THE INTRIGUING ORAL HISTORY OF ISINKAN PEOPLE FROM CREATION AND ISINKAN’S RELATIONSHIP WITH ADJOINING COMMUNITIES
(Part 1)
By
Pa Durojaye Adesagba-Ariyo
(Olori Omowa Iralepo)
Being the authentic Oral History of the people of Isinkan town
in Akure South Local Government area of Ondo State, Nigeria.
Preamble
Isinkan has its distinct history and oral tradition which is supported in parts by certain claims in the equivalent oral tradition of other adjoining towns. For several years, there was no authoritative documentation of the history of Isinkan. The majority of what is known to people are the carefully disguised apocryphal accounts peddled by rival communities which have been told and retold to gain the status of canonical truth. One such example is the now-famous rote that the Isikans migrated to their present land to take refuge in Akure. This suits the convenient narrative of rival communities such as Akure in perpetuating a subordinate status for Isinkan. Interestingly, right from the Akure throne, such carefully constructed apocryphal are also sometimes violently repudiated by the Akure throne itself. An example is the averment of the late Oba Ademuagun Adesida and his council when they proclaimed in a now historical document that his very own foremost ancestor, Asodeboyede, met Isinkan on the land as owners when he Asodeboyede arrived from Ife. How a community with the right of first settlement later came to take refuge on that same land remains an illogic that has served as a historical albatross till today. Yet, this admittance of Isinkan as the earliest settler that predated Akure is significant coming from the Akure throne. Although it was the same Ademuagun, being a lawyer and an educated Oba, that began the subtle reference to the Iralepo, who was then an illiterate, as a ‘Chief’ in his internal documents that never came to the knowledge of the Isinkan people for years to come.
The Isinkan’s oral account of creation avers that the Earth first took form between Obara’s ‘landfall’ at Oba (present-day Oba-Ile in Akure North) and Yeye’s ‘Waterfall’ at her grove in Isinkan. The people of Isikan believe that after the return of Obara to the abode of the deities, the descendants of Obara became their earliest human ancestors. The Isikan’s account avers that primordial progenitors such as Ira of Isikan, Kibi of Isolo, Olojada of Oda, Oloba of Oba and the man Apaohun (also known as Omoloju, being the youngest child), who history would later refer to as Alakure were the original aboriginal owners of the region that would in future be referred to as Isikan, Isolo, Oda, Oba, and Akure respectively.
The Isinkan throne according to ancient oral tradition has been occupied by three sets of regnal dynasties[1], namely the Obara sky god dynasty, the Oroko or Oluroko deific dynasty, and the Iralopo (now referred to as Iralepo in popular usage) dynasty which was associated with Oluroko’s return journey to Isikan from Inamu through Epe and Iyangede after his odysseys to found Inamu with the help of Obalufon, Obatala, Oranfe, and Orunmila.
Isikan’s Oral Account of Creation
In Isikan’s oral tradition, Obara a senior deity from the heavens sought permission of Obarisha (literally or King of all Gods) also known as Aseda or Olodumare to create land upon a celestial space to bestow upon the space a corporeal experience habitable by beings to be known as ira (or iraye) or humans. He was granted permission. Ela Usi also known as Ela Iwori and Akoda in Ifa Isikan, a very senior deity was assigned to support Obara by Olodumare. Ela in the discharge of his role pleaded with Olodumare to allow Obara to be paired with a beautiful female deity named Osorun as his mission companion because the latter was the only being who could wield the Edan akọkọ (power of creation or the first orb of power). Obarisha gave permission. As the day of Obara’s departure came nigh, the couple was handed a pair of magical ensembles, Edan akọkọ (held by Osorun) and the Ude akoko (a magical golden orb of time held by Obara) – both items still featuring prominently in Iralepo’s cognomen till this day – and allowed to journey on a fiery or flame driven chain saddles (ewon agbana). When the party got to an expanse in space known as oriaye, Osorun (the female deity) was said to have stretched her hand pointing the premordial Edan in a preferred direction whilst Obara then uttered some sacred words known in Isikan as ‘ebibo’ for the gradual mystical emergence of land. In their attempt to descend from their aerial chain upon the emergent land, their chain saddles were tripped by Oko, an impish deity who sought to derail them. The resulting accident momentarily separated the two companions with Obara landing on the small newly created portion of land while Osorun sank into the watery deep. The portion of land that Obara landed on is a place known as Oba near Akure till today while the site of Osorun’s watery deep is known as Omi Yeye in Isikan mythology and surrounded by the sacred grove known as Igbo Yeye, an ethereal forest, which was later consecrated in honour of the female deity, Yeye Osorun. In order for Obara to save his female companion, he quickly employed the second orb to manipulate time (akoko) to quicken the emergence and spread of land on oriaye which is today recognized as Earth. This Isinkan oral account of the creation of the earth as an experience is preserved in the ‘Oko s’oko s’igbaga’ or ‘Igbagba’ sang at the annual Yeye festival in Isinkan till today.
