₦airaland Forum

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IFALENU:
Origins of IFÁ Tradition before Òrúnmìlà, Odùdúwà and ÒÒŞÀ, the Yoruba lost history
Òrúnmìlà Èlà mo yin Àború, Òrúnmìlà Èlà mo yin Àboyè, Òrúnmìlà Èlà mo yin
Àboşíşe
¡Ogbó, ató, àsúre, Ìwòrì wòfún. OLÓFIN á gbà é, BABA ODÙDÚWÀ á gbà é, ÒRÚNMÌLÀ ÈLÀ á gbà é!
– May You Have Long Life, with the Spiritual Blessing of Ifá Odù Ìwòrì Wòfún (Who Opens the Divine Portal of the Grace of OLÓDÙMARÈ), May the Blessing of OLÓFIN (Conscious Manifestation of GOD), Baba ODÙDÚWÀ, and ÒRÚNMÌLÀ ÈLÀ be upon you!
Aláàfia se a ni – May the Peace be with You! A Teaching by the Égún TATA G:. (A Spiritual Emissary Égún of de Baba Odùdúwà)

Origins of IFÁ Tradition before Òrúnmìlà, Odùdúwà and ÒÒŞÀ, the lost Yoruba history
This information comes from the a conversation with an Égún who is a Spiritual Emissary of Baba Odùdúwà, we wanted him to clarify some points about the history of Ifá, Òrúnmìlà an Baba Odùdúwà and ÒÒŞÀ Tradition. July 3, 2010, in Mexico. Baba Odùdúwà was born among an ancient lost tribe called the ARON, which was in the central part of the African continent, around 20,000 years ago. Baba Odùdúwà has confirmed this when he has come through his Elègún (Medium), around that time period, the Egyptian ancient civilization was also beginning. Odùdúwà was capture by the Egyptian army of those times, he was taken as a slave, later he became a slave warrior in the Egyptian army. He was in the Egyptian army with his friend OGUN. Odùdúwà in his travels with the Egyptian army, went to a place, were he found the Sacred and Holy Rock of OLÓFIN, that event changed his life forever. The OLÓFIN sacred rock, that rock was a meteorite that fell on the African continent an ancient times. There was another Meteorite that fell, that left behind the OLOSI Rock, that was in another area of Africa.

