I am grateful to Professor Yiwola Awoyale for breaking the news of Professor (Chief) Oludare Olajubu's passing, and for providing a befitting remembrance of this great scholar of Yoruba culture. Professor Oludare Olajubu's contributions to Yoruba Orature and Literature are vast, especially in his role as the foremost exponent of Iwi Egungun orature and performance.
I first met Professor Olajubu in 1990 through Professor Babatunde Agbaje-Williams when I was serving as the later's assistant on a research that sought to document the "cultural resources of Ijesaland". We combed the nooks and corners of Ijesaland during the project. Professor Olajubu was one of the people that we interviewed. What a great conversationalist! He didn't just speak, he performed speaking. His gestures and booming voice were great to watch. Always animated, he would break into chants of iwi during conversation, and would even dance. Jovial and full of life, Oloye (Chief), as many of us called him, never held back his thought, wisdom, and knowledge. He shared liberally.
It was through those early encounters with Professor Olajubu that I was encouraged to focus my doctoral archaeological research on his hometown, Ilare. In fact, Prof. Agbaje-Williams handed me over to Professor Olajubu to guide me. What a blessing! Chief opened the paths for me. He knew the importance of archaeological research to the understanding of history, and he encouraged the use of that western science to uncover the deep roots of Ilare history. However, he also emphasized many times that I must take oral traditions seriously. He took me to some of the most important places and peoples in Ilare. Places that an ordinary ogberi (uninitiated) like me at that time would not have dared enter. He opened my eyes and senses to the inner recesses and deep knowledge of Ilare history and its place in the broad Ijesa and Yoruba world. Somehow, he trusted that I will use that knowledge responsibly. He also encouraged me to apply folklore to historical and archaeological research; and to make connections between and across Western disciplines. He reinforced what I already noticed at that time that Western disciplinary boundaries and their exclusionary methodological practices are a bane to the fruitful understanding of Africa's deep past.
On many weekends in 1997 when I was completing my fieldwork in Ilare, we talked about the progress of my research, and he offered valuable advice on the nature of my sources and evidence. Yet, he gave me full liberty to interpret my data as I saw fit. He was a true scholar and a great mentor. I always looked forward to his weekend visits to Ilare; when we would debate and discuss over pounded yam and bush meat, and soaked ourselves in palm wine.
Oloye walked royally and chiefly but he was down-to-earth. He was egalitarian in spirit. He spoke a lot but he also listened and respected dissenting views. He had no fear of any authority but he respected authority.
Chief Oludare Olajubu belonged to that dwindling generation of African scholars who truly sought and used indigenous philosophy, praxis, theories and methodology to interrogate and explain African humanism and cultural subjects.
Ilare has lost a great son. Yoruba Studies has lost a leader. Like Professor Ade Obayemi, Dr. Omotoso Eluyemi, and Prince Adedoyin, Chief Olajubu has gone to the land of the ancestors! O di gbere, o darinako. O tun doju ala.
I join Ilare in bidding you farewell:
Oludare, the son of Ilare,
The child of Olajubu, arole Irele
Descendant of Ajalorun Oro
The ancient one who existed before time
The first among the potentates to lead
The great one who fought from Ibokun to Ikirun
Before making Ilare his home
Contemporary of Oduduwa
The supreme head of the lords of Eka Osun
He who owned the vast farm of kolanut trees
Bearing the fruits of money
Dispenser of the healing leaves and barks
Owner of the deep wells where metals sprout like yam
The great masquerade of Irele
Sleep well.
