Yoruba Gurus: Indigenous Production of Knowledge in Africa [pbk ed.] 0865436991, 9780865436992

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9 ££ .C\ p If I

Yoirubcu gurus Indigenous Production of Knowledge, in Africa,

Yorubn Qurus Indigenous Production of Knowledge* in Africa/

Toyin Taiolo/

Africa World Press, Inc. P.O. Box 1892 Trenton, NJ 08607

P.O. Box 48 Asmara, ERITREA

Africa World Press, Inc. P.O. Box 1892 Trenton, NJ 08607

P.O. Box 48 Asmara, ERITREA

Copyright ® 1999 Tbyin Falola First Printing 1999 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopy¬ ing, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the publisher. Cover and Book design: Jonathan Gullery Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Falola, Tbyin. Yoruba gurus : indegenous production of knowledge in Africa / by Toyin Falola. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-86543-698-3 (hardbound). - ISBN 0-86543-699-1 (pbk.) 1. Yoruba (African people)-Intellectual life. 2. Yoruba (African people)-History. 3. Philosophy, Yoruba. 4. Intellectuals-Nigeria-History. I. Title. DT515.45.Y67F353 1998 98-37140 966.9’00496333-dc21 CIP

For My Daughter, Toyin Falola, the Bridge Between the Past and the Future

CONTENTS Preface and Acknowledgments ix Chapter One The Evolution of Indigenous Production of Knowledge 1 Chapter Two Samuel Johnson: The Pioneer and Patriarch 31 Chapter Three M. C. Adeyemi: The Historian of Oyo 53 Chapter Four King Isaac Babalola Akinyele: The Scholar of Ihadan 93 Chapter Five Kemi Morgan: Another Reconstruction of Ibadan History 133 Chapter Six Chief Samuel Ojo Bada: The Frontier City of Ilorin 157 Chapter Seven Theophilus Olabode Avoseh: Major and Minor Works on Epe and Badagry 173 Chapter Eight Unsung Authors of the Modern Era: The Histories of Igbomina 237

Chapter Nine Alternative Knowledge: Perspectives, Ideas, and Relevance 279 Bibliography 305 Index 311

Preface Mid

Adawudedqemervts This book is about the intellectual production of the prominent Yoruba intelligentsia outside of the academy. The academic mode has often privileged itself at the expense of other sites of produc¬ tion and other voices. In this book, I analyze the broad themes of the chroniclers who wrote in Yoruba and English and the contri¬ bution of the gurus among them. In addition, I present a few select¬ ed texts to elaborate general and specific points. History, traditions, myths, colonial experience, and the con¬ temporary socio-political order are themes that have occupied the minds of Yoruba chroniclers since they began to use the English and Yoruba languages to reconstruct the past and comment on the present. These works are many, perhaps over a hundred, but only a few have become famous or known. The language of communi¬ cation and the quality of documentation have determined in part how these works are received. In general, however, chroniclers who have used indigenous languages tended to be ignored outside of their own culture. For instance, the works of Chief Ojo Bada and Chief Ola Avoseh, mentioned below, are largely ignored. My focus is on the Yoruba, whose intelligentsia rank in the fore¬ front in Africa. The Yoruba boast of a high and sophisticated cul¬ tural attainment. Their art forms are now among the world's most renowned, their political structure is complex and hierarchical for most areas, their language is rich and their social and economic institutions are elaborate. The Yoruba live in heterogeneous cities, with division of labor, social hierarchies, and diverse cultural and intellectual production. Intellectual production has always been vibrant, as attested to by the complicated Ifa divination system and the knowledge of its practitioners (the Babalawo), oral histories,

x

Yoruba Gurus

and-after the nineteenth century—various writing forms by a new elite. My interest in this project dates to the 1970s, when I undertook studies on Nigerian historiography at the University of Ife, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. I owe this interest to the lectures of Professor S. A. Akintoye, a brilliant scholar whose career was cut short by a diver¬ sion to full-time politics. In the 1980s, I began to pay attention to the leading writers. Ile-Ife was then the major center for the study of Yoruba history, and I benefited immensely from many semi¬ nars. In the 1990s I collected extensive data and conducted field¬ work throughout the region. This ambitious fieldwork, with many field assistants, was made possible by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). I thank the NEH, without which this and related works would have been impossible. Over the years, my ideas have been tested in many seminars and pub¬ lished in some journals. I would like to thank Dr. David Henige, the editor of History in Africa for granting the permission to draw from essays published in that influential journal. I would also like to thank Dr. Michel Doortmont who collaborated with me in the 1980s to work on Oyo, and Professor H. O. Danmole on Ilorin. The Journal of African History also allowed me to draw from the essay on Oyo. Deciding which approach to adopt in writing this book pre¬ sented me with hard choices and agonies. At first, I was originally satisfied with translating and annotating many texts. This was the primary reason why the NEH sponsored the research. I have ful¬ filled this mission, as readers can see in this book and forthcom¬ ing ones, some of which will be limited in their ambition. I decided against this approach, as this is the first book to spotlight the achievements and limitations of this genre. Then I decided to undertake a full-blown analytical approach, and I came up with a manuscript that ended up suppressing the voice of the chroniclers. I was disappointed, although I was gratified by the positive com¬ ments I received from my colleagues. I ended with a third alter¬ native approach, which has made me a little nervous, a combination of alternative and competing voices: I present my own voice in the interpretation of texts, and I let the chroniclers speak for themselves in a number of instances. In some cases, as in Akinyele and Morgan, I present extensive quotations to validate my statements. Yet in some other cases, as in Adeyemi and Avoseh, I present short texts in their entirety to give full meaning to anno¬ tations and my interpretations. Where texts are so presented, they are meant to serve as illustrations of how they write and the themes

Preface and Acknowledgements

xi

that dominate their thinking. Adeyemi's text, for instance, is a rep¬ resentative example of Oyo traditions as they existed at the begin¬ ning of the twentieth century; it complements Johnson's The History of the Yoruba, where both describe the same event; it is very useful for understanding how "traditional'' historians study soci¬ ety; and it provides new information on Oyo in the nineteenth cen¬ tury and on some cultural features of the Yoruba. Many scholars of Yoruba history have assisted with generous comments on the different aspects of this study. The list is long, but I want to thank, in particular, Robin Law of the University of Stirling, Scotland; H. O. Danmole of the University of Ilorin, Nigeria; Michel Doortmont of the University of Groningen, the Netherlands; Wolfgang Kase of the Univerity of Hamburg; Gafaru Adebayo of Kennesaw State University, USA; Robert Smith, retired professor of Yoruba history; and Ann O’Hear of Niagara University. In preparing this manuscript for publication, the following scholars offered guidance and advice on the draft: John Lamphear of the University of Texas at Austin; Funso Afolayan of the University of New Hampshire; and Julius Adekunle of Monmouth University. Dr. Yik Bahl of Green River Community College and Kathleen O'Connor of Harvard University helped to critique the manuscript in its first extensive draft. Ms. Aisha Gabriel of Smith College, a generous and charming person, assisted with computer formatting. I wish to thank my wife, Florence Olabisi and children— Dolapo, Bisola, and Oloruntoyin—for their love. If most authors thank their family for coping with neglect, mine is a different expe¬ rience: everybody in the family is always busy, without time to complain! I have always had an interesting social life in Austin, thanks to the members of my constituency in the University of Texas—Joel Tishken, Steve Salm, Saheed and Alea Adejumobi, John Lamphear, Steve Ward, Robin Kilson, Jackie Woodfork, Manuel Callahan, and Christian Jennings. Dr. Sheila Walker con¬ tinues to play the role of a “Spirit”. Outside of the university is also another network, although I can only thank a few: Mabel and Yemi Owo-Egbeleke (omo Ibadan nile Oluyole, eni a ni a jo, jiju laa juj and Dr. Christopher Bunmi Adejumo, (jagunlabi, okunrin meta, ayaworan eye, agbegilere omo Agbeni, mo si fila; saara re reel). This book has captured the moment for some folks. I rejoice with John Lamphear ("the husband of elephant”) for Anna’s wed¬ ding, with Nike and Yomi Alimi for their little son (Rahman) and new store (Austin International Market), with Debo Obawole for

xii

Yoruba Gurus

overcoming the ordeals of school and enjoying the fruits of her labor, with Dr. Bola Olusola for career elavation, and with Dr. Ladi Olusola of Desoto for his recent accomplishments. Eni afe lamo, a ko mo eni to fe ni denu. My publisher, Mr. Kassahun Checole, has become the biggest publisher of books on Africa. With a selfless devotion to publish¬ ing, an interest in his authors, and an eagerness to overcome all obstacles, Kassahun continues to forge ahead. He and his loyal staff deserve my full complements and gratitude. May his established company continue to prosper. I must end on a rather sad note. Two of the chroniclers who had given me their time, attention, and encouragement did not live to see the end of this project. Chief Ojo Bada and Madam Kemi Morgan died while research and writing were in progress. The health of Avoseh has deteriorated so badly that he, too, is unable to enjoy reading this book. To those who have passed on, may their souls rest in perfect peace; to those who are still alive but in bad health, may they be happy that their life-long labor is not in vain. To those who are still alive and active, may they be satisfied that their scholarship, often derided and called “little pamphlets,” is making history in its own right. —Toyin Falola The University of Texas at Austin Fall, 1998

CHAPTER ONE

Tkc Evolution/ ofindigenous Production/ of Knowledge/

r

INTRODUCTION he Yoruba, numbering over 20 million, are the second largest language group in Nigeria and one of the most populous and better-known African ethnic groups. They occupy southwestern Nigeria, and can be found elsewhere — in the Republic of Benin and Togo in West Africa and, as members of the African diaspora, in the American continent. The Yoruba are divided into many sub-ethnic groups, each with its own pecu¬ liar dialect. A sub-group comprises many villages and towns or cities. In Nigeria, these sub-groups include the Oyo, Ibarapa, Ife, Ijesa, Ibolo, Igbomina, Egba, Awori, Egbado, Egun, Ketu, Ifonyin, Ohori, Ijebu, Ijebu-Remo, Ekiti, Ikale, Ilaje, Ondo, Owo, Akoko, Ijumu, Ikiri, Abinu, Yagba, and Igbede. In the neighboring coun¬ tries of Benin and Togo, the Ife, Manigiri, Isa, Idaisa, Ajase (Porto Novo), Ketu, Sabe, and "Anago” (the Awori, Ifonyin and Ohori) com¬ prise the sub-groups. Chroniclers have presented the history of many of these groups in their works, while some groups are await¬ ing their first authors.

2

Yoruba Gurus

There is a great deal of diversity in Yoruba social organizations and settlements. Nevertheless, there is also a significant unifor¬ mity among various cultural and social institutions. Thanks to the missionaries and a formal school system, a standard Yoruba lan¬ guage that everyone can understand emerged as a written language during the nineteenth century. The intelligentsia point to linguis¬ tic unity and a common ancestral origin and historical experience as a strategy of uniting the Yoruba in modern Nigeria. We shall see how some chroniclers are concerned with the issue of Yoruba unity and how an identity has been constructed. Before the nineteenth century, the Yoruba lived for many years in separate autonomous kingdoms. In the central region, there was a handful of centralized states, notably Oyo, Owu, Ijebu, Ketu, Sabe, Ife, Ijesa, Ondo and Owo, with Oyo being the most powerful until its collapse during the nineteenth century. In other areas political units tended to be smaller, as among the Akoko, Kabba, Ikale, and Ilaje. As powerful as the Oyo Empire was, it was unable to estab¬ lish singular political control over the region. Other influences, including political imperialism, came from Benin. Most chroniclers narrate the myths of the establishment of these states and their dynasties. In some cases, this early phase is presented as the gold¬ en age when committed and military leaders emerged to establish territories or expand frontiers. Most mythical heroes, such as Oduduwa, Oranyan, Lagelu, Lisabi, and Owaluse, emerged during this phase. Changes during the nineteenth century were rapid, chaotic, and reformist. Many wars were fought among competing Yoruba states. New important centers of power, including Ibadan, Abeokuta, and Ijaye, emerged in the first half of the century; there was also a major population shift from the savanna in the north to the forest edge in the south and east. Also during the century, the circumstances that produced the new intelligentsia began to unfold with the abolition of the slave trade, the return of liberated slaves to the Yoruba homeland, evangelization by foreign missions, the British annexation of Lagos, and the subsequent imposition of colo¬ nial rule. Most chroniclers characterize the nineteenth century as an era of changes. The wars of the nineteenth century are report¬ ed, with groups divided between conquerors extending their fron¬ tiers and victims fighting for their independence. The acceptance of Christianity and Western education since the mid-nineteenth century rapidly transformed the Yoruba and created an educated elite that has played a leadership role in trop¬ ical Africa. After the Second World War, the first university in the

The Evolution of Indigenous Production of Knowledge

3

country was located among them at Ibadan and new ones were later established at Ile-Ife, Lagos, Ago-Iwoye, Abeokuta, Ogbomoso, Ilorin and Ado-Ekiti, in addition to other colleges of higher educa¬ tion. Scholars based in these universities and elsewhere have ensured the study of the region, with the result that the Yoruba are arguably the most researched group in sub-Saharan Africa. Outside of the academy, a vibrant writing culture also exists. This culture in fact pre-dated the establishment of the universities and dates back to the nineteenth century. With Yoruba, which now acquired a written form, along with the English language, a new elite began to write books, pamphlets, and essays. This book seeks to bring this vibrant scholarship into greater attention by focusing on the historical writings of the eminent ones among them. In this introductory chapter, I intend to provide the context for the emergence of this writing tradition, the phases that it witnessed during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and the various forms of writing as well as the authors associated with each one. With respect to context, there are two inter-related issues. The first is the spread of the English language, together with the Yoruba language after acquiring a written form, both of which pro¬ vided the means to communicate. The second is the emergence of a local intelligentsia. These two issues occurred almost at the same time. With respect to phases, local writings began in the nineteenth century and became transformed during the twentieth. Regarding the forms, not all the writers chose the same medium—some wrote for newspapers, others in books; some were story tellers, others historians.

THE NEW INTELLIGENTSIA Chronicles began in the nineteenth century, as a cultural project by a new intelligentsia interested in presenting to the European world a rich and different heritage. This intelligentsia was con¬ nected with the church. It believed in “legitimate" commerce and the recently inaugurated process of Westernization, as long as it did not rob Africans of political and economic power. The defin¬ ing characteristics of this elite were Western education and claims to the knowledge of (and connections with) Western culture. The elite constituted the labor pool for the emerging government sec¬ tor, the consumers for imported items, readers of available books, and the chroniclers of the age. The emergence of this elite and the writing tradition it fostered were the consequence of the European presence. The nineteenth century witnessed the abolition of the slave trade, the redemption

4

Yoruba Gurus

of many slaves and the establishment of Freetown and Liberia to resettle them, the spread of Christianity, and the European parti¬ tion of the African continent. The details of these developments have been covered in many important works. With respect to the abolition, one consequence was the return, from Sierra Leone and Brazil, of many liberated slaves between the 1830s and the 1880s to their Yoruba homeland. The repatriates from Sierra Leone had been acculturated to Western influences and accepted Christianity, while those from Brazil were familiar with Latin culture and many were Catholic converts.1 Not all were com¬ mitted to foreign cultures or Christianity, however, as many were also Muslims.2 These repatriates advanced the cause of Christianity by spreading it, and of Western education by promoting it. In a country where the majority were unable to read and write, litera¬ cy, especially in English, was a source of power. They could com¬ municate with foreign merchants and officers and at the same time serve as the representatives of the extra-literate traditional elite. Given the low number of foreign wage earners up until the late 1870s, the Yoruba elite had great opportunities to secure good jobs in the colonial secretariat, churches, and schools. The time was great for many who moved rapidly up the career and social lad¬ ders. A few became successful pioneers in the prestigious profes¬ sions of the time, notably law and medicine. In later years, others trained as engineers, surveyors, and other highly regarded occu¬ pations that attracted good incomes. As elite elsewhere, the emerg¬ ing Yoruba elite invested their income and used whatever power they had to acquire more money both in legal and in illegal ways. A complement to the activities of the repatriates was the rise of Christianity, which began to spread rapidly after the mid-1840s.3 Good beginnings were made at Lagos, Ibadan, Badagry, Abeokuta, and also at Ijaye, which was destroyed and evacuated in 1862.4 Wherever the missions were located, their aims were to evange¬ lize and establish a major cultural presence. The Christian elite believed in the superiority of their culture and manners. Christianity encouraged education and a writing culture. European missionaries wrote accounts of their experiences,5 a practice that a number of their Yoruba followers emulated. In the attempt to participate in trade, European firms estab¬ lished greater contacts in Lagos and were interested in the politi¬ cal developments in the hinterland. Trade in palm produce replaced that in slaves as the century progressed. The goods were produced in the hinterland, with Lagos as the port, the crucial cen¬ ter in the import-export trade.

The Evolution of Indigenous Production of Knowledge

5

In the late 1840s British secular agents began to appear, and they bombarded Lagos in 1851. In 1861, greater political control was established over Lagos, with the British creating new admin¬ istrative and judicial institutions, serviced by them and by edu¬ cated Africans.6 With Lagos as a base, the British penetrated the rest of Yorubaland and established colonial control in the 1890s.7 These events created consequences that gave birth to—and accelerated—intellectual development. Many ex-slaves took an interest in education, missionaries established schools, the Yoruba language was now in a written form, and the Bible was translated. A tiny elite emerged, notably in Lagos, and to a smaller extent in such places as Ibadan, Abeokuta, and elsewhere where there was a missionary presence.8 During the nineteenth century, this elite enjoyed considerable interaction with Europeans, largely because of its ability to mediate between the foreigners and the rest of the population, over which the elite claimed superiority. This elite, now possessed of the infrastructure of writing and sensitive to the European presence, gradually began to record known traditions and current events into histories. This elite ini¬ tiated an intellectual production that has survived to this day. Originally dominated by the "Saro” (i.e., Sierra Leonian Yoruba ex¬ slaves who migrated back to their homeland), this elite needed his¬ tory to articulate its own identity. Seeing itself as an agent of change, it also had to deal with current Western intellectual tradi¬ tions and the meaning of progress. It was joined by foreign mis¬ sionaries who also produced small pamphlets on a variety of issues. The early writers tried to grapple with the Yoruba past and report contemporary events. A few struggled to invent vocabular¬ ies for the Yoruba language and to write in English. Religious lit¬ erature appeared quickly, in sermons and hymns. The post-1880 writers began a tradition of protest against the Europeans, for their domination of the church, politics, and the economy. Scholars like E. A. Ayandele and Kopytoff have shown how the Saro, for instance, complained about discrimination and how this was to lay perhaps the foundation of modern nationalism.9 This nationalism was expressed more in cultural than political terms, especially in the search for the knowledge to affirm their past and the connection to the African milieu. There were attempts by this new elite to accommodate Western civilization without rejecting the past of its own people, thus producing tension in the blending of cultures. For instance, there was a divided opinion as to whether to adopt a monogamous form of marriage (along Western lines) or polygyny, a Yoruba practice.10

6

Yoruba Gurus

The authors popularized the idea of Yorubaness, an identity as well as an ethnic group with a common origin, long history, and a distinct identity. The very idea of a common ethnic identity was emphasized against the background of the divisive wars of the nine¬ teenth century.11 Samuel Johnson's account, for example, was a careful web of Yoruba history, with the Oyo in the center and other groups carefully woven around it. With warfare in the nineteenth century dominating his account, he confessed that he "deprecates the spirit of tribal feelings and petty jealousies now rife among us.”12 Some scholars are inclined to attribute the formation of a Yoruba ethnic identity to this elite and to even go further to con¬ clude that they probably invented13 the idea of a Yoruba nation as a way of building nationalism.14 This invention is interpreted as deliberate and calculated: Yoruba ex-slaves in Brazil and Sierra Leone developed a group feeling; on their return to the homeland, they transformed this group feeling to a commonly-held notion; thereafter, they used writings and language to affirm and propa¬ gate the identity; and the missionaries helped to consolidate it.15 The idea of an "invented Yoruba” has not been accepted by the modern Yoruba intelligentsia, who would argue that Yoruba con¬ sciousness pre-dated the nineteenth century and that what the mis¬ sionaries and the reduction of Yoruba to writing contributed was merely its popularization to an outside world. If the notion of "inven¬ tion” is problematic—more so as the Yoruba intelligentsia thinks that it negates the efforts to build a strong Yoruba ethnicity to compete for power in modern Nigeria—there is nevertheless a consensus on the fact that the use of the term Yoruba to define the people gained a wider currency after 1850. In this wide usage of a name to define Yoruba identity and in profiling what this identity is all about, the chroniclers have contributed a great deal. Jb those who write about pan-Yoruba issues and those who seek a Yoruba unity, the Yoruba are one people. Differences are recognized in dialects, food habits, drums, and songs. Also, sub-ethnic identities such as Oyo, Ekiti, Ijebu, Ondo, and Akoko are similarly recognized. Nevertheless, many chroniclers and Yoruba writers believe that the Yoruba constitute an ethnic group and do differ from their neighbors. Historical and cultural reasons are adduced in support of this belief. The strongest of the reasons is the claim that all Yoruba have one progenitor father, Oduduwa. IleIfe is regarded as the cradle of the race, whence most founders of dynasties and towns descended. A host of other reasons are based on cultural similarities, such as the widespread use of oriki orile (praise names of towns), common words in the language irrespective of the dialect, the common occupation of farming, the existence of kings

The Evolution of Indigenous Production of Knowledge

7

with power, the habit of living in towns instead of little villages, the worship of Ogun (god of iron) and I fa (god of divination), common dress styles, and the love of celebrations of marriage, birth, and funer¬ al ceremonies. T. A. Ladele et al. summarized this line of thinking in a definite and assertive manner: Abalo, ababo ni pe, dajudaju, okansoso ni Yoruba. Koda a le mu awon eya bii Itsekiri, ati Igala mo ara wa pelu. Bi o tile je pe olaju awon ti a n ba naja po, ati pe awon ti a n ba jagun po, nibi ti onikaluku wa wa, ti le ko eeran die die ran wan. Fun apeere, o se e se ki ilu Benin le ti ya Ilu Owo ni die ninu asa re. Bakan naa ile Dahomi le ti ko ran Sabee ati Popo. Fulani le ti ko an-n-kunle ki ni ran Ilorin; ara Benin si le ti fi ipa joba le Ikere lori nigba kan ri; tabi ki Fulani ti te Ilorin ni gaba; sibe, ohun ti o pa Yoruba po, po ju ohun ti o ya Yoruba lo. O le je pe a ti gbagbe oruku wa atijo; o si le je pe lowoowoo ni a to wa si apa ile Gusu lati orirun wa tele; o si le je pe, a ba awon kan nibi ti a wa ki o to di pe a teri won ba fun wa ni; sibe, awo okun asa to so YORU¬ BA po-danin danin ni won si wa pele.16 After all considerations, it is more than clear that the Yoruba are one people. Indeed, we can add to us such other groups as the Itsekiri and Igala. Those with whom we interacted have their own cultures and those with whom we fought were many, and it might have been possible that we influenced one another. For example, Owo might have borrowed ideas from Benin, Dahomey might have influenced the culture of Sabee and Popo, the Fulani could have taught the Ilorin how to greet someone by kneeling down, Benin could have once governed Ikere or the Fulani could have imposed control on Ilorin, yet those things that unite the Yoruba are more than those that separate them. We may have forgotten our previous common name; or we might have arrived in the region at different times, or we might have met some aborigines until we conquered them, yet the customs that bind the Yoruba are many and strong.

