By Okpame Oronsaye
Understanding the Ododuwa story is crucial to the Benin/Ile-Ife relationship because of the narratives that Ododuwa’s son, Orominyan, was invited by the people of Benin to free them from the tyranny of the Ogisos kings, introduced brass casting to Benin City, conquered the people, and imposed a dynasty on the Benin people. Hence, to address the subject matter objectively, it is essential to have an unbiased insight into the Edo and Ile-Ife perspectives.
The Ile-Ife position on the origin of Ododuwa and Ile-Ife, as presented by many scholars of African art history and history, comes in several versions. One claims that Ododuwa was the son of Olodumare, a Yoruba deity and the king of the sky or heavens. According to this narrative, Olodumare sent Ododuwa from his domain in heaven to create the world. Oduduwa, carrying a cockerel, a handful of sand and a palm nut(ikin), along with sixteen lesser deities were let down from heaven by an iron chain(opele) to the exact spot that is today known as Ile-Ife. On arrival, Ododuwa and his companions found the area was waterlogged. Then Ododuwa threw a handful of sand over the area, and the cockerel scattered sand grains, and the place became dry land. Then, he planted the palm nut, which grew into a palm tree with sixteen branches. According to the narrative, each palm tree branch represents each of the sixteen crowned heads of the Yoruba people.
Another variant of this viewpoint claims that four hundred lesser deities accompanied Ododuwa. A second narrative asserts that Ododuwa was the son of King Lamorodu, a king of Mecca. And here it is claimed that Ododuwa and his followers were expelled from Mecca for idol worship. In a third narration, Ododuwa was a fugitive prince from a city-state or a kingdom ‘East’ of Ile-Ife.
It is easily recognised that a story claiming that an individual descended from heaven by means of an iron chain and created the earth in the 10th or 11th century is a myth. There are no records of Mecca(oral or written) that support the existence of a Mecca King known as Lamorodu. Nor are there historical records of the expulsion of a prince known as Ododuwa for worshipping idols from Mecca. Some Yoruba historians and scholars, such as Isaac Adaegbo Akinjogbin, Bolaji Idowu and Isola Olomola, have challenged these assertions.
In his article, Isaac Akinjogbin, , argued that the descent-from-heaven story was probably the mythology of the pre-Oduduwa inhabitants of Ile-Ife. He believed that Oduduwa, whether from Mecca or an eastern kingdom, did not establish Ile-Ife but perhaps arrived in the city-state during the last days of the Obalata epoch.
Isola Olomola, in the article , claimed that Oduduwa neither established the city-state of Ile-Ife nor was the father of all Yoruba kings. He argued that the arrival of Oduduwa in Ile-Ife was an isolated event that did not affect the entire region now known as Yorubaland. Bolaji Idowu, ℎ, believes that Ododuwa did not establish Ile-Ife. He argued that when Oduduwa arrived in Ile-Ife, there was already a thriving community.
In the book, ℎ ℎ , published by Bookcraft Limited, Ibadan, it is obvious that the bibliographical listing in Ife, the Holy City of the Yoruba, has not resolved the question of Ododuwa’s origin. Also, none of these historians and scholars identified the alleged ‘Eastern’ city-state or kingdom origin of Ododuwa.
So if Ododuwa did not descend from heaven or come from Mecca, it is safe to say he came from a city state or kingdom east of Ile Ife. Many researchers and scholars of Nigerian history believe between about 250 BC and 1200 AD, besides the Benin kingdom, east or northeast of Ile-Ife, there were two major centres of civilisation. And these were the Igbo Ukwu and Nok civilisations. There may be some others yet to be identified, such as the one that a famous art historian claimed is the home of the ‘Lower Niger Bronze industry’. Any of these centres (identified or yet to be identified) could be presumed to be Ododuwa’s place of origin. Unfortunately, the histories and socio-political structures of Igbo Ukwu and Nok cultures are still being studied and not fully portrayed. Thus, any claims that these places could be Ododuwa’s original home will be mere speculations.
Incidentally, only the Edo people have consistently claimed that Ododuwa was Prince Ekaladerhan, the son of Owodo, the last Benin king of the Ogiso era. They insist that the prince, who went into exile, left Benin City with his followers and travelled westward to Ile-Ife, known to the Edo people as Uhe.
In 2004, when Oba Erediauwa reiterated the claim that Ododuwa was Prince Ekaladerhan, the son of Ogiso Owodo in his memoir, , , , many Yoruba writers, historians and kings reacted furiously. They clamoured for the removal of the book from circulation arguing that Oba Erediauwa was not a ‘trained’ historian. In their opinion he was incompetent to write about Ododuwa’s origin. The Ooni of Ile-Ife, Ooni Okunade Sijuwade Olubuse II, accused Oba Erediauwa of attempting to re-write Yoruba history and declared:
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It was like the Yoruba scholars, historians and kings, especially Ooni Okunade Sijuwade Olubuse II, were hearing the Edo view of Ododuwa’s origin and the Benin/Ile-Ife relationship for the first time. In reality, the Enogie of Obazuwa, Enogie Edun Akenzua (then a journalist) published in the , June 1960, an article, , which was the Edo perspective of Ododuwa’s origin and the Benin /Ile-Ife relationship.