Akin Ogundiran
Chair and Professor, Africana Studies Department
UNC Charlotte
On Monday, October 29, 2012 3:09:16 AM UTC-4, Toyin Falola wrote:
--
PROFESSOR OLÙDÁRE ỌLÁJUBÙ (d. 2012)
Yiwola Awoyale,
Linguistic Data Consortium,
University of Pennsylvania,
Philadelphia. USA
Almost at dawn last Monday morning (10/22/2012), my cell phone rang. The
voice on the line said, "Hey, your old friend that you frequently spoke of,
is dead. Professor John Ayọade just told me." I had to struggle to my feet
to ask who this might be. "Professor Ọlájubù", he said. It was pointless to
ask how he got the news, given that he had already indicated the source. It
could not be a prank because I know Professor John Ayọade. I mumbled out a
question about when this happened, and he said that it must have been very
recent. And we hung up.
A sudden calmness came upon me. Whenever something like this happens, one
is reminded of one's own vulnerability. With his exit, the Yoruba academy
in Nigeria has now lost four of its illustrious members – Professor Afolabi
Ọlabimtan, Professor Adeboye Babalọla, Professor Afọlabi Ọlabọde, and now
Professor Olúdáre Ọlájubù. "Ilẹ̀ ń jẹ ènìyàn!" (the mother earth consumes
people)
Professor Ọlájubù was from Ìlàrè in Ijẹ̀ṣà land where he was the Olóyè
Sòkòtí of Ìlàrè. I had thought that I could recall exactly when he was
born. However, that was when I was heading the department and had access to
personal files of fellow staff. Now, after more than sixteen years, my
memory would no longer serve me on such details. He would be in his mid- or
late 70s. Suffice it now to say that he took his final bow in October 2012.
I first met Professor Olúdáre Ọlájubù, popularly known for many years on
Unilọrin campus as "Chief Olúdáre Ọlájubù", in late 1977, when I joined the
Department of Linguistics and Nigerian Languages, University of Ilọrin,
Ilọrin, Nigeria. We worked tirelessly together for many years, under the
leadership of Professor Ọladele Awobuluyi, to elevate the academic status
of the department from the scratch to an enviable world standard. Professor
Ọlájubù, until his retirement in 1994, headed the literature and culture
components of the Yoruba studies program, while those of us who were
linguists, serviced its language component, on top of our regular
linguistics courses. This type of arrangement provided a rich meeting point
of methodologies and ideas as we explored and navigated the intricate
interface of language, linguistics and literature.
Professor Ọlájubù loved and reveled in Yoruba oral literature, most
especially the performance of a chant, and his extensive publications
backed this up. He specialized generally in 'oríkì' (praise poetry). He
always emphasized that the 'orature' represented the livingness of a
particular literary culture. In fact he once said that no two performances
or recitation of a chant could or should be taken as identical. Each should
stand by itself, and the transcription should indicate the difference, no
matter how subtle. In a more restricted and technical sense, Professor
Ọlájubù specialized in 'Iwì Egúngún' – the special chants performed by
Yoruba masquerades. I once asked him why he was so fascinated by the
Egúngún poetry. He said that the voice of the Egúngún represented the
sacred voice of the Yoruba divinities, the sacred voice of the ancestors,
the sacred voice of the heavenly beings. He said that it was not just the
language per se that was so fascinating to him, it was the actual chanting
that mattered – the modulation of the voice, the manipulation of the
pitches, the drama in the voice, the musical effect of the chant on the
ears. And he could spend hours chanting the poetry of the Yoruba Egúngún in
his Ijẹ̀ṣà tongue. There once was a discussion on why he would choose 'iwi'
instead of 'ewì' to characterize this type of poetry, given that all Yoruba
scholars use the term 'ewì' for 'poetry'. He said that, because the
chanting of the poetry of the Egúngún was unique and different from the
regular chanting of Yoruba poetry, therefore, the term 'iwì' should be
reserved for the chanting of the poetry of the Egúngún.
