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{{Short description| |
{{Short description|Archaeological site in Osun State, Nigeria}} | ||
Ora people or Oke_Ora are Edoid speaking ethnic group who share a common culture and language of the Benin kingdom. They are believed to be the descendants of Oba Ozolua | |||
{{Infobox ancient site | {{Infobox ancient site | ||
| name = |
| name = Oke Ora | ||
| native_name = | | native_name = '''Òkè Ọ̀rà''' | ||
| image = |
| image = File:Oke Ora (Ora Hill), Ife.jpg | ||
| image_size = | | image_size = 270px | ||
| alt = | | alt = | ||
| caption = | | caption = The 650m Ora Hill (Oke Ora) as seen from Ife looking due East. | ||
| |
| map_type = Nigeria | ||
| |
| relief = yes | ||
| map_alt = Map showing location of Oke Ora in Nigeria | |||
| location = | |||
| coordinates = {{coord|7|30|28|N|4|37|36|E|display=inline,title}} | |||
| region = | |||
| location = Ilode II, ] Local Government Area, Nigeria | |||
| region = {{NGR}}<br /> Osun State | |||
| type = | | type = | ||
| part_of = | | part_of = | ||
Line 17: | Line 18: | ||
| width = | | width = | ||
| area = | | area = | ||
| altitude_m = | | altitude_m = 650 | ||
| builder = | | builder = | ||
| material = | | material = | ||
| built = ]<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bondarenko |first1=Dmitri |title=Benin prehistory: The origin and settling down of the Edo |journal=Anthropos |date=1 January 1999 |page=4 | url=https://www.academia.edu/1903063 |access-date=31 July 2023}}</ref> | |||
| built = | |||
| abandoned = | | abandoned = 900CE (?) | ||
| epochs = | | epochs = | ||
| cultures = |
| cultures = Early ] | ||
| dependency_of = | |||
| occupants = Ora people | |||
| occupants = Oranfe, Oduduwa | |||
| event = | |||
| Region = | | Region = | ||
| excavations = 1977 | |||
|Religion=Christianity 70% .Traditional religion 30%|Related ethnic groups=Edo, Afemai, Urhobo, Isoko|Population=32,546|Language=}} | |||
|archaeologists = Omotoso Eluyemi <ref>{{cite journal |title=West African Journal of Archaeology |journal=West African Journal of Archaeology |date=1994 |volume=24 |page=62 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iZsPAQAAMAAJ&q=Eluyemi+oke+ora |access-date=30 July 2023 |publisher=editorial board of WAJA |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Shennan |first1=S. J. |title=Archaeological Approaches to Cultural Identity |date=20 May 2003 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-86629-8 |page=207 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tb-IAgAAQBAJ&dq=Eluyemi+oke+ora&pg=PA207 |access-date=30 July 2023 |language=en}}</ref> | |||
<ref>{{Cite web |title=WHY ORA PEOPLE DON'T BOW TO OBA OF BENIN |url=https://vocal.media/history/why-ora-people-don-t-bow-to-oba-of-benin |access-date=2024-12-26 |website=History |language=en}}</ref> | |||
| condition = Abandoned. (A small hamlet at the foot of the hill continues to bear the name) | |||
| ownership = | |||
| management = | |||
| public_access = | |||
| website = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} --> | |||
| notes = Early Yoruba community, <br />The origin of ] and ]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ajayi |first1=J. F. Ade |last2=Crowder |first2=Michael |title=History of West Africa |date=1976 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=978-0-231-04103-4 |pages=213 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5GiRAAAAIAAJ&q=as+far+as+the+concrete+evidence+goes+,+this+is+unlikely+to+be+further+afield+than+Ora+hill |language=en}}</ref> | |||
}} | |||
'''Oke Ora''' (]: ''Òkè Ọ̀rà'') is an ancient community and archaeological site situated on a hill about {{cvt|8|km|0}} east of ], in between the city and the small village of Itagunmodi. Two important characters in the early history of ]; ] and ] came from Oke Ora.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Nwanyanwu |first1=O. J. |last2=Opajobi |first2=Bola |last3=Olayinka |first3=Sola |title=Education for Socio-economic & Political Development in Nigeria |date=1997 |publisher=Visual Resources |isbn=978-978-34467-0-0 |page=159 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=99tCAQAAIAAJ&q=oke+ora+ife |access-date=1 May 2024 |language=en}}</ref> Several stories and legends of the ] surround the site. In the Yoruba creation legend, it was the first mound of earth formed from the soil in a snail shell and from which ], the first settlement was built. Today, it continues to play an important role in certain religious rites of the Ife people, most significantly, in the coronation rituals of the ], king of Ifẹ̀.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Nigeria |first1=Guardian |title=Ife coronation rituals and the primacy of history |url=https://guardian.ng/features/ife-coronation-rituals-and-the-primacy-of-history/ |website=The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News |access-date=30 July 2023 |date=28 August 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=New Ooni of Ife presented with traditional ''Ade-Are'' crown - P.M. News |url=https://pmnewsnigeria.com/2015/11/23/new-ooni-of-ife-presented-with-traditional-ade-are-crown/ |website=PM News Nigeria |access-date=30 July 2023}}</ref> | |||
