Responsibilities Of An Oba In Ancient Yoruba Kingdom
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Oba is a Yoruba term for King, an Oba is the monarchical head of
government in ancient Yoruba kingdoms. Some Obas ruled supreme over
their kingdoms and subjects with unchecked powers while some had checks
and balances like the great Old Oyo Empire (OOE), some have their powers
checked as a result of their tributary status to OOE.
Their
titles and appellations vary amongst clans in Yorubaland, for example,
the Oba of Oyo is called ‘Alaafin of Oyo’ (Man of the palace at Oyo),
some Obas’ titles are attributes to their land, examples are Oluwo of
Iwo, Osolo of Isolo and so forth.
There are first class and
second class Obas. First class Obas are of the ancient Yoruba kingdoms
that had been in existence since the primordial era, the Alaafin, Ooni,
Alake, Eleko (Oba of Lagos) are all first class Oba.
Second class
Obas are the Obas of less popular kingdoms in Yorubaland, the first
class and second class Oba do wear beaded crowns and royal regalia, they
also hold ‘Irukere’ (fly-whisk).
There are Baale (Father of the
land) who are mainly viceroys and do not wear crown as they are
affiliates and their towns are tributary to a neighbouring Oba.
An Oba title is not necessarily hereditary in Yorubaland although
history has it that at the outset of every kingdom, powers are
transferred hereditary I.e. From an Oba to the crown prince but some
strange events compromised it, for example, a situation where the Oba
has no prince or the prince is too young to become an Oba, a situation
where the kingdom was defeated and the royal family was exiled etc.
Apart from OOE where The Oyomesi cabinet is chooser of Oba, the common
method is, once an Oba dies, the Olu-awo (Head of Ifa) of the kingdom is
consulted by the Ijoyes (Chiefs) to follow ancestral means of choosing
the next Oba, the Olu-awo would consult the Orisa of different deities
and after some rigorous sacrifices and rituals, he (Olu-Awo) would
pronounce whom is next to become the Oba.
An ancient Oba in
Yorubaland would normally be the wealthiest, most influential and most
important personality. They enjoyed life to the extreme, Yoruba would
often say ‘Oun je aiye oloba’ (living the life of a king) if someone is
living flamboyantly.
The Obas of course had many responsibilities
and privileges that come with their high-status role. As divine Obas,
they had access to special powers and extraordinary wisdom to carry out
their thoughtful tasks. They settle disputes, pass judgements;
compensate and punish, protect their subjects, develop the land among
others.
An ancient Oba would have a lot of privileges among them
would be ‘gbese le’ (the act of an Oba putting his leg on a kneeling
woman’s shoulder). An ancient Oba could marry any woman at anytime, all
he needed to do was to gbese le (oral history states this is quite
uncommon). That gesture signifies ownership and marriage to the woman.
If an Oba was on his forecourt, any subject who walked pass must stop to
greet him. Therefore, any beautiful woman who catches his eyes might
become his wife.
In this case, if the woman was married, an
‘Aroko’ (material message) would be sent to the husband to indicate the
divorce and remarry of his wife, he would however though be compensated.
Husbands would warn their wives to avoid the palace, not being
disrespectful to the Oba, but to avoid the occurrence of ‘gbese le’
Ancient Obas were highly respected and were often referred to as
‘igbakeji Orisa’ (second to the supreme deity), an order of an Oba is of
high magnitude and must be strictly adhered to, anyone who flouted
their laws might be executed as shown in this saying: “Eni ba foju di
oba, Awowo awo” (Awowo would wreck those who disobey Oba).
Awowo was a machete used to execute those who disobeyed the Obas in Ancient Yorubaland.
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By:
Bola Olalekan
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You can also read the story of William Holland here: http://cameroontraveler.com/2013/05/05/from-royalty-to-captive-and-back-to-cameroon/
We have previously published testimonies of regular people that returned to Cameroon. Please browse the print version of the magazine and you will read them. One such story is that f William Holland. You can click here to read it: http://cameroontraveler.com/2013/05/05/from-royalty-to-captive-and-back-to-cameroon/
Africa will forever be the motherland <3 span=""> Peace to my brothers and sisters in the motherland and to my ancestors! <3 span="">