Thanks for your interventions, which I have concatenated below. Despite the counter-factual contradictions etc. inherent in any oral histories, or suspicions of the hunter and the hunted telling different tales of their braveries, one thing rings clear in all the tales though: from the 16th to the 19th Centuries, the Oyo-Yoruba, the (I)Bariba/Batoonu/Borgu and the Nupe histories are very much inter-twined, and we should leave who fought, beat, enslaved and befriended one or the other aside. We weren't there at those times, and when wars are concerned, truth and ego are the greatest casualties.
But a little geography and a bit of gossipy history won't hurt....
We must make a distinction between Old Oyo (or Oyo Ile) - which was in present-day Kwara State, and was close to the confluence of the Borgu and Nupe people, and was NORTH-WEST of present-day Ilorin (which does not seem to have changed location since its establishment) and present day New Oyo (in present-day Oyo State) which is SOUTH-WEST of Ilorin. Ogbomosho lies between Ilorin and new Oyo, almost thirty-miles equidistant to both. These three maps show that geography:
Map emphasizing the relationship between present-day Oyo, Kwara, Kogi and Niger States
The New Yoruba States c. 1836 - 1862 (Map 3 in book: Kingdoms of the Yoruba by Robert S. Smith, Third Edition, 1988, U. Wisconsin Press)
The Yoruba Kingdoms and their Neighbors (Map 1 in book: Kingdoms of the Yoruba by Robert S. Smith, Third Edition, 1988, U. Wisconsin Press)
Since Farooq's "grandfather .....died in 1993 at around 120 years old" - meaning that he was born in 1870 or thereabout - and his great-grandfather lived to 100 years - putting his birth in 1840 or thereabout if your grandfather was his first-born or 1800 if your grandfaher was an old-age child - their oral histories cannot be completely discounted.
My final intervention here is to give an alternative story to why the "Soun" of Ogbomosho is so named - and how "Ogbomosho" itself came to be so named. Farooq says that "Soun" is a corruption of the Batoonu name for king - "Sonu". But who knows whether it is "Sonu" which is a corruption of "Soun?"
Well, the story is told of an Ibariba man called Ogunlola who was a known itinerant hunter, but was jailed/detained by the Alaafin of Oyo for bedding the Ijesa wife of a chief, an abomination then and now. At the same time, there was a marauding fellow named Elemosho who was making life difficult for the Oyo people, and in exchange for his life, Ogunlola offered to hunt Elemosho down. The Alaafin agreed, and lo and behold, Ogunsola killed Elemosho and brought his cut-off head to the Aafin (palace). In Yoruba - "O gbe ori Elemosho de" , "he has brought Elemosho's head"- which became shortened to Ogbomosho! The Alaafin offered to make him a chief in Oyo, but Ogunlola refused, saying that "Mo fe lo sh'oun!" - meaning that he wanted to head off somewhere "over there" safer from the king. This was approved, and whereupon he became the first Soun of Ogbomosho - Oba Olabanjo Ogunlola Ogundiran (1659-1714)!