==Name== | |||
The name ''Oke Ora'' owes its etymology to two separate words; ''Òkè'' and ''Ọ̀ra''. In the ], ''Òkè'' means a mountain or hill, while ''Ọ̀ra'' is a deity, who is one of the highest ranking in Ife, and said to be an avatar of Orishala<ref>{{cite web |title='Traditional leaders need to be more sensitive to history' |url=https://tribuneonlineng.com/traditional-leaders-need-to-be-more-sensitive-to-history/ |website=Tribune Online |access-date=30 July 2023 |date=16 May 2021}}</ref> | |||
==Site== | |||
Oke Ora is the most important landmark in a chain of seven hills surrounding the sites of the ancient Ife confederation. This confederation of Thirteen clans/provinces, (]: ''Ẹ̀lú Mẹ́tàlá'') was set in the central plain, fringed by the hills like the middle of a bowl stretching some 20 km across.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Babalola |first1=Abidemi Babatunde |title=Archaeological Investigation at Ile-Ife, Southwest Nigeria: A Preliminary Report on the 2010 Test Excavations, Pg.35 |url=https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5bd0e66f8d97400eb0099556/t/5bde0337352f5316b2f38ae1/1541276478511/Nyame+Akuma+Issue+076-Babalola.pdf |publisher=Rice University |access-date=30 July 2023}}</ref> Because of the water streams flowing downhill into the center of the bowl which was at a lower altitude of around 275m, the middle of the Ife bowl was seasonally flooded and swampy.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ogundiran |first1=Akinwumi |title=Classic Ilé-Ifẹ̀: A Consideration of Scale in the Archaeology of Early Yorùbá Urbanism, ad 1000–1400 |journal=Journal of Urban Archaeology |date=January 2023 |volume=7 |pages=77–94 |doi=10.1484/J.JUA.5.133451 |url=https://www.brepolsonline.net/doi/10.1484/J.JUA.5.133451 |access-date=3 August 2023 |language=en |issn=2736-2426}}</ref> The six other hills are; ''Oke-Obagbile, Oke-Ipao, Oke-Ijugbe, Oke-Onigbin, Oke-Araromi and Oke-Owu.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Aderinto |first1=Saheed |title=African Kingdoms: An Encyclopedia of Empires and Civilizations |date=24 August 2017 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-61069-580-0 |pages=123 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NZAwDwAAQBAJ&dq=Oke+ora+onigbin+obagbile+ife&pg=PA123 |access-date=31 July 2023 |language=en}}</ref> | |||
Archaeological work in the area has produced several artefacts in rock shelters on these hills,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Fabunmi |first1=M. A. |title=An Anthology of Historical Notes on Ifẹ City |date=1985 |publisher=J. West Publications |isbn=978-978-163-017-0 |page=20 |url=https://www.google.ca/books/edition/An_Anthology_of_Historical_Notes_on_If/SsZBAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=ooyelagbo&dq=ooyelagbo&printsec=frontcover |access-date=28 November 2024 |language=en}}</ref> such as; hand tools i.e. axes, broken pottery fragments, charcoal, stone sculptures, ancient road pavements and clay figurines. Some of the pots have holes in their rims for ropes to hang them from palm trees in the collection of palm wine. All being evidence of early human habitation by the ancestors of the modern people of Ife and its immediate environs.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Shennan |first1=S. J. |title=Archaeological Approaches to Cultural Identity |date=20 May 2003 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-134-86629-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tb-IAgAAQBAJ&q=artefacts+excavated+at+the+site+&pg=PA207 |access-date=31 July 2023 |language=en}}</ref> | |||
