Odùduwà (Ooduwa, Odudua or Oòdua) was a Yoruba people God king, a creator deity (orisha) in the Yoruba religion, and the legendary figure who ushered in the classical period that later led to the foundation of the Ife Empire. His earthly origins are from the village of Oke Ora.[Obayemi, A., "The Yoruba and Edo-speaking Peoples and their Neighbors before 1600 AD", in J. F. A. Ajayi & M. Crowder (eds), History of West Africa, vol. I (1976), 255–322.]
While archaeologists and historians estimate Oduduwa's kingly existence to the Late Formative Period of Ife ( 800- 1000CE),
The etymological derivation of the Yoruba name "Oduduwa" is: Odu-ti-o-da-uwa (i.e. Odu-ti-o-da-iwa). This translates literally to: The great repository which brings forth existence.
Ife traditions
Ife tradition, which modern historians accord precedence, relates that Oduduwa was a personage who migrated from the community of
Oke Ora, a hilltop abode to the east of the original Ife confederacy of thirteen communities known as the
Elu. The leadership of these communities structured themselves to be rotational, with the Oba of each community taking turns at chairmanship. The communities are remembered to be; Iloromu, Imojubi, Ideta (Idita), Oke-Oja, Parakin, Ido, Iwinrin, Odin, Ijugbe, Iraye, Oke-Awo, Iloran and Omologun.
Early Ife
Oduduwa and his group are believed to have disrupted the political structure of the 13 communities being lead by Obatala, a conflict said to be responsible for some early migrations from Ife. Between war and diplomacy lasting several generations, the groups were at a stalemate, until a large smallpox outbreak brought about a truce from the Obatala camp, eventually forming these communities into a single Ife state under the Oduduwa group.
The reconciliation and reintegration of the Obatala group into the political and civil structure of Ife is commemorated annually in the Itapa festival.
There were elements of the Ugbo, members of the former Obatala faction, who strongly opposed the new alliance. Some, seeking more fertile land, are said to have left Ife of their own accord to resettle and form their own Yoruba communities Ugbo Kingdom, while others relocated elsewhere in Ife to continue the conflict.
Crowns of Oduduwa
Long after the era of Oduduwa and Obatala, the next major progression of events were captured in the figure of Ọranyan (Ọ̀rànmíyàn). In tradition, Oranyan was a
son of Ogun, and the youngest of Oduduwa's grandsons. He is said to have been the most war-like Yoruba prince out of all his contemporaries, and certainly one of the most adventurous of the historical princes. Ife was under constant raids by disassociated factions of the previous Ugbo groups, but upon learning their secrets from
Mọremí, Oranyan is said to have brought an end to their brigandry, and along with Moremi, brought a long period of peace to Ife.
Ife enjoyed remarkable royal and technological developments throughout its classical period. It became the largest emporium for religious, economic, and political advancement in the region, and attracted traders from all over West Africa who sought its exclusive offerings. As Ife's renown increased, the eminence of the Oduduwa dynasty grew to the extent that the possession of a "crown of Oduduwa" projected the ability to guarantee security through cultural, military, and political power for migrating groups.
Oranyan spread the consolidated model of Ife kingship to many parts of the Yoruba world through his own offspring, notably establishing the two most prominent regional dynasties after Ife in the Oyo Empire, and the Benin kingdom. Some traditions from Ado Ekiti and other Yoruba kingdoms also associate part of their royal Ife origins with figures who accompanied Oranyan's initial entourage out of Ife. Oranyan later returned home, to claim Ife's crown of Oduduwa.
Omo Oduduwa
Various traditions say that up to 16 different princes or groups left Ife (Oranyan being the last) to create kingdoms that would constitute a familial commonwealth with Ife as their sacred fatherly centre. The founders of these various royal lineages are commonly translated from Yoruba traditions to English as
sons or
grandsons of Oduduwa. Historians and anthropologists generally see these traditions as the compressed selections of Yoruba descendants who were remembered for their impact, rather than as a literal and complete family tree.
Till today Yoruba people call themselves
Ọmọ Odùduwà (descendants of Oduduwa) after the same manner.
Alternative views
Oduduwa and his/her role in creation
Yoruba religious traditions about the dawn of time claim that Oduduwa was
Olodumare's favorite
Orisa. As such, he (or she, as the primordial Oduduwa originally represented the Divine Feminine aspect and Obatala the Divine Masculine) 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 in order to create land. These beliefs, held by Yoruba traditionalists, are said 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.
Another depiction of Oduduwa as being the wife of Obatala is presented in Odu Ifa Osa Meji, a verse of the Ifa. In this Odu, Obatala discovers the secret of his wife and steals the masquerade's robes from her to wear it himself. This is suggested to be a historical representation of a switch from matriarchy to patriarchy.
This cosmological tradition has sometimes been blended with the tradition of the historical Oduduwa. According to others, the historical Oduduwa is considered to be named after the earlier version of Oduduwa, who is female and related to the Earth called Ile.
The earlier traditions of either a gender-fluid or an expressly female Oduduwa are seen in the spirit's representation in the Gelede tradition. Initiates of Gelede receive a shrine to Oduduwa along with a Gelede costume and mask. This speaks to Oduduwa as being associated with the divine ancestral mothers that are known as Awon iya wa or Iyami Aje. Here, Oduduwa is revered as the mother of the Yoruba.
Non-Yoruba views
Certain other people have claimed a connection to Oduduwa. According to the
Kanuri people,
Yauri Emirate,
Gobir, Acipu, Jukun and
Borgu tribes, whose founding ancestors were said to be Oduduwa's brothers
[History of the Yorubas by Samuel Johnson 1921] (as recorded in the 19th century by Samuel Johnson), Oduduwa was the son of Damerudu, whom Yoruba call
Lamurudu, a prince who was himself the son of the magician
Kisra legend. Kisra and his allies are said to have fought
Muhammad in the Battle of Badr and Kisra was forced to migrate from Arabia into Africa after losing the war to the jihadists in 624 AD. According to the legend, he and his followers founded many kingdoms and ruling dynasties along their migration route into West Africa.
[A. Matthews " The Kisra legend) "https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00020185008706819?journalCode=cast20][).] This tradition is a variant of the belief, popular amongst some Muslims, that held that Oduduwa was a prince originating from
Mecca. However, it is thought by some scholars to derive from the later influences on Yoruba culture of Islam and other Abrahamic religions and conflicts with other traditions in the Yoruba traditional corpus.
[Bascom, Yoruba, p. 10; Stride, Ifeka: "Peoples and Empires", p. 290.]
See also
Sources
Further reading
-
Ojuade, J. S., "The issue of 'Oduduwa' in Yoruba genesis: the myths and realities", Transafrican Journal of History, 21 (1992), 139–158.
