor] and the aboriginal Akas [ancestors of the Binis]. It may interest you to know that the migration of many of the Urhobo-Isoko clans to their present locations took place during the Ogiso era between 700AD and 980AD when the ancient kingdom was still known as "AKA", and several of these migrations were triggered by succession disputes and disagreement with neighbors. The Ogiso era migration explains why my people [the Urhobo-Isoko] are more conversant and familiar with the history of the Ogisos and ancient Aka kingdom than they are with the later established Oba dynasty and Benin kingdom. This is because by the time the Oba Dynasty was introduced, the ancestors of many of the Urhobo-Isoko clans have already left AKA KINGDOM to settle in the Delta region. In short up til date, the Urhobo-Isoko still call the Binis who inherited the land, the ancient name "AKA" [note that the name AKA mainly refers to the land ruled by the OGISO and it's used as name for any present day inhabitants of the land]. The later name "Benin" sometimes sounds strange to my people when mentioned because my much of our ancestors have left that territory before the change of the name from "AKA" to "BENIN". Urhobo-Isoko history and folklore are always full of stories of the hale days/ glory of the Ogiso era, but only little about the Oba era. It is worthy of note that the Urhobo-Isoko were major and active stakeholders in the government of the Ogisos, and some of these Ogisos were in fact Urhobo-Isoko in origin. One of such Urhobo-Isoko born Ogisos was "Ogiso Ere" who was later deposed and migrated with his followers to establish the Urhobo kingdom of Ughelli in about the 9th century. Another was "Ogiso Ekpuigho". In summary, succession disputes were frequent during the Ogiso Dynasty as different quarters claimed rights to the throne whenever a new Ogiso is to be crowned, and such disputes sometimes resulted in civil unrests and crises during which dissatisfied stakeholders fled or migrated out to form new settlements elsewhere. Such series of succession and distrust among Udo inhabitants came to a breaking point following the death of the last Ogiso of Aka Kingdom called "Owodo" whose only surviving male child "Ekaladerhan" was banished from Udo the capital and later found himself in Ile-Ife. . And as such, different parties battled for the vacant throne. This created a sort of civil war scenario leading to mass exodus of peoples from the kingdom particularly from the capital "Udo". As a result, there was an interregnum which signaled [b]the final collapse of the Ogiso Dynasty and subsequent emergence of the Oba Dynasty.[/] Remember that even after the establishment of the Oba Dynasty at Igodomigodo [Benin City],the people of Udo [the former capital of the defunct AKA Kingdom] for several centuries refused to acknowledge, accept or recognize the over-lordship and authority of the Obas and continue to crowned their own separate kings until Udo land was later conquered during the reign of one of the powerful Obas.

You pictured a scenario in which two different peoples lived on the land and the Akas are the aborigines but subjects under the Urhobo/Isoko who owned the Ogiso throne.

Those who own throne also own and control the army.

For some strange reason, those who I expect to use their military might to sack those who rebel authority are in fact the ones getting sacked by the subjects underneath them...to a point where they lost the Ogisoship and all traces of it completely wiped out. This is an aberration and deviates from typical human story of social order and greatness.

Where did the Akas get Obaship from? How did it come about in the middle of a people previously without a throne or domain power?


Also, can you share what Ekaladeran, the son of a King, who couldnt protect his throne and land in Aka did in a strange land in Ile Ife?

Kirigidi:
You've already explained it! "Onicha Ado na Idu", translated in Edo language, simply mean "Onicha the Edo [Ado] of Benin [Idu]". This is a common appellation of self-hailing/ praise among peoples who migrated from the ancient lands of the OGISOS [present day Benin Kingdom]. For example, my town in Urhoboland used to hail themselves as "Ukori Edo ne Ubini", meaning "Ukori, the Edos of Benin". Know that the Ijaws, Yorubas and some other tribes call the Binis [Edo] "ADO". Also remember that the ancient kingdom of the Ogisos was known as AKA KINGDOM, and the capital was at UDO. IDU might be Igbos corrupt pronunciation of the name UDO, which was the capital of the Ogisos and where people of diverse origin converged under the protection and overlordship of the Ogiso kings. The present BENIN CITY which was at that time known as IGODOMIGODO was just an auxiliary settlement. The collapse of the Ogiso Dynasty triggered massive change of names; OGISO title was changed to OBA title, OGIDOMIGODO was renamed BENIN, capital of the kingdom was transferred from UDO to BENIN CITY, and the Empire's name was changed from AKA to EDO.

What were the precussor events to the collapse?