Close by Oke Ora was ''Igbo Ore'', a site which is associated with a character in early Ife known by the name ''Oreluere''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VC51AAAAIAAJ&q=idena+oke+ora |publisher=Historical Society of Nigeria |access-date=31 July 2023 |language=en |date=1978}}</ref> The grove has also yielded several artefacts such as the Idena and Olofenfura (Olofinfura) human stone sculptures.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ajayi |first1=J. F. Ade |last2=Crowder |first2=Michael |title=History of West Africa |date=1976 |publisher=Longman |isbn=978-0-582-64187-7 |page=210 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5ERzAAAAMAAJ&q=idena+stone+carvings |access-date=31 July 2023 |language=en}}</ref> These sculptures have been estimated to date to the period in between the 8th and 10th centuries CE.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Falola |first1=Toyin |last2=Jennings |first2=Christian |title=Sources and Methods in African History: Spoken, Written, Unearthed |date=2004 |publisher=University Rochester Press |isbn=978-1-58046-140-5 |page=46 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CS5tHpdMMa4C&dq=idena+ore+ife&pg=PA46 |access-date=31 July 2023 |language=en}}</ref> British Archaeologist, Paul Ozanne stated in his 1969 preliminary survey of the Ife area that; "Many settlements were already established on ground in the Ife country by at least the 4th century BC (350BCE) in the latest." The gradual establishment and peopling of the area that became Ife dates back to around the year (900BC).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Aderinto |first1=Saheed |title=African Kingdoms: An Encyclopedia of Empires and Civilizations |date=24 August 2017 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=978-1-61069-580-0 |page=123 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6hXHEAAAQBAJ&dq=oke+ora+ife&pg=PA123 |access-date=30 April 2024 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Transafrican Journal of History |date=1992 |publisher=East African Publishing House |page=141 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zPwkcFs2K4EC&q=IFe+500bc |access-date=30 April 2024 |language=en}}</ref> | |||
==History== | ==History== | ||
].]] | |||
The history of Oke Ora is directly related to the history of early communities of Ife, and by extension the entirety of Yorubaland- the vast majority of which directly relate to Ife through dynastic migrations of people, royals and ideas by way of innovation and technology. | |||
According to Ife accounts, it was from the settlement atop this hill that Oduduwa and his followers descended into the midst of an ongoing political imbroglio that had engulfed the thirteen confederal communities (''Ẹ̀lú Mẹ́tàlá'') in the Ife valley/bowl headed at the time by Obatala. On ground in the Ife area, he met Sixteen extant elders known as the '''Ooye Merindinlogun''' which included; Agboniregun (Orunmila), Oluorogbo, Oreluere, Elesije, Obameri, Esidale, Obagede, Obasin, Obalejugbe, Ojumu of Iloran and others. The incoming Oduduwa group did not belong to the confederal arrangement in the valley, and were originally seen as outsiders (new comers). This was the source of purport for the traditional account that Oduduwa was a "stranger from the east".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ogunremi |first1=Deji |last2=Adediran |first2=Biodun |title=Culture and Society in Yorubaland |date=1998 |publisher=Rex Charles Publication |isbn=978-978-2137-73-9 |pages=268 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dm8uAQAAIAAJ&q=oke+ora+ife |access-date=30 April 2024 |language=en}}</ref> | |||
The Oduduwa led group then took advantage of the ongoing disharmonious political situation to enter the political fray that dominated the affairs of the Ife valley at the time.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Adebayo |first1=Akanmu |title=Culture, Politics, and Money Among the Yoruba |date=6 February 2018 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-351-52419-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vPdKDwAAQBAJ&dq=Oke+ora&pg=PT19 |access-date=31 July 2023 |language=en}}</ref> | |||
<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Traditions of Origin of Ora People owan edo state nigeria |url=https://edoworld.net/owan_Ora_people.html |access-date=2024-12-26 |website=edoworld.net}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Korkus |first=Stella Dimoko |title=Story Of Why Ora People Dont Bow To The Oba Of Benin |url=https://www.stelladimokokorkus.com/2023/11/story-of-why-ora-people-dont-bow-to-oba.html |access-date=2024-12-26}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Traditions of Origin of Ora People owan edo state nigeria |url=https://edoworld.net/owan_Ora_people.html |access-date=2024-12-26 |website=edoworld.net}}</ref> | |||
The thirteen communities/provinces/clans (''Elu'') that formed the Ife federation were: | |||
== Significance of Ora_Ekpen == | |||
] | |||