Baba Odùdúwà became a famous warrior in Egypt, and then later he was liberated from slavery. Odùdúwà traveled east with Ògún, and along the way other disciples gathered. He returned to west looking for a promised land, until they found the land of OYO, in the actual area of Nigeria. When Baba Odùdúwà reaches that area he was with Ògún and other 15 Elders who were Omo Obàtálá, that was Odùdúwà with the 16 Elders. Odùdúwà and Ògún build the Yoruba kingdom, the 16 Elders became the 16 Kings, who ruled 16 lands in the Yoruba kingdom. Odùdúwà had the divine knowledge and self consecrated himself into the Mysteries of ÒÒŞÀ Tradition, because no one consecrated him to ÒÒŞÀ. Later he started to consecrate people to the ÒÒŞÀ tradition, one of the first ones was Ògún. At that time there was a Divine Decree from OLÓFIN (Conscious manifestation of God), where 400humans would reach a divine state on a kind of deity, called ÒRÌŞÀ. 200 severe ones, and 200 peaceful ones, plus ÒŞUN who came as an extra one to be included among the400, making them a total of 401 ÒRÌŞÀs. The ones who could reach that state of ÒRÌŞÀ, were the ones who had the ÒÒŞÀ Initiation on consecration, they had their ORÍ (head
–
Consciousness) open and scratched with a sacred Symbol. The ones who were consecrated and reach the merit level, when they departed from the earthly plane of manifestation became an ÒRÌŞÀ. The first one to reach that level of ÒRÌŞÀ at those times, was OGUN, the last one was OYA (the number 400), the ÒŞUN came and she was added as the 401 ÒRÌŞÀ, the smallest but the most closed to OLÓFIN’S Heart. Those 401 ÒRÌŞÀ’s corresponded the 401 IRUNMOLE Energies that make possible the manifestation of and ÒRÌŞÀ in different parts of the universe. ÒRÌŞÀ means an Ori (consciousness) open to the Divine.
Òrúnmìlà was originally called “Ódú” (different from his wife, Odù, the same three letters but different vowel intonation). Ódú was born in a near land closed to the Yorubaland. When he was born, he started to talk right away, he was a super special child, born from Yemaya (Yemoyale Asesu, the original road of the paths of Yemaya) when she had a relationship with Oshumare. The IFÁ Tradition began around 1,000 years ago before the birth of Òrúnmìlà. The IFÁ Tradition was a tradition of Wisdom, from a nomad group of people, who later establish themselves in the area of IFE. Ifá means Wisdom of Nature. The wisdom and knowledge they transmitted was proverbs, Wisdom stories, magic, ỌFỌ̀ ÀŞẸ (power words /Magical incantations). Òrúnmìlà received the transmission of the Ifá tradition, later he develop a method of Divination based on the Ifá knowledge and the knowledge of the16 Principles, the ÒÒŞÀ Oracle (that was earlier and more ancient than the Ifá oracle with the Ikin) Òrúnmìlà self consecrated himself as an AWO (Diviner) of IFÁ, he then started to consecrated people to the Ifá traditions. Òrúnmìlà became the first Awo Ifá. Òrúnmìlà made the Ifá Tradition famous. Òrúnmìlà meets Baba Odùdúwà, they both share knowledge they had and secrets, Odùdúwà shared the secrets of death and ÒÒŞÀ tradition, and Òrúnmìlà shared the Ifá tradition with Odùdúwà. Òrúnmìlà consecrated Baba Odùdúwà to Ifá. Òrúnmìlà was the first AWONI (The Awo-Diviner of the Oni-King). Before Baba Odùdúwà, there were ancient ÒRÌŞÀs like ESHU, who was worshiped and appeased by people. Other ÒRÌŞÀs before Odùdúwà came, were Agayu, Òsányìn and Nana Burunku. Baba Odùdúwà said some time ago, that the first traces of the ÒÒŞÀ Tradition were around 50,000 years ago. Around that time, Olókun was walking over the planet as a Living GOD. I was intrigue by this, and I asked Tata G:. about that, how was that possible, how it happened, and he said: OLÓKUN is an “IRÚNMOLÈ NLÁ” (A great Universal
Irúnmolè or Universal Divine Conscious Energy), he is like second in hierarchy to OLÓFIN (GOD), and Olókun it’s a kind of a GOD, that’s why he is not an ÉGÚN (Spirit) neither he is an ÒRÌŞÀ (Deity who before was human). OLÓKUN had the divine Power to do many things, he uses his power to manifest a human material body and walk among the humans, he was manifested as a Blue Man (the skin tone was Blue). Olókun after some time decides to spread his essence in the ocean, and he went to live at the bottom of the Ocean.
That’s why some people think that Olókun was an Égún, because he was able to manifest a material body, but he didn’t die, the just went underwater. When Baba Odùdúwà came, he had to make a pact with Olókun to save the surface of the planet Earth of Olókun and Agana Eri wrath. Agana Eri was a daughter of Olókun, very severe. This manifestation of Olókun is OLÓKUN AYÉ, the Olókun manifestation of the planet Earth. There is the Universal OLÓKUN who rules the deepness and darkness of space, OLÓKUN OBA ÒRÙN. (the other manifestations of Olókun are Olókun Aye, Ìrawo Olókun (Planet of Olókun, Neptune), Ìràwò Olókun (star of Olókun) ). OLÓKUN first manifested in creation, when OLÓFIN first manifested out of the Universal Neutral Energy we called OLÓDÙMARE, there was a kind of a vapor trail left behind, from that OLÓKUN also manifested himself as a conscious divine being. There are other points that we want to find more information, to have the whole story.

Awo IFALENU de ÈGBÈ ÓDÙN OLÓFIN
–

The Family of OLÓFIN’S Secret NOTE: PLEASE EXCUSE ANY MISTAKES IN THE TRANSLATION I DID, ITREY MY BEST, IF ANY ONE WANT TO HELP, PLEASE LET ME KNOW.