For the success of their journey, Obara and Osorun decided to create or establish a Usi (an altar) to Olodumare to serve as a sacred site for propitiation to the Supreme Deity. They measured four hundred and one cubic feet of space at an interval of sixteen (in sixteen places) and buried the ude akoko at the centremost quadrant near the point that Osorun initially sank (before it too became mostly land). The famous Isikan saying of uke mokanlelirinwo l’ale ebo Oba’risa l’oke isikan (the portion of land dedicated to the Supreme Being is in multiples of four hundred in Isinkan) emanated from this experience.
The duo of Obara and Osorun consecrated that site as a sacred land known as Usi kan (a single primeval altar or centre of the spirit for the worship of the Supreme Deity) or Usi akoko which would translate literally as the First Altar (or preeminent altar) in contemporary communication so it could serve the couple as a contact point to the Supreme Deity. The words Usi kan would later be contracted to Usikan (sole altar or centre of spirit worship to Olodumare). Usikan later morphed to Isikan in deference to the modern Yoruba language where the sound of ‘u’ is substituted with ‘i’. Isikan is today used interchangeably with Isinkan (singular worship) in contemporary communication – which keeps with and embodies the primitive theme of the sacred name of the land. So it is that it is only in Isikan or Isinkan that there exists an ojubo (altar) for the worship of Olodumare (Supreme Being) in the entire Yoruba spiritual cosmos as against the practice of setting up altars for demi-gods such as Ogun, Sango, etc which is a well-known practice in other parts of Yoruba land.
Of course, it must be admitted that many non-Isikans have attempted to rebrand the Isikan name, especially ‘historians’ from rival communities. Some bonafide Isikan people who have been far from Isikan traditional activities also have often fallen victim of such retelling of history. For instance, a writer once claimed that Isikan is derived from ‘ibi oke isimi kan’ a purported retort of Oluroko’s grandson upon his return to Isikan after the ifa led homeward expeditious journey from Inamu several years after his great grandfather, Oroko had left with Obalufon, Obatala, Oranfe and Orunmila to found Inamu.
In Iralepo’s panegyrics, he is recognized as Olusi Obarisha (custodian of the altar to the God-king or Olodumare), Usi kan sooso Oke Isikan (sole altar erected on a hilly place in Isikan), Usi kan sooso agbaye (a single altar for the entire world). He is also acknowledged as Omo Obara b’ode orun tewan ro (the son of Obara who arrived from the heavens on a chain), Obara b’ale l’oba (Obara who landed at Oba), ko’mebibo gbon’mi r’Osorun (that employed magical words to abate the water to encounter Osorun), awo l’ode orun (the initiate of the heavens), Adimula oko Osorun (the Saviour who was the husband of Osorun). The cognomen of Isikan further says Isikan li l’edan akọọkọ (Isikan owns the first orb of magic or power), Oporuuru l’oriomi (that hovers to subdue the confusion of the watery deep)!