Oran Ekpen married six wives from Uokha and each wife had two children .This made all his children to be 12 in Iregbe. From Iregbe or Odorere, the moved to Ugbubezi from where they settled in their present settlement. The most senor child of Ora Ekpen is Umale or Imale. Umale turned out to be very lazy and un ambitious. He was a disappointment.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Azelama |first=Julius Uduimho |title=The leadership philosophy of comrade Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole |date=2016 |publisher=Stirling-Horden Publishers |isbn=9789780325794 |pages=Page 45 |language=English}}</ref> His brothers colluded among themselves and killed him. Obe his blood brother then reported this occurrence to their father. As a result of this occurrence, Ora- Ekpen dispersed all the children to different settlements that formed the six major clans that made the present day Ora.. The six major clans that represents the first sons of each wife are Ohia, Ovbiokhuanrin, Evbiobe, Uhonmora, Oke and Eme.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Traditions of Origin of Ora People owan edo state nigeria |url=https://edoworld.net/owan_Ora_people.html |access-date=2024-12-26 |website=edoworld.net}}</ref> | |||
* Iloromu | |||
* Imojubi | |||
* Ideta (Idita) | |||
* Oke-Oja | |||
* Parakin | |||
* Ido | |||
* Iwinrin | |||
* Odin | |||
* Ijugbe | |||
* Iraye | |||
* Oke-Awo | |||
* Iloran | |||
* Omologun | |||
Out of their number, Ideta was the largest.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Akintoye |first1=Stephen Adebanji |title=A History of the Yoruba People |date=1 January 2010 |publisher=Amalion Publishing |isbn=978-2-35926-027-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iZcQEAAAQBAJ&dq=Iloromu,+Imojubi,+Ideta,+Parakin,+Ido%27,+Iwinrin,+Odin&pg=PT77 |access-date=31 July 2023 |language=en}}</ref> In addition to these, certain community names for various reasons (such as time of establishment) often come up in other sources as a part of the original thirteen clan confederacy, and sometimes not. These include; Ita Yemoo (Yemowo), Orun Oba Ado, Ilara, Igbo Olokun and Idio. Each village complex was further composed of its own sub-village (hamlet) groups. Ijugbe consisted of four villages, namely: Eranyigba, Igbogbe, Ipa and Ita Asin, while the Ideta complex had three: Ilale, Ilesun and Ilia villages, headed by the Obalale, Obalesun and Obalia respectively, local hamlet heads who were subservient to Obatala, lord of Ideta. All thirteen clans/provinces had their Obas, who were all said to report to the Obalejugbe, lord of Ijugbe.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Usman |first1=Aribidesi |last2=Falola |first2=Toyin |title=The Yoruba from Prehistory to the Present |date=4 July 2019 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-06460-7 |page=49 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hDCdDwAAQBAJ&dq=Iloromu,+Imojubi,+Ideta,+Parakin&pg=PA49 |access-date=31 July 2023 |language=en}}</ref> The Ile-Ife confederacy was a loose political association with no centralized government, powerful Oba or seat of permanent power.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Elaigwu |first1=J. Isawa |last2=Erim |first2=E. O. |last3=Uzoigwe |first3=G. N. |last4=Akindele |first4=R. A. |title=Foundations of Nigerian Federalism: Pre-colonial antecedents |date=2001 |publisher=Institute of Governance and Social Research (IGSR) |isbn=978-978-30738-4-5 |page=27 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3JIHAQAAMAAJ&q=Parakin+oke+ora |access-date=31 July 2023 |language=en}}</ref> | |||
==Clans of Ora== | |||
<ref>{{Cite book |last=Uluvbigele |first=Aikoroje, Victoria |title=A SHORT HISTORY OF THE ORA PEOPLE IN EDO STATE NIGERIA - Softcover |publisher=Independently published |year=2018 |isbn=9781983385193 |publication-date=2018 |pages=Page 1 to 4 |language=English}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Leonie |first=Pihama |title=Ora |date=March ,2024 |publisher=Huia Publishers |year=2021 |isbn=9781775506928 |publication-date=March 2010 |pages=Page 56 |language=English}}</ref> | |||
Over time, leaders of the original clans and their people pitched their support with either of the rival sides. There grew an armed confrontation between the two factions that had developed in the Ife valley (The Obatala group and the Oduduwa group), which resulted in a devastating civil war. Pitching their tents in the Obatala camp were; Obamakin, Obawinrin of Iwinrin, Oluorogbo, and the two great warriors; Oshateko and Oshakire. While in the Oduduwa camp were; Obameri of Odin (His war captain), Obadio, Apata of Imojubi, Obalora and others. | |||
==Emergence of the Ugbo== | |||