AWO IFALENU
ifalenu@yahoo.com [color=#006600][/color]
Facebook: Baba-ifalenu Oyekutekunda

BABA ODÙDÚWÀ`S YORUBA OLÓFIN TRADITION-ÈGBÉ ÓDÙN OLÓFIN
https://www./108007565914853/?fref=ts

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Complete rubbish.
Mixing Ifa symbolism to create historical occurrences.

Try again.

PhysicsQED:
@ Negro Ntns

Well Oramfe does really seem to be an alternate spelling of Aramfe mentioned in the text you linked to, so the accounts of Aramfe given there would also be part of the stories about Oramfe. It seems certain that they are the same, but whether the name is really Aramfe or really Oramfe isn't obvious and one of the two slightly different names may just be a dialect variation on the other original.

I can't tell you any more than the little that I've read about Oramfe, so if you want more in-depth information, perhaps speaking with someone besides yourself with a deep knowledge of Yoruba religion or history would be a good idea.

I've read that Oramfe was originally an actual person, who settled a dispute between Oduduwa and his rival Obatala or Orisa-nla (Oramfe acted as a mediator), was later invited to Ondo where he played some role in assisting the kingdom of Ondo, and then was later deified as the god of thunder. It's not clear (to me at least) whether he was a ruler of Ife that preceded both Obatala and Oduduwa to Ife or someone who came later than both, but he seems to have been a very important figure to be deified and to be held in high esteem in Ife. He is apparently known as the god of thunder in Ife, Ilesa, and Ondo, but not known outside of that area. That's a very brief summary of what I've pieced together from various sources, but there are more detailed studies of Oramfe that I have come across but haven't been able to access.

These are three studies of Oramfe:

"Oramfe: Salvation and Tradition among the Ondo-Yoruba" by Jacob Olupona

"Oramfe: myths, rituals of cosmization" by Jacob Olupona

"Mythical images, historical thought, and Ondo religion: the Oramfe myth as clue to Ondo-Yoruba identity" by Olatunde Lawuyi

If I could access these I would post the contents of these articles or detailed summaries but I can't. Sorry I don't have more information. As I said before, I just know who he is (a god of thunder and a mediator), but don't know what deeper significance he had originally or has today.

The emboldened is a fact.

Oramfe did play the role of mediator between Oduduwa and Obatala. He was the ruler of his domain which stretches from Ife General Hospital through Opa road.

His descendants occupy these places and their surname starts with 'Ora'. It could be Orafidodo, Orawande etc

He is the god of thunder, predating Sango.

God bless you for sharing facts as opposed to the mess everyone is making of Ife/Oduduwa era history.

DuduNegro:
Physics,

From what you shared, yes, there is no doubt that Aramfe/Oramfe are same individual. On the direct connection with Ondo, I will find the author's assertion questionable. It is great that many Yorubas are documenting the history of the land but it seems to me that in absence of a regulating authority to spot-check or review and authenticate what is written, writers are taking liberties to embellish the history of their lands, giving an account that is at cross-purpose with the authentic source in Ife.

The Yoruba states were derived subsequent to Oduduwa's reign and the seven were - Orangun, Popo, Sabe, Owu, Bini, Oyo and Ketu.

Ondo would be a much later founding as a result of settled influences from Orangun and Bini. There is no way Oduduwa or [b]Obatala, whether in their physical presence or by mythical narrations could have had direct parts in Ondo history. So I don't know how or where "Kingdom of Ondo" came about. [/b]These two authors - Olupona and Lawuyi cannot be taken to be authorities on the origins of Yoruba, they very well could be experts on Ondo history.

Actually, Obatala had direct part in Ugbo kingdom in Ondo. Except you meant Ondo kingdom itself?

Yoruba nlers liaise with Igbos a lot.

ok

9jacrip:
The emboldened is a fact.

Oramfe did play the role of mediator between Oduduwa and Obatala. He was the ruler of his domain which stretches from Ife General Hospital through Opa road.

His descendants occupy these places and their surname starts with 'Ora'. It could be Orafidodo, Orawande etc

He is the god of thunder, predating Sango.

