Yoruba Thunder Deities and Sovereignty: Ara versus Ṣango

Author(s): Marc Schiltz

Source: Anthropos, Bd. 80, H. 1./3. (1985), pp. 67-84
Published by: Anthropos Institute
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Anthropos80.1985: 67-84

YorubaThunderDeitiesand Sovereignty:
Ara versusSango
MarcSchütz

1. Sango and Oyo Imperialism variously known as Aramfe in Ife, Ara or

2. Ara, the WanderingStranger,and Sango, the Inde-
Ara-gbona? in the westernkingdomsof Sabe
pendent Senior Wife: Two Thunder Deities in a and Ketu which are located in present-day
Marriageof Convenience
3. Itasa's Ara: "When Two Rams Clash, One Must Give Benin. Ilara, on the border with Nigeria, and
Way" Itasa, whollywithinNigeria,are also centresfor
the Ara cult. While Ilara, whichis located near
One of the most popular and widespread
Meko betweenAbeokuta and Ketu, was histori-
orisa cults among the Yoruba of southwestern
callylinkedto the Ketu kingdom,Itasa, located
Nigeriais undoubtedlythatof Sango, the deity 25 miles from the border between Sabe and
of thunderand lightning.As a personification
was traditionallypart of the Oyp king-
of thisnaturalforce,Sango is said to have been Oyo,
dom. Among these westernYoruba peoples we
the fourthAlaafinof Oyp1 (Johnson1921 : 34).
note that outside Oyo, in the Sabe and Ketu
In variousmythsSango is describedas a great
kingdoms,the Alaafin's cult of Sango became
magicianwho could eject firefromhis mouth established
alongsidethe local Ara cultorganiz-
(onina-l'enù)and killhis enemieswithlightning ations. This
from heaven (Lucas 1948: 104). As Oyo's developmentwas undoubtedlypre-
cipitated by the rise of Oyp as an imperial
power expanded in Yorubaland and among But in contrastto thislinkingof the two
various non-Yoruba speaking peoples in the power.
thundercults outside Oyo, we also note that
17th and 18th centuries,the Alaafin's control
within the Alaafin's own kingdom the Itasa
over the Sango cult became an instrumentfor
kingsestablishedan Ara enclave in whichthe
assertinghis sovereigntyall over the empire
Sango cult had no place. It is this paradox of
(Morton-Williams1964: 255). Ara's tolerance of Sango outside Oyp and his
Sango is not the only thunderdeityamong intoleranceforthe Alaafin's ancestorwithinthe
the Yoruba. Ara is the Yoruba word forthun-
Oyp territory whichI propose to discussin this
der, and the personificationof this force is
essay.
Studies of traditionalYoruba religionhave
Marc Schütz, Ph. D. in Anthropology(Univ. of oftenshowna
tendencyto hypostatizethe orisa
London, 1980); Lecturerin Anthropologyat the Univ. of withinan overall
-
Papua New Guinea. Fieldwork was earned out among
cosmological model, applic-
the Yoruba of southwesternNigeria (two years between able to the whole of Yorubaland throughout
1972 and 1975) and among the Kewa of the New Guinea history(see, e.g., Lucas 1948, Idowu 1962).
- What this approach overlooks is that the rela-
Highlands (eight months between 1979 and 1981).
Publicationsinclude: i(Egunun Masquerades in Iganna" tiverank,social functions,and popularityof the
(AfricanArts 11.1978); i(Rural-UrbanMigrationin Igan- orisa are
na" Ph. D. Thesis,1980); "'Habitus' and Peasantisationin contingentupon scenariosplayed out
by certain individuals and groups in specific
Nigeria: A Yoruba Case Study" (Man 17.1982).
historicalsituations,especially those in which
1
Although oba is the generic term for crowned
monarchs,it is a Yoruba custom to referto a particular 2 In Sabe and Ketu, Ara is also associated withthe
oba bythetitleattachedto his dynasty.Hence we speak of disease of smallpox which, in Yoruba, is referredto as
the Alaafin of Oyo, the Onitile of Itile, the Onidiko of igbona or ile-igbona,i. e., "hot earth." Elsewhere,Sopona
Idiko, the Alaketu of Ketu, and the Omsabe of Sabe. is the orisa thatpersonifiesthisaffliction.

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68 Marc Schütz

sovereignty was at stake, as in the cases to be and Itasa, I hope to account for some of the
discussedhere of thundercultsassociatedwitha variationsin the myths,the cult organizations
royallineage. Consequently,it is in the context and the ritualsymbolismsencounteredin these
ofcultorganizationsin specificlocalitiesthatwe different localities. FirstI will commentbriefly
must approach the study of Yoruba religion, on the political momentumof the Sango cult
ratherthanby makinggeneralizationsabout the withinthe contextof the Oyo empire.This will
orisa on the basis of some formalcharacteristics be followedby more detailed discussionsof the
abstractedfromtheirsocio-historicalcontexts. thundercults in the Sabe and Ketu kingdoms.
By applyingthis approach to a comparisonof Finally,these data will be contrastedwiththe
the Ara and Sango cults in Sabe, Ketu, Ilara, exclusivenessof the Ara cult in Itasa.

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Anthropos80.1985

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Yoruba ThunderDeities and Sovereignty:Ara versusSango 69

1. Sango and Oyp Imperialism withinthe Oyp kingdom,and in makingalli-

ances withthe rulersof more distantareas.
Variousauthorshavecommented on theimpor- Withregardto the degreeof dependenceof
tantrole playedby the cultof Sango in sanc- Ketu and Sabe on Oyo, Law (1977:141-142)
tioningtheAlaafin'sauthority in the Oyo em- comments thatwhilefriendly relations
withOyo
pire (Morton-Williams 1964: 255; Law 1977: prevailed for most of the time duringthe
140).Biobaku :
(1957 8) has even suggested that imperialperiod, there is evidence
conflicting as
thiscult assumedsomething of the force of to whether thesewesternkingdomsever paid
emperorworshipin the laterRoman empire. tributeto the Alaafin.But even if tributewas
Possessionpriestsof Sango(elegunSango) had paid at times,thekingsofKetuand Sabe seem
to come to Oyp forthe finalstagesof their to have retainedmuchof theirautonomyin
initiatorytraining,and wherevera lightningcontrolling the internalaffairsof theirking-
catastrophe occurred,thelocal kinghad to go doms. Moreover,the fact that the Atlantic
to thespotand payhomageto Sangowhowas trade route to Badagri,the lifelineof land-
thoughtto have visitedthe world (Johnson locked Oyo after1736 (see Law 1977:217f.),
1921: 35). Moreover,forretrieving the edun bypassedtheirterritories suggeststhattheAlaa-
ara (stone-celts takenforthunderbolts) which fincouldnot,or chosenotto dependon their
Sango was supposed to have hurled down from loyalties.ForthesereasonsI wouldsuggestthat
heavenon thosewhohad incurred his displea- thejuxtaposition of theAlaafin'scultof Sango
sure, the Sango priests were authorized to and the local cults of Ara in these western
collect ruinously high purification fees kingdoms reflectshowsovereignty was divided,
(Morton- Williams1964: 255). The Alaafinalso and largely the outcome of compromise
madeuse ofthepowersofSangointheadminis- arrangements, as I willillustratebelow.
trationof the more distantpartsof the Oyo Whithinthe Oyo kingdom,the Alaafin's
empire.His strategyof appointinginitiated rulewas established morerigorously. Neverthe-
Sango priestsas governors(ajele) along the less, myown data on the fringearea westof
Atlantictrade route furtherillustratesthis Iganna and the nearbyAtlantictrade route
(ibid.). (thatis, the area adjoiningtheSabe kingdom)
Sincelightning was an ever-present danger reveal that local loyaltieswere not always
everywhere (Yorubalandand adjoiningareas guaranteed.This frontier land seems to have
are reportedto have amongthe highestlight- been weaklyadministered. While some local
ningfrequencies in the world; Ojo 1966 : 171), a rulerswere to
loyal Oyo, therewereotherswho
royal cultassociated with thisterrifying natural lorded it over pettykingdomsin whichlocal
forcewas put in possession of an extremelyinterests, ratherthanthoseoftheAlaafin,often
powerful medium for assertingthe king's sover- prevailed. The Ara enclaveofItasawhichI will
eignty. As attributes of divine kingship, thunder discussin the lastsectionof thisessaywas one
andlightning werein themselves effective sym- such place. The ineffectiveness of Oyp's rule
bols forcommunicating royalwrath,especially thereis reflected in the absenceof thecultof
as thiswas coupledwitha powerful corporation Sango. Moreover,Itasa's Ara cult differs no-
of Sango priestswithrepresentatives far and ticeablyfromSabe's and Ketu's,eventhoughit
wide, who were capable of interpreting the was fromthese last two areas that the cult
divine messages and of taking disciplinaryspreadto thewesternOyo towns.This unique
actionwhenrequired. identityof Itasa's Ara is, at least in part,
Obviously the administration of the Oyo explainedbyitsoppositionto Qyp's Sango;but
empiredepended on more than the Alaafin's beforediscussing thisdevelopment I willcom-
controloverthecultof Sango.Of greatimport- paretheAra cultsin Sabe, Ketu,andIlara,and
ancewas Oyo's military strength fortheexpan- examinetheirrelationship to thecultof Sango.
sion and policingof the empire.At least as
important was theAlaafin'sdiplomaticskillin
securing the loyaltyof the provincialkings

