There are so many legends surrounding the origin of Oduduwa.Oral tradition on creation says he is the favourite son of Olodumare. As such, he (or she, as the primordial Oduduwa is gender fluid) was sent from heaven to create the earth upon the waters, a mission he/she had usurped from his/her consort and sibling Obatala, who had been equipped with a snail shell filled with sand and a rooster to scatter the said sand inorder to create land. These beliefs are held by Yoruba traditionalists to be the cornerstone of their story of creation. Obatala and Oduduwa here are represented symbolically by a calabash, with Obatala taking the top and Oduduwa taking the bottom. In this narrative, Oduduwa is also known as Olofin Otete, the one who took the Basket of Existence from Olodumare
Oral traditional historians believe he was an exiled prince of a foreign people who left his homeland with a retinue and journeyed south, subsequently settling amongst the aboriginal Yoruba at some point in the 12th century CE. He is said to have brought the Yoruba religion with him when he came. This faith system was so important to him and his followers that it is said to have been the cause of their exodus in the first place
Some claim he was a prince of Mecca. It was supposedly the persecution of the Muslim elite of the city that caused him and his fellow animists to leave Arabia while in some accounts, it was Egypt
Ife traditional historians say Oduduwa was an emissary from the community of Oke-Ora, the easternmost part of the Ife cultural area which stretches towards the Northeastern Ijesa people. He descended from the Hills on a chain, earning the oriki Atewonro (which means 'one who descends on a chain'). He is said to have been a warrior that wore armor made of iron. At that time, a confederacy existed between the 13 communities of the valley of Ile-Ife, with each community or 'Elu' having its own Oba; the Oba of Ijugbe, the Oba of Ijio, the Oba of Iwinrin etc. When Oduduwa rose to be a prominent citizen of ancient Ife, he and his group are believed to have conquered most of the 13 component communities and deposed Obatala, subsequently evolving the palace structure with its effective centralized power and dynasty
The Benis/Edo people believe Oduduwa is a prince of theirs and heir to their ancient throne, they say his father was Ogiso Owodo and he is decended from the line of Igodo. He is alleged to have left Benin due to a struggle over the royal succession. It is supposedly due to this fact that a descendant of his was subsequently allowed to found the dynasty that rules the kingdom of Benin to this day
Whatever the case may be, it is now considered a historical fact that Oduduwa and his fellow settlers were outsiders from elsewhere that were absorbed by the aborigines of Ife and the rest of Yorubaland
Oral traditional historians believe he was an exiled prince of a foreign people who left his homeland with a retinue and journeyed south, subsequently settling amongst the aboriginal Yoruba at some point in the 12th century CE. He is said to have brought the Yoruba religion with him when he came. This faith system was so important to him and his followers that it is said to have been the cause of their exodus in the first place
Some claim he was a prince of Mecca. It was supposedly the persecution of the Muslim elite of the city that caused him and his fellow animists to leave Arabia while in some accounts, it was Egypt
Ife traditional historians say Oduduwa was an emissary from the community of Oke-Ora, the easternmost part of the Ife cultural area which stretches towards the Northeastern Ijesa people. He descended from the Hills on a chain, earning the oriki Atewonro (which means 'one who descends on a chain'). He is said to have been a warrior that wore armor made of iron. At that time, a confederacy existed between the 13 communities of the valley of Ile-Ife, with each community or 'Elu' having its own Oba; the Oba of Ijugbe, the Oba of Ijio, the Oba of Iwinrin etc. When Oduduwa rose to be a prominent citizen of ancient Ife, he and his group are believed to have conquered most of the 13 component communities and deposed Obatala, subsequently evolving the palace structure with its effective centralized power and dynasty
The Benis/Edo people believe Oduduwa is a prince of theirs and heir to their ancient throne, they say his father was Ogiso Owodo and he is decended from the line of Igodo. He is alleged to have left Benin due to a struggle over the royal succession. It is supposedly due to this fact that a descendant of his was subsequently allowed to found the dynasty that rules the kingdom of Benin to this day
Whatever the case may be, it is now considered a historical fact that Oduduwa and his fellow settlers were outsiders from elsewhere that were absorbed by the aborigines of Ife and the rest of Yorubaland
Comments
Post a Comment