The civil war that engulfed ancient Ife forced Obatala and Obawinrin to abandon the Ideta and Iwinrin settlements respectively and flee across the '''Esimirin river''' to establish a new settlement with their people. The new settlement was called '''Ideta oko''' (I.e The Ideta camp as opposed to the actual '''Ideta ile''' or 'home Ideta'). After a time period when the situation had simmered down, a peace agreement was brokered between the victorious Oduduwa party and the Obatala faction by '''Ojumu''' of Iloran, one of the Ooye Merindinlogun elders. The agreement allowed for the return of Obatala and Obawinrin and their people to the ruins of Ideta and Iwinrin under the new leadership of Oduduwa in the newly unified settlement of “Ile-Ife” where Ooduwa was now in full control. Oduduwa became the first Ọba of a unified Ife. The era of the 13 semi autonomous clans (Elu) was gone for good. | |||
However, not all members of the Obatala faction were pleased with the new terms of agreement/settlement. The dissatisfied minority led by Obawinrin vowed never to return, stayed out of the city and migrated further away from Ideta Oko to a place called '''Igbo Ugbo'''. They launched clandestine bouts of guerrilla attacks, arson, stealing, terror, kidnapping, farm attacks and other vices on Ife from there up until the ] saga which put an end to the attacks from the Ugbo for good.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bascom |first1=William Russell |title=Ifa Divination: Communication Between Gods and Men in West Africa |date=11 March 1991 |publisher=Indiana University Press |isbn=978-0-253-20638-1 |page=515 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CS0h4Ye9puUC&dq=Oluyare+Ife&pg=PA515 |language=en}}</ref> Obatala himself is known as Oba ] (King of the Igbo) - While the ] are also known as the Eluyare or Igare.<ref>{{cite book |title=Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria |date=1978 |publisher=Historical Society of Nigeria |page=165 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VC51AAAAIAAJ&q=Oluyare+Igare |access-date=18 December 2023 |language=en}}</ref> | |||
==Significance of Oke Ora== | |||
The legendary descent of Oduduwa from Oke Ora is ] in Yoruba religious/philosophical circles as a literal 'descent' from the ]s/abode of the ].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Abiodun |first1=Rowland |title=Yoruba Art and Language: Seeking the African in African Art |date=29 September 2014 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-04744-0 |page=353 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LF43BAAAQBAJ&dq=oduduwa+oke+ora&pg=PA353 |language=en}}</ref> | |||
The ritual significance of Oduduwa's descent from Oke Ora is usually demonstrated in the coronation rituals of every new ] which involves seven kingmakers who play different functions. | |||
On the morning of the coronation day, after spending twenty one days at ''Ilofin'' (seclusion) where his head is shaved,<ref>{{cite web |title=Ooni-Elect, Ogunwusi Leaves Ilofi for Crowning Today |url=https://allafrica.com/stories/201511230616.html |website=Allarica.com |access-date=31 July 2023}}</ref> the king-in-making proceeds to Ife's eastern gate called ''Lekun Ode''. | |||
This procession mirrors the path and direction that Oduduwa took into the Iloromu clan (now in Moore quarters) of Ife from his eastern home of Oke Ora. There, he meeds the Walode of Ife, high priest of ] and patron chief of the bead makers and glass workers of Ife who traditionally made the ]. | |||
He then proceeds to visit the site of the Oduduwa temple and Oke Ora,<ref>{{cite web |title=New Ooni Of Ife Presented With The Aare Crown Worn Once A Year |url=https://www.informationng.com/2015/11/new-ooni-of-ife-presented-with-the-aare-crown-worn-once-a-year.html |website=Information Nigeria |access-date=31 July 2023 |date=24 November 2015}}</ref> home of his ancestor with members of the ''Isoro'' chiefly class, where he has a symbolic crown made for him by the Odofin of Ido. The Ife royal/state sword, 'Ada Ogun' (patron deity of the royal family) is also brought over to Ido and handed to the Ooni by the Owa Eredunmi, chief priest of Oranmiyan in a process known as Igbada or 'sword Investiture'. This is followed by crossing the eastern gate on the left side towards Iwesu. He is then proclaimed Ooni. | |||
After the proclamation, his name is eventually announced at Enugeru.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Adebayo |first1=Akanmu |title=Culture, Politics, and Money Among the Yoruba |date=6 February 2018 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-351-52419-3 |pages=390 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vPdKDwAAQBAJ&dq=Oke+ora&pg=PT19 |access-date=31 July 2023 |language=en}}</ref> The palace and town officials then pay homage to the new king in the Obalufe's courtyard. | |||