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70 Marc Schütz

2. Ara, the WanderingStranger,and Sango, He promisedGou to solvehisproblemifhe

the IndependentSenior Wife: Two came to live withhim. Gou accepted,and
ThunderDeities in a Marriageof his hostsgave himtheirdaughterin mar-
Convenience riage,as wellas a powerful charmto over-
cometheabikuaffliction.
In the westernYoruba kingdomsof Sabe and A fewyearslaterAra cameto theircamp.
Ketuwherewe findthecultsofAra and Sango He appearedas an ordinary man,andasked
alongsideeach other,we notethattheformula if he could stay. He was welcomed,and
for their apparentpeaceful coexistencewas Gou immediately becamehis close friend,
workedout at thecostof a conceptualreversal alwayspraisinghimforhis mighty deeds.
andcompromise arrangements betweenthetwo As the reputationof Ara spread, more
fiercethundergods. Essentially,thisformula people flockedto the settlement to join in
consistsin a sex changeforSango,whois said the worshipof Ara. In the end the place
to be Ara's seniorwife,as wellas in a division grew to such a size that they called it
of labourbetweenthe priestsof the two cults ilu-Ara,or Ilara.
with regardto the purification ritualsafter Some yearslaterAra decidedto proceed
lightningcatastrophes. Unlike the cult of withhisjourney,butbeforeleavinghe gave
Sango,whichwas centralizedunderthe Alaa- to Gou some irons and thunderbolts to
fin's control,neitherthe Alaketu nor the remember himby.AfterAra left,Goubuilt
Onisabe seems to have reveredAra as his hima shrinein whichhe placedthesacred
lineageorisa,and thusused thepowersof Ara objects.Then he prayedto Ara and asked
directlyfor buttressing royal authority.The him what he would like to receive.Ara
different townshave theirownversionsof how answeredhis prayerand revealedthatat
Ara came to them,and a comparison of these the altar(ojubo) of the sacredobjectshe
willprovidesome insights intothe local varia- wantedto receivea ram,a hen,kola nuts,
tionsofthethunder cult. and cold maize gruel(eko tutu).Ara also
The storiesoftheoriginofthecultdescribe promisedto help thosewho came to wor-
Ara as a wandering manof unspecified abode. shiphim.
They concur in a
locating hunter'scampwithin When Gou had fatheredmanysons and
thekingdom ofKetuas theplacewherethecult daughters, and none of themhad died,he
of Ara originated.Eventuallythissettlement decidedto takethembackto Sabe in order
grewin size, and laterbecame knownas the to showhis people the greatblessingthat
"townofAra," liara (fromilu-ara).FromIlara hadbefallenhim.He tookwithhimsomeof
thecultspreadin variousdirections, including the ironsand thunderbolts, and duringhis
to thetownsofKetuand Sabe. I willfirst givea stay in Sabe he taught peopletherehow
his
Sabe versionofthestoryofAra beforemaking to worshipAra.
a comparison ofthecultwithKetu and Ilara. Laterhe returned to Ilara,wherehe died.
But whenthe news of his death reached
Ara was introducedto Sabe bya mancalled Sabe his people wentto Ilara and brought
Gou. Thisman,who was a nativeof Sabe, hisbodyback homeand buriedit nearthe
byabikuspirits
was afflicted withtheresult Ara shrine.
that his childrenkept dyingin infancy.
Afterbeing told about the cause of the The mainAra shrinein Sabe is locatedin
deaths he decidedto leave Sabe. He stop- an enclosedarea. Access to the sanctuaryis
ped in manyhunters'campsalongtheroute gained througha small gate-housealong the
butnoneofthehunters
he travelled, he met fence.A thatched-roof in thecentreof
building
Eventu- theopen space is theAra shrine,in whichthe
was capableofcuringhisaffliction.
ally he reached a camp where he was ironsand stone-celts that symbolizeAra are
welcomedby a hunterand his wife. This kept.Nearby are altarsforOsosi and Amode,
hunterwas a greatmagiciancalled Ogodo. twohunterdeitieswhoin theSabe tradition are

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Yoruba ThunderDeities and Sovereignty:Ara versusSango
said to be Ara's wives. Anothersmall building
withinthe enclosureservesas a dwellingforthe
chiefpriestof Ara and his wife. Once installed
as head of thecultthe chiefpriestlivestherefor
the restof his life. Also kept withinthe enclos-
ure are the sacred ram which is tetheredto a
post, the Ara drums and gongs, and a large
inverted pot which is adorned with relief
designs. Near the Ara shrine is Gou' s tomb,
whilefurther away is a cookingarea used by the
alara {Ara worshippers)on festiveoccasions.
A comparisonof the Ara cult story and
ritualarrangementsbetween Sabe, Ketu, and
Ilara shows that the main differencesconcern
the personages involved in the thundergod's
drama; that is, differencesin their identities,
theiractionsand peregrinations, and in the way
theyinterrelatewith each other. Inasmuch as
mythcan be rationalized as "a charter for
action,"one maynote local concernswithtown
identity,inter-townrivalryover the controlof
the powers of Ara, and with other mundane
affairsunderpinning these differences.
The storiesfromKetu and Ilara statedthat
Ara originallycame fromSabe througha man
called Agbon. This man, like Gou in the Sabe
version,was said to have left his hometown
because he was troubledby abiku spirits.But
whereasGou metAra in the hunters'camp that
laterbecame Ilara, and afterwardsreturnedto
Sabe in order to introducethe Ara cult there,
Agbon appears as a man who alreadyhad Ara
beforeleavingSabe. This does notaffectthefact
thatAra himselfremainsa somehow timeless,
mysteriousfigurewhose originis not probed,
and who afterhis encounterwiththe ancestors
goes his way, perhapsto die somewherein the
wayothermendie, or perhapsto live on. In any
event, his power to bless or punish lives on,
throughthe ministryof his initiatedfollowers
whoguardtheironsand thethunderbolts. In the
case of Ketu and Ilara, thereis the acknowledg-
ment that Ara came to them througha man
fromSabe, butthatthecultitselfbegan onlyin a
hunters'camp whichlaterbecame renownedas
the "town of Ara" Ilara.
At this point, however, the differentver-
sions begin to divergeand local interestspre-
vail. Firstthereis the questionof the identityof
thelone hunterwho invitedthe Sabe refugeeto
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71
settle with him, and then saved him fromhis
abiku affliction.In the Sabe storythe hunter
was called Ogodo, and did not belong to any
town in particular.Ogodo is the Yoruba word
foryaws, and the name here suggeststhe orisa
that personifiesthis disease. But in one of the
Ketu versionsthe name of the hunteris Adare,
and he is identifiedas one of the royalsof the
Alaketu's idile (lineage), who had set up his
camp on Ketu land. Adare thengave his daugh-
ter Kobola in marriageto the Sabe settler.The
couple had a son who was named Ewegbemi
("the leaf saves me"), indicatingthat Adarés
magic had overcome the abiku threat. When
Ewegbemi grew up he had a son who became
popularlyknownas Baba Alara ("fatherof the
Ara worshippers"), as by then the cult had
gathereda large following.
Our Ilara storyalso mentionsAgbon who
broughtAra from Sabe. But contraryto the
Ketu claims that the site of the hunters'camp
was on the Alaketu's land, and thatthe hunter
was a royal kinsman,the Ilara version leaves
out the question of land ownershipand states
that the firstsettlerswere two Sabe hunters,
Ososi and Ogodo. As mentionedearlier,these
two personages are themselves orisa, and in
Sabe the formeris revered as one of Ara's
wives. A look around the shrinesin Ketu and
Ilara shows, however,that the set-up of Ara's
household there is differentfrom Sabe's. In
Ketu the Ara cultis located in two compounds,
Abiya's and Ogodo' s, who worshipthe deityon
differentdays. Abiya's compound claims to
have obtained the cult through Ina-ako, a
woman who, after visitingrelatives in Ilara,
brought back the sacred objects. Later she
passed some on to her sister,Afeyinla-ayinke,
who lived in the compoundof Ogodo. In these
Ketu shrinesthe orisa reveredas Ara's wifeis
Orojafin. Also present, though not as wives,
are Ososi and Abiku. Both are representedby
pots from which the worshipperscan draw
waterto protectthemselvesfromvariousafflic-
tions. In Ilara the main Ara shrineis located in
an enclosed area on the fringeof the town,
adjoininga sacred bush. There also, Orojafinis
reveredas Ara's wife,but the orisa mostclosely
associated withthemis the ubiquitousYoruba
trickster Esu.
72 MarcSchütz