LIST OF SOUNS OF OGBOMOSO LAND
1. OBA OLABANJO OGUNLOLA OGUNDIRAN 1659-1714
2. OBA ERINSABA ALAMU JOGIORO 1714-1770
3. OBA IKUMOYEDE AJAO 1770- 1797
4. OBA TOYEJE AKANNI 1797-1825 (Aare onakankanfo of yoruba land)
5. OBA JAIYEOLA ARE AROLOFIN ALAO 1840-1842
6. OBA IDOWU BOLANTA ADIGUN 1842-1845
7. OBA OGUNLABI ODUNARO 1845-1860
8. OBA OJO ABURUMAKU ADIO 1860-1869 (Aare onakankanfo of yorubaland)
9. OBA GBAGUNGBOYE AJAMASA AJAGUNGBADE 1 1869-1871
10. OBA OLAOYE ATANDA ORUMOGEGE 1871-1901
11. OBA MAJENGBASAN ELEPO 1 1901-1907
12. OBA ADEGOKE ATANDA LAYODE 1 1908-1914
13. OBA ITABIYI OLANREWAJU ANDE 1914-1916
14. OBA BELLO AFOLABI OYEWUMI AJAGUNGBADE 2 1916-1940
15. OBA LAWANI OKE LANIPEKUN 1944-1952
16.OBA OLATUNJI ALAO ELEPO 2 1952-1966
17. OBA OLAJIDE OLAYODE 2 1966-1969
18. OBA SALAMI AJIBOYE ITABIYI 1972-1973
19.OBA OLADUNNI OYEWUMI AJAGUNGBADE 3 1973 TILL DATE
1. OBA OLABANJO OGUNLOLA OGUNDIRAN 1659-1714
2. OBA ERINSABA ALAMU JOGIORO 1714-1770
3. OBA IKUMOYEDE AJAO 1770- 1797
4. OBA TOYEJE AKANNI 1797-1825 (Aare onakankanfo of yoruba land)
5. OBA JAIYEOLA ARE AROLOFIN ALAO 1840-1842
6. OBA IDOWU BOLANTA ADIGUN 1842-1845
7. OBA OGUNLABI ODUNARO 1845-1860
8. OBA OJO ABURUMAKU ADIO 1860-1869 (Aare onakankanfo of yorubaland)
9. OBA GBAGUNGBOYE AJAMASA AJAGUNGBADE 1 1869-1871
10. OBA OLAOYE ATANDA ORUMOGEGE 1871-1901
11. OBA MAJENGBASAN ELEPO 1 1901-1907
12. OBA ADEGOKE ATANDA LAYODE 1 1908-1914
13. OBA ITABIYI OLANREWAJU ANDE 1914-1916
14. OBA BELLO AFOLABI OYEWUMI AJAGUNGBADE 2 1916-1940
15. OBA LAWANI OKE LANIPEKUN 1944-1952
16.OBA OLATUNJI ALAO ELEPO 2 1952-1966
17. OBA OLAJIDE OLAYODE 2 1966-1969
18. OBA SALAMI AJIBOYE ITABIYI 1972-1973
19.OBA OLADUNNI OYEWUMI AJAGUNGBADE 3 1973 TILL DATE
Farooq's great-grandfather (1800-1900?) might have lived through the 4th to 11th Soun, while is grandfather (1870 to 1993) must have lived from the 9th Soun, dying during the continuing reign of the present 19th Soun.
Fascinating.....
And there you have it.
Bolaji Aluko
PS: Is Akin Ogundiran by any chance from Ogbomosho?
On Monday, Farooq Kperogi Wrote:
These are no more than uncritical regurgitations of Oyo-centric oral histories, which neither Baatonu nor Nupe oral histories corroborate, and which are contradicted by written records of the time in some cases. There is no point arguing about the 16th century. I'd only say that the Baatonu, in both Nigeria and Benin Republic, have no record of the putative Alaafin-led Oyo-Baatonu onslaught on the Nupe. Since there is no extant written record to authoritatively dispute or validate this claim, I'll just leave it at that.
The easiest claim to dispute is the claim that "In 1825, the Oyo and a political faction of Nupe collaborated to fight against the rising Fulani-led Islamist power in Ilorin but they lost." First, there was no war between "Fulani-led Islamist power in Ilorin" and Oyo in 1825. Ilorin's first emir was installed in 1823. The first war with Oyo didn't take place until around 1837. At that time, the first emir had died and was replaced by his younger brother, Shita. It was Shita who fought a war with Oyo and Borgu (or, more correctly, with whom Oyo and Borgu fought a war since he didn't initiate it). From the correspondence Sultan Muhammad Bello exchanged with Emir Shi'ta of Ilorin in the 1830s, we know for a fact that Bello sent a contingent of fighters to help Shita, and some members of that contingent were taken from Nupeland where Fulani rulers had taken over political power. So to claim that "the Oyo and a political faction of Nupe collaborated to fight against the rising Fulani-led Islamist power in Ilorin" is counterfactual. It's uncritical acceptance of oral history.
