Towns and Kingdoms: Section Index
Guide to the gazetteer, what each file covers, the argument that runs through the section, and how to read it in order or by interest.
introhigh·
Loading…
Guide to the gazetteer, what each file covers, the argument that runs through the section, and how to read it in order or by interest.
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.
Dis section na gazetteer of Yoruba towns and kingdoms. E cover di ritual capital for Ilé-Ifẹ̀, di imperial capital for Ọ̀yọ́, di nineteenth-century cities of Ìbàdàn and Abẹ́òkúta, di coastal and lagoon states, di Èkìtì and eastern kingdoms, di towns wey fall outside Nigeria border, and di smaller groupings wey standard historical accounts dey leave out. For each town, e give di Yoruba name with diacritics and variants, di title of di ruler, di founding traditions with dia variants, di dynastic history where dem document one, di institutions and festivals, di notable sites and di current status.
Three things dey run through every file.
No single Yoruba political form dey. Ọ̀yọ́ get emperor wey im council fit force make e die. Ìjẹ̀bú get king wey im courts belong to somebody else. Ìbàdàn no get hereditary ruler at all and na queue dem dey follow. Abẹ́òkúta keep four crowns for one town. Èkìtì get sixteen crowns and no get paramount ruler until British people call meeting for 1900. To read all dis things like say na variations on top one single template, with Ọ̀yọ́ as di model, na di specific distortion wey Ọ̀yọ́-centred historiography bring enter, and e dey produce false picture.
People dey often contest founding traditions and di contest usually dey about wetin dey ground now. When Ugbo talk say na dem get Ilé-Ifẹ̀ before Odùduwà, when Olúkèrè talk say im stool senior Ògògà own, when Ọ̀tùn talk say na Oore bury Odùduwà, when Rẹ́mọ talk say e never dey under Awùjalẹ̀, di argument dey about precedence, land, chieftaincy grading, and access to office today. Dis section name both claims and dia sources instead of to choose between dem, and e talk which disputes don go court and which ones never go.
Plenti things wey look ancient na colonial period or after dem fix dem. Di Ifẹ̀ four ruling houses start from 1957. Di Ìjẹ̀bú four start from 1959. One British officer call meeting for di Èkìtì pẹ̀lúpẹ̀lú for 1900. Dem arrange di Ìkọ̀lé Egbeoba confederation between 1900 and 1920 under one retired schoolteacher. Dem start Ọ̀kà Day for early 1990s and e first carry dat name for programme for 1999. None of dis things make di institutions fake, but all of dem make di phrase "from time immemorial" useless to use.
[01] Ilé-Ifẹ̀: Di Ritual Capital (towns-ile-ife)
Di three families of founding tradition and where dem clash, di Ọ̀ọ̀ni institution and im king list with di four ruling houses of 1957, di six quarters wey dem claim say na origin points for other towns, Ọ̀pá Ọ̀rànmíyàn and im role for both Ifẹ̀ and Ọ̀yọ́ installations, Igbó Olókun and di glass industry, Olójó and di Àrẹ crown, Ẹdì and Mọ̀remí, and di Modáké̩ké̩ question.
[02] Ọ̀yọ́: Ọ̀yọ́-Ilé, Ọ̀yọ́ Àtìbà and di Aláàfin (towns-oyo)
Di ruined capital and im wall circuits plus archaeology, di palace as administrative apparatus, di Ọ̀yọ́ Mèsì and di calabash of parrot eggs as constitutional mechanism with serious sanction, di abandonment and dispersal, and Àtìbà 1837 refoundation.
[03] Ìbàdàn: Di War Camp Wey Turn Republic (towns-ibadan)
Di 1829 founding by four-way war coalition, di Ìbàdàn Republic and di ajẹ̀lẹ̀ system wey provoke di Kiriji war, and di Olúbàdàn ladder wey dem set out in full: di two lines with dia titles, entry through di Mọ̀gàjí, movement only when person die, di consequences for how Olúbàdàn dey old reach and how predictable di succession be, and di court case from 2017 till today about restructuring am.
[04] Abẹ́òkúta and di Ẹ̀gbá (towns-abeokuta-egba)
Lisabi and di revolt against Ọ̀yọ́, di 1830 founding under Olúmọ, di four crowns wey dey stay together for di same town, di Ẹ̀gbá United Government wey Britain recognize as sovereign from 1893 until dem cancel am for 1914, di Adubi war of 1918, and di Abẹ́òkúta Women's Union campaign wey remove one Aláké for 1949.