Despite these differenceswhich bring out Ewegbemi. This headship of the cult, the
the specificways in whicheach town has inte- account states, was fullyacknowledgedby the
gratedAra withinits own cult organization,the Ketu people in the past. But later thingschan-
similaritiesbetween Ketu's Ara and Ilara's Ara ged, and by some accident of historythe Ara
are greaterthan those between eitherof these worshippersfrom Ketu managed to pull the
and Sabe. This may be explained by the geo- wool over the Ilara people's eyes and seize
graphicaland historicalproximityof Ketu and controlof the cult. This rivalrybetweenthe two
Ilara, althoughnow they are located on oppo- towns is furtherexpressed in the second Ilara
site sides of the internationalboundary.But if account, which deals withthe more rewarding
therewere such close links,why should Ilara's aspects of the rightsto conductthe purification
storyof originof the Ara cult say thatthe first rituals(etutu) aftera lightningcatastrophehas
settlerswere hunters from Sabe and fail to occurred.
mention Adare, the Alaketu's kinsman? I
Afterthe oluwo (that is, Ewegbemi) who
would suggestthatthe answerhere is provided
broughtAra to Ilara died, the townspeople
by Ilara's concern to controlits Ara cult (and did not know thatAra had been introduced
possiblyother affairsas well) independentlyof to Ketu fromtheirtown.They thoughtthat
Ketu. A clue to this can be found in the it was from Ketu that Ara had come to
followingtwo accountsfromIlara. them. Therefore, whenever Ara struck
After Agbon had settled in the hunting anyone or destroyedany property,all the
camp of Ososi and Ogodo, other people feescollectedforremovingthethunderbolts
also joined the settlementwhen theyheard were sent to Ketu. This went on formany
about the great deeds of Ara. Some years years, until one day an old man sang a
later,however,death came to the area and Gelede song in which he told the people
Agbon ran away to Ile-edu, another hun- that afterAgbon had gone to Ile-edu and
ter's camp where he had spent some time his descendantshad forgotten about thecult
after leaving Sabe. He stayed there for of Ara, Ewegbemi reinstated the orisa
many years and duringthat time the Ara throughhis own braveryand zeal. This song
shrinein Ilara graduallyfellto ruins.It was was a real eye-opener for the people of
not until Agbon had grown old that he Ilara, and theyimmediatelychallengedthe
called his son Ewegbemi and told him how Ketus about who was to be in chargeof the
he had broughtAra to Ilara, and how from cult. The disputewas seriousand in the end
there he had run away to Ile-edu. When the Alaketu called the Ara worshippers
Ewegbemi heard this he was very grieved from the two towns in order to seek a
thathe had been leftin the dark about how settlement.Afterlisteningto both sides, he
to worshipAra. Then suddenlyhe became ruledthatwhen lightning struckin Ilara the
possessed by his father's orisa, and he etutu would be carried out by the people of
broughtAra back fromIle-edu to Ilara. He Ilara, whereas when lightningstruck in
did not know how to worshipAra, but he Ketu the etutu would be carried out by
did as the orisa directedhim. That was why Ketu Ara worshippers.
the people of Ketu always sang his praises The implicationof thisIlara accountis that
saying: "Ewegbemi made the orisa, Eweg- the Alaketu had jurisdictionover the affairsof
bemi had no oluwo." (That is, he had no
Ilara, since he could sit in judgment over a
head of the cult above him). Therefore,all the alara of Ketu and Ilara.
the powers of Ara to strikewith lightning dispute involving
But the account implies also that, unlike the
were givento Ewegbemi beforehis father's
Alaafin who could control the Sango cult in
death.
every tributarytown, neitherthe Alaketu nor
From this Ilara account, then, it would the alara in Ketu town had overall controlof
seem thatwhatgivesIlara the edge over Ketu is the Ara cult. Such control,the Ilara people felt,
Ara's directintervention in takingpossessionof should have been accorded to theirown oluwo;

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Yoruba ThunderDeities and Sovereignty:Ara versusSango 73

hence the referenceto Ewegbemi,to whomthe made with gun powder. At the time of a
Ketu people originallyused to address their thunderstorm,any house at which they
praise songs. Therefore, the Alaketu's verdict depositedthischarmwould attractlightning
that the alara from Ketu could no longer re- and burn down. Back home, theyplanted
ceive purificationfees from Ilara victims of thischarmon the houses of all those whom
lightning was fair, but it fell short of acknow- theywanted to punish. These people then
ledging Ilara's claim of supremacy for their had to pay heavyfinesforSango's followers
oluwo. to come and performthe etutuand remove
Fromthe data reviewedso farit is clear that the thunderbolts.As fear of punishment
the Ara cults in Sabe, Ketu, and Ilara share a spread,the people triedto please the Sango
commontradition.Sango did not featureat all followers by retracting the previous
in this, neither in the stories of origin nor rumours,saying instead: "oba ko so, the
amongthe orisa worshipped in associationwith kingdid not hang himself."This is why,to
Ara. Yet in these three towns the Sango cult thisday, theycall Sango "Qba Koso".
took root. We have no historicaldata to ascer-
tain when or how Sango got there; but, as This story,then, claims that the power to
everywhereelse, the people acknowledge that direct lightningwas not really the legendary
the cult came fromOyo and was named after king Sango's, but was imported by Sango's
the legendary Alaafin Sango. On the other followersfromIbariba land, west of Old Oyo.
hand, Sango in these westerntownsis revered Similar stories which trace the origin of the
as a femaleorisa who is said to have been Ara's Sango cultto thatarea3outsideYorubalandhad
senior wife. How are we to reconcile these alreadybeen recordedby Frobeniusin the early
apparently incompatible and contradictory part of this century(see Idowu 1962:90). In
claimswithwhathas been statedearlier? fact the Ara cult may also have originatedin
In tryingto clarifythis I will firstexamine Ibariba land or elsewhere,but whatconcernsus
the claim that Sango is a female orisa, and here is that ultimatelythe decision about, or
secondlywhyshe is said to be Ara's wife.From perceptionof, the sex of an orisa restswiththe
theway people expressedtheirthoughtson this worshippers.In Oyp it is said that Sango him-
question it seemed that a neat distinctionwas self could directlightning,before his followers
made between the name of the cult and the learnedthe secret,thereforehe is the orisa, and
orisa that personifiesthunder and lightning. obviouslymale. However, in this Ketu version
One man in Ketu had thisversionof one of the of Sango the situationis different.Here, the
well-knownmythsabout Sango: cultthatdeveloped in Oyo is specifically named
afterthe legendaryAlaafin Sango, but the sex
In the old days "Sango" was not such a of the orisa personifying thunderand lightning
fearsomename as it has become now. Many remainsunspecified.
people bore thatname. So it was, untilone What makes Sango a female orisa in the
Alaafin of Oyo called Sango fell out with Sabe-Ketu traditioncan best be understoodin
his people. When he realized thattheyhad the light of the accounts which describe the
rejected him he went to the bush and relationshipbetween Ara and Sango as one
hanged himself from a tree. When the between husband and senior wife. This is how
people of Oyp heard that he died, they one Ilara man explainedit.
started spreading the word that he had This Sango was just like any otherwoman.
committedsuicide,saying"oba so, the king But when Ara learned that she had some
has hangedhimself."But those stillloyal to
Sango were muchincensedwhentheyheard 3 Johnson
this"oba so" and triedunsuccessfulto stop (1921 : 159, 263-271) also mentions the
Ibariba people as militaryallies of the Oyo. King Eledu-
the rumourof thisignobledeath. Eventual- we, the Ibariba war leader, is the hero whose name is still
ly they went to Ibariba land, where they rememberedin Iganna accounts of the battle of Ilprin
obtained a dangerous and powerfulcharm priorto the destructionof Old Oyo in the 1830s.