==Ife Post Unification== | |||
After the unification of Ife, the city developed based on Six major historic quarters (Ọ̀gbọ́n) overseen by the major chiefs of the Ihare class (town chiefs) who were originally six in number and led by the Obalufe who was comparable to a traditional prime minister of sort. Power became centralized under a ruler and the previously semi autonomous clans/communities in Ife had merged into a single urban entity. Even though the titles of some of the previous clan leaders and community heads continued to carry the prefix '''-Oba''', they had lost their political and economic power to the authority of the Ooni.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Akinjogbin |first1=Isaac Adeagbo |title=The origins of iron metallurgy in Africa: new light on its antiquity ; West and Central Africa |date=2004 |publisher=Unesco |location=Paris |isbn=978-92-3-103807-5 |page=55 |url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000133901/PDF/133843eng.pdf.multi.nameddest=133901 |access-date=1 May 2024}}</ref> | |||
The six new quarters of Ife were;<ref>{{cite web |title=Ooni: The storm that rocked the palace |url=http://currentnewsinnigeria.blogspot.com/2015/08/ooni-storm-that-rocked-palace.html?m=1 |website=Get Current News in Nigeria- Latest breaking news update |access-date=23 November 2023 |date=7 August 2015}}</ref> | |||
{| class="wikitable" | {| class="wikitable" | ||
|+ | |+ | ||
|- | |- | ||
! Wards !! Chiefs | |||
! Village by seniority !! Totems and total wards | |||
|- | |- | ||
| Iremo (Remo) || Obalufe (Ọruntọ) Leader | |||
| Ohia || Boa and ovbe snake 4 wards | |||
|- | |- | ||
| Imoore (Moore) || Oba Ejio | |||
| Ovbiokhuain || Bushcat 1 ward | |||
|- | |- | ||
| |
| Ilode || Obaloran & Ejesi | ||
|- | |- | ||
| Ilare || Waasin | |||
| Uhonmora || Grasscutter 4 wards | |||
|- | |- | ||
| Iraye || Obalaaye | |||
| Oke_Ora || No village 2 wards | |||
|- | |- | ||
| Okerewe/Ikogun || Akogun<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Adegoke |first1=Ebenezer Olalekan |title=A study of the role of women in the burial rituals of the Ife of southwestern Nigeria. |date=March 1995 |page=20 |url=https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/2933262/244106.pdf |journal= King's College Research Portal |access-date=10 November 2024}}</ref> | |||
| Eme_Ora || Goat 5 wards | |||
|} | |} | ||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||
*] | |||
*Edo people | |||
*] | |||
*Afemai people | |||
*] | |||
*Esan people | |||
*] | |||
*] | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
{{Reflist}} | |||
<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-05-07 |title=Benin City and Edo culture, pure Nigerian history - Kumakonda |url=https://kumakonda.com/benin-city-culture-and-masks-edo-nigeria/ |access-date=2024-12-26 |language=en-US}}</ref> | |||
<ref>{{Cite book |last=Henige |first=David |title=History in Africa |date=2010 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |publication-date=2010 |pages=Page 2 |language=English |eissn=15582744 |issn=03615413}}</ref> | |||
] | ] | ||
] | ] |
Revision as of 15:09, 26 December 2024
Archaeological site in Osun State, NigeriaÒkè Ọ̀rà | |
The 650m Ora Hill (Oke Ora) as seen from Ife looking due East. | |
Shown within Nigeria | |
Location | Ilode II, Ife East Local Government Area, Nigeria |
---|---|
Region | Nigeria Osun State |
Coordinates | 7°30′28″N 4°37′36″E / 7.50778°N 4.62667°E / 7.50778; 4.62667 |
Altitude | 650 m (2,133 ft) |
History | |
Founded | Late Stone Age |
Abandoned | 900CE (?) |
Cultures | Early Yorubaland |
Associated with | Oranfe, Oduduwa |
Site notes | |
Excavation dates | 1977 |
Archaeologists | Omotoso Eluyemi |
Condition | Abandoned. (A small hamlet at the foot of the hill continues to bear the name) |
Early Yoruba community, The origin of Oduduwa and Oranfe |
Oke Ora (Yoruba: Òkè Ọ̀rà) is an ancient community and archaeological site situated on a hill about 8 km (5 mi) east of Ufẹ̀ (Ilé-Ifẹ̀), in between the city and the small village of Itagunmodi. Two important characters in the early history of Yorubaland; Oranife (Oramfe) and Oduduwa came from Oke Ora. Several stories and legends of the Yoruba people surround the site. In the Yoruba creation legend, it was the first mound of earth formed from the soil in a snail shell and from which Ife, the first settlement was built. Today, it continues to play an important role in certain religious rites of the Ife people, most significantly, in the coronation rituals of the Ọwọni (Ooni), king of Ifẹ̀.
