The Àwórì, the Yewa and the Ìbàràpá
Three Yoruba groupings that standard accounts leave out, the Àwórì who own the ground under Lagos, the Ẹ̀gbádò who renamed themselves Yewa in 1995, and the Ìbàràpá seven towns.
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Three Yoruba groupings that standard accounts leave out, the Àwórì who own the ground under Lagos, the Ẹ̀gbádò who renamed themselves Yewa in 1995, and the Ìbàràpá seven towns.
The Yorùbá wey dem quote, the proverbs, oríkì, ẹsẹ Ifá, word list headwords, Odù names and citations dey exactly as the corpus record dem, for every language.
Standard tori about Yoruba history dey usually move from Ifẹ̀ go Ọ̀yọ́, reach Ìbàdàn and di coastal states, and di groups inside dis file dey fall through di gaps. Dem dey usually mention di Àwórì as just side-talk about Lagos, even though na dem get di land under am. Di Ẹ̀gbádò dey appear like Ọ̀yọ́ trade corridor instead of as people, and dem change dia own name for 1995 partly sake of how people describe dem. Di Ìbàràpá dey appear, if dem even appear at all, as footnote about twins. Each of dem get history wey make sense to talk on its own terms.
Di Àwórì na one Yoruba subgroup wey get dia own dialect, and dem dey stay for di southwestern corner of Yorubaland for inside present-day Lagos and Ògùn states .
Di origin tradition na about di mud plate. Olófin, wey dem also dey call Ògúnfúnminíre, leave Odùduwà palace for Ilé-Ifẹ̀ with im followers, carry one floating calabash or mud plate wey Odùduwà give am with instruction say make e put am inside water and follow am until e sink . Di first stop after Ifẹ̀ dey near Olokemeji, close to present-day Abẹ́òkúta. Di plate come stop for Ìṣerí and stay there for two hundred and eighty-nine days, wey long reach make plenty people think say e don sink permanently. E come start dey move again, and Olófin follow am until e finally sink for Idumota for Lagos .
Dem explain di name from awo ti rì, di plate don sink, wey be wetin dem say Olófin answer when im people ask am where di plate dey .
Two notes dey on dis one. Di 289-day figure and di Olokemeji stop come from popular-press retellings of Àwórì oral tradition instead of academic sources, and make dem attribute am like dat . And di standard reference article on di Àwórì no even get any origin narrative at all , wey be sometin wey dey important to record: di group own foundation story dey circulate almost entirely outside di reference literature.
Àwórì towns include Ìṣerí, Òtà, Lagos (Èkó) and Àgége, with settlement wey reach di Badagry area , and Ìlogbo and Ado-Odo also fall inside Àwórì territory .
Òtà historically na di capital of di Àwórì , and im ruler na di Olótà of Òtà, wey currently be Ọba Adéyẹmí AbdulKabir Obalanlege .
Two claims wey directly dey against each other dey drag di founding of Òtà.
Di Osolo claim date di formal founding of Òtà to di fifteenth century as Àwórì settlement by Osolo, one of Olófin sons, wey follow im brother Talabi migrate from Idimu-Olofin come establish di community for Idi-Egun inside di Isoloishi quarters after dem stop for Oke-Ata and Ibaragun; di first crowned Olótà na Ọba Akinsewa Ogbolu, Osolo son, wey dem install for 1621 .
Di pre-Ògúnfúnminíre claim hold say di traditional institution for Òtà date back to di Ifẹ̀ Oodaye or Ọ̀rúnmìlà period, where Ọ̀rúnmìlà meet one woman ọba wey im name na Iyarigimoko Otayo, wey hold title as di original mother of Òtà and di first Olótà for history, on top dis account Òtà stand first, long before di arrival of Ògúnfúnminíre and im group between di fifteenth and seventeenth centuries .
Di two claims no fit correct at di same time, and di sources no give any basis to choose one. Dis pattern resemble wetin dey Ifẹ̀ and Ondó: one dynastic claim wey come from outside and one indigenous claim, with di second one wey claim say na female founder wey di first one displace. Di reference literature note di tradition say Òtà na very ancient city wey dey rank behind Ilé-Ifẹ̀ only .
Di festivals of Òtà na di Egúngún festival, wey dem describe di town as di centre of Egúngún observance for Yorubaland, and di Iganmode Cultural Festival, wey dem dey do every year for December since 1992 to showcase Àwórì heritage .
Today, Òtà na di capital of Ado-Odo/Ota local government area and part of metropolitan Lagos, with population of about 163,783 . Sango-Ota get di third-largest concentration of industry for Nigeria as of 1999, with breweries, vehicle manufacturing and pharmaceuticals along di Lagos-Abẹ́òkúta expressway, and e host Covenant University and Bells University of Technology, plus St James Cathedral wey dem establish for 1842 .
