EGUNGUN AMONG THE OYO YORUBA

by

S. O. BABAYEMI
8.A. HONS. HISTORY OFE) M.A. AFRICAN ~TUOIES(BIRM)PH.O. HISTORY.
(BIRM)
RESEARCH FELLOW INST. OF AFRICAN STUDIES
UNIVERSITY OF IBADAN

•
Prlni.d by Bou\i l'lll>Ucatlolu Umlttd, P.O. lox"'• rt.daa.

ill
 TO THE MEMORY OF MY PARENTS
Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private
study, research, criticisms or revil!w, no portion may be
reproduced by any process without written permission. SANUSI ADEKANMBI BABAYEMI

@ S. 0. BABAYEMI 1980 AND

ASIMOWU ATO ADEWOLA

For further enquiries consult:

Oyo State Council for Arts and Culture

P. M. B. 5180.
Secretariat. lbadan .

•
Printed by Boud Pllbllcotto111 !Jmlted, P. 0. Box 998, lbo.dan.

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 PREFACE
Titls book is a bye product of years of research into the Qy9
society and its changing political, economic and social scenes.
The author has been involved in the study of egungun a!'d other
Societal institutions since 1967. He has participated in egungun
festivals in many Qy9 Yoruba towns such as Gbongan, lpetumo-
du, Modakeke, Qy9, Ibadan, Iwo, l~yin, Igboho and Kilsi, and
he has also watched egungun of many quarters in Ab~okuta
particularly at ltoko, Gbagura and Owu. He has attended the
egungun festival at Haro and Omu Aran and he has intimate
knowledge of Egwu of lgala and Ibo, and Alekwu of ldoma.
There is, therefore, enough material for comparative study of
cgungun and masquerading, not only among the Qyq Yoruba,
but also among various groups in West Africa.
The author also has the privilege of watching intimately the
performances of such egungun entertainers as .Ologbojo, Ajan-
gila and Qd~kanye. He has collected various traditions on egungun
from Ocfu Ifa (lfa corpuses) and from the various Iwi chanters.
He has participated in the death rituals associated with egungun
and other lineages and professions, and he has the privilege of
being intimate with the late Alapinni of Qy9, Chief Salawu
Adeleke. He gained more from watching the Alapinni's role as
the political head of egungun and a member of the Oyomesi
than the numerous interviews the author had with the Alapinni.
The Alagbaa and the members of egungun cults in the various
towns visited allowed the author to watch the rituals and other
performances associated with their respective annual egungun
festivals.
But more importantly, the author has been exposed to
egungun mysteries from birth. He is from the Igbori lineage and
he has on many occasions participated in death and other Igbori
rituals. He is Ayan ( a dundun drummer) and has actually partici-
pated in drumming during the outings of many egungun in Gbon-
gan. But inspite of his knowledge as an insider, the author uses
various documentary sources to make for a comparative analysis.
of egungun. The sources so used are annotated.
The individuals who have in one way or the other contri-
buted to this work could not all be adequately acknowledged as

vii
they are many, but the author should not fail to express his debt CONTENTS
to Professor Bolanle Awe for her encouragement and academic Pages
stimulation. They, both the author and Professor Awe , have both
participated in egungun festivals in l badan and other places.
Professor Awe has been kind enough to allow the author to use '11apter One
some of the photographs she has taken during egungun festivals.
The author is equally indebted to Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi Introduction of Origin of Egungun ........ · .. · · · · · · · · 1- 16
III, the Alaafin of Oyo and Oba Solomon Oloyede the Apetu of
Ipetumodu for his research both in Oyo and Ipetumodu. As Chapter Two
stated above, the author acknowledges with thanks the contri·
bution of the late Chief Salawu Adeleke the Alapinni of Oyo and Other Traditions of Origin and the development of
the Alagbaa and members of the egungun cults in all the towns llgungun cult ................. · · · . · · · · · · · · · · · · · 17- 29
he visited. He is equally indebted to all the egungun entertainers
and the Iwi chanters especially Foyeke Ajangila of lbadan and (71apter Three
Ganiyu Ologbojo of Oyo. Ganiyu has been kind enough to have
several private sessions with the author apart from his public The annual appearances of Egungun ....... · . · · · · · · · · 30-40
performances. He also permitted a film documentation of his
performances in our Institute. . Chapter Four
The approach adopted in this book is exploratory. It is The Functions ofEgungwi ............ · · ·. · · · · · · · · 41 - 45
meant to provide a base for further enquiries and in depth studies
of various aspects of egungun not only among the Oyo Yoruba
but where ever similar institution exists. It is hoped that inter· Chqpter Five
disciplinary approach will be pursued in the study of this all Egungun Lineages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46- 55
pervading subject in all its ramification.
Chapter Six
Oriki Igbon.................................... 57- 87

Oiapter Selff!n
Oriki Awon Ogbin ................ · · · · · · · · · · · · · 88- 109

Chapter Eight
Orilci awc,n Olukolo ............... · · · · · · · · · · · · 110- 116

ix
PART 01¥1
2 3

engendering deep belief in divine guidance and protection. Abore

all, having an egilngun is a way of immortalising one's narr.e
because any time the egrlngt1n comes out the drummers and
women of the family Wig in praise of one, recounting tt>e heroic
deeds of the family.
In the past, some powerful egilngiln leJ their communities
in wars. M9huru in Oyo, Dariagbon in Kii§i and Lemojagba in
many towns are such· egungi{n. Others such as J~aju and u-
gbo6kun in <)y9, Ol601u and Atipako in Ibadan~ Kam9looli
in Ipetumodu and P~{ma~ in Iwo help to rid their different
communities of social ills. These types of egilngun are capable
of exposing and executing witches and other evil doers in the
society. Herbalists usually have their egungun (egungUn Oloogun)
to demonstrate their magical powers; the guild of hunters have
uyewu or egungun QdC} (hunters'egungUn)~ while some of the
principal oiisa in each community have their attendant egilng6n.
Alakoro is egUngUn $3ngo. There is egUngiln <)ya } . There is
also Iya ~gb~ or Olonko which are meant to show manly enduran-
ce, there are egUrigdn Qlqre. In this category are Ali'pan~pa
in Ib<ldan, Lim9jagba in Gb9ngan and others. The professional
egdngU'n entertainers dramatise contemporary events in each
community. For example, they mimic prostitutes, sanitary
inspectors, white couples, drunkards, etc.
An annual egtingun festival is usually organised collectively
when the spirits of the ancestors share physical fellowship with
their relatives on earth. The festival usually lasts seven, fourteen,
seventeen or twenty-<>ne days. At the end of the festival, it is
believed that all the egungUn return to heaven. Their spirits
could, however, be called upon from their different Ojubq (sa<>
red spots) whenever their relatives on earth needed their divine
services.In fact, ~rtain "egunglin do come out after the annual
festival to perform specific functions. These include the egWi-

I. The photosraph of Eau•IWI Atlpako In lbad&n.

l. The photosraph of ~n Ode (IA,ytw11) P. 6

A• th.,. b anendallt Odu 1tl 1!14. I,! ror each~ oo It II ti.llewd th&t then
b attendant ,.U,U ror aach 1x1fa= Colltcltd n- lfatooc1111, an !fa pma
ollloW.
 5
4

glin that carry rituals to sacred spots; those that hunt for witc-
hes; those that perfonn rituals at fullerals and other functions.
hgilngiln Onfdan, Alaril\IO or Agbegijo who are professional en-
tena111ers could also come out au the year round.
Every member of a Yoruba community seems to be invol-
ved in tho worship of egungiln, since everybody has at least one
ancestor to call upon. But men are more exposed to egfuigfui
mystery than women and only the metnbers of the egungun
~ciety know the secrets and the functions of egfuigfui. In essen-
ce, egUngUn is a secret cult as Ord and Ag~m9. Few women know
its mysteries and such women are not to divulge the secrets
of the cult. These are Iyarnqde, Yeyewrun and Atd in different
localities. They adhere to the saying: "B 'ob1nrin mawo, ko g'*'q
wi" I If a woman knows cult secrets, she must never tell].
Members of the cult in consultation with the Qba of the
town fix the annual festival and any other appearances of egifug&n
as they deem necessary. They execute the functions of egfuig&n
and they guard jealously the mysteries of the cult. They are to
be infonned by the individual who wants to perform ritual offe·
ring or sacrifice to his or her ancestors. They give guidelines
and directions as tt> how individuals can commune with the
ancestors. To understand egUngUn mysteries, one needs to under·
stand the historical development of the cult.
As written documentary material about the cult is scarce,
we have to rely on myths and rituals relating to egfuig(m. The
principal traditions used are Odu Jfa, [Ifa corpus] and Esa egdn-
giin (lwi or esa). Traditions collected during egllngdn festivals
and traditions collected from different professional e&Un&Un
entertainers supplement these sources while information from
few secondary sources are made use of. One is aware of the
limitations of oral traditions. None of them is capable of giving
I .. , .. A ~
I. lyomQde and Y.Pfef9111D an lh• mOlt oenlor women tltlN In tbe c:Wt. tlO •
"" initla!ed member of lb• cult. There Is a 1ndl1lon that _ , , ftmllo dllld
bom with her cord pl&cod on the c:he.t lib Atoll wh.lp b called Ato. Anoths
tnditlon ays lhat AtlO la tbe dllld born wltb mem'bnDoa ccnoallla her hold
lllce a muque, It a malt, he wlD be caltd Amuaan. In E&1*1o, the female tltlt
holders In the cult an the lya Apn, Omn tya Apn and lyamato. Yet aotber
11adltlon lll)lt- lhal tho third dllld of a triplet Is called Ato If a f..W., wllAt
the Ont ond tbe - d aro called Tayowo ond Kehmde ~- lba Ullzd
child or a trlplet Is natun!ty an lnltated member of.,._ ml\.
 6
a definite chronological historical account of what it describes.
Each tends to emphasize myths and legends or give religious
interpretations to historical events and since both ~, e&Un&Un.
chants' and Odb Ifa'the Ifi corpus' could be subjectively rendered
depending on who recites them, they could distort or falsify
history.; nevertheless, as it will be, shown, the~ exp!~ some
traditions and beliefs about the egung\{n mystenes; and if they
could be weighed along with other sourtes, it may be possible
to attempt some probable historical explanations of these tra-
ditions.
Myths of Qrlgln of Egting\{n in Odu Ifa:
One of the principal Odu which shows how egUng{m was
origihated is Qturop9n Mejl 1. It claims that when a man dies
the corpse is buried but tlie spirit joins the ancestors to become
egifngun. As the corpse of the deceased is' covered head and
feet so are the eg\{ngdn in heaven. That is why every e&WlsUn
is fully costumed, no part of the masquerader Il'ust be revealed
to the public. This Odtl explains the Yorubd: belief in life after
death how t.pe dead joined the ancestors to become d.wellers of
heave~ (Ad Qnin) and why Oyo Yonlbd egilngian is fully meas-
qued. ,, .'
Another Odu that shows the origin ·of eg6n~ is Qw9nnn
As~y'in or Isany1n. 2 The Odu states that ~dun or Ijimere (a kjnd
of Monkey) raped a widow on a farm as the woman was.fe~ch­
ing firewood and the woman became pregnant. In· retaliation,
the woman went back to the forest to lure the monkey into
commiting the act again, but while the animal was in the mood,
she persuaded him to put his "male instrument" inside a loop
of sledge she had wepared by the side of a big fal)en wood.
She unleashed the sledge and the animal was trapped. It died
in the encounter. The woman afterwards had a son of the pre-
gnancy and about twenty eight Yean tater ~ son be~e th~
Qba of his- ig·wn: All efforts to make the wives of the 9ba preg·
I. Thh tndltlon Is collected from 16!00,W., David A~.;ui both <Jf the lnstttute
of African Sl)jdles, Un!Yenlty of ni.dan. See abo J. A. AdU.lJI; 'Tho Oricln
oC lbo Yoriiba Muquo Theatre',~ Notti, VoL 6, No. I, 1970;pp. 15-16.
2. Collecled from w&J; OgUny9mL Variant• of tlie ame tradltJon"" glveq ~Y m'!'l
lfa pdtlll In 9yq and lwo. Thll amo tndltJon It muttratod Iii Oillc! Jgbiirl
111dOl6kOld'.
7
nant proved abortive. Then an Ifa
priest found out that the Qba
had not perfonned the funeral rites of his father and that until this
was done the Oba would not have childrer. of his own. The Oba's
mother was called in and she divulged the secret. The priest Ifa
told the Qba that the bones of the monkey must be carried from
the spot (lgb6gb3.!~) with pomp and pa~eantry to II6run) where
funeral rites were to be performed.
A very long piece of cloth was got to cover the bones, an
announcement . was made that the Qba 's father was visiting
the town on a fixed day. At midnight, people who already knew
of tfie plan went to the spot. They pretended as if they were
carrying the c;>ba's father and let loose the long piece of cloth
to be carried by hundreds of people shouting "E gbiigan, ~ gbagan,
1rU 3.ian ko gbooc} kaiile. "· (Cany agan, ca.rrY agan, the tail of
apn must not touch the ground). Women who spied the proce-
ssion and who had already known the secret are said to have re-
torted eegun (eegun) baM 9ba ma glin 'o. (The bones of Qba's
father were very long). The Odu states that this was the origin
of egilng{in. 1
It should be corrected, however, that egUng\in (masquerade)
is pronounced differently from egungun (bones). The two tones
could not be regarded as meaning the same thing. The Odu only
explains the Yoruba belief in Funeral Obsequies. The survivors
of any diseased stand the risk of being afflicted with barrenness
and all sorts of diseases if funeral rites are not performed. The
Odu explains how Agan which is believed to be the remains of
the ape, the biological father of the Oba, is carried home. This
Agan then became the sacred symbol of the power of egungun
land of the cult. Although the Odu may not have narrated his-
torical events, it illustrates what the Yoruba believe q the rela-
tionship between the living and the dead.
The Odl.a says further that as the ligan was being carried
to llerun the family shrine, there were speculatiQns as to its
contents, hence fierce looking men were sent to the town to
warn women on pain of death to keep indoors. These men were
shouting "Ero mb9, Ero mb9, Obinrin owo 6 - (Ero is coming,
11.
Th•• ue many variant nnlo111 or lbk Odoi. Fa, 111.Mbenoill.S.. ao·J.A. ~
JI, AJWarn No""
VoL 6, No. I. Anotbor\'Wdoa lllllo>C>OGtalned IDPdt:llat>orL