[05] Ìjẹ̀bú-Òde and di Ìjẹ̀bú (towns-ijebu-ode)
Di Ọ̀ṣùgbó as courts wey dey sit outside di palace, di rẹ́gbẹ̀rẹ́gbẹ̀ age grades, Sungbo Eredo and wetin e mean about di dynastic date, di trade monopoly and di 1892 British expedition wey end Yoruba military independence within one week, and Ojúde Ọba with im Islamic origin and im age-grade and horse-riding processions.
[06] Lagos, Èkó: Àwórì Town, Benin Camp, British Colony (towns-lagos)
Three overlapping origins and wetin each one supply, di ìdejò land-owning chiefs wey people still dey drag dia claims for court, Àṣípa and di kingship wey come from Benin, Kòṣọ́kọ́ and Akítóyè and di 1851 bombardment, di 1861 cession, and di Sàró and Agùdà returnees with di Brazilian Quarter wey dem build.
[07] Di Èkìtì Towns and di Pẹ̀lúpẹ̀lú (towns-ekiti)
Adó-Èkìtì and di Ulesun conquest, Ìkẹ́rẹ́'s two-stool dispute wey dem never genuinely settle and di ritual fact for di middle of am, Ìkọ̀lé, Ọ̀tùn and im seniority claim against Ifẹ̀ with di 1903 gazette, Efọ̀n-Aláàyè, di pẹ̀lúpẹ̀lú as 1900 colonial convocation with three different rosters of di sixteen, and di Kiriji war with di Lagos rifle supply wey make am possible.
[08] Di Ìjẹ̀ṣà: Ilésà and di Ọ̀wá Obòkun (towns-ijesa)
Di seawater story behind di title, di conflicting founding dates, di classical city plan, Ìbàdàn tributary system and Ògèdèngbé, wey learn im soldier work as Ìbàdàn prisoner, command di Èkìtìparapọ̀ for sixteen years and then refuse di throne.
[09] The Eastern Yoruba (towns-eastern-yoruba)
Na this file long pass for the section. Ondó and the Lóbùn wey dey crown the king and no dey ever see am again; Ọ̀wọ̀, the Benin dispute, and Ekpo Eyo excavation for Igbo'Laja with the three-way stylistic division wey make Ọ̀wọ̀ be third centre instead of link; Àkúrẹ́ and the 1818 Benin war; Ìdànrè and di empty stool; the Ìkálẹ̀ and the Ìlàjẹ; the Ugbo claim say na dem get Ilé-Ifẹ̀ wey dem explain full with the Ifẹ̀ rebuttals and the one small question wey two named historians don settle; and the Àkókó with the Nupe hegemony of 1845 to 1897 and the correction say Akokoid na distinct language cluster.
[10] Òṣogbo and the Ọ̀ṣun State Towns (towns-osun-state-towns)
The covenant with the river when dem found the town, the seventy-five-hectare grove wey UNESCO register for 2005, Susanne Wenger and the New Sacred Art movement with the question wey dat one bring up, the order of the festival and the Arugbá, and the Ìbọ̀lọ̀ and Epo provincial towns of Ìwó, Èdè, Ìkirun and Ejigbo with Ìlá-Ọ̀ràngún and the Ìgbómìnà.
[11] Ògbómọ̀ṣọ́ and the Òkè Ògùn Towns (towns-oyo-state-towns)
How hunter take found Ògbómọ̀ṣọ́'s and the Àlóńgo society, and the Òǹkò country: Ìsẹ́yìn and aṣọ òkè, Ṣakí, Ìgbòho with the four Aláàfin wey dem bury for there, Kíṣí and Òkèhò.
[12] The Western and Trans-Border Yoruba (towns-trans-border)
Kétu and how Dahomey destroy am for 1886, the Akaba Idena gate, Sábẹ́ and Ìdáìṣà with their founding stories wey no agree, Pobè and the Ọ̀họ̀rí, Ifọ̀nyìn wey the 1889 border divide, where the name Anàgó come from, the Ifè of Togo, and the current national situation including the exact language status.
[13] Ìlọrin: The Yoruba Town That Became an Emirate (towns-ilorin)
The four Yoruba baálẹ̀ before Àfọ̀njá, the fight with Aláàfin Àwólé and the calabash, Àwólé curse with full statement about the problem with di sources, the Jàmá'a and Alimi with Ade Ajayi chronological objection, the different dates for Àfọ̀njá's death wey dey clash, the emirate and the 1897 defeat, and the four positions on top Ìlọrin's identity today with the organisations wey hold dem.