After the land had taken proper form, the earth became a kind of tourists’ resort to several deities with permissions from Obarisha. Both Obara and Osorun played hosts to journeying spirit beings like themselves and they became elevated in status and recognition. But Obara was not satisfied. As a regnal deity, Obara was said to have enjoyed an immaculate reign from Isikan over everywhere there was land in the entire cosmos. His female companion, Osorun, was however said not to possess the capacity to bear human children. Between Obara and Osorun, they gave birth to sub-deities who lacked corporeal bodies and functioned as visitants and phantoms. Their first child was Omoran who was reputed as Omoran awo akọkọ or Òmὸran awo ode Isikan (a deity who became the first to organize knowledge), Oranfe also known as Oolale or Alale (a deity that controls the earth-core and later supported humans to found Inamu (Inamu or Unamu is the name for Ule ife or Ile-Ife in aboriginal Isikan language), Olokun (a deity that would later control the watery deep in all parts of the earth), Iponri or Ori (the powerful deity that guides beings, man or animal, towards choices) and Adin (a deity that controls character and document deeds).
Omaran the first child of the couple then fathered another deity called Oroko who then fathered the popular deity called Orunmila who was adopted by Ela Usi (Ela Iwori) for tutelage. Unlike what is obtainable in other places, in Isikan, Orunmila is referred to as Orunmila aba Agbonmiregun, Omo Oroko, Omo Omoran awo akọkọ, awo l’ode orun. Orunmila, because of his being raised by Ela shares the latter’s name. Ela in Isikan mythology is the most powerful and favourite deity of Obarisha. He is referenced as Ela Usi, Ela Usikan, Ela akoda, Ela Iwori, omoloju Obarisha. Mi kuo gbor’igi mo’gbor’iale r’uwe o, awo Obara alase (a reference to his fidelity to order and what is proper and his closeness to Obara).
Omoran’s gift to his grandson Orunmila was Ifa, an orb of mythical cognition and knowledge infused with powers of four hundred deities by Ela. It is thus in appreciation of the boon Ela gifted him that prompted Orunmila to establish the tradition of opening the gate of knowledge by commencing with the words iba Akoda, Iba Aseda (in that order and never the other way round). Akoda is Ela Usi himself, the favourite son of Olodumare. Aseda (literarily the creator) is the Supreme Being himself. After Ela had infused Omaran’s orb with the power of several deities, it was the task of Iponri, an uncle of Orunmila to deliver the hub to him through Oranfe (another uncle who has authority over land). Oko however again derailed Iponri’s mission and the Ifa ensemble plunged into the sea where Olokun held sway. Olokun kept Ifa safe in the custody of his daughter Omolokun or Molokun until Ifa was subsequently carried to the home of Orunmila at Oke Isikan beside Yeye grove by four types of palm trees, namely agbon (coconut), ope (oil-palm), oguro (raffia palm) and aledimoponyin (Isikan’s sacred fruited palm that would never ripe). It was agbon that first saw Ifa on the sea with Olokun and agbon promptly agreed to carry ifa and swam ashore but got tired by the time it got to the seashore. Olokun thereby commanded agbon to stay by the water and rewarded coconut tree with productive edible yields. Ope next carried Ifa from the seashore through Epe to a place called Idepe which would later become the land of the Ikale people. There it got tired but Oranfe also known as Oolale who was an uncle to Orunmila and has authority and control over land instructed Ope to rest and put Ifa on the floor. Oolale then blessed Ope to become fruitful, bear edible fruits and be a tree of wealth.