8

Yoruba Gurus

THE DEVELOPMENT OF LANGUAGES Before leaving the nineteenth century, it is important to talk about the languages that defined the new elite and provided the oppor¬ tunities for disseminating knowledge. English spread slowly, as a consequence of the trade contacts between Europeans and Africans after the fifteenth century. By the early nineteenth century, English could be used in a number of coastal areas such as Calabar, Warri, Brass, and Lagos, while a Creole dialect (the combination of English and local languages) also developed in these places.1. With the return to the Nigerian area of repatriated slaves, English became the language of a new elite. The transformation in the spread of English came with missionary expansion. The spread of Christianity coincided with the promotion of Western education. All schools needed to pay attention to language, if students and converts were to read the Bible and if the missionaries were even to communicate with their "flock”. As Christianity spread, so too did the English language as a core subject in the curriculum. Students in elementary schools were instructed in spelling, writ¬ ing, dictation, composition, and grammar. The English language became the language of commerce in the leading export-import transactions. It was the language of admin¬ istration after 1850 when the British established their presence in Lagos. With the rise of an elite during the same time, it became the language of culture. Many parents wanted their children to learn the English language, even if they did not want to adopt Christianity, because of its association with power and wealth.18 The knowledge of English provided job opportunities and ensured a higher level of mobility. It provided greater access to European merchants and British administrators. Throughout the nineteenth century, English was a minority language, acquired by those priv¬ ileged to be associated with the missionaries, schools, and repatri¬ ates. Its use was restrictive, employed in formal situations, for commerce, bureaucracy, and the display of elitism. When colonial rule was imposed, hundreds of new jobs were created, most of them requiring the ability to use English. As the colonial government became interested in education, it made English the language of instruction in schools. During the twenti¬ eth century, the use of the English language became more wide¬ spread and was eventually recognized as Nigeria's official language.19 Yoruba authors began to use the English language from the nineteenth century, first as part of the expression of elitism— to circulate ideas among themselves and write for a European audi¬ ence. In the twentieth century, it became the language to connect

The Evolution of Indigenous Production of Knowledge

9

to a wider reading public, both local and foreign. A parallel development was the use of the Yoruba language itself as a medium of writing. Although there were a few people in the church and administration who did not support the develop¬ ment of local languages (called the vernacular),20 the Yoruba lan¬ guage developed and was extensively used to write during the twentieth century. It became a subject in schools during the colo¬ nial period. The real revolution occurred with the reduction of the language to writing. The heroes of this revolution included nonYoruba as well as Yoruba people, notably the Rev. Samuel Ajayi Crowther. Crowther was a nineteenth century success story—a res¬ cued slave who became an Anglican bishop and a famous admin¬ istrator and author. He was ordained a priest in 1843 and worked in Sierra Leone and Nigeria. He became a bishop in 1864, resigned in 1890, and died in 1891.21 Starting as a “trial and error” search for an appropriate orthog¬ raphy in the early nineteenth century, the reduction of Yoruba to writing was due to the Christian intelligentsia who wanted to reach a wider audience and make the Bible and hymn books more acces¬ sible to converts.22 In the early 1840s, Crowther was instructed by the Church Missionary Society (CMS) to conduct worship services in Yoruba. His experiment started in Freetown in 1844, with a ser¬ mon in Yoruba and the translation of the opening chapters of the Acts of the Apostles and St. Luke's Gospel. Crowther was deter¬ mined to improve upon his initial translation. As the orthography improved, so too did his translation. That he could combine a dif¬ ficult translation project with his numerous church duties is a tes¬ timony to his energy and commitment. At the same time, work on the orthography progressed. Among the early pioneers of Yoruba orthography were John C. Raban, a CMS missionary of German origin based in Sierra Leone and the Rev. C. A. Gollmer, another missionary based at Badagry. After 1844, a consistent search for a good orthography began, pro¬ moted by the Christian missions. Henry Venn, the General Secretary of the CMS from 1841 to 1872, was a tireless advocate of a standard orthography. He, in fact, urged the missionaries in the field to study Yoruba, engage in translation, and improve upon the orthography. The motives were all related to the spread of Christianity: mastery of Yoruba and other languages would simul¬ taneously facilitate mission work, classroom teaching, and the translation of the Bible. There was debate in the 1840s about correct Yoruba vowels, accents and tone, with considerable improvement. In 1851,

10

Yoruba Gurus

Crowther published his well-received translations of St. Luke, the Acts, the Epistles of St. Peter and St. Jude. In the following year, he published Grammar and Vocabulary of the Yoruba Language, which revealed great advances in the study of Yoruba. Improvements continued to be made, but by the 1860s Yoruba had definitely become a written language. During the colonial period, the use of the language expanded with the school system. Very early in the nineteenth century, some missions like the CMS began to abandon the liberal education of the nineteenth century in preference for a narrow one of minimal education. Their local clergy was now to be trained in the vernac¬ ular and the CMS schools were also instructed to use the Yoruba language.

THE COLONIAL PERIOD The ranks of the elite continued to expand during the twentieth century, with the ability to retain some of the privileges of the pre¬ ceding era and to use both Yoruba and English. This elite retained many of the characteristics of the previous generation. The writ¬ ers among them represented the concerns of the age, including the shifts in political fortunes. While Lagos still had the highest concentration of elite, they could now be found in many other parts of Yorubaland in a vari¬ ety of roles—as school teachers, church workers, and clerks. Participation in the colonial service or trade brought wealth, which enabled a life-style of affluence compared to the majority of the population. However, unlike the period before the late 1870s, the first thir¬ ty years of the colonial era witnessed the attempts to undermine this elite—their role in trade was reduced by European firms and Lebanese retailers, their mobility in the colonial service was cur¬ tailed by racism, and their power in the church was reduced by for¬ eign control.23 The trend in the marginalization of the Yoruba elite began in the 1880s, with the economic depression brought about by the fall in the prices of palm products. Those who were able to absorb the shock were large European firms with sufficient capi¬ tal to advance credit and withstand depression. The Yoruba elite in business in the Lagos Colony and elsewhere was hit badly. There were hostilities and tension between white and black missionaries in the 1880s, leading to secession, which created a number of indigenous churches.24 Added to this were changing political cir¬ cumstances that witnessed the imposition of colonial rule and the rapid influx of a greater number of Europeans into Nigeria. The

The Evolution of Indigenous Production of Knowledge

11

new arrivals would take control of key positions in the colonial bureaucracy, and others joined as professionals and to participate in trade. The Yoruba elite,began to lose some of its political privi¬ leges. Racism also became part of the ideology of colonial controlwhites in colonial Nigeria regarded themselves as superior to the country’s educated elite. The friendship of the earlier years gave way to hostility, and colonial officers began to show more interest in the traditional and Islamic elite, who were regarded as less threatening. In the early years of the twentieth century, the hos¬ tility was openly expressed as the Yoruba elite found it increasingly difficult to get good jobs, and as segregation was practiced in hos¬ pitals, clubs, civil service organizations, and residential allocation. Walter Egerton, who assumed the governorship position in 1904, affirmed that the Yoruba elite must not hold positions of power over white officers and created separate facilities for the races. Even in the mission churches and schools, tension mounted as the Yoruba elite lost power and became subordinated to white officers. The doctrine that guided practice during these years was the infe¬ riority of the black race and the need to separate the races. "For the sake of true imperialism,” declared one contemporary, "the black and the white should never mix.”25 These dramatic changes radicalized the elite to demand reforms that would empower it. Those in the church advocated positions of authority or chose to create independent ones of their own. Those in the professions were displeased with the lack of pro¬ motion and subordination to white officers. It was apparent that political mobilization was the solution, and they began to organize against the British by attacking them in the media and forming anti-colonial political organizations.26 The Western-educated elite won concessions gradually, start¬ ing with small reforms. From the 1930s onward, they began to dis¬ place the traditional elite, following the re-organization of the native administration that included them. After 1945, as power was transferred to Nigerians, the elite gained greater control. All these political changes became reflected in the writings of the age. During the colonial period, local history was promoted by the elite for the additional reason of responding to colonial reforms of local government, political re-organization, and resource alloca¬ tion, which involved competition among different Yoruba groups. Many chroniclers abandoned the pan-Yoruba nationalism of the nineteenth century in favor of a sub-group identity to defend local interests. Progressive Unions emerged, usually organized along ethnic lines, as in the case of the Oyo Progressive Union or Ibadan

12

Yoruba Gurus

Progressive Union. Part of the strategy of these Progressive Unions was to sponsor local histories to provide charters to legitimize mod¬ ern-day claims and negotiate political alliances at the regional level. The British administration encouraged this development, searching for histories to justify certain administrative decisions relating to such issues as boundaries, administrative divisions, loca¬ tion of headquarters, and the ranking of kings and chiefs. Colonial officers embarked on the production of Intelligence Reports in the 1920s and 1930s which compelled them to seek knowledgeable informants and local historians. Indigenous scholars responded by writing local histories of their own, and ethnology—as the colonial enterprise of history writing was referred to at the time—produced some great works both by British officers and European scholars.27 Thus, Chief Ojo, the Bada of Saki, wrote on Saki28 and J. D. E. Abiola wrote on Ilesa,29to cite two leading examples. The histories of these places are presented as great narratives on city-states which were always expanding, well-governed, and flourishing. A shopping list was usually added at the end to request modern changes so as to add to the glories of these places, or to halt the slide towards decline. The British government was sometimes criticized for tak¬ ing policies that had downgraded either the city-state or its para¬ mount ruler, the Oba. To cite one example, the Oyo Progressive Union commissioned a text that defended the supremacy of Oyo over and above all other Yoruba towns, just to prevent the creation of another local government that would reduce Oyo in size and the Alaafin in power.30 Perhaps, the most detailed work of the era was that of N. D. Oyerinde, hue Itan Ogbomoso,31 Over two hundred pages in length, the book follows a somewhat "academic” format in its dis¬ cussion of sources, an elaborate chapter lay-out, and attempts at coherence. The quality of the work was in part a reflection of the quality of the author's education and knowledge. Oyerinde attend¬ ed two American universities, including the University of Chicago, returned to Ogbomoso to serve as the principal of the Baptist Academy, and received the prestigious title of the Otun Bale of the town.32 This book represents one of the best examples of an attempt by an indigenous elite to use history to seek the "modernization" of his town—a dignified past history is brilliantly connected to the con¬ temporary one, with the town marching into the future under the guiding hands of an enlightened local elite and the British. There were four other major developments during the colonial period, none of which has received any significant consideration to date. First, the period witnessed the emergence of attention to the description of Yoruba institutions in ethnographic detail. The

The Evolution of Indigenous Production of Knowledge

13

colonial period continued the intellectual debate of the nineteenth century regarding cultural choices, most especially in the area of marriage. The major question was: should a Yoruba educated man marry one, two, or more wives? The answer reflected other views on how best to assimilate to Western culture. The notable contrib¬ utors to this debate included Jacob Kehinde Coker,33 Samuel A. Coker,34 Mojola Agbebi,35 and Keyinde Okoro,36 to mention authors whose works became accessible. There were other questions such as whether Africans should establish and control their own church¬ es or even reject Christianity altogether. Still on the issue of the elaboration of culture by the intelli¬ gentsia, two studies appeared in 1916, one by S. O. Erebinulu on Bi a ti i ka owo ati isiro owo li ede Yoruba about the arithmetics of money, and S. O. Phillips, Aso He wa or Native Dress on Yoruba indigenous cloth types. A man from Ijebu-Ode, Joseph Odumosu (1863-1911), distinguished himself in the area of indigenous med¬ icine, writing what is now a classic, live Egbogi in two volumes and Iwe Iwosan.37 His other titles include Iwe Irohin flu, a less original work on current events in a few towns; Iwe Gbedegbeyo, a soft-sell fun magazine, Iwe Iranti, a historical diary, and Iwe Ala which is about the interpretation of dreams. Odumosu’s stature has been enhanced long after his death. The public belief was that he was killed by herbalists who did not like him for exposing their crafts and methods. People searched for his books to use his remedies. When drug research into indigenous medicine began in Nigerian pharmacy schools, Odumosu’s book entered into the laboratory for testing. Even the power of his descendant, an influential Christian evangelist, Pastor Odumosu (nicknamed by the public as "Jesu Oyingbo”), who was for many years based in Lagos, was credited not with his faith in Jesus Christ but with the possession of the charms contained in Iwe Egbogi. Yet another author of this gener¬ ation was Ladipo Solanke, who collected Yoruba proverbs for many years and published a valuable book on them in 1936.38 The most prolific of them all was Ajayi Kolawole Ajisafe, for¬ merly known as Emmanuel Olympus Moore. His interest was mainly in historical accounts of Yoruba laws and customs. Ajisafe published one brilliant work on religion39 in 1923 and a distin¬ guished one on law40 in the following year. Up until his death in 1940, Ajisafe wrote one book after another, with a total of slightly over fifty.41 He took a special interest in Egba society, whence he came, and engaged in disputes with the political authorities and some other interpreters. These disputes reveal the nature of intel¬ lectual controversy among the chroniclers.

Yoruba Gurus

A second notable development during the colonial period occurred in the 1930s and 1940s, when writers like Herbert Macaulay and Obafemi Awolowo returned to the nineteenth cen¬ tury framework of a united Yoruba country. The emphasis on the Yoruba as a nation was due largely to the increasing role of eth¬ nicity in Nigerian politics. The British politics of "divide-and-rule” was already producing its negative effects on inter-group relations. In the years after the Second World War, federalism and the trans¬ fer of power raised ethnic rivalry to its peak. Major groups dis¬ covered the prominent role of ethnicity, and each began to promote those cultures and histories that could strengthen ethnic identities and promote ethnic loyalties.42 Awolowo chose an approach that built history around Ile-Ife and Oduduwa, the ancestor of the Yoruba people. While neither Awolowo nor Macaulay were chroniclers, their ideas were influ¬ ential. The main reason for their approach was similar to that of Johnson, in the sense of seeking a Yoruba unity. However, unlike Johnson the missionary, the latter-day writers were politicians interested in the manipulation of history for contemporary poli¬ tics. More votes and followers could be obtained and a strong con¬ stituency could emerge if the Yoruba were united behind a leader and a party. This brilliant strategy saw the emergence of the Egbe Omo Oduduwa as a cultural organization of aspiring Yoruba nation¬ alists under Awolowo, the metamorphosis of the Egbe to the Action Group (the party that dominated the region for many years), and the transformation of Awolowo himself into the "modern Oduduwa”— the inheritor of ancient traditions and the most out¬ standing hero of the twentieth century.43 A third development was the beginning of a literary tradition pioneered by D. O. Fagunwa, whose achievement was so profound as to dwarf many of his successors. In terms of stature, Fagunwa inherited the mantle of Samuel Johnson. Fagunwa is not a chron¬ icler but a fiction writer; his fiction is, however, a reflection of Yoruba colonial society, a blend of tradition and contemporary changes. A final development was the birth of the academic mode of pro¬ duction. The first university, opened in 1947, was located at Ibadan, a Yoruba city, and others were to emerge after 1960. Yoruba stud¬ ies acquired prominence. A Yoruba Historical Scheme was estab¬ lished in the 1950s, although its principal achievement, the publication of Sources of Yoruba History, came much later.44 Academic research and published works on the Yoruba appeared slowly at first, but rapidly after 1960. N. A. Fadipe completed his

The Evolution of Indigenous Production of Knowledge

15

doctoral thesis on the sociology of the Yoruba in 1939, but his untimely death prevented its publication until 1970, when the Okedijis edited it for press.45 In spite of his criticism of the chron¬ iclers Johnson and Ajisafe, Fadipe adopted their holistic approach of covering virtually all subjects. The published volume deleted some aspects of this work, a decision reflecting bad judgment, in view of its historic significance, arguably the most substantial and enduring of this era. In 1951, D. Forde published an ethnographic survey, a valuable piece reflecting the nature of Yoruba society in the early years of British rule.46 In the 1930s William Bascom, later to become famous, collected his field notes that were used to write his widely-read synthesis, The Yoruba of Southwestern Nigeria,47 printed in 1969. Before then, he published his findings on cults, Ifa divination, and social structures.48 In the 1950s, P. C. Lloyd and Krapf-Askari’s field research yielded important monographs on the land-tenure system, and on Yoruba cities later on in the 1960s.49 Both in quantity and quality of production, no group has con¬ tributed to Yoruba studies more than the Yoruba themselves. In the 1950s, a journal was established to publish research findings on the Yoruba. Known as Odu, Journal of Yoruba, Edo and Related Studies, it immediately acquired prominence for Yoruba studies, publish¬ ing many pioneering essays. When the University of Ife was estab¬ lished in 1962, it acquired the journal, as part of its contribution to African and Yoruba studies.50 S. O. Biobaku, the pioneer historian, explored the relevance of Yoruba oral traditions,51 in addition to his research that led to the first academic book on the Egba.52 Not long after, I. A. Akinjogbin began his research that led to his essays on the Old Oyo Empire.53 Studies of the nineteenth century were con¬ ducted in the 1960s by Bolanle Awe,54 Ade Ajayi,55 and S. A. Akintoye.56 By the 1970s, the literature had become substantial, and un-rivalled in sub-Saharan Africa. A 1976 checklist, even with many omission, listed 3,488 items,57 the field showed all the signs of maturity,58 and works of synthesis became highly fragmented.59 There have always been some connections between academic works and the chronicles. To start with, the scholars needed the chronicles as sources, thus popularizing local histories. Chronicles are treated as primary sources to complement archival works. They are also treated as oral traditions. In such cases as the evolution of Yoruba kingdoms and the wars of the nineteenth century, acade¬ mic scholars have profited from the chronicles more than any other sources. Such an excellent essay as that by Ade Obayemi on the Yoruba states before 1800 or the synthesis by Robert Smith on the kingdoms would have been impossible without the chronicles.60

16

Yoruba Gurus

Secondly, in many cases the chronicles provided the leads to follow and even the subjects to investigate. It appears as if schol¬ ars concentrate on those issues for which the chroniclers have sup¬ plied a large body of data. Areas where chronicles tend to be thin have also been some of the most neglected issues in academic reconstruction. One notable example is the case of the nineteenth century, which has been dominated by research on warfare.61 Thirdly, because they are valuable as published oral traditions, an attempt was made in the 1960s and 1970s to collect them or to inspire some people to write new ones. Where no chronicler was available for an area, academic departments deliberately encour¬ aged final year degree students to undertake projects on the areas where they themselves came from by collecting data and analyz¬ ing it. Fourthly, scholars encourage the publications of some chroni¬ cles, as in the case of Jacob Egharevba on Benin reprinted by the University of Ibadan press or that of Olulande on Ede.62 The aim is to make these works available to a larger audience. Finally, the conception of the Yoruba identity supplied by the chroniclers has been embraced by the academy. This identity includes a notion of a common "race” or nation, the Oduduwa myth, the important place of Ile-Ife, and the need for progress in a "modern society.” To put this point in a different way—the chron¬ iclers have defined who the Yoruba are, and the academics have accepted it; the chroniclers defined some key subjects of study, and the academics have followed their lead; the chroniclers have defined a modernization agenda which the academics have clev¬ erly appropriated. However, in this interaction scholars in the academy regard themselves as superior. They make more money as wage earners, live better, and tend to have more power and privileges than the chroniclers. Power and privilege have enabled them to criticize the chronicles and to berate some of them.

CONTEMPORARY CHRONICLERS The colonial phase merged with the contemporary one. The tra¬ dition had become established, and several authors emerged on the scene with agendas similar to those of their predecessors. After 1960, those communities without published local histories mobi¬ lized to have one, thus promoting the continuity of a successful intellectual tradition.63 To cite just one example, Chief T. Ola Avoseh, a distinguished author, justified his book on Epe in the fol¬ lowing words:

The Evolution of Indigenous Production of Knowledge

17

In order to remove the scorn and shame of Epe, caused by the lack of a written history of Epe and as with the demise of the elders and historians the his¬ tory is going into obscurity, I embark on the under¬ standing of getting into print.64 A number of the post-1950 chroniclers try to comment on their sources or even to include bibliographies, an imitation of the prac¬ tice of academic history. In Chapter 8, I use the chronicles on the Igbomina to elucidate the continuities.

THE GENRES The writers employed many genres and media to communicate their ideas, although I will be focusing mainly on books and small pamphlets in the subsequent chapters. Six related genres can be identified: language studies, literary works in poetry and fiction, historical works in essays and almanacs, religious scholarship, cul¬ tural studies, and newsprint media. While some labeled their works (e.g., as itan, history), others did not. To those who provided labels, their definition of a branch of knowledge is not as neat or rigid as in the academic mode of production. The starting point is the study of languages, involving the knowledge and use of English and the process of Yoruba acquiring its written form. Books on grammar are rather few, perhaps because they require technical skills that the education of the writ¬ ers did not make possible. The most famous scholar of language during the nineteenth century was Samuel Crowther,65 who pub¬ lished his works in 1843, 1852, and 1865. Two works appeared in the 1880s, the one by Baud in 1885 and by Lijadu in 1898. In teach¬ ing Yoruba as a language, the authors tried to follow the structure of teaching grammar in English. A book of translation from English to Yoruba and of composition was published for students in 1922 by J. A. de Gaye, the Inspector of Education in Lagos and W. S. Beecraft, the Headmaster of St. Francis Xavier School, also in Lagos. The study of Yoruba in the classrooms became a distinct sub¬ ject of its own. The originator of this practice was none other than Crowther, with his First Primer in Yoruba published in 1849. Between 1871 and 1915, the hue Kika Ekini to Iwe Kika Ekarun (five volumes in a series on Yoruba language) were published. The books did not carry the authors’ names, although it has been speculated that they included A. L. Hetherset, E. H. Oke, E. M. Lijadu, and E. O. O. Moore.66 The most successful textbooks did not come until after 1943, when J. F. Odunjo began his enduring series on Alawiye. I. O. Delano joined the crowd of Yoruba language experts with his

18

Yoruba Gurus

Atumo Ede, published in the 1950s.67 Not many people outside of the academy had the skill and talent of Odunjo and Delano; inter¬ est in language, unlike poetry and other creative writing, quickly became the monopoly of the academy, as the list in one early bib¬ liography clearly indicates.68 All these language books are useful historical and sociological studies. They provide some of the best data on the historical evo¬ lution of the Yoruba language. More importantly, they carry use¬ ful information on society, sometimes even historical accounts. As is to be expected from an intelligentsia produced by the church, religious literature was important. This can be divided into two distinct categories: (a) those on Christianity; and (b) those on Yoruba indigenous religions. More writings were on Christianity, as part of the desire to use the newly acquired literacy to benefit this religion. Hymns and sermons were among the common Christian literature. Rev. Henry Tbwnsend, working as a mission¬ ary among the Egba, published the first hymnal book, Yoruba Hymns, in 1850, for use by new converts to Christianity. The tra¬ dition continued throughout the twentieth century. H. A. Atundaolu presented major biblical characters in his Awon Enia Inu Bibeli to teach the Yoruba people about the necessity of good living and to offer some role models. He arranged the names in alphabetical order and explained their meanings in Yoruba.69 Ajisafe contributed to the religious literature in the 1920s,70 prais¬ ing the committed converts to Christianity. Ajisafe, like many other Christians of the time, interpreted the First World War as one of the last signs of the age, before the end of the world. 71 There were many pamphlets on sermons and morals, many of which are unlikely to have survived because the number of print¬ ed copies was either too small or the circulation too restricted. At the turn of nineteenth century, and much more so during the twen¬ tieth century, preachers and teachers were worried about what they perceived as moral degeneracy, especially in Lagos. Many were concerned about the increasing consumption of alcohol, too much freedom for the young people, public display of interactions between men and women, and imported dancing styles that put attention on breasts and a woman’s bottom. A powerful sermon was written in 1909 by A. W. Howells to criticize the goombay danc¬ ing style, alleged to have been imported from Sierra Leone.72 In what appears as a follow-up to this sermon, in 1919, a writer by the pen name of S. A. O. wrote a moralizing short novel, Ele tabi Amoran fun awon Odomobinrin ("Lady or Advice for women”),73 criticizing "lapse” behaviors among the people of Lagos. In his judg-