One 1935 anthropological report describe di Àwórì say dem dey primarily do farming and fishing and dey speak wetin e call slurred dialect of Yoruba . Dat characterisation na di report own, and na good example of di colonial ethnographic register: dialect difference wey dem record as defect. Make dem quote am as artifact of dat time, no be to repeat am as description.
Di Àwórì na di example wey clearly separate land ownership from political power pass inside Yoruba institutions. Di Lagos ìdejò chiefs, di white-cap land-owning chiefs wey dey inside di Lagos file, na Àwórì lineages wey descend from Olófin, and dia claims dey under plenty parts of Nigerian land law. Group fit dey politically marginal and still hold di freehold, and for Lagos na exactly wetin happen be dat.
Ẹ̀gbádò divide as Ẹ̀gbá l'ódò, Ẹ̀gbá by di river . For 1995 di Ẹ̀gbádò choose to rename demselves Yewa, after di Yewa river wey pass through dia territory, wey im own name come from di òrìṣà Yewá .
Di process get record: after one report from Yewa think tank of educated elites and thought leaders, dem unanimously agree say di people wey dem dey previously call Ẹ̀gbádò go dey known from dat time as Yewa .
Di clear inference from di etymology, say name wey define di group as riverine appendix to di Ẹ̀gbá make dem feel subordinate, no dey stated as motive for inside di sources wey dem consult. Report di etymology and di resolution, and leave di inference for di reader.
Dis na rare and well-documented case of Yoruba subgroup wey intentionally rename demselves for di modern period, and e dey important to notice am as evidence say subgroup identity no dey fixed and fit change through deliberate revision.
The Yewa people dey stay for Ògùn West Senatorial District across four local government areas, Yewa South, Yewa North, Imeko-Afon and Ipokia, with population of about 907,370 . Their towns include Ìlàrò, Àyétòrò, Ìmẹ̀kọ-Afon, Ado-Odo, Ìpòkìá and Ìgbógìlà, wey dem establish between the eleventh and eighteenth centuries make dem fit use the trade routes wey run from the inland Ọ̀yọ́ empire go reach the coast for Porto-Novo .
Traditional rulers dey carry the title Olú, and the Olú of Ìlàrò na the paramount figure . Na one warrior wey dem dey call Aro found Ìlàrò for the eighteenth century; e migrate from Ọ̀yọ́ come settle for Igbo Aje, and the name come from Ilu Aro, wey mean Aro settlement . The Olú of Ìlàrò don dey double as President and Paramount Ruler of Yewaland since 1993 through agreement among the crowned kings of Yewa towns, wey mean say dem agree on the paramountcy two years before the renaming . The person wey dey the throne now na Ọba Kẹ́hìndé Gbadéwọlé Olugbenle, from 14 April 2012 .
Titles for Ìmẹ̀kọ and Àyétòrò no dey confirmed for the sources wey dem consult, so dem no put am here.
The historical role of the Yewa people na the Ọ̀yọ́ corridor go reach the sea. Dem occupy the critical land between the empire and the coastal ports, and Ọ̀yọ́ no fit send their cavalry come protect the routes because of tsetse fly and the terrain, wey make dem rely on local groups to manage trade wey dey go the coast .
Dis na strong position, and na why the corridor towns dey. E also dey vulnerable: any group wey their work na to pass other people goods through their own land na dem dey first suffer when wahala enter the trade, and Ọ̀yọ́, Dahomey, Abẹ́òkúta and later the British fight over the Ẹ̀gbádò towns many times.
Ìlàrò na the headquarters of Yewa South local government area, with about sixty thousand people according to 2015 estimate over roughly nine square kilometres, and na im host the Federal Polytechnic Ilaro, wey dem establish for 1979, together with the State High Court and Magistrate Courts . Na Ìlàrò start the Bolojo and Gẹ̀lẹ̀dẹ́ dances and e dey host the yearly Orona Ilaro festival . The Gẹ̀lẹ̀dẹ́ connection dey important: the Gẹ̀lẹ̀dẹ́ masquerade of the Ẹ̀gbádò and Kétu region dey on UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, and dem treat am for the arts section.
The Ìbàràpá people na Yoruba subgroup for the southwestern corner of Ọ̀yọ́ State .
The name come from one local type of melon wey dem dey call egusi ibara, wey make neighbouring groups know the region well because dem dey plant am plenty . To name subgroup after farm crop no common, and e dey correct the assumption say Yoruba subgroup names must always come from dynasty or place name.