Afterward, oguro then carried ifa from Idepe over land and through a very long distance in search of Orunmila, first to Ulesun (now Ado Ekiti) and thereafter to Oke Igeti and finally to Oke Isinkan beside the river by Osorun’s grove. There Yeye (Osorun) commanded oguro to a standstill and rewarded it with long life, growth and the production of textiles and drinks with the power to energize and relax men through difficult journeys for it was oguro that carried ifa over the longest and most tortuous distance. By the time Ifa arrived at Osorun’s grove, Orunmila had gone to Inamu with Oroko. Aledimopoyin (the sacred palm tree with never ripen fruit) was then tasked by Yeye to carry Ifa to Orunmila at Inamu. Aledimoponyin carried Ifa from the grove up to Oke Isikan but at the entrance of town dropped it claiming that Ifa was already in the house of Orunmila and should not depart from Oke Isikan. Obara then told Ope Aledimoponyin to stand at enu odi (entrance) of Isikan permanently carrying sixteen branches of Ifa and acting as a sentinel watching all affairs – the coming in and going out – of both gods and men with non-edible fruits that no mortal would be tempted to eat but could be made into ikin, a cabalistic set of palm kernels, for the consultation of Ifa. The original ifa was believed by the Isikans to live on an elevated vault in the king’s palace since the kingship and the priesthood was originally one. So it is said in Isikan that Ojo Iralepo ba ti k’Odu alade, se l’Ifa ro l’aja kiakia (whenever it was Iralepo’s turn among royals to consult the realm of knowledge, Ifa would descend from its elevated sacred height speedily).
This is why the Isikans are referred to as omo Ope merin iwase (the descendant of the four special palm trees at the outset of time), onigun m’erin ona anoye (custodian of the four cardinal entrances to life) and omo olope akanda aledimoponyin enu odi l’igbe l’Isikan (the owner of the special palm tree that bears fruit that is never ripe which takes residence at the town entrance in Isikan). Ope oloju merindinlogun ona isikan ria (the palm tree with 16 all-seeing eyes in Isikan). It is said of Iralepo that Otaleligba l’ifa iwase (the original Ifa is two hundred and sixty), Irinwo l’ifa Iralepo (but that of Iralepo is four hundred).
Both Obara and Osorun were immortal. Their children were not corporeal. This was not the original quest of Obara. One day, Obara angered Osorun by approaching the Supreme Being for permission to form a corporeal female sub-deity with the gift of physical procreation as an alternate companion so he could fulfill his original assignment of forming iraye. He got his wish and thus was formed from the mud of Yeye grove a woman named Aje with whom Obara copulated and produced nine sons, which were progenitors of the nine principal sons; Oloba, Obatala (who left with Oroko and others to found Inamu), Alara, Owa, Alaso or Aso (who had Olokun’s deific daughter as his companion and who founded parts of Ilaje, the land of Itsekiri and others who live by the sea), Ora (or Ira), Olojada akoko, Kibi and Apaohun (Omoloju) – in that order. They also produced several daughters. Among their daughters was a demi-god named Ala (the deity or Goddess in charge of limit and boundaries) whose grandson founded Ugha Ala or Iga Ala (throne of Ala) in a place believed to be Idah that harboured the modern people known as Igala today from whence the founder of the Tapa kingdom and Idoma country would later emerge. The word Igala in Isikan is Ugala from Ugha Ala (or Uga Ala) or Uha Ala and it means the throne of the Goddess of Boundary.
Oloba, the first born child gave birth to the demi-god called Olota. Olota founded Ulesun (Ule Ado) and his two sons, namely, Elesun and Odofin (Odolofin) ruled that land before the arrival of generations of Ewi. From Oloba emerged many among the 16 original crown bearers of Ekiti. Odofin was said to have had relationship with one of his deific relations and had a son named Ogbogbonioran who was a giant, a demi-god and defender of ancient Ado.