God bless you for sharing facts as opposed to the mess everyone is making of Ife/Oduduwa era history.

Ilaje actually make reference to Aramufe as Deity of Thunder they also call him "Ajalorun"...is this a name Oramfe is known by in Ife?

macof:
Ilaje actually make reference to Aramufe as Deity of Thunder they also call him "Ajalorun"...is this a name Oramfe is known by in Ife?

This is new, I didn't know he is also known as Ajalorun or Aramufe.

Ndipe:
Did he even exist? What about this story that he descended from the sky?

This is the truth. Ododuwa was the heir apparent to the "sky king" (Ogiso) dynasty of Benin kingdom.
Ogie mean leader.
Iso mean sky.
Literally, mean leader from the sky.
Figuratively, mean heavenly designated or heavenly destined leader. In Edo, before the advent of Obaship as king, Ogiso was the title of the kings.

in a hypothetical likelihood of migration patterns, west to east would seem to predate east to west.

east to west most times occurs in response to west to east.


of course I could be wrong.

9jacrip:
This is new, I didn't know he is also known as Ajalorun or Aramufe.

Dialectic variations surely. .. but "Ajalorun" seems like a fitting oriki for Oramfe

NegroNtns:
@Post,

Have you heard about Oromo people? They are also called Oromifaa. Oduduwa did not come from Bini. Oduduwa came from Axum or Aksum in Ancient Abyssinia, known today as Ethiopia. The Oromifaa people are Cushites and their ancestral home is Aksum, they are in the Aramaic group of languages. They share a very similar culture with the Egyptians.

In fact it is believed that Aksum itself was settled by Jews escaping persecution from Egypt, they went on exodus and rested at Aksum as their final home. Of course this was at a time in their history when they did not even know where home was and wherever they found solace and hospitality, there was home.


Here are few pointers to draw on the background:

1. The Ife obelisk is considered an evidence of the spiritual connection between Ife and Aksum
2. The terra cotta of the Ife Head is seen as a production from different times but without doubt the creation of a single consciousness with cast heads excavated from tombs of the Kings in Memphis, Egypt.
3. Cults and Ritual practices are symmetrical between Ife and Egypt. Some of their deities bear resembling names (example - Yamm is the god of the sea in Egypt. Yemoja is the goddess of the sea in Yoruba)
4. Name semblance (example - Akhen ; Akin. Binis also share in this name semblance - Aken.)


Anyway, read more on these stuffs and the dots wil begin to connect for your understanding.

nice post but few corrections. . .
Oromo is name of the ethnic group and oromiifaa is their language i dont think they are called oromiiffa, that's just their language

Dnt be misled,the people that they call arabs then were blacks,the yarabawa/arab also knonw as yoruba,the present ones are invaders/overcomers,Ishmeal and his projenitors were all blacks down to prophet muhammad.

No2Atheism:
I hereby pronounce u alhaji and wife


- Ancient Egyptians are not Arabs

- Present day egyptians are mostly arabs because most the original egyptians were colonised by the arabs and their other jihadists. History shows that Arabs tend to kill and maim those that they colonised hence i am not suprised that population of the original egyptians has reduced drastically while that of the Arabs increased.

- It does not make sense for Oduduwa to be an Arab since there would be no need for him to fled Egypt.

- The logical thing is that Oduduwa's family came from the original inhabitants of either Egypt or Kush. And that they fled from the attacks of the Arab invaders, such that they ended up amongst the original aboriginal yoruba people.

- They people of Oduduwa and original aboriginal yoruba people then mixed and became the people now known as Yoruba.

--------------------------------

I have always said that both the Arabs and Europeans are simply brainwashing the Africans because for some reason it seems the Arabs and Europeans know something about the African Identity, that even the Africans themselves do not seem to know.

nguage:
How are we sure Oduduwa isn't like the Columbus of Yorubaland? What I am trying to say is that it is very possible that people already lived in that particular part before Oduduwa came from Ethiopia, Saudi-Arabia or wherever he came from. There has to be a reason he is regarded as the "father/founder," but what is that reason?
Was he the first to unite the people?
Was he the first King when the people decided to choose one?
Did he come from a "more developed" culture and thus was able to influence a lot of things in Yorubaland?

it is quite obvious that people had existed and lived in yorubaland prior to the arrival of odua. he is referred as the ancestor of the yorubs kings and not the entire yoruba race... it seems that his ability to unify the entire yoruba stock into a single cohesive fold was wat made him distinguished

ah! Yoruba people said that he failed from the sky,is anyone doubting that?