In 1973, Oba Erediauwa, then Prince Solomon Igbinoghodua Akenzua, reiterated this Edo perspective in a lecture to the Benin Museum Society in Lagos, Nigeria. Then, in 1982, during his nationwide Thank You Tour after his coronation in 1978, the Benin king repeated the Edo viewpoint about Ododuwa and the Benin/Ile-Ife link on the occasion of his visit to Ile-Ife. Actually, it was the Ooni of Ile-Ife, Ooni Okunade Sijuwade, Olubuse II, that raised the subject matter in his welcome address. Again, in 1984, the Benin king reiterated the Edo view in a lecture, The Evolution of Traditional Rulership in Nigeria, which he gave at the Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. Omo N’Oba Erediauwa, among other things, said:
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In his book, I Remain, Sir, Your Obedient Servant the Benin king asserted that Ododuwa was neither the founder of Ile-Ife nor the progenitor of all Yoruba kings and he wrote:
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He went on to further explain how Prince Ekaladerhan became the king of Ile Ife:
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Seemingly, the high-profile launching of the book, which brought to light the information mainstream art historians and historians had hitherto called ‘abuse of oral tradition’, frightened the Yoruba scholars, historians and kings. Naturally, there was a lot of mud-slinging as Edo and Yoruba essayists, scholars and writers presented their facts about Ododuwa and the Benin/Ile-Ife relationship. Many Yoruba essayists, scholars and writers stuck to the contention of the Ooni of Ile-Ife, which was that Ododuwa descended directly from heaven, created the world and started civilisation in Ile-Ife in the 10th century. In support of the Ooni, Dr Siyan Oyeweso of Lagos State University asserted:
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Then in the attempt to use the opportunity to provide additional ‘evidence’ to reinforce the theories of 20th-century art historians and historians that the Benin kingdom was a vassal of an Ile-Ife empire, the learned historian wrote:
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Incidentally, Dr Oyeweso, a trained historian and a professor of history, conveniently forgot (a common feature in the writing or interpretation of Benin art history and history) that in 1903 there was no king in Benin City. The Benin King, Oba Ovonramwen (1888-1914), was in exile in Calabar as a political prisoner of the British imperialist. Eventually, credible facts began to emerge from the archives. The Oba of Lagos (Eleko of Eko) Oba Rilwanu Aremu Akilolu threw his weight behind Oba Erediauwa’s view, insisting that Oduduwa was the exiled Prince Ekaladerhan from Benin kingdom. According to a newspaper report:
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Then on May 9 2004, KoIa Animasaun, a columnist for the , questioned the descent-from-heaven view held by the Ooni, and wrote;
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Then on the Thursday, May 20, 2004, an article, : ℎ ℎ, appeared, appeared in issue of the , a sister publication of the . The writer, Kunle Sowunmi, argued that the celestial origin of Ododuwa was propaganda created in the 1950s by the Egbe Omo Oduduwa, the Yoruba association, which eventually metamorphosed into the Action Group political party. Sowunmi also contended that the Ooni of Ile-Ife was not a descendant of Ododuwa but a priest. He further claimed that the Ooni was the custodian of the tombs of Ododuwa and Ododuwa’s descendants. And as Sowunmi’s claimed:
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The Orangun of Ila, the Alaafin of Oyo, Olowu of Owu, the Onisabe of Sabe, the Olupopo of Popo, and the Alaketu of Ketu, whom tradition claims are the direct descendants of Ododuwa, did not dispute Animasaun and Sowunmi articles. Indeed, they chose to remain silent on the matter. The 20th-century experts of African art account and history, who have always claimed, with what they called authentic proof, that Ododuwa was a god, were also silent on the subject. They made no arguments for their claims that the Ooni was a descendant of Ododuwa and that Orominyan conquered Benin City and imposed an alien dynasty in the city.
The story that the Ooni is not a descendant of Ododuwa had been earlier reported by Cyril Punch, a British trader and official, in the late 19th century. Cyril Punch remarks on the Benin/Ile-Ife relationship was cited in book, : , by Ling Roth 1903. According to Cyril Punch:
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As the myths and tales about Oduduwa and the Benin/Ile-Ife link, created by these scholars, were slowly debunked, it dawned on many Yoruba historians, kings, and writers that their views and arguments were no longer tenable. Some Yoruba historians called for more studies on the subject matter to resolve the controversy. A historian of the University of Lagos, Professor Hakeem Haruna, called on all historians and writers interested in the origins and migration of the Yoruba people to investigate whether there was any evidence in Ile-Ife similar to that of Oba Erediauwa. He argued that such research would either strengthen the existing theory of the Ile-Ife origin of the Benin dynasty or affirm the Benin king’s new position on the subject. As such, the Yoruba Elders Council mandated Emeritus Professor Ade Ajayi to create a “Committee” to embark on research into the origin of Ododuwa and the Yoruba people. It is unknown whether the Committee carried out further studies and research into the origin of Ododuwa.
•Opinions, positions or thoughts expressed here are personal and strictly of the writer/author and do not represent the views of The Daily Crucible.