Er6 is coming, women must not see him). Ero is the sacred name
of the monkey. These men were making wJld and unusual
sounds. This is said to be the beginninJ of Oro. 1 The Odu says
that Orb had the same origin with eg(Jngdn and women are not
expected to know its secret. Peter Morton Williams, however,
makes an observation that Oro was probably introduced to the
present 9Y9 from the south, probably in the early nineteenth
century. 1 This assumption is based partly on the fact that in
Oyo only the Jabata quarter have the cult. Further, the cult
organisation of Oro in Qyq is not controlled by the Oba and the
Oyomesi as in the other cults. 3 Peter Morton Williams also shows
that among the 9y9, Oro is not granted the political and police
powers it ~as in the so.uthern and Western Yorubaland.- It
4
stands to reason, therefore, to suggest that since both Oro and
egungun are regarded as performing indentlcal functions, tradi-
tions present them as brothers, but in actual fact, both the Oro
and the Egungun cults do not have much in common, and as
Peter Morton Williams has noted members of the Oro cult are
not as influential in Qyo politics as they are among the Egba and
the ljebu. · Salawu Adeleke, the late Alapinni of Qyo of what is meant by
Agan in form of a very long piece of cloth, iS still being
carried in Itoko Abeokuta, and Ota on the night of the first day
of the festival. 'But generally ui Qyo Yoruba towns, Agan con-
notes a deeper meaning than the annual appearances of Agan
during the egungun festival. The Agan is believed to be beyond
what man can comprehend, hence the saying:
'Ma foju kan mi
~nikan ko gb9dq foju kan Orombo
Nij9 Agan bajade 9san
Igi a ma wo lu igi 9p~ a ma wolu 9p~.
I. For tb• Olfsln of 0.0 - Col. A- B. EUia, 711• Yoovbo Sl>M.ttw poop,.. of~
- Co# of Wm Aftb. "Lcadon, 1894, p.3 See alto RL DeDllOt, m.-,,.,.
SIUdl.,, London, 1910, pp. 3+3$. S.. alto AdNobll "'1loD ID Ouonldoa,
Sept. 10, 1909.
l. hi« Morton WllllomL "AD O'lltlllle ot lb• Cooono"°P' &Dd CUlt Oipnlatlon-M
~ XXXJV, 3, pp. 243-264.
'· Ibid.
•• Ibid.
lgbo a majona tagbatagba
Qdan a si jona teruwa teruwa
A difa fun Mafojukanmi
Ti ij~ Agan.
You must not see my face
No oni; can ever see Orombo
Whenever the Agan comes out at noon
(A gale Will rage) toppling trees upon trees
And palm falling upon palms
Dense forests are set ablaze
And savanna fields are burnt down completely
This lfa divination is cast for Mafojukanrni
Don't see my face - Who is called Agan.
In this sense, Agan is not represented in any physical form, and
the power is rarely used. But in emergencies, the Agan could be
used to reject an Qba, such an Qba is said to have been carried
to heaven by Agan. A wicked witch, a malevolent lroko tree
could be .destroyed by the members of the egungun cult·, they
would claim that Agan had done it. When the writer asked Chief
Agan. He just said that Agan is the power of the Ancestors and
that this power is derived from Edun (red monkey).
. The Odu also illustrates the sacredness of ~dun. 1 ~un is
be?eved to ~e endowed with magi,cal .Power and it is believed that
it is from him members of the egungun cult derive their superna-
tural powers. edun is equally believed to be one the principal
sources of power to the .A,lilfut. Any time an Ala~fut is to appear
in public one of his officials must wear ~dun 's skin. Qn"a I~kUn
is regarded as the official father of Alaafin and he is believed to
be the custodian of edun's magical power. Qna IsokUn is also
regarded as the originator of twins and twins are' regarded as
possessing the magical power of edun 2 • The CgUngUn entertainers
l. At It will be ob•mod ID the odld of ....ncu llDeqea, and the ....n.1 Odll Ila
relatlna to estUJ&WI, !hare la no dllforence b e - the dcJatption ot edun and
!JI. Whlle ID tact, the Edu II the b10WD/bll« montey. Ill or ljimore II lbe
JtCI mOlllcly.
2. See Val Oayeml, Orin l&fll, IDl!ltllll ot Atrki&D Slllcllel OcculoDal Publication,
No. 25, p. 1521. See alto Meoolll'nenlon ID Ouorilcle, Sept.10, 1909.
10
keep the skin of ~dun as the source of their magical strength.
The sacredness of ~dun is abundantly illustrated in all Esa of
the principal eg{inglin lineages; ~ must be taken ho~ever,
not to interprete Odu and the Oriki relating to !;'.dun literally.
All the traditions are only illu$1rating the believed sacredness
and magical power of \ldun.
1_nother Odu whlch illustrates the origin of egtlngiln is
Ogbeiikus\ or Ogbe and ~' . It states that the egilngun were
heavenly spirit!. After the creation, the earth was not
stable. All o~ tried their best but they were not succe·
ssful until Olodmnm sent down the eb9ra (heavenly spirits)
from heaven. Where these ~bgra landed was lgbo Igbal~
(sacred grove). They had to disguise themselves to carry
necessary rituals to the four comers of the earth; after that
the earth became stable. These ~bqra (heave"nly spirits)
were therefore called Se aiye giln (those who make the
earth stable) and it was· from this egungun originated. This
Odu merely explains the political and social functions of
egWigWi in society. The egungiln rids the society of all
forces of instability.
Another Odu which illustrates the 9rigin of egilngUn
is Qkanran elelgiln or Qk'llnran Og{inda. It explains that
egU'ngiln was the last of the nine sons of Qya, the wife of
$ango. Qya was initially barren until she was asked to use
the queen ant as a fertility charm. Qya was however warned
fhat she should usually deliver her child inside an ant hill.
:rhe first eight children of Qya were sound, 1 but the soldier
ants disfigured the face of the last born. He therefore had to
j>ut on a mask to cover his face and since he cpuld not speak
naturally, people believed that he was an ~b<?ra (spirit of the
underworld) with supernatural powers.
The close relationship between egtingUn, Sango and
Qya could well be understood if one realises the fact tha}
they were all more or less Oyo institutions. In other Yorbba
societies Qbatala and Ogun • aie reprded as more important
deities than ~ango, Qya and egWigun. But in the Qy9empire,
I. Colkc1ed from u:t0acbn, 111d from 9!1A lle im'ol0'1he Ollof Ua Priett for Alili!n
II
$ango, Qya,. Baayanni and egt1ng6.n were made to . superccllr
the other ofi¥1. The cult of each was used as an instrument
of religious a,nd political control from 9YQ· ~gungun must
come out during both Sango and Oya festivals m Oyo. In a
way the Odu illustrates that both 9ya and egungun were
capable of granting barren women with children. The con·
eluding part of the Odu reads: 1
Talo lowo Oya lode lpo
Ko s'efliy8.n t6y'a gan b[Qya Qlala
Qya to yaglin to renu ogan re~ b( s(
AkAnbi ogan n"9 lode lpo
Qya d'Olu Qya dqsin
0peri' d'1a 16yan.
Who is as rich as Qya at Ipo
No woman was as barren as 9ya Qlala
Qya who was so barren that she had to deliver her
children in an ant hill.
Akanbl Ogan dwells in the town of lpo
Qya became supreme
Qya became deified
Opere's marks on her chest appeared richly on her
breast.
There are many other Odu which illus,.trate the origin
of egfu:igUn. These include 9bara o~. Iw~ri ko R~ku, etc.
Each of them explains the seeming origin of a specific, con·
vention and belief in egung6n mysteries. Since these Odu are
embodied in myths, legends, and allegories, they are all de·
monstrating the thought and belief system of the people.
It should also be noted that all the Odu that refer to the ori·
gin of egU'ngUn tend to emphasize a notion that anything
that puts on a masque represents egUngUn or the spirit
of ancestors. People wear masques during f.kin~. ag~m9 ,
~l~d\l and epa festivals and these masques are not regarded
I. All tho chlldzen that are believed to"bt tho sift• or Oya have Oaan (ant
blll) flxocl with thob namea, u Alcanbl Opn Arpu Qian.
 14
The theme of all these oriki is that egtlngUn has very strong
connection with water. Whether this water is the local stream
u in this ortkt.
Ta lo 59 pe Onigbori ko lodo
Ta lo l'Aasa
Ta lo l'~k9ro
Ta lo ni d'Obode Omi lpakun
Who says Onigbori does not have a stream
Who has the stream of Aasa
Who has the stream of J;:k9r<;>
Who has Dobode
Whose water occupied an entangled forest.
Some of the Orilci make mention of a bigger volume of water
like River Moshe and River Niger. 1 Here again the relationship
between eg6ng6n, Qya and Sango is demonstrated as they are
all connected with 'rivers in one form or the other. In every
Qyq Yoruba town lgbale (the egWigiin grove), is usually located
where a stream passes through the grove, and there are funeral
rites relating to the egi'ingUii lineage that must be performed by
the side of a stream. The coffin of a head of an e&UngWi lineage
such as lgbori is usually made in form of ai · canoe, (9k9), and
dragged on land round the town as if on water. It is believed
that the deceased would sail to meet his ancestors with the canoe.
These, and many other traditions found in lgbori, lkolo
and Ogbin oriki make one to suggest that the Qyq Yoruba lived
very close to a big volume of water in their early hi.~tory. The
writer has suggested that the -~er Qy9 settlements could be
traced a.round the bank of River Niger very close to Jebba!2 • This
suggestion is buttressed by Obayemi's assertion that the popular
Jebba bronzes have been identified with the Northern Yon\b~ in
origin rather than with the Tseode or the lf~/Benin origin~
1. S. 0. BablyomJ. "'Ibe My1h1 of Owlyan In YoNba Hlltodopapby• M.A. Dbm-
lldon, C.W.A.S. Uniftnltyof Blrmlnaham, 1976 pp. 19 - 21.
2. S. O. Babayeml, "Ibolo(y1haof0ranyan', pp.19-21, 31-32.
3. Ado Oblyeml, In J.F.A. Ajayi and M. Crowther, oda. l{lnory of W.n A/'MC.
London, 2nd od., 1976, p. 234.
15
Samuel Crowther, shipwrecked off Jebba in 1857, noticed that
a priest had to invoke Ketsa a deity believed to inhabit a rock in
the middle of the river in Yorub&, although Yoruba was not the
local language of the are~. This presupposes that the earlier
settlers that had moved away from the bank of River Niger were
the Yoruba.
It is generally believed that the Gbedegi sub group of Nupe·
who live in Jebba Mokwa area are the offshoot of the Yoruba.
In 1857 Samuel Crowther learnt that the tribe Gbedegi had the
origin of their name from 'Gbede' the Yoruba word mean~
'to understand' and 'gi' a common Nupe suffix meaning 'small'.
Gbedegi was applied to people originally Yoruba speakers who
understood the Nupe language a little. Baikie assumed that t{le
language referred to was Nu~ Nadel also heard the same stor{.
Mason shows that one of Rochfort Rae's informants told him
that the founder of the ruling dynasty of Muwo was I Yoruba
and that Gbedegi were a mixture of Yoruba and Kede. · Mason
also says that Idris Alliasan a native of Kpaki told him that some
towns or settlements formerly in the Kpaki area were towns of
the Yorubl. These accounts agree with the Yoruba myths
which associate both the Nupe and the Yorubl QyQ with the
people formerly living at the bank of the Niger; but it should
be stressed that they do not show the Nupe origin of eg6nsfui
as will be discu~d later. ,, ,
As has already been stressed, myths in Oriki could not be
viewed as historical accounts. They could however, throw light
on our understanding of historical events. As has also been
shown, all the myths about the monkey are meant to show the
SJ1credness of the monkey to the cult. References to Nupe and ,
Borgu show the interactions and intermarriages among these
I· S. A. CroWlher, 7'11• c,,.,,.1 on rh• S.11tr of tlN Nlfn, London, 18S9, p. 117.
2· CM.S. London, CA 304b ROY. Ctowther's Jownal Oetobet, 1857.
,. FoniicD omoo London, File 2/31, l'alde 10 Malmoabwy 4 Marc, 1859.
4- s. F. Nodel. TM Bl«k B711111tltlllm oxtord, 19-46, p. 19.
6, MJchae1 Muon, 'The Nupe Klnadom In the lllnelem -tury: A Polltkal Hlo-
toiy", UDivenity of BinnJn11wn I'll. D. Theda, 1970, p. 1', 4, Seo allo Nallollll.
Atdl.lve Kaduna, Bid& Divllk>n 13375, Quoted by Muon.
16

neighbouring peoples. One needs to study the lineage "lys<em lll

such towns as ~aid, lgboho, Kii$i and lgb~ti to be able to under-
stand the relationship between the Yorub,, the Nupe, the Borgawa CHAPTER TWO
and other QyQ neighbours. If the myths in 0du Ifa and Esa egiin-
g6n or lwi are carefully analysed, they serve as historioel source
material. They also supplement historical sources in ijala, Rara, OTHER TRADITIONS OF ORIGIN AND THE DEVELOP-
and other chants, and they could be weighed with other sources MENT OF EGUNGUN CULT
to trace to historical development of any institution and of
ecifugiln and eg\lngUn cults in particulM. Many people refer to lgbo masquerades as the first e&fuigGn
of the Yoruba. 1 The Igbb are believed to be the authochthones
of the Yon\b~ whom. Oduduwa group· drove from 116-If~. A~
a natural' reaction to the deprivation which they suffered in the
hands of these immigrants who ejected them out qf Ife, they had
recourse to a stratagem by which they disgulsed themselves in
form of masquerades to terrorise and plunder the If~ city state.
M9rerni got herself entrapped by the lgbb who carried.her to
their hiding place. She learnt the secret that the masquerades
were in fact men covered with raffia. She escaped to her people
and instructed them to set the lgbb ablaze with torches when·
ever they approached the city to plunder again. When the Igbo
next visited l~ to terrorise the people, the' people of I~ set
them ablaze and drove them far away from their territory.
But in appearance and dress, the lgbb egdngUn were different'.
from the.Qyo egiingiin. The lgbo had as their clothing the rafia,
while the <)y9 egiingiin covered themselves with pieces of cloth.
The IgbO eg11ng6n were not completely covered while the <)yc;i
egUngtfii were. Furthermore, the Igbb egiingiin were meant for
cliaiuise. they did not represent the spirits of the ancestors as the
egWigUn Qy9 were. The egiingiin Igbb could, therefore, not bo
regarded as egungun in the Qy9 Yorubii sense and as such egiingfuii
lgbO could not have been, the origin of eg\in_gjln O'i9· Even up
till very recen!IY, the egUngUn Qyq were not allowed to _e

1. htlr MortoD-Wlllloma, 'The EPnaUn Sode!)' ID Soutb Yonib& Xlllldoma' b

rroc.dlap Ol 1he t1llrd Am11w Conference ot 1he w. ..c. 1. s. B. R., p. 91
1. A. ~ 'l'he A1edQJo Theatre; Ph.. D. Them, Untrenlty ot lbadaa, pp.
~. ltw. MidlMI 1. Wabb, 'l'ht Edt PMtlnl tt U.-1!•' ~ .AlfWro.
Val. 47, No.119, pp. 231-238.
141. 1. 0. 0. AMd, (1970)
1oan-llldo,.,
JI-.,.
oftM y.,,,....,
pp. 7, 147-
8pi. 11/F - H--; pp. 1..f9.