NegroNtns:
Have you heard about Oromo people? They are also called Oromifaa. Oduduwa did not come from Bini. Oduduwa came from Axum or Aksum in Ancient Abyssinia, known today as Ethiopia. The Oromifaa people are Cushites and their ancestral home is Aksum, they are in the Aramaic group of languages. They share a very similar culture with the Egyptians.

Axumities weren't Oromo. Axumities were Agaw/Semite/Beja/Afar and few others. The Oromos homeland during Axum were in southern Ethiopia and northern Kenya.

NegroNtns:
In fact it is believed that Aksum itself was settled by Jews escaping persecution from Egypt, they went on exodus and rested at Aksum as their final home. Of course this was at a time in their history when they did not even know where home was and wherever they found solace and hospitality, there was home.

Axumities weren't Jews. They were Cushitic/Yemenite.

NegroNtns:
@Post,

Have you heard about Oromo people? They are also called Oromifaa. Oduduwa did not come from Bini. Oduduwa came from Axum or Aksum in Ancient Abyssinia, known today as Ethiopia. The Oromifaa people are Cushites and their ancestral home is Aksum, they are in the Aramaic group of languages. They share a very similar culture with the Egyptians.

In fact it is believed that Aksum itself was settled by Jews escaping persecution from Egypt, they went on exodus and rested at Aksum as their final home. Of course this was at a time in their history when they did not even know where home was and wherever they found solace and hospitality, there was home.


Here are few pointers to draw on the background:

1. The Ife obelisk is considered an evidence of the spiritual connection between Ife and Aksum
2. The terra cotta of the Ife Head is seen as a production from different times but without doubt the creation of a single consciousness with cast heads excavated from tombs of the Kings in Memphis, Egypt.
3. Cults and Ritual practices are symmetrical between Ife and Egypt. Some of their deities bear resembling names (example - Yamm is the god of the sea in Egypt. Yemoja is the goddess of the sea in Yoruba)
4. Name semblance (example - Akhen ; Akin. Binis also share in this name semblance - Aken.)


Anyway, read more on these stuffs and the dots wil begin to connect for your understanding.

Hahahahaha... How long did the journey take him? Na leg or plane he use come? Na you be the pilot? So he came all the way from Axum passed many kingdoms and empires just for the purpose of dislodging the Igbo people/Obatala group he met and just to set up an Ife kingdom. Please common sense points to Benin city which existed before he came to present Ife. He came from Benin. It is as simple as that

nice and informative thread.

the SKY

SUNNYsparkle:
Hahahahaha... How long did the journey take him? Na leg or plane he use come? Na you be the pilot? So he came all the way from Axum passed many kingdoms and empires just for the purpose of dislodging the Igbo people/Obatala group he met and just to set up an Ife kingdom. Please common sense points to Benin city which existed before he came to present Ife. He came from Benin. It is as simple as that

LOL. So he came all the way from bini just to dislodge the Ugbo. How long did it take him to reach ife, train or leg?

Your sense is nothing common. Oduduwa has nothing to do with Bini. And Bini elders know this, but inferiority complex has finished them totally

Oduduwa came from oke-ora

Back in high school, my Yoruba teacher claimed that the immortal oduduwa descended from the sky with a big chain.... Some Yoruba scholars/historians also claimed that he fell from the sky.

Now, i see a different story.

Stumbles on this thread
I read from somewhere that O-dudu-wa means "he came out black", because his other siblings were fair skinned, like people from the east.

The several hundred dialects of Yoruba actually prove that they had been on ground well before an external unifying force came to preside over several communities.

Now, historically, not all Yoruba communities have any link with Oduduwa; an example is the Yagba (kabba) in Kogi state.

It may be important to also trace the link between the Igalas and the Yoruba's as they share some of their ancient names.