The Evolution of Indigenous Production of Knowledge

19

merit, cases of the use of bad and indecent words were rather com¬ mon. He warned women to avoid bad company and to draw strength from the Biblical- stories of Sarah, Rachel, Rebecca, and Hanna. Some of the initial studies of indigenous religions were made by Christians who were interested in understanding them in order to advance the cause of Christianity. The Rev. Emmanuel Moses Lijadu was a sort of pioneer, with his focus on Ifa. He was advised to embark upon the study by the Rev. Tom Harding, a teacher at the CMS school in Lagos. Harding probably wanted a native per¬ son to study Ifa with the purpose of exposing its "evil" and "pagan¬ ism." Lijadu was committed in his research and fell in love with the Yoruba language and customs. However, there was a Christian bias in presenting the final product. In his foreword to Lijadu's book, written in 1897, Rev. C. Phillips, Deputy Bishop for West Africa, wrote thus: Bi a ko ba ri idi ibi ti agbara ota gbe wa, a ko le segun won. Bi o ti ri nipa ogun ti aye, beeni o ri ninu ogun ti emi. Bi awa Kristian ko ba mo idi isin awon Keferi ati awon Imale, a ki yio le gbe ihinrere Kristi siwaju won li ona ti yio fi ka won lara.74 If we do not understand the sources of the enemy’s power, we cannot conquer them. This is the case with both life and spiritual battles. If we Christians do not understand the pagan and Islamic religion, we can¬ not present the gospel in a way that they will appre¬ ciate. Lijadu himself doubted whether indigenous religion was about a "true God” since there were no revelations from a divine God. To him the Yoruba idea of God was based on fear, avoidance of his wrath and punishment. He believed that the concept of love was lacking, and Lijadu affirmed the supremacy of Christianity over that of Ifa. In a follow-up study, published in 1908 under the title of Orunmila,75 Lijadu examined in great detail the various Yoruba names for Orunmila. He was fascinated by all the attributes, some very grandiose and similar to the Christian conception. However, he concluded that the Yoruba lacked any knowledge of God. Indigenous religions became a fertile ground for subsequent writ¬ ers. Hardly is there a chronicler who did not devote a section to it, usually focusing on the “national gods” of his town. There are spe¬ cialized studies on aspects of the religion. A formidable work is

20

Yoruba Gurus

that by David Onadele Epega on Ifa among the Ijebu. Published in 1908, it provided a contrast to Lijadu’s because Epega wrote as a believer. He endeavored first to educate himself in the 1880s at Abeokuta. Like Lijadu, Epega became an apprentice to a Babalawo (diviner) from 1900 to 1904, learning about the religion, divination, and charms. After an initial hostility and lack of cooperation, Epega was warmly recieved, and he later acquired respect as a sincere and knowledgeable practitioner. To him, Ifa was a received reli¬ gion, evidence of true divine revelation by God to the Yoruba. He had no dispute with Christianity, and claimed to be a Christian himself, but warned that the new religion should not be a reason to undermine Ifa or demean the traditions of the past.76 He was dogged in his pursuit of Ifa tradition until his death in 1956. In an unusual turn of events, his son took after him. Afolabi Epega expanded and revised his father's work and republished it in the English and Spanish languages. I have previously referred to Odumosu's work, the best in the area of indigenous medicine. At a time when Western medicine was spreading, Odumosu’s book was like an intellectual resurrec¬ tion of the indigenous. He affirmed its worth, and for the first time presented to the reading public a detailed catalogue of diseases and their remedies. Brilliant and painstaking, he listed 172 diseases and 5,621 remedies. His other book on dreams is not directly about reli¬ gion, but the interpretation of dreams has meaning in the context of a worldview that believes in spirits, witchcraft, and evil (and other unseen) forces. Like his book on medicine, this is also a rig¬ orous work, containing 666 dreams and their meanings. The dreams were arranged in alphebetical order. Odumosu convinced his readers to believe in dreams and offered guidelines on how to reveal difficult aspects, such as numbers and animals, appearing in dreams. Next are the literary works in poetry and prose. While no one attained the fame of D. O. Fagunwa, who published his classic in 1950, some good beginnings were made before then. During the nineteenth century, Anthony Olisa published Alo Meje, a book about Yoruba riddles, and a moral story about wars, Yoruba Buru. Mojola Agbebi, better known than Olisa, published a book of col¬ lected riddles in 1887. E. M. Lijadu put together the works of a nine¬ teenth-century Egba poet, Aribiloso.77 In 1919, Ajisafe published Enia Soro, about how bad human beings could be. He followed this up with Tan’ T'Olorun, again about the complications of human interactions. Ajisafe's poetry in 1921, Ki L’e Poyinbo Se78 (“What Are You Accusing the British of?”), is a great eulogy on British rule. He

The Evolution of Indigenous Production of Knowledge

21

pointed to such great changes as Western education, the rise of Christianity, and the end of Yoruba wars. In the 1920s, E. A. Akintan published a series of stories entitled Itan Emi Banwo Omo Orukan in Eleti-Ofe, a magazine, from April 1926 to September 1927. In 1931, Akintan published his first storybook, Itan Omo Orukan, drawing extensively from his magazine stories. In the preceding year, Isaac Babalola Thomas serialized a very successful story, Itan Emi Segilola Eleyinju Egbe Elegberun Oko Laiye, in a magazine, the Akede Eko. This is a moral story on the tragic fate of a woman pros¬ titute and her male clients. The guru of creative work was Josiah Sobowale Sowande (d. 1936), the Egba poet, composer, author, and singer with a strong interest in history and biographies.79 His works have been inter¬ preted by scholars of Yoruba studies, notably as poetry, in spite of their value for the understanding of history.80 Sowande’s auto-bio¬ graphical poems praised kings, chiefs, and the wealthy, but he also criticized them when the occasion demanded. To the good fortune of the generation after him, Sowande published his great poems in addition to his extensive public performances. Born around the mid-nineteenth century to a family of chanters, he attended the Church Missionary Society Training Institute, an elementary school at Abeokuta. His truancy did not enable him to complete his edu¬ cation, but he acquired enough to be able to write and read in the Yoruba language. A part-time chanter during the night and a farmer during the day, he also tried his hand at other ventures before he probably realized his talent as a writer between 1906 and 1936, when he published almost a dozen collections. If most Yoruba chants are difficult to ascribe to authors and periods and difficult to use as historical sources, this is not so with Sowande's works. His poems cover major issues and events in Egba society during the late nineteenth century and the early twentieth. Kings, chiefs, administrators, and British officials receive mention and com¬ mentary. He praises the British for the great changes they brought to the Egba, but laments the decline of indigenous religion and the excessive powers of the agent of the government. The great literary figure of the 1920s was Denrele Adetimikan Obasa, an Ife man based in Lagos. Extremely dynamic and versa¬ tile, he was a singer, poet, and author. He started as a carpenter, then became a printer, and later joined the staff of the Paterson and Zochonis general merchandise firm. He established his press at Ibadan, the Ilare press, which published most of his writings. In addition to his contribution to church history (he wrote pamphlets on the Baptist Church) and to important news in the region (he

22

Yoruba Gurus

published the Yoruba News), Obasa wrote many works of poetry. His notable works are Awon Akewi, a two-part collection of poems on a variety of subjects. Obasa had successors, as in the immedi¬ ate case of J. E. S. Oguji and Sowunmi, both poets,81 and those of a subsequent generation.82 When Fagunwa published Ogboju Ode Ninu Igbo Irunmale, it created a splash. His other titles revealed great imagination and he quickly became the most acclaimed Yoruba novelist of the twentieth century.83 The newspapers were useful not just for news items, but also for indigenous scholarship. In 1859, the first newspaper in the Yoruba language was established at Abeokuta by a missionary, Henry Townsend. Published as a bi-monthly, it carried articles on religion and society. The Iwe Irohin Fun Awon Egba ati Yoruba inspired David Hinderer, the Ibadan-based missionary, to translate John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress to Yoruba as Ilosiwaju Ero-Mimo Lati Aiye Yi Si Eyi to Mho in 1866, reprinted for wider circulation by the CMS in 1911. The immediate successors to Iwe Irohin were also associated with church people: Iwe Irohin Eko by A. M. Thomas that began circulation in 1888; Iwe Eko by Rev. J. Vernal in 1891 and In Leisure Hours/Nigbati Owo Ba Dile by the CMS in 1910. Six newspapers were founded in the 1920s: Eko Akete by Adeoye Deniga (1922), Eleti-Ofe by E. A. Akintan (1923), The Yoruba News by Denrele Obasa (1924), Eko Osoose by T. H. Jackson (1925), Eko Igbehin by E. M. Awobiyi (1926), and Akede Eko by I. B. Thomas (1928). All these were urban-based, with concentration in Lagos. They were mainly inspired by the need to propagate Christianity. However, most of them also devoted space to other issues of historical inter¬ est. The newspapers are useful for studying contemporary events, cultures and personalities. The last form of writings are the strictly historical ones. There are two related categories of history. Some wrote in book forms about various aspects of history, and others used the medium of almanacs to report short events in a periodic manner. The almanacs are less popular than the books, but this is a tradition that has survived to this day. Historical writings began during the nineteenth century. J. O. George, M. Lijadu, and E. O. O. Moore, to mention some leading names, pioneered a new field.84 The "king" of almanacs was John Augustus Otonba Payne (18391906), a Lagos court clerk of Ijebu origin. He began his annual almanac in 1874, titled Lagos and West African Almanac and Diary. In one-liners, he would report major events and list the names of important administrators. So successful was the almanac that a few

The Evolution of Indigenous Production of Knowledge

23

others began to imitate Payne, generated by the need for local his¬ tories for use in schools and the desire to provide works that would be of use in making political decisions. In the early decades of the century, there was a vibrant his¬ torical society, the Egbe Onife He Yoruba. E. H. Oke was its first secretary and he collaborated in writing a major document on Yoruba history. His successor as secretary, I. B. Akinyele, gave his famous lecture on the history of Ibadan in 1911, which he later expanded to his classic Itan Ibadan ati Die Ninu Awon Ilu Agbegbe Re bi Iwo, Osogbo, ati Ikirun. J. B. Losi published his famous Itan Eko85 in 1916 and later Itan Abeokuta in 1917.86 That on Ijebu, Itan Ijebu ati Ilu Miran,87 writtenby D. Onadele Epega appeared in 1919. It was not until 1934 that another author, Moses Botu Okubote, pub¬ lished another book on the Ijebu, Iwe Ikekuru ti Itan Ijebu,88 which is a brief catalogue of events. The Egba had their local historians in the persons of Ajisafe (in the 1920s) and A. Folarin (in the 1930s).89

PUBLICATIONS Thanks to the recent study by Michel Doortmont, we can now improve upon our understanding of the book industry during the nineteenth century.90 According to him, the Church Missionary Society (CMS) played a leading role in determining those works to be published and distributed, and perhaps, shaped the orientation of contents for market purposes. The CMS was able to profit from printing and selling material on religious and related matters. During the nineteenth century, it contracted its printing work to some companies in London, such as Seeley. Duplicating the prac¬ tice of its “mother," the Yoruba Mission of the CMS also engaged in publishing, to educate the new converts and publicize its activi¬ ties. Much credit has been given to Henry Townsend, the founder of the CMS Yoruba Mission. He established a printing press at Abeokuta to teach industrial training and print the country's first newspaper, Iwe Irohin. Others were to imitate this pioneer by estab¬ lishing newspapers and printing houses.91 The CMS expanded its activities early in the twentieth century by establishing an outfit, the CMS Bookshop, which published and sold books. Yoruba his¬ tory and culture received attention among the manuscripts encour¬ aged by the CMS Bookshop. Yoruba cultural societies and entrepreneurs were also to con¬ tribute substantially to the book industry. Early in the twentieth century, the Egbe Agba O'Tan,92 a cultural organization, encour¬ aged and sponsored the publication of several historical texts. Such

24

Yoruba Gurus

local printers as Bosere, Tikatore, and many others printed texts, perhaps after collecting some subventions. Some authors such as Joseph Odumosu established their own printing houses to print their own books and those of others. Obasa received support from the Egbe Agba O'tan, of which he was an active member, to devote time to his Hare Press to publish the Yoruba News. British publish¬ ers, such as Richard Clay and Sons (the publishers for the famous A. K. Ajisafe) and Routledge and Sons, continued to offer good ser¬ vices. The Egba Government Printer contributed to the fame of Sowande, the poet, by publishing his works. Since the 1950s, most publishing has been done locally, by printers scattered all over the region. While publications enable the texts to disseminate widely, chroniclers do not seek peer evaluations. When regular publishers like the CMS Bookshop declined their works, they would raise the resources to self-publish and to depend on hawking and small bookshops for distribution. Not a few experienced great difficul¬ ties, either because they had no money or because no publisher was willing to commit itself. John B. Losi, the author of the histo¬ ry of Lagos, almost gave up due to research and publication diffi¬ culties. Indeed, there are many unpublished manuscripts simply because of the difficulty of obtaining the resources to print.

ORGANIZATION OF THIS BOOK This introduction has provided the necessary context to under¬ stand the emergence of an indigenous intellectual culture and its various forms. In the chapters that follow, I will examine a num¬ ber of distinguished chroniclers as case studies. It is impossible, even if desirable, to elaborate upon all the chroniclers and their works within a single volume such as this. The wise option is to include representative authors.93 In selecting my cases, I have con¬ sidered the need to satisfy many requirements and interests. One is historical periods, drawing from representative works from the nineteenth century to the present. For instance, Samuel Johnson represents the nineteenth century, I. B. Akinyele the early colo¬ nial period, and Ola Avoseh the late colonial period. Yet another is gender. Thus far, only one woman, Kemi Morgan, has distin¬ guished herself. Lastly, different towns and regions are considered. The conclusion reflects on broad themes and issues generated by these authors.

The Evolution of Indigenous Production of Knowledge

25

NOTES 1.

2. 3.

4. 5. 6. 7.

8.

For a detailed account of the repatriates, see J. H. Kopytoff, A Preface to Modem Nigeria: The 'Sierra Leonians' in Yoruba, 1830-1890 (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1965). T. G. O. Gbadamosi, The Growth of Islam among the Yoruba, 1841-1908 (London: Longman, 1978), pp. 27-32. See, for instance, J. F. Ade Ajayi, Christian Missions in Nigeria, 1841-1891: The Making of a New Elite (London: Longman, 1965); and E. A. Ayandele, The Missionary Impact on Modem Nigeria, 1842-1914 (London: Longman, 1966). See, for instance, Modupe Oduyoye, The Planting of Christianity in Yorubaland, 1842-1888 (Ibadan: Daystar Press, n.d.). See, for instance, Anna Hinderer, Seventeen Years in the Yoruba Country (London: The Religious Tract Society, 1877). For details, see for instance, Robert Smith, The Lagos Consulate, 1851-1861. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1979. For details, among others, see E. A. Ayandele, "The Mode of British Expansion in Yorubaland in the Second Half of the Nineteenth Century: The Oyo Episode," Odu 3,2 (Jan. 1967): 22-43; and J. A. Atanda, The New Oyo Empire: Indirect Rule and Change in Western Nigeria 1894-1934 (London: Longman, 1973). See, for instance, P. Cole, Modem and Traditional Elites in the Politics of Lagos, 1884-1938 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1975); and K. Mann,

Marrying Well: Marriage, Status and Social Change Among the Educated Elite in Colonial Lagos (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985). 9. E. A. Ayandele, Holy Johnson: Pioneer of African Nationalism, 1836-1917 (London, Longman, 1970); and Kopytoff, Preface. 10. See Mann, Marrying Well. 11. On these wars, see Toyin Falola and Dare Oguntomisin, The Military System of the Yoruba in the nineteenth Century (Ile-Ife: University of Ife Press, 1984); and Toyin Falola and Robin Law, eds., Warfare and Diplomacy in Pre-colonial Nigeria: Essays in Honor of Robert Smith (Wisconsin-Madison: Program of African Studies, 1992). 12. Johnson, The History, p. v. 13. The concept of "invented nations” was popularized by E. J. Hobsbawn and T. Ranger, eds., The Invention of Tradition (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983). 14. See, for instance, J. D. Y. Peel, "The Cultural Work of Yoruba Ethnogenesis" in Toyin Falola, ed. Pioneer, Patriot and Patriarch: Samuel Johnson and the Yoruba. (Wisconsin-Madison: Program of African Studies, 1993), pp. 65-75. An earlier version of this essay appeared in E. Tonkin, M. MacDonald and M. Chapman, eds., History and Ethnicity (London, 1987), pp. 198-215. 15. See, for instance, Peel, "The Cultural Work” and M. D. Doortmont, "The Invention of the Yoruba: Regional and Pan-African Nationalism versus Ethnic Provincialism", in P. F. de Moraes and K. Barber, eds., Self-assertion and Brokerage: Early Cultural Nationalism in West Africa (Birmingham: Center of West African Studies, 1990), pp. 101-108. 16. T. A. Ladele, Oyebamiji Mustapha, I. A. Aworinde, Oyedemi Oyerinde and Olatubosun Oladapo, Akojopo Iwadi Ijinle Asa Yoruba (Lagos: Macmillan, 1986), pp. 319-320. 17. See, for instance, E. A. Ayandele, The Missionary Impact on Modem Nigeria, p. 4. 18. See, for instance, A. B. Fafunwa, History of Education in Nigeria (London: Longman 1974), p. 97.

26

Yoruba Gurus

19. On the phases in the historical development of the language, see for instance, Abiodun Adetugbo, "The Development of English in Nigeria up to 1914: A Socio-historical Appraisal," Odu No. 18 (July 1978): 61-75; and J. Spencer, ed., The English Language in West Africa (London: Longman, 1971). 20. See, for instance, C. G. Wise, A History of Education in Tropical West Africa (London, 1956), p. 22. 21. For his career, see for instance J. E Ade Ajayi, "Samuel Ajayi Crowther of Oyo," in Philip D. Curtin, ed. Africa Remembered. Narratives by West Africans from the Era of the Slave Trade (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1967), chapter 9 and his "Bishop Crowther: An Assessment," Odu 4 (1970): 3-17. 22. For the only essay so far on this important topic, see J. F. Ade Ajayi, “How Yoruba Was Reduced to Writing," Odu 8 (1960): 49-58. 23. See, for instance, K. Mann, Marrying Well, chapter 1; and E. A. Ayandele, “The Colonial Church Question in Lagos Politics, 1905-1911,” Odu 4, 2 (1968): 5373. 24. For details, see J. B. Webster, The African Churches among the Yoruba: 18881892 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1964). 25. Lagos Weekly Record, 13 October, 1900. 26. See, for instance, R. L. Sklar, Nigerian Political Parties: Power in an Emergent African Nation (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1963), Chapter 2. 27. In addition to the Intelligence Reports were such other notable works as P. A. Thlbot, The Peoples of Southern Nigeria: A Sketch of Their History, Ethnology, and Languages, with an Abstract of the 1921 Census. (2 vols), (London, 1926); and Jacob Egharevba, A Short History of Benin (Benin, 1934 3rd ed. Ibadan! University of Ibadan Press, 1960). 28. S. O. Bada, Iwe Itan Saki ati Saki Keji (Saki, Self-published, 1937). 29. J. D. E. Abiola, J. A. Babafemi and S. O. S. Ataiyero, Iwe Itan Ijesa-Obokun IleOwuro tiase lati owo awon Omo-Ibile (Ilesa: CMS, 1932). 30. P. A. Afolabi (for the Oyo Progressive Union), In Truth and Justice: a Handbook of the Oyo Progressive Union, Containing the Historical Sketches of the Relationship Between Oyo and Ibadan (Lagos: Asaolu Printing Press, 1938). For the academic interpretation of this period, see J. A. Atanda, The New Oyo Empire: Indirect Rule and Change in Western Nigeria, 1894-1934 (London: Longman, 1973). 31. Jos: Niger Press, 1934. 32. For details on him, see B. A. Agiri, "Chief N. D. Oyerinde and the Political, Social and Economic Development of Ogbomoso, 1916-1951,” Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria 10, 1 (1979): 86-112. 33. Polygamy Defended (Lagos, 1915). 34. The Rights of Africans to Organize and Establish Indigenous Churches to and Uncontrolled by Foreign Church Organizations (Lagos: Tika Tbre Press, 1917), 35. Mojola Agbebi, Africa and the Gospel (Lagos: T. A. King Press, n.d.). 36.

Views of Some Native Christians of West Africa on the Subject of Polygamy (LagosGeneral Printing Press, 1887). 37. Joseph Odumosu, Iwe Iwosan (Liverpool: England, n.d.). 38. Ladipo Solanke, Yoruba Proverbs and How to Solve Them (Lagos: 1936). 39. Orunmila (Bungay: Richard Clay, 1923). 40. The Laws and Customs of the Yoruba People (London: Routledge & Sons, 1924). 41. Among others, see Ajisafe, Iwe Itan Abeokuta 1st ed., n.d.(repr.: Abeokuta: Hardcore Society, 1972); Abeokuta Centenary and Its Celebrations (Lagos: IfeOlu Piinting Works, 1931); History of Abeokuta (Bungay: Richard Clay 1916) • and The Errors and Defeat of Ladipo Solanke (Self-published, 1931). 42. On the emergence ol ethnic politics, see, for instance, O. Nnoli, "The Dynamics of Ethnic Politics in Nigeria,” Odu 14 (July 1976): 3-25.

The Evolution of Indigenous Production of Knowledge

27

43. On his career and politics, see Toyin Falola et al., eds., Awolowo: the End of an Era? (Ile-Ife: Obafemi Awolowo University Press, 1988). 44. S. O. Biobaku, Sources ofYoruba History (London: Oxford, 1973). 45. N. A. Fadipe, The Sociology of the Yoruba edited and introduced by Francis Olu Okediji and Oladejo O. Okediji (Ibadan: Ibadan University Press, 1970). 46. D. Forde, The Yoruba-Speaking Peoples of Southwestern Nigeria (London: International African Institute, 1951). 47. William Bascom, The Yoruba of Southwestern Nigeria (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 19§9). 48. W. R. Bascom, The Sociological Role of the Yoruba Cult Group (Washington, D.C.: American Anthropological Association [Memoir 63], 1944; "The Sanctions of Ifa Divination," Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 71, 4 (1942): 4351; "The Principle of Seniority in the Social Structure of the Yoruba," American Anthropologist 44, 1 (1942): 37-46; "Social Status, Wealth and Individual Differences Among the Yoruba,” American Anthropologist 53, 4 (1951): 490505; and "The Esusu: A Credit Institution of the Yoruba," Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 82, 1 (1952): 63-69. 49. P. C. Lloyd, Yoruba Land Law (London: Oxford University Press, 1962); and E. Krapf-Askari, Yoruba Tbwns and Cities (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1969). 50. The history of this valuable journal is yet to be written. See Odu Index, 19641975 for a compilation of essays that were published when it was acquired by the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University). 51. S. O. Biobaku, "The Historical and Psychological Significance ofYoruba Myths,” Odu 1 (n.d.); "Myths and Oral History,” Odu 1 (n.d.) and "The Problem of Tfaditional History, with special reference to Yoruba Tradition," Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria 1, 1 (1956). 52. The Egba and their Neigbours, 1842-1872 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1957). 53. See, for instance, his "A Chronology ofYoruba History, 1789-1840,” Odu 2, 2 (January 1966): 81-86. 54. B. Awe, "The Rise of Ibadan as a Yoruba Power,” diss. D. Phil., Oxford University, 1964. 55. J. F. Ade Ajayi and R. S. Smith, Yoruba Warfare in the Nineteenth Century (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1964). 56. S. A. Akintoye, Revolution and Power Politics in Yorubaland, 1840-1893: Ibadan Expansion and the Rise of Ekitiparapo (London: Longman, 1971). 57. D. E. and C. M. Baldwin, The Yoruba of Southwestern Nigeria: an Indexed Bibliography (Boston, Mass., 1976). 58. See, for instance, A. Bamgbose, "Yoruba Studies Tbday,” Odu: Journal of West African Studies 1 (1969): 85-100. 59. See, for instance, J. S. Eades, The Yoruba Tbday (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1980). 60. Ade Obayemi, "The Yoruba and Edo-Speaking Peoples and their Neighbours," in J. F. Ade Ajayi and M. Crowder, eds., History of West Africa vol. 1 (London: Longman, 1971); and R. S. Smith, Kingdoms of the Yoruba 3rd ed. (London: James Currey, 1988). 61. See, for instance, Toyin Falola, "A Research Agenda on the Yoruba in the Nineteenth Century," History In Africa 15 (1988): 211-227. 62. E. Olulande, Ede, A Short History, trans. I. A. Akinjogbin, ed. and annot. by H. U. Beir (Ibadan, 1961). 63. Successful works include those by Kemi Morgan, Ola Avoshe, and Chief Ojo Bada, all mentioned in subsequent chapters. 64. T. Ola Avoseh, A Short History of Epe (Epe: The Parochial Committee, St Michael’s Anglican Church, 1960).