17
18
within And around th11 palace in U6-lf~. The M9dak~~~ win<..
were immigrants from tne Uld vyo empire introduced egllng111n
OYQ to Ifo area in the early nine-teerith century.
°Johnson, Samuel Ojo and Peter Morton Williams 1 suggest
that the eg(ing(in OYQ originated from Nupeland. The people
of Nupe are said to have been Jed by their eg{inglin when they
inv.a ded a~d sacked the capital of Qyq in the sixteenth centu:ry.
The OYQ are said to have regarded the Nupe eg{ingun as Ara Qr.un
(dwellers of heaven) and therefore fled at the approach of the
Nupe forces. The Nupe are said to have initiated the QyQ into
the eg0ngdn mysteries after the exile 2 Adedeji says that it was
not until the reign of Ofinran in exile (C.1544) that OyQ adopted
the idea of masquerade and developed it into a cult for achieving
political objectives. 3 Smith says that it was at Kuf that both
egllng{m and Ila were introduced to 0Y9 as cults. He too
agrees with Nupe influence
5 An examination of oriki Sango, and oriki of egUngfui linna-
ges such as lgbori and Ikolo buttress the notion that eg(mgiUn
had a close relationship with Nupe. Furthermore, a detailed
study of the. oriki of the various lineages in such towns as Kii$i,
lgboho, ~aki and lgb~ti shows how close these various towns
were with Nupe and Borgu~· Johnson also claims that the furst
Alapinni with the other egllngdn priests the Elefi, QIQhan, Olo'ba
Alad.afa and 9..!2i_e,, emigrated from Nupe to Yortibfiland. 1
But inspite of all these weighty .evidences which show Nupe in-
fluences in the egilngUn cult. S.F. Nadel says that eg(ingdn was
1. Somuel 1ohnJon, op clt. pp. 160. 160 - 161. Sam\IOI Ojo /wo /Nit Oyo pp.. 8
-9. Peter Morto11._WIDJam1, ''Th• E111"1u• Socwty. p. 91.
1. A. Adedoji, "The ode» of Yoniba MatqU. Theatre." AfrWll Not., VI, I,
2. 1971' P. 80. R. S. Smith. "'lbo A1aafln In £do" JAH, VI, I, 1965, p. 63.
3. 1. A. Adodojl, "'l'heOricln of Yoni~ Muque Tbeatn•. p. 80.
4. R. S. Smith, '"Ibo A1aafln In El<lle• p. 63.
5. S. O. Baba)loml, "The Myths of Qranyan," pp. 19 -21.
" S. O. Babayeml, "Upper OClln HlstoDcal Sbtdl." p. 76.
introduced to Nupe from the Yoruba by the Yoriib! slaves Konu}
He further shows that Nupe gugu was of Yorubl derivation, and
that the ritual was limited to the descendants of those original
slaves.
In trying to show that eg&.ngdn was in fact introduced
from Nupe to Yoruba, and that Nadel was wrong in his assump·
tion Michael Mason 3 cit-es Samuel Crowther, Samuel Johnson
and Samuel Ojo 4 who all claim that eg0ngUn was introduced
from Nupe to Yorobatand. Mason also claims that Nadel con·
tradicts himself by saying that Nupe Elo which Nadel observed
in Gbedegi resembles the Yoruba eg(ingdn. 5 As regards the
accounts of Crowther, Johnson and Ojo, one should regard them
as the 'accounts of christian clergymen writing on traditional
religion. These, thererore, are unanalysed, traditions., For ins·
tance Samuel Crowther claims that eg{ingun was introduced to
OyQ during the reign of 'Ajorough' (AjeTQ)'., B~t t~ king could
not be traced in the history of QyQ, and besides, if qe meant
AJer9, the ruler of ljero, the eg6ngi{n QyQ was not introduced
.into Ekiti country until the fall of the empire. The lbadan proba·
bly introduced the cgilngtln OY9 into Ekiti coantry after their
~nquest of the area in the nineteenth centµry. On the ~ue ~f
Nadel's usumption 1 it appears that there 1s no contradition m
his statement as ~gards the Mama and Elo rituals which are
masqued cer:emonies among the Gbedegi. It has been shown
earlier that the Gbedegi are believed to be Yoruba in origin al-
though they have now been Nupenised.
Aaedeji also cJalms•that. ~g6 started the worship of egUn·
1. S.1ollllaon, op, ctt p. 161.
1. S. F. NllW,M<po Routton, London, 1954, pp. 208 - 213.
3. W. W-. · 'nle Na119 l1lildom ID the NIMteenIll Cen!UI)' .' A Polltbl Hlltory
111. D. llmdllatUm, 1970,p...ll.
4. S-llol ~. C.X.S. CAJ/0/79/129. Ex1nCtl of 1ownall June 25, 1844.
5. N..W, op. att. p. 214.
• Semuol Crowtll•. c.M.s. CAJ/0/79/11 a.
~ N. F. NaW. or1. ~ m 213-214.
 20
gU'n as the spirit of his fatner, Qranyan.'1 Qrinyan is believed
to have died at If~ and his body turned into stone. Stone carving
and terra-<:otta were means ')f immortalising the dead in If~ and
this is believed to be the ·earliest personification of the spirits
of ancestors in Yorubaland. According to Adideil, Sango could
not carry corpse of Qr.uiyan to Qy9, he is saia to have therefore
<,lesigned funeral ibsequies for Qrallyan at Qy9. He is reported
to have brought the .ncarnated spirit of Qranyln to Bara (the
royal mausoleum). He put the Iyam9M as the chief priestess
and some other old women in the palace whom he tenned Baba
BMfl, (Fathers in Bara). The duty of Iyam9M and her associates
Baba Bua was first to worship the spirit of Qraiiyan. Iyamode
was to communicate the wishes of Qranyan to ~ango, and she
was to caJJ Qranyan's masquerade from a room called Ilerun, in
BM.
Other traditions collected in Qyq say that ~ango looked
upon the women in Bm with great reference for he is reported
as prostrating for them. These women shaved their heads clean
like men; they did not wear the buba, (the Yoruba women's
upper blou5e), and the upper part of the wrapper they put on
were. tied to the body just above the breasts, the lower part
.touching the ground. Whenever th.ey happened to leave Bara,
people treated them with awe. Whenever they visited the mar-
ket, they looted any foodstuff they·.wanted, and whenever they
visited the palace, palace women on their approach, pour water
on the ground, shouting that their 'fathers' had come to visit
them. Wha~vt:r these women demanded would be brought out
:with respect.
later, Adedeji claims that-the ceremony of bringing the spirit
of the deceased home in the form of a masquerade became wide-
spread as part of funeral rites of lineage heads. A special room,
Ilerun (shrine) was set aside in the inner apartment of the corn-
1. A. Ad:MJl. "Tllo ii'&ifu&u11 ln illo Rellgious Concept of the Yomb&," History.
Post Gr.,iu.u. S«nl<u:, Unlveulty of lb..W.. 211anuary, 1971. pp. 4-5.
~ I
pound from where the spirit of the dead could be called out. 1
It is believed that this ceremony is a passport for the deceased
to join the ancestral spirits, without which the spirit would not
be happy in heaven and his survivors on earth would suffer for it.
The tradition, however, should not be translated on its
face value as Adedeji has done. The close connection of egungun
with $ango is to be understood as both were initially Qyc;> insti·
tutions. Oranyan's probable connection with If~, Benin and OYQ
has been treated elsewhere. 2 he Oranyan could not be regarded as
the son or the grandson of Odudua as the myths put it. One
could not also say for certain that ~ango was the son of Qranyan.
\"hat was most probable was that Sango did not belong to the
group of the autochthones who later formed the members of the
Qy9mesi. He probably belonged to the Qranyan ruling group
who had closer ties not only with the Nupe, but with traders
along the River Niger. It was possible Sango seized the control
of the cmPr!(ing kingdom as a result of his success in raids, trade,
and large followings. Sango's reign· as the Alaafin, his rejection,
;1nd how he became recognised as the ideal Alaafin after his death
i~ beyond the scope of this work; what is important to our study
is the fact that egungun as an institution could not be said to be
introduced by a man. It was developed by the society as an
ideology in response to the society's ideological needs.
Interestingly whereas the egungun type of masquer.ades
is not properly developed as a cult among the Nupe, there are
" ther people apart from the Yoruba who have the egungun type
<;f masquerades. Among these people, the cults so developed
are regarded as the cults connected with the ancestors. Such
cults also perform such functions as egungun Qyq. In Igala,
the egwu cult performs similar functions, and the egwu mas-
querades are fully costumed as egungun Oyo~ Among the Ibo,
the egwu or Mmo are regarded as the spirits of ancestors and the
cult of Mmo performs political and social functions as eg{ingfui
I. J. A. Adcdeji, The Origin of Yoruba Masque Theatre'. p. 79.
2. S. 0. Babayemi, The Myths ofOranyan'.
J. S. Boston, 'lgala Political Organisation· A/rl<a11 Notes IV, 2, I 967, pp. 18 - 21
22
Oyo. 1 Annstrong, and Meek also show that among related
tribes close to Igala as Jukun a!ld ldoma, the Dodo, the Maigiro,
and the AJekwu societies u~ masques to represent their ancestors,
and these societies pcrfonn similar political and social functions
as lgala egwu. 2 In all these places the belief is strong that if
funeral obsequies are not rerfonned, the deceased brings .nis-
fortuncs on his or her ~urvivors on earth~ It is possible to argue
that similarity of belief in ancestors and ancestral masquerades
does not constitute sufficient evidence of cultural links. That it
is equally possible that each developed separately, and indepen-
dent of the other. It should however be realised that there are
many societies in West Africa where the ancestors are not repre-
sented in masque as among the Asante. But in all the places
where the ancestors are represented in masques there are his-
torical and cultural links.
These links cut across political boundaries, these links make
for diffusion of id eas and ideology among distinctly different
groups. The diffusion is so complex that it would be difficult
to trace its trends. For instance, it has been aigUed that because
the Yoruba and the Igala have religious, political and social ideo-
logy in common, they were both descended from a common
stock~ Armstrong has used linguistic evidences to suggest
this; and he has also used glottochronology method to susgest
that the lgala separated from the Yoruba about 2,000 years
1. M. Oowuejeogwu, 'The PoUtkal Orpnisatlon or Nri.' M. Phil. ThesiJ. Unmnity
or London, 1974, pp. 88 100, 303-30S.
2. R. G. Annstrong. "A. West African ~· Am<rbn Antluopa/QPU. 56, 6,
p. 213. Meet C. IC, 1111 No""'"' TWl>uofN/60"4, Vol U, pp.12-21.
3 K. C. Muuay, Ida Mub. ~Irion P&14, Iuly, 1949. p. 8S. F. R. S. A. Micha.el,
. "The Aku A!iwa and Aku Mop Post Burial Rites or lhe Jule\'.~ people or Nor-
lhon. Nigeria". Nf60rl•n Pl1l4, July, 1960,pp.100-103.
+ J. S. Boston, The lgala KJn&dom, Oxford UnlV<rllty l'r<11, 1968. pp. 7- 8. 'O"ll
Tradition and the History of lpla Kingship JHSN, U, 3, 1962, pp. 373-383.
Ip.la PoUtical Otpniatlon, A/W<O Notfl TV, 2, pp. 18-31.
S R. G. Annstrona, Comparatlft Won! List.s of two dialeu or Yoruba with lpla.
lbo Jownal of Wm Afrlcut ~1 pp. 51 and 78.
ago 1 Onwuejeogwu shows that the founders o l 1101110 l1•l•
1'.roups came from the lboland while the founMrs ol """tl II 11
rroups came from lgbala~ Seton believes that egwu 0111011w, thn
lgala came from lboland 3 while Ojo claims that, from hls rth1111
4
1~raphic collections, it could have been the other way ro11111l
'"'d in treating the Ekpo society among the lbibio, Forde 11111!
lones show ·the cultural links between the lbo and the Ibiblo.1
lhe points that are being stressed here are that although tho
,•gungun type of masquerade originated from each society, and
that the cult is organised in each society according to the.needs of
'uch society, there are cultural links and diffusion of ideas that
rnt across the various political boundaries. The links and cliffu-
~ion of ideas among various grouJ?S would explain why in appea-
rance and functions the Yoruba egungun type of masquerade
could be found among the lgala, Jukun, ldoma, Ibo and Ibibio.
This simply put, means that the belief in the ancestors,
and the ancestral cult is not peculiar to any society in Africa.
What one needs examine are the forces within each society which
11ad crystalized the ancestral belief into ancestral cults. In the case
of OYQ it has already been 3IgUed that a single person like Sango
,ould not have introduced the cult to Qyo. It has also been shown
that although Nupe influence was very strong in Egungun cult,
the cult was most probably not introduced to Qyq from Nupe.
It is a possibility that eg{ingtin was developed in to a secret
I R. G. Armstiong, 'UJliulstle and Ethnographie Data 1n ldoma and Yoiiibl llJt.
tory' in Varuina, Munny and Thomas (Editors) The Historian 1n Ttopk:al Afr!cl,
Oxfotd University Prou 1964, p. 132.
2. M. Onwuejeogwv, 1be Dawn of Jgbo Ovillzatlon, IOMmol of th• 041NutJ M11·
.."'"· Nri Nigeria, Vol 1, No. l, 1972, p. 15, All&bo, E. A- also SllUtel t11o
lints betwten South Eutem Nl&<rla and the Benuo Valley In Pro Colonial perlod
in a Paper Pr.,.nted at the 'Nigel Benuo Va.Deel Seminar' sponsored by the HJt.
tory Department, A. B. U., and held at Jos 26-28 April 1974.
). R. S. Seton, NoteJ on the lpla Tribe, Northern Nl&er!a J. of African Soc. XXIX,
pp. 42-52, 149- 163.
4 J. R. 0. Ojo, The OIN\ulon or some Yoru.,. Artlfacts and Sodal Institutions'
Paper pro.tented at tho Coo!orenoo on Yon'lb1° O'fllizatlon's, Unmtsil)' oC !Co
July, 1976,p. 15.
5. D. Fotde, and GJ. Joms, Bdl-phlc $11,..,.y of A/'rW Wut Af'*:&, Part UI,
pp.53-54.
 24
cult after the Igboho period in 0Y9 history. This was probably
towards _the end of the sixteenth century. The people of Qyo
had ea.rlier had cont~cts with various peoples along the course of
the Niger. These mcluded the Wangara Traders the Songhai
and the other riverine peoples, such as the Igala' and Junkun.
The ~e_o~le of <)yg ~ho settled in lgboho · had learnt through
the VJCISSJtudes of exile.1 They had lived with the Borgawa
3!1d the Nupe and they knew of their political and social institu-
~ons. .1:he people ':"ho. later left lgboho to rebuild QyQ Qr~ had
m add1~1on ~ther mpuences. The chieftains who had broken
connection with Qyq as a result of the Nupe invasion came back
to accept the Ataafm 's suzerainty. These probably included the
descendants of the Oba people. The people are believed to be
des~ndapts of lgbo people who were driven out of lle-If~ by the
Odufu;va group'.l Many of them had taken refuge among Oy9
Yorub.~ sett!e!n,ents. and they had their praise name as "Om9
016ba. (01Qb~ s, c!1iJdren). They are believed to have spread the
worship of Obatala to different parts of Yorub~and. They too
h~d ~een accustomed to the use of masquerades as a means of
dISg~. If OYJ OiV was t? be firmly established, the Ala~fm
particularly Qbam~~. Qbalokun and Ajagbo needed superna-
tural means to back them up. Sango had been deified. He re-
presented ~he p~t!on god of Kingship, they, therefore, needed
.the collective spmts of the ancestors who had been represented
m masquerades. Although masquerades had been used by both
:e ~~o and the Nupe as political and social institutions and that
r ey id not represent the spirits of the ancestors but the intera<r
. Ims betw~en Qy9, the lgbo of If~ fame and the Nupe made the
mco!"Poration of these institutions into the egtfngnn system
~oss1ble: ~he cult was to exercise some political and social fun<r
hons Within 0y9 administration This
egi.lngun cult originated in Oyo. . was probably how the
1 S. 0. BabayomJ, "Upper <>sun HJ 1
. 1970, p. 77. R. S. Smith, uAJUn! ~':!!?,tch", Afrlcon Nott> Vol. 6, No. 2,
Vol. 6 No. 1 p 74 O 0-'·- , • Jo•mal Of A/Hcdn Hl>tory l96S
' . . . -.o,,,..,,ttAnfont, Bootill,pp.16-18. • '
2.
The new hybridization of the cult called the Qj~ made use
of their varied connections and experiences to perform political,
,ocial and ritual functions as will be discussed later on. But
ere it is necessary to examine the probable historical develop-
ment of the cult. It appears there were two broad divisions of
the members of the cult in QyQ. One group headed by the Ala-
1ni seem to be more related to the north of 0Y9 and they had
northern influences on the cult. These were the people associated
with lgbori and other northern groups. They were more politi-
' Uy inclined, and their leader, the Alapinni became a powerful
r ember of the c;:>y9mesi and the political head of the cult. The
other group seem to be headed by the Alagbaa group and these
have their close relationship with the Qlqba and the Ologbin.
'hey were probably more of forest dwellers and they were more
inclined to the ritual aspect of the cult. They looked after the
organisation of the funeral rites, ritual perfonnances and esfuig{m
, tertainments.
One is aware of the fact that it is impossible to have a water-
j ..;ht division between these two broad groups, the lgbori section
nd the Ogbin and Qba sections. There were family ties and
connections in the community caused by inter-marriages. A man
:ould combine Jgbori and Oba or Qgbin oriki to form his own
•riki. This is true of the oriki of other lineages and this explains
why all the oriki relating to the different eg{ing6n lineages seem
to have much in common. But none the less, it is clear from the
arious traditions that the Alapinni section saw to the political
functions of eglingtfn wliue the Alagbaa section the ritual fun<r
tions. While there was only one Alapinni with hls base in the
capital, there were local Alagbaa in all the towns in the empire.
The local Alagbaa is said to be in communication with the Alagbaa
in OYQ as reg;rnls the ritual aspect of the eg{ing{m cult. From all .
indications, while there were coordination of activities between
the Alagbaa in OYQ and those in the provinces, the Alapinni
had his support among the members of the Qy9mesi and the
leaders of the youths in the capital. By the time of Abiodun
(1774-1784), the cleavages in the eg6.ngfui cult in Qyef had
become apparent. The Alagbaa section had the support of the
Alilfin while the Alapinni had the overwhehning. support of
the members of the QyQJllesi and the :ew in the capital.
 1.1
26
ard d the AJUfin as his elder brother, the trad1t1on
A contest is believed to have been organised by Ablodun
to prove, who of the two lineages had the control of the egilng6n
~~anJ~~d~~a n~t withstanding/ shows that OYO influence in
mysteries. The eg6ngiln from Igb6ri' section came out with Ila was very strong.
pomp and pageantry wearing costly costumes and ~th large This influence was noticeable in the Eg(mg66~.cult in .I&~;
.followin~. Th.is particular contest is described in Qriki JgbOri. . a area There are strong traditions that eg n.r.'.'n was Ulth t
The Alagbaa section is believed to have won the day by impro- mm · f 0 Q one tradition says a
duced into Igbomina land rom Y • b k Esinkin ·01omu
vising egUngUn. They are even believed to have turned carved fi t sed in Omu Aran to ac
posts into egling6n. This is where Alagbaa lineage is related to eg6ng6n ;as dtr~n ~he people. F1om then other towns got their
Op6. It is believed from then that, the 016ghln an offshoot of that was orce b bal very near Omu Aran
initiation into the cult from Jg 0 1g ~ 1 ~ ders of
Oba, became supreme in e&Un&Un, pystery. This tradition no Another tradition points to Alaran . one of the ~ar y oun d his
the cult in {)yQ, as brin~•go the ~ult t~~o~~a a:aA:dun.
doubt is meant to show how Abiodun weakened the power of
the Oyomesi after his overthrow of Gaa in 1774. It is important eople could be found Ul mu ran, , , w
to note that the notable ~q of Abiodun 's age had identical ~ith all these traditions, one ~ould. ~n>sume that egungur 4l1ll ~.
crushing treatment as Gaa, there was no doubt that their political peculiar to lgbomina, was Oy9 Ul ongin. ,
power was completely crushed by Abiodun. It could be said The people of 0Y9 introduced the cult to ~gba, I;:gbad0i
that the revolution that culminated in the overthrow of Gaa, Awori and Dahomey when Oyo was in control of ~hose plac~.
affected. adversely th~ Al'pfruu and the other members of the . f 0 9 were usually sent to the provinces to ~t
QyQm~si. The Alapinni then lost his grip on the community, Officials roll) ba~ and the Oj~ in the administration of thetr
but this did not increase the influence of Alagbaa in Qy9.