Example:
Igala (Akogwu) AND Yoruba (Akogun)
Both meaning the same thing: warrior

So much crap about dis topic. Now dis is it, Oduduwa was d first son of an ogiso in edo. D ogiso had a wife who was barren as at then and she also hated oduduwa. So 1day she lied to d ogiso dat oduduwa cursed her with barreness, d ogiso was very angry n he sentenced him 2 die in d evil forest, but d guards sent to kill him loved him because he was good 2 dem n dey also believed d queen lied against him, so dey told him 2 escape. He escape frm d forest n got 2 ondo wier he was stop by ondo river. Oduduwa crossed d river by air because of his powers and got 2 ife which was under siege. Will continue later

The rulers or kings were commonly known as Ogiso. Igodo, the first Ogiso, wielded much influence and gained popularity as a good ruler. He died after a long reign and was succeeded by Ere, his eldest son. In the 12th century, a great palace intrigue and battle for power erupted between the warrior crown prince Ekaladerhan son of the last Ogiso and his young paternal uncle. In anger over an oracle, Prince Ekaladerhan left the royal court with his warriors. When his old father the Ogiso died, the Ogiso dynasty was ended as the people and royal kingmakers preferred their king's son as natural next in line to rule.

The exiled Prince Ekaladerhan later became Izoduwa or Oduduwa the first Oni in uhe (ile ife). Oranmiyan, grand son of Oduduwa took up his abode in the palace built for him at Usama by the elders (now a coronation shrine). Soon after his arrival he married a beautiful lady, Erinmwinde, daughter of Osa-nego, was the ninth Enogie (Duke) of Ego, by whom he had a son. After some years residence here he called a meeting of the people and renounced his office, remarking that the country was a land of vexation, Ile-Ibinu (by which name the country was afterward known) and that only a child born, trained and educated in the arts and mysteries of the land could reign over the people. He caused his son born to him by Erinmwinde to be made King in his place, and returned to Yoruba land Ile-Ife. After some years in Ife, he left for Oyo, where he also left a son behind on leaving the place, and his son Ajaka ultimately became the first Alafin of Oyo of the present line, while Oranmiyan himself was reigning as Oni of Ife. Therefore, Oranmiyan of Ife, the father of Eweka I, the Oba of Benin, was also the father of Ajaka, the first Alafin of Oyo. Oni of Ife and Alafe of Oyo.

By the 15th century, Edo as a system of protected settlements expanded into a thriving city-state. In the 15th century, the twelfth Oba in line, Oba Ewuare the Great (1440–1473) would expand the city-state to an empire.

It was not until the 15th century during the reign of Oba Ewuare the Great that the kingdom's administrative centre, the city Ubinu, began to be known as Benin City by the Portuguese, and would later be adopted by the locals as well. Before then, due to the pronounced ethnic diversity at the kingdom's headquarters during the 15th century from the successes of Oba Ewuare, the earlier name ('Ubinu') by a tribe of the Edos was colloquially spoken as "Bini" by the mix of Itsekhiri, Esan, Ika, Ijaw Edo, Urhobo living together in the royal administrative centre of the kingdom. The Portuguese would write this down as Benin City. Though, farther Edo clans, such as the Itsekiris and the Urhobos still referred to the city as Ubini up till the late 19th century, as evidence implies.

Aside from Benin City, the system of rule of the Oba in his kingdom, even through the golden age of the kingdom, was still loosely based after the Ogiso dynasty, which was military and royal protection in exchange of use of resources and implementation of taxes paid to the royal administrative centre. Language and culture was not enforced but remained heterogeneous and localized according to each group within the kingdom, though a local "Enogie" (duke) was often appointed by the Oba for specified ethnic areas.