You said, "In 1837, the Oyo and Ibariba collaborated to fight against the Fulani-led Islamist power in Ilorin but they lost. Four Ibariba kings, the Alaafin and his son were among the people who perished in that war. If they had won, Oyo would have benefited the most but these Ibariba leaders were also fighting for their own survival against the expanding Sokoto Caliphate."
Again, that is Oyo-centric historical reconstruction that is not corroborated by the collective memories of the Baatonu people. The Baatonu people don't remember this as a collaborative war. They remember it as a failed self-interested war of conquest. Most importantly, though, there is no shred of historical evidence that the Sokoto Caliphate was "expanding" in the ways you suggest. The Ilorin caliphate was a historical accident. Had Afonja not invited Alimi to Ilorin and told him to resettle his family in Ilorin, there would never have been an emirate in that city. Alimi was only an itinerant Islamic preacher with no connections to the Sokoto caliphate and no political ambitions. In the six years he lived in Ilorin before his death, he never declared himself an emir. It was his son who was made "leader of Muslims" after his father's death. And all records showed that his son didn't seek to expand the caliphate because he was severely insecure and was consumed by existential anxieties. He and his brother sought military help from Sokoto not to expand the caliphate but to survive in Ilorin.
"Soun was the governor that the Alaafin sent to rule Ogbomoso area in the late sixteenth century when the Oyo Empire project began. Yes, he was Ibariba (and possibly other things). But this is a common practice in Oyo Empire --- to send non-natives to govern conquered territories. Oyo Empire sent Yoruba governors to manage affairs in Ibariba country as well. Even Oyo governors of Hausa background were sent to Oyo's colonies in Yewa (Egbado) area. Empire-builders cannot afford to think like a village head. They were successful because they were cosmopolitan in thinking and practice with sharp eyes for meritocracy. Also, you cannot create boundaries when you are trying to expand boundaries. Oyo Empire was a Yoruba-dominated entity but other language communities were absorbed into it and they became Oyo citizens or Alaafin's subjects."
This made me laugh out so loud!!! So you actually believe this? What about the Iba of Kishi who still pays homage to the king of Nikki? Was he also a "non-native" governor sent by the Alaafin?
Farooq
On Mon, Aug 27, 2018 at 2:38 AM Akin Ogundiran <ogundiran@gmail.com> wrote:
A little clarification because some of the previous exchanges seem to have collapsed about four hundred years of history into one event.1. The Ibariba (Baatonu) and the Oyo collaborated in the mid-sixteenth century to defend their homelands from a segment of Nupe militarists (not all Nupe) who were "creating trouble" throughout the northern Yoruba region, and Moshi-Niger area. The Wasangari who were ruling a large section of the Ibariba region feared that the crisis could spread to their territory and they supported this Oyo-Ibariba coalition. The Alaafin-led resistance finally pushed back and subdued the Nupe militarists in the last quarter of the sixteenth century. The victory launched Oyo on its path of political expansion and empire building.2. In 1825, the Oyo and a political faction of Nupe collaborated to fight against the rising Fulani-led Islamist power in Ilorin but they lost.3. In 1837, the Oyo and Ibariba collaborated to fight against the Fulani-led Islamist power in Ilorin but they lost. Four Ibariba kings, the Alaafin and his son were among the people who perished in that war. If they had won, Oyo would have benefited the most but these Ibariba leaders were also fighting for their own survival against the expanding Sokoto Caliphate.4. In 1840, Ibadan organized a region-wide defense against the southward push of Ilorin Islamists (who were being directly supported by the Sokoto Caliphate). The Ibadan won the battle in Ilorin and saved the Houses of Oduduwa from becoming emirates. That victory also launched Ibadan on the path of its own expansionist program.5. Soun was the governor that the Alaafin sent to rule Ogbomoso area in the late sixteenth century when the Oyo Empire project began. Yes, he was Ibariba (and possibly other things). But this is a common practice in Oyo Empire --- to send non-natives to govern conquered territories. Oyo Empire sent Yoruba governors to manage affairs in Ibariba country as well. Even Oyo governors of Hausa background were sent to Oyo's colonies in Yewa (Egbado) area. Empire-builders cannot afford to think like a village head. They were successful because they were cosmopolitan in thinking and practice with sharp eyes for meritocracy. Also, you cannot create boundaries when you are trying to expand boundaries. Oyo Empire was a Yoruba-dominated entity but other language communities were absorbed into it and they became Oyo citizens or Alaafin's subjects.Akin OgundiranUNC Charlotte
---------
Farooq Kperogi wrote:
Also, claims that the Baatonu people aided the Yoruba in their fight against the Nupe or the Fulani is made-up history.