~~~lt~~s.Al~s M~~b'l! a~d t;lf~ghun ~heQ~a~g~op~~~t~~~~ft~~
The egUngUn cult spread with the expansion of Old OYQ an aspect of the spmtual life o t e ~ en YY . . nutions
empire. 9YQ earlier relationship with the Borgawa and the Nope and in essence their political, social and econo1TUc Ul~ • •
had been noted, but after the exile 9YQ tried to bring the recalci- so the Alagbaa and the Qj~ controlled anoth~r ~et. ~p.art
trant chiefs east of the kingdom under her control. The chief from the social functions of the cults in thetr vano1:1s lo . ~1es,
executors of the Al'Afin 's wars at thiS time were the ~ at Ikoyi. th Alagbaa and the Oj~ were usually agents of Oy6 impenalism.
The AlaAfin 's forces were only rept$,ed by the lj~~a. There is e The eg6ng6n cult became essentially Yorub~ in o_utlook
no wonder why the egilngiin cult wa:s strong in such towns as during· the chaos that attended tbe f3J of Old 0Y? Empir~ an~
~d!U Qfa, Oyan, lragbiji, Ada and others, which had very strong after. Whereever the people of OY9 settled, they ,intro uc
connection witn Qy9. One is tempted to believe that Ovo the cult. They introduced the cult through l;gbado to ~~
influence in lgbomma was not verv stro11Jt as Atanda has during the reign of A~le I in c. 1821.~ The peoole of Qyv
suggested since Ila. the headquarters of the kingdom was a
oovereign and at par witn th~ Alli&tin, but traditions in many I• In Oduduwa ttad.ltlon, OrlJl&Ull wu rep.nled as older than Alulln, but ttlldltlonl
In both Da and Oyo 1hoW11hal Onnaw> reprded the AJulln u his elder
lgbomina towns, particularly Omu Aran traditions, point to brothers, and the A1aalln pro-d and lhlelded him.
Esinkln Olomu as leading other Igbomina chiefs to Qyq before Adodeli "Tbe ~ Theatte• pp. 144-11'1. , _ Mortoa-WllllanlJ,
the time of Abiodun. The tradition further states that Abi9dun t. ~; £cunlWI Soci.trM, W.A.1.S.E.R~ ProcoedlalJ, 1956, p. 91.
made Qyabi of Ai~ lpo his Kakanfo. because Oyabi was Abipd- 3. s o Babayeml, "The Rok> or lhupon ID Oyo tndltlDna Aamlniltndoll•,
un 's in-law. Since then, Aja~ Ipo had been leading other ig- i.'A.S: siarr Semtnu, ' - · 1l/1/72.
bomlna chiefs to Qy<f. The relationship between the Ataafin a-
• · J.F.A. AJayl, '"l'hc Bdtilb Oa:upotlon o! LaaolK, NlprlM ~,,,., No. 69,
nd Orangun might be that of mutual respect, but the fact that 1961, p. 91. Adedojl. op. cit~ p. 114 , _ Morton-WlllllmS. 9P• di., P· 91.
·I. Allnd&. J. A., '"nt• N•w Oyoe,,.,,,,.·: l.ondoa, 1973,p. 8,MpeCll!ly !ootnoi.1
28

who fled to lj~bu country in the earl) nineteenth century are , 11 1ury. In the second half of the ei~teen.th centu!Y, up to
believed to have introduced the cult to ljebu towns. lbadan 11... «arly nineteenth century when 0YO empire was 111 tumult
tradition credi ts the introduction of egung&n in P~mq to Oluy9le
1
11. mi.: <)y9 fled with their egilngllii to ~ost ev~ry part .of
while Ogunha suggests that RemQ town~ received eg(mg6n from 'uruha country. They introdi;ce~ the cult mto their !:_CSl]CChve
their l;gba neighbours whilst the people from lj~bu lgbo received '""" homes, and since then, egungun has become a Yoruba ance-
the cult.from lbadan ~ . The cult was introduced into If~, lj~~a •11 ,11 secret cult.
and Ekiti communities by the fleeing emigrants from the northern
towns that were de~crted in the early nineteenth century and later
by the lbadan warriors in the middle nineteenth century. The Qba
or niler of each community found the cult a useful weapon for
political, economic, and social control of their oeople.
It sounds reasonable therefore to ~uggest that although
extem~l influence might have had their parts to play, the
eg~~gun as represent~ng the spirit of ancestors in Qyq in
ongin; that the egungun mystery was developed into a
cul~ in ~espo~se to political al)d social changes ,in the OYQ
policy; (m this regard, the Qy9 settlement at lgboho, and the
resettlement at Qy9 Qr9 could be viewed in the light of OYQ
assin1ilating other cultures and fixing them into a distinctive
0Y9 system. This was meant to meet the challenges of the age.
The cult was used as an institution to control the various culture
groups in Qyr$ and the provinces.
The members of the cult, the Oi~. were the Al~~fin 's political
agent apart from spear heading his wars, they helped to rid the
society of social misfits, such as the witches, the robbers and
other criminals. These were believed to be devoured by
Agan. The type of religious control the members of the Ojc had
on the community, which is believed to have the ancestral sanc-
tions, was firmer and more effective than any other machinery
of government QyQ innovated. As it has been shown, the mem-
bers of the Qj~ could also condemn a wicked Qba of any town.
Finally as has, been suggested, the egfuig(m cult was spread
to all parts of Qy9 empire by the Alagb~h and the Qj~ members
?f the ~ult as an instrument of imperial expansion: particularly
m the sixteenth, seventeenth and the early pan of the eighteen th

1. Kemi Morpn "Aklnye!e's()utline Hmory of lbacbn", Put I, pp. 86 87.

l · Personal Information from Professor ()yin O(Unba In 1969.


CHAPTER THJ<EE
THE ANNUAL APPEARANCES OF EGUNGUN
The annual Egungun festival in many towns is usually
arranged between May and July. but in J;gba/~gbado area it
i's between December and March. In many places, the first two
days are days of propitiation and thank offenngs to the lineage
ancestors. They are called IkUnl~ (the kneeling). During the
IkUnlt;, individual propitiates his head, and sacrifices are offered
to the ancestors in form of rams, cocks, beans-pudding (QOlt;)
and snails. Merriment continues. In some towns, en the third
day, the egWigU'n Oba leads other egtlng0n from lgbhl~ to the
·town. As has been shown, Agan, in form of a very long piece of
cloth, is still being carried in ltoko Abvokuta and Qta on the
night of the first day of the festival. But generally, in Oy9 Yoruba
towns, Agan connotes deeper meaning than the yearly appearances
at the festival. As it has been shown the Agan is believed to be
beyond what man can see, and its secret and power is beyond
what man can comprehend.
In some other towns, the third day is lgbaja when all the
principal egiing6n come to display in front of the Qba 's palace
and in some other places, the lgbaj:f is on the fifth, seventh, or
seven~eenth day. The lgbaja is arranged to suit local convenience.
In Iwo the Igb&ja is on the fifth day, in Omu Aran it is on the
seventh day, in OYQ it is on the seventeenth day, while in Ibadan
the major eg(ingUn danced for the Qba on the third day and for
the other chiefs in order of ranks at fixed dates. Generally, after
the Sf,cond day, each lineage would hav~ 10 ammge with the Qj~
when their lineage eglingifn c~uld come out. As many as possible
of the lineage egifogifn could come out the· same day, but since
the principal aspiration of each lineage is to show the solidarity
and the importance of their lineage i11 the community, I;neage
heads usually plead with the Qj~ to give them dates on which
many egungun will not come out.
The coming out of lineage egllnglln is attended by frenzied
30
ll
anticipation; the barren, the sick, and those that believe that they
are being troubled by witches are in anxious hope to be blessed
the wives of the lineages ancl the daughters of the lineage who
are married to other lineages (omolosu) get prepared by compo-
sing lineage songs, chanting lineage praise names and lineage
achievements in the society. The menfolk of the lineages prac-
tise dexterity jn dancing intricate and complex steps, they also
get ready Atbri whips. Decorated stripes are made on the bark
of some whips, these are kept at the shrine Derun 1 but many
of the Atori whips are kept for showing mainly rusPlay
in whip-
ping.
On the day a lineage egifngiin comes out, the lineage drum-
mers assemb~e early, in the compound of the lineage head, they
st~ _drummmg, calling the names and invoking the spirits of the
pnnctpal men that are deceased in the family. The peculiar music
of the family, and the family O~'h are played. People do not
dance to this music, it is invocational and meditative. While the
lineage :lders share ritual food and dress the egtlngi{n in Ilerun,
oome WIVes of the lineage with the lineage drummers usually
dance along the main streets in the town to.announce the corning
of the egWig6n. On their return they, in tum make prepara-
ti?n for the appearance. About an hour to the t~e ·the egfingUn
will co'?e out, d_rummers and ~e wo'?en of the lineage assemble,
drummm~ and SUlging, the music gett111g to a very high crescendo
as the egun~ is about to come out. Some men may be dancing
to the music while some may be whipping one another outside.
At the approach of the egWigWi, people who need his bles&ng
kneel with their presents, and the egllng{in blesses them. In some
cues, ritual water is sprinkled on all the members of the lineage.
Before the procession th.rough the town starts, the egUng{in
calls at the graves of the principal departed men in the family
Rituals may be performed on one or some of the graves.
When the egOngUn is out of the compound a lot of dancing
display is done by the eglingUn and his aides. '
The two photo oe p allow a IJpicolJJ..nm. ftoto cows Ille ltdped AtOd whlpt
at Ojabo. l'!loto l Cowl - llO {Jnmllel) hWll aD about ID Ille tbJ:lae.
Sae Ille ploalo o1..._• ..,... to - - t.111 outlaa ot""""' p.
 II
32

Ojubo (place or lnvocatiM in the Shrine)

EgllllJWI mantle• hung all about In the Shrlne.

 .15

The lineage egWiglin is expected to visit the houses of his rela-

tives, Men and women, to bless them and to receive presents.
The egilngiln and the members of the lineage are also expected
to display intricate and complex dancing steps at specific spots,
particularly in front of a large compound, in the market place,
on the mai.n streets, at crossroads, and in front of the palace. 1
Any lineage egdngUn is assessed by the quality of drumming, and
the forcefulness of the lineage women in carrying brooms to
sweep the path of the eg6ng6n ceremoniously. The women
are also expected to render melodious songs as the eg6.ng6n
dances, and when the egnngu'n is relaxing or resting in a relative 's
compound. People are very critical about the quality of the
dancing steps of the egOng6n and his aides, or, in addition, the
manly endul1lflce displayed by the menfolk of the lineage in
whipping one another. Finally, the eg0ngUn is expected to visit
and bless all his relations. An eg6n&ifn may, in many cases, take
more than a day to perform his outing.
The lineage egungifn is usually adorned with costly costume.
The inner garment which covers the whole body is called ~ku.
Over this is usually worn variegated strips of costly cloth sewn
together at the top. The strips are known as /ebe 2 The number
and volume of strips sewn together depicts the wealth and affluen-
ce of the lineage. In fact the well - to - do members of the lineage
have as a duty to donate such strips to help the head of the
lineage. Over the strips are usually worn smailer strips of decora-
ted leather or cloth embroidery to be tied round the neck. This
too is usually made in multi-colour. There is usually a masque
to be worn to cover the head and over the face is sewn a net to
allow the masquerade to see. The masque may be sewn to a
beautiful head mask carved in wood. The wooden mask may
represent the head showing the facial marks of the lineage, or
a totemic animal or bird sacred to the family. At times, the car-
ving may be a female head with the traditional hairdo. Some
lineages do not use wood muk. They prefer to sew round the

2. Among die £abado. Lebo is tnown u Gilolaa.

I. See the photo of EpnJun u>d Ill aides dondna Oii P• ~-

 II
36
head beautiful ribbons made of costly velvet material. The com
plete masque presents a splendid scenery, and when the maS<1uc
ls worn and danced with, the variegated strips round the body
spread fanwise over the inner masque. 1
The coming out of lineage egtlng{in particularly during the
lgbaja present a colourful show. The first thing to note is the
blending of the various colour and the artistic w<,rkmanship.
in the various egOng6n. The second thing is the identification of
the various lineages that make up the corporate communities.
This identification is very important for the individual in the
society as it is the passport for social and political recognition
of a man. The more corporate and united a lineage is, the easier
it is for the members to get suitors, as marriage in Yorubiiland
is more of a union of two lineages rather than the husband and
wife. The outing of the lineage egUngifu is one of the ways the
Yoruba show the solidarity of their different lineages.
A welcome and entertaining scene during the egtlng6n
festival is the appearances of tlie egfuigi{n of small children known
as Kunduke or Tobolo. While these eglingun of small children
are accorded respect as the egtlngUn of the elders, they are not
as dreaded. They are followed by small children and they may
have one or two small Kannango drummers beating the talking
.., drums for them. They go about begging for money and prayin§
i
for people. The appearances of these e&On&Un show tlie Yoruba
j belief that both young and old in heaven are regarded as supe-
rior to their survivors on earth in spiritual matters. This is depic>
ted in the following verses of Oriki lgbori:
~
W9n ni Onigbori w9n ko lagba
W9nkolagba
Gbogbo w9n ni nj~ baba
Om9 a j~ baba ma j'arugbo

People say ti.at tne people of lgbori have no elders

I.
They have no seniority in age grades
All of them are called 'fathen'
_______
They are called 'fathers' yet they are not aged.
Seotlwophotooflhe..-onp.~8
.....

I
38 39

There is yet another peculiar egung1fo is some parts of

Yoruba country. The> nc the type that have their outings in
the night when e1·erybody !S expectPd to be in bed. The most
unportant of them are Lagbookun and Panpata. Their faces must
not be seen by onllnary men and women. The egUngUn is not
·companied by anybody except his ·rumpeter who blows a type
horn to sing in praise of tl>e e&6ne-fn. The shrill tone of the
"Umpeter makes people to tremble even i'I their rooms. The
':lin&Un wear some metrJ and carry a metal staff that jingle
the tgUng1fn walks The jingling a: the dead of the night also
produces an atmosph~re of awe and fear. The egungun responds
to the trumpeter's praise with the occasional words "O $Cun"
(thank ye ). When the egUngUn gets to tl:e front of a compound,
he caJJs the name of the head of the compound, prays for him,
and asks him to come out with his gifts. The head of the com-
pound must come out with his back facing the egfuigun becau~
he must not see the eglingun face to face. He presents whatever
gift he brings on the ground and moves o;f. The egUngUn thanks
him, and move tot'~ other compound.
The eg6ng1fo A/are (egu~gU'n entertainer), otherwise known
as Agbegl/o (one who dances with carved wooden objects) or
Alarin/o (one who goes about dancin:;), ar; professional eg{angun
among the QyQ. They are free to perform not only during festival
periods but throughout the year. While the other members of
the Qj~ have other means of livelihood, the egilngiln entertainers
.l.lve ·essentially tly entertaining people. They usually perform in
front of the Oba 'R palace, markets, and other opn places for
members of the public. They combi.'le dances to the Bata and/
or Dundun drums with chanting Iwi poet.y. In this light, they
are specialists in the various Bata and Dundun steps and the
chanting of Iwi. More than this, they compose songs_on con·
temporary events on lyrics, and on different lineages in the
communlty. They stage acrobatic displays and perform some
tricks as if they are oerfomting magic. They make peopi(
believe that they are communlcating w'th tne spirit world. They
mimic different types of -eoples and objects, hunters, imbeciles,
prostitutes, white couples with their poi.1ted -noses embracing
each other in public, monkeys, boas. the tortoile and the like.
They usually expose the bane of the society in drama. As they
move about Crom town to town performin& their plays they are
40

US!;lally the guests of the Oj~ in every town they get to. The host
Qjc;, in consultation with the Oba in council, plans the perfor-
mances and are given a percentage of what is collected in the
show. But in some places in Egbado, particularly. in Haro the CHAPTER FOUR
egungun alare is an integral part' of egungun cult. They do not use
their performances as a means of livelihood as other professional THE FUNCTIONS OF EGUNGUN
troupes may do.
The egung~n is lineage based and the lineage is the grass-
root of the Yoruba economic, social and political activities.
Thus a man depends on the lineage land for his economic activi-
ties, and depends on lineage elders for sponsorship to get a·spouse
and the lineage support to get recommendation for any political
office. The fact that the lineage is believed to be a communion
of the ancestors and their survivors on earth, and that the ances-
tors are the watchdogs of lineage morality make it compulsory
for every member of the lineage to promote the good image of
the lineage.
As has been shown earlier, the head of the lineage is the
priest of the ancestors and therefore a member of the ei;Ungt'in
cult. By virtue of this membershjp he gains some religious and
political recognition of the Qba depending on his rank in the cult.
The Qba could therefore depend on the support of lineage heads
through the Alagbaa, the ritual head of the eiiOn~ cult. As has
already been shown, the corporateness of each lineage and their
respective loyalty to the Oba are vividly demonstrated during
the egungun festival when the lineage egungOn have to publicly
pay obeisance to the Oba. In this sense, egtingdn is an instru-
ment of winning popular support for the Oba.
The Qba as the head of the society should have an egungrln.
The eg6ngtln Oba usually led the 0,yQ forces in wars. This was to
infuse in the OyQ forpes the confidence that they had the super-
natural support of the ancestors in their wars. Alakoro the egiin-
gUn ~ango is believed to be one of such egU'ngun. There are
traditions that some Alaafm even wore egung6n masquerade in
moments of crisis. Atiba is believed to have led his fo1ces in Epo 1
in his masque while Oluy9le of Ibadan 2 also used to wear his
egrlngt!n masque in wars. Adeyemi I, 1875- 1905 arrogated to
himself the praise name:
1. All these traditions are collected from various informants at Qy9.
2. Kemi Morgan, Aldny1l<'s Outline History oflbodon Porr /pp. 86-87.
41
42
Adeyemi Omo Mohuru
Ee gun gbo111i a sa.
Adey~m r the ~on of Mohunr ma"<]ueradc,
The mu<;(1ucradc shakes Ju:. head, and people flet!.
The point to note is th;rt the Oba uses egtingdn to claim
supern at ural power and invincihilit> .
The Oba through the Alagbaa has tire su;iport of the society
in warding off evil spirits by us.ing eguni,-Gn. This type of egWigtln
is called Alagbo (ca."rier of herbs), or £/i:ru (carrier of load).
Such eg6ngu11 are believed to be capable of appeasing, propitiating
and ejecting evil spirits our of the society Such egdngtin in
Gbongan and Ipetumcdu are called Kanmoloolu. In Ibadan
it is called Oloolu. TI1e belid in the power of suc.h egilngiln,
and in effect, the eg6ngun cult reinforces the belie f that the
Oba t hrough his agents, has ntual power over t he spirits.
Jenju, the egfuig6n Alapinni is believed to execute witches
through the power of Agan. Unlike at Abeokuta and ~gbado
where Agan leads other eg6ngun to the town from lgbalc; on the
night o f lkunle (kneeling). In QyQ, Agan is believed to be invisi-
ble and that it is a symbolic power with which ei:dniitln execute
the witches and evil doers. Wh en Jenju masquerade has his outing,
he symbolically races to the market to hunt for witches but as