28

65. 66. 67. 68. 69. 70. 71. 72. 73. 74. 75. 76. 77. 78. 79.

80.

81. 82. 83.

84.

85. 86. 87. 88.

Yoruba Gurus

Vocabulary of the Yoruba Language (London, 1843; augmented edition with introduction by E. O. Vidal, 1852). A. Faleti, "Yoruba Poets, Past and Poets,” Horizon [Magazine of the English Students Society, University of Ibadan] 5 (1967). I. O. Delano, Atumo Ede Yoruba (London: Oxford University Press, 1958). E A. Ogunsheye, A Preliminary Bibliography On Yoruba Language (Ibadan, 1963). Lagos, 1906. Ajisafe, Oye L'agba Iwo (Self-published, 1922 [?]). Ibid., p. 5. A. W. Howells, Akanse Iwaasu Nipa ti Ijo Goombay, ati iwaasu miran ni lie Olorun St. John's Aroloya Lagos (London: James Townsend and Sons, 1909). Lagos: self-published, 1919. E. M. Lijadu, Ifa: Imole Re ti ise Ipile Isin Ni He Yoruba Oro Akiyesi (reprinted, Ado-Ekiti: Omolayo Standard Press of Nigeria, 1972). E. M. Lijadu, Orunmila (reprinted, Ado Ekiti: Omolayo Standard Press of Nigeria, 1972). David Onadele Epega, Ifa: Amona Awon Baba Wa (Ode-Remo: Imole Oluwa Institute, 1936). E. M. Lijadu, Kekere hue Orin Aribiloso (Exeter, 1910). Lagos: Ife-Olu Printing Works, 1921. On Sowande's works, among others see, J. S. Sowande (Sobo Arobiodu) Iwe Orin Sobo A-ro-bi-odu (Abeokuta: Egba Government Printer, 1908) and his other subsequent books by the same title in 1910, 1913, 1917, 1920, 1929, 1930, and 1934; Moses Lijadu, ed., Awon Arofo-Orin Sobo Arobiodu (1906; reprint, Lagos: Macmillan, 1974). On the analysis of his works, see, for instance, A. Babalola and A. S. Gerard, "A Survey of Creative Writing in Yoruba," Review of National Literatures, 2, 2 (1971): 188-205; O. Olatunji, “J. S. Sowande (Sobo Arobiodu): His Art and Significance,” in Wande Abimbola, ed., Yoruba Oral Tradition: Poetry in Music, Dance and Drama (Ile-Ife: Ife African Languages and Literatures Series No 1, 1975), pp. 973-1029. J. E. S. Oguji, Iwe Arofo Alawidola (1946); and G. A. Sowunmi, Iwe Arofo Ti Anoyinlohun Bi Omode Imaro Parts I-III (1952). See, for instance, O. Oladapo, Aroye Akewi (Ibadan, 1972). His books include Ogboju Ode (London: Nelson, 1950); Igbo Olodumare (London: Nelson, 1949); and Irinkerindo Ninu Igbo Elegbeje (Lagos: Nelson, 1954). For comments on them, see, for instance, A. Bamgbose, The Novels of D. O. Fagunwa (Benin City: Ethiope Publishing Corporation, 1974); A. Irele, "Tradition and the Yoruba Writer: D. O. Fagunwa, Amos TUtuola and Wole Soyinka," Odu, 11 (January 1975): 75-100. See R. C. Law, "Early Yoruba Historiography" in Falola, ed., Pioneer, Patriot and Patriach, pp. 9-25. The essay originally appeared in Histoni in Africa 3 (1976): 68-89. Lagos: CMS, 1916. Lagos: CMS, 1917. Ode-Remo: Imole Oluwa Institute. Ibadan: Ola Olu Stores.

89. A. Folarin, Demise of the Independence ofEgbaland (Self-published, n.d.); Short Historical Review of the Life of the Egbas (1829-1930) (1931). 90. M. R. Doortmont, "Recapturing the Past: Samuel Johnson and the Construction of the History of the Yoruba," Ph.D. thesis, Erasmus University Rotterdam, 1994, Chap. 3. 91.

For details, see F. I. A. Omu, Press and Politics in Nigeria, 1880-1937 (London,

The Evolution of Indigenous Production of Knowledge

29

Longman, 1978). 92. For its aims and objectives, see Constitution and Rituals of Egbe Agba-o-tan. Founded January 30, 1914 (Ibadan: Ilare Press, 1914 [?]). 93. I intend another book, Yoruba Tbum Histones, which, hopefully, will broad¬ en this representation and recognize the achievements of those that are ignored in this work.

CHAPTER TWO

SamuelJohnson: The/ Pioneer arut Patriarch/

r

he uncontested leader of all the Yoruba gurus is the Reverend Samuel Johns‘on, the author of the magister¬ ial book, The History of the Yoruhas from the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the British Protectorated The book has inspired many other chronicles, and some were in fact written to refute certain aspects of its contents. In many ways, most acade¬ mic works on the Yoruba published since the 1950s have merely elaborated upon the themes suggested by Johnson. As this centu¬ ry draws to a close, Johnson's History, completed in 1897 and pub¬ lished in 1921, remains the best chronicle on the Yoruba. Because of the interest in ethnology in the 1930s, it was reprinted in 1937, as perhaps the best example of African indigenous scholarship of that genre. Owing to the new interest in African studies after World War II, it was reprinted four times within a single decade, 1956-66. Thanks also to Yoruba nationalism in modern Nigeria and renewed sub-ethnic loyalties, the book continues to gain prominence until this day. Today, it appears as if this first comprehensive book on the Yoruba may also be the very last. The comparison may be unpalatable, but it is nevertheless worth the risk to say that academic syntheses that tend to cover broad themes either over a long period of time, as J. A. Atanda’s,2

32

Yoruba Gurus

or a shorter time frame, as Jerry Eade's,3 have failed to enjoy com¬ parable stature, in spite of the skill, intelligence and resources avail¬ able to these modern authors. For better or worse, The History has acquired the stature of a "standard text". Many Yoruba, including knowledgeable traditional historians, treat Johnson's book as a Bible and disparage wisdom from other sources. Even in cases where academic scholars have been able to use other sources to question Johnson or correct such things as his dates and chronol¬ ogy, their revisions and reasoned suggestions are generally ignored by the local audience. It is an article of faith for many of its read¬ ers that Johnson is always right! Although this book has been cited more than any other book on the Yoruba, it was not until recently that it has been subjected to a lengthy critique, notably by Michel Doortmont.4 Its impact on Nigerian historiography still requires rigorous evaluation, although a consensus has emerged that its contribution is both enduring and profound.5

JOHNSON'S ERA As already indicated in the introductory chapter, a new intelli¬ gentsia emerged during the nineteenth century with a vision of a new society. To such Christians as Henry Carr (1863-1945), the educator, and Samuel Johnson, a reverend and author, Western education must spread among a new generation of Yoruba.6 While some among them respected the kings and chiefs, others were beginning to prefer British authorities in Lagos and to demean tra¬ ditional authorities. In preferring the British, they were astutely calculating their opportunities. With an increasing commercial¬ ization of land (which invested wealth in their hands), participa¬ tion in trade, and access to officers, the elite reckoned they had more to gain under the dispensation of British rule. Some joined the missionaries in calling for the British to further advance into the Yoruba hinterland, with the hope that their chances in trade and politics would improve. While the majority of the population was unlettered, the elite had the golden opportunities afforded by being able to read and write. As the career of Samuel Johnson shows, this ability made many of them the representatives of indigenous authorities. The first set of literate “diplomats” were drawn from among them, to represent indigenous interests and present their views to the British. They also served as interpreters and translators of lan¬ guages, yet another position of power. In the commercial world of the nineteenth century, literacy was becoming increasingly pop-

Samuel Johnson: The Pioneer and Patriarch

33

ular, creating additional opportunities for those with education to work as clerks, public letter writers, etc. The diminishing role of the elite after the 1880s affected its atti¬ tude to colonial expansion and to the church. Initial optimism began to give way to pessimism, and some began to hate or resent Europeans for their racism and arrogance. Africans were begin¬ ning to react to what they perceived as racism or their marginal¬ ization by Europeans. Edward Blyden and his ideas of pan-Africanism began to reach receptive ears. Indigenous church¬ es were springing up as a demonstration of assertiveness. Samuel Johnson did not live long enough to witness the outcome of the tension, but he saw its beginning. He was still alive in 1891 when a white missionary replaced the famous Bishop Samuel Crowther of the Church Missionary Society, and he probably observed the emerging trend in the displacement of the Yoruba elite in trade and civil service jobs. However, Johnson did not reflect anti-racism or anti-Europeanism in his book, perhaps because he was unaf¬ fected by them, or because he was based in the Yoruba hinterland with fewer elites, or simply because he did not perceive things the same way as the Lagos elite.

JOHNSON: THE MAN For a writer of such prodigiousness, it is amazing that Samuel Johnson said very little of himself and his family. Either because he was being careful with his European superiors or he was con¬ sumed by the passion to write a definitive book, he conveyed an image of a reticent, private person. He did provide an autobio¬ graphical sketch of himself in 1885 and other bits of information in his journals and diary. With hard work and persistent combing of many other sources, Michel Doortmont has provided what can now be regarded as the most authoritative account of the Johnson family.7 Samuel Johnson was a descendant of Alaafin Abiodun, the famous king of the Oyo Empire in the latter part of the eighteenth century. His father, Henry Johnson, was King Abiodun’s grandson. Henry Johnson with his wife Sarah, lived in Hastings, Sierra-Leone as a farmer and devoted Christian. Both Henry and Sarah were recaptive slaves, but with little recorded history for reconstructing their lives and the early lives of their children. From what we know of Hastings, a village in the Freetown peninsula, it was comprised of many Yoruba (called Aku) liberated slaves, many of whom were new converts to Christianity. In the 1840s, following declining eco¬ nomic fortunes, many Aku began to emigrate to Yorubaland. The

34

Yoruba Gurus

missionaries took advantage of this, setting up new mission hous¬ es in such cities as Lagos, Badagry, Abeokuta, and Ibadan. The Johnson family joined in this emigration after being requested to do so by the CMS missionary, the Rev. David Hinderer, who recruit¬ ed Henry Johnson as a teacher for the Ibadan mission. Henry returned to Yorubaland in December 1857 with four of his children, including Samuel, now nearly 12 years old, his third son, who was born in Hastings on June 24, 1846. Henry Johnson became an assistant to David Hinderer, working creditably well as a Scripture Reader until his death in 1865. Samuel became associ¬ ated with the CMS Church in Ibadan from the time his family arrived there. He was prepared for missionary work by his father and Hinderer. Samuel was sent to Anna Hinderer's school, where he became very close to Anna and David her husband. Samuel stayed at Ibadan until December 1862, kept there much longer than his parents had hoped because of the Ijaye war between Ibadan and Ijaye. Very early in his life he observed the preparations for this major war among his people. The Hinderers were great believers in liberal education and the art of good writing. When the Rev. Gotlieb Buhler, the principal of the Abeokuta JYaining Institution at Abeokuta, visited Ibadan in 1862 as part of a peace mission to resolve the Ijaye war, Hinderer asked him to return with Samuel. Between 1863 and 1865 he attended the Abeokuta Training Institution, where he received for¬ mal training in General Education, Greek, Latin, English, Religious Studies, Philosophy, History, and Mathematics. The school was under a German missionary, the Rev. Buhler, who had the same liberal educational orientation as the Hinderers. Samuel's brothers also received a liberal education, with two of them becoming prominent priests8 and one, Obadiah, a medical doctor based in Lagos. Obadiah was associated with The History, supervising its publication after his brother's death. Upon graduation in late 1865, Samuel qualified as a school teacher and was posted to the Anglican missions at Ibadan, work¬ ing at different times at the Aremo and Kudeti schools. When Daniel Olubi, a Yoruba staff member of the CMS, became a deacon in 1867, Samuel became one of his assistants. He went on church business to a number of towns and was made the catechist of Aremo Church in 1875. He was a devoted missionary and a tireless teacher.9 Through his association with the schools and the Church, Samuel was able to interact with the young and the old, Christians and nonChristians alike. Not only did he teach, he also had to preach and

Samuel Johnson: The Pioneer and Patriarch

35

perform catechismal duties. In the course of the latter, he had to confront competition with indigenous religions and Islam, with the aim of winning their followers to Christianity. As his diaries would attest, he had become keenly interested in Yoruba history by the 1870s. He became interested in local politics as well. He knew the chiefs, including the Are Latosa, the leader of Ibadan in the 1870s and 1880s. By the 1880s he had become one of the most influen¬ tial Christian leaders and was deeply involved in the search for peace, because he felt it destructive for one Yoruba group to attack another. As Samuel made clear in his book, he became himself a principal figure in the major peace efforts by serving as the liaison between the British and the chiefs of Ibadan and Oyo. This diplo¬ matic career, combined with his missionary work, made him a pop¬ ular figure in many circles. His influence in Oyo and his knowledge of Yoruba history expanded with his ordination as a deacon in 1875. As they received more converts, Johnson and his colleagues had to administer a big¬ ger congregation and more missions. In 1887 he was appointed a Pastor at Oyo and became a full priest in the following year, work¬ ing in this famous city until 1901. In spite of the difficulties that he experienced with the practitioners of indigenous religion and some chiefs, he succeeded in winning converts, establishing a rela¬ tionship with the court, and writing his book. In Oyo, his contacts with the A.rokin (court historians), his own relations, chiefs, and other knowledgeable people developed to a point that he was able to collect extensive oral traditions. He also continued to serve as a diplomat and put his knowledge of local politics to good use. He mediated in the conflicts between the British and Oyo from 1893 to 1895. To conclude the narration of his personal life, he married his first wife in 1875, moved to Oyo in 1887, and lost his wife in the following year. In 1895 he remarried. After a prolonged illness, he died at the early age of 55 on 29 April 1901, leaving behind his wife, five children, and a manuscript whose publication was by then very uncertain. An obituary in the Lagos Weekly Record captured the very essence of his life: His services in connection with the peace negotia¬ tions which terminated the 17 years war in the Yoruba country are well known. His knowledge of the coun¬ try and the manners and customs of the various tribes was unrivalled. He had collected a large amount of information relating to the history of the Yoruba coun-

36

Yoruba Gurus

try of which the manuscript exists. He was...distin¬ guished for his devotion to duty, well-known for his liberality and open-heartedness, and for urbanity, self-abnegation and patriotism.10

DEBATE ON AUTHORSHIP Samuel Johnson did not see his book in print. Perhaps he never thought it would reach print, because the London publishers he had approached had declined it. As if to destroy his enterprise, the CMS asked him to prune it and translate it into the Yoruba language for use in elementary schools. He rejected this advice. The manuscript was also lost for some years because of an accident, and its publi¬ cation was delayed due to scarcity of paper during the First World War. As fate would have it, Samuel’s brother, Obadiah, a medical practitioner and lover of Yoruba culture, took an interest in it and saw to its publication. He also did not live to see the book in print. What did Obadiah do when the manuscript was recovered, and what credit does he deserve as an editor? An interesting debate has been generated by Michel Doortmont, now the leading expert on Samuel Johnson, as to whether Samuel was the sole author of the book or whether his brother Obadiah was a significant co-author. This confusion arose partly because Obadiah called himself the "Editor” of the book, and the publishers put his photograph on the frontispiece of the original edition. In his 1964 essay on Johnson, Ade Ajayi dismisses the claim of dual authorship, attributing the book solely to Samuel.11 However, Obadiah claimed that he collaborated with Samuel and that when the manuscript was lost in the post, it fell to him "to rewrite the whole history anew from the copious notes and rough copies left behind by the author.... Some chapters had to be rewritten, some curtailed, others amplified, and new ones added where neces¬ sary."12 The interpretation of this claim is the core issue in this interesting debate. Ajayi suggests it is better to assume that the rough copies "were clear and copious enough to make the work as it is stands more the product of the mind of the Reverend Samuel Johnson than that of Dr. Obadiah Johnson."13 Ajayi's dismissal is based on “what we know of the writings and background" of the two brothers, a point not fully substantiated in 1964. In a revised essay in 1995, he clarified this background by describing Obadiah as someone who had cause to be annoyed with Europeans in the racialized atmosphere of Lagos and who could be impatient. To Ajayi, the tone in The History is more of the "gentle” Samuel than of the impatient Obadiah.14

Samuel Johnson: The Pioneer and Patriarch

37

There are other complications. The first, and probably a minor issue, is that Samuel and Obadiah would appear to have had a close relationship as brothers. They exchanged visits, and Obadiah went to Oyo to take his brother to Lagos during his final hours when he was sick. We know for sure that they discussed the manuscript, but on the nature of the advice Obadiah probably rendered, there is no evidence whatsoever. Second, while it is true that Obadiah was a medical practitioner, his-knowledge of Yoruba culture and history cannot be denied. However, this knowledge could not have been of a depth comparable to that of his brother, who took a special interest in research and spent more time writing. Obadiah was well read and was a nationalist who believed that the culture of his peo¬ ple was important. In spite of his unquestionable Christian back¬ ground and monogamous relations, he defended polygamy as an established Yoruba practice, arguing against those who were opposed to it on the basis of Christian teaching and Western cul¬ ture.15 After his brother's death, he gave a lecture on Yoruba his¬ tory to the Lagos Institute, comprising a group of elite interested in local history and culture. He also became the adviser to the Lagos Government on Yoruba affairs and co-authored, in 1910, a major report on the Yoruba.16 In spite of Obadiah’s strong credentials, the evidence for attributing the writing of the book solely to Samuel is far stronger than the claim of joint authorship. In the first place, Samuel pro¬ vided the sources for his materials. Obadiah could not have been responsible for Part I of the book on the Yoruba origins, cultures, and history up till the eighteenth century. Samuel made it clear that he talked with the “bards'' about this period, at a time when his brother was based in Lagos. Regarding Part II, this is where Samuel's direct observations and activities are mostly reported. He had the reports, treaties, and other evidence to talk about the wars and peace initiatives. It is also certain that Obadiah was aware of his brother's efforts. Indeed, Samuel requested permission in 1897 to travel to Lagos to discuss some aspects of the book with his broth¬ er. Obadiah was later to note that it took his brother twenty years to complete the manuscript. In justifying why he had to work on the book to ensure its publication, he mentioned that it was a painful exercise for his brother to have collected oral traditions, and the result of such a laborious exercise should not be put to waste: No one, who has never made the attempt, can have the faintest idea of the great difficulties that attend the efforts to elicit facts and accuracy of statements

38

Yoruba Gurus

from an illiterate people...In no sphere of labour is patience and perseverance more required than in this. It shows strongly the magnitude of the labours of the original author, labours undertaken along with the unremitting performance of his substantive duties.17 Obadiah never claimed that he sought to engage in this difficult exercise or collect additional materials. Secondly, that Samuel wrote a long manuscript (one thousand fullscap pages), the draft of the eventual book, is not in doubt. Obadiah did not deny this, and he appropriately called his broth¬ er the author. According to him, one of his motivations in getting the book to print was to avoid "the criminal disgrace of allowing the outcome of his brother's many years of labour to be altogeth¬ er lost."18 Indeed, the original dedication of the manuscript to the Rev. David Hinderer was retained, showing the link between Samuel and his mentor. So also is the original preface where he stated his aims and methods. Thirdly, there is also the record that Samuel initiated the pub¬ lication of the book. He posted the manuscript to the CMS in London. The response was unfavorable: he was asked to prune it down and write it in Yoruba to meet the needs of missionaries. We have no evidence of Samuel’s response to this suggestion. A fourth point is that the public lecture that Obadiah gave on Yoruba histo¬ ry was based on Samuel's manuscript. The best way to resolve this debate is to see Samuel Johnson as the principal author of the book and Obadiah as revising it very slightly (and updating the final chapter, titled "The Sequel,” on the establishment of British rule, because some of the events narrat¬ ed there-in occurred after Samuel's death). With regard to the revi¬ sion, Obadiah provided some footnotes where he wanted to explain or add to what his brother said.19 Even then, it took him a long time to revise. With most of his time devoted to medical practice in Lagos, and his spare time to politics, Obadiah could do very little on the manuscript for almost fifteen years. Given the hostility of Obadiah to the colonial government and his own experience with racism, having been denied a senior position in the colonial med¬ ical service on a flimsy excuse, a book by him would have been far more angry in tone, perhaps condemnatory of the British, or prob¬ ably reflecting his own experience of race relations. The History of the Yoruba is a calm book, sympathetic to British rule and devoid of racial tension, all characteristics far more consistent with the experience and feelings of Samuel than of Obadiah. The appropriate credit to Obadiah should be for his effort to

Samuel Johnson: The Pioneer and Patriarch

39

ensure that Samuel’s "many years of labour” (as Obadiah put it) were not in vain. When the manuscript was lost, he was instru¬ mental in investigating its- whereabouts in London (without suc¬ cess) and for recovering the draft. After he had edited it, the manuscript was again lost for two years, and it was again recov¬ ered. With his good income, he was able to type it. As to the pre¬ cise editing that he did, we may never know the extent to which he altered the text. He probably improved upon the language, cre¬ ated appropriate chapters and divided the work into parts. In the last chapter, Obadiah was responsible for such additions as the introduction of the railway (p. 644) and the resolution of the Modakeke-Ile-Ife conflicts (pp.647-8). It is better to assume that all the footnotes in the book were written by Obadiah, as a way of clar¬ ifying what his brother meant. The contemporaries of both Samuel and Obadiah probably knew the author of this great book. In the well-publicized obituar¬ ies of both, Samuel's in 1901 and Obadiah’s in 1920, reference was made to the manuscript on Yoruba history with Samuel as the author. Nowhere is Obadiah credited with writing the book, even in the eulogy of Akinpelu Obisesan, the Secretary of the first elite and cultural organization in Ibadan, the Egbe-Agba-O'tan, of which Obadiah was the patron. The summary of both obituaries regard¬ ed the focus of Samuel's life work as serving the church and writ¬ ing the book, while Obadiah's was medical practice and contribution to public reforms in Lagos.20

SAMUEL JOHNSON: THE HISTORIAN Johnson's interest in Yoruba history developed early in his career as a school teacher, perhaps before he decided to start work on his manuscript. His liberal education had paid attention to history, notably the Ancient and Medieval periods and the history of Christianity. This interest stimulated in him the desire to learn the history of his own people. His previous knowledge of the Scriptures and Classics influenced some of the ways he interpreted Yoruba history. His journals and diaries for the 1870s show his concern for Yoruba history and culture. He noted such things as the worship and history of Sango (god of thunder), the fall of Oyo, and the founding of Modakeke in the Ile-Ife region. Some of these issues were later to be developed in his book. As to when he conceived the idea of writing the book and how long it took him, we have no idea. In the editor’s preface, Obadiah said that it took his brother more than twenty years of hard work to write the book.21 This would mean that he probably began

