Sitting among the thickly forested planes that
characterize southwestern Nigeria are the towns and communities that
make up the Ondo Kingdom. Located some 300kilometres to the north-east
of Lagos, Nigeria's economic nerve centre and 45kilometres west of
Akure, the Ondo State capital, the Kingdom is easily reached by road
from all parts of the country. The Ondo people are one of the largest
Yoruba subgroups, situated in the eastern part of the Yoruba speaking
area of Nigeria. The weather elements that characterize the region are
those typifying the rainforest region of Sub-Sahara Africa.
Oduduwa, the progenitor of the Yoruba was one of
the sons of Lamurudu, who was believed to have migrated
from Mecca, Saudi Arabia, after some sectarian disagreement. He held the
title of Olofin Adimula before he left Mecca. This perhaps explains why
most Yoruba Obas are still referred to by that title to date.
Oranmiyan, one of the sixteen sons of Oduduwa who left Ile-Ife, probably
out of sheer ambition or mere adventure, was the first Alaafin of Oyo
and the father of Oluaso, who gave birth to Pupupu, the first paramount
ruler of Ondo Kingdom.
Pupupu, a female, was one of the twin children of
Oba Oluaso, who was said to have reigned in Oyo in the 15th Century. The
other twin, a male, was named Orere. Twin birth in those days was
considered an abomination and a strange phenomenon, esemawe, as a
historical source interpreted it. Conventionally, the twins and their
mother were instantly put to death, to prevent the imminent bad omen
which was believed to be synonymous with their arrival. But because Olu,
the mother of the children was one of the favourites of the King, her
life and those of the twins were spared. They were however with an
entourage of slaves under the guidance of a hunter called Ija, sent out
of the palace with a beaded crown and an Akoko tree, signifying their
royalty. Those were to accord them the dignity and the reverence due to
royalty. Again, their father against the tradition of multi tribal marks
of Oyo, incised two long tribal marks, one on each side of the cheek.
Oluaso was apparently conscious of the fact that he may not set his eyes
on the children for a long time, hence those facial marks were incised
on them, so that they would be recognizable any time they were seen or
if they came back home. This explains the origin of the tribal marks of
Ondo to date.
The group wandered through the forest till they got
to a place called Epin, near Gbere, whose inhabitants were referred to
as Ibariba. They were well received and catered for until the death of
Oba Oluaso in 1497. They headed back to Oyo when the succeeding king did
not treat them fairly, but Onigbogi, the reigning king had to send them
back to a virgin land compassed about by Ife, Ijesa, Ekiti, Ado(Benin)
and Ijebu communities. They later got to Igbo Ijamo (the forest
discovered by Ija). The group apparently stayed in this place for some
time. Eventually they found lgbo Ijamo unsafe and therefore continued
their journey eastward, until they finally got to a place called Epe,
not far from the present Ondo town.
They were in Epe for many years and as they journeyed on, they passed
through a hill which is today known as Oke Agunla and one of the
communities that make up the present day Ondo Kingdom. From this hill,
they spotted some smoke and headed in its direction. There they met a
man called Ekiri one of the original inhabitants of the area. The Ifa
oracle, as was the usual practice then, was consulted on the prospects
of the newly found location. The oracle instructed them to take along
with them a yam stake (edo), as their walking stick. They were to poke
the stick into the ground as they went along their way, and wherever the
stick didn't bond with the land, they were to settle.
The group left Epe and proceeded as instructed by the oracle until they
got to a place where the yam stake did not penetrate the ground. The
group chorused in surprise Edo du do, (The yam stake would not stick
in). According to oral history, the word Ondo is a contraction of the
sentence "Edo du do". When the group arrived in Ondo, they met the
Ifore, the Idoko and the Oka people. These indigenous inhabitants
recognized the royalty of the new arrivals and readily ceded to them the
authority to rule over the territory. And in due course, the original
inhabitants of Ondo were assimilated into the culture of the new comers.
It remains a reference point however that the Idoko and Ifore settlers
still maintain a kind of separate political structure which is akin, in
many respects, to that of the larger Ondo community. As time went on,
the people spread to form other settlements like lgbindo, lgbado,
llu-nla, Odigbo, Ajue. Igunsin, etc.
By and large, the Ondo people still regard Epe, a relatively small
town, seven miles from Ondo, on the Oke-lgbo road, as their original
town (Orisun), from where they migrated to their present location. Up
until now, many Ondo festival and rituals have Epe as their source.
Pilgrimages are sometimes made to Epe for some of the festivals.
Historical account also has it that at the demise of the Osemawe, his
head was usually buried in Epe while the remaining part of his body was
in Ondo.
Written by Mr Allen Akinrinlola
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