has been shown earlier, witchcraft accusatio n is rare in Oyo as a
result of the net work of the palacr organisation, nevertheless,
the appearance of Jenju warns the evil doers of what the masque-
rade stands for.
Any individual o; group of people who have special skills
should place the skills at the disposal of the Qba and the society.
This i:; why the g'-lild of hunters and herbalists are useful to the
community. TI1e guild of hunters <)d~ collectively act as advance.
scouts in war:, and t hey k~ep watch of the town at night. By
virtue of their bei.1g dose to nature and wild life, they are regar-
ded tough and ·1erse in the use of herbs. There are traditions that
their egdngi{n rare mac!e use of to lead Oyo forces in wars. Equally
important to tile soci~ty is the knowledge of .he herbalists. They
are believe<i to have dangerous thanns and magical powers .hat are
needed oy the military men. The presence of such egUngfut in the
battle field usually i.-tf.ised confidence in the forces.
"'
The most important development in egungun 1> the involve
ment of the youths in egUngun masquerading if not in the cult .
From about a week to the time of the festival, every able bodied
youth in the society engages in cutting and carrying whips that
would be used during the festival to the town. Between four and
seven o'clock in the afternoon during the festival, almost all the
able bodied youths assemble in the front of the palace for floggins
exercises. Some of them may appear in masques. But whether in
masques or not, flogging is usually indiscriminate. 1
These flogging exercises may be viewed as barbaric, but to
the society, the spirit with which these youths bear the flogging
is regarded as superhuman. The power of such endurance is
given by the ancestors and the community needs such superna-
tural power in their youths particularly in the time of wan.
These flogging exercises are therefore training ground for the
selection of future war leaders. In addition to this, since the
egilng6n of youths bring together all the youths of various linea-
ges, lineage loyalty apa.rt, the youths see themselves as memben
of the same community, having the responsibility of defending
and protecting the community.
As a result of these floAAin~ exercises, some men usually
emerge as leaders of youths. These are expected to have their
egdngdn. Such eg6ng11n is to be followed by all the able bodied
youths in his qua.rter or the whole community. These youths
carry whips, and at specific places, the egungun initiates flogging
by flogging people around him, the whole place is immediately
turned into a battle ground. The warlike nature of the music
and the inciting messages sent by the talking drums to both the
egungun and his followers spur them to more aggressive and
uncontrolled actions.
The most important point that should be noted in egWigiln
QIQ~. eg6ngun oloogun and egdngtln Qdl} is that the owners are
not usually members of eg6ngdn cult, and, therefore, their activi-
ties are not subjected by lineage control whereas they are loyal to
their individual line1ges. This also means that they are not subjeo-
I. See photo on p. ++for 1 usual wlllppkla u.erdle.
 4S

1 ol 10 ritual control of the Alagbaa and the Oba. Their impor-

"'" r in the society is realised and special days are 11lolted for
llo• h outings during which no egdngUn should come out.
The political implication of this is apparent. The Oba has no
11111111 power over the leaders of the youths for political support
•• he has over the lineage heads. It is also plausible to suggest that
1ior"c leaders of youths developed into the eSQ system during
Iii• imperial period and many of them supported the Alapinni
11.. Bawrun and the Oyomesi against the Alaafm. As it hru
•hrudy been pointed out cleavages in the egdngdn cult during.
•lo~ time of AbiQdun is well documented in egdngdn traditions,
•ml the contest purported to have been staged by Abiodun to
·how who controlled the cult between the Alagbaa supporters
•1111 the Alapinni supporters, aid it was an expression of the way
Ahi9dun weakened the political power of not only the Alapinni
•ml the members of the Qyomesi but also the :CW in the capital.
While the political functions of the egdngUn cult dwindled
In the capital during and after the reign of AbiQdun, the leaders
uf youths in the various towns of the empire eventually became
war leaders who organised offensive and defensive wars to save
their. various communities from destruction. The emergence
nf these war leaders at a time when leadership could not come
from the capital further complicated the confusion that attended
lhe suicide of Awole in C. 1796. Sinc:e the old order, the Alilfm
imd his council of the Qyqmesi coulCI not find solution to the
problems of the empire which precipitously drifted to its fall,
the new breed of warriors became a force •O be reckoned with.
Such men as Atiba, Kurunmi, Oluyole, OlubQdun and a host
of others became dominant in their various communities, not
because of their connection with either royalty or nobility at Old
QyQ. But they became rulers because of the large followings of
youths they could muster for wars. In essence these leaders or
youths revived the politiCll and Jllilitary functions of egungun
;n their various communities. IA sum, while the organisation
of eglingi{n is lineage based, it takes into account the interest~
of various groups in the society. It is a mechanism by which
various groups with varied interests make their individual contri-
butions to the society. It is also a mechanism of effectively
bringing the various groups in the society under a governmental
control.

CHAPTER FIVE
EGUNGUN LINEAGES
The oriki (praise songs) of the principal eg6ngi{n lineagee
are put at the end of this book as i;.eferences. Their scope. ii,
however, more than this. These 9fiki, are recited or S1ltng •
/amily or lineage creeds. The Oriki generally is the main link
that liinds all the branches of the lineage tree together. All the
members of the lineage might not be members of the eg(lngiin
society, but they bear the lineage -creed which is as equally sacred
to them.
Every wife of the lineage is expected to memorise as 1much
as possible the lineage oriki. Each of them is to recite the pc1rtion
·she knows whenever her child is crying or is sick. This is meant
to put life and vigour into the sick child and to ~uage the clttild's
pain. Old women in the lineage recite the oriki to greet younger
members. This is meant to inspire such lineage member to noble
deeds. At festivals and in wars, women recite the lineage 10riid
to invoke the spirits of the ancestors to support their survivors·
on earth.
Besides the lini:,a.!!e women, musical groups incorporate' the
different lineage Oriki in the society into their kind of music.
The hunters and Ogtln worshippers recite lineage orfki in their.
ljhla. Eleeglin~un (owners of egtlngtln) recite lineage Oriki in
their es3: Oni$ang6 ($3ng6 worshippers), QI9y,. ,(Qya womhip-
pers). Lineage totem and taboo are shown in oriki for insta111ce
the p~~}e of Oje must not ,e~t J;gA (the weaver bird°>' and peopl~·
of Ikoy1 should not eat Okete (slant rat)2 . The red monkey is a
totemic animal for lgbo1{ people 3 as the dog is sacred to the
Ojef people4 •
1. Th• unusual lllght and twltterfna or the weaverblrds warned the city or C>JO' o~
lmmlnmt danger, so they got P"'P&IM for their enemies. Tho people or dJO
bo&.,. that but for t.~e weaver blrds their city could have beOR captured.
·2. The slant tat i• uaod by the people orlkclyias a war charm.
s. The people of lgborl we"' believed to be of biological do~nt or the rod manlcey
4.
The 908 is believed to be the cl01e$1 companion or the people or bjO. 'When
any Oji COIJ'SO is being d..,...d the skln or a dog must bo the clossut to hJa body
before other clothes and other material uaod to wnp a. ...._
47
To many Yonlba Oriki. Idile (lineage Onb) like lgbori,
t: ' Oje is nothing m~re than Oro Ile
(lineage rite), in which
e:i;.y member of the family is expect~d .to ~ake part. : ~ach. of
the principal lineage has its charactenstic nte and Orik1 .w~ch
for want of space could not ~e tr~ated h~re. Wi!h the,pnnc1p~
egungun lineages, like lgb6ri, Oba, Ogbm, Adafa, $6n~bff, E '
Qgbojo, Oj6w6n, Aran, and Olukolo, ~e taboo, totem1s~, and
lineage rite of one lineage is identical wit~ the oth~rs. The lineage
rite is usually performed at festivals, birth, and bunal of a member
of the lineage.
With the egtlngun lineages, burial rites are !he most impoi-
tant. If the deceased was a member of the egungUn cult, or a
professional egdngiin entertainer, eg6ngdn masquerades would
supervise the washing of the corpse and dress up the corpse.
The corpse would be made to wear an eglingdn hose and gloves
as a mark of honour. The coffin might be made out of wood
like the modem coffm, but earlier a log of ~ood hollowed o.ut
like a canoe with cover was usually used. 1 This wa~ to symbolise
the connection of the egdngi{n lineages with the nv~r. In some
cases a wooden coffm was not used but rather, a w1.cker basket
woven in such a way as to take in the corpse conveniently. The
basket was usually woven with the long elephant grass.
A very Jong palm frond or a long stem of elephant ~
is used to measure the corpse and the length of the grave which•
is usually dug inside the house. The area to be covered by the
grave is usually lined first by the white chalk, the red chalk made
of camwood, a111d charcoal. A new knife is ~sed to m~k the
line after which a fowl is strangled, the blood IS used to line the
area that had been marked by the knife. All these are meant to
appease the mother earth, and to make su~ tha~ t.he corpse
has perfect peace in the ·w~mb of the e'.1'1h ·. Diggmg of t~e ·
area marked then begins while the fowl IS bemg pr~pared f
eating oy the diggers. Towards the base of the gr_ave, Side shelves
are made on each side to acconunodate such things that would
be buried along with the corpSlv.
1. This type or J)Ol'fln wu uaually mode by the allild of caipontera variously callod
OpomW.ro AJibosundo and Olojowcm. They are llld to be related to the esdn·
sdnllnoapa.
 48
With the e~glfu burial, some branches and leaves of sucn
trees and shrubs like lgba (locust bean tree), Emi, (Shea butter
tree}, and Ogun~re ~a savanna shrub with tiny truck leaves:) are
first put to ~over the grave before any other thing is put lliside.
These are believed to Le the trees sacred to the monkeys amd as·
such .they are sacred to the egt1ng6n cult. If the deceased was a
prominent female member of eg6nglfu cult like the Iya Agan
Yeye~run and acti.ve Ato, the branches of Qdan tree are put U:
the pit toge~her with those listed above. Such women am re-
garded as witches. The birds of witches are believed to perch
on Odan trees. The power of the deceased is therefore, belii!ved
to be confined to ~he grave after burial, and could only be brought
out when the sumvors ask of .such power.
. .The corpse of a member of the egUngtln cult is usu1ally
laid m state .for about a day or two. It is not usually tied with
1
rope. A. stnp of Idasa (_native woven white strip of cloth) is used
~o cover. its mouth .and its nose. This, it is believed, is removed
m the pit, part of 1t is used to tie the carved bundle of whtips,
Opa lku (~ff of the death), and part is to be lcept by the AUllgba.
All the ct_Uidren. and the close relatives make sure that each mem-
ber supplies a piece of cloth that would be uaed 10 wrap the corp-
se. After the hair of the corpse has been shaven its nails ieur
c:imwood rubbed on the body, tne clothes suppli~d by the rela:
1
tives woul~ be used ,to ~ress the corpse. Ba ta egUnglln (egifn,gilii
hose) and Ibowo egungun {egU"ngiln gloves) complete the dre~ing
At the head of the corpse, by the wall, is usually placed th~
hundle of carved whips called Isan or Qpa Iku (staff of the dead).
~f a male the bundle would comprise nine whips, but if a female
it would be seven. Part of these would be buried with the corpse
and part would be added to the family Qpa Iku staff of the de-.ad'
, ~ the corpse lay in state, meriment continues. Some egiln-
~ might ~ asked to cany the coffin, or the wicker basket roimd
the town with the members of the lineage singing and dancing
Or the ~ooden boat might be dragged on the ground round th~
town with a long rope to demonstrate how the spirit of tht
tleceased. woul? be travellin~ ,on water and on land :n heaven.
'The family praise names, (Oriki) are usually the u.hlcle of service
~d they fonn the core of the funeral dirge. When the coffin
IS brought back, the corpse is put in the coffin with some of
the Atori whips placed in each hand. The rcmairling Atori whips
~re tied with the Opa Iku, the existing bundle, representing
the covenant staff of the egUngUn cult. The coffin is lowered
into the pit and with it lamps, stirrups, charms, drinks and any
property that the relatives want to put in the grave to follo1,1,
the deceased to heaven. A cock or a goat is killed, the blood
sprinkled on the coffin, and the head buried with the corpse.
The body of the goat or cock is to be cooked and eaten by those
who fill the grave. Before the filling of the grave, all the children
and relatives of the deceased would chant the lineage (Orlkl)
in turns to invoke the spirit of the dead to bless them. A part of
the earth dug is usually kept should in case there is trouble among
the relatives after burial. The Qpa lku, the bundle of whips is
placed on the grave· while merritments continue throughout
the night.
In addition to merritment, the Oro lie (lineage rites) is
usually performed the third day. With the lgboii lineage a man
and a woman are tied separately as acolytes, each canying a
tied chicken. Both the Omolosu, the daughters of the lineage
that were married to other lineages, and the Obinrin De (wives·
of the lineage), follow the acolytes with family music singin£
and dan-=ing round the town. The menfolk following them en·
gage themselves in whipping one another intermittently. At the
peak, particularly in front of the main market, or the Oba's
palace, the acolytes become possessed. They are. not able to
walk or dance by themselves, they are led through the main
streets of the town with intermittent display of whipping and
dancing. The rite ends at the grave of the deceased with the
rendering of the lineage orild. This rite is believed to be the
oassport for the spirit of the deceased to enter the ancestral world.
On the seventh day, the grave IS solidified and polished.
Water is drawn in a big gourd and broken over the grave. A live
chicken is used to rub the grave until it dies. The broken pieces
of the gourd are used to beat the grave; green leaves besides Elu
(Indigo plant), are pounded to rub the grave and the faeces· of
animals may be used. After the process, the dead chicken and
the calabash pieces are carried to the brook. Those who take
part, ling and chant lineage oriki as
they go. They wash them·
1eln• and the chiclcen in 1he brook, and then return home chan-
 so
ting the orili to cook the chicken. They must not look back
on their way from the brook. Only those who took part in the
polishing of the grave must eat of the chicken, and it must all
be eaten at one time.
There are other rites that are associated with funeral cbse-
quies. In some cases on the seventh or the twenty-first day there
is the ritual breaking of the calabash of the deceased to separate
him or her from the lineage forever. This ceremony is however,
not as elaborate as the lpa Qd~ (the separation of a dead hunter
from his earthly colleagues). There is also the ritual reparation
of a dead woman from her comrades by ritually breaking her
cooking utensils and her personal belongings near the river. TI1e59
are not unconnected with the belief that the first on[gbori
died in the river, and the spirits of the dead inhabit the ri" r side.
There is yet another ritual separation of a dead woman
from her children and relatives. In this rite, cooking utensils
were supposed to be needed by the dead mother in heaven
would be provided. These include, a small earthen hearth with
three points moulded for the occasion. In fact the Hte derives
.its name from this hearth, aaro. A new small cooking pot, a new
calabash with its cover, a new plate, spoon, small bag with some
cowries, and such things that the children feel their mother
would need in ~eaven. The n~w pot is placed on the new hearth,
and a make-believe fire made tnSlde the hearth. Soup ingredient
is put inside the pot as if to cool<. The hearth and the pot of
sou~ is later removed and put inside the calabash. A small goat
ls killed, the head of the goat is also put inside the calabash.
The calabash is then covered and the blood of the goat rubbed
over the covered calabash. The calabash will now be wrapped
with white cloth and ready to be carried to lgbo Igbal9 (Egilng6n
grove), or by the side of a stream.
The Aaro ritual is usually being carried by an egilnglin or
a baren woman desperately in need of children. It is believed
at whoever carried such a ritual 'aaro oku' would later be
ssed with children. The Aaro is usually accompanied with
.ic. The children of the deceased carry very long horse whisks
1~h they use. to d~ve flies fr.q_m perching on the calabash
1ed. They Slllg the lineage Orild and songs, weeping as they
•ow the calabash to the grove.
si
The members of t1ie egilngiln cult should have been at the
ectingifu grove (lgbo lgbal9) hours before the Aaro carrier set off
from the house of the deceased. Inside the grove they satisfy
themselves to the fullest in food and drink. They prepare ready
• masquerade resembling the dead mother. The man that will
be inside the masquerade should be of the same height and stature
with the dead mother. The egiingM will be dressed as the dead
mother used to be dressed. The man inside tries to imitate the,
mannerism, gait, and the general comportment of the dead
woman. The ritual is the only time egdngdn is made to represent
a woman in Qyq Yoruba society. The eglingdn is not meant to
he worshiJilped as an ancestor, and after this ceremony the egiln-·
&Un will not appear in the name of that woman again.
As the carrier of Aaro leads the children and relatives of the
dead women to the entrance of the grove, the members of the
cult inside the grove are warned. They move out from inside the
arove to the entrance of the grove. An elderly man from among
the Qji; or an eglinsfu callS the name-of the dead woman, each
tlme ltriking the ground with an At6ri whip. the first time he
.alls the name of the dead woman he says with a long doleful
tone:
Adetoun 00000, o di 4;lekini" ti 'll!O pe Q Q
Bio o o ba daun, od'ogbingbin
Od'oyo
0 d 'alaamu ti rtje l'egbi; ogiri.
Adetoun 0000, this is the first I call you
If you do not answer me now
You will become a dreadful nocturnal bird
You will become an owl and
You will become a lizard crawling along the wall. 2
No ODO .... - claimed lo - Osl>li>cbtn. It .. bcllo¥ed to bo • cl10adtal btr«
and It la bellftod that ii m.,.... about at nlabt. 1be bkd Ja. not oxpec:ted to paa
lllrOQlll IQ)' Ylllap 0< town. U ii does, and the .m.,.i. boat the to~
=- ~ mo.. tho Ylllap would be ci-t..i ror rear ol eplll4mb and oU..
........
lr _..
°"'llP lo acoopt the ritual, It la bello¥od that tho ipldt of the do-.
r...... or
piano of a lower anlaial the btDcnolont uiceclon.
 52
There is great silence after the call, one sees anxiety writtCll
~oldly in t~e eyes of the rela.tives of th; dead mother. The seco11d
hme he strikes the grollll!I with the Atori whip, and calls the n~
of the dead mother louderthan the first and he repeats the words
quoted above. Still there is silence and the relatives of the dead
mother, more than before grow exceedingly anxious. With the
third call, there is a small voice from the inner part of the grove.
