₦airaland Forum

How do u define power. Can the so called iyas build an aeroplane,can the build bridges or even vehicles.what have they contributed to the progress of the Yoruba race.Nothing!!!

The throne is highly demonic and fertish

Big up to whoever wrote this.... I learnt so much reading this, wish there were more post like this making it to front page, I really enjoy this write up, now I understand somethings better

olaolaking:
No! Not alive. But I think they make her die in a spiritual way. She goes to sleep and she will not wake up again.
But. If they choose me to become Alaafin, I no go green. My mum doesn't deserve to die when I become so important

bro u get am,if my son is choosen i will reject it but if d boy accept na to turn church to my house be dat,make dem no kill me

What power when you are nothing but a concubine of an illiterate primitive polygamist?

Any powerful woman will not subject herself in 2017 as a sexual animal to a goat who marries many humans to share his bed.

The fact you are one of many sexual object means you are powerless!

nonsense 6th century tradition!

Eight powerful witch u meant to say?

obowunmi:
You can't be normal sir.

Neither are the noble holy mothers you praise who devote their life to tradition. I am no different. I am Ejiogbe. Ase, Love Sango

Rubbish... mere human beings ......
No one is to be worshipped except THE GOD OF HEAVEN .. THE ALMIGHTY GOD

Pgent1:
Big up to whoever wrote this.... I learnt so much reading this, wish there were more post like this making it to front page, I really enjoy this write up, now I understand somethings better

not you alone
never knew yoruba and the alafin in particular have such a rich cultural heritage like this and it is even astonishing that they have kept it sacred and preserved it up till date

Nice write up... @seun please nairaland needs more emojis

This is some really educative stuff! Yoruba and their rich culture but e nor go easy to dey the Oba position sha

OBAGADAFFI:
The Eight Most Powerful Women Inside The Aláàfin Of Ọyọ’s Palace That You Never Heard Of, They Are The Real Powers Behind The Throne And Are So Powerful The King Calls One Of Them BABA
BY · OCTOBER 12, 2017

The Aláàfin Of Ọyọ, His Majesty, Kabiyesi Alaiyeluwa Ọba Dr. Làmídì Ọláyíwọlá Atanda Adéyẹmí III sits on a throne that is older than that of the British monarch. Among the Yorubas, women occupy a very respected position and they are involved at every level of administration in the society. The outstanding civilization of the Yorubas over time is seen in the royal court of the Oyo Empire.

In Yorubaland, a woman can aspire to the highest position in anything she desires and this has been the practice for thousands of years. The role of the female in the traditional Yoruba society is so deeply embedded that no major policy can be implemented or decision made without involving the women.

Women in Yorubaland are so incredibly influential that they control the economy by holding an unshakeable sway over the markets, social events and commercial activities. This is very obvious in the emergence of roles such as those of the Iyalaje, Iyalode and Iyaloja. Even in the occult, the women are still at the very top of the pyramid, the powerful Ogboni cult cannot make any decision without the Palace Mother giving the final go-ahead.

Please note that the Egbe Iyami Oshoronga (or the Great Mothers of the Occult, not witches in the traditional European or Caucasian sense of it) are considered to be the Mothers of the Ogbonis and also use the same symbolic gestures and handshakes when greeting or saluting each other. In fact, the Edan Ogboni takes its name directly from Egbe Iyami Oshoronga. Ogboni members are also known as Awon Omo Iya and the breast milk of the Mother (Earth) takes a very central place among the Ogbonis. The breast milk is symbolized in the greetings of the Ogbonis and when they greet they chant three times:

Omu iya dun mu, gbogbo wa lan jo mu (Mother’s milk is sweet to drink, we all drink it).

Make no mistake, women are behind the secrets of the Ogbonis. And when I say women, I mean the Ajes, Awon Iyami Oshoronga, Iya Mapo, Iya Nla, Edan (aka Iya Aye) and other prominent female members of the awo (occult). These names do not really connote negativity but rather mystery, unusualness or the remarkable nature of their prowess of the centuries-old traditions of the Yorubas. Women are believed by the Ogbonis to be more secretive or reserved than the men so mothers are deeply respected by the Ogbonis as the vessels carrying the most important secrets of existence and the occult.

These explanations have been given as introduction to allow the reader appreciate the role of women in Yorubaland as against the subjugation of the female gender as promoted by the foreign faiths of Islam (which insists a woman must be hidden, cloaked and veiled) and Christianity (which says a woman cannot even talk inside the church). This is not the case in Yorubaland and even the foreign faiths have been influenced by traditional Yoruba practices. So, who are the eight powerful women inside the aafin (palace) of the Alaafin of Oyo that people have not heard of? These women are collectively and casually referred to as the ‘King’s wives’ but they should not be confused with the Ayabas (Oloris) who are the queens and wives of the monarch. Here we go:

IYAMODE
Iyamode is the only person in the world the Aláàfin is permitted to kneel before. He kneels before no one else except Iyamode. Other people kneel before the Aláàfin. Iyamode occupies a role so deeply respected that the king calls her ‘Baba’ (father). Whenever the Aláàfin goes on his knees before this influential woman, she returns the salutation by also going on her knees but she never reclines on her elbow while doing so as this is the custom of women in saluting their superiors. Iyamode is one of the most senior eight priestesses inside the Aláàfin’s royal household.