My grandfather was born in the 1800s and died in 1993 at around 120 years old. He was the oldest person in the community. A member of this list interviewed him for his book on Borgu. My grandfather either directly witnessed some of the events some historians misrepresent or was told about them by his father who witnessed them firsthand--and who also lived for over a 100 years. He told us before his death--and histories of Borgou written in French in Benin Republic confirm this-- that the Baatonu people didn't go to Ilorin to help the Alaafin fight Emir Shita of Ilorin. They went to Ilorin to fight a battle of conquest of their own and were defeated. Many of them were ashamed to come back home; their descendants are now part of the Ilorin ethnogenesis, as I pointed out in my last two columns.
Ilorin isn't the only Yoruba town the Baatonu invaded. The 1800s were times of conquest and expansion. The Baatonu also invaded and conquered many territories in what is now northern Oyo. The king of Kishi, for instance, traces descent to Baatonu ancestors and still owes allegiance to the King of Nikki, the paramount ruler of the Baatonu, who is in what is now Benin Republic. He attends the yearly Gaani festival in Nikki. The current ruling family in Ogbomoso traces descent to Baatonu ancestors. "Soun" is the corruption of "suno," the Baatonu word for king. Professor Oyeronke Oyewumi, a daughter of the current Shoun of Ogbomoso, can confirm this. I call her my "Bere" because of this distant ancestral connection about which we discuss jovially every once in a while.
Of course, there was a robust historical relationship between Oyo and the Baatonu side of Borgu that wasn't about war and conquest. There was a lot intermarriage, for instance. There is a famous Alaafin (I forget his name now) whose mother was Baatonu. There is also sango worship among the Baatonu, which was clearly borrowed from the Oyo empire. To this day, an average Baatonu is more at home with people from Oke-Ogun in northern Oyo State than with any other demographic group in Nigeria because of geographic contiguity and continuing intermarriage.
The reason the people of Oyo Empire related more with the Baatonu than with the Boko of New Bussa is purely geographic. The Baatonu are the immediate northern neighbors of the Oyo Empire. The Boko people are further afar.
Farooq
----------
Bolaji Aluko wrote....
Farooq Kperogi:
Thanks for informing,/reminding us that you are of Bariiba/Baatonu ethnic group, who, along with the Boko, Hausa (?) and other peoples, made up the Borgu Empire of yore, and today make up that portion of Niger State that has a more recently formed Emirate of Borgu and an even more recently formed Jagsban "chieftaincy" title that was conferred on Tinubu, whose friend of the old Senate era, the current Emir, is actually Boko, not Bariba as I wrongly conveyed, the single error that I believe that I made by making all Borgu only Bariba. I would be hard-pressed though to believe, like you wrote, that the Oyo Yoruba dealt ONLY with the Bariba and not also with the Boko of old Borgu Empire.
Have a good Sunday.
Bolaji Aluko
-------------------------------------------------------------
Farooq Kperogi wrote....
Lots of historical and factual inaccuracies here. I belong to what you call the "Bariba" people. Our endonym is Baatonu (singular) or Baatombu (plural), but I'll stick with the singular in this response.