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74 MarcSchütz

powerfulcharms(oogun, "medicine")he scope to pursuetheirown businessactivities.

thought thatshemight helphiminhiswork. Thirdly,thisstoryaccountsforthe ritualdivi-
He marriedher,and wheneverhisenemies sionoflabourbetweenthetwocultswithregard
triedto harmhimSangowouldcometo his to thepublicfunction of conducting thepurifi-
aidandkillthem.Shedidthisformanyyears cationritualsafterlightning has struck.How
andAra wasverypleasedwithher.Sincehe each townpractically sortedout thisquestion
hadmarried manyjuniorwives,he rewarded mayhave varied,but data fromSabe indicate
Sangoby givingherthefreedomto liveon that formerly divinatoryproceduresaftera
her own. She gratefully acceptedthis, but lightning catastrophe decidedwhether theAra
latershe returned to himand imploredhim or Sangopriestsshouldperform theetutu.
to giveherhispowers.Aftermanyrequests, To whatextentthe Sango cultbackedup
he eventually gave hersomeof hispowers. theAlaafin'ssovereignty in theSabe and Ketu
Wheneverlightningstruckin the places kingdoms in thedaysofQyo imperialism requi-
whichSangohadacquired,Arawouldtellhis resfurther investigation.Whether thechallenge
followers to let herperform the etutu.But whichthe Sango cult presentedto the pre-
whenAra struck,onlyhis followerscould existingAra cultowed its muscleto its grass-
perform the etutu.However,even in her rootspopularity, or to the directinfluence of
own territoriesSango could notremove the the Alaafin, is notclear. What the data reveal,
thunderbolts withoutinvokingand honou- however,is thatthe conceptuallinkageof the
ring(ijuba) Ara. twothunderdeitiesin a maritalunionwas the
outcomeof a marriageof conveniencewhich
The maineffect ofthisconceptualization of mostlikelyhad been precipitated bytheriseof
the relationship betweenAra and Sango as a Qyo imperialism.
maritalone is theipsofactoacknowledgment of
a rankand role differential betweentwofierce
personalities who are essentiallyequals. In 3. Itasa's Ara: "When Two Rams Clash, One
Yoruba society, no matter how wealthyor Must Give Way"4
powerful a womanmaybe, she is expectedto
acknowledge herhusband'sauthority in domes- Unlike the Ketu and Sabe
tic matters(not in her businessdealings),and kingdoms,where
made thecoexisten-
moregenerallyshe mustalwaysshow respect compromise arrangements
ce of the Ara and Sango cultspossible,Itasa
and praisehimpublicly.However,thisconcep- us witha history inwhichno suchovert
tualizationof Sangoas Ara's seniorwifeeuphe- presents
allowancesweremade. In thiswesternoutlier
mizes,in the idiomof ordereddomesticrela- ofthegreaterQyo theAlaafin'sSango
solutionto whatappearsto cultwas kingdom
tions,a pragmatic
keptat baybytheAra cult,whichwas
have been a potentially dangerouspowercon- directly controlled by thelocal rulers.Clearly,
frontation at thetimethe Sango cultspreadto the of Itasa's Ara is intimately linkedto
theSabe-Ketuareas.Whatwe have,then,is an the storyof the townitself. I will
assertion oftheprimacy story
ofAra, ifnotpolitical- discussion beginthe
withthe latterstory,so as to bring
ly thenat least morally.(Sango priestscannot out moreclearlythe sovereignty issue behind
perform the etutuif theydo not firsthonour the"clashofthe
gods."
Ara.) Secondly,the storyprovidesa justifica- Itile was the originalname of Itasa, and
tionforthe spatialand organizational separa- Onitilewas thetitleofits Itiletownwas
tionof thetwothundercults;in each townthe sacked and abandonedinkings. the course of the
shrinesof Ara and Sango are locatedin diffe- nineteenth and the presentvillageof
century,
rentcompounds,and each cult has its own Itasa was rebuiltabout 1 1/2milessouthof the
internal organization. Similarly, seniorwivesof siteoftheold ruins somereturnees afterthe
by
wealthypolygynists often live awayfromtheir
husbandsand junior co-wives.This arrange-
mentgives such women more freedomand 4 Yoruba
proverb:agbomejikii kan,ki okanmaye.

80.1985
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Yoruba ThunderDeities and Sovereignty:Ara versusSango 75

/ ( Kewu Hill^-^ /
' ^~
0 1 2 3 km V~"^ /- NoV' ( "^^

/ s^ r ~ Ruinsof old Y
V^ ^ ( ITILE / --ν
rAraHin@^;(>>^ I
V^

SABE ^Wç~o ^)^iTASA l^ # /

>Λ y ' / ^J*^f (PMaie Hill u)

( r' ( /
>^ '/XîSji-ile y

ObalaHill / ^λ
J

^ ITASA and environs1975

^^^^^^^0^ '
Map 2

establishmentof Pax Britannicain the 1890s.
Under the colonial and post-colonial admini-
strationsthe headman of Itasa ranked as bale
(chief of settlement),whereas in pre-colonial
timesthe Onitile of Itile had establishedthem-
selves as oba (kings) in the area. In what
follows I shall use the name Itile, unless the
data indicate that I am dealing with the more
recentsettlementof Itasa.
The startingpointof the storyof Itile is Old

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76
Oyo at at timewhen two princeswere contest-
ing the succession to the throne. The contest
musthave been a fierceone, and resultedin the
defeat of Ilemola, the junior aspirant to the
throne.Ratherthan pledge loyaltyto his senior
brotheras the new Alaafin,the angeredIlemola
and his supportersdecided to leave Qyp and
founda townof theirown.5 They trekkedover
a hundredmiles in a southwesternly direction
untiltheysettled at a site called Agbole, near
the Qyan river(a tributary of the Ogun). Many
were said to have followedIlemola. Afterthey
had settled,the chiefsand people of the settle-
mentsin the area chose to serve the leader of
the Qyo exiles. In one account, 143 townswere
involved,but the late bale Oyedokun gave the
more likely figure of seven. When Itile was
sacked by the Fulani in the 1830s, and by the
Dahomeans around 1880, all its subordinate
towns were also destroyed according to the
stories.These settlementswere probablyloca-
ted to the north and west of Itile (as, for
instance,old-Kewu, whose chieflydescendants
now hold the Basamu chieftaincyin nearby
Iganna). Certainlynone of the remainingtowns
in the area, fromIwere to Ijio (whichwere also
sacked, but later rebuilt), seem to have been
subordinate to the Onitilç. What the Itasa
storiessay, then, is that when the Qyo exiles
had settled,
Ilemola ordered the towns in the area to
serve the Alaafin no longer, but to serve
himalone. Because of thisordertheycalled
the kingof the place where theylived "the
one who owns the land" (eni t'o ni He). This
was the meaningof Onitile.
5 Like in
manyfoundationstoriesof Yoruba towns,
the king-founder of Itile is said to have left his town of
originas a resultof a succession dispute with a brother.
The recurringtheme of these stories is that the junior
brotherusurped the succession right,causing the senior
brother to go into exile in anger. The pattern is so
commonthatsome Itasa informants told me theirstoryof
originin similarfashion. It was not until I recorded this
"more official"accountfromthe bale and some chiefsand
Ara prieststhatto mysurpriseI noted thatthe patternhad
been reversed: Ilemola was junior to the brotherwho
became Alaafin. It is in the light of this version that I
suggestbelow myinterpretation of the identityof the orisa
called Obaji.
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Marc Schütz
This etymologysets up a tauntingcontrast
with the title of Ilempla's senior brotherwho
acceded to the Qyo throne, that is, Alaafin,
which means "the one who owns the palace."
And to make sure thatthe negationof the new
Alaafin was not just an one-offangryoutburst,
Ilemola is said to have sworn(bura) that:
He and his seniorbrotherwho is kingmust
neveragain meet each otherface to face. If
they were to see each other again and
Ilemola too had the great honourof being
king, somethingextraordinary would hap-
pen (gongoyio so).
Later I will mentionone thunderousocca-
sion duringthe colonial period when the two
brothersalmost met. Meanwhile, the question
about the origin of Itile that remains un-
answered is, when was the town founded?
Unfortunately the storiesof origindo not pro-
vide the informationneeded to establish this
date. From the list of kings, it seems that
Ilemola foundedhis kingdomin the earlypart
of the eighteenthcentury.But it is likelythat
Itile is older than this, as in stories of origin
genealogies often become telescoped and
names forgotten.In any event, the Itile kings
musthave been rulingover theirinsubordinate
pettyenclave in the Qyo kingdomat the time
the Alaafin'spowerwas at itshighestduringthe
eighteenthcentury(see Law 1977: 89).
Itile is not the only town in Yorubaland
whose kingsclaim descentfromthe royalhouse
in Qyo. One othercase is Idiko (now splitinto
two small settlements,Idiko-ileand Idiko-ago),
whichis situatedabout eightmilessouthwestof
Itile. The founderof Idiko is said to have been
an Qyo prince who went into exile with his
followersafterhis brotherhad usurpedhis right
to acceed to the Alaafin's throne.The Onidiko
(kingsof Idiko), however,have no historyof a
lasting grievance (at least overtly) with the
Alaafin. According to custom, shortlyaftera
new Onidiko is installedas kinghe mustgo to
Qyo to pay his respectsto the Alaafin. After-
wards, the two "brothers" are never to meet
again face to face. But apart fromthispersonal
avoidance relationship,Idiko seems to have
been loyal to Qyo, includingduringthetimethe
Anthropos80.1985
Yoruba ThunderDeities and Sovereignty:Ara versusSango 77