There is jubilation that the dead mother would come to them
in .f~rm of a wraith. They therefore begin to chant the lineage
Oriki. They ask her to come and get the ritual prepared for
her to take to heaven.
Some members of the cuh inside the grove follow the egun- 1
gun of the dead mother to meet her relatives dancing to the steps
of a soft sole~ music. The crowd receive the egUngtln with due
re~ere~ce praying her to receive the ritual prepared for her well-
be~g yi heaven. They continue to chant the lineage oriki The
egungun receives the ritual (Aaro) and dances back to the. inner
part of the grove with some members of the cult. The ritual
isusually placed by the side of a stream that flows through the
gr~ve. They d'.l"ce back to meet the audience who are now jubi-
lating that therr dead mother has accepted their rituals and has
therefor& come to bless them. With jubilation the egtlngUn
members of the cult, and a large crowd follow the egifngtin t~
the house of the deceased. The epingtln blesses all tells of the
secret the relatives ought to know and then disapp~sat Ilerun
(the family shrine).
As for men and with the members of the egtlngUn cult the
separation ritual is slightly different. ' The ritual for men is
~ciated with the fann, and fann products. In many cases it
IS from the family shrine, rather than the town grove, the e&Uniun
of the dead father is called out. 11le prooess of calling is tne
same as for the Aaro for the dead mother. The eg6ng6n that
would come out may be a new egtlngifn made for the dead father
I. The •paradon ritual of the momben of~ cult Is clUfanont from !pa, the
•panodon ritual or the m1111ben ol. hlllli.rt sulld. UICI u.. ci.&th rituaJa or aich
Un..- u 9Je, Edn, ()po ano lllahll>' .wr-t !rem !hoot of~ a-,o..
o r if the dead father was not old enough or \~i) important t<> lie
regarded as an ancestor, one of the egungun of the lineage anc~s­
tors may come out. But usually it is regarded that it is the wraith
of the dead man that now appears in form of the egung{m. The
egUngun reassures his people of his constant watch over them and
their dependants. l le clears the doubt about the cucumstances
leading to his death, and tells them what he expects of the family
to bring about unity.
In many cases, the egUngun will have to lead his wives and
relatives to the 'farm' for the last time. This is referred to ~s
lsunkun roko oku (weeping to the dead man's farm). The ritu I
derives its name from the weeping of the wives. They are in
mo~ming mood, and actually weeping and chanting the .lineage
orfki of their dead husband, must fold their hands to their chest
as they follow the egUngtln to the farm.· Before the egungon
and his entourage leave the house, heaps to the number of the
wives are made and yam harvested from the farm of the dead
man is planted in each heap. The egUngUn leads the wive~ to the
heaps, each standing in front of a heap. After much inv~c~tion,
the wives are made to exhume the yam in each heap. This 1s the
last present from their deceased husband. Tl)~y hold it fast as
they go back home chanting the lineage Oriki. At home the
egtlngdn disappears and the wives continue their mourning.
In some places the purpose of the egungun leading the
wives and relatives of the deceased to the fann is to distribute
the wives and other prop~rties of the deceased among his sons
and relatives. Sons and relatives that have been earmarked for
inheriting the wives are to prepare the heaps, and plant the yam.
The wives should have been told of who made the heap in front
of which she is standing. The pronouncement as to the distribu·
tion of the wives and other properties of the deceased may be
made here, or it may be implied. If any of the wives or the sons,
or any of the relatives is not satisfied with the distribution, red·
ress is made at home at the grave of the deceased. With all the
members of the family assembling and some members of the
egungun cult in attendance, a final settlement is reache~ ,and·
this is ratified by the splitting of kolanuts, chanting of Oiiki of
the lineage and then the assembly disperse. This of course, does
not mean that whatever is inherited could be taken at this time
The wives are still mourning and no man must move clo~ to
 54
them. It is after the mourning that anybody could take posse·
;sion of whatever one inh~rits
The widows of the<Je,<-1"' u are still in confmement as hu
been shown, and this may last forty, or ninety days or even six.
months. During the period, the women take particular care of
the grave of their dead husband. They polish it every five days
chanting the Oriki of the lineage and they decorate the wall by
the grave with paintings and the grave with cowries and plates.
The relatives and sons of the deceased take particular care of
the widows during the period and it is customary for any of
those that would inherit any of the widows to take particular
care of the woman in whom he is interested; but the interest
must not be made public, and the relationship must not be close.
Any of the widows has the right to shw1 off the approaches of
any of the relatives or sons.
The final rite is performed with the corning out of the
widows. The outing indicates that the mourning period is over
and that they can now move about as free women. Apart from
the festivities that attend the ccremvuy, the widows come out
in their best, probably in special cloths woven for the occasion.
They visit al1 Jl!e. relatives of the deceased chanting or singing
the lineage Oriki as they move about. The relatives visited are
expected to give them presents in kind and in cash. In the evening
of that day, or at any time fixed for the occasion, the formal
distribution of the widows and other properties of the deceased
is arranged. In some places long chewing sticks of each of the
men to take the widows are put in calabas. Each of the widows
is told of the owner of the chewing stick, and that each should
pick whichever each wants. But in some other places, the elders
do the distribution. They put the chewing stick in a calabash and
send it to the widow, telling her that the chewing stick belongs
to Mr. X, the son or brother of her dead husband and that Mr.
X will now be her new husband.
In many cases this nte is just a ratification of an open secret
but, on some other occasions, a widow may reject the offer of a
.•ew husband or she may tell the elders her choice, or she may·
d~cide not to remarry. The widow is accepted in the house as
'.or-11 as the family does not suspect her movement with another
man outside the family; but if she wants to remarry outside the
family, she has to divorce and move out. ,
All the ritual ceremonies discussed above are those of egun·
giln lineages and the rituals are arranged by the members of the
' ' cult It will suffice here to state that not all members
egungun
of the eguni;Un · lineages are members of the egungun ' 1 cuIt . TI •e
, 1cG
are people who are duty bound to perform the necessary egung n
rituals by virtue of their family descent, but w?o are not !11embers
of the eg0ng0n cult; and there are_ ~ople m _the society who
belong to other lineages like Opo Enn, Qfa, Oie •. but are du~y
involved in the egUng6n cult. As each of these lineages has 1~s
lineage rites particularly in birth and death, they adhere to ,lh{.tr
lineage rites but they usually supplement th~se by some.egwig n
·tes as they fmd necessary. This is why ntuals and ntes. asso-
~iated with burial in Yorobruand are so diffused and diverse.
After the funeral ceremonies are over, . the grave of. the
decease is not neglected. It is constantly polished. At festivals
and whenever any member of the family needs to consult the
spirit of the ancestor for help, rites are performed on ~'1~ ~ve,
and whenever any rite is performed, the Un~~~ O_rilu c. 1.hhe
vehicle of service. This is why the linC:age Orik1 1s hnked wit
the lineage rites and it is regarded as the lineage creed.
An attempt is made in the second part of this. book t?
translate the Oriki of three egungiln lineages into En~!\.: .This
will give a non-Yoroba speaker an idea of what the Oriki_ is all
about, but the English translation can not be as. penetratmg_ as
the Yoruba piece. The deep emotion and the phil?soph>': which
a word expresses may n_?t be co_nvey~ ~Y.~~e- English eqwvalent.
Such words as T~t~p~u. $Cketewere, Jege1ege can only be ex·
plained but not translated, and people who have '}Q,_ backgrowid
in the culture may fmd it difficult to follow t~e Oriki. They may
not be able to comprehend fully the meanmgs of ~e my~hs,
legends, and allegories whose function is merely illustrative.
PART TWO
 CHAPTER SIX

ORIKJ IGBORI
I. Ontgbcirf qmqq Kulodo* I. On1 gborl son of Kulodo

2. Omqq Kulodo Awubi. 2. The son of Kulodo Awub(

3. QmQq Kulodo Awusi fyo. 3. The son of K~lod6 AwuSi t.yg

4. Qmoq iku kan nf b~ 16do t6 ii '1gborl wa ' The son of the man nicknamed "There is a spirit of the
4.
dead" at the brook who came from lgb6rt.
s. Taa ni ii sq pe Oni'gbori' k·o I0 d'?
o.
5. Who says that onil:borl has no brook?
6. W{pe Omi iku ni WQQfl p~>n?
6. That they drink water from the water of death?
7. Taa 16 ni Aasa?
7. Who is the owner of Aasa river?
8. Taa lo ni l:.koro?
• 1 I
8. Who owns J;k9r9 river?
9. Taa 16 ni Oob'ode omi Ip~~n?
9. Who owns Dobode the river oflpak~n?
10. Taa lo ni Afunlcle omi Ayaba*? Who owns the ever clear water of the brook of the
10.
11. D'o b'ode, ko
' de'ni lfhin ~~ mQ Queens?
11. Oob~debrook is now only a few inches deep.
12. ~ w'Afunlelebo ti Ii tU Ayab I '
'-'' // aa.so 12. See how the ever clean brook almost turns the Queen
13. Ero lgbori QmQ9 KUJodo Awubi. . naked.
/ 6, 13. Dwellers of lgbori,.the children of Kulodo Awubi.
14. Ara Igb ri qm99 KUJodo Awusi ~y~.
I. The1on of K,;iO(s 0means the..,.. of the m111 "'ho dlod In a !'Mr. 14. Citizens of lgborl, the children of Kulodo Awu"'si ~Y~·
1- 10. Unu 8 10 sltoM other str . ' ,,
could get water, earns m lgbOri from where people of lgbOrl

58
 60

IS WQn n( Onfgborf w9n ko lagba. IS. People say that the people of lgbori have no elders.
16. Won ko Jagba. They have no seniority in age grades.
16.
17 Gbogbo won ni ii j~ baba. .17. All of them are called "fathers".
18. Omq a ji; baba ma jarugb6. 18. They are called "fathers" yet they are not aged.

19. Ara lgb6ri' c: ku m~kQ makq Aplnni'. 19. I greet you the way people are greeted at AphmL
20. Ar.I igbor{. n{bit( o kQ d{ r~ si'.
20. Natives of I gborl have places to live in.
21. Ero-Igborl nfbid 6 kM(re lo. 21. Dwellers of Jgborl have places to travel to.
22. l;ni ara kan ti{jijo' awo.
22. It is the agitated in mind who dances to egilng&n music.
23. Mo ba 1\(1 to, mn b'J "'
WO f)~.
23. I am associated with members of egilngJn cult.

·24. \fo bawo pe mope n(s9pa. 24. I am a member of both of egungun and ~pa cults.

2s. Omo an'iku rqja m' ta. 25. The SQJl of those who carried a corpse to the market for
sale but which nobody bought.
26. Oku tia gbe rqja ti o iii. 26. The corose which was taken to the market which nobody
bought.
27. A gbooku oun pada wale'.
27. The corpse was carried back home.
28. 0 waa ys)yQyq
28. It began to dissolve gradually.
29. 0 YQ kub(9k.tnni.
29. Until it was reduced to the size of a needle.
30. Qkinni naaa wi ni~ 1~hin orisa .Akire. 30. The remains is now at the shrine of
)..._ ' '
..... Akire.
lJ"fl ....

31. Nniaw9n M~lufQn Adi Ii ri !it! iwili1 bo. 31. It is the remnant that the children of M9lufQn Ade wor·
ship as their deity.
32. Ara Igb6ri ni omo i~in lilrlrdt• Ijan. 32. There is an Akee apple tree in front of the compound
at Ijan.

33. There is a huge white star apple at lwoye.

 62
63
34. Araba Tengba-tengba 16ia s9 u 11 goe'
34. A very huge kirpoc tree in SQungbe market.
35. id lgb~ loit
35. Under the locust bean tree was the market.
36. S9ungbe nile'
36. s9 ungbe was their home.
37. A.i61ujatf
37. we danced to the beating of drums and clapping of hands.
38. S9ungbe rt nile
38. Soungbe was becoming a home.
39. A iolu gberin
39. We danced to the sound of the drum and sang the choru-
40. ses.
A j6 k6s6 a jaro
40. We danced to the sound of K6s6 drums, and the smitting
of the cymbals.
41. A si j o Abemt~ baba aw9n ilu.
4 1. We danced to Abent~ beat, the most recognised of drums.
42. Niflu eewo t( won Ii w~ nile lgbori'.
42. Amongst the taboo in lgb~ri.
43 . M~ta gb9ngbpn pup'Q niliu eew99 w•;m.
43. Three are the most important.
44. Omq ·o gog6, Igbon'ki{~1u.
44. The children of Ogogo do not carry indigo plant.
45. Qm9 Igbon ' kti' ba <>koq cte ok'e odo.
45. Spinsters in Igborl do not follow their husbands beyond
a river.
46. Eniyan idi'takoto ni riu ile i'&b6n ' mak .
9
46.
' / / .,.._
People do not play snail shell in Igbori mruco homes.
47. Omo O!upejob(omo A~osan0n.
47. They are the child ren o f 01 upeJ
' '·qb1·', the consultant of
48. Nlb~ nf{~IC awqn babaa mi. Qsanyin (deity of medicine).

49. Nib~ nile Oluc;?di; agb~. 48. That is my father's home.

49. That is where the head hunter was born.

50. Hori' Ogunbode' Aro16l!un bleefin.
50. )19 n' Ogtfubode who has the appearance of a smoke in
the battle.
51. Aja Alagb~df} ko ie k6!1o inn.
51. The blacksmith's dog cannot devour a chipped iron.
 52. Apa'Ab'b'
g 18 o ma' buun
' ' onile
,, apa' ?tun ~ ; •
11
53 52 . One who kills a hoopo and does not share it with his
A&b9 k~k~ k~ ijii s6re rebi ooglin r~. neighbours (to the right).
54 . Baba SOgbaunmu 9- ta4:ta tawotawq.
53. He hears of a fight brooding and urgently runs to where
he keeps his charms.
54. ~ogbaunmu's father, who sells civet cats without skinning
55. AwQn loku u t9t~pcu niriu ilelgb6r{ m~ko. them.
56. Mo tem9 sil~ mo roko ewe. 55. They are the dead whose spirits incarnate in lgbon'm'ak9.

57 1'\ile onil~run ~ ;iyan \:&9. 56. I leave the child in bed to fetch leaves in the bush.
,,
58. Qmq m9µ,m9~ ni w\)n. 57. In the town of Onilifun where one is proud to be a fool.

59. M9;im~!{i kan ko nitan. 58. They are fond of eating bean bread cooked with palm oil.

60. Omo ~1~1~ kan ko ledp J'A&Ure. 59. The bean bread has no legs.

61.
laa ari f9b~ kurt?
Saba Ogogo, emi 60. No bean bread has a liver in Agure.

62. M ,, ,,/ ' '

9mm9m diru, oJo Apfuni.
61. S~ba Ogogo, what can we cut with a knife in bean bread?

63. 01~1~ c!irU, 0 r'Asure. 62. The bean bread packed up and went to Apinm.

63. pi~ ,same kind of bean bread packed up and went to

64. Baba tutu waa d~rn. od~de)gbor( Agure.
65. 64. The masqued egUngUn packed up and went to Jgbori.
I~ la t6 mu ookan-le- 19gota ~k9.
66. l9 Igb6 M9ri~o. 65. There we took sixty-one cold pap (~k9) wrapped in
leaves.
67. A ~n ogun. 66. To the grove of M9ri>vo (cult members).

68. Awa ogbpc;>n r~ mu. 67. We ate twenty bare.

69. OkanJ{{ yokl'l ni M9ri~o ntuw9 q' le lori.
, , 68. We crumbled thirty in water and drank it.

70. ... ,, '" " , , ,

gbal~ ko dana otutu bf~ IQmQ Awo nj{
69. The remaining eleven are the objects of worship for the
cult members.

70. Making fire in eg6ngUn grove is forbidden - that is the

nickname for all cult members.
 66 (> l

\ ~ ' (
71. Oku Igbori, ile' c' mi ko gba igba eni. 71. The dead lgb6ri, my house cannot accommodate two
I hundred people.
72. OMd~~ mi ko gba igba en~yan. 72. Neither can my piana can accommodate that many.
73. Nibo ni n o waa k6 ~g~rin E~gun s(? 73. Where then can I keep eight hundred egungtln?
74. Mo ba'wope, mo pin S9Pa. 74. attend the cult meetings of both egling{m and opa.
75. ' ' / ..
Emi Iom9 Afidi atori nlabal~ ke m9r\">jal. 75. struck Atori wlup on the ground with a loud sound.
\
76. Emi lom9 Ala'torl m€rlndinlo&ifu 76. I am the offspring of the owner of the sixteen atorl whips.
' .
77. o
T( paripQ t(nje agan. 77. Tied together that is called Agan.
78. N~u igb6 Eri~o. 78. In the grove of cult members.
79. Emi lom9 a ri' ~n kan pe igba Eegilii jo. 79. With one AtOri whip I invite two hundred egUng6n.

80. Igba eegi{n jade tan 'i~an kd k:i'n'. 80. Two hundred egUngi!n come out; the whips are not suffi-
\
cient for all.
81. Emi l9m9 gbe mi gbe mi Ja{ ~gan. 81. People cry, 'Let the Agan be lifted up'.

82. lru agan ko gbocto bale ni gblll~ 82. The tail of Agan must not touch the ground in the grove.
83. lru agan ~~ n'ba1H bq 83. The tail of Agan is just getting low to touch the ground.
84. N la k6isrui bo m( 84. When the people begin to flog me with whips,

85. N la waa kdto rd mi 85. They showered the whips on me.

'' 'i baa so mi, lokun, n ko j~ ke
86. lgba '~g~ri 86. If two hundred uninitiated tie me with rope, I dare not cry.
87. B( kekere Alo so m(
87. But if a young Ato • ties me with rope.
88. Ma ke ~~. ma ke ~~ 88. I will cry bitterly and painfully.

87 . Ato is an irutiated member or Epin,.ln CUit. Th~ is •.~oo~ lhat ...ry

ftmalt child bom v.1th htt cnrJ pb<'td on the chdl like Aton •itip, is caDed
Ato. Anolher tradition says lhll •~e lhird child or I trlpltt is calkd Ato.
6R

89. Ma kc rom. Mo r01.!lan 89. I will cry bitterly that I saw Agan.
90. I:Ji ogog6 Ato kekere a~nu jegejege 90. Twin Ogog0, little Ato who is a sharp and rapid speake r.
9 I. Emi ko J( s9r9 okun laag\irt 91. I dare not mention a rope in i\gure.

9:!. Lmi kb JC <.Qr?> okun 92. I have not committed an offence for which one could
bind me.
93. Ogoi;o. \' nia dakun so mi lapa. 93. Ogogo, do not tie my arms with rope.
94 Ap~ ewur~ Jo; mi19rtin JU okUn 19. 94. I prefer the fore leg of a goat to a rope.
95. Taa ni eniyan to k~h·in si sale Agure? 95. Who could be the last in the egUngQn grove?
96. KUcf eri ngh'Ato 6 IQ tetete. 96. On the day the current was sweeping Ato away.
97 Tin gb'Ato o lo bi igba oju omi, 97. Sweeping Ato away like the calabash placed on a current.
I

98. Ni 1s:i1~ oja l'Agure? 98. At the market slope at Agure?

99. At6 ni, ·~wQ isin j(g~di etlJ~ y{, gba mf!u 99. Ato screamed pleadingly, you slender akee aple tree on
this river bank, deliver me.
100. ~ri n gb'Ato o IQ!
JOO. The current is sweeping Ato away.
I 0 I. I~i n n( <; s5 ;9~ r~. 101. The akee apple said, care not for her.
102. fo!! k(i;ri ko m6a gb'Ato 19. I 02. Let the current rush Ato away.

103. 0 n( nij? Alo;; j~ m9fum90. 103. The tree alleged all the days Ato had been eating bean
bread.
104. Atokob6n~1;ikanje. 104. Ato did not share it with anyone.
I 05. NUf Alo n je Ql~le, k~ ~ Ii IQ eniyan. 105. When Ato was eating the same type of food, she did not
ask anyone to partake of it.
106. I,:ri tunn n gh'Ato o IQ tetete. 106. The current continued to sweep Ato away more rapidly.
101 Bligha ojuomi 107. Uke a calabash on a current.
108. ,ds:i1~ 9i3 l'Ai;ure. I 08. At the market slope of Agure.
 70 71

109. Ato exclaimed pleadingly; please rescue me, you tender

109. Alo n( ~l~jigede etld~ y(gba ml! indigo shrub.
110. For the current is sweeping Ato away .
. 110. ~ri n gb'Ato 6 IQ!
11 1. The indigo plant stretched its tendril forward and Ato
111 . tJG na QWQ tQQ, Ato r9 m4 SI&'. clung to the tendril.

112. Ni Ato ba rt jef Ato Of<J'ri't(~hl gbe. 112. That is why Ato is called Oforl which the indigo plant
saved.
113. Ato kekert, Ato ab~nu mirii~ bi abe. 113. The little Ato with a tongue as sharp as razor.
11 4. If two hundred uninitiated bind me I will never moan.
114. B{Igba ~gb~rl so m{l6k'un tl ko ke.
/ I ~/ 115. If a tiny Ato binds me, I will cry loud and roar.
/ / •
115. B1 kekere Ato so mi make~~. ma k~ §0~~· .. ,, ,,,,,,,,
116. Ato Ofori, daughter of Kulodo Awusi ~YQ·
116. Ato, oron'QmQ Kulodo Awilg 'tY9.
.('_~ I I
117. Ogogo the daughter of one who died but did not stay in
117. ugogoI 9m9 Akiun~run
)... ' / '
lgbon. heaven.
118. lf I die in the morning.
118. Bi mo ba ku laaro.
119. I will become egUngUn in the evening.
119. Ma deegiln loju ale.
I 20. 0..gogo
' I o ku/ mak9
' ..... /
120. Ogog6, I greet you as descendant of Mako Ap6mi.
Apinni.
121. igbori is the market place, 5Qungb6 is the home town.
121. '1gbori' l9ja, S9ungb~ nile.
122. When the locust bean dry pods start to beat one another.
122. Aw9n ni arfigba t{ nlu l'EgQ.
I