40

Yoruba Gurus

research and writing in the late 1870s; perhaps the outbreak of the Sixteen Years' War in 1877 was the decisive factor that instigated him to write. Events leading to the war and developments in the 1880s and 1890s take up almost 60% of the book, revealing the focus of his interest and inspiration. What is clear is that he put a lot of work into writing, consid¬ ering his various other responsibilities. His Yoruba colleagues came to appreciate him as a storehouse of knowledge, and his superiors, like Bishop Oluwole, solicited advice. He must have overcome problems, such as criticism by his colleagues for paying too much attention to the research. His diplomatic role, perceived by some as biased against Oyo, must also have created some problems, to the extent that he wanted to be transferred from Oyo to Abeokuta in 1893. The Hinderers, mentioned earlier, were strong influences on his intellectual orientation. They probably interested him in the study of language and culture. His association with Buhler exposed him to the history of Greek and Roman civilizations. He was famil¬ iar with the Greek Civil Wars, to which he made allusions in his book. He read the works of Caesar and Eutropius. He attempted to create a link between the Yoruba and the great civilizations of Egypt and Greece. Michel Doortmont and Ade Ajayi have mentioned yet another influence, that of the Rev. Daniel Olubi, the Egba Christian who followed the Hinderers to Ibadan in 1851.22 A loyal disciple of the Hinderers, Olubi quickly emerged as the most prominent Yoruba Anglican. When David Hinderer withdrew from church activities in 1869, the baton passed to Olubi who had been ordained a dea¬ con a year before. Samuel Johnson became a subordinate officer under Olubi, working both as a preacher and teacher at Ibadan. This was a time of warfare among the Yoruba, of road closures, restrictions in travel by the missionaries, and the involvement of a few prominent Yoruba elite, such as Olubi and Johnson, in the politics of the time. In 1875, Samuel Johnson was appointed a cat¬ echist and in the following year Olubi was ordained as a full priest. Olubi retained Johnson as his assistant, together with his fatherin-law, James Okuseinde (Snr.). A great and cordial working rela¬ tionship developed among these three men, with Johnson as the junior man. Olubi provided leadership in street preaching and cat¬ echetical duties and allowed Johnson not only to gain practical experience but to become independent. With Olubi’s blessing, Johnson became the "recognized" histo¬ rian of the Yoruba. Olubi believed that the success of the mission

Samuel Johnson: The Pioneer and Patriarch

41

among the Yoruba would partly depend on how well the mission¬ aries understood the people’s history and culture. Samuel Johnson's interest, therefore, received enthusiastic support from his boss. As his personal diaries show, Olubi was himself interest¬ ed in how best the Yoruba society could be reformed, without destroying many aspects of its past. This reformist attitude was inherited by Johnson. For the opportunity to be involved in the wars and diplomacy, Olubi deserved yet further credit. It was he who allowed Samuel Johnson to relate with the kings and chiefs, to the extent that he was able as a missionary worker. He intro¬ duced Samuel to the chiefs of Ibadan and involved him in his polit¬ ical dealings with city authorities. When Olubi himself failed to persuade Ibadan not to declare war in 1877, he sent Johnson to the missionary at Ilesa and allowed him to serve as an envoy to the British and Yoruba chiefs. Johnson grew to become a trusted and experienced diplomat. Living in Ibadan, instead of Lagos, became yet another factor in developing his interest in Yoruba history. With the prohibition of the movements of Europeans into the Yoruba interior from 1869 to 1893, Samuel and other indigenous missionaries were able to be free of the excessive interference by the Church and government officials in Lagos. He and his colleagues were interested in local politics and warfare, very much involved, for example, in the Sixteen Years’ War as adviser to the chiefs. At Oyo, he went beyond his normal call to collect data for his book. His interest in the war and diplomacy of conflict resolution served two purposes. In the first place, he was put in the center of some events. In the 1880s, he served as an envoy for the British and the chiefs of Oyo and Ibadan. This was a great opportunity to be close to power and to know the details of contemporary events which he fully reported in his book. The other advantage was the opportunity to develop writing and reporting skills. By drafting high profile diplomatic cor¬ respondence, he became more skillful and mature, able to present competing positions and also to make up his mind on evidence. Perhaps his training as a missionary and his experience as a diplo¬ mat enabled him to write in a dignified manner and careful tone. He was able to conceal his anger and impatience at the failure of peace missions. His motive was patriotic: to understand the history of his coun¬ try and its people and to "stimulate...the spirit of patriotism and enquiry into the histories of the less known parts of the country. ”23 Together with many of his educated contemporaries, he shared a deep sense of history. There was the need to rescue Yoruba histo-

42

Yoruba Gurus

ry from oblivion, since, according to him, the "old sires are fast dying out.''24 The younger generation must learn this history, instead of limiting themselves to what contemporary liberal edu¬ cation offered, which, according to Johnson, was the history of England, Rome and Greece, while "of the history of their own coun¬ try... they know nothing whatsoever!” Part of the "cultural nation¬ alism” of the second half of the nineteenth century was the attempt to understand African history, including which aspects were use¬ ful for contemporary society. Although Samuel did not carry his own nationalism too far, he nevertheless understood the useful¬ ness of integrating certain values and concepts of the past with Christianity and British rule. His family background, his associa¬ tion with the Hinderers, his involvement in local politics, among other factors, served to deepen this historical consciousness. His patriotic concern for a rescue operation of Yoruba history was prob¬ ably responsible for some discrepancies in the book. But he was the first to admit the limitations of his book—he expected others to respond by collecting more traditions and warned that he had not exhausted the subject.25 "The histories of all nations,” Johnson closes the preface, "present many phases and divers features, which are brought out by various writers in the lines in which each is interested; the same method we hope will be pursued by writers in this country until we become possessed of a fuller History of the Yoruba.”26 To appreciate Johnson’s book, we have to see it as a body of tra¬ ditions told as history. And to assess his contributions to history, we should acknowledge his skill and endurance as a researcher, his ideological perspective, and his conception of history. The most impressive of these qualities was his skill and patience as a researcher. There is no doubt that he was thorough in the search for evidence. His literary gifts were unusual. His appetite for data was insatiable; he attempted to commit into writing all the major traditions that he was able to gather in spite of his other substan¬ tial engagements. He put to good use his liberal education and his active involvement in politics. He was a jack-of-all-trades and mas¬ ter of many: his book is rich in all important aspects of culture as well as in history. Somewhat in the manner of modern-day historians, he acknowledged his sources. He relied on written documentation where this was available, including correspondence, diaries, Lagos newspapers, and a few published works. More importantly, he used oral accounts very extensively. These included "bards" for the "ancient and mythological period” and eye-witnesses and partici-

Samuel Johnson: The Pioneer and Patriarch

43

pants for the most recent events. He even provided the names of some of his informants, notably respected people based at Ibadan. Among the leading ones were David Kukomi, Josiah Oni, and the Timi of Ede. Kukomi was a recognized "local historian,” the grand¬ father of the Rev. Akinyele, who later became a famous Bishop. Johnson described Kukomi as "the patriarch of the Ibadan Church” and provided his credentials: he "was a young man in the days of King Abiodun, and it was his fortune (or misfortune) to take part in the wars and other national movements of the period as a com¬ mon soldier, and was thus able to give a clear and reliable account of the sayings, persons, and events of those stirring times, being a cool man of judgement, observant, and remarkably intelligent.”27 Next was Josiah Oni, "an intrepid trader of those days” and a mem¬ ber of the Anglican congregation at Ogunpa. Josiah Oni was “an active and intelligent observer who was well acquainted with almost every part of the country, and took part in some of the most stirring events of a later period.”28 He also mentioned the Timi of Ede, a king "so well known all over the country as a gifted and trusty historian of the Yoruba Country.”29 He was able to assess the data, rejecting what he thought was offensive as well as certain ver¬ sions of some events. Indeed, he was aware of the quality of the traditions that he collected and the use to which he put them: With respect to the ancient and mythological period he has stated the facts as they are given by the bards, and with respect to the History of comparatively recent dates, viz., from the time of King Abiodun downwards, from eye-witnesses of the events which they narrate, or from those who have actually taken part in them. He has thus endeavoured to present a reliable record of events.30 A contemporary reviewer of the book, perhaps the very first, com¬ mented on Johnson’s methods in the following positive words: Among the unlettered people, relying exclusively on oral tradition, episodes and facts of history generally are in constant danger of being forgotten or of becom¬ ing distorted, in spite of the royal and tribal "histori¬ ans”, whose memory has been strengthened by habitual exercise. In the process of transmission itself it is conceivable how material facts may give place to unessential details or be coloured by the narrator's ideas. One signal service this book has performed is to put an end to this process of waste. We now have

44

Yoruba Gurus

in an abiding form accounts to which we may add or compare others that we have heard or shall hear. The quantum salvaged in this work is our permanent pos¬ session.31 The reviewer was right about the value of oral traditions and the extent to which Johnson relied on them. So also was he prophetic in talking about both the affirmation and rejection of Johnson's use of the traditions. He also anticipated the future when he remarked that his accounts on the origins of the Yoruba from the Arabia or Upper Egypt would certainly lead to controversy: It is safe to predict that for years to come it will be the armoury from which friends and foes will alike draw supplies, as the accounts are not idealised, but are narrated with a naivety that is sometimes dis¬ concerting.32 Regarding the contents, this long book is divided into two major parts. Part I is on “The People, Country, and the Language." It is short, 142 pages altogether, and divided into 8 chapters. This part covers an introduction to the country, early history, and the insti¬ tutions and customs of the people, notably their religion, politics, names, land-tenure system, and cultures. Part II is extensive, divided into four parts (called “periods" to represent historical phases) and arranged into thirty-five chapters. The First Period of Part II is like a continuation of the origin sto¬ ries in Part I —it comprises accounts of early rulers, whom Johnson describes as “The founders of the Yoruba nation.” These were Oduduwa, Oranyan, Ajuan (alias Olufiran), Sango, and Ajaka. Very early in Johnson’s narrative the emphasis on one Yoruba sub¬ group, the Oyo-Yoruba, quickly emerges. The founders of the “nation" were mainly the kings of Oyo. The second period consol¬ idates this bias, as the history now fully becomes that of the Oyo empire up to the end of the eighteenth century. Using a kinglist, Johnson was able to construct a dense chronological narrative. He passes judgments on the kings—some were heroes, some were despots, and others were able to restore order after a period of chaos. He closes the second period with the reign of Abiodun in the late eighteenth century, described as peaceful. The third peri¬ od, “Revolutionary wars and disruption,” moves us into the nine¬ teenth century, with events leading to the fall of the Oyo empire. Johnson's accounts become more confident and elaborate. He shows great competence in his analysis of the consequences of the fall of Oyo, especially the various wars that followed. His fourth

Samuel Johnson: The Pioneer and Patriarch

45

period is about the emergence of Ibadan as an empire, the revival of Oyo by Atiba, and the wars of Ibadan expansion. The mission¬ aries, British officials, and Johnson himself become part of the his¬ tory of this period. Here is the section where Johnson's gift of storytelling reaches its ultimate peak. Beautiful prose, measured tone, great insights into personalities and events, graphic descrip¬ tion, and attention to detail make this section one of the very best in the book. He closes this part by examining the establishment of British rule, which occurred during his own last years. The book ends with two appendices, one containing treaties between the British and the Yoruba, showing the nature of the written docu¬ ments at his disposal. The second appendix is a brief list of the kings of Oyo, Ibadan, and Abeokuta.

A CRITIQUE Johnson's skill notwithstanding, there are problems with his History. It is not always clear whether the traditions collected by Johnson were those in line with his motives or those already doc¬ tored by his informants or those already affected by the contacts with external influences like Islam and Christianity. Since he also interpreted a number of the traditions, he imposed his own per¬ spectives. He admitted to editing many of the traditions, at least in order not to cause divisions in society. "In recording events of what transpired,” he wrote, "good or bad, failures and successes, among the various tribes, he has endeavoured to avoid whatever would cause needless offence to anyone, or irritate the feelings of those specially interested in the narratives, provided only that the cause of truth, and of public benefit be faithfully served.”33 In spite of this vigorous attempt, future local historians of such other towns as Ilesa were to find faults with his book. With respect to chronology, he avoided dates before the 1830s. His kinglist of Oyo is incomplete. Robin Law suggests that the kinglist was his creation, although he cannot be accused of invent¬ ing any of the Alaafin. Some other critics would argue that the absence of dates in some parts of the book should be treated as positive, since he had no way of knowing what was accurate or not, and he did not want to use conjectural calculations to mislead any¬ one.34 His accounts have elements both of telescoping and length¬ ening; for instance, his kinglist omitted some names, while his love for Abiodun, his own ancestor (whose career he praised in contrast to that of the "devil” Basorun Gaha), is one example of creating an archetypal hero. As Ajayi and Awe have noted, there is an Oyo-centric charac-

46

Yoruba Gurus

terization of Yoruba history: all events revolved around Oyo's ori¬ gin, its rise to fame and collapse. David Henige and others have addressed the impact of litera¬ cy on oral traditions, with the aim of showing that what is collect¬ ed and recorded changes in character once literacy has been introduced.35 Robin Law has tested this thesis, using Johnson’s book. He suggests that "the very idea of composing a history of Yorubaland, or even of Oyo, is an essentially literate notion.”36 The task fell on Samuel who, because he had to render traditions into writing, had to expose and test the contradictions in them and "cre¬ ate pressures for their elimination” and relate "the history of the Yoruba communities to the history of the wider world,” two con¬ cerns that do not occur to traditional historians but do preoccupy literate minds. The process of seeking traditions, involving some sort of probing and posing of "unfamiliar sort of questions," tend to change the character of the traditions.

IDEOLOGY Johnson’s book is a reflection of several factors. In the first place, his Christian orientation runs through the book. The advent of Christianity to the Yoruba was, to him, one of the greatest achieve¬ ments of the century. Thus, commenting on the beginning of the missionary enterprise in Abeokuta, he jubilated because "light began to dawn on the Yoruba country from the south, when there was nothing but darkness, idolatry, superstition, blood shedding and slave hunting all over the rest of the country."37 His greatest wish was to see the triumph of Christianity over other religions. This wish influenced his interpretations of a number of events. For instance, what he regarded as the only cure for the degeneration of the Yoruba to the various wars was the adoption of Christianity, which he thought would be the fulfillment of an age-old prophecy that "as ruin and desolation spread from the interior to the coast, so light and restoration will be from the coast interior-wards."38 He linked this prophecy with a myth that the Yoruba were formerly "either Coptic Christians, or at any rate that they had some knowl¬ edge of Christianity.”39 His legends of origin, perhaps narrated as an attempt at creating an identity and political distinctiveness for the Yoruba, were equally linked with Christianity. He rejected ver¬ sions of the legends that link the Yoruba with Mecca, as this would suggest a connection with Islam. Rather he opted for a Christian version that still postulated links with Arabia by claiming that the “proto-Yoruba were expelled on account of their practising there their own form of worship, which was either paganism or more

Samuel Johnson: The Pioneer and Patriarch

47

likely a corrupt form of Eastern Christianity (which allowed of image worship-so distasteful to Moslems)."40 To Samuel, the nine¬ teenth century was the' beginning of a glorious return to Christianity. Secondly, he believed in the idea of progress; the Yoruba were on the verge of modernization with their new links with the British. Integral to this modernization was British imperialism. He was happy that the British were able to attack the Ijebu in 1892, a deci¬ sion which opened a so-called prison door. He justified the high¬ handedness of the British administrators as "not unexpected” in order to establish a new regime and deal with Ilorin, “the real dis¬ turbers of the peace in the country." He called for changes in aspects of culture, such as improved dressing habits, sanitation, marriage system, and town planning. He was disturbed by the ter¬ rible consequences of the wars on inter-group relations and respect for elders, and he wanted "modern" changes in these areas. Both the belief in Christianity and the belief in progress could be tied to a larger idea dating back to the mid-nineteenth century: a liberal vision of the transformation of Africa along the lines of the development ideology of Christianity, Commerce, and Civilization. The point must be emphasized, however, that Johnson did not recommend a full-scale incorporation of Western values. This would have been grossly incompatible with his cultural nationalism. He was proud of the Yoruba and of their achievements. Part of his aim in writing was actually to record some of these enduring values. He emphasized aspects of Yoruba culture that should be retained. Underlying his thinking was the high status that he accorded to Yoruba culture, comparing it in achievement to the English: the Yoruba—it has been noted—are not unlike the English in many of their traits and characteristics. It would appear that what the other is among the whites the other is among the blacks. Love of independence, a feeling of superiority over all others, a keen com¬ mercial spirit, and of indefatigable enterprise, that quality of being never able to admit or consent which to a defeat as finally settling a question upon which their mind is bent, are some of those qualities pecu¬ liar to them, and no matter under what circumstances they are placed, Yorubas will display them.41 He wanted the Yoruba to retain their names, dress, and language; and to reject influences that could promote social vices. One way to resolve the tension between his love for Christianity

48

Yoruba Gurus

and the British and for his own people and their history is to treat Johnson as a reformer seeking not necessarily a new society, but some changes to the existing one. He was not a conservative pro¬ tecting the status quo. Neither was he a revolutionary advocating a radical restructuring. He was comfortable both in the world of the Yoruba and in that of the English. His book, diary, and life did not reflect any hostility towards the white missionary, and he was grateful to Buhler and Hinderer. Perhaps he was interested in his career and was very careful to protect it. He was, no doubt, a fer¬ vent believer in the missionary enterprise, once praying to God to enable him to live an exemplary life as a clergyman and "labour the vineyard."42 A cautionary life led to a cautionary book. “The old order changeth," asserted Johnson in an authoritative tone, "yielding place to new; And God fulfils Himself in many ways, Lest one good custom should corrupt the world!” A third point is that Johnson believed that the best way to pre¬ sent his epic account was to accept the Arokin's framework of Oyo history. In this framework, the Alaafin played the leading role: more stories are told of the successful ones, fewer of the early peri¬ od, and recent events receive the most attention. In doing this, however, Johnson equated Oyo history with Yoruba history. While it is true that he admitted his ignorance of the history of the other groups, he was un-apologetic about his approach: The early history of the Yoruba country is almost exclusively that of the Yoruba Oyo division, the oth¬ ers being then too small and too insignificant to be of any import.43 And when Oyo fell, he shifted his focus to Ibadan, its most influ¬ ential successor state. His admiration for Ibadan was very great: “the history of the Yorubas centered largely at Ibadan...while the rest of the country was quiet Ibadan was making history."44 Though he did not like wars, he saw the hand of divine providence in the crisis: God wanted to use the military state of Ibadan to "play a most important part in the history of the Yorubas, to break the Fulani yoke and save the rest of the country from foreign domi¬ nation; in short to be a protector as well as a scourge in the land."45 His support for Ibadan was not, however, without occasional dis¬ approval of the excesses of its warriors. Finally, Johnson believed in the unity of all the Yoruba groups, with Oyo providing the leadership. In a number of cases, there is clear evidence that the traditions that he recorded and the inter¬ pretations he imposed on them were meant to achieve this agen-

Samuel Johnson: The Pioneer and Patriarch

49

da. His anti-Fulani, Egba, and Ijebu accounts probably derived from the desire to enhance the status of Oyo. He obviously did not like the collapse of the Oyo Empire, brought about partly by the attack of Ilorin and the loss of florin to the Fulani. He also thought that the policies of the Egba and Ijebu were partly responsible for the delay in ending the wars. The concern for Yoruba unity is to be interpreted in the con¬ text of nineteenth-century nationalism and the attempt by an elite to create, or identify with, a pan-Yoruba identity. Johnson was well qualified to make a major contribution to this nationalism. He was born in Sierra Leone, where a vigorous sense of Yoruba identity had developed. The migration to Nigeria brought the need to live within the geographical reality that first gave birth to this identity. The new Yoruba elite of the nineteenth century were educated and westernized. Tb the “scholars” among them, traditions and history were tools to articulate a Yoruba cultural identity and, if possible, a political one as well. Part of this articulation drew on legacies of the past, such as the concern by some traditional elites (like Ibikunle of Ibadan) for a united Yorubaland. Another part was an attempt to formulate solutions to the problems of the day: warfare, British incursion, and racism. Like some of his contemporaries, Johnson defined the Yoruba country as a collection of "tribes” which traced their origin to one source and ancestor. Added to this common descent was a common culture. Though he identified dif¬ ferences among the Yoruba sub-groups and the divisive impact of the nineteenth-century wars, he pointed to a time in the eighteenth century when the whole country was politically united.46 In spite of the emphasis on the Oyo-Yoruba in his accounts, he was com¬ mitted to the idea of a Yoruba nation. A united nation would need management, explaining his idea of a big empire “from the Niger to the coast,” under a great king. He stated from the onset that he did not like the divisions among the Yoruba— "the feelings and petty jealousies now rife among us.”47 In his closing remarks, he urged all the "tribes” to come together once again: ...the disjointed units should all be once more weld¬ ed into one under one head from the Niger to the coast as in the happy days of Abiodun, so dear to our fathers, that clannish spirit should disappear, and above all that Christianity should be the principal reli¬ gion in the land.48 Here is indeed the truly outstanding remark that offers the key to understanding this monumental work—history as a tool for politi-

Yoruba Gurus

50

cal ideology to unite and recreate the Yoruba nation. It is a brilliant statement that anticipated most of the political struggles of the Yoruba and their scholars during the twentieth century.

NOTES 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

8. 9. 10. 11.

12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22.

23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30.

CMS, 1921 (hereinafter, The History). J. A. Atanda, An Introduction to Yoruba History (Ibadan: Ibadan University Press, 1980). J. Eades, The Yoruba Today. Michel R. Doortmont, "Recapturing the Past: Samuel Johnson and the Construction of the History of the Yoruba.” See, for instance, the various contributions in Toyin Falola, ed., Pioneer, Patriot and Patriarch. On Carr and the desire for education, see J. A. Fajana, "Dr Henry Carr’s Philosophy of Education-An Assessment,” Odu 7 (April 1972): 28-48. Michel Doortmont, "Samuel Johnson (1846-1901): Missionary, Diplomat, and Historian," in Toyin Falola, ed., Yoruba Historiography (Madison-Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin African Studies Program, 1991), pp. 169-170" and his Ph.D. thesis. I have drawn from these two valuable sources. See the testimony and career of one of them, Nathaniel, in CMS CA2/057/4. For his personal experience and description of religious beliefs, see CMS G3A2/0 1885/67. "Obituary-The Late Rev. Samuel Johnson," 4 May, 1901. J. F. A. Ajayi, "Samuel Johnson: Historian of the Yoruba," Nigeria Magazine 81 (1964): 141-146. Reprinted in Falola, ed., Pioneer, Patriot and Patriarch, chap¬ ter, pp. 27-32. The History, pp. ix-x. Ajayi, "Samuel Johnson,” in Falola, ed., p. 27. Ajayi, "Samuel Johnson and Yoruba Historiography," unpublished paper, 1995. O. Johnson, "Christian Marriage,” Lagos, n.d. See A. G. Hopkins, "A Report on the Yoruba, 1910,” Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria 5 (1969): 67-100. The History, p. ix (my emphasis). The History, p. ix. See, for instance, pp. 539-40. See, for instance, Lagos Weekly Record, May 4, 1901, September 18, 1920, and October 23, 1990; and The Nigerian Pioneer, September 17, 1920. The History, p. ix. Michel Doortmont, "Samuel Johnson (1846-1901): Missionary, Diplomat, and Historian,” in Falola, ed., Yoruba Historiography, pp. 169-170; and J. F. Ade Ajayi, "Samuel Johnson and Yoruba Historiography," unpublished confer¬ ence paper, 1995, pp. 2-3. The History, p. vii. Ibid. Ibid. Ibid., p. viii. The History, p. vii. The History, p. viii. The History, p. vii. The History, p. vii.

Samuel Johnson: The Pioneer and Patriarch

51

31.