Other priestesses within the palace include Iya’le Oduduwa (Priestess of Oduduwa) Ode (head of all the worshippers of the god Ososi, she dresses as a hunter, hence her name, on state occasions adorned with a bow ornamented with strings of cowries neatly strung on her shoulder), Obagunte (she represents the Aláàfin in the Ogboni confraternity and enters the Ogboni chamber on all occasions acting in the name of the Aláàfin), Eni Oja (she is the head of all the Eshu worshippers in the town, she is in charge of the King’s market and wears a gown like a man, the King leans on her arms the day he goes to worship the god of the markets, the Olosi is under the Eni Oja, same with the Aroja or the Market Keeper ), Iya’le Agbo (she is a private attendant to the Aláàfin and is in charge of his private pharmacy preparing all the agunmu (powders) and agbo (infusions) for the king) and Iya Otun.

Iyamode and Iya Oba are always clean shaven while others plait their hair in small strips from the forehead to the top of the head and gather the rest from the back to the top, tying all the hair clump into one knot with a string in a style known as the Ikokoro. As for the Ode, Eni Oja, Iyafin-Iku, Iya Olosun and the Iya’le Oduduwa adorn theirs with red feathers of the parrot’s tail.

It is interesting to know that the ancestor of the Yorubas, Oduduwa, had one son, Okanbi, with his principal wife named Omonide or Iyamode. Iyamode embodies the spirits of the Aláàfin’s fathers. Yoruba beliefs have it that fathers can be reincarnated in the anafemale child, and that explains precisely why the Aláàfin calls Iyamode ‘father’. Iyamode resides in one of the outhouses of the palace.

Her duties are not specially in the palace and she is the superior of the celibates living in the Bara (the royal mausoleum)¸ and that is another reason she is styled ‘Baba’. The role of the Iyamode entails worshipping the spirits of the departed Kings and calling out their Egunguns (masquerades) in a room in her apartments specially set aside for that purpose. This room is screened off from view with a white cloth.

Please note that Iyamode does not just oversee the worship of the ruler’s ancestors, she is those ancestors. Iyamode is described as the quintessential Aje and the only one who can house, embody and be the father and all ancestors of the king, all in one body at the same time.

The Aláàfin looks up Iyamode as his father and he addresses him as such, being the worshipper of the spirits of his ancestors. As stated above, the King kneels for no one else but Iyamode and prostrates before the god Sango and before those possessed with the deity, calling them ‘father’. These include those set apart for life-long service at the Bara. Anytime one of them is possessed by the spirit of deceased monarchs (it is said of one of them ‘Oba wa si ara won’) and bursts out of the Bara to the palace with violent energy, she is immediately placed under the control of the Iyamode. On such dramatic occasions, the possessed tells the people message received from the gods such as the sacrifice they have to offer to ward off impending evils.

To conduct this ceremony, some water is poured into a mortar and it is covered by a wide calabash while other women in the palace beat this with all their energy as a drum with the possessed and others dancing to the frenzied beats of the drumming. Note that once a woman becomes Iyamode, she becomes celibate and stays away from sex for life. Iyamode also heads the convent of queens (Ayabas) who have become widows following the death of their husbands (kings). These widows live close to the Bara and live secluded and chaste lives.

IYANASO (Iya Naso):
The Aláàfin is worshipped as the living reincarnation of the Yoruba god of thunder, lightning and energy (Sango). Inside the palace, the Aláàfin has a private chapel for the worship of Sango which is inside Iya Naso’s apartment and the person in charge of this spiritual room is the Iya Naso herself. She has to do with Sango worship generally and she is the one responsible for everything linked to it. All the emoluments and perquisites arising from this practice are hers and she has also to do with the same at Koso.

IYA KERE
The coronation of any Aláàfin of Ọyọ is not complete without the crown on his head. The person who places the crown on the head of the king at the coronation is the Iya Kere, regarded as one of the most powerful women in the palace. Actually, next to the King’s Mother (Iya Oba), Iya Kere holds the highest rank and although greater deference is given to Iya Oba, it is Iya Kere who wields the greatest power in the palace.