Ara cult spread to the area, as I will discussin thatIdiko became subordinateto them;thatis,
the followingparagraphs. inasmuchas Ara, the husband,is freeto go and
Whatemergesfromour Itile data, however, visithis wives at any timeand in any place. But
is thatby adoptingAra as theirown orisa the to the people of Idiko thisis not at all the case.
Onitile institutionalizedtheir tauntingof the It is true that adjoiningthe main Obala shrine
ideologyunderpinning the Alaafin's sovereign- in Idiko there is another shrine for Ara, and
ty,namely his rule by the power of Sango. This that wheneverthey worship the former,offe-
is how Ara is said to have come to Itile: ringswill be made also to the latter.This ritual
Ara was a wanderer.We heard thatbefore linking of Obala and Ara is played down,
however. The reason why Ara is worshipped,
he lived in the land of Saworo [here refer-
the Idiko people explained, is because he once
ringto Sabe], Whereverhe stayedhe was in visited them. Then they hastened to say that
the habitof leavingone or two of his wives
as well as some of his power, in order to theyhad nothingto do withthe Ara worshipin
Itasa (that is, old Itile), that they never even
show the people how stronghe was. In the
attendedthe annual festivalof the thunderdeity
course of his wanderingswe heard that he
there. In thisway the people of Idiko asserted
went to Idiko and asked if he could stay.
theirown local sovereigntyvis-à-visItile, while
They asked him what kind of food he the fact of simplycommemoratingAra's visit,
wanted to eat. He told them he liked
withoutacceptinghis cult for the town, could
roasted yams and the meat of dogs and
cows. But before eating any of these, he hardly be interpretedas an act of disloyalty
towardsQyp.
said he had to eat the king'sfirstbornson.
The storyof Ara's comingto Itile continues
On hearingthis the Idiko people refused
withhis visitto the town of Iwere. There also
him as a visitor. As Ara did not know
thepeople were afraidand unwillingto meethis
wherehis journeywould take him, he was
demands. It was afterwardsthat he made his
worriedthatthe lack of food would be too
way to Itile. Who the Onitile was at the timeis
greata hardshipforthe twowiveswho were not specified,7but the storysays that the king
travellingwithhim. He thereforeasked the trembledwithfear when Ara explained thatin
people of Idiko to keep one of them. The order to stay with him and his people he
name of thatwifewas Obala.
demanded the sacrificeof his aremo (firstborn
In Idiko the storiesof originconfirmthat son). Ara promised that if his requests were
whenAra firstcalled on themthe people were met he would assist the kingwithall his extra-
afraidand would not allow himto stay.He was ordinarypowers. The king, however, insisted
put up forthe night,but on the second day the that he could not give up his son. Finally he
Onidiko took him to Itile where he was wel- called his town chiefs and asked for their
comed and worshipped. Historically,Idiko's advice. The chiefsremindedthe king that his
fearof Ara mayhave been coupled withfearof firstbornson was mad, who wheneverhe was
incurringthe wrathof Sango, theirOyo over- allowed out wanderedfromtown to townuntil
lord's orisa. Anotherreason why Ara was not search partieswere sent out to bringhim back
welcomed may have been because Obala was home. For this reason the chiefs advised the
already established as the town's orisa. This king to sacrificehis son, saying: "It would be
Obala was not Ara's wife, as accordingto the
Itile story, but the deified ancestor of the Ara is associated withthis disease in Ketu and Sabe. In
nearbyIganna, Orisala was the smallpox orisa beforethe
originalinhabitantsof the area.6 By making foundationof the town.
Obala Ara 's wife,the Itile people seem to imply 7 When I asked the name of the Onitile who intro-
duced the Ara cult,I was told it was Ilempla. Whetheror
not the beginningsof the Ara cult coincided with Itile's
6 Obala is the sacred
python,worshippedon the hill foundation,the replyunderscoresthe pointI made in the
(Oke-Ile) overlookingIdiko. He is the personifiedance- beginning,viz. thatthe storyof Itile and thatof Ara are
storof the originalinhabitantsof Idiko. Traditionallyhe two sides of the same coin as faras the issue is
sovereignty
was also worshippedas thelocal smallpoxorisa,in theway concerned.

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78 Marc Schütz

betterthatone heard 'he died' than 'the king's a propitiatorycalabash (koto amerq) when-
son got lost' (kuku san ki a gbo wipe Ό ku9ju ever a place fell victimto his wrath.Then
'omo oba nu' 7o)." Afterthinkingthisover the he ordered Babalale to stand up fromhis
kingfinallyagreed to allow Ara to stay and to prostratingpostureand go and sit on a tree
sacrificeto him his son, providedit would be a near where he was lying,whichtheyhad cut
one and only occasion. This condition was short.He did as he was told and thatis the
accepted, and they agreed that fromthat time reason why,to this day, when Ara strikes
on they would sacrifice a dog to Ara every somewhere(ja nibikan),Babalale mustget
year. a stool and sit down until they have re-
The story continues to narrate how after moved the orisa's wrath.Finally,Ara gave
receivingthe king'sson and the othersacrificial Babalale a ceremonial staff (opa idasa).
offeringsAra retiredto the small hill on the Then he sentBabalale and Babegbe back to
edge of Itile town. Before takinghis leave Ara the king to give him his (Ara's) promise
told the king to come and visit him the follo- that in all his needs he would stand by
wing day, but when early in the morningthe him.
kingcalled all the townspeopleand asked who
would go and see the strangeron his behalf, As in the storiesfromKetu and Sabe, here
nobodyvolunteeredforfearthatAra would kill also Ara is characterizedas a wanderingstran-
and eat whoever went up. Finally, when the ger who did not foist himselfupon the local
king announced that he himselfwould go if people but alwaysasked to be givenhospitality.
nobodyelse went,his two affines,Babalale and But what is new in the Itile account is thaton
Babegbe, decided to go. The storycontinuesas arrival in a town Ara always confrontsthe
follows: sovereigntyissue. He goes straightto the king,
fromwhom he demands the ultimatesacrifice,
On the way Babalale walked in frontand namely the latter's aremo or firstbornson, in
Babegbe followed, carryingthe calabash returnforhis promiseof protectionand assist-
withmaize gruelwhichhe wantedto give to ance. No such demands on the kings were
the stranger. While they were walking mentionedin the Sabe-Ketu traditions.But at
Babalale looked up and saw in the distance the time the Ara cult spread to the Oyo king-
Ara, who was eatingthe head of the king's dom, we should bear in mindthatthe Alaafin's
firstborn son. Babalale was struckwithfear Sango cult was already organizedempire-wide.
and fell to the ground. Babegbe did not Thereforeit would seem thatno provincialking
knowwhat had happened, and asked Baba- could accept the Ara cult with its own priests
lale what the matterwas. But Babalale was who were specializedin conductingthe purifica-
so terrifiedhe could not speak. Instead, tion ritualsafterlightning catastrophes,without
Ara raised his voice and shoutedto Babala- bringing into question loyaltyto theAlaafin.
his
le: "Your chest which has touched the In Itile it is clear thatthe sovereignty issue was
ground,keep it down and come here crawl- central to the introduction of Ara. Not onlydid
ing,8 and let Babegbe come to me upright the Onitile accept Ara as yet another cult in the
as he is now." That was how Babegbe went way that Yoruba kings used to welcome new
forwardwith his calabash of maize gruel. orisa cults when exiles and refugeesasked to
When he came to Ara he was told to put settlein theirtowns,9but he actuallymade Ara
the calabash down. Then Ara began to
pluck many differentkinds of leaves and
put them in the calabash. He explained to 9 In some townsthis resultedin the
Babegbe thatthe calabash would remainas reduplicationof
the same orisa cults, especially during the nineteenth
centurywarswhenrefugeestook withthemtheirancestral
8 cults to the towns where they resettled.In Iganna, for
"Aya re tio da de'le naa ni ki o maa fila'le bo wa."
Fromthesewords,viz. la'le, to crawlor splitthe groundin instance,we noticethreecentresforthe Osun cult,as well
two, is construedthe etymologyof "Babalale". as threedifferentOro cults.