123. It is at that time the sheabutter nuts dealer makes profita-
123. 6 nI~ l'~gQ, i;l~mi nJcawo~ ble sales.
124. Shee butter nut dealers make profit but kola nut sellers
124. ~l~mi nkawo, Olobi n~· grumble.
125. Kolob'i ma~ sc) mef. 125. Tell kolanut sellers to stop grumbling.

126. Jf k~l~mi kawo ~mi. 126. Let the shea-butter nut sellers count her money.
' , ,
127. Nfuu ilelgborl makq. 127. ln the city of lgbori M~k9.

128. lgi meta n b~ t6 6 mohjade. 128. There are three types of trees whose tops resemble the
crown.
 73
72

129. P6mp6la m6njadt!. 129. The Brown Kapoc flowers resemble the crown.

130. Ko le esohun ta'M t ~· 130. But it is not recognised as the crown.

131. Onlru m6rljade. 131. The flowers of the tulip tree resemble the crown.

132. Ko tee~~ tadl i ~· 132. Rut it is not recognised as the crown.

133. Ologun s~r\!'s flowers (A kind of tom tulip tree). resemble
133. Ol6~n ~er~· m6rf jade a crimson i;rown.
134. Ko le~ ~un tade e' ~e. 134. But cannot usurp the office of the crown.

135. Oye gbogbo 1a3 dun l'Ag\ire. 135. One can contest for all titles in AgU~.
' / I
136. Taa I6jef dun "Onf-iku~Ia-lgborl". 136. But who dares contest for death today , lgbori tomorrow?
' , , ' / /
137. In the town of lgbori MakQ where the egungun are well
137. Nile lgbo1{mak9 , 9m9 Eletgi{n Ire. dressed.
138. Ecgun m~ta ni t 'Ap6mi. 138. There are three principal egilngiln at Apfuni.

139. lkan ndade ow&. 139. One wears a crown of cowries.

140. l1can nw~wU ileke. 140. One wears a beaded gown.

I I
\
141. I kan gbodod6 bori: 141. One wears a crimson gown.

142. Wpn 19 rM j6 lQj~ Qba. 142. They paraded to the King's market to dance.
143. Won w~
, ...
144. Ar lgbori mak9. /
nkorin .
, '
143. They began to sing.
... / , '
144. Oh citizens of lgbori Mak9.
145. Qm9 Eiee'gun Ire. 145. Owners of beautiful egongun.
146. Wefn tUn nkQ orin awo meje. 146. They also sang seven occult songs.
147. AtasbaH. 147. saying Alagbaaa.
148. Atagbanlagba 148. Aiagbanlagba.
149. ~e wo m9 an 149. When you knew,
 74

i 50. O $C ~ee?
150. Why did you commit the act?
151. K6orooo.
Is I. Let it resound well and clear.
152. 0 0 koo ro.
I S2. Yes, let us chant the chorus.
153. or<> Aiku, 9 m 9 i;:gbaa ko too dop~. IS3. Two thousand cowries is not enough to pay for escaping
154. Onl'gbor(Qm9 ~gbaa tii Y9 91~ linu. death. .
IS4. Oni'gbOrl two thousand cowries debt womes a lazy person.
155. Origun m§'ta laa gbe:e bQ'mQ ~ni.
!SS. There are three principal sides from where a child can be
156. lp~>nna m~fa unla ababaja. bbm.
IS6. lt is in sets of six lines abaja marks are arranged.
157. Qna m~ta liia kl WQ9n nilee Klllodo Awubi. IS7. It is into three families I will trace your lineage in the
1'58. fni to ba kilee Igb6ri Ma.Jc . ·house of Kulodo Awubi.
9
!SS. He who recites Orlk) of lgborl Mik9.
159. Ti 6 ba fi tapa si!~.
IS9. Ana excludes the Nupe.
160. Oko iri 16 19
161. 160. Is a bush and ignorant man.
Om9 oku Erfuja 1·i;:go.
162. ' I 161. Tapa, the dead elephant fought in ~g(].
Oku Erin gba in6 igb6 kankan
163. J62. The dead elephant occupied an extensive area in the forest.
Aaye eriii iii 6 gb9na qdan .
163. The living elephant struggles and occupies the savanna path
164.
Kekere Ofo Nku wpQ'n ba~. way.
164. If the little ofo Aiku ( one who escapes the pang of death)
165. W9n a ree Gbori'ile. fights.
166. 16S. He then goes to )gbbrl homestead.
Aw9n ni ara Ibar{1Qm9 Dapanu.
167. 166. They are the citizens of Ibaru the son of Dapannu.
Om9 k~s.tf t(ki~in 16ro.
167. Excessive application of a spur to a horse's flank makes it
to become aggressive.
168. KikGu Ta'pa. ko y~ ni.
168. A dead Nupe is not fit to be called one's relative.
169.
Nkl~u Tapa, w9n a YC: e~iyan.
169. A living Nupe is fit to be called one's next of kin .
 76 II

170. For immediately after a Nupe man is deceased,

170. Ktlcuu ni Tapa ku.
171. I was asked to provide cotton wool.
171. Won niki'n wa otutu OwU.
172. Ki' n wa afa'ra oyin. 172. And provide the honey comb.

173. K{n wa ag6g6 ide, 173. And provide a brass bell.

174.
174. Ki'n wa kaninka1n t'oje fin w~ l'Aj9fa. That I should look for the sponge which the oje used in
washing at AjOfa.
175. T{a ba riotUtu owil. 175. If one gets cotton wool ,
176. Tia riafara oyin , 176. And if one gets honey comb,
177. T(a rl3g6g6 id4t, 177. And one fmds brass bells,
178. T(a si rf kanin kanln oj{ 178. Ev~n~ if one finds the sponge the Oj~ used in washing at
Aj9fa.
179. Nibo la o ti r{9t'Qto enlyan? 179. Where could one fmd a solid corpse of a man?

180. T6 w61~ lo<:lro? 180. Who was buried standing?

181. 0~ Y~ Tapa 91n9 oiuiyan ~gQ. 181. A well dressed Nupe man is good to look at.
182. Ara ue1baru 9m 9 Dapfutu. 182. Relatives of lba~ sons of Dapanu,

183. Nib~ l~ranko m~rlndbilogun. 183. There each of the sixteen animals ,

184. Ni'aw9n 6 ioye 16do. 184. Cairns to be the chief of the river.

185. Erin nii'oun t~ranko aa ru'jagan. 185. The elephant claims that he is strong enough to be insta-
lled Agan Chief.

186. U9n nlatin tfranko aa muunjagan. 186. The buffalo claims that he is strong enough to be installed
Agan Chief.

187. T uu
'' kum e ' ,. /'
/ .;,oun t ranko aa muu jagan. 187. The bush-pig also claims that he is fit to be installed
'Agan Chief.
188. Agbo~ n(oun t(ranko aa muu jagan. 188. The ~ted antelope also claims that he is fit to be ins-
tailed an Chief.
 78 79

189. Aw9n ~ranko WQ9nyf ko toy,ranko aa muunjagan. 189. All these animals are not fit to be installed Agan . Chief.
190. N~U' lie iba.-6 9rn 9 oapanu. Jn the city of Jbaro son of Oapanu, _, _
.J90.
191. iinikan lo t o ~ran~ mufin jagan. 191. It is the monkey only which is fit to be installed Agan
192. Chief.
Aw9 n Jobi Mo-Saka,
192. They are obi, I harvested my guinea corn.
. )93. N ko gl>Qdq koo . I must not gather it.
193.
194. Mogbin~p). 194. I planted groundnuts.
195. N ko gb9<19 re~. 195. I mustn't step there.
196. 196. Obi. I conceal myself at the edge of the bush.
197. Oloro~. mo b6jo yoyooyo 197. Olurore, I stare at the farmer.
198. 01ugbM Agan, ~ran b(o ba ku 198. Olug~~Agan , if he dies,
199. Ma mb gbe aw9 IQ. 199. I will of course carry away the slain.
200. 9m9 ~ranko gbal'-ia 16rligi. 200. They are fragile animals on the tree.
201. Ibit(a t!ln gbe6 ki Ta pa Iempe. 201. Where again we trace the Nupe to Empe.
202. "'il , ,. ,,
Ara u O godo. 202. Native of Og0d0.
203. 9m<? Erin ni'odo JQwo. The legs of an elephants are like mortars.
203.
204. Erinn fi ~nu U'n gun ~u r{j~. 204. But pounds the yam with its mouth.
105. Tapa lempe er~)isal~ 319. 205. The Nupe of Empe are the inhabitants of AIQ forest.
206. Anla Tapa loke Qya, ara fbaru 9r:9 Oapanu. 206.
- .
Native of T:ipa of Upper Niger., citizen of lbaro and
' /I

J.\neage of Oiip:inll.
207. Obfiw3,iu ni mo ba tan .
207. It was the foremost Obi to whom I claim my relation-
ship.
208. N ko ba t~hhi tan.
208. [ do not claim to be related to the latter generation.
 80 Kl

209. obi ti isaaj6 bo ba ri' mi 16kc odo. 209. When the Obi of the foremost generations saw me on the
I
other side of the river.
210. Ada t:Jill duro gboin. 210. He at once halted his horse to greet me.

211. ' f .. ' / , / ~ ' When the latter generation of Obi saw me on the bank
Obi ehrn to ba ti ri mi Joke odo, 211.
of the river,
212. Bl~ ba SQ e~ n(kfi. 212. They used to goad their horses in the most grim manner.

213. ~in amaa ta b(iroro. 213. The horse would then be kicking as the dragon scorpion.
214. ~bimumimurni. 214. Ob[ captures me.
215. Maaj~k(9k9~ mu mi . 215. Do not let your spear grip me.
216. ~~Sin ko gb9(1Q fenu ba ~j~ eniyan. 216. Your javelin must not touch human blood.
217. QkQ I'\: kb gbqdq fenu ~je crtiyan. Your spear must not touch the blood of man.
217.
2 18. Araa ~~ge eni ii~ Qka. Native of ~g~ of corn fields.
2 18.
219. Ara lgb6 Qya, ero 0 Subambe. 219. Native of Upper Niger inhabitant of Subamb~-

220. Were en1yiin ni yo ki)gbori~ 220. Only a person who lacks wisdom would recite the Oriki
oflgbori'.'
221. T( ko nil'ki Squngbe Asa mu. 22 1. Without including S9ungbe A~mu .
222. Ti ile Obidiran. 222. Of Obldiran family .
223. Omo eranko gbaragadi. 223. As he is active, alive.
224. 0 ku gbonrangandan. 224. He is stone dead .
225. Omo dindi a dirti kal~ l'Agure. 225. Each individual packs his load at Agure.
226. Qm9 okuu gberum( sQ m{ 226. The son o f the dead, help to put my load on, and help
me to put it down again.
227. Araa gbe le mi kaj9 maa IQ. 227. Help put the load on me that we can walk together.

228. Ok6 Agan ko~ esin. ~'.!8. The burial of Agan is not an easy job.
82 llJ

229. .A.row~ koju gba 1i:eg9. 229. Mourning in t gq is equally not easy.
230. ~ni tfyoo gbar\iw~. 230. He who will mourn.
231. ~ ba' ll)i wlttt~ ~wU', 23 1. Get me some cotton wool.
232. Omo os0~ron, e ba mi wa afara oyin. 232. The son of Os0p~tun, find me a honey comb.
233. EtUtu OwU ~PQ, afara oyin ww9n. 233. Cotton is plentiful but honey comb is scarce.
234. A gb9 pt a rletutu owi1. 234. We understand cotton wool- is available.
235. A gb6 pe' a ri"affuf oyin. 235. We understand honey comb is available.
236. Ooro ni Tapa slln. a 236. But the Nupe corpse is buried erect.
237. Taa ni y6o bami gb~I~ loor6? 237. But who will help to dig the vertical grave?
238. Tapa omo afogo YO· 238. The Nupe who uses a cudgel to fight.
239. A fodi 9k9 tel~ fo M9g8.ni9g~. 239. And struck the rear end of a spear to the ground and
spoke an unknown language.
240. ' ' ' to/ ki 'gt :.
Eniyan 1.
240. He who recites oru<l Igborl.
241. T(ko ba ki QIQ'pond~.
241. But fails to recite QIQponda.
242. Oko igi 1619.
242. He is only ignorant.
243. OIQp9nda omo eranko y!{ yuu.
243. QlQpQnda, the son of a powerful beast.
244. Y9Y9;iomo Atiba. 244. The robust beast, son of Atlb~.
245. Ql\)p~mda omo eranko 'ligan. 245. Ql9ponda, offspring of Agan beast.
246. Agan o fi..U baJ~ nigba1~. 246. The tail of Agan never touches the ground in the grove. ·
247. ... ... ,
... '" , ... ,
'
e gun Anumi, mo mu 1di tigba. -1, the monkey, lean against the locust bean tree.
247.
248. OiP9t>Qk9ri mo bojo yoyo s0loko. 248. I stare at the fanner like a dazzling light.
84 II"'

249. Alipinni k~ lamu mep. 249. Alapinni has only one caldrum (water pot).

250. K~kbi(!~liafuse amun w9n. 250. And the caldrum is made of brass.
" / ,
25 1. )yam'Q~ tot~ ode )gbOri do, 25 I. Iyamose who founded Igbori town.

252. ft.&an obinrin nii ~· 252. She was barren.

253. Amuf.ui ogogo 1oy9jo 100~ Aasa 253. Amu~n Ogogo peeped at Aasa river.

254. )yamQ~ ti dagba. 254. Iyamose has grown old.

255. 6 ~ tidogbo. 255. And she is aged.

256. 6 ti 1ew<. 160: 256. She has grey hairs.

257. 0 wan sunkUn pe Oun 0 b(QIDQ. 257. And she wept regretfully for ~he has no issue.

258. 6 ~mQ 16hin adieI 0 bu puro ~k1Sn. 258. She saw the chickens following the mother hen and she
burst into tears.

259. 6 wan gbaruw~ air9m9 p9n. 259. She was mourning because she had no child to carry at
her back.
260. 6un fQWQ os\'ln tutu nu Ogiri gb{gb~. 260. Instead of rubbing a baby with wet camwood powder
she rubbed a dry wall.
261. 6 wan wr9 ara r~ 1a.iku. 261. She was mourning over herself though alive.

262. Amu~n to y9ju n~u odo "Aasa. 262. Amusan who peepeil out of Aasa river.

263. Lowa~ bu 9pa. 263. Then swore in the name of <j>pa.

, / ... / ' '
264. Oni, lya M9~· 264. And said, Iya-Mose.

265. 06 fi inu soytfn, 265. You will conceive.

266. 06 r~hin gbom9 pQn. 266. And you would have a child \\llom you would carry on
your back.
 86
87
267. 06 ~ b{rn9 tlkaaraare .
I 267. And you will give birth to the child yourself.
268. ' / \ /
Ni lya-M9se fi bi fgun Anunmi.
.. ' \ ' ,
268. Consequently 'Iya-Mose
' gave b"irth t Q E' gun Amilnmi.
269. Ara {Sponda,9m9 Asa-guk9-Arin-guk .
9 269. Native of Qpi;mda, he leaps and gallops.
270. P~r~ ni lctiiplf, 9m9 016-awo. 270. He sat down at the foot of the palm tree , son of mystery
man.
271. Ok9qkan laa'he ira.
27 1. Palm kernel is picked one at a time.
272. Eeyan to he meji lo ~ojooro.
272. Whoever picks two commits fraud.
273. Ara a gberum( SQ m(
273. Help me to lift my load and help me to put it down
274. Ara a gbele mi ka lo,ero isal~ ~ M~s1. again.
274. Help me to lift my load to the head that we may go
275. hin ogogo, oka Igbor( together to M9sa.
' / /
275. You OgogO', the dead of Igbori,
276. Bob'i111in ko s(nilc mtf.
276. When women are absent from home.
277.
,
Keegon ma je ni lawo.
277. Let the egungun reply with cult utterances.
278. !bi ojiyan gbe njiyan l'kg9.
278. When disputers dispute in J;:g9.
279. lb~ ni WQn gbe bQmQ je f9J9m9.
280. / / / / , .. / / 279. There they spoil the child for his parents.
0 ni bo tiri ko sai ni bo ti~e.
281. 280. It has a reason; it is not without an explanation.
Ti w9n fi b9mo j~ fglcfm9.
281.
282. Nlb~ ni Eegun ile lgborljade. That they spoil the child for his parents.

,, ,.. ,.. , / / ,, / ' / (

283.
/ / /
282. There, when egungt'.ln of Jgbon came out.
0 ni ki aboyun ile lgbori o b9 sita gbangba.
' / /
283. And commanded the pregnant woman of Igbori to come
out into the open.
284. 0 n(Qpa bi ko sat nfi' bi ?kluirin l9m9 .
284. He vowed in the name of Qpa that the woman will give
birth to a male child.
 88 K'I

\ / , // !'/ ' ,
285. Iya Agan ti n b~ nile Igbori b9 s6de. 285. The woman cult member in Jgborl (Egt1ngifn Priestess)
came out.
286. / / :' ,,
/ , '
0 ru 9pa gbangba bt kO sa1 nibi obinrin l9m9 . 286. She vowed in the name of Qpa that she will definitely
give birth to a female child.

287. Knya agan le ~ni maa ran lomi. 287. That the mother of Agan (Egilngfui priestess) may have
some one to fetch her water.

288. 6 waa b6m9 sil~. 288. And the pregnant woman delivered of a child.

289. 6 ie9kUnrin n(wajU: 289. The front appearance was a male.

290. 0 if ob'inrin l~hln. 290. But the back that of a woman.

291. ~ ni w9n b9m9j~ f91Q'm 9 . 29 1. And thus the child was spoilt to the grief of the mother.

292. Nile Spb~ Ogog6, 292. In the home of Saba Ogogo,

293. llcU nil"mapa ~ni i kani. 293. It is death thal makes one's opponent have victory over
one.
 •II

CHAPTER SI: I'/: ,\'

oRiKI AWQN bcafN

I. ~~'a• Ogbfu ara Ogbojo I. Selected, illustrious Ogbfu native of bgbojo.

2. ~~a Ogbin ara ode Ogboluku

' I ' ' / ' ' I I
2. Selected, illust.rious Ogbili, native ofOgbolukc.
3. Dabajide qmq Onlke eyfu• Qba 3. Bab~(d€, the son of a hunchback that thrills the Qba.

4. ' mi
'lranan
4. It is my lineage.

s. Aieie 10'na f~. ·s. Constant and deep in knowledge.

6. Olo~b~m'a!e 9m9 k9ondu oni;;_.9 6. OI00gbilunale, owner of deadly poison.
7. h~n·. mo fode~ mi sakanre 7. ~g\in, i come out sparingly.
Aina niya Ogbiin ii ' Afn~ was the mother of bgbfui
'\' / ._ / ' I/
8. 8.
9. M91am91a 10 b(9g~ 9. MQlam9Ia gave birth to Qg~.

10. M91ad€ lo b(E{gun 19111 9 10. M9Iadi gave birth to EgUngUn.

I

II . ) ran an mi ft.1~1~ 16n'aa ti ks~ I I. My lineage, deep and constant in knowledge.

12. Ologboj6 Qm9 Onike' Ey~ Oba 12. Ol6gboj6, the son of a hunchback that thrills the Qba.

I. W mwu t~e. "'lected, the PrjviUF"· or the illustrlouJ. The Qyq Yo.;.ba
people uJe j;p thants for <gungun. In this ,.rue f.p means fumed the
phllooophtr, the poet. ·· '

3. The f'lrst Ologbiii' is believed to be 1 hunchb1ck ond he used to en certain the

Obi.
1. f,aUn refers to the magical power and skill or f;dun, the brown monkey,
90
 92 93

!3. Gumaiegumaie• 1ehin Attara. 13. The huge refuge behind Adafa

!4. W. / . ~gb~rindinlegbeje
.. ' 'Ogbin, Qm9 ,... , ' ' /
9kc; eegun.
//
14. Selected, illustrious Ogbfu, owner of uncountable cegiln.
15. Bata t•610'gbojoG k9d~. IS. The first pair of hose 61ogbojo made.

16. N n~ lo ya !chm ~. 16. Were those that were tom at the heels.

17. A.won ~nitiko gl{qn 17. Those that were daft.

18. 'Aw9n ~niti,ko' m9ran 18. And those who could not discern matters.

19. Gbogbo w9n 19 re~ f~~ si~ 19. All went into a fit of laughter.

20. W9n n{ OJ6gblln bru\ii 20. That Ologblnn had let out the secret of egdng<ln.
.. , , /' , ,,
, '
21. lgbati Ologbin in dele, 21. When Ologbin got home,
22. 6 nl a( abllji k?lbaaj( 22. He said, if the pair of hose were not tom.
23. 6 ru: A~ k~ ni'ietunnse. 23. There would not be need to mend them.
24. Ol6gbin ~ waa kfu AbM ti ~e ~gbqn Ob~. 24. Ol6gbln then called the needle the brother of knife.

25. 6 nikl ab(ii ki0 wa 25. He asked the needle to come.

26. K{ 6 wa WO ohun ribiribi ti Oba §C 26. To come and sec what feat the Qb{ has done.

27. ~ m"lei'A..,.,.,v
, b'·mm
OJog '-'-" I' '
K1omaj~ki6 baj~ 27 . Ologbln asked the needle to cover him.
/
. ,, ,,, /
28. Nitoripe ~nu ni a fi tun ~ni c;ni 1 JC· 28. As one's relative has the responsibility of covering one.

29. Ab(~ tara kGJti{ 29. The needle hurried to the task.

30. 6 fi ~nu tUn ibi aw gbe ya §C. 30. With his mouth he mended the cloth.

31. Q~ni ko b~ru 3 I. It was the fault of the knife.

13. The word may refer to 0.~1n·1deformlty.

94

32. 6 f~nu ~ ba~ j~ 32. With its mouth, it spoilt the part.

The people who had been laughing at the father.

33. Aw9n en'iyM t(w9n ti wan fi baba r~rhi 33.
That Ologbin had done damage to egifu&iin mystery.
34. Pe, 016gllin fu b'illumQ 34.
, '/
35. T( w9n 6 w(~ Ologbifu b¥i~ 35. Thereby ridiculing Ologbun.

Quickly they turned to praise the father with their

36. Ki'akfi ni w9n t1fu fi fi ~nu w9<$n yin baba 36.
mouths.
37. Odonko, bara I~· 19na ~ 37. The superb unexcelled philosopher.
'(
38. Aw9n ko m9 pe, 0108 bifu ko t{ 38. 'They did not know that 01 6gbim was not put to shame.

39. p{ ile Qba toi6. ~wa lo bu1cunn. 39. That a burnt palace made room for a much more imposing
one to be errected.
40. Ik~ emi ko j9 toya. 40. My hunch is unlike that of Qya.
41. Ka JJ6 ka gbl mi f9ya 41. Lest it be said that I should be presented to Oya.
42. Guhtln ~h'in mi ko jo to~. 42. My deformed back bears no resemblance to that of Orisa.
43. Ka ghe mi f&lsa law~ 43. That I should be given to the orisa ofDaw~.
44. ~yin ko m~ p6 Ologl?oj~ 16 b{mi runtf? 44. Do you not know that I am the lawful son of Ol6gbojo?
45. Ike'e mi h~ ni · 45. My hunch befits me.
46. crunaie mi, ti 11hin Adar~ 46. My deformity is a copy of that on the back of Adafa
\\ \ / , '"V ,
47. ~ Ogbm, w9n ni Oniiyaa -m~ya 47. Selected, illustrious Ogbfu: a child recognises its mother.
48. Qmo Elee gtin sek~tewere 48. The son of the owner of small but active e~gtln.
49. \ \ \ '
\
Alele lonaa t'e~ 49. Constant and deep in knowledge.
50. so. Tall and stout like a hard wood.

37. lwlluphilotophicalpoem.
 96

51. Qm9 F9nf9n- bl- Erfu- fon

'"
51. His voice is like the trumpetting of an elephant.
52. Qm9 Apa- ljali,ia lapaa Hf'ohfo
52. He extracts the very little pieces of flesh from the wings
53. ... ' ' ni 'isan pasan
Qm9 Orisa of a hen.
" I I
54. ~ma~ fi p¥nami' 53. Isan (whip) is a shrewed and crafty child of a deity.

55. ' ni Ba- rt loro; mo gU'n rfg{w9nu :159 19

Emi 54. Let no one whip me.

56. ~sa ni mf, t{ mo fodee mi ~kanre. 55. I am a chief of the cult ; gracefully, I entered the masque.

57. ' \ ' / .ile/ Ologbim

J,::~kwe - '" '
' /
mgbale
56. I am learned and l come out on special occasions.

58. 57. ~glingJn grove is at the back of Ologbin 's house.

A waa J"e wipe,
' ' iye
· Ologbiin
' '" mawo ~b{d' mawo?
58. No wonder then that the mother of Ologbln knows the
59. ~~. togb~. araOgbojo. secret of egdnglin.

60. m
Iwaju Ol6gbojo, igba eeg6n n( be; nib4<
S9. Ogbht, native of0gboj6.
The selected, illustrious

~ 60. In the front of ot6gbolo there are two hundred e&fuigfui

tk~hinsi Ologbojo, igba e~&On ni~ b~ nib4<
' ' I' /
61.
61. Behind Ologbaji, 'there are two hundred eg6ng(in
62. 9nm OI6gbojo, igba e€glin n(ml>j nlbt;
62. ~.(~_right hand side ofOlogbojo, there are two hundred
egw1gw1.
63. 'Osi' Ologbojo, igba eegdn ni' m~ n{~
64.

65.
...
Odee mi ogbaye

N(bo ni n 6 k~gb~rin eg6n&fin s{7

63.

64.
On the left side of Ologbojo, there are two hundred
egilngrln .

The front of my house is not spacious enough.

66. Ologbojo, omQ a-gbe-ee&llJi -gori~. 65. Where shall I keep these eight hundred egrlngiln?