“A Yoruba," [Review of Samuel Johnson, The History of the Yorubas from the earliest times to the beginning of the British Protectorate] West Africa 16 (July, 1921): 697-699. The full review can also be found as Appendix III in Doortmont, “Recapturing the Past,” pp. 148-151. 32. “A Yoruba.” 33. The History, p. vii. 34. "A Yoruba.” 35. David Henige, “Ihuths Yet Unborn : Oral Traditions As A Casualty Contact,” Journal of African History 23 (1982): 395-412; and Jack Goody, ed.,‘ Literacy in Traditional Societies (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1968). 36. See his full argument in “How Truly Traditional...” in Falola, ed., Pioneer, Patriot and Patriarch, pp.47-63. 37. The History, p. 45. 38. The History, p. 296. 39. The History, p. 7. 40. The History, pp. 6-7. 41. The History, pp. xxi-xxii. 42. CMS CA2/0/58/4, S. Johnson, Journal Extracts, January-June, 1875 entry for January 19, 1875. 43. The History , p. xxii. 44. Ibid., p. 247. 45. The History, p. 247. 46. The History, pp. xxi, 9, 40-41, 179. 47. The History, p. vii. 48. The History, p. 642.

CHAPTER THREE

M. C. Adeyemi: Th& Historian of Oyo

VARIED NATIONALISMS AND THE IDEA OF HISTORY

ne of the defining characteristics of the indigenous proM M duction of histories during the twentieth century is the focus of the narratives on towns rather than the single Yoruba nation. This is the appropriate place to examine the origins of the prominence of towns over that of the nation, as this and sub¬ sequent chapters begin to focus on the gurus of town histories. Although Samuel Johnson could be criticized for privileging Oyo in his book, it will be hard to diminish his commitment to the idea of a Yoruba nation. As a peace mediator, he had to face the trouble of generating trust everywhere, for instance among the Egba, the arch rivals of Ibadan. However, one thing is clear and perhaps incontestable about him: he wanted the Yoruba to be a strong nation. He believed that an empire such as that of Oyo or Ibadan was necessary to bring all the groups together. He proba¬ bly wanted his book to serve that purpose. Thus, his emphasis on Oyo is not about writing a town history, as Adeyemi did, but of

54

Yoruba Gurus

using Oyo as the metropolis of a strong, united Yoruba nation. The united Yorubaland that Johnson envisaged became elusive after his death. In the last years of the nineteenth century, the Yoruba became part of a new country, Nigeria. This incorporation began to produce new kinds of nationalism in all the major cities.1 While the idea of a Yoruba nation continued to exist and became re-affirmed in the 1940s at a more consistent political level, the nationalism of sub-ethnic groups and cities also grew during the same time. If Samuel Johnson did not want clannish ethnic-cumurban rivalry, as he warned in his preface, the colonial milieu encouraged it to flourish. Some cities became administrative head¬ quarters, with privileges and amenities. Some kings had their sta¬ tus enhanced at the expense of others, thereby generating competition among the indigenous power elite. The behavior of the Yoruba elite in the context of Nigeria and relations with the Europeans also underwent major changes. At the turn of the century, some members of the intelligentsia were committed to cultural preservation and the restoration of Yoruba traditions and history. A good number of them were thus com¬ mitted not for the reasons offered by Johnson, but simply out of protest. They wanted to bear Yoruba names, wear Yoruba clothes, and emphasize the use of culture for political identity. They believed that Europeans, whether missionaries, traders, or officials, were arrogant. To fight back, they felt that they must make use of Yoruba culture for self-identity and image-making. In the 1890s, the Lagos Institute championed the knowledge of culture. As the number of the elite expanded in other Yoruba cities such as Ibadan, similar organizations were established. In the case of Ibadan, the Egbe Agba-O-tan (founded in 1913-14) became interested in histo¬ ry and publication. James Okuseinde, the brother-in-law of Samuel Johnson, was an active member, and it was probably he and oth¬ ers who pressured Obadiah to publish his brother’s manuscript. There was also the Egbe Onife lie Yoruba ("Lovers of Yorubaland’’), which also promoted lectures and discussions on Yoruba history and culture. Obadiah collaborated with three others to write a man¬ uscript in the first decade of the century, perhaps the very first original essay on Yoruba ethnography.2 By the 1920s, when colonial rule had become firmly entrenched, many Yoruba elite began to think differently. There remained a faction committed to the idea of Yoruba culture and nation. However, such a commitment began to clash in some quar¬ ters with the notion of Nigerian nationalism, which regarded eth¬ nicity as a pathology. The popular idea of race consciousness was

M. C. Adeyemi: The Historian of Oyo

55

not just about being Yoruba, but about being black, a Nigerian, or an African. National aspirations began to take a different shape from ethnic aspirations and,' in the words of a contemporary, were committed to becoming stronger.3 Being Yoruba should not dimin¬ ish the evolution of Nigerian nationalism. Education, rather than ethnicity, became an important tool to fight British rule, since it enabled the demand of reforms. To appreciate these profound changes to which contemporary chroniclers had to respond, it must be borne in mind that they were reacting to the changes of the colonial and post-colonial era. All our leading authors attained their maturity during the colonial peri¬ od. They witnessed the gradual crumbling of indigenous institu¬ tions and the rapid impact of new colonial changes. They tried either to capture this moment or record the past before it was swept away by the strong forces of change. I begin the accounts of the lives and writings of these gurus of town histories with the life and work of Rev. M. C. Adeyemi.

M. C. ADEYEMI M. C. Adeyemi was one of the earliest to write town histories, choosing Oyo4 in 1914 and later Ondo. In this chapter, the trans¬ lation of the book on Oyo is presented primarily as a case study. Adeyemi’s short book carries the long title Iwe Itan Oyo-Ile ati Oyo Isisiyi abi Ago-d’Oyo, which can be briefly translated as "A History of Old and New Oyo.”5 The authorship of the Iwe Itan Oyo is undisputed. Both the title page and the preface, the latter written by I. B. Akinyele, the future king of Ibadan, identify M. C. Adeyemi as the author.6 Akinyele was himself a Yoruba local historian. He published his Iwe Itan Ibadan (History of Ibadan) in 1911 and also acted as the general editor for a Publication Committee with the goal of "recording the history of the Yoruba people for posterity."7 The Publication Committee was established by the Egbe Agba O'Thn ("Elders Still Exist”) a society founded in 1913 by some members of the Westerneducated Yoruba elite. The membership lists for 1913, 1914, and 1915 all include Adeyemi's name.8 He also appears on the List of Members of the Publication Committee for 1914, as well as on a list that allocated themes of Yoruba history to various authors. Adeyemi was given responsibility for the history of Oyo.9 The Rev. Canon Moses Craig Adeyemi was born in 1882 in Epe.10 His parents belonged to the leading families of two major Yoruba towns: Oyo and Ondo. His father, Kasali Adeyemi, was a son of the Alaafin Adeyemi (reigned 1876-1905). His mother,

56

Yoruba Gurus

Olatunsi, was the daughter of High Chief Awosika Ayotilerewa, the Sasere of Ondo. The death of Kasali in 1892 and the need to sus¬ tain a family forced Olatunsi to move from Epe to Ondo. The Sasere of Ondo became the guardian of his grandson. Due to the influence of the Rev. Charles Philips, Yoruba CMS missionary at Ondo, young Adeyemi was exposed to Christianity and given a Western education. Sponsored by the CMS, Adeyemi was able to attend the Church Missionary Training College, Oyo, where he received a thorough education both in the classics and theology.11 Between 1902 and 1907, the CMS sponsored Adeyemi’s studies for a Bachelor of Arts degree in education at Fourah Bay College, Sierra Leone. The principal of Fourah Bay College, Denton, was very impressed with Adeyemi's academic performance.12 On his return to Nigeria, he became a tutor at his old school in Oyo. In 1911, he left for Lancashire, England, to follow a course in Education Administration. Between 1912 and 1915, Adeyemi again worked as tutor at the Church Missionary Training College, Oyo, and was also made a warden of Melville Hall. During this period, Adeyemi founded the Franciscan, the College journal, and acted as its first editor until he was appointed Inspector of Education for the CMS schools in Abeokuta, Ijebu, and Ibadan in 1915.13 In 1918, Adeyemi was ordained, thereafter he settled in Ondo as headmaster of the Boy’s High School. In Ondo he was to combine the functions of educa¬ tionalist and missionary until his death in 1942. Adeyemi became especially prominent as a propagandist for the introduction and spread of Western education and health care in Ondo. He was associated with the management of the first pri¬ mary school in Ondo, the growth of the Ondo High School, the establishment of the Women's Training Centre (1912), and the foun¬ dation of St. Andrew’s Church (1929) and the Ondo General Hospital. By the time of his death he had become a chief in Ondo, and appointed to the country’s Legislative Council. When the first institution of higher education was established in Ondo Province, it was named after him as Adeyemi College of Education. The col¬ lege still exists as part of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, and enjoys the status of a degree-awarding institution. In what follows, I present the manuscript and then an exten¬ sive comment and critique.

M. C.

Adeyemi: The Historian of Oyo

57

ADEYEMI'S HISTORY: A TRANSLATION14 Preface This small book was compiled by Mr. M. C. Adeyemi, B.A., who was also a member of the Publication Committee for this book. He is not just an indigene of Oyo, but also a prince. Therefore, we believe that the history of Oyo he has narrated is the correct one; he did not collect his information from hearsay, but from his father who was the son of a renowned Alafin. As a matter of fact, this book is not very rich if compared with the history book of Ibadan. Meanwhile, the author is trying to get more facts to make this book a voluminous one. We hope that you will receive this well before the bigger edi¬ tion is published. Oke Alafara,15 Yours truly, Ibadan I. B. Akinyele 27th October, 1914 General Editor ‘Egbe Agba O’tan’

Chapter one Yoruba and Ibariba The Yoruba came from Medina, in the east. Initially, the Yoruba settled with the Ibariba.16 After some time, the Ibariba began to make life uncomfortable for them. In addition, the Yoruba did not understand the Ibariba’s language and consequently they decided to leave the Ibariba country for another place. One day, as part of the plan to leave, the Yoruba said they want¬ ed to go on a journey. After travelling for about a mile,17 they dug the ground and with the soil they built a wall. They proceeded on their way. After another two miles, they built a second wall. They travelled again and halted to build a third wall. All in all, they built a total of seven strong walls. When they returned to the Ibariba homeland, they commis¬ sioned a sculptor called Oloje to make statues that would look exact¬ ly like human beings.18 After Oloje had carved a number of statues considered to be adequate, the Yoruba kept them in a special place. The statues were later transferred to a location outside the Ibariba's town wall.19 Each was placed ten feet from the other. Every statue was dressed as a warrior: it wore a cap, and carried a bow and arrow. Thereafter, the Yoruba returned to the Ibariba. One midnight, all the Yoruba secretly left the Ibariba country;

58

Yoruba Gurus

they did not inform a single Ibariba person. The Yoruba went straight to Gboho20 where they had erected the statues. In the morning, when the Ibariba discovered that the Yoruba had left, they gathered their warriors and they pursued the Yoruba to Gboho. When the Ibariba got to where the statues were, they started shooting arrows (the implement of warfare at the time, since there were no guns) at these statues, thinking they were fighting the Yoruba. They shot more and more arrows at these statues, but they refused to fall. Then, the Ibariba began to think that the objects were perhaps not human. They threw more arrows. As some of these hit the objects on the head, the Ibariba discovered that these were not human beings. They became frightened, wondering what kind of statues these were. They were too scared to move near them, however, and they decided to return to their homeland. This was how the Ibariba returned home, and the Yoruba set¬ tled in Gboho.

Chapter two The Oba who reigned in Gboho and their children21 Four Oba mounted the throne before the Yoruba left Gboho. The first Oba was OMOLOJU.22The second was EGUN-OJU. The third was ORO-POTO, while SO-PASAN was the fourth.23 The Yoruba decided to leave Gboho after the death of these Obas; they complained they were not comfortable enough in the place. They left Gboho during the reign of Oba Ofinran-O-koja, who reigned after Oba SO-PASAN. At the time of their migration from Gboho, the people were liv¬ ing in twelve compounds. Not everybody left Gboho, however: some people in each compound stayed behind. After leaving Gboho, their first place of settlement was Kogbaye,24 so named because it was such a small place that it could not conveniently accommodate everybody. They left here for Oyoro. Oba Ofinran-O-Koja had died before the people migrated to Oyoro. His son, who reigned after him and led the migration was known as (6)25 Oba Ogbolu.26 The brave man left his son behind to continue with his good work.’ After travelling lor a while, the people reached a tract of level countryside where they decided to settle.27 Close to this plain was

M.C. Adeyemi: The Historian of Oyo

59

a hill with a settlement on top. Oba Ogbolu settled in the plain and refused to visit Okin-Ala.Okin-Ala, too, maintained his silence, and observed the people of Ogbolu. After a short while, Ogbolu noticed that a small reptile (Iko) was biting and killing his people. Anybody bitten by this reptile suffered instant death. Many people lost their lives to this tiny reptile, whose attack was always sudden. When the number of deaths grew, and the situation became unbearable, Ogbolu decided to ask for help from Okin-Ala. When Okin-Ala inquired about the purpose of his mission, Ogbolu told him of the troubles the Yoruba had experienced from the time they had settled with the Ibariba until the time they were attacked by the reptile. Okin-Ala then asked Ogbolu a question: ‘Do you know that you met some people here when you came?’ Ogbolu answered very politely that he knew, and he apologized. Okin-Ala then request¬ ed him one of his children as a sacrifice to placate the god of the earth. Ogbolu complied, and gave him his firstborn child, who was sacrificed. After the sacrifice, Okin-Ala invited Ogbolu for a discussion as to how they should unite the two groups. Both groups decided to become one, and this was how two factions became qualified to occupy the throne.28 When Ogbolu died, (7) Agbolu-Aje mounted the throne. After Agbolu-Aje’s death, Ga,29 who was not happy with this man’s death, decided to crown the brother of Ogbolu-Aje,3(1 born of the same mother, as the new Oba. The name of this new Oba was (8) Ojo Arese-rena. He reigned for a brief period, too brief a period, since he did not complete the coronation rituals necessary at his instal¬ lation. (9) Abiodun became the next Oba. He was not at all qualified, because his link with the royal lineage was through the female line: he was the son of a princess. When Abiodun came to power, he reflected deeply on the existing situation, and concluded that if he did not kill Ga, he would be killed by Ga before long. To avoid this, he conspired to kill Ga. After Ga’s death, he reigned for a very long period. After the death of Abiodun, they chose Agbolu-Aje’s son as the new Oba. This choice was made, because Agbolu-Aje did well dur¬ ing his reign, but he did not last long. The name of this new Oba was (10) ASAMO, and his obi31 was Arogangan.32 On assuming power, he was asked, according to tradition, to

60

Yoruba Gurus

name a town the army should besiege. He answered that he would not attack any place, as the people in the only place that had offend¬ ed him were superior to him.33 They said that if he did not want to command them to besiege a town, he must have a reason he did not wish to disclose, as there was no Oba who, on coming to power, did not want to besiege a town. This was why he told them it was Iwere34 that had offended him, and that they should therefore attack the place. When the army reached Iwere's wall, the Kakanfo35 in the army discovered that they had all been appointed by Abiodun and that the Oba36 had killed one of them by the name of Edun Awonnu. Afonja who came from Ilorin37 asked the chiefs one by one: 'Who made you a chief?' Every one of them answered that it was Abiodun. Afonja then asked them another question: ‘Is it proper to destroy the town of Abiodun’s mother?,38 someone who was our benefactor?’ They all agreed that it was not proper. Afonja then said that if their action was improper, they should return to the Oba who asked them to attack this town and ask him to commit suicide. All the warriors retreated.39 When they approached their town, they sent word to the Oba that he should commit suicide. The Oba replied that if he was to comply, Oyo would be ruined. The war¬ riors repeated their demand, saying that they had not asked him for the consequences: he should die, and they were not bothered whether the town was to be ruined. The Oba sent another mes¬ sage, saying 'If I have to die, the town of Oyo will eventually only be inhabited by animals.' And the warriors replied: ‘We are pleased with this consequence.' On the day he was to kill himself, he took Igba Iwa,40 clad him¬ self in a white wrapper, and went to the outskirts of the town. Here, he cursed the town thus: 'As from today onward, in this Yorubaland, if anybody sends his child on an errand, he will not come back to deliver the message, and married women shall rule over their hus¬ bands.' As soon as he had finished uttering the second curse, he broke another plate, saying: ‘May Oyo never be comfortable for the people.' For his third curse, he shot an arrow. There was a loud response: 'Your arrow did not kill anything!’ And the Oba replied: 'The arrow hit the foetus as well as the new baby,' meaning that the curse would pass on to both the present and the next genera¬ tion.41 On his return to the palace, his slaves said they were prepared to fight the warriors. He refused, saying he would not allow the lives of his children to be destroyed because of his own. Till the end he refused to fight; he instructed his household to leave Oyo

M. C. Adeyemi: The Historian of Oyo

61

and disperse to places of their choice, including the towns of their mothers. Thereafter, he committed suicide. Adebo42 was crowned after Arogangan. He reigned for six months before he died. After him (12) Maku mounted the throne. He spent just four months on the throne. Together they spent a total of ten months on the throne. They chose (13) Amado Aladie as Oba, and he only reigned for five months before he died. After his death,43 they chose (14) Majotu Alabeere ote nikun44 as Oba. He too did not last long. After him, nobody was interested in becoming the Oba-, they were afraid.45 All the Yoruba then met to consider suggestions as to what to do to avoid the total destruction of all that had been previously achieved. They decided that unless they chose the son of Arogangan as heir to the throne, there would be no peace. Therefore, they sent for Olu-ewu at Efon-Agotun.46 When he came, he was crowned. It was during his tenure that Oyo-Ile was destroyed, and everybody deserted the place. The war that brought about this disaster was the Eleduwe war.

Chapter three (ii) The Eleduwe War. A.D. 181347 Oluewu, the last Oba in Oyo-Ile, fought this war. During Oluewu’s time, the Filani48 dominated Yorubaland, just as the British do at the moment, and they posted Ajele49 in all the places they con¬ quered. When they50 had gained control, they ordered Oluewu, the Oba of the entire Yorubaland, to report in Ilorin. When the emissary delivered this message to the Oba Yoruba, the latter said: Alas! The world is ruined!’51 For me to leave this town for Ilorin! What kind of mat will they spread for me to sit on when I get there!’52 The people of Oyo pleaded with him to exercise patience and urged him and his Basorun to go. As soon as he met those who had invited him, he was informed that he had been summoned for one reason only: he had to become a Muslim. He, the Basorun, and all their followers were forced to perform the rites that converted them to Islam. As soon as Oluewu went through the town gate, on the day he left Ilorin for home, he looked back and told his jama53 that he would return to Ilorin with his army, to attack the town. Ilorin expected him, on his return home, to send tribute and accept its authority. Oluewu, however, refused this. The Ilorin peo¬ ple then decided to besiege his town, and they sent to Alilu, the

62

Yoruba Gurus

Oba of Sokoto, for an army to assist with this invasion. Alilu sent a very large force, and they joined with the soldiers of Ilorin, Thpa54 and Filani. When the forces met for battle, the Yoruba army rout¬ ed the combined forces of their opponents. This encounter is known as the Gbodo war. After this victory, the Yoruba prepared an attack that would chase their opponents out of Ilorin itself. Oluewu sent word to all the Yoruba, and to the Bariba, now their allies, that they should join forces with him for this war.55 Ojo and Eleduwe56 mobilized, so too did Sinayoru, his Balogun.57 All came to Yorubaland with their forces. When preparing to go, Onjo, the Bale of Oke-Ho, slapped Atiba because he did not prostrate to greet Oluewu,58 on the excuse that he was a Muslim.59 When they were ready to leave, Eleduwe requested the Oba60 to stay with him. When he thought everybody had left, he began his discussion, but he did not realize that one person was still around. Eleduwe asked a question: ‘Is this how rude the Yoruba are towards their Oba? So, this is the extent of their impoliteness to you! A fellow like Atiba refusing to greet you properly! I would never tolerate this from any of my own people. Who would even attempt it!' Alaafin Oluewu then replied: 'Just leave them alone! My problems prevent me from discerning what actions to take! Just let victory be ours in this war; thereafter I will face them.' The chief who was still around heard the whole conversation, and narrated everything to all the other Yoruba chiefs. The chiefs decided that if this was true,61 then, they would let the war end in disaster for him. This was why they secretly sent word to the peo¬ ple of Ilorin, saying, We send to you a new bride,' as well as gifts comprising sponges, soap, and camwood.62 They also promised to attack them with guns that contained no bullets. When they faced each other for war, the Yoruba fulfilled their promise to the Ilorin people. The war was lost. Oluewu and Eleduwe were killed. Sinayoru led the Bariba army back to their land, Timi Bamgbaiye, Kofo Ajenju, Oluyole and Kurunmi led the Yoruba forces home. Back at home, in Oyo, and without an Oba, there was no peace. Whenever they heard a loud noise and rushed to the place, they would discover that there was no cause for alarm. The fear of inse¬ curity lingered on. One day, when they could no longer bear it, they all dispersed; each left for wherever he chose. This was what they had done before under Oba Arogangan. Atiba went to Agod'Oyo, where he became an Oba.

M.C.

Adeyemi: The Historian of Oyo

63

Chapter four

Ago D'Oyo63 Atiba 1813-1856. 43 years. Oja was the founder of the present Oyo. After his death, Elebu, his brother by the same mother, ruled. Atiba had been living in Ago d’Oyo before Oja’s supporters urged him to send Atiba away, but he refused to do so, asking, ‘Why should I send him away?' When Elebu succeeded him, he began to trouble Atiba. He requested Atiba to leave the town, but the latter refused to go, pre¬ ferring instead to face the problems. In due course, they took part in a war. During this war, Atiba colluded with some people and had them push Elebu into a river. This was how he saw the end of Elebu. After this war, Aiyelumo succeeded Elebu. He also troubled Atiba. Their relationship was not cordial, and this situation lasted until they went to the Eleduwe war. After this war, Atiba became the Oha of Ago-d’Oyo. He was the first Alafin to rule in the present Oyo, in circa A.D. 1813.64 As observed earlier, Atiba was not the founder of Oyo; he appro¬ priated it gradually and became the first Alafin of the place. During the Eleduwe war, he,65 Kurunmi, Oluyole, and the other Balogun had decided to let Oluewu lose the war. The reason for this action has been explained before. Other historians tell us, howev¬ er, that they took this decision because of the Bariba’s wickedness and bad manners. And in addition because the Oha66 relied more on the Bariba than on the Yoruba. This cannot have been so, how¬ ever, if we consider the atrocities of the Yoruba against Arogangan, the father of Oluewu. One thing is certain about Atiba: he was a courageous warrior.67 He fought relentlessly during the Eleduwe war, and this was why he acquired this orilci: ‘Sun nwon so hun, da nwon wo'do gere ('Push them forward, throw them into the river.’) It was during this war68 that Oluewu was killed. The result of this war was the desertion of Oyo-Ile and the dispersal of the peo¬ ple to numerous places. Atiba came to Oyo, which is modern day Oyo, and became the Oha. Aiyelumo, who was the Baale of the place, considered himself superior to Atiba who was now the Oha. Aiyelumo was therefore made the Asipa, and Gbenla, who had pre¬ viously been the Are Ago, became the Lagunna. Oluyole became the Basorun at Ibadan. After the death of Oluyole, Gbenla became the Basorun at Oyo, and acquired the oriki: ‘O si loye joye o si m 'ha

64

Yoruba Gurus

oje'ba' ('He was promoted from one title to another, from Basorun to Basorun!)69 Those who stayed behind in Oyo-Ile70 sent Lajide to salute Oba Atiba. Atiba did not allow Lajide to return home, however, and made him Ona-Isokun. Before this appointment, the Onikoyi was the Ona-Isokun. The Onikoyi had two hundred and ten wives and they were all barren. One midnight, the Onikoyi left town. Before doing so, he locked all the doors to his house. It was on the second day the food hawkers did not see him that they informed Atiba. Atiba then ordered them to use a ladder to climb into the house through the roof. When they got inside, they discovered that the house had been vacated by all inhabitants. Atiba then allowed Lajide, the Ona-Isokun, who was living close to the palace, to move into the Onikoyi's house. The Ona-Aka came from Oyo-Ile where he had already acquired this title. His name was Kusade. Atiba built a house for him at Esin-Ele. Atiba sent for Tela, his childhood friend from Kurunmi,71 and made him Babaiyaji. He was the chief adviser to the Oba and had much influence in the palace. Falade (a former domestic of Oja, the founder of Oyo) became Agunpopo. At first, he refused the title, because, he said, he was an Igbonna,77but Atiba insist(ed), saying he was a ‘brother’ to an Oba.73 Since then, those who became Agunpopo also became brothers to the Oba. Atiba sent for Olukokun and he was made Atingisi. His house was located close to the Asipa’s. He also appointed Sanu as Arole Olusanmi. His house was located near to that of the Magba. Atiba also sent for Ajise, who was living among the Egun,74 and request¬ ed him to return home to live with him. Ajise returned to Oyo with his followers and their drums, which made the sound 'Gogo ngoru goru gogo ngoru.' This drum, called Gedegbe, was always placed on the head.75 Furthermore, he76 sent for Dekun, the head of the palace slaves. He ordered him to be shot dead with a gun. He confiscated all his property, including the property Dekun had stolen from the Oba. He did this because Dekun had not bothered to come and see him77 since he had become an Oba. In addition, he made Dekun's children Ilari. Ilari are those the Oba sends on errands, on any errand the Oba wishes. It was Atiba who did many things to establish Ago-d’Oyo, to let it become like Oyo-Ile. He reigned for forty- three years. After his death, Agunloye became the Oba.