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Yoruba ThunderDeities and Sovereignty:Ara versusSango
into his own royal cult and an instrumentfor
assertinghis sovereignty in the area over which
he ruled.
First,by sacrificinghis firstborn
son to Ara,
the Onitile enteredinto a lastingpact withthe
orisa. In thisway he was believed to participate
in Ara's power to directlightningand strikehis
enemies,in the same way thatthe Alaafin was
said to act throughSango. Before givingup his
son, however,the kinghad consultedhis chiefs
and followed their counsel. Thereforein the
eyes of the people his action was not only
legitimate but beneficial for all of them.
Secondly,havingacted on behalfof the people,
the Onitile retaineddirectcontrolover the Ara
cult by having its priesthood vested in the
lineagesof his non-chiefly affinesBabalale and
Babegbe, ratherthan in the lineages of town
chiefsor non-affinal commoners.The Onitile's
strategy relying his affinesto carryout the
of on
dangerousmissionto Ara is referredto in the
followingwordsin the accounts:
Such was our custom in the old days, of
entrusting the hardestand most riskyobli-
to our affines.
gations
Moreover, the fact that they were under
such a constant affinal obligation prevented
Babalale and Babegbe fromusurpingthe Oniti-
le's rightto controlthe Ara cult,even thoughas
priests they were fully initiated in its secret
powers. Normally affinal relations are ego-
focused, but in this case we note that this
so thatto
relationshipbecame institutionalized,
this day in Itasa the lineages of Babalale and
Babegbe stand in an affinalrelationshipto the
royallineage.10
The Onitile's anxietyto be the sole control-
ler the power to directlightningcan perhaps
of
best be illustratedin the followingincidents.In
the firsttwo cases, the anxietyconcerns the
threatthatsomeone else mightmanipulatethis
powerto harmthe king,whilethe last two cases
illustratethe king'sanxietyto maintainlaw and
orderin the face of threatsby townspeople,as
well as by strangers.
10 In Idiko the
priests of Obala also stand in an
affinalrelationshipto the Onidiko.
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79
In 1962 the late Oyedokun Aganna was
installedas bale of Itasa. During the days
preparatoryto the installation,the king-
elect organizeda huntingpartyso thatlarge
quantitiesof meat could be made available
for the comingfestivities.One nightwhile
he and the other hunterswere campingin
the bush it startedto rain heavily.They all
ran for shelterto a hut in a nearbyfarm.
While they were sittinground the fire,
Oyedokunnarratedstoriesof his predeces-
sors. Suddenlytherewas a terrific thunder-
clap, and a flashof lightningstrucka huge
tree, whichcame crashingdown on top of
thehut. Everybodyinsidewas knockedout,
some men being pinned down by the bran-
ches on top of the open fire.Oyedokunwas
also hit on the head, but he managed to
bringhis entire partyout fromunder the
debris.The men spentthe restof the night
in the pouring rain, sufferingfrom their
injuries and surroundedby lurkinghyenas
and other wild animals. Throughoutthat
timethe Onitile-electcould be heard pray-
ing to his forefathers to save him and his
men, and not allow his enemies to rejoice
over his death beforehe was made king.
The king-electand his men saw thisattack
by lightningas an obvious challenge to the
Onitile's sovereignty.But because he and his
men survivedthe attackhe provedthatAra was
on his side and that no rival had succeeded in
turningthe orisa's power against him. More-
over, if the attack had been the work of the
Alaafin's Sango, he had proofthatAra's power
(in protectinghim) was stronger.Assertingthe
supremacyof Ara over Sango has indeed re-
mained a matterof concernforthe Onitile,es-
pecially afterthe establishmentof the colonial
administration,when their royal title was no
longerrecognizedand theywere made ordinary
bale under the Alaafin. It was this demotion
whichled to the followingincident.
When Abioye was bale of Itasa the Alaafin
orderedthatall the kingsvisithim,includ-
ing the Onitile. The order came notwith-
standingthe factthatIlemola (the founder
of Itile) had sworn that he and his senior
brother(the Alaafin) would neversee each
80 Marc Schütz

otheragain. As soon as the Onitile and his ing two accountswe will see how the Ara cult
partyof followersset out on theirjourney functionedin sanctioningcertaintypesof anti-
to Oyo the rain startedto pour and there social behaviour.
was thunder and lightning.Yet the ele-
When a man was planningto harmsomeone
mentsdid not affectthe kingand his party.
On arrival in Oyo they stayed at Isokun. by using sorcery(which is differentfrom
While they were there the thunderstorm witchcraft), somethingwouldhappenso that
the kinglearned of the man's sinisterplans,
continuedwithincreasingintensityfornine
and also aboutthelocationinthebushwhere
days. The Alaafin then enquired who was the sorcerer kept the secret of his evil
the kingwho had arrivedin Oyo. They told
medicines. First the king would send his
him that it was the Onitile. As soon as he
heard thishe sent a giant-sizedfowland the messengerthroughthe townto announceto
thepeople thata sorcererwas about to harm
followingmessageof apology:That the king someone. Then the sorcererwould be given
who greetswiththunder(ara) shouldnot be
a warningthatifhe did notstophisevilplans
angrywith him, the Alaafin, any longer. he would die a certaindeath and his name
Ara himselfhas had to chase him away,
would be made public.11 If the man in
compulsorily,because the Onitile should
never see the face of the kingof Oyo, and question did not immediatelyrepent,Ara
would strikesuddenly.The man would be
what is more, the Onitile should never
found dead and his secret grove burntto
prostrateto any king. ashes bylightning, even thoughnota dropof
rain fellfromthe sky.
This incidentis now alluded to in a song
sungby the women of Babalale's compoundon If such was Ara's punishmentforcriminals
the day of the annual festivalof Ara in Itasa: withinthe community,his treatmentof outsid-
ers who threatenedthe peace and livelihoodof
The cock of Ara crowed as faras Oyo his people was equally devastating.The follow-
The news of it reached all of us in the
ing anecdote illustratesthis.
farm.
AkukoAr(i)rako d'Qyo-o. Ara protectedthe town also fromoutside
GbangbaVa ngboVoko. dangers,especiallyby punishingmarauders.
One day [in 1957] some thieves came to
In hisbook The New Oyo Empire,Atanda Itasa and stole all the propertyof chief
(1973) has cogentlyarguedthatin the earlypart Jagun and his sons. The thefttook place
of thiscenturyan unprecedented,authoritarian
during the night and the thieves left the
regimeof Native Administrationdeveloped in town immediately.The followingmorning
Oyo under Alaafin Ladugbolu between 1906 the kingcalled some of the huntersand told
and 1944. Backed by the British Resident, themthatAra had revealed to himthatthe
Captain Ross, the Alaafin made visitsto Oyo thieveshad taken theirloot to one particu-
by provincialkings mandatoryat the occasion lar bush. Eight hunterswent out to the
of the annual bere festival (see Johnson
assignedplace at ten o'clock and by threein
1921:49-51). Since it demoted the Onitile to the afternoonthey returnedto the town
therankof one of the manyvillagechiefswithin withall the stolengoods. As forthe marau-
the Native Authoritysystem,the floutingof the
ders, Ara's wrathhad killedthemall.
age-old avoidance relationship between the
Alaafin and the Onitile was bound to spark off
a "clash of the gods." 11 The
punishmentfor sorcerywas thus not just an
For the Onitile, the importanceof asserting ignoble death at the hands of Ara; the stigma of the
criminal also became attached to the sorcerer's idile
his sovereignty by the power of Ara centrednot
(descent group). His sorceryputs at risk the renown,or
only on legitimizinghimselfin office,or secu- "symbolic capital" of his idile. For a discussionof the
ringhis personalprotection,but also on playing centralityof thisconceptin Yoruba social organizationsee
his role as rulerof his people. From the follow- Schütz 1980 and 1982.