The Goddess Osorun saw Obara’s action as perfidious and retreated to her grove in Isikan in tempestuous rage taking the form of water and dispersing into several directions in spirals of a deluge that caused great destructions on Earth. From therein, her main course meandered toward the sea to link up with her son Olokun where she is referred to as Yeye Olokun. Her rage lingered with all efforts by Obara to curtail her failing woefully until appeased by Ela on behalf of Obara and other deities. To prove that she had been truly appeased, she promised to send other companion female deities at an interval to help Earth. Osorun also accepted to adopt all the corporeal (human) children of Obara and keep them safe. In Isikan’s tradition, Yeye Osorun is the all-powerful and preeminent female goddess to first walk on earth and to first draw breath inside water. Every Iralepo would thereafter throughout history have a favourite wife called Osorun or Eyesorun in honour of Yeye Osorun. Most Obas in adjoining towns named their favourite wives Osorun in honour of this tradition. The original Osorun is a Goddess and immortal. As promised, Yeye Osorun was believed to have later sent at different intervals three of her closest deific companions to help Isikan. They are Motamisimilaa, Eseluk’oba and Yeye Ogboo who ruled as female warrior kings at different times in the history of Isikan and also became deified at the grove.
Oroko, the child of Omoran mated with Ikin, a granddaughter of Obara and Aje, and had a deific human son that was also named Oroko after his father. The child Oroko became one of the first human deities (demi-gods) and kings of Isikan. From his generation would later spring a valiant human son named in his honour who also beget a son named Olu Oroko or Oluroko who began the Oluroko dynasty which produced 12 kings and severally sent forth a total of 400 princes to establish various clans of people across the world. It is believed that the Iralepo obtained his cognomen of irinwo gende (four hundred extraordinary men) from this account as it was believed that the Iralepo could summon the spirit and wisdom of 400 ancestors at once.
The last Oba of Isikan of the Oluroko dynasty was Ora or Iralopo who became the first Oba on the Iralepo dynasty after the return from Inamu (Ile ife). Before becoming king, Iralepo was a renowned gifted healer who was versed in Ifa and the application of plants to cure ailments. He is credited in Isikan’s oral tradition as the discoverer in the forests of Oda of ira oda (scrub ironbark) and the efficacy of the ira tree in medicinal use. It is the belief of the Isikans that his name, Iralopo (Aralopo or Oralopo) literally means humans (ira, ara, ora or iraye, araye, oraye) found their throne and not as Iralepo (ira has tasty oil) derived from his reputation as the discoverer of scrub ironbark as a tasty and presentable flavoured concoction in a medicinal soup for the redemption of the sick.
The Iralepo dynasty has produced 37 kings. The Oluroko dynasty produced twelve kings (Oroko, Adin, Olofin, Owaran, Ojijigogun, Ina, Adimula Orisaale, Oro, Eselu, Uyi, Ifatinrin, and Ora). The Obara dynasty produced 116 kings[2]. The Oluroko and the Iralepo dynasties of Isinkan have thus jointly produced 48 male kings (not 49 as Ora, the last king on the Oluroko dynasty was the first king on the Oralopo dynasty). This however does not include four female kings who also ruled the land, namely; Eye Motamisimi, Eseluk’oba, Arabi Omekunlaaye (the tamer of Leopards) a female warrior king that first cleared Ofosu of foreign invaders, and Yeye Ogboo.
The extant Iralepo dynasty is considered one of the longest-reigning dynasties across Yoruba land because of the evident average long reign of a majority of the Iralepos who spent in excess of 40 years on the throne (on average) with Ora believed to have spent 80 years on the throne, Aladetoyinbo 40 years while Olu-Ojo spent 43 years. Some towns within the same period had up to two, three or even four Obas during the reign of a single Iralepo. But when combined with the Oluroko dynasty, the count would be 48 kings, Olu-Ojo being the 48th Oba of Isinkan and 37th on the Iralepo line. The Obara dynasty is not included because of the notion that some of the ealier kings in that dynasty were not humans.
Relationship with Akure
According to Isikan’s oral account, Asodeboyede the progenitor of the Deji of Akure, arrived upon their land as an itinerary hunter. He told his host that he was coming from the direction of Inamu (Ile Ife). He met the aborigines, namely the people of Isikan, Oda, Oba, Ilara etc on the land. He was welcomed wholeheartedly because the tradition at the time was to get as many willing people as possible to stay together or nearby. However, unknown to the hosts, the new guest plotted the death of the aborigines’ youngest brother, Apaohun, now known in the modern era as Alakure, who was the leader of his sector. In Isikan oral tradition, it is believed that Asodeboyede, the new arrival, befriended Apaohun and gained the trust of the latter only to covertly sneak ‘edo ekun’ (leopard’s liver) into the latter’s palm wine.