Ìbàràpá Méje, the seven towns, na Igangan, Èrúwà, Àyété, Tápà, Ìdẹ̀rẹ, Igbó-Òrà and Lanlate, wey anchor roughly one hundred and twenty surrounding villages . Seven na the standard count, and any list wey give five no complete.
Origins. The Ìbàràpá people originate from the old Ọ̀yọ́ empire and dem migrate go where dem dey now as dissidents from Ọ̀yọ́ or as refugees wey dey run from war and slave raids after the empire collapse . Na Tápà be the exception: e get Nupe refugees wey run from Fulani jihadists from the north, and so e no come from Ọ̀yọ́-Yoruba origin like the rest . In fact, Tápà na the Yoruba word for Nupe, so the town name dey record wetin e be.
Territory. About 2,496 square kilometres, or 8.77 percent of Ọ̀yọ́ State, roughly one hundred kilometres north of Lagos and ninety-five west of Ìbàdàn, wey spread across three local government areas wey dem create for 1996: Ibarapa North (Igangan, Tápà, Àyété), Ibarapa Central (Ìdẹ̀rẹ, Igbó-Òrà) and Ibarapa East (Lanlate, Èrúwà) .
Status disputes. After independence for 1960, debate dey about whether to merge Ìbàràpá join Ògùn State, and the federal government settle am for 1976 say e go remain for Ọ̀yọ́ State . Inside Ìbàràpá, the Aláàfin of Ọ̀yọ́ recognise Èrúwà before colonial times as the leading town for the district, position wey e hold through the colonial era .
Titles. The ruler of Èrúwà na the Elérúwà, wey be Ọba Samuel Adébáyọ̀ Adegbola now, Ajobo Olurin I, wey dem present with the staff and instruments of office on 6 March 2025 . The ruler of Igbó-Òrà na the Olú of Igbó-Òrà, wey dem dey call Baálẹ̀ before, currently Ọba Jimoh Olájídé Titiloye, wey dem install for 2019 . Titles for Ìdẹ̀rẹ, Tápà, Àyété, Igangan and Lanlate no dey verified, so dem no supply dem.
Dem explain the meaning of Èrúwà name as pieces of yam dey available here, and na im be the headquarters of Ibarapa East local government area .
Na Obe Alade, wey be descendant of the Aláàfin of Ọ̀yọ́, found Igbó-Òrà after e migrate from Ọ̀yọ́ town . Na im be the headquarters of Ibarapa Central local government area, wey get Igbó-Òrà with seven wards and Ìdẹ̀rẹ with three, about eighty kilometres north of Lagos, with 72,207 people for the 2006 census . The 2017 figure of 278,514 wey dem dey quote well well no make sense as town growth, and e most likely cover the local government area instead of the town.
Plenti people dey call the town the twin capital of the world, and the measurement wey dem base am on na real one, even though dem never establish wetin dey cause am.
Wetin dem measure. Patrick Nylander, one British gynaecologist, publish "The Twinning Incidence in Nigeria" for 1979, and between 1972 and 1982 e record average of forty-five to fifty sets of twins for every thousand pikin wey dem born alive for di region . Di peer-reviewed literature describe Igbó-Òrà say na im get di highest dizygotic twinning rate for di whole world at forty-five per thousand live births, compared to di global average wey dey around twelve per thousand . One number wey high pass dat one dey circulate, about one hundred and fifty-eight per thousand compared to five per thousand for Europe, and dat one no be peer-reviewed rate; e better make dem follow di forty-five .
Wetin dem never establish. Nylander suggest for 1978 say something wey dey food, fit be yam, fit explain di rates . Di community no agree. One qualitative study on wetin local people think find out say residents no believe say na yam dey cause am, and apart from wetin God want and heredity, dem dey link twinning to okra leaves and cassava . Newer theories dey point to phytoestrogens wey dey inside both cassava and yam . Di reference literature summarize di position say fit be chemical link to tuber crop wey people dey chop well well, but dem never establish any clear link, together with genetic factors wey dem propose . Research still dey go on .
Di town dey hold twins festival every year, and NPR, Al Jazeera and TRT don cover dem . Di correct way to explain di claim na say Igbó-Òrà dey celebrate dia claim say dem be twin capital of the world, say di claim stand on real and unusually high measured dizygotic twinning rate, and say dem never explain wetin dey cause am.
Another thing dey wey make sense to talk, wey suppose dey under religion section but e still touch di town. Yoruba culture get deep and old tradition around ìbejì, twins, wey include ère ìbejì statues wey dem dey carve for twin wey die. Dem dey usually present di high twinning rate and di depth of di twin cult as things wey connect, but dem never show which one dey lead to which. Na Igbó-Òrà be di place wey dat question show pass.
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