Iya Kere is the one in charge of the treasures of the King. She keeps the royal insignia and all the paraphernalia used on state occasions and special events. Her powers are so extensive that she can even decide to withhold some of these royal treasures thus preventing any state event or ceremony from holding, she can do this to register her displeasure with the King whenever she is offended. As stated above, it is Iya Kere who places the crown on the head of the Aláàfin at his coronation, no one else is entitled to do that.

Iya Kere is also the ‘mother’ of all the Ilaris (male and female) because it is inside her apartment that they are usually created and she keeps in her custody all the sugudus that bear the marks of each Ilari in order to ensure the safety of the life of the King.

That is not all, as powerful as the Olosi is, Iya Kere exercises full power over him and even have him arrested and put in chains if he crosses his bounds. Iya Kere is the feudal head of the Aseyin, Oluiwo and the Baale (now Soun) of Ogbomoso. Once she assumes the office, she remains a celibate for life, that is the tradition.

IYA OBA (The Queen Mother)
Iya Oba is the official mother of the king. According to tradition, the King is not to have a natural mother. In a case where his own biological mother happens to be alive when he is called to ascend the throne, she is asked to ‘go to sleep’ and is ‘decently buried’ in the house of a relative in the city. All the inmates of that particular house are then given special priviledges and honoured as ‘members of the household of the King’s mother.’

As a mark of deference and devotion, the King sends to worship at her grave once every year. After the demise of the Queen Mother, another of the ladies of the palace is then made the Iya Oba and she is the one who is then supposed to play the role of a biological mother to him. And part of the privileges she enjoys as the Iya Oba is that she is the third person in the room when the King and the Bashorun worship the Orun in the month of September every year.

Iya Oba is the feudal head of the Bashorun.

IYA MONARI
She is the first lieutenant and assistant to the Iya Naso. It is the role of the Iya Monari to execute by strangling any Sango worshipper who has been condemned to death. Sango worshippers condemned to capital punishment cannot be killed by the sword and that explains why they cannot be executed by the Tetus.

IYA-FIN-IKU
She is the second lieutenant and assistant to the Iya Naso. She is referred to as the King’s Adoshu Sango meaning the King’s devotee to the Sango mysteries. It is the normal practice for all Sango worshippers to devote one of their children to the worship of Sango and that is the role that Iya-fin-Iku fulfills for the Aláàfin. She is the one in charge of the sacred ram which is allowed to go everywhere and about the markets without anyone molesting it and the ram can also eat with impunity anything it so desires from the sellers.

IYALAGBON
The mother of the Crown Prince (Aremo) is always promoted to the rank of the Iyalagbon. In a case where the mother of the Aremo is deceased, then another woman is promoted to that office and she becomes the mother to the Aremo. As the custodian of the next Aláàfin, the Iyalagbon enjoys massive influence and the control of a portion of the city is in her hands.

ORUN-KUMEFUN
She is also to see to the welfare of the Aremo and works in conjunction with the Iyalagbon.

ARE-ORITE
She is the Aláàfin’s personal attendant. It is the Are-Orite who sees to it that the royal meals are properly made, that royal bed is properly made, that the royal chambers are neatly arranged and she is also the one who sees the Aláàfin comfortably in bed after which she will go to her own apartment. When an Aláàfin is enthroned, it is the Are-Orite who places the umbrella-like silken parasol over his head as a canopy and she is constantly by the side of the Aláàfin to see to his needs and small services on public and state events.

These influential women are the real powers behind the throne. Not much is usually said about them, some do not even know they exist but they are always there in the background. These women communicate with the spiritual realm and guide every single step of the Aláàfin. They are the one who teach the Aláàfin all he knows about the Aláàfinate, they encourage him during times of trials, support him during periods of challenges and defend him from all forms of evils both physical and metaphysical.

These Mothers also do the divination to see how long an Aláàfin will rule, they educate him on what he can eat and what is forbidden that he cannot even touch, they are the ones who give the Aláàfin the ritual bath and cleanse and anoint him. They also take him through another process where his head is shaved (also by the Mothers) and then after seven days, they bathe it in snail water so that the Aláàfin will have the calm disposition and temperament needed to successfully hold the office.

These Mothers reveals to the Aláàfin the days of the divinites, when to worship the Orishas (deities), the kinds of rituals he has to do for each Orisha and the time to perform them. The Aláàfin then agrees to all these revelations and agrees to please these Orishas every day of the year except only one day in the year when there is no sacrifice and no worship of divinites. Only the Aláàfin knows this particular day of the year.

After the Aláàfin takes the throne with the power and authority to rule, these Palace Mothers oversee everything and they work silently in the background. They are the ubiquitous brains behind the kingdom. These Mothers (Ajes) prepare and spiritually empower the Adenla (the Great Crown) itself and as hinted earlier on, the Iyamode must be present whenever the Aláàfin is to be install, for only her can crown the Aláàfin. Without these Ajes, there will be no Yorubaland.

Iba eyin Iya o!

THANKS FOR YOUR TIME.