67. \ ' mi abirin

uanan '' Adafa
'
1~~. 66. Ologbojo who as masquerade, rides on a horse.

68. i;: ~ti bo mi. Al~dafa 16 b(mi. 67. My lineage, you walk like the people of Adafa.

69. •• t:da.a
""' "' OmQ $9gb9ny9ke
,, , 68. Rally round me, I am the son of Aladafa.

69. Allidafa who has a trickish hunch.

 98

70. tranan mi guuk~n gumaJe lettin Adafa 70. My lineage: his back is like a heap behind Adafa.
71. ~hln g\iuk?ln ttoJogblfu male n{ 7 1. Because of OIOgbln male's hump.

72. 9m9 ilc ti rl? WQn an(kel9m9 y9. 72. People ask how is the family?
hunch.
They reply the child has

73. 73. If he has hunch the top of the hlmp would have been
pointed .
...
74. lranan mi, mo fede fohlin 1·~~. 74. My lineage, I speak with a changed voice.

75. LOjo Ol6gb'kfumal{, gbogbo eegiln ni won n599 doba. 75. Jn the presence of Ol6gbfutmile all egungfut are given
royal welcome.
76. Afs{OJ6gbln~al~. w9n a nl kW e~ jf? 76. In the absence of Ol6gbln egU'ngfui are dishonoured.
77. Ns(Ol6gboj0 ni ik~n modi y{eegiln ka 77. In the absence of Ologbojo termites build a mound round
the Egilngtfn.
78. ~ ~kiti bo mi, i: gb9san-in le mi Jori 78. Rally round me and put Qsanyln • on my head.

79. f y~w1 apf, i: j~Jq g9ngg9 59· 79. Clap your hands heartily and cause an ovation to rent
the air.

80. Mo f'okooro• wuyi lon'aa t'~yq• (b). 80. I gain fame with 'okoro" chan ts on Qyq highway.
81. ~ bgbfut, t'Olugbce Ad•( tomQ b9k9~· 81. Illustrious Ogbfui, relative of the red monkey.

82. 9m1b~k?rf. Onidegun, ~gbn'llfttagbe 'b jol~. 82. The red monkey, Eglinalete, begging is better than pilfe-
ring. I
t: ,..., '
83. Nu<i ~gun• Anumi ti dtye ko jale ri 83. Egun of Anumi; the highly skilled climber had never
stolen anything smcc birtll.

80.a K~ro o, o kO~ro is a popular chorus in e~ chant.1

80. b 'i:rci' is anothtr "'Y of clllin19YCi hi cbanu. 78. ~SIJl):\n is the &od of medicine, but medldne (oogun) ue concealed In the
<JWlg\Ul rJoths fqr clilTer<nt purpo.... On the sense such egung{Jn 11\uque is
"'PI<led u 9san)'lo (medicine)
81. Olugb¥ A~ 9mQb9k9ri Onid~gun'Egun
'. ' ' ~ -'). ,. ' ..
1 red monlcey. ' A nimJ tgwial~te arc pet names of

83. ~glin describe$ the dclightfbl "I)' tht red monkty jumps from one tru to
tht othu.
100 101

84. Oju Oloko nl~et mu tk 84. It is in the presence of the farmer, the t;:g'Un harvesn his
own part.
85. ~g\in Aie'te', iyan o b?k~ ~? 85. ~g\in Ale'te, the pounded yam and cooked yam flour are
not alike.
Oni~gun
86. Bii tf m9b{>k9r~ Onit~gun 86. Like the red monkey native of

87. ~gun, mo fodec mi jikanre. 87. ~gun, I seldom go out.

'88.
... ' /, ,....
,/
Anumi, Olugb~ Ada
/
ft.nUm(, Olug~ Ada {Red monkey)
88.
89. Qrn9b9kc:rf. onit~gun ~gun Aja. 89. QmQb6k9re, Onlt~gun who mounts the attic

90. ~gun A.nurnf Ajofe1a 90. ~g\in A.nurnfwho becomes rich through charity.
I I

91. 9r~ ni n 0 j~la ni'temi. 91. I will live on charity and become rich.
92. Qm9 ~ranko gbaragada, a kil gb9nrangandan 92. Man-ape who alive is active and when dead is stone dead.

93. Qm9 AkU'daw9 daMlc 93. He dies with all limbs outstretched.

94. iba~ t'Ologbojo, m9 agQ lolu 3$Q. 94. A native of Ibaru founded by Ologbojo. The Masque
is the most revered of all other mantles.

95. Q ? ni no' .l~ '•a mtcnu,

' f' !' . _,ka 9019 Abonye
' ::_
1.A11ta ,. be te
95. I will grow rich on people's charity, Llmiaka. the so n of
the man who wears a crimson veil.
96. QmQ (6{gi 0 WQSQ 96. The son of L{{gi whose robe flows on the ground behind
him.
97. Qm9 U'gi Qw9 c6g6n 97. The son of U6gi who owns a team of egungun.
98. U'gi 9w9~-w9yl. 98. Ll{gi who draws his flowing robe with grace.

99. 99. The son of the man who draws a voluminous robe to
cover himself in the grove.
100. .100. I make for myself a long bag and I thrust myself into it.
 102 103

101. ~ ' / ,, '

AnuJTIJ mo gbag9, mo m9 yan.
101. I am AnU.mi~ I wear masque and I know how to walk
proudly.
102. Anumi mo gbagoI mo 111~ j6 102. I am Anumi. I wear mask and I know how to dance.
103. Mo wwo bfmbf 1,b~ aw 103. I dance with my hands in the mask.
104. Om9 Anumi: OlugbQoye ati Olu~gun 104. The sons of J.nilm(are Olugb9oy~ and Olu~goo.
105. Om9 Anum( w9n k~ lagba 105.
' ' /
There is no seniority among the sons of Anwn1.

106. Q"m9 Anuml won ko 1areI I 06. The sons of ft.n\mt have no title holders.

107. ft.&b'aa w9n, k°b gb9dQ ru a~gba. I 07. Their elders do not pay tribute
108. Agb'aa Anurnf. w9 n ki irt1ku. I 08. Their elders never carry corpse.

109. a( aw b:f bori'ta'n, gbogbo w9n nii d9ba 109. When they put on eglingifu masks they are as kings.

110. ~g\in Anumi~ b~a a (mu 'esi) rn€si w!l sil{ 110. e&Un .A.numr come home with answers to our prayers.

111. Qm9 oj~ t61e, ojl~ t6ko 111. He sees and knows all that happen at home and in the
farm
112. ~gun, 1110 fode~ mi ~ak'anre. ~giln, I come out sparingly.
112.
113. ~ c; wlp6 k(n wale o. 113. You do not invite me home.

114. N 6 re Ogb~ ~wo. 114. I will go to Ogbin to practise my cult.

115. Beat the A.~hte drums, philosophers' drum.
115. i; la ~~1~ il~~~i (=~Ju ilu A.~nt~ ii~ iwl). Beat Agbandagba which Ologbojo dances in the palace
116.
116. l>J' b' \ b ·t" / / , // /
,.. ag ang a t'Ologbojooj6 nile Qba Nia'. of the great king.
117. ~ $ikiti bO m.f 117. All of you, rally round me,
118. Let wonders be performed.
119. Nlwa}u 016°gbojo lariwo rere gbCeta
119. ThJ.ll)derous applause is raised with the approach of
120. '1raan mi, Ab~ntc nilu aw9 n ~. Ologbojd.
120. My lineage, Abehte is the drum for the learned.
 105
104

121. 121. People that are not related to ~dafa

Enitl ko ba je om9 Aladafa.
122. Ko gbodQ jo ij6o w9n 122. Must not dance to the rhythm of that drum.

123. E'ew9' Ere nilu

. ' Abent~.
· '' ' 123. Boa constrictor never dances to A~mte drum.

124. 124. Ologbojo lineage alone dance to the beating of the drum.
016gbojo 16 gbodo joo.
I I
125. 125. Ologbojo must not see the pit where palm oil is extracted.
Ol6gbojo ko gbodQ WO bi won gM ii fopo.
126. 126. P~a must not come out naked.
P&Mibca• ki (mi hoho
127. PAraH ki { yan adi. 127. Paaraka must not extract kernel oil.

128. r
~biti k1 p'0wo1lrik~· 128. The trap must not kill Ow'olartk~

129. ebiti tOO' ba p'Owolartk~ 129. Should a trap kill Ow6iafilc~

130. 6 Joun pl eg1'ing&n feffr~yin l~b~~ ni 130. It was that the egfuigi{n had got under the trap to steal
the palm nuts used as bait for animals.
B! ... ' / / /' / 131. If PUrak) goes to the pit where palm oil is extracted,
131. 1 Par.ika ba de idi ~kli,

132. He only wants to see the nakedness of the W011l41l ex-

132. 6 'f~ ri hoho ni. tracting oil.

133. A.won 1ero o8b~ arlAdafa. 133. They are the inhabitants of Ogbin, citizens of Adafa.

134. Om9 onile ketl eti omi. '134. Who have their homes by the bank of a river.
135. ~. ' '
roo Su-ba-m-b~. 135. The citizen of Subambe.

136. ' ' .( ,.../ ' ,, / 136. He wakes up in the morning to wear bright red mantles.
Qm9 OjilaaaJ'Q W9$Q pip9n roro.
137. On the day the monkey swam across River Niger with
137. i(lji An~mi-m6 yangan Qka m~j1 la 'bu 9ya 19. two ears of corn,

126. plftka II a type of e~n,aU'.n among the tct>6m'ina.

"' 128. Ow0alnt~ is a name of an tPnPn.

 106
I07

138. An~m( m6 yangan 9ka meji IQWQ. 138. 1 he monkey held two ears of corn in hand.
139.
Tit( 6 fid6 bit( Dlgba gbe
om1.
n fi gbogbo eranko6 j~ nfu~ 139. Until he got to where the great crooodile was devouring
all the other animals in the water.
1
140. ~l k \\ \ / \ ,(
.,. u an, ~11;1 kan.Jo ro my gbingbin•. 140. It was an indigo plant that twiste~ round the branches
of gbingbin tree on the bank of the nver.
141. O'r9 d~d~ stbi odo lfarin 9ya.
141. The Indigo hung down low on the surface of the River
142. Niger.

142. The monkey darted at the indigo plant and swiftly clim-
143. Ka~ ni bab~ mi AnUm.i ~ l6k'e od~ bed the gbingbin.
143. With a proud leap, my father, the monkey landed on
the other side of the river.
144.
144. Thus the son of Seketewere swam across the deep of
145. the Niger.

145. It was a very big sheep that originated egongtfn as a cult

in ~ba.
146. AI~inan Orin•, 16'rii l'f~y~ Jawo 8 ~ ya
147.
146. Alaraan Orin, it was the duck who brought about the
0)>8n.i6
si).
Alapo Aaye (Aye = apo t(a nk6 aso. egu'nm<n
..
un ~.
leakage of the secret.
• • owner of 'Aaye
• bag where egungtln
147. Native of Qbanja
mantle is kept.
148. Ar.lltu'Ar.fu, Ubfuj{Qmq 016 Epo.
148. Native of Aran, Laban.ii son of Olu Epo.
149. S9b'a, Saran t6 wuy) l'~ia. 149. He is connected with Qba and Aran, the illustrious man.
1so. ~ba, S~, am llqba, Qm9 ~ya• nhla t{ { §ekU p~mu. 150. He is connected with Qba and Aran; he is the citizen
of Ilob~, the son of the big J;:ya.

140. Thisexplalru why hu (111 ~o plant) bsac:r<d to E.,'.ngW.tin•••·

146 Ali'.Rnln
masque. Ortn is believed to be the tndlllonal tailor who first ..wed egUngW,
ISO. liYa lt lho do~~~.., l<nlfo Uted tor laPJ>ln& palm wine.
 108
109
151. Kerengbe, mo si ~0JR1n ~mu d~~~ loba.
151. I tie the gourd to the palm tree with a robe to collect
palm wine at Qba.
152. eaia 1i pfpcy~ 1><:> 1obt
152. The pair of socks the duck wore at Qba.
153. Ni Pj!l~b!! 1(£ gbee kiri.
153. Are the flat webbs which the duck wears about.
154. NUQ awo' ya
154. On the day the secret became known.
155. AdfupQn fa~9 pupa bori tan.
155. As the male lizard covered its head with red cloth (male
lizard is red headed).
J 56. Q'w~~ rl ~WO egUng(in kiri ~gb~ Ogiri.
156. It goes along the side of walls, practising egtlngifn my-
stics.
157. Nodding their heads about.

158. lineage of lizard must not associate themselves with

members of egfuigun cult.
159. Antmi" 9m<? ~gba Ada.
159. Of the lineage of monkey, the owner of two thousands
occult classes.

160. Bartl~rQ, Bab3j{de; He wore egUngUn mantle with a per-

fect fitftng.
161. ~$3. mo fodee mi ~kanre.
161. The illustrious, I come out sparingly.
162.
162. Ologbojo is called owner of artificial hunch at Ogbin
mak9.
163. QnH? Eji til tu w9n 16ko.
163. The son of the rain that forces farmers to leave their
164.
works . ..
164. The son of the ra~ that causes the unexpected vacation
of the market at Moba.
158. ~ ~ . ''
Aamu. Alumu - The families of lizard.

160. D.1nJ~1~. Jlah:.jide refer ro the monker.

 110 II i

16S. Om9 Eji nfula n( (tu w9n IQja ni Mor6. 16S. The son of the heavy rain that makes people vacate the
market in the town of Mor6.
166.
166. It is the afternoon rain that forces people out of M~ba
market.
167. :Ateji Atojo ~
167. Both light and heavy afternoon rains,
168. J,l jQki n n~j~a Mor6 Kal~ Let me have successful marketing at Mbr6 till evening.
168.
169. Aladafa 9 m9 onilce-ev'1"<2ba. 169. Alidafa, the owner of the hunch that thrills the Oba.

170. S ... .I' ... / __ /"' .. ' , 170. He is connected with Ogbin and Ele a native of olu-epo
, ogbm, fEle, ara Il9ba t Olu-epo.
Il9fa.
111. • don
• k'o, baraaI w119na
O Superb in stature and learned in Iwi and ~~·
'. ' " ' "
i;:~· 171.
172. 'lya/ Olug1>9n•
/ , ogbqdq mawo.
172. The mother of Olugbqn must not know the secret of
egUngUn cult.
173.
173. The mother of Aresa must not know the secret of Oro.
174.
'IyaIOnikoyi•
,,, ,' ,/
ko gbodo m'egungun 174. The mother of Onikoyi must not know the secret of
egifnglin.
I 7S. I' ya; ,lLb/ I, ' , ...
vg in o moro, lo magan•
17S. The mother of Ogbht knows the secret of Oro and Agan.
176. 6 m9 lgi p~lfb~ t"1,
176. She knows Oro symbol.
177. 6 m9 Qpa tffpa wqqn ji;. And she even knows the Qpa which kills.
177.

171. ThU Ii one of the ver1e• that cannot be trarullted Uterally. Ji only explalru a
wperb man, superb In srature and In mmd, the lord of Jwi and Eas chant>.
172. OtU',bon, 9ba of lgbc/n.
173. lbeQbaof~
174.

115. .
Onlkoyl, the Oba or Ik°Oyl.
'
~..:~..~~.made •• of to perfonn fearl\il and deadly actlofu to rid
112 I IJ

178. iya Ogbfu, ti AJadafa Arikeyan. The mother of Ogbifl, of Aladafa, who moves proudly
178.
with his hunchback.
179. I ran An mi, ce~. 19na ojo* ~Y lineage, the illustrious in Oio District.
179.
180. Ar1' Igbc$n m°Qle, ara Ogb~-Ml;>so , .. / ' ·" '
Native of lgb9nm9le and Ogbm-M9so.
180.
181. Qm<? k~i - ti ik~~ 16ro Excessive kicking teaches the horse to be cruel.
181.
182. Qm9 laagi qw9w. The son of U{gi who drags his mantle behind hini.
182.
183. Qm<? Ato k€kere abc;nu j€gejlg!!. The son of small Ato (small woman) known for her quick
183.
and clever talk.
184. A1naa n"iya OgblID j~. ' /
184. Aina is the mother of Ogbin.
185. Al'dafa n lo k9 awo eegUn se , /

185. AJadafa was the fust man who performed egungun my-
stery.
186. o~ ~sUn lo biiya Ogbfu ti AJadara. Ogb~'.s,~other was born into the family of Aladafa by
186.
theO~J;:gun.

187. $'Osbht, fEle, an< il~ Iwi. 187. He is related to Ogbfu and to se1e' homes of philosophers.
188. Ar1' l1i1 li?<i.ln,ero igi. 188. Banyan trees abound in their town and they have very
low plants and shrubs.
/ ... , ....
189. Qdan nigi I~w~ w9n. Banyan tree is their ritual tree .
189.
190. Ogun~fl nigi n9ro. 190. og\in~~ tree is used to make Oro sling.

191. Aki ijij~ 1wl looro nil~e Kum61u.' 191. Wedo not dance erect to lwi chants in the house of Vnrnolu.
I 92. ~ ja~• , ~ jl(wo 192. Dance to A~, dance to Awo music.
193. I;: wajo gbaru~~t~ nil~ Ologbin-m3.l( Dance to Gbaru~~t~ drums in the house of Ologbin-Mue.
193.

119. 0;0 b a shortened word ro1 bs.bo~.

192. Ar>f may be clappina or hands, beaten or big leather put on a mortar, or ma·
Jdila uoe ortwo stlcltJ to beat each other.
It isa ritual mwlc.
114 ll:'i

194. ~;a~. ~ J,wo, 194. Dance to A~. Dance to Awo music.

19S. E fok~ro wuSi J'~y~. 19S. Sing okooro heartily in ~Y°9·

196. Aw9n omq ft.nUm(. w9 n ko gbQ<IQ fiha tanna. 196. The offspring of Anumf' must not kindle a fire with palm
husks.
197. Iha' ni tl$Qq babaa w9n. 197. Their father's robes were made of palm husks.
198. Aw9n Qmq g&la,;~. y{ka el>U danu. 198. As monkey, they destroy the heaps in anger.
199. An~ n[. b{mo ba WO )'ii't, WO yfu, 199. The monkey says, when I look here and there,
200. Ma ta f~~. ma yan lq s6r(igi. 200. I swiftly jump on a tree.
 117

CHAPTER EIGHT

ORIKI AWON oluKoib

I. Q~ is another name for 016kolo
1. 9~ 1·01uko106 j~
2. Who used to tie egUngUn mantles with strong rope
2. QmQ• ayetgun Ia'gba
3. Like a thrown stone which rolls on touching the ground
3. Ok'o bal~ n< k~b°ll
4. The offspring of one who had three balls of cooked
4. 9m9 M9)'ifi-rn9>4 mfta bean bread.
' ,
5. TI rn~ I6'de Ap~. S. Who dwells in Apinni metropolis.

6. h\i QI~!~• m~fa nigbhl~ 6. Six wraps of(;>l~l~ in the egllngun grove

1. ~ iko10, 9m9 ka-j~{-1c6-t.fu 7. Q~ oflkolo nicknamed, "Let's eat it all"

8. KiQKjejl 8. Let Q$(eat two

9. K'Afagb~· ojejl. 9. Let A!Igba'li eat two

I 0. Keeglln naa ojej1. 10. Let egilng$ himself eat two

11. Kftatoi:Un 6 poon< 11. Let the egUngtln 's guide have nothing to eat

12. p~ nJ~ru ij~, at91cUn ~ b6 eegUn lorl 12. Fighting broke out and the egUnguh 's guide stripped
I
,, "' "' /. \ ' \ l /
the egUngUn bare.
13. Ni ibinu atQkUn SI bo aw turo 13. In anger the guide dismantled the egfuiglln
14. Yanmu-yanmG ~ bu eesiln W 14. And a mosquito bit the egUngUn.
2. QmQ moans 10n of, or offspring of. In 10me ..,.. It could be ommltted
without loodng the meaning.

'· Allgba Is the rltulll head or ei;U'nsuf, cult.

116
 I l l> 119

15. IS. Why should Ocl'gborl say that the egilngU'n should not
be stripped naked?

16. Bebilba npeegiln, eegfut a bQ'ra 16. When the eg(mg(m is hungiy, he will strip himself bare.

17. o
Eegiln mutitan, ;•9101~ tan' 17. After egfutgU'n has drunk the guinea corn wine, and eaten
the ceremonial 91~1~

18. Eegun wagun• Oni&borlmokq 18. Then the Oru'gborun9kq became possessed.
19. Eeg~n ni Olug~~ Ada'• 19. The red monkey was egfiligilli.
20. Ko ~ni to'~9;~;u 01usb~~ Ada 20. No one surpasses the red monkey in the e&6n&Un cult .

21. ok{i agan be1~· 21. The Agan corpse.

22. efranko gbaag6da, o ku gbanrangandan. 22. The man-4pe who is active and but supine in death

23. '' " bal~' ni'gbal~.

lru 'agan ko "' 23. The tail of Agan must no touch the ground at the grove.
24. A were-m~gun • to;~ 16ri igba koto 24. Awer'e-mhWi ate on the locust ~an tree and thought
that was not sufficient.
25.
, gori,~mi 19
'0 tun
25. He also jumped on the shea-butter tree.

26. A $Orl~ f9h'Un awe~ 26. Who is a deity yet speaks like a monkey.

27. 91~ ki frrnug~(Ada 27. The egilngU'n cult members must not eat the red monkey.
28. Oru't~giln, Qmqbpkor~ 28. (The red monkey is called) Unf'teg\in QmQbQkqrf

18. Acolytu are poSRJltd whmever lsbcfn rft; b puformed.

19.
, ... / ' ,
Olu&~ Ada ls another nickname for the rd monkey.

21. Referring to Ow9ru6. A11yln and the ritual burying of the red monkey'a
bones.

24. A..~~fgUn is anothet nickname for tht red monkey.

 Il l

120
29. The monkey who ~uats on the attic staring, the poundecl
yam is unlike the cool<ed yam flour.
29. ~g'tin aja, ~g'linaret~ iyfui kojq 9ka Like an old man who painted himself all over with cam-
30.
wood, leaving the hollow of the face.
•30. ·~g~n alete arugbo kosun, 6 d3 apopo oju si'
31. The monkey whose arms are long and strong.

31. ijf ab9wQ - hal6halu 32. Like a crab which possesses a flat and shelly chest.
32. Akan, ab~ya ko 13. TI1e monkey comes but galloping.
33. lj[i~'de rin gru3,ia, galaja. 34. The big crab walks sideways to t he path way.
34. Od'li Akan a ~gb~ w9r9ko jana 35. Whil.: the monkey comes out of the bush and trot~
... / / •/ / / royall) into the farm .
35. ~~ ja'de iji, yiyan nii yan janu oko
36. When the crab fust comes out of its hole, it walks lei-
surely.
36. A.~~-kuro-ninti-iho akan a ~'uin gb~r~
37. The monkey marches lazily into the road . "The brave"
37. Iji yanjfi'na biQl~,ij{ a1'fut6kun a birin gb{;re. who trots majesticall)'.

38. It runs helter skelter through the farm of red bears.

38. Q sare kaaja kOOjO nin6Un ~Wt; t;l~wt;.
39. The monkey in Qba (meaning egungGn) who wears very
big costume.
39. lj(IQba, ayungitdii ag~.
40. He puts on numerous magic belts like a mighty luggage.
40. 6 w9nu o6nde k6 gangangU'gU'.
41. When one praises Olukolo, one also praises Ala'pinni.
41. s(a mi>"a n pe Olukol6, a m~a pe Al''pinni.
42. I know the marker who cicatrizes on the abdomen in
42. Mo mq olo61a ti' ( kQn6 nilee K{ij~fnrt Kui(nra.

43. I know the marker who cicatrizes people's back in lkolo.

43.
// '
Mo mq 01661a ti i ko ~hm nile lkolo
/ /"' \

44. I woke up early in my life and I found the Natu re's inscrip-
tion lines on my palms.
44.
45. Kuj~nr:I, son o f an aged black man of Okoye.
4 5. K6j{nnf, omo anfgbo dU'd6 okoyC.
122 12.1

Qpapa, mo le pagida, S<)gi d~rtlym* 46. As a converter, I can convert wood into a human being.
46.
47. The Olukolo's monkey which entered the forest and
47. tj{ 011iko1b, o ja tugbo, o ~016 igbo. becomes the lord of the forest.
).I/.~· ''"
!Ji ja runu ydan, o do~umare o d an. 48.
' ,.
Iji entered the grassland you become the rainbow of the
48.
grassland.
49. iji ni a11b6'.{.igb~-woye-oloko. 49. The monkey is the one that stays on the locust bean
tree to gaze at the farmer.
so. Dabi oke L&nitan 50. You look like a huge hill L3nitm.
sI. sI. You have long arms to carry and spread expensive native
woven clothes.
52. Aiejlka so 1t11i ~g9dq.
52. You have strong and broad shoulders to carry the heavily
woven ~gqd9.

53. 53.
, / ' /
His other names are Akinw9n (the braves are few) Eyidun
\

(this one is sweet), Ql'm~di (his honour sunounds him

like a city wall).
54.
54. The possessor of a very old hammer.
' ,,.
55. Ara Agbosokun.
55. A native of AgbO'sokun (very old and strong).

56. <;>mQ anfgb6 dudu eti Okoye. 56. The son of an aged black man near Okoye.

57. Agboko-le'w~-16ri;' omo a taroko lowo tciwo.' 57. He lives old on the farm selling iroko planks to have
I l ' ' money.

58. OmQ a-sa-ma'-lee-l<,>. 58. Son of the person who quits but could not go away.

59. Iyekan Agf ni w9n. 59. They are relations of Ag~.

46. This is where ~n Un<agu ate relaled to 1he wood <al'ltn ""10 hue
oriki in Ajib6o{nde, lwai. or Op6mU!e'ro.

SI. Lu'U is an expensive native wooden clothe.