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Adeyemi: The Historian of Oyo

65

Chapter five

The era of Alafin Adelu. 1856-1876. 20 years *

Adelu Agunloye bi Oyibo.78 20 years Agunloye was Atiba’s Dawodu.79 When his father died, and he was preparing to die with him (according to Yoruba custom the first son of an Oba must die with him), Basorun Gbenla asked him not to do so, because his father80 was his benefactor, and he would want to repay his son. Asipa Aiyelumo held a contrary view: he81 either had to die or leave the town. He82 prepared to sequestrate liis83 compound and property. However, Basorun Gbenla objected to this and warned him. This weakened Asipa Aiyelumo, and Agunloye became Oba. After Adelu had become Oba, he accused Kurunmi of disre¬ spect to himself and of killing a woman who was to be presented to his father as a wife, thus accusing him of killing an Oba’s wife. He said that though his father had allowed the matter to rest, he would not. This was why he planned the war against Ijaiye. Kurunmi lost his life. Balogun Ibikunle and Otun Balogun Ogunmola of Ibadan were given the resources by Adelu to attack Ijaiye on his behalf. Ogunmola begged for a reward if the attack was successful: he wanted to be made Basorun. Basorun Gbenla was not very happy with this: ‘Alas! Two Basorun at the same time?' However, he84 said that the real Basorun would be known within three years. Before the third year had past, Ogunmola had died. As soon as Ogunmola had become the Basorun, he sent mes¬ sengers to Agunloye with the instruction to collect all the para¬ phernalia of the office of Basorun. Agunloye sent a message to the Basorun,85 Ogunmola’s mes¬ sengers accompanying his own, requesting him to surrender (1) Bisa, (2) Agbon, (3) Ileke.86 He appealed not to be annoyed in order to avoid trouble. Gbenla said that he was not annoyed and that the real Basorun would be known in less than three years. True to his words, Basorun Ogunmola died before the end of the third year. Shortly after, Gbenla too died. Ogunsoro, Gbenla’s firstborn, was appointed Basorun by Agunloye in appreciation of the help his father had rendered him. Agunloye's era was very prosperous: everybody was happy; there was no robbery such as we experience now; the poor were not oppressed; and there were respectable people. When he died, the people mourned him. One of his wives killed

Yoruba Gurus

him: she put charms in his shoes, and these affected him. He became weak and lost the ability to talk. This is how Agunloye bi Oyibo died. Agunloye's oriki runs thus: An incorrigible man, offspring of Oge He who is difficult to command, father of bolodi He who behaves as if there is no God He wears different clothes Wherever he may be in the whole world You may clean your head with sea water Or your feet with that of the lagoon Only a person cleansed by God is faultless He who was born to receive blessings, only you are cleansed by God. You are flawless One with a house by the rock; a procurer of medicine with chips of rock. After Adelu’s death, Lawani, his eldest son, wanted to become the Oba, but the Oyomisi87 refused. He therefore went to Ibadan and did not return home until after Adeyemi’s death, when he did become the Oba.

Chapter six

The era of Alafin ADEYEMI ADEYEMI Alowolodu88 1876 to 1905. 29 years Adeyemi was the son of Atiba. He became the Oba after Lawani, the eldest son of Adelu, had been prevented from becoming Oba. In Adeyemi's time, peace reigned supreme. He was majestic, kind, and generous. He was engaged only in the Papa war. dfela, his brother, showed disobedience in attempting to become the Oba of this place.89 Adeyemi then declared war, whereby he required all the towns under Saki90 to attack Papa. After a year, Papa was conquered. Ttela died in this war and his head was brought to Oyo. The most prominent thing of his era was Captain Bower's mil¬ itary attack on him.91 He fled the town for five days before return¬ ing (1897).92 Asipa Iyowu held Alowolodu in contempt. His claim that he had made him Oba provoked the Oba’s anger. The Oba decided to show his superiority. Alowolodu ordered all the sellers of yam flour to trade no longer in the Asipa market,93 but in Akesan market instead. The Asipa became afraid, as he was unable to anticipate the Oba’s next move. Soon after, Oyelegbin94 wounded a younger

M. C.

Adeyemi: The Historian of Oyo

67

brother95 of the Asipa with a cutlass. When the Asipa heard of this, he concluded that the Oba would not leave it at this—prohibition of trade and the attack on his brother—and would take more mea¬ sures against him. So he went into his room and swallowed poison to commit suicide. When the Alaafin heard of his death, he said that his own bad behavior had caused his death and that it was not his responsibil¬ ity: 'Nobody engages in a'conflict with the Oba'. The Alaafin then installed Ologudu, the senior brother of the deceased, as the new Asipa. The Asipa was then directed by the Alaafin to join the army in the Papa war. He did not behave well to the Alaafin on the war front, however, and after the conclusion of the war, he was sent into exile in Ibadan. Someone else he sent out of the town was Basorun lye, because he colluded with his enemies. The Alaafin then appointed Layode as the new Basorun, strongly warning him not to betray him, as his senior brother had done. He also installed Lakojo as Asipa, to replace Ologudu and warned him as he warned the Basorun. Thereafter, the public composed a song: Life is prosperous for Layode Life is indeed booming for Lakojo Both Layode and Lakojo were doing very well. However, Lakojo died not too long after, and Akanji succeeded him as the Asipa. Akanji, too, died within a short time and was replaced by Adisa. Adisa was a pleasant man, but he, too, died after a brief tenure. Oyewusi, who suffered a cutlass cut,96 became the Asipa. Laluwokun succeeded Oyewusi and he is the current incumbent.97 When Basorun Layode plotted against the Alaafin, the latter decided to send him out of Oyo. However, Layode refused to go, saying he could not be treated like lye, as he and the Oba both had the guns that would enable them to kill each other.98 When the Alaafin had unsuccessfully exhausted all means to deal with the Basorun, he sent for Adelekan and asked him if he would like to become Basorun. Adelekan said he would be very pleased to accept the title. When the Basorun99 realized that this scheme might work, seeing that some of his supporters (whom he had expected to kill the Alaafin) were deserting him, he solicited the help of the Osi Efa in appealing to the Alaafin. The Osin Efawo appealed to the Alaafin, who agreed to change his mind. He asked Osi Efa to bring the Basorun to the palace later in the evening.

68

Yoruba Gurus

In the evening, when they were all present, he101 called him102 three times103 and said: 'I could treat you as I have treated your brother; I would have appointed another person in your stead in five days' time.' He then forgave him and gave him presents. After his104 death, Ajunwon, Alowolodu’s Aremo, bribed the Basorun, so as to become the Oba. All of Oyo refused to select him, however, because they did not like his character. The Babaiyaji105 then sent for Lawani at Ibadan to become the new Oba. Lawani returned to Oyo the very next day. Ajunwon was asked to go to his house to greet him, but he refused. Eventually he complied and both wept. Ajunwon left Oyo for Ogbomoso on the fifth day of Lawani’s return.106 The era of Alafin Lawani, 1905-1911.107 6 years. After Adeyemi’s death, they sent for Lawani who was at Ibadan to become the Oba. When he arrived at Oyo, he stayed with the Babaiyaji, who introduced him to Maradesa.108 He was installed on the fifth day. During the public parade to mark his installation, the people were singing: Lawani becomes an Oba, we are free to bring home our clothes. The Oba hates burglary indeed. A conflict broke out between Lawani and the Basorun. It devel¬ oped into a major conflict. Not long after the Basorun died. He was succeeded by Dairo, the son of lye, who is the current incumbent. Soon after Lawani had assumed office, a white Ajele,109 whose name was Mr. Ross, arrived in Oyo. A major change of this era was the end to rampant robbery. All the bad roads were repaired to the extent that nowhere in the whole of Yorubaland are the roads bet¬ ter than those of Oyo. This is the oriki of Oba Lawani: A terrific man who appears fiercely! Making people panic He who threatens people with poverty An awesome man who throws people into the stream like the awdnye fly Soro says he will take a horse Ajuwon, father of Afonja, who lures the Aseyin’s sons onto the battlefields He who kills without the intention of inheriting property; he enters a river with all his strength; son of Sefiatu

M.C. Adeyemi: The Historian of Oyo

69

A dreadful man who uses other people’s money to purchase a house for Lawore Once upon a time, Akapni; it rained heavily in Akasan Everybody panicked The owner of one hundred and forty pieces of cloth dared not wait for rain On the other hand, Ajuwon, father of Kara, a man like a lion, refused to flee from rain He left six bundles of velvet to be soaked by rain The blacksmith of the Akasan quarter Who crippled Folarin’s feet He who builds his house by the road He whose house is always bustling like that of the weaver bird.

Chapter seven

OYO DRUMS110 There are various types of drums in Oyo, and one can hardly visit Oyo without hearing the sound of one type of drum or another;111 The Oba's drums112 are: Koso, Dundun, Bata, and Sekere. The flutes blown for the Oba are: Okinkin, Igba, Kakaki and Ekutu;113 The drums for commoners are: Benbe, Bata, Dundun and Sekere. Nobody must play the Koso, which is only for the Oba. The Koso drum is played to wake up the Oba at midnight, or when the Oba dies and the corpse is being carried to the Bara,114 or when he gives a public appearance. The Okinkin and Igba flutes are blown as accompaniment. When the Oba wants to sit on the throne, they also beat the Koso drum. Dundun - They beat this drum three times daily in the palace. BATA- This drum is beaten in the palace every Jakuta115 when Sango is worshipped. Sekere- This is also played in the palace on Jakuta, like Bata. Okinkin and Igba - These are used when the Oba appears in public and when his corpse is being taken to the Bara. Kakako - This is blown every day in the palace. Ekutu-They blow this flute in the palace every day. All the drums played for the Oba can also be used by the peo¬ ple with the exception of the Koso drum. Drums are played at a variety of functions: funerals, weddings and religious ceremonies.

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Yoruba Gurus

The Bata drum is used by Sango worshippers. The Ipese drum is used when the Alaafin is celebrating the Ifa festival. The Babalawo play the gong during the Ori and Ifa festivals.

Chapter eight116

a.When the Alaafin appears in public117 The Alaafin appears in state three times a year,118 during which time he displays royalty, and representatives come from other towns to pay homage.119 The first time is during the Mole.120 The second time is during the Orun. The third time is during Koko or Bere.121 When he comes out, he sits on the throne122 on the Agunju site in the Kohi.123 Many people visit the palace to see him, among them the Baale and heads of towns under the Alaafin, especially during the Bere. The Eni-Oja sits in front of him, in an open space exposed to the sun, and he must not look back until the ceremony is over. All the chiefs prostrate in front of the Eni-Oja.124 The Oba must pre¬ pare lots of food for these people. b .Oyomisi The Aselu Oyo125 are called the Oyomisi. It consists of: 1. Basorun 2. Agbakin 3. A sip a 4. Samu 5. Alapinni 6. Lagunna and 7. Akinniku They are not more than these.126 Whenever the Alaafin decides on something, he must consult these people, and whatever they say is final. Apart from the Agbakin and Alapinni, these titles are not heredi¬ tary. d.The days of the week127 The Yoruba count the days from the Ojo-Ogun.128 Only four days have names. The first day, Ojo-Ogun, is when the Ologun or devo¬ tees of Ogun worship their god.129 They use all sorts of items in their worship: Ekuru,130 Ewdf31 and Iydn,132 but the most impor¬ tant sacrifice is the dog. Ojo-Jakuta is the next day. Sango133 is the god that is worshipped on this day. The ram is the most important sacrifice to Sango.

M. C.

Adeyemi: The Historian of Oyo

71

Ojo-Ose134 is the third day. This day is for the worship of Orisa-nla. Its favorite food is Ake beef, but snails can also be used in sacri¬ fice. The fourth day is Ojo-Awo. This day is for Ifa, which like Orisa-nla, needs Ake beef. On Ose day, Orisa-nla worshippers wear white garments and clean their houses. A very important day is the one called Jimo-Oloyin,135 This is when Ojo Jakuta falls on a Friday. Those with the means to do so will kill rams, and those without means will distribute Mash136 with honey. These are the days:

(1) Ojo-Ogun (2) OJo-Jakuta (3) Ojo-Ose (4) Ojo-Awo

Chapter nine

Festivals in Oyo Oyo is the home of orisa. Only one month is free of any worship. Igba-Kikd137 opens the festival calendar, followed by Irawe-gbigha. During this period138 the people worship Orisa-nla, the founder of the town.139 This god is worshipped in the marketplace, and the worshippers must be dressed in white. On the seventeenth day after Irawe-gbigba, the day for the com¬ mencement of the Egungun festival is announced. The Ifa oracle has to be consulted to decide whether the Egungun festival should start on the ninth or seventeenth day. It lasts for seventeen days. After the Egun140 festival, the Baale Jabata will consult the ora¬ cle to learn when they should worship the Oro. Sometimes the ora¬ cle chooses the next day, sometimes the fifth. The Oro festival lasts seven days. The worship of Sango begins on the ninth day after the Oro and lasts nine days. Nine days after this they worship Mole, who is the Ifa Alaafin441 Nine days after Ifa, they worship Orun, which is also Ori. Nine days after Ori, it is the turn of Orisa-Oko. On the ninth or seventeenth day after Orisa-Oko, the Basorun worships Ifa. On the seventeenth day after the Basorun has worshipped Ifa, the Aremo will also worship Ifa. Seventeen days after this the Onira yam fes¬ tival takes place. Thereafter, the Onasokun will make sacrifices.

72

Yoruba Gurus

This is followed by the harvesting of Esun, and the Eke event. They round up with the Koriko pipa.142 This is the list of Oyo festivals: I. Igbd-Kika 3. Orisa-nla 5. Orb 7. Mole or Ifa Alaafin 9. Orisa-Oko II. Ifa Aremo 13. Ebo Onasokun 15. Eke-sisa

2. Irawe-Gbigba 4. Egungun 6. Sango 8. Orun or Ori 10. Ifa Basorun 12. Oniraje isu 14. Esun 16. Koriko-Pipa or Ber

Chapter ten

The meaning of ALE143 objects Every traveller can notice that some articles are left unprotected by their owners. In some places goods for sale can be found, but without traders. The owners of these goods make use of ale to frighten thieves. In Oyo, whoever travels to onion farms, cultivated by women, shall see snail shells there. By putting snail shells on the farms, any thief who steals the onions and vegetables will be killed by Obatala. In the case of the devotees of Sanponna, they put maize cobs on their farms to indicate that the god of Sanponna144 will kill the thief. Sango devotees use Ose-Sango in the belief that Sango will kill the thief. Those who trade by the wayside use Imu in the belief that the children of the thief will become deaf. The Babalawo will put Ide-Ifa beside his goods so that anybody who takes the goods without paying will be killed by Ifa. Some people hang rags on their farms to say that the thief will be wearing rags for the remainder of his life.145 Some charm makers use pepper and coal to warn that what is to happen to a thief will pain him like pepper in his eyes. The devotees of Yemaja146 use beads so that Yemaja can kill the thieves. The Elegun147 use ekan so that Opa can kill the thief. Parents of abiku148 use esan149 so that the thief will meet the same misfortune as they have in losing their babies. Wherever there are horns, the devotees of Oya150 have put them there so that Oya can

M.C. Adeyemj: The Historian of Oyo

73

kill the thief. This is the list of ale and their meaning: Object 1.Snail shells 2.Maize cob pierced with a stick 3.An Ose (symbol) of 4.Faeces wrapped in leaves 5.1fa beads 6. Rags 7.Pepper and coal/charcoal 8.Yemaja beads 9.A marked peg 10.Small snails sprinkled with camwood 11. Horn

Meaning Orisa-nla will kill the thief Sanponna will kill the thief Sango will kill the thief The thief s children will become deaf Ifa will kill the thief The thief will die a pauper The punishment given to the thief will be painful Yemaja will kill the thief Opa will kill the thief ‘The thief s babies will always die’ Oya will kill the thief

The oriki of Alaafin ADEYEMI OF OYO The masquerader shakes his head, we all flee A strong and dreadful man He brings bad luck to some people He treads on his father's Ona-Efa’s house with feet of mud. The Opere bird challenged the hawk The hawk defied the Opere The Opere plucked its feathers The people said that the birds were only playing with each other What sort of play made birds pluck each others feathers? Adeyemi, father of Lawoyin He who clears a small portion of land to plant woes He who plants the corn of adversity in the backyard of others The corn was ripe, but the owner dared not reap it He who has farms and gardens, father of prosperity. He surprises others with his sudden appearance

74

Yoruba Gurus

He discards two thousand people to draw himself closer to his own people It is loyalty from the people that helps; money does not A brave hunter who moves with water All the attempts to get rid of him failed, rather he multiplies his slaves, father of Lawoyin. A sturdily built man, good looking in expensive dress A clean royal man, like oil He who has money but does not know how to spend it He who has lots of money. Bullet slides! Heavy like Owu A stable man! The Obatala of the Owunni quarter Adio, who gives people fertile land to plant yams A capable, strong man! Adeyemi, son of Mowumi. The masquerader shakes his head, we all flee The elephant shakes his head to anticipate a fight A masquerader on the market road of Asipa, the orisa on the way to Owunni. The Paka masquerader near Isunwin He who has lots of money to spend! He who used his mere hands to kill Before fighting is in full force, he will not consult the oracle It is those who are presumptuous that he chooses to lead battles A perfect killer who cuts a child in its father's arms The great Adio who cuts a person’s leg for no reason A well-known hand-cutter. The Oba who immersed a notorious hurdle in water When I was not yet mature Oba\ When I was not yet knowledgeable I used to say that Adio the Great He moved with the ocean and became its confidant Adio the Great! He moved the lagoon and superseded it The robust one like the cobra, son of Olukuewu. We know that you can compete with a white man in spending

M C.

Adeyemi: The Historian of Oyo

The Fulani’s fashion is not more than wearing brass bangles That of the Ogun is limited to copper The treasured clothes of the white man are cheap bafts Of all clothes, what do you intend to do with the bafts How on earth should one dress like the spirit. He levelled the mounds He turned Afajegade into a road which a horseman can use Father of the Obegun, father of Kosile All the attempts to get rid of him failed; rather he multiplied his slaves, father of Lawoyin He He He He

buys one type of clothes buys one type of trousers buys one type of liquor box whose house is full of food

He whose house is by the stream A well-settled and contented giant Oroki, he whose legs are clean like a rainbow The elephant of Mayosi, your mother’s name is Mayosi. Adio the Great has promised to salvage me in my own case He who is unredeemable by Adio Should ask his fate The robust one like the cobra, son of Olukuewu. He who is at home and instructs the termites what to do He who is at home and instructs the insects to carry out his assignments He who sent the termites to destroy his enemy's house in the Agunpopo quarter He whom the children imitate to acquire language, they will say: ‘My Lord is coming gorgeously' The owner of a great house; he who turns one into a fool.