Asodeboyede thereafter supplanted Apaohun as the leader in his stead. This angered Oloba, Iralepo, Alara and others who decided to mystically summon the spirit of Apaohun to take vengeance. For several years, Asodeboyede’s family and entourage were mysteriously killed while he could not rule over the people of Apaohun. His first son Opapa was beheaded at oju Oja without anyone wielding a cutlass. His wife died of poison from a meal eaten by both of them. He moved to Oke oge in fear of the continuous deaths of members of his household. His diviner later revealed to him that powerful magic was at work and that the spirit of Apaohun was the one carrying out revenge. He was asked to appease in particular the trio of Oloba, Iralepo, and Alara, which he did. The brothers would later forgive him but upon the condition that he makes a covenant in perpetuity to honour the memory of their brother and to make yearly appeasement to him in the form of atonement through propitiation to his spirit without which there was not going to be a truce. Asodeboyede and his descendants were thus under oath to make a yearly covenant of supplication to appease the spirit of Apaohun. Barring any convenient retell of history as is now the practice, this is the origin of the annual propitiatory sacrifice to Apaohun by every Oba in Akure to date. This is effectively how that section got its name – Akure, that is, truce, reconciliation, or friendship brought about or forced upon after death. This can easily be contrasted with a nearby town named Ijare for it was the practice in langsyne to name towns or places after major significant events. The yearly propitiatory sacrifice is observed till today by every king of Akure at Igbo Alakure (a euphemism for Apaohun as the original owner of what is now known as Akure) or Alakure’s grove. The name ‘Akure’ is thus a reconciliatory epithet that has its origin in a past where a truce was forced upon the land on a delicate subject that involved all the principal communities and towns aforementioned.
Relationship with Ile Ife
After the creation of the first land at Oba and the establishment of the first Usi in Isikan, as humans began to multiply, it became fashionable for people to journey from one place to another on adventures, out of fear, to escape unfavourable conditions, for socialization or curiosity. At the urging of Ifa, the deity Obatala joined by other deities such as Oroko (the deity), Oranfe, and Obalufon to establish Inamu as a model of habitation where Obatala became the first leader. This is pre-Oduduwa as it would take several years still before the birth or arrival of the legendary Oduduwa at Inamu. Oduduwa would later be credited with introducing civilized structured leadership at Ife. In Isikan’s mythology, Oduduwa did not exist at the foundation of the world, in the days of Obara, Omoran, Orunmila, and the rest. Rather, he is a later day phenomenon that featured when Ifa was already in active use and the human population was already sizable. His name Oduduwa in Isikan simply means Ifa Divination or revelation created a throne, royalty, a kingship, or a kingdom (Odu du uwa). This is because Odu is the emergent constellation at Ifa divination, or literarily put, the revelation or message deciphered by the Ifa priest from ifa corpus. Uha (uwa) in Isikan however stands for royalty and the throne. Obatala and his company instituted the worship of Yeye Osorun in Ife. It is instructive to note that Ile Ife till today worships Yeye. Even though the modern people of Ile-Ife appear to no longer associate Yeye with the primordial Isikan female Deity but rather one of their Oloris (wives of kings), the original Yeye in Ile-ife as instituted by the quartet of Obatala, Oroko, Obalufon and Orunmila was a Goddess, the most powerful female being ever to walk Earth. She was not a human.