[14] Rẹ́mọ, Ṣàgámù, Ìkọ̀rọdú, Èpé and Badagry (towns-remo-coastal)
The 1872 gathering of thirteen towns wey form Ṣàgámù, the question about Rẹ́mọ-Ìjẹ̀bú status wey dem never settle, Ìjẹ̀bú-Ìgbó, Ìkọ̀rọdú and Èpé, and Badagry with its Àwórì and Ogu different origins, the Vlekete market and di figures wey dem never verify, the Point of No Return and the 1842 mission.
[15] The Àwórì, the Yewa and the Ìbàràpá (towns-awori-yewa-ibarapa)
The calabash wey float and why Àwórì people get the land under Lagos, Òtà two opposite founding claims, how the Ẹ̀gbádò change their name to Yewa for 1995 and the corridor role wey shape dem, and the Ìbàràpá seven towns with the twinning rate wey dem measure for Igbó-Òrà and the cause wey nobody don explain.
[16] The Physical Form of a Yoruba Town (towns-physical-form)
Palace, market, wards, compounds and walls; the radial plan and Ìbàdàn as exception to am; the impluvial courtyard house and the potsherd pavement; the population figures and how to handle dem; and the forest belt wey don almost disappear finish.
[17] Town Walls and Earthworks (towns-walls-and-earthworks)
The bank-and-ditch technique, Sungbo's Eredo with the different dates wey dem never really settle and the 2024 LiDAR work, the five Ọ̀yọ́-Ilé circuits, the Ifẹ̀ ditches and why the biggest one na nineteenth-century, the Ìbàdàn wall, and wetin earthworks prove and wetin dem no prove.
[18] Oríkì Orílẹ̀: Town Identity and How It Travels (towns-oriki-orile)
Wetin oríkì be and the kinds wey dey, oríkì orílẹ̀ as inherited attachment to a place wey dey remain even after the place don pass, the three ways dem dey use am including as evidence for the disputes wey this section cover, one text with full statement about the problems with who write am, and how town identity cross the Atlantic and wetin the nation names prove and wetin dem no prove.
[19] Reference: Yoruba Towns, Rulers and Subgroups (towns-reference-table)
One single table of the towns inside this section with ruler title, state or country, subgroup, one-line note and the file wey cover each of dem in detail, followed by glossary of the title elements wey dey repeat.
To read am in order dey work, because 01 to 06 establish the major institutional types before the regional files use dem.
By region, take 01, 02 and 11 for the Ọ̀yọ́ world; 03, 04, 05, 06, 14 and 15 for southwest; 07, 08 and 09 for east; 10 for Ọ̀ṣun; 12 and 13 for the edges.
By theme, 16, 17 and 18 stand on their own and reader wey dey more interested in how Yoruba towns dey work pass which town be which fit read dem first.
For specific town, start from 19 and follow the file reference.
This section assume say reader don know the history section for the wars and the empire, and e refer go the arts section for the Ifẹ̀ and Ọ̀wọ̀ material, to the òrìṣà section for the festivals, and to the diaspora section for wetin the town names do for the Atlantic.
The city the Yoruba world treats as its origin point, its Ọ̀ọ̀ni institution and ruling houses, its quarters, its groves and sacred sites, the Ọ̀rànmíyàn staff, and the Modáké̩ké̩ question.
The imperial capital in both its forms, the archaeology of the ruined city at Ọ̀yọ́-Ilé, the palace and wall systems, the Aláàfin institution and the constitutional check the Ọ̀yọ́ Mèsì exercised over it.
How a nineteenth-century military camp grew into the largest indigenous city in tropical Africa, and how the Olúbàdàn rotational ladder works, which is the most unusual succession system in Yorubaland.
A single table of significant Yoruba towns with the title of the ruler, the state or country, the subgroup, and a one-line note, assembled from the sourced entries in this section.
Ijẹ̀bú, Ẹ̀gbá, Èkìtì, Ìjẹ̀ṣà, Ondó, Ọ̀wọ̀, Kétu, Sábẹ̀, Ìbàdàn, Abẹ́òkúta and Lagos, each with its own institutions rather than as branches of Ọ̀yọ́.
The refugee city under Olúmọ rock, its four townships each with its own ọba, the Aláké, and the Ẹ̀gbá United Government, which was the only Yoruba state Britain recognised as sovereign.