Oral tradition


Bronze plaque of Benin Warriors with ceremonial swords. 16th–18th centuries, Nigeria.
The first name of the Benin Empire, since its creation some time in the first millennium CE, was Igodomigodo, as called by its own inhabitants. Their ruler was called Ogiso.[3]

Nowadays, nearly 36 known Ogiso are accounted for as rulers of this first form of the state. According to the Edo oral tradition, during the reign of the last Ogiso, his son and heir apparent, Ekaladerhan, was banished from Igodomigodo as a result of one of the Queens having deliberately changed an oracle message to the Ogiso. Prince Ekaladerhan was a powerful warrior and well loved. On leaving Benin he travelled west to the land of the Yoruba where he reportedly became a king. Most Yoruba cultures and festival ethnics are now practiced by Edo such as Ishango, Ogun, Festac of Idia Mother of Oba Esigie of Benin. Also most foods of the Yoruba are now consumed by the Edo, such as Iyan, Eman, Usi, Ighiawo and Ogi

On the death of the last Ogiso, a group of Benin Chiefs led by Chief Oliha came to Ife, pleading with Oduduwa (The Ooni) to come reign as King in Igodomigodo (later known as Benin City in the 15th century during Oba Ewuare) to ascend the throne. Oduduwa's reply was that a ruler cannot leave his domain but he had seven sons and would ask one of them to go back to become the next king there.


An Edo figure from the reign of the oba Esigie (c. 1504-1550) Brooklyn Museum.
Eweka I was the first 'Oba' or king of the new dynasty after the end of the era of Ogiso. He changed the ancient name of Igodomigodo to Edo.

Centuries later, in 1440, Oba Ewuare, also known as Ewuare the Great, came to power and turned the city-state into an empire. It was only at this time that the administrative centre of the kingdom began to be referred to as Ubinu after the Itsekhiri word and corrupted to Bini by the Itsekhiri, Edo, Urhobo living together in the royal administrative centre of the kingdom. The Portuguese who arrived on expedition led by Joao Afonso de Aveiro in 1485 would refer to it as Benin and the centre would become known as Benin City and its empire Benin Empire.

The Ancient Benin Empire, as with the Oyo Empire which eventually gained political ascendancy over even Ile-Ife, gained political strength and ascendancy over much of what is now Mid-Western and Western Nigeria, with the Oyo Empire bordering it on the west, the Niger river on the east, and the northerly lands succumbing to Fulani Muslim invasion in the North. Interestingly, much of what is now known as Western Iboland and even Yorubaland was conquered by the Benin Kingdom in the late 19th century – Agbor (Ika), Akure, Owo and even the present day Lagos Island, which was named "Eko" meaning "War Camp" by the Bini.

Nowadays, scientists discovered out that the Edo people did not have a writing system, but their art work, had let the scientists discover their true history. Including the armor, magnificent drawing skills.


Golden Age


Benin city in the 17th century.
The Oba had become the mount of power within the region. Oba Ewuare, the first Golden Age Oba, is credited with turning Benin City into City States from a military fortress built by Ogiso, protected by moats and walls. It was from this bastion that he launched his military campaigns and began the expansion of the kingdom from the Edo-speaking heartlands.

Oba Ewuare was a direct descendant of Eweka I great grandson of Oduduwa, Oni of Ife.

princevinny:
So much crap about dis topic. Now dis is it, Oduduwa was d first son of an ogiso in edo. D ogiso had a wife who was barren as at then and she also hated oduduwa. So 1day she lied to d ogiso dat oduduwa cursed her with barreness, d ogiso was very angry n he sentenced him 2 die in d evil forest, but d guards sent to kill him loved him because he was good 2 dem n dey also believed d queen lied against him, so dey told him 2 escape. He escape frm d forest n got 2 ondo wier he was stop by ondo river. Oduduwa crossed d river by air because of his powers and got 2 ife which was under siege. Will continue later

oga please don't continue
@bold tho
first, there is no Ondo river, and Ondo didn't exist during the time of Oduduwa, Ondo was founded 300 years later
Ife was not under Siege. Please go inform yourself on Ife history - Oduduwa is from Oke-ora
Not only does oral tradition recognize Oke-ora as the earliest point of Oduduwa, Ooni collects the makeshift Ade oduduwa(the real one is in Idanre) at Ido signifying Oduduwa was the leader here before becoming Ooni. Ooni also receives the Aare crown at Oke-ora and Oduduwa shrine and resting place at Ido(populated by people from Oke-ora)