Oroko (the human), whose relationship to the Isikans and Orunmila had been highlighted, would later establish a distant kingdom suspected to be Oroko in distant present-day Cameroun and Insagele in the same land. The subsisting similarities to Oroko in Isikan’s history and Iyangele (Iyange) where Oroko was interred remains eerily significant. Oroko was said to have been instructed by Ifa that he must retrace his steps back to Isinkan because of the significance of the land as Usi Obarisha as his cousins that were left behind in Isikan were beginning to forget traditions and their duties to the sacred land. Oroko in turn instructed his children that even if he died while in pursuit of that objective, his bones must be interred at Isinkan. From Isinkan there are attestations to the fact that one of the ancestors of Isinkan, Oroko (or Oluroko), returned to Isikan via Inamu by way of Epe (near Ondo) and through Iyangele near Oke Isikan.
Unlike Obara who was a deity, Oluroko was a human and a valiant king. Like Yeye Arabi Omekunlaaye, Oluroko was known to have control of animals as two leopards were said to always walk with him at all times. Several years after his transition, many people, particularly virgins claimed to encounter him in and around Isikan with either his two feline companions or two canine companions and sometimes in the company of one of the goddesses of Isikan. His powerful and valiant descendant, Ora, is credited with starting the Oralopo dynasty line. Ora himself was believed to be a foretold reincarnation of Oroko.
Essentially, the kingship institution of Isinkan has always existed as a complete autonomous institution while the community has its derived independent political administration that predated the arrival of Asodeboyede who started the well-known Akure line of kings after the incident with Apaohun (Omoloju), the original son that descended directly from Obara. This is why there are in all more Obas that have reigned in Isinkan than there are Dejis of Akure.
The very first significant effort to document the history of Akure and the neighbouring towns such as Isikan, Isolo, and other communities was by J. O. Atandare. Seeing that the author was pushing an Akure agenda, the Isikans refused to send their history to him. While it was indeed true that the author was pushing an imperial agenda for Akure, he nonetheless acknowledged that the Isikans did not formally present their history to him. Despite being snubbed by the Isikans and despite his spirited insulting criticism of them, the pre-eminence of Isikan in langsyne was generously affirmed and attested to by Atandare stating that Isikan was a large city evident in its enduring tradition, the extent of the town’s cultural influence and the size of the king’s cabinet. He went ahead to reveal that the Aro of Akure indeed used to be a subject of the Iralepo of Isikan. The book, ‘Iwe Itan Akure ati agbegbe re’ by Atandare, a foremost Akure son, attests to this fact.
Without prejudice to the right of the people of Isikan to continue to challenge very erroneous assertions made in the Atandare work, that book, written when politically motivated and ‘convenient stories’ were still minimal and yet to completely obfuscate the truth, is a more reliable pointer to facts of history than any later day revisionism. For example, the Olisa of Isikan is Primus inter pares in the Uharefa (six foremost kingmakers) and the de facto second-in-command to the king (Iralepo) of Isikan. Uharefa in Isikan means the six pillars around the throne (uha). The tradition in Akure was however different because the Odopetu was the number one chief of Akure’s Iare Ogogomua that were traditionally five (5) in number. Akure did not have an Iwarefa (the sound of ‘u’ substituted with ‘I’ in conformity with modern Yoruba language) at this time. In Deji’s Iare at the time, the Odopetu was the second-in-command to the Deji. But the influence of Isikan became apparent when the Deji of Akure begged an Ekiti prince from Ohan, Ogelemodu that he would offer him the leadership of his principal chiefs and make him Olisa as it was in Isikan. That way, the Deji could have an Iwarefa thus creating room for Ogelemodu as Olisa in the Iwarefa so he could become Primus inter pares. Ogelemodu was therefore elevated above Odopetu to bring the number of Akure’s principal Chieftains to six thus replicating the Isinkan style.
