Do you believe ODUDUWA is the ancestral father of the Yoruba people?
Many Yoruba scholars claim Oduduwa fell from the sky to Yoruba land.
Where actually did he land? Any sign? Others say he came from the east
(Benin Kingdom), ok, did he meet people in the so called Yoruba land? If
yes, then how can Oduduwa now be their ancestral father?”. The truth
was that Oduduwa is Ekaladerhan Izoduwa from Benin Kingdom not any
spirit or super human who fell direct from the sky. This takes us to the
anthropological trace of the Yoruba Scientific history in Nigeria.”
(a) FIRST LINKAGE WITH BENIN AND THE ORIGIN OF YORUBA PEOPLE IN NIGERIA
EKALADERHAN IZODUWA/IMADODUWA OR ODUDUWA
An Edo prince went far south west, to a town or village with his
followers from Benin. The Edo prince’s name was Ekaladerhan Izoduwa or
Imadoduwa. He created Kingship monarchy in the town and also calls it
“ILefe.” he reign over this land until further migrant people and
workers can from Dahomey. Imadoduwa was a magician. He was with the mind
of making his kingdom great and wealthy. He embarks on developing more
areas in his kingdom and expanding his territory. Ekaladerhan Izoduwa
was what was later corrupt by Yoruba as Oduduwa. Some scholars say
“Yoruba” migrants from Dahomey to the Kingdom of Oyo and Ilefe were the
Ewe tribe of Togo while others say they were from Fon, thought part of
dahomey were also part and parcel of Mali, Berbers.
They weren’t called Yoruba in Ekaladerhan kingdom then. The migrant
population was huge. Scholars argue Yoruba are Malians. Mali most likely
comes from Mali*inke (Mandinka) which was also spelled Malli in most
ancient maps. Some say Yoruba originate from the tribe of ancient Ewe
that settled in West Africa in Dahomey, Ghana and finally Old Oyo. The
Migrants arriving Ilefe mix up and inter married with the people. There
is probability that they spoke corrupt Benin mix migrants and settlers
language that could have given birth to some yoruba dialects spoken
today.
After many years when the Imazoduwa died, another succession,
probably one of his son,s continued the reign of the kingdom of Ile ife.
By this time the kingdom have already expand to some other parts know
as Yoruba land of today. Yoruba were not Benin and Benin not Yoruba but
mix in Ile ife that later expanded territory to other parts of today
Yoruba land.
Ilefe is a Benin name and town by a Benin Prince to the south west of
Nigeria. The Yoruba call it the same as “Ile Ife”. Only the intonation
varies. Both the Benin and Yoruba agree Ilefe or Ile Ife was ruled and
organized by a Benin prince. The Monarchy system was created by a Benin
prince Izoduwa, Imadoduwa or Oduduwa.
The reason some or many Yoruba today feel Benin is not the aborigine
and source of their monarchy institution are political, ego and the
corrupt British education and administration. Let’s not also forget that
slave trade had a terrible impart on the old kingdom of Ekaladerhan in
Yoruba land. Oyo was seriously devastated and reduced during the slave
trade. The headquarter or Yoruba kingdom was in “Ilefe” or Ile Ife. The
settlement by migrants from Togo that settled in Oyo was wipe off by 18
century by slave trade.
As recorded in modern history, the Alaafin’s dynasty in Oyo began
around 1200 CE. Oranmiyan was in Igodomigodo in 1170 CE. Ekaladerhan
Izoduwa (Oduduwa) was alive during his son’s sojourn in Igodomigodo and
also when the Oyo dynasty came into being.
Yoruba historians confirm that 37 Oonis reigned in Ife before
Akinmoyero in (1770-1800), and that 13 more have reigned since. This
enables us to prove the 1200 CE date mathematically. If from 1800 CE to
2004 CE (i.e. a period of 204 years), produced 13 Oonis on the average,
how many Oonis could have reigned from 1200 CE to 1800 CE (i.e. a period
of 600 years)? The answer is 38 Oonis.
The word “YORUBA”.
The word Yoruba has its roots in Yariba which the Fulani used to call
the Oyo people. This was a later word use to identify the people of Oyo
by the Hausa-fulani’s during the slave trade in the 16 century. The
word ‘Yariba’ was first recorded in reference to the Oyo people only, in
a treatise written by the 16th-century Songhai scholar Ahmed Baba. It
was popularized by Hausa usage and ethnography written in Arabic and
Ajami during the 19th century, in origin referring to the Oyo
exclusively.
The extension of the term Yoruba to all speakers of dialects related
to the language of the Oyo (in modern terminology North-West Yoruba)
dates to the second half of the 19th century. It is due to the influence
of Samuel Ajayi Crowther, the first Anglican bishop in Nigeria.
Crowther was himself a Yoruba and compiled the first Yoruba dictionary
as well as introducing a standard for Yoruba orthography. It’s like
classifying all of Northern Nigeria as Hausa. The presence of Yoruba
influence in most places today claimed as Yorubaland can be traced back
to the propaganda nature of Crowther in the 19th century.
(b) SECOND MIGRATION OF YORUBA PEOPLE SOUTHWARD FROM OYO AND IFE:
The Yoruba second migration happened in the 16th to 18th century during
the slave raiding for British slave merchants. There may have been some
few migrants during the economic boom during Benin kingdom trading with
the Portuguese.
Oyo recorded the highest slave raiding in the history of Nigeria and
most of them were shipped to South America,that is why there are so many Yoruba's in South American countries who dont even know their root.
Compiled by Eniola Emmanuel
Culled from thenewsmongers.com