These connections are obvious proof that Oduduwa came from Oke-ora

princevinny:
So much crap about dis topic. Now dis is it, Oduduwa was d first son of an ogiso in edo. D ogiso had a wife who was barren as at then and she also hated oduduwa. So 1day she lied to d ogiso dat oduduwa cursed her with barreness, d ogiso was very angry n he sentenced him 2 die in d evil forest, but d guards sent to kill him loved him because he was good 2 dem n dey also believed d queen lied against him, so dey told him 2 escape. He escape frm d forest n got 2 ondo wier he was stop by ondo river. Oduduwa crossed d river by air because of his powers and got 2 ife which was under siege. Will continue later

You people are just too good in fabricating different stories. Now,Odua became hated because of Ogiso's wife who was barren? Come up with something different truthful.

princevinny:
So much crap about dis topic. Now dis is it, Oduduwa was d first son of an ogiso in edo. D ogiso had a wife who was barren as at then and she also hated oduduwa. So 1day she lied to d ogiso dat oduduwa cursed her with barreness, d ogiso was very angry n he sentenced him 2 die in d evil forest, but d guards sent to kill him loved him because he was good 2 dem n dey also believed d queen lied against him, so dey told him 2 escape. He escape frm d forest n got 2 ondo wier he was stop by ondo river. Oduduwa crossed d river by air because of his powers and got 2 ife which was under siege. Will continue later

You people are just too good in fabricating different stories. Now,Odua became hated because of Ogiso's wife who was barren? Come up with something different that is truthful. Else stop this assumptions.

tpia:
You do know truth can be relative- especially in Nigeria.

In the absence of written records, the most anyone can do is follow the language, culture, oral traditions and artistic trails. Then try to make informed (not hasty/mistaken) conclusions from available data.

Negro has made some interesting points. There does seem to be an Egyptian link which may not be peculiar to the Yoruba alone. However, I'm really of the opinion that Sudan is the smoking gun here.

The article you posted seemed to have a general idea about origins, but some of the specifics were kind of hard to swallow. Especially the Yoruba ones. However, the Urhobo roots do make sense, as far as the little I know.


Oral tradition all over Yorubaland verifies the fact that Oduduwa's descendants are the reigning monarchs of most major Yoruba towns. Bini only conquered some part of Lagos. The Portuguese met a Bini garrison there when they first landed, I think. The original owners of Lagos, however, are not the Bini but the Aworis (Yoruba).

I believe the Binis had lost their grip on Lagos by the time the British arrived. Binis also conquered some parts of Ondo state, but they were pushed back after some prolonged wars, and those areas reinstated their allegiance to Ife (kind of like Spain, Portugal and the Moorish invaders, imo). So its more like a tug of war between the Ife and Benin monarchs.

There was a book covering all these things in detail but I cant remember the name.

1. Please Black Africans should stop claiming to come from Egypt.. you are reducing your self worth.
2. There is nothing like Bini, it’s a description used by Yorubas.. it is Edo.
3. Edo conquered and ruled Eastern Yorubas and the rule ended when the British defeated Benin kingdom.
4. Benin kingdom founded Lagos. The Aworis were only at the outskirts of Lagos.

No2Atheism:
The Bini account sounds good to the extent that it starts to breakdown at the point of saying:

1. How did they know he was in Ife
2. Ogiso Owodo never migrated to yorubaland
3. There is no one known as Lamurudu in this equation.
4. Lamurudu is supposed to be the father of Oduduwa.
5. No one still has shown how and when the Bini version of Oduduwa got to Ife.
6. All I am seeing here is that Bini version just performed an historical time jump . . . from a Bini man one minute and Oduduwa the next minute.


Finally, is there an historical record of the interaction of the Bini version of Oduduwa has he was going from Bini to Ile-Ife . . . how the heck did he even know Ile-Ife to begin with in the first place. . .

If you open your mind you will realize that the only difference between this modern era and the past is technology. Now we have a better way of doing things. People and migration and communications never changed.

If you believe people can migrate from Sudan or Egypt then Ife is very close to Edo and word would have reached Edo people that a king of Ife speaks the Edo language and claimed to have come from Edo. I guess the Edo people would send emissaries to find out who this king is.