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Yoruba ThunderDeities and Sovereignty:Ara versusSango
The question of sovereigntycentres not
onlyaroundthe cultof the royalorisa itself,but
includes also the structuralarrangementsbe-
tween this and other related cults within a
town'ssocial organization,as well as the way in
which particular orisa are worshipped. The
specificityof these arrangements(which defies
generalizationsabout the orisa forthe whole of
Yorubaland at all times)is tied in witha town's
historyand gives expressionto its identityand
claim to sovereigntyin contrast with other
towns. Earlier I discussed this question by
comparingthe Ara and related orisa cults in
Sabe, Ketu, and Ilara. In the case of Itile we are
once again confrontedwitha different configu-
rationof the way in whichAra interrelateswith
the other town orisa, and the ways in which
these deities are worshipped.I will restrictmy
commentsto the orisa most directlyrelated to
Ara in the ritualdrama whichis enacted at the
annual festivalcelebratedon the Ara hill near
Itasa.
Unlike Sabe-Ketu where the Ara festivalis
timed as a new yam festival in September-
October, Itasa celebrates its Ara festivalafter
the firstmaize harvestaroundJune.The day of
the festivalis the onlyday in the year when the
people are allowed to climb the Ara hill.12
Perchedon the rockyoutcropon the top of this
hill are three shrines.In the centre stands the
Ara shrine consistingof a hut in which the
sacred stone-celts(edun ara) are kept. Nearest
to Ara is a shrineforOgun, the orisa of hunters
and blacksmiths.Ogun is said to have wrought
the edun ara, and is worshippedas the Onitile's
titular deity. His shrine consists of just an
uprightstone. The thirdshrine,which stands
behind Ara's, is for Obaji. According to the
bale of Itasa, the Babalale and the chiefs
Sobaloju and Ikolaba, Obaji is not Ara's wife,
as some Itasa people firsttold me, but Ara's
senior brother.He came to visit Ara, and on
the invitationof the townspeople agreed to
12 It is said thata
longtimeago a man returnedto the
hillafterthe ceremonieswere over in orderto retrievehis
cap and pipe. On arrivalat the top he confrontedthe orisa
who were holdingtheirown celebrations.They got hold of
him and killed him. His skull inside the Ara shrineis a
grimreminderof the seriousnessof the taboo.
Anthropos80.1985
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81
stay. In the Itile traditionAra's wife is Osun.
Her main shrineis located not on the Ara hill,
but in a grove nearer to the present town of
Itasa.
This entourageof Ara is different fromthe
ones discussed earlier in the Sabe-Ketu area.
Over there no orisa was roped in to play the
partof Ara's brother,but those thatwere there
in othercapacitiesdid not make theirreappear-
ance in Itile, least of all Sango. Structurally,
however,the positionof Osun in Itile, as Ara's
wife who lives away from her husband, is
similarto the positionof Sango as Ara's senior
wife in the Sabe-Ketu tradition.But fromthe
Qyp point of view Ara's marriageto Osun in
Itile is tantamountto "wife snatching,"since
manyhold that Osun is one of Sango's wives.
The presence of Ogun the hunter-black-
smithon the Ara hillcan be seen to parallelthe
presenceof the hunters'orisa Ososi and Amode
in the Ara shrine at Sabe. That Ogun should
occupy a place of importancein the Itile tradi-
tion seems logical, as to this day most men
devote muchof theirtimeto hunting.Neverthe-
less, unlikehuntersin neighbouringtownswho
celebrate their annual festival in honour of
Ogun, the Itile hunters assert their separate
identityby honouringAgemo instead.13
Unknown outside the Itile tradition is
Obaji, the thirdorisa on the hillwho is worship-
ped by the townchiefsas representatives of the
non-royallineages. This unparallelled appear-
ance of an orisa as Ara's senior brother
makes Obaji look like the joker in the pack.
Except, perhaps, when we interprethis pres-
ence in the lightof Itile's storyof origin.There
we saw thatthe town owed its foundationto a
feud between their ancestor Ilemola and his
seniorbrotherwho was said to have usurpedhis
right to become Alaafin. Viewed from this
angle, I would suggestthatstructurally Obaji's
appearance on the Itile scene is a form of
sublimationforthe Alaafin's Sango. By sacrific-
ing to Obaji, the townspeople (as represented
13
Agemo occupies a central place among the sou-
thernIjebu (Yoruba). This cult is not commonamongthe
(northwestern)Qyp. Moreover,Itasa's Agemo cultis very
differentfromIjebu's.
82 MarcSchütz

by their chiefs) mediate, subconsciously,be- since here Ara takes precedenceover Ogun, it
tweenAra/Onitileand Sa/jgo/ Alaafin. seems appropriatethatthe formerreceivesthe
There are both general and specificethno- dog and the latterthe cock. Nevertheless,from
graphic reasons for supportingthis structural the Sabe-Ketu point of view Ara's choice of a
interpretation. Mediation is pervasivein Yoru- dog in Itile is mostunorthodox,as in theirarea
ba social practices,especiallyin the contextof the thundergod receivesa ram. WhyItile's Ara
disputes. Conflictmanagementalmost invaria- wants a dog may have an ad hoc explanation,
bly resultsin triadicarrangements(Koch 1974) but what standsout structurally is Itile's asser-
because the parties to the conflict,or other tion that its thundergod is unlike Sabe-Ketu's
interestedparties,will soon call on elders or a as well as Qyp's, since the ram is also sacredto
chiefto help reach a settlement.Above all, it is Sango.
through the medium of sacrifice (following The distinctiveness of Itile's Ara is expres-
arbitrationby the Ifa oracle) that people tryto sed also in the way these animalsare sacrificed.
restorepeaceful relationswithangered orisa or In the Itasa area, hunterskill dogs or cocks
otherspiritualpowers. The Onitile's refusalto in honour of Ogun by holdingthe animal out-
honour the Alaafin irrevocablyimplicated all stretchedin mid-airwhile one man severs the
the people of Itile once Ara was institutional- head witha strokeof the cutlass.In contrastto
ized as town orisa and Sango was rejected,and thismethod,the cock sacrificedto Ogun on the
createdin effecta deadlock situation.Practical- Ara hill is killed in the common fashion of
ly,Itile could not ignorethe Alaafin's overlord- killinga fowl at ancestralgraves or orisa shri-
ship. Spatiallyand politically,Itile was stillpart nes, namelyby keepingthe head pressedon the
of the Qyo kingdom,even thoughit was situ- groundwiththe toe and pullingthe body away.
ated on the periphery.There is evidence, for The second contrastis in the way of killing
example, that when the Ara priestsconducted Ara's dog, whichis actuallyclubbedto deathin
purification ritualsthe Alaafinsent a delegation the way New Guinea Highlanderskilltheirpigs
to receive part of the fees collected. It would - a ratherunusual methodamong the Yoruba.
seem, then, that the contradictionbetween Most disconcerting,however, is the animal
negatingSango ideologicallyand honouringhim demanded in sacrificeby the enigmaticObaji.
politicallyby payingtributeto the Alaafin (the In his honour the town chiefskill a ram, the
Onitile'sseniorbrother)was resolvedrituallyin sacred animal for thunder gods elsewhere,
the people's sacrifice to Obaji (Ara's senior including Aramfe in Ife. If, as I suggested
brother). earlier, Obaji is here a sublimatedrepresenta-
Furtherto thisexaminationof the enigmatic tion of Sango, then the sacrificialram is no
identityof Obaji I should point out that this longer disconcertingbut most orthodox.Also
orisa's name literallymeans "the king (oba) the mannerin whichthe ram is killedis ortho-
rose," or "stood up" (ji). For example, a boy dox: firstit is smothered,then its throat is
born afterhis fatherhas died is often named slashed witha knife.
Baba-tun-ji,"fatherhas again risen." Similarly, One finalquestion: How did Itile get away
Obaji could here be interpreted as a sublima- with its tauntingof the Alaafin'srule by oppos-
tionof the kingof Qyo who has reappeared. ing Ara to Sangol Or did it? None of the
Finally, it is in the rituals that surround historiesrecordedsuggeststhat Qyo ever took
Ara, Ogun, and Obaji duringthe annual festi- disciplinarymeasures, militaryor otherwise,
val that Itile gives furtherexpression to its againstItile. Perhapsit was the siblingrelation-
separate identityfrom both Sabe-Ketu's Ara ship betweenthe Alaafin and the Onitilewhich
and Qyo's Sango. The animal sacrificed to precludedanypotentiallyfratricidal action.Per-
Ogun is a cock (presentedby the Onitile), while haps unrulypettykingssuch as the Onitilewere
a dog (also presentedby the Onitile) is sacrifi- too unimportantfor the Alaafin to take much
ced to Ara. Elsewhere in Yorubaland these notice of, as long as they did not engage in
animalsare consideredto be favouredby Ogun' subversive activities. Perhaps also, as I sug-
the dog, however, more than the cock. But gested earlier,the Qyp rulersfoundit unwork-