.

https://.com/the-eight-most-powerful-women-inside-the-alaafin-of-oyos-palace-that-you-never-heard-of-they-are-the-real-powers-behind-the-throne-and-are-so-powerful-the-king-calls-one-of-them-baba/

Nice read.... Educative and informative

jdluv:
one thing about women holdin powerful post in yoruba land is that immediately you are in power say goodbye to fertility. Some even sacrifice the children they already have..... All because of power.on a lighter note,The governor should crown these ones too

that governor no know say him dey play with fire ...

Awon iya oooooo

Let's see their pinshure or we donbilivit

Thank u op,God bless you for the insight

I just pity the king's mother. I wish she wouldn't be ask to die. It's painful hearing good news about your son, and then next you can't witness the reality of the good news. I believe every culture or tradition is dynamic. Such should be considered for a change.

folakemigeh:
The only part i really pin point is the killing of the biological mother if she is still alive when the King is ordained ..



Thats crap and totally bad

One of the realest persons on this platform. No sugar-coating; says it as it is.

calmbabadee:
Culture is just so so beautiful.

But how does one separate this practices from religion. It depicts some form of dark spiritual events.

God save the king.

Nothing dark to the adherents. Just culture, though I admit shaking small when I dey read the tin. Visions of all these Yoruba horror movies just dey float for my head.

ready2learn:
Very Educative. Read through. Hope your source is authentic? The part where the king elects mother has to die, or people been executed

Was wondering if it was metaphorical in nature or literal. OP is silent on the issue despite folks commenting on this. Again given that the acts depicting this scenario was written in quotes, I felt it was figurative in nature.

So, OP, which is it?

folakemigeh:
The only part i really pin point is the killing of the biological mother if she is still alive when the King is ordained ..



Thats crap and totally bad

She won't be killed, she will just not have the right to be called the Kings mother anymore

Thank you for this . Yoruba women have always been powerful in history. Yoruba culture respect women because we are the source of life. In this regard western cultures are so primitive and they have brought their primitive beliefs into Yorubaland which must be stopped. The clash of cultures and beliefs has caused so much confusion in Yorubaland and Nigeria as a whole.

DJperdurabo:
Nothing dark to the adherents. Just culture, though I admit shaking small when I dey read the tin. Visions of all these Yoruba horror movies just dey float for my head.

Na so bro!

Smooyis:
I just pity the king's mother. I wish she wouldn't be ask to die. It's painful hearing good news about your son, and then next you can't witness the reality of the good news. I believe every culture or tradition is dynamic. Such should be considered for a change.

It is because women are very cunning and can be too influential over their children. Some Iya Oba's can be so powerful they take over the throne and rule by proxy. This is a way of ensuring the king does not rule based on emotions or his mother's influence.

Go back in history, mother's of rulers can do and undo. This is sometimes why in some Yoruba sects all the olori's raise the children and the children barely have such a strong attachment to one woman. Or the heir is taken away from the mother at a young age and raised by advisors. The mother's influence is very strong and a crazy mother can destroy a kingdom. No one with a mother alive should contest for the position of Alaafin.

Wait u mean the biological mother if still alive will be killed and buried? For wat now? Yorubas and juju. Dietes

KingSango:
We are born and then we die but the spirit lasts forever. The one who shuns death is in ignorance of this powerful truth. For just as we are here, which we sense mortally as real, but Maya is creation in Sanskit, and then in Yoruba Ifa wisdom, maya is Yemaya, the mother of creation simply the created illusion. Yemaya is creation and Obatala is the cause of creation, as mama is the giver of life, Obatala is the father is the cause of pregnancy. The devotees, those possessed by the Gods readily sacrifice themselves for tradition because they know this world is an illusion. Once you have been in contact with the others on different plane of existence, ancestors,, spirits and gods, and you know there are higher planes you don't look back. And as we are here and this activity seems real all we do on the after death planes are real too! Ase, Love Sango

I am with you for the Sanskrit comparison.

Nice one... Kudos

I so loved reading this

Yorubas understand spirits

Women have great priestly powers when unleashed

Oyo monarchy has stood for a 1000 years because of this balance of matrioche and patrioche


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lr7sKU2FIG0

mysticgal:
I so loved reading this

I read all them confessions u had on dairies..
Ur moniker fit u well well...
It leaves me to wonder if u need psychiatric evaluation.. No disrespect intended..
I even tot it was the kind mystic i was expecting.. Boya u dey fit hop on broom fly within the skies...

duchaB:
I read all them confessions u had on dairies..
Ur moniker fit u well well...
It leaves me to wonder if u need psychiatric evaluation.. No disrespect intended..
I even tot it was the kind mystic i was expecting.. Boya u dey fit hop on broom fly within the skies...

uh huh....you okay

mysticgal:
uh huh....you okay

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