However, the 19th-century wars, especially the Benin-Yoruba villages wars forced Akure, Isinkan and Isolo to join forces to construct ‘yaara’ (trenches) around their settlements, to ward off external aggression and make a counter-attack easier. Akure thus moved from Oke Oge to its present location with a boundary with Isolo at igiso. Isikan moved from Oke Isikan to its present location with boundary with Akure at Imogun whilst Isolo moved from along Irese to its present location. There has been absolute falsehood and injustice done to history with a latter-day revisionist version that claimed that Isikan and Isolo at the time sought refuge under Akure to survive the attack of Edo. This is a wild claim. At the time of Oba Ado’s war of expansion into Yoruba peripheral towns, the trio of Akure, Isikan and Isolo were in practical terms villages. Only Isikan had a sizable number of fighters and hunters under Sao and Ajana that hunted in Igbo Isarun with hunters from Ilara. Isikan’s westward boundary at the time was with Ilara and Ondo. The popular Owena Ondo road was then known as Elegbudu, Yeye’s principal estuary which must only be propitiated with ipe (prayer). Even Inamu (Ile-ife), the most advanced settlement in this part of Yoruba land at the time was in decline. The only thriving kingdom of the Yoruba was Oyo. Effectively, for survival, the small towns had to all bond together. In fact, contrary to revisionists’ mangled accounts, Orudu who was Deji of Akure between 1735 and 1738 approached the Iralepo of Isikan and the Osolo of Isolo and pleaded for their assistance. They obliged him. Notable Akure scholars and professors have attested to this.
Moreover, Ogundana, the son of Sao of Isikan was the only career soldier that was apprenticed to the duo of Aparimo and Alaleetan (of Ikere Ekiti) who were the foremost full-time soldiers of fortune in the Ekiti country at the time. Ojiji, great grandfather of popular General Aduloju of Ado Ekiti was also at that point an associate of Aparimo of Ikere. It was Ogundana that introduced his Lords to his father, the Sao Agbaakin (great grandfather of the famous Sao Adanri of Isikan), who afterward took them to the Iralepo. It was Ogundana with the support of additional forces from Aparimo that liberated Adofure and the forests of Ala from the slave raiders of Oba Ado. It was Alaleetan that liberated Uso and the forest of Ogbese. It was Ogundana’s impetuous but chivalrous cross over to the right flank of Ofosu with 500 men, on his twenty-first birthday, in defiance of General Ajolagun, the Balogun of Isikan, that made him liberate the forests of Ofosu, Okeya, Ajegunle, and Emiloro and capture General Okpele, the leader of the Oba-Ado’s war effort at Ofosu and dragged him to the palace of Iralepo in Isikan where the Oba directed he be taken to Udiroko in Isikan where he was executed for the killing of innocent women and children. Okpele was not dragged to Deji’s court. This event and perhaps the exploits of Queen Arabi Omekunlaaye and that of Oroko is why in Iralepo’s cognomen, he is referred to as Orisha l’ila s’Oba Ado jigbojigbo (the intrepid deity that overwhelms the plot of Oba Ado).
Yes, there was mass death among young kids before the age of 18 and the very elderly in Isikan shortly after the war. With the benefits of hindsight and modern history, this was not the result of any curse but more likely the result of a pandemic. This is because such mass deaths were reported in other parts of Yoruba land at about the time, such as Are Ekiti and even in Akure. Isikan has never been conquered in a war. A prominent saying of the Isikan elders till date is Ogun k’Akure, Ogun k’Ulafon, ogun de’bebere eti Usi, Isikan li k’ogun! That is, Akure was ravaged by war. Ulafon was ravaged by war. When war came near Isikan, the people of Isikan became the terror and subdued the war and took the spoils. Isikan has therefore in history never been ravaged by war or had any such descriptions. Those were the creations of those who think a diminished Isikan would add to their titular significance. What is however true is that since modern governments began to formally recognize Obas, there has been a deliberate effort to weaken Isikan, humiliate its Oba, downgrade its position in history and even deny its pre-eminent royalty that pre-dated many in that class using political influence, inducement and behind the scene underhand tactics that may not be obvious to many.
[1] Isikan as an ancient aboriginal community is over 6,500 years old.
[2] At an average of 40 years per reign, discounting deific rulers who probably reigned for hundreds of years, the Isinkan throne is circa 6,500 years old coming to about 4,500BC.