80.1985
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YorubaThunderDeitiesand Sovereignty:
Ara versusSango 83

ableto secureeffective controlandloyalties ina Conclusion

frontierarea suchas theone betweentherivers
Ofikiand Qkpara.14 This discussionof Yoruba thundergods has
But whatever reasons Qyp may have had beenlargelyan exerciseinwriting ethnohistory.
fornot takingdirectactionagainstItile, it is Further researchwillbe neededto fillthegaps
worthnotingthatwhen the westernfrontierin our knowledge,and, possibly,reviseour
beganto fallpreyto foreigninvaders(Fulani- understandingof history in Yorubaland.
ruled Ilorin ad Dahomey) in the nineteenthMeanwhile,this approachhas triedto heed
century theAlaafindid nottakespecialaction Horton'scall to studytraditional Yoruba reli-
to protectItile, whilein loyalIdikohe posteda gionin action(1971: 99). Thisimplies,as I have
governor (ajele). ThisAlaafinstrongman setup argued,thatreligiousbeliefsand ritualsymbol-
camp on the Onidiko's landon the banks of the ismsmustbe studiedin the contextof group
Qyan river(thistownis now knownas Ilaji). concernswith identityand the exercise of
Itileaccountsdo notmention thisdevelopment,power.In thecase ofroyalcults,theseconcerns
buttheycite an incidentthatoccurredduring centredaroundthe assertionof sovereignty in
thatperiodwhichmade the Onitileobliterate both the internaland externalaffairsof the
thelastvestigesofhisroyalQyo descent.Until kingdom.In thewesternkingdoms whereAra
thattime,boysbornintothe Onitile's lineage was nota royalcultwe saw thattheimposition
had the same facialmarkscut as thoseof the of the imperialSango cultled to compromise
Alaafin'shouse(thatis, sixcutson each cheek, arrangements betweenthe two thundercults,
abaja mefa).One day whenOlugbolawas the whilelocal variations in the Ara cultpersisted
Onitilea catastrophe accurredwhen143 boys as a resultof the circumstances underwhich
who had had theirfaces cut died when the thatculthad developedoriginally. The failure
woundsbecameinfected. Afterwards Olugbola to reach such a compromisein Itilecould there-
orderedthatno one in theroyalhousebe given forenotbe explainedbytheargument thatAra
the abaja mefa marks.15The figureof 143 and Sangoare in themselves mutually exclusive
casualtieswhichends thisstoryis remarkable, spiritualforces. On the contrary,what the
because it is the same storythat began by history of thispettykingdomrevealedwas that
statingthat at the foundationof Itile 143 towns its uncompromising stancetowardsthe Sango
intheareadecidedto servetheOnitile.Whate- cult foundits rationalein the originalfeud
verthenumberof townswas, thefactremains between their king founderand his senior
thateventually all ofthem,including Itile,were brother,the Alaafin of Qyo. Therefore,by
sacked and reduced to ruins by Dahomey, adoptingAra as theirlineageorisa,theOnitile
neverto be rebuiltagain.The villageof Itasa, securedforthemselves theinstrument forasser-
rebuiltat a newsiteat theturnofthecentury, is tingtheirexclusivenessandsovereignty vis-à-vis
theonlyreminder ofthisAra enclavewithin the Qyo's imperialism.Finally, concerningthe
Qyo kingdom.So perhapsthis abandonmentclaim that the cult of Sango buttressedthe
anddispersalwas theultimate pricethathad to Alaafin'sauthority wide,ourfindings
empire- in
be paid byIlemola'sdescendants forpreferringsomewesternYorubatownssuggestthathisto-
Ara to Sanso. ricallythiswas realizedonlyinasmuch as Qyo's
rulehad alreadybeen established in
effectively
a particulararea.

- Usingethnohistorical
Abstract. data,thethunder
cultsofthedeitiesAra andSangoarecontrasted witheach
otherin fourwesternYorubatowns.Insteadofhypostati-
14I have (Schütz1980)thatIganna zingthedeitiesbyattempting
arguedelsewhere generalizationsabouttheir
on the Ofiki identities
was the Alaafin'smostwesternstronghold andattributes
, Ara andSangoarestudiedherein
river. the contextof different localities.This approachwhich
15Girls,however,are givenpele marksin remem- focuseson historical and especiallythe
developments,
whowas a nativeofSabe.
branceofan ancestress assertionofsovereignty
isfoundtothrow lightonvariations

80.1985
Anthropos

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84 MarcSchütz

in thewaypeople in differentareas conceptualizedtheir Biobaku,S.O.

thesovereignty
deities.Morespecifícally, issueunderpin- 1975 The Egba and Their Neighbours1842-1872.
ningthecontrolofthunder cults,helpsexplaintheparadox Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress.
why,outsideOyo,in theSabe and Ketukingdoms, Oyo's R.
imperialcultof Sango was accommodated alongsidethe Horton, Africa41 : 85-108.
Conversion.
localAra cults,whileItasa, whichwaslocatedwithinthe 1971 African
Oyo kingdom,establishedan Ara enclave,exclusive of
Idowu,E.B.
Sango.[WestAfrica,Yoruba,Thunderdeities,Ethnohi- 1962 Olodumare:God in YorubaBelief.London:Long-
story,Socio-political
Organization] mans.

The researchon whichthis articleis based was Johnson, S.

conductedin the Okeho-Iganna Council area in the 1921 TheHistoryof theYoruba.London:Routledge.
Oyp stateof Nigeriain 1974-75. For the data on the Koch,K.-F.
Ara cult in Itasa and in the Republic of Benin I am 1974 Warand Peace in Jalemo.Cambridge,Mass.: Har-
especiallyindebtedto Mr JuliusB. Oyesoro of Bale vardUniversity Press.
Agbojo's compound in Itasa. I also wish to express
R.
mygratitudeto the late FatherMulero of Ketu who Law,
1977 The Oyo Empirec. 1600-c.1836.Oxford:Claren-
kindlyallowed me to consult his fieldnoteson the don Press.
Ara traditionsin Ketu and liara. As I was unable to
obtain a visa for enteringBenin at the time, Mr Lucas,J. O.
Oyesoro who did manage to get across the border 1948 TheReligionof theYorubas.Lagos: C. M. S.
was greatlyhelped in carryingout myinvestigations
P.
thanksto the lettersof introductionFather Mulero Morton-Williams,
1964 An Outlineof the Cosmologyand CultOrganiza-
providedin all the Ara cult centres.This I wish to tionoftheOyo Yoruba.Africa34: 243-261.
recall as a tributeto a greatYoruba historiographer
and pastor. Ojo, G.J.A.
1966 Yoruba Culture.London: University of Ife and
of
University London PressLtd.

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1980 Rural-urbanMigrationinIganna.London.[Unpub-
lishedPhD thesis.]
Atanda,J.A. 1982 Habitusand Peasantization in Nigeria:A Yoruba
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80.1985
Anthropos

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