Name
The name Oke Ora owes its etymology to two separate words; Òkè and Ọ̀ra. In the Yoruba language, Òkè means a mountain or hill, while Ọ̀ra is a deity, who is one of the highest ranking in Ife, and said to be an avatar of Orishala
Site
Oke Ora is the most important landmark in a chain of seven hills surrounding the sites of the ancient Ife confederation. This confederation of Thirteen clans/provinces, (Yoruba: Ẹ̀lú Mẹ́tàlá) was set in the central plain, fringed by the hills like the middle of a bowl stretching some 20 km across. Because of the water streams flowing downhill into the center of the bowl which was at a lower altitude of around 275m, the middle of the Ife bowl was seasonally flooded and swampy. The six other hills are; Oke-Obagbile, Oke-Ipao, Oke-Ijugbe, Oke-Onigbin, Oke-Araromi and Oke-Owu.
Archaeological work in the area has produced several artefacts in rock shelters on these hills, such as; hand tools i.e. axes, broken pottery fragments, charcoal, stone sculptures, ancient road pavements and clay figurines. Some of the pots have holes in their rims for ropes to hang them from palm trees in the collection of palm wine. All being evidence of early human habitation by the ancestors of the modern people of Ife and its immediate environs.
Close by Oke Ora was Igbo Ore, a site which is associated with a character in early Ife known by the name Oreluere. The grove has also yielded several artefacts such as the Idena and Olofenfura (Olofinfura) human stone sculptures. These sculptures have been estimated to date to the period in between the 8th and 10th centuries CE. British Archaeologist, Paul Ozanne stated in his 1969 preliminary survey of the Ife area that; "Many settlements were already established on ground in the Ife country by at least the 4th century BC (350BCE) in the latest." The gradual establishment and peopling of the area that became Ife dates back to around the year (900BC).
History
The history of Oke Ora is directly related to the history of early communities of Ife, and by extension the entirety of Yorubaland- the vast majority of which directly relate to Ife through dynastic migrations of people, royals and ideas by way of innovation and technology.
According to Ife accounts, it was from the settlement atop this hill that Oduduwa and his followers descended into the midst of an ongoing political imbroglio that had engulfed the thirteen confederal communities (Ẹ̀lú Mẹ́tàlá) in the Ife valley/bowl headed at the time by Obatala. On ground in the Ife area, he met Sixteen extant elders known as the Ooye Merindinlogun which included; Agboniregun (Orunmila), Oluorogbo, Oreluere, Elesije, Obameri, Esidale, Obagede, Obasin, Obalejugbe, Ojumu of Iloran and others. The incoming Oduduwa group did not belong to the confederal arrangement in the valley, and were originally seen as outsiders (new comers). This was the source of purport for the traditional account that Oduduwa was a "stranger from the east".
The Oduduwa led group then took advantage of the ongoing disharmonious political situation to enter the political fray that dominated the affairs of the Ife valley at the time.
The thirteen communities/provinces/clans (Elu) that formed the Ife federation were:
- Iloromu
- Imojubi
- Ideta (Idita)
- Oke-Oja
- Parakin
- Ido
- Iwinrin
- Odin
- Ijugbe
- Iraye
- Oke-Awo
- Iloran
- Omologun
Out of their number, Ideta was the largest. In addition to these, certain community names for various reasons (such as time of establishment) often come up in other sources as a part of the original thirteen clan confederacy, and sometimes not. These include; Ita Yemoo (Yemowo), Orun Oba Ado, Ilara, Igbo Olokun and Idio. Each village complex was further composed of its own sub-village (hamlet) groups. Ijugbe consisted of four villages, namely: Eranyigba, Igbogbe, Ipa and Ita Asin, while the Ideta complex had three: Ilale, Ilesun and Ilia villages, headed by the Obalale, Obalesun and Obalia respectively, local hamlet heads who were subservient to Obatala, lord of Ideta. All thirteen clans/provinces had their Obas, who were all said to report to the Obalejugbe, lord of Ijugbe. The Ile-Ife confederacy was a loose political association with no centralized government, powerful Oba or seat of permanent power.