The old Borgu empire was a pluri-ethnic, confederate polity and was peopled by many other ethnic groups apart from the Baatonu. Tinubu was knighted "jagaban Borgu" (a hitherto non-existent title) by the Boko people in New Bussa in present-day Niger State, not by the Baatonu (or what you call Bariba) people. The Baatonu are found in western Kwara State (in Baruten LGA) and in northern and central Benin Republic. They had nothing to do with Tinubu's title.
So there is no connection between Tinubu's made-up title and the Baatonu (Bariba) people. The late Haliru Dantoro, who was Tinubu's personal friend when they were both senators in IBB's stillborn Third Republic, invented a title for Tinubu when he became emir. "Jagaba" is not even a Boko word; it's a Hausa word. Bussa people are not Hausa people. Most importantly, though, the Borgu people that people of the old Oyo Empire related with were the Baatonu people, not the Boko people whose emir chose to bear the misleading title of "Emir of Borgu" fairly recently (Borgu never had and still doesn't have one supreme leader because it was a mutli-ethnic confederate empire) and conferred the fraudulent title of "Jagaba" to Tinubu.
Farooq
On Saturday, August 25, 2018 at 4:07:36 PM UTC-4, Bolaji Aluko wrote:
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Mobolaji Aluko <alu...@gmail.com>
Date: Saturday, August 25, 2018
Subject: Re: NigerianID | Is Omarosa's Maternal Heritage Nigerian?
To: Imperia Merchant <imperi...@yahoo.com>
Cc:Imperial:History does not lie. When for example, Tinubu prides himself as Jagaban Borgu, he has a sense of history. People forget that the Bariba people of Borgu Kingdom (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borgu https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bariba_people) once fought against the Yoruba of Oyo Empire, but at some later time assisted the Yoruba to fight against the Tapa of Nupe Kingdom (mainly in modern-day Niger State, but also Kwara North and Kogi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nupe_people https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nupe_language), all of who are/were neighbors. Here is a map of West African kingdoms in 1625:If one were to superimpose the Nigerian portion of that map on these Nigerian stateshttps://www.nigerianmuse.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Nigeria-Map-36-States-plus-Abuja-500x436.jpgas well as on the followung map showing the Niger-Benue confluence:One will then get a good picture of why you write below that: "(they) claim to be Yoruba from the north (or northern Yoruba ) jbecause the present Kwara and Kogi states were once part of the old Northern Region . The capital of old Yoruba kingdom ( the defunct Oyo Empire ) was located somewhere around the present Kogi State".. In fact, if you draw a straight line through my Ekiti State, you will find that many parts of Ekiti State are more "Northern" than certain parts of Kogi, Benue and Taraba States. Therefore we should make a distinction between the "political North" and the "geographic North" of Nigeria.Read the fascinating history in:And there you have it.Bolaji AlukoOn Sat, Aug 25, 2018 at 1:22 AM Imperial Merchant Trust Ltd <imperi...@yahoo.com> wrote:WharfNon of the three politicians ever denied being Yoruba but they claim to be Yoruba from the north (or northern Yoruba ) jbecause the present Kwara and Kogi states were once part of the old Northern Region .The capital of old Yoruba kingdom ( the defunct Oyo Empire ) was located somewhere around the present Kogi State up till early 19th century .Sent from my iPhone
On 24 Aug 2018, at 11:04 PM, 'Wharf A. Snake' via Corporate Nigeria <corporat...@googlegroups.com> wrote:Saraki, Sunday Awoniyi, Dino Melaye say they are not Yoruba but Buska, Ogbeni Dipo, Alagba Afis say they are. Now they have claimed the Itshekiri too. Revanchist they all are.Ejo ni Mushin - PrinceSent from my iPhoneYes o, we relate very well as cousinsWe have so many alliances and coalition with ItsekiriSent from my iPad
On Aug 23, 2018, at 9:26 PM, 'DIPO ENIOLA' via Corporate Nigeria <corporat...@googlegroups.com> wrote:A good number of Itsekiri people think they are Yoruba. Some are active in OPC.The Oha 1
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