It fell on the shoulders of Professor Ọlájubù to guide our students
through the methodology pioneered by Professor Adeboye Babalọla, of oral
field recording, transcription, Yoruba-to-English translation,
(versification, if poetry), and literary as well as language analysis of
the resultant texts. That was how the department became a very rich
resource center for Yoruba oral and written literature, Yoruba traditional
and contemporary literature, and by extension, Yoruba oral history. For
example, there was a time when we became curious about the possible
connection between several distantly-located Yoruba communities that shared
the name 'ọbà', as in Ọ̀bà Iṣin (Kwara State), Ọbà-ile (Ondo State), Ọbà
Ọ̀ṣun (Ọ̀ṣun State), Odò-Ọbà (Ọ̀yọ́ State). We had to send out students to
go into these different communities to ask for and record the praise poetry
of each of these communities, hoping that, if at some point in Yoruba
history, they were related, there would be certain common themes, totems,
divinities, festivals, heroes/heroines, etc., that would recur in their
oriki, or narratives, which a purely factual account of contemporary
history might not reveal. We were amazed at how much subtle facts of
historical connection lay hidden in the praise poetry of these communities.
Unfortunately given what we now know about the technology of scanning and
digitization, we should have looked for a way to archive the very rich data
on Yoruba oral poetry and history that is currently sitting on the shelves
of many departments of Yoruba studies in many Nigerian universities. Nobody
can say what will be the fate of these mimeographed valuable research
reports.
Professor Olúdáre Ọlájubù was a true Yoruba man. He loved the Yoruba
culture. Throughout our stay together, he never wore any other thing but a
Yoruba attire. You would either see him in a complete Yoruba dress –
ṣòkòtò, bùbá, agbádá and a cap – or, sometimes without the agbádá. His tall
stature and rich ebony skin added an air of nobility to his Yoruba dress.
He relished his domineering presence and his Yorubaness. He was a man of
extra-ordinary courage who would speak out his mind anywhere. In life and
politics, he always saw himself as a 'hard tackler'. You cannot miss his
strong personality. He walked in energetic strides as if he would pounce.
His deep and commanding voice would reverberate both inside the classrooms
and on corridors. Above all, his rich and extensive life experiences always
enabled him to see and go straight for the practical solutions to complex
challenges. Both as a former head of department and a former dean of arts,
we could always count on him to give the practical advice and guidance in
moments of administrative crisis.
Professor Ọlájubù was not only a huge loss to his family, but to all his
former students, to all his former colleagues at the University of Ilọrin,
and to all colleagues in the Yoruba academia. He will always be missed. May
his soul rest in peace!
Professor Olúdáre Ọlájubù, the Sòkòtí of Ìlàrè, adieu!
Olúdáre Ọmọ Ọlájubù,
Dijú, kí o ṣe bí ẹni tí ó kú,
Kí o wo àwọn ẹni tí ó ń ṣèdárò rẹ!
Rìn gọ̀lọ̀gọ̀lọ̀,
Kí o fi ẹsẹ̀ kọ gbàù,
Kí o wo àwọn ẹni tí ó ń ṣe ọ ní pẹ̀lẹ́!
Bí o bá délé, kí o kílé o!
Bí o bá dọ́nà, kí o bèèrè ọ̀nà!
Bí o bá dọ́run,
Kí o ṣe ọ̀run, k'ó lárinrin!
Má ṣe jọ̀kùn,
Má ṣe jekòló.
Ohun tí wọ́n bá n jẹ lájùlé ọ̀run,
Ni kí o máa bá wọn jẹ!
Ǹlẹ́ o, Ọmọ Ọwá,
Ǹlẹ́ o, Ọmọ Obòkun,
Ọmọ Ìjẹ̀sà-òṣèré,
Ọmọ onílẹ̀-obì.
Ọmọ ẹlẹ́ní-àtẹ́ẹ̀ká,
Ọmọ ẹlẹ́ní-ẹwẹlẹ,
Ọmọ Ìjẹ̀ṣà-kò-rídìí-ìṣáná,
Ile lọmọ Ọwá tí ń múná re oko.
Ó dìgbà ó ṣe o!
Àréè! Ẹ̀rù gàlè, k'ó dìde o!
Yiwola Awoyale,
Linguistic Data Consortium,
University of Pennsylvania,
Philadelphia. USA
--
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