Over time, leaders of the original clans and their people pitched their support with either of the rival sides. There grew an armed confrontation between the two factions that had developed in the Ife valley (The Obatala group and the Oduduwa group), which resulted in a devastating civil war. Pitching their tents in the Obatala camp were; Obamakin, Obawinrin of Iwinrin, Oluorogbo, and the two great warriors; Oshateko and Oshakire. While in the Oduduwa camp were; Obameri of Odin (His war captain), Obadio, Apata of Imojubi, Obalora and others.
Emergence of the Ugbo
The civil war that engulfed ancient Ife forced Obatala and Obawinrin to abandon the Ideta and Iwinrin settlements respectively and flee across the Esimirin river to establish a new settlement with their people. The new settlement was called Ideta oko (I.e The Ideta camp as opposed to the actual Ideta ile or 'home Ideta'). After a time period when the situation had simmered down, a peace agreement was brokered between the victorious Oduduwa party and the Obatala faction by Ojumu of Iloran, one of the Ooye Merindinlogun elders. The agreement allowed for the return of Obatala and Obawinrin and their people to the ruins of Ideta and Iwinrin under the new leadership of Oduduwa in the newly unified settlement of “Ile-Ife” where Ooduwa was now in full control. Oduduwa became the first Ọba of a unified Ife. The era of the 13 semi autonomous clans (Elu) was gone for good.
However, not all members of the Obatala faction were pleased with the new terms of agreement/settlement. The dissatisfied minority led by Obawinrin vowed never to return, stayed out of the city and migrated further away from Ideta Oko to a place called Igbo Ugbo. They launched clandestine bouts of guerrilla attacks, arson, stealing, terror, kidnapping, farm attacks and other vices on Ife from there up until the Moremi Ajasoro saga which put an end to the attacks from the Ugbo for good. Obatala himself is known as Oba Ugbo (King of the Igbo) - While the Igbo people are also known as the Eluyare or Igare.
Significance of Oke Ora
The legendary descent of Oduduwa from Oke Ora is apotheosized in Yoruba religious/philosophical circles as a literal 'descent' from the heavens/abode of the Orisha. The ritual significance of Oduduwa's descent from Oke Ora is usually demonstrated in the coronation rituals of every new Ooni Ife which involves seven kingmakers who play different functions. On the morning of the coronation day, after spending twenty one days at Ilofin (seclusion) where his head is shaved, the king-in-making proceeds to Ife's eastern gate called Lekun Ode.
This procession mirrors the path and direction that Oduduwa took into the Iloromu clan (now in Moore quarters) of Ife from his eastern home of Oke Ora. There, he meeds the Walode of Ife, high priest of Olokun and patron chief of the bead makers and glass workers of Ife who traditionally made the Oba's crown. He then proceeds to visit the site of the Oduduwa temple and Oke Ora, home of his ancestor with members of the Isoro chiefly class, where he has a symbolic crown made for him by the Odofin of Ido. The Ife royal/state sword, 'Ada Ogun' (patron deity of the royal family) is also brought over to Ido and handed to the Ooni by the Owa Eredunmi, chief priest of Oranmiyan in a process known as Igbada or 'sword Investiture'. This is followed by crossing the eastern gate on the left side towards Iwesu. He is then proclaimed Ooni.
After the proclamation, his name is eventually announced at Enugeru. The palace and town officials then pay homage to the new king in the Obalufe's courtyard.
Ife Post Unification
After the unification of Ife, the city developed based on Six major historic quarters (Ọ̀gbọ́n) overseen by the major chiefs of the Ihare class (town chiefs) who were originally six in number and led by the Obalufe who was comparable to a traditional prime minister of sort. Power became centralized under a ruler and the previously semi autonomous clans/communities in Ife had merged into a single urban entity. Even though the titles of some of the previous clan leaders and community heads continued to carry the prefix -Oba, they had lost their political and economic power to the authority of the Ooni.
The six new quarters of Ife were;
Wards | Chiefs |
---|---|
Iremo (Remo) | Obalufe (Ọruntọ) Leader |
Imoore (Moore) | Oba Ejio |
Ilode | Obaloran & Ejesi |
Ilare | Waasin |
Iraye | Obalaaye |
Okerewe/Ikogun | Akogun |
See also
References
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- "West African Journal of Archaeology". West African Journal of Archaeology. 24. editorial board of WAJA: 62. 1994. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
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