75

76

Yoruba Gurus

THE INTERPRETATION OF ADEYEMFS TEXT Compared with other Yoruba histories of the time, published in book format, Adeyemi's work is rather meagre.151 Akinyele, in the preface, even apologizes to the reader for the brevity of the book, when he writes: "As a matter of fact, this book is not very rich if compared to the history book of Ibadan."152 What, however, is responsible for this deficiency? As has been shown in his biogra¬ phy, Adeyemi was a man of abundant energy and enterprise, a man of indefatigable character. It hardly therefore seems feasible that he shirked his duties. The clue for one possible explanation is given in the preface where Akinyele notifies us that "the author is trying to get more facts to make this book a voluminous one.”153 In other words, Adeyemi probably thought the 1914 edition was a draft for a bigger work to come. He never did, however, write this expanded version. He did publish two other “major" works, but failed to return to that of Oyo.154 The general editor's apology can thus either be explained as an expression of his own disappoint¬ ment with the shortness of the work, or as a promise that could not be fulfilled due to unforeseen circumstances. Several reasons can be given for not publishing an expanded sequel. Firstly, the history project of the Egbe Agba-O-Tan collapsed. Apart from Akinyele and Adeyemi, none of those who were to write actually fulfilled their task. In the second place, enthusiasm for the Egbe Agba-O-Tan as a Yoruba cultural organization waned in subsequent years. By the early 1930s, it had split up into highly politicized fac¬ tions defending parochial political interests (Ibadan Progressive Union, Oyo Progressive Union, and others). Adeyemi either lost interest in the Egbe himself, or found it more useful to spend his energy on activities connected with the development of education and the church in Ondo. His devotion was primarily to the church and to education, and he is known to have spent more time studying the Bible and preaching. He also probably became more interested in the affairs of Ondo. Apart from his stints at Oyo as a student and a teacherboth inevitable because of the location of the school rather than by choice-he lived all his life at Ondo as an Ondo man. His focus was the family of his mother, in which he was brought up after his father's death. Adeyemi was buried at Ondo, and his descendants claim Ondo as their home town, alluding to Oyo only with respect to their origins. As far as can be established, the author based his work entire¬ ly on one_orjmore oral accounts, without reference to any pub¬ lished or unpublished written work. The accounts in the book are

M.C. Adeyemi: The Historian of Oyo

77

essentially Oyo oral traditions describing the major developments in the political history of Oyo. After all due allowances have been made for the inherent problems of traditional accounts as an his¬ torical source, Adeyemi’s text is a representative example of Oyo traditions as they existed at the beginning of this century. The text is historiographically useful as a complement and cross-reference to Johnson’s The History, at these points where both works describe the same events.155 It also provides a basis for comparison with accounts collected in subsequent years, and in understanding the approach of “traditional historians” to the study of their society, both in a contemporary and historical perspective. Unlike Johnson, Adeyemi did not attempt to moralize on the issues of war and the collapse of the Oyo empire. His Christian religion apparently did not influence his attitude towards the past, as it did with Johnson and the others. Even his account of the Oyo pantheon in Chapter 9 is rather sympathetic. Neither did Adeyemi use his book as a means to propagate Oyo hegemony— i.e., the paramountcy of the Alaafin—in the Yoruba region, neither during the precolonial period nor under the British.156 Adeyemi’s rejec¬ tion of an imperialistic framework may be explained in two ways. Perhaps the traditions he collected did not follow this line of inter¬ pretation. This is rather doubtful, however, as the predominant ten¬ dency of Oyo traditions in the late nineteenth century was to emphasize the imperialistic hegemony of Oyo over the other Yoruba subgroups. Secondly, it is possible that Adeyemi edited his story to suit the circumstances or, more precisely, to suit his fel¬ low members In fhaUgBe ,\gba:0-Ian, who were not Oyo. It is espe¬ cially noteworthy, being in sharp contrast to Johnson's approach, that nowhere in his history does Adeyemi show any awareness of ~JWo more things need to be said about the author's sources and his approach. Adeyemi does not identify his informants anywhere in the book. Only once does he indicate that he knows of several variants of an account (Chapter 4), referring at the same time to “evidence of other historians," again without disclosing their iden¬ tity. In the Preface, Akinyele says that the author ignored hearsay in his work and relied exclusively on the information provided by his father, a prince, and a son to an Alaafin. Akinyele furthermore assures us that, because of this, Adeyemi's account is the correct version of events. Apart from the fact that there is of course no such thing as an objectively correct history, Akinyele cannot have been aware that Adeyemi had lost his father in 1892, when he was only ten years of age. The book is certainly not a compilation of

78

Yoruba Gurus

stories narrated to and recorded by a ten-year old boy.158 It is more likely that we should look for his source of informa¬ tion in Oyo, where he must have had an opportunity to collect his accounts while he was a student at the Training College. He might have done the same when he was a teacher there between 1907 and 1915. Adeyemi was a royal prince and might, therefore, still have had some connections with the royal court at Oyo and, as one of the few educated men in the town, he must have been a man of influence. There is, however, no clue as to who his informants actually were. His mother could only have contributed to his knowledge of Oyo history in a marginal way, but he was also quite close to Tijani Adeyemi, a brother of his father, who was convert¬ ed to Christianity with the baptismal name of Israel. It seems like¬ ly that his informants were few, and they must all have been Oyo-Yoruba. It may be added that the brevity of the book and the comparative lack of contradictory accounts within the text can be easily attributed to its basis in only a small number of informants. Another issue, and a major point of interest, is the question of why the author, in spite of his bachelor’s degree, wrote the book in a rather unacademic way. Adeyemi was in fact the first Yoruba with a university degree to write a history of his own people. J. O. Oni was to follow the same format in the 1960s, with his A History of Ijeshaland,159 in spite of the fact that he possessed a degree in his¬ tory. In the case of Oni, an explanation can be found in the patri¬ otism that guided the author’s exploits; his mission was to respond to all those who had criticized his people, and he had no preten¬ sions to an academic approach. Adeyemi did not advertise a simi¬ lar claim, however. We should keep in mind that Adeyemi was writing much earlier than Oni, that although he had a university degree, he was certainly not a professional historian, and that, as an interested layman, he accepted the traditional Yoruba defini¬ tion of history and the ways of transmitting historical knowledge prevalent in early twentieth-century Yorubaland. In this definition, myths may be accepted as sources for actual historical events.160'

ANALYZING THE TEXT Purely internal analysis does not take us very far. One cannot, for example, refute a traditional account because it is inconsistent, as it may incorporate authentic and valuable material from different sources without harmonizing them. Nor can a story be discounted because, being miraculous in nature, it cannot be literally true, for authentic material may be reproduced, metamorphosed, or embell¬ ished with miraculous elements.161

M. C. Adeyemi: The Historian of Oyo

79

The text of the Iwe Itan Oyo comprises thirty-two pages, includ¬ ing the title page. After the preface by l.B. Akinyele, and the print of a postcard with “Greetings from the Yoruba Country,”162 the author immediately plunges into the history of Oyo. The body of the text is divided into ten short chapters, six of which treat the history of Oyo from the origin to Adeyemi’s day. The remaining four chapters deal with cultural events and political institutions. Peculiar to Adeyemi’s work is his almost complete, disregard nf the mythical origins of Ovo and its.rulers He starts the first chap¬ ter with a one-line reference to the Middle East as the place of ori¬ gin of the Yoruba—“The Yoruba came from Medina [...]"— but then immediately ventures into the historical scene of Borgu, where the Yoruba stayed for some time before founding their own town. In this respect, Adeyemi breaks with the Yoruba historiographical tra¬ dition of the time that prescribed a more or less elaborate treat¬ ment of the traditions of genesis as an introduction to a general history.163 By mentioning Medina, Adeyemi associates himself with the Hamitic theory of West African origins, which gained popu¬ larity in tPi q pprinft both among some of the Yoruba elite and the colonial authorities.164 The actual appearance of references to the Middle East in Yoruba tradition can, of course, be attributed to the longstanding impact of Islam on the Yoruba worldview and Yoruba historiography. The complete omission of any mention of Ile-Ife in the first chapter is also exceptional.165 This may be attributed to a person¬ al preference of Adeyemi, who may have wished to focus on the early history of Ovo in its northern geo-political, context, without treating the origins of the Yoruba race with their base in the south¬ ern forest zone. His treatment of the liberation of the Oyo from the Borgu, through the use of diplomacy and a strategy that avoided direct military confrontation with a force recognized to be superi¬ or, fits this interpretation. It may be argued that, at the time Adeyemi wrote, the centralltygaf-Ifp, in-Yomba ereation..m-y-thnlag\Lha.d.V£±..to gain ground as a faefox-in.. the building of a pan-Yoruba political entity and was therefore not yet part of Oyo tradition. Only after 1945, when the Yoruba had to compete for power with other ethnic groups in Nigeria, does the Ife-centered Oduduwa myth become central to all Yoruba.166 This does not explain, however, why Johnson, who also wrote a predominantly Oyo-based history of the Yoruba, did incorporate the Oduduwa myth and Ile-Ife into his account.167 The most probable explanation is that Adeyemi used an Oyo tradition that explicitly rejected the Ile-Ife origin for the Oyo royal dynasty.

80

Yoruba Gurus

Adeyemi relied on a tradition that took the Borgu as a starting point for Oyo history.168 Others hava..ac.cepted a Nupe origin for Oyo,169 and some have endeavored to reconcile the diverse myths that refer to Ile-Ife, Borgu, and Nupe. Law has suggested that the ref¬ erence to these three places in the traditions “is the result of the fusion of three originally distinct traditions deriving the royal dynasty from Ile-Ife, from Borgu, and from Nupe...Of the three tra¬ ditions, skepticism seems most justified with regard to the one that connects the Oyo royal dynasty with Ile-Ife. Given the strong prej¬ udice among the Yoruba that only the descendants of Oduduwa could validly claim royal status, a tradition of origin from Ile-Ife might readily have been fabricated in order to claim a spurious legitimacy for the rulers of Oyo. On the other hand, the traditions attributing a foreign origin to the Oyo dynasty seem less likely to have been invented, precisely because they put in doubt the dynasty's legitimacy.”170 As it is clear that the Oduduwa myth was well-known when Adeyemi wrote his book (Johnson incorporated it in his book), we should consider one of two conclusions here. Either Adeyemi delib¬ erately followed a tradition which rejected the Oduduwa myth, or he was aware of theNnylJra"s ommunities, but not to Oyo. The author uses Yoruba to mean Oyo, which does not imply that he approximated Oyo's history with that of the entire Yorubaspeaking country. This becomes especially clear where he com¬ pares Oyo with other Yoruba subgroups (e.g., the reference to roads in Chapter 6) or when he points to other Yoruba groups (e.g., Igbomina in Chapter 4 and Efon-Agotun in Chapter 3). In relation to other Yoruba groups, Oyo is treated as a separate country. The treatment of the Igboho era in Oyo history is another important aspect of the first chapter, which flows over into Chapter 2. This theme has been developed better by Johnson,171 and both R. S. Smith and Law have published studies on the topic.172 According to Law, the legendary tale on this period “[...] suggests that the Oyo saw the Igboho period as a formative period of some importance in their history."173 Completely missing from Adeyemi's work is an explanation for the origin of political institutions and titles, the centralization of power, and the emergence of dynasties, which are usually embed¬ ded in traditions of origin. In line with most traditions of origin, the account relates the movement of the whole of Oyo at the same time, thereby raising the usual problems of interpretation: does the story represent the diffusion of culture or the contributions of

M.C. Adeyemi: The Historian of Oyo

81

immigrants to a pre-existing political process? The twenty-two para¬ graphs of Chapter 2 narrate stories of the migration out of Igboho, the succession of Oba, and the political crisis that led to the fall of Old Oyo. Events that spanned several centuries are here present¬ ed in rapid succession, giving a rather clustered image of Oyo his¬ tory. Throughout, the author maintains his focus on Oyo as an autonomous entity, and his account ignores any interrelation with other Yoruba groups. Parts of his narrative, relating to the latter part of the eighteenth and the early nineteenth century, corrobo¬ rate Johnson’s account of this period.174 By way of grouping events around successive Oyo kings, Adeyemi provides his own king-list, totaling fifteen rulers, starting with the Alaafin Omoloju and ending (at Old Oyo) with Alaafin Oluewu. The king-list Adeyemi gives is only one of several known variants, most of which count more than fifteen rulers at Old Oyo.175 Law has examined the reliability and the problems of inter¬ pretation of the majority of these lists, including that of Adeyemi.176 The third chapter deals with the fall of Old Oyo. Adeyemi men¬ tions only two wars here, though there were more. He is right, how¬ ever, in stating that the Eleduwe war was the last. If we compare Adeyemi’s text with other sources, we can detect similarities in the description of the composition of the Ilorin forces and the support Oyo received from the Borgu. Where the author ventures for the first time to provide positive dating, when he states that the Eleduwe war broke out in about 1813, we now know this to be incor¬ rect. Fairly good evidence is now available to conclude that the Eleduwe war took place after the Muslim rebellion of 1817 and the death of Afonja of Ilorin, which occurred in early 1820. As the war was the last in a series of wars that brought about the collapse of the Oyo empire, it could not have taken place before 1830. Law has suggested circa 1833.177 Chapter 4 focuses on the rebuilding of Oyo on a new site to the south by Alaafin Atiba and his acquiring power by forming a new core of chiefs and courtiers loyal to him.178 The chapter contains much useful and new information on the formative period in New Oyo. The dates given for Alaafin Atiba are not correct, however. The year of his death is given correctly as 1856, but his reign can¬ not have started before the mid or late 1830s, as he came to the throne after the Eleduwe war and the removal of Oyo to its new site. What we probably have to deal with here is a case of artificial lengthening of the reign of a well-remembered ruler. This is, of course, a common feature in the recounting of oral tradition.179 Also in Chapter 4 the author for the first time indicates that he

82

Yoruba Gurus

has at his disposal two versions of a tradition dealing with a par¬ ticular event. However, he could not or did not want to decide which one was the more reliable. The event is Atiba's rise to power at Oja (New Oyo). Adeyemi simply narrates both versions, with¬ out assessing them in any way. The underlying assumption of either the author or his informants is that Atiba was a hero, some¬ one who reclaimed the lost glory of the Oyo by giving them a new capital and a new administration, both fashioned after the old ones. In consequence, Adeyemi provides a pro-Atiba account of events, wherein the conflict between the versions is less important than the overall positive picture given. In Chapter 5, the author emphasizes Adelu's political move to destroy Ijaiye, thereby strongly indicating that Adelu manipulated Ibadan into fighting the Ijaiye war on his behalf.180 Here we find the first reference to the Oyomesi (council) as a policy-making body. Before this point, Adeyemi invariably uses “they" when he dis¬ cusses prominent but unnamed chiefs and kingmakers. Whether 'they' always refers to the Oyomesi remains unclear, however. For the first time, too, Adeyemi provides more than a couple of lines of an oriki (praise poem) of an Alaafin, which is a very interesting piece of information, though difficult to interpret. Chapter 6 deals with the career of Alaafin Adeyemi, with an emphasis on the political intrigues and problems of this period. In spite of the rich folklore on the 1895 episode, when the British bom¬ barded Oyo,181 the author fails to say anything substantive about it. Adeyemi does devote space to the Asipa-Alaafin controversy in Oyo, which stemmed from the usurpation of power by Atiba at Ago-d'Oja, described in Chapter 4. To appease the original ruling family of Ago-d'Oja, Atiba appointed the leading member of the family to an important hereditary chieftaincy. Nevertheless, dif¬ ferences of opinion between the Alaafin and the Asipa have exist¬ ed ever since. During the reign of Alaafin Adeyemi, the dispute came to the fore in a rather vehement manner. In spite of the prob¬ lems surrounding the Asipa, the conflict between the Alaafin and the Basorun, and other difficulties, the author concludes that the era of Alaafin Adeyemi was one of the most peaceful in Oyo his¬ tory. In his own words, “in Adeyemi’s time, peace reigned supreme." The account given not only attempts to absolve the Alaafin of any blame in the aforementioned conflicts, but also tries to show that he was always in firm control of the situation. On the whole, Adeyemi's statement seems difficult to accept if we con¬ sider that during Alaafin Adeyemi's reign the armed conflict between Ibadan, Ilorin, and the Ekitiparapo flared up once again,

M. C.

Adeyemi: The Historian of Oyo

83

quickly developed into a war of attrition that lasted from 1881 till 1893, and was ended only by the intervention of the British. The fact that Alaafin Adeyemi was the author’s grandfather might have influenced his choice of traditions towards the more favorable or, alternatively, might have influenced his informants in this man¬ ner. Alaafin Adeyemi’s oriki is by far the longest in the book. Chapter 6 also includes an account of Alaafin Lawani, Adeyemi’s successor. Apart from the historically interesting oriki of Lawani, which Adeyemi provides here, reference is made to a conflict between the Alaafin and the Basomn (his senior chief), and to the early period of British administration. With Chapter 6 the historical narrative comes to an end. The remaining chapters provide information on a range of rather oddly assorted topics. The seventh chapter deals with musi¬ cal instruments, but gives attention only to drums and flutes. Adeyemi's categorization of instruments into two—instruments for the Oba only and those for the whole people—is correct and gives important information on aspects of power and social stratification in Oyo. Chapter 8 is the least organized in the book. It covers three rather unrelated topics: the Alaafin's state appearances, the Oyomesi, and the days of the week The chapter itself does not carry a title. If the third theme had been excluded, the definite conclu¬ sion could then be reached that the author was mainly interested in writing about political organization and political institutions. The contents of the chapter agree with other contemporary sources.182 The topic addressed in Chapter 9 is religion. The major contribution of Adeyemi to contemporary literature on Oyo reli¬ gion is a calendar of religious worship.183 This calendar is not only useful in understanding the importance attached to every deity, but it can also assist in the dating of events that occurred within the same year. The final chapter describes the methods adopted by the Oyo to prevent stealing and is one of the major contribu¬ tions of this text to our knowledge of Yoruba customs. The ques¬ tion is why the author considered this section important enough for inclusion. The most likely reason may be that he was influ¬ enced by the numerous cases of robbery during the period.184 He also refers to such cases in Chapter 6.

CONCLUSION Despite the shortcomings we have identified, Adeyemi's Iwe Itan Oyo is a very useful text for the historian of Oyo, as has in part already been shown by Law. We are, of course, aware of the limi-

84

Yoruba Gurus

tations of chronicles of this nature. We have avoided the refutation of any of Adeyemi's assertions on the basis of internal analysis of the contents of the book. Rather, the text has been evaluated on evidence external to it, especially coming from similar and con¬ temporary work (e.g., Johnson's The History of the Yoruhas') and published studies that have made extensive use of contemporary sources of which Adeyemi was probably not aware. The traditions that Adeyemi used for his "history" were collected at the turn of the century. These traditions enable us to understand the Oyo per¬ spective on many issues and are of particular help in reconstruct¬ ing the history of New Oyo. Without a text like this, the reconstruction of Oyo history, in the absence of much first-hand evidence, would be well-nigh impossible. Three aspects of the text have not been used in published work before and deserve closer scrutiny by historians. The first concerns the oriki, especially that of the Alaafin Adeyemi. Oriki are often hard to interpret but usually have historical significance which should not be overlooked.185 The second aspect concerns New Oyo, where the author provides data on the Alaafin and the rivalries between him and the Asipa, which have so far not been properly analyzed. In the third place, there are the cultural features dis¬ cussed in the text, especially the Ale in Chapter 10 on which the author gives some very useful information.

NOTES 1.

2. 3. 4.

5.

Three studies have captured this development. See J. A. Atanda, The New Oyo Empire: Indirect Rule and Change in Western Nigeria, 1894-1934 (London: Longman, 1973); J. D. Y. Peel, Ijeshas and Nigerians: The Incorporation of a Yoruba Kingdom, 1890s-1970s (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983); and Tbyin Falola, Politics and Economy in Ibadan, 1893-1945 (Lagos: Modelor, 1989). See the full text in A. G. Hopkins, 'A Report on the Yoruba,” The Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria V, 1 (December 1969): 67-100. "A Yoruba,” West Africa, 16 July 1921. The section dealing with Oyo was written jointly with Michel Doortmont, and originally published in the Journal of African History 30 (1989V 301329. Although untranslated for many years, parts of the text have been used, in particular by Robin Law in his The Oyo Empire, c. 1600-c. 1836. A West African Imperialism in the Era of the Atlantic Slave Trade (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1977), pp. 22, 32, 40-41, 49-52, as well as in two other articles: “How Truly Traditional is Our Traditional History?" History in Africa xi (1984): 203, 210, and “How Many Times Can History Repeat Itself?” International Journal of African Historical Studies xviii (1985): 34-35, 60. Law limits him¬ self, however, to a discussion of the first three chapters of Adeyemi’s work. Historiographically, Adeyemi is reviewed by Law, although not in depth: “Early Yoruba Historiography,” History in Africa III (1976): 74, n.59 and 60.

M. C. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

11.

12. 13. 14.

15.. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21.

22. 23. 24.

Adeyemi: The Historian of Oyo

85

Compare the preface in the translation below. Ibadan Council Office, Akinyele Historical Papers, 1913. In 1955, Akinyele became Olubadan, the king and leading chief of Ibadan. Ibid., material relating to 19l'3-1915. Ibid. Unless otherwise indicated, this short biography is based on interviews with relations of the Rev. M.C. Adeyemi and those who were associated with him when he was a school principal and clergyman in Ondo. Useful writ¬ ten sources include some of his private papers, the Ondo Anglican Church Centenary Celebration Pamphlet (Akure 1975), and S.O. Bada, Iwe Itan Ondo (Ondo 1955). The authors wish to thank the Rev. S. Adeniji, Head of the History Department, Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo, for his assis¬ tance, and Messrs. TUnde Babawale and Akin Alao of the same institution for their hospitality during field research. On this missionary institution for the training of teachers and catechists, in 1920 renamed St. Andrews College, see T. O. Ogunkoya, St. Andrews College, Oyo: History of the Premier Institution in Nigeria (Ibadan, 1979). Adeyemi was admitted as a student in 1898 with no. 21; ibid., p. 130. Ibid., p. 31. Ibid., pp. 37-38. This translation follows the original Yoruba text as closely as possible, with the effect that the English may lack some fluency in certain places. On the other hand, the flavor of the original text, which stems from a tradition of oral historiography, has been retained in this way. Adeyemi’s original divi¬ sion in paragraphs has been followed in the translation, in order to allow easy comparison between translation and original. The original spelling of Yoruba names and titles and the spellings in quotations has also been retained. Titles, nicknames, names of festivals, and expressions are print¬ ed in italics and all start with a capital. Where possible a translation of nick¬ names has been provided. Footnotes have been added for clarification and reference where necessary. The authors wish to thank Tlinde Ajibade and Gbenga Faghorun, both of the Obafemi Awolowo University, for their assis¬ tance with this translation. Oke Alafara is a neighborhood in Ibadan where Akinyele’s house was sit¬ uated, and where he was living at the time of writing. The Bariba or Borgu occupied the area known as Borgu, northwest of Oyo. The author uses “ibusokan," generally translated as a mile, though the actu¬ al distance may have been longer or shorter than a mile. The text is not clear on the point of the material that was used for the stat¬ ues which may have been either stone, clay or wood. The author later names this location as Igboho, see below. Identical to Igboho. As the contents of this chapter will show, the term 'children’ is used here to mean 'successors’ to the throne. Law, The Oyo Empire, pp. 56-58 has sug¬ gested that succession was by primogeniture until the early eighteenth cen¬ tury. This system was then revived in New Oyo under Atiba. See chapter five below. See also Johnson, The History of the Yorubas, pp. 41-42. Johnson, The History of the Yorubas, p. 669, mentions nine Alaafin that reigned before Omoloju. Ajiboyede in Johnson’s list. Johnson, The History of the Yorubas, p. 669. See also Law, “How Truly Traditional is Our Traditional History?,” p. 210. According to R. S. Smith, "The Alafin in Exile: A Study of the Igboho Period in Oyo History," Journal of African History vi (1965): 70-71, Kogbaye has been identified as a site some ten miles east of Igboho.

86 25.

26.

27.

28.

29.

30.

31.

32.

33.

34.

35.

36. 37.

38. 39. 40.

Yoruba Gurus

The number (6) is in the original text. The author attempted to make a king-list, and he starts numbering at six, having provided five names so far. He stops numbering at 14 (Majotu), although he mentions other rulers who followed Majotu. Named Abipa in Johnson. Law has suggested that the era of Ogbolu (Abipa), which he places in the early seventeenth century, was marked by the reoc¬ cupation of Oyo-Ile, made possible by the diminished pressure both of the Nupe and Bariba, which had before threatened the very existence of the Oyo kingdom, and the beginning of Oyo imperial expansion. Law, The Oyo Empire, Chapters 8 and 11. Though Adeyemi does not mention the name of this place here, it is very clear from subsequent chapters that he means Oyo-Ile (Old Oyo), the final point of settlement in this account. Adeyemi here gives one explanation for the fact that the eligibility to the Alaafinate was not limited to one segment of the royal lineage. For anoth¬ er explanation, see Johnson, The History of the Yorubas, p. 158. The Ga mentioned here is identical to Johnson's Basorun Gaha, recognized in the literature as the dominant political figure in Oyo between approxi¬ mately 1754 and 1774. The name is spelled Ogbolu-Aje in the text, rather than Agbolu-Aje, and as the author is without doubt referring to the same person, the ‘O' must be a printing error. Also spelt and pronounced oriki, which means "praise-name," cognomen, or appellation. The author interchanges both forms, which have the same meaning. Johnson, The History of the Yorubas, pp. 190-192, 669 and passim, names this Alaafin as Awolalias Arogangan, and mentions Asamu, alias Agbakolekan, as Awol’s Basorun. It is clear, however, that both Johnson and Adeyemi refer to the same Alaafin here. What the author means by ‘superior' is not clear from the text. Was Iwere (the town alluded to) militarily superior? Johnson, The History of the Yorubas, p. 191, says that the town was impregnable. Or superior in the use of charms, especially when prepared by Muslim teachers who were famous for their skills in this field in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth cen¬ turies? Or in the seniority and age of certain people living in Iwere? Relations of Alaafin Abiodun were living in Iwere. Iwere was in the Onko province of the Oyo kingdom. The choice of the place, purported to be invincible, has been interpreted as a scheme of Awolto destroy the Are-ona-Kakanfo Afonja. Cf. Johnson, The History of the Yorubas, p. 191. On the town, see R. C. C. Law, ‘Iwere,’ Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria 6 (1972): 239-241. Adeyemi confuses the with the Kakanfo (commander-in-chief). While there were many Eso, there was only one Kakanfo. On and Kakanfo see also Johnson, The History of the Yorubas, pp. 73-75. Asamu. Ilorin was originally an Igbomina town under Oyo. It came under the con¬ trol of a Fulani dynasty during the Jihad of the early nineteenth century. In the reference, Ilorin was still under Oyo, with Afonja, the Kakanfo, as its ruler. Iwere. From Iwere. There were two of these or “sacred calabashes,” each containing a symbol that predicted what would characterize the era of a new Alaafin: either peace and prosperity, or wars and problems. An Oba was required to choose

M.C. Adeyemi: The Historian of Oyo

41. 42. 43. 44.

45. 46. 47.

48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56.

57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63.

64. 65. 66. 67. 68. 69.