OLUBADAN, A STOOL NOT FOR BOYS, ...... BUT MEN.

YoruByte: - OLUBADAN, A STOOL NOT FOR BOYS, ...... BUT MEN.

25/03/2016

There is an adage in yoruba land that goes thus "Ti Olubadan ba wo nika, o mo egbe baba eni ti n se". it means "Even if the Olubadan adorns a mere knicker, he definitely knows those who his contemporaries are ". It may better be appreciated as, "Though the Olubadan may adorn just a knicker, he definitely is not a contemporary/mate of many people's fathers". Indeed, it is true both literarily and metaphorically.

The Olubadan stool is a very unique monarchical stool such that no other kingdom in the whole of the world has such advanced succession plan. i stand to be corrected. The system of ascension unto the Olubadan stool is so unique that it is worthy to be given some special study by a university someday.

Becoming an Olubadan is not moin-moin o. To become an Olubadan, you must escape infant mortality at birth. You must dribble mortal diseases in your early childhood. As you reach puberty, your hiding skill must be greater than Death's seeking skill. As you play whot with life in your university days, and death hums around you, you must be able to give "Death" pick two, pick three, general market and suspension while you serve your semi last card in 300 level, last card in 400 level and checkup as you graduate, without meeting death. Sorry, you are not qualified yet to be Olubadan. As you go for NYSC, you must be able to "gbe'kude". when you come back from service and start proper life, you are required to be able to do leg-over for Death. you must win death both at the Emirate and Campnou. You must serve death with the salo service and consistently do an Hussain Bolt against death for a long time in your life. what all these simply means is that ..... you must have a long life span.

You may want to ask why one needs to have a long lifespan before he can become an Olubadan. the simple reason is that the Olubadan stool is the only kingship stool that you attain by promotion. The traditional chieftaincy system that produces the Olubadan of Ibadanland essentially consists of two approved lines - Otun and Balogun lines. . The Balogun line is a military career line to the kingship stool, while the Otun line is a civilian route to the Kingship stool. Now, the Balogun line has a 23-step rung, while the Otun line is 22-step rung before the eventual emergence as Olubadan in a promotional system that abhors supersession unless there is an exceptionally grave circumstance.

The promotion in the line of Balogun follows this pattern: From Jagun – Ajia – Bada – Are-Onibon – Gbonnka – Aare Egbe Omo – Oota – Lagunna – Are-Ago – Ayingun – Asaju – Ikolaba – Aare-Alasa – Agba-Akin – Ekefa – Maye –Abese – Ekarun Balogun – Ekerin Balogun – Ashipa Balogun – Osi Balogun – Otun Balogun and eventually to Balogun. The journey from Jagun to Balogun will take a prospective candidate through a 23-rung ladder, and, having reached the top of the ladder, he becomes Balogun and would, therefore, wait for his turn to emerge the Olubadan of Ibadanland.

The promotion in the line of Olubadan follows the same pattern, but is 22 rungs : From Jagun – Ajia – Bada – Aare Onibon – Gbonnka – Aare-Egbe Omo – Oota – Lagunna – Are-Ago – Ayingun – Asaju – Ikolaba – Aare-Alasa – Agba-Akin – Ekefa – Maye – Abese – Ekarun Olubadan – Ekerin Olubadan – Ashipa Olubadan – Osi Olubadan and finally to Otun Olubadan. The nomenclature looks the same with that of Balogun, until when the prospective candidate finally gets to the Ekarun Olubadan. Upon emergence as the Otun Olubadan, the candidate is set to emerge the next Olubadan of Ibadan land on his turn.

Here is the catch, promotion is not by performance, promotion is by DEATH! A promotion happens only when someone ahead of a candidate dies! Now you see why the youngest ever Olubadan was said to be 72 years (i am not able to independently confirm the age). The current Olubadan is over 80 years.
There is a proverb in yoruba land that says "No matter how you promote a chief, you cant promote him to the extent of becoming a king". Usually, we add "Except the Olubadan".

May God bless the reign of the new Olubadan, Oba Saliu Akanji Adetunji. Kabiyesi, may your days be long like that of Methusellah and may you rule with the wisdom of Sulaiman. May you achieve great accomplishments like Obatala and may your reign be peaceful for all and sundry in Ibadan. Postrating on flat on my chest, I say KAABIYESI ooo!!!

Indeed, even if the Olubadan adorns a mere knicker, he definitely knows those who his contemporaries are.
- Till Next Week Friday

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Yorubyte Tour
The Yorubyte tour to Igboho would take off tomorrow with Friends and Fans of Yorubyte who have signified interest. Igbo-ora , Sepeteri, Shaki, Iseyin, Igboho and Igbeti. Special thanks to the great Alaafin of Oyo. Baba has graciously accepted to receive us in his palace on our way back. can't wait to take a selfie with the Kabiyesi.

SOMETIMES, PEACE IS BETTER THAN TRUTH (Part 2).

YoruByte: SOMETIMES, PEACE IS BETTER THAN TRUTH (Part 2).

http://yorubyte.blogspot.com.ng/2016/02/sometimes-peace-is-better-than-truth.html is one of my weekly Friday YoruByte posts i made about four weeks ago. I didn't know i would be making a 2nd part of the post. i made the post immediately the Alake made his pronouncement on the ranking of the yoruba kings. I said it then that the Kabiyesi had stirred a hornet's nest, and now see as the sting is coming from left right and centre. Hmmm.... Yoruba roonu o.

I read this morning again that Kabiyesi, the Alake says he still stands by that ranking. His justification of the ranking is based on the salaries of the Obas as declared in 1937. Haba! In yoruba land, we do not determine seniority by riches. The colonialists may give whatever salaries they want to give, it does not mean we dont know our history na. Hmmm..... Yoruba roonu o.


So, does it mean if a First born and a last born work in the same company, and the first born is a messanger while the last born is a manager, when they get to their family house, the last born would be said to be the senior because he collects a higher salary? Hmmm.... Yoruba roonu o...

Okay, even going by the salary that the Alake is using as his basis for seniority (sic), from the 1937 salary scale below, how come the Alake is ranking the Ooni above the Alaafin when the Alaafin earns far higher than the Ooni? in the salary scale, you can see that the 2,250 pounds claim of the Alake as salary and the 1,700 pounds salary of the Awujale are still the same captioned amount. from the same salary scale, you can see that the Olubadan earned more than the Alake, yet, the Olubadan was clasified as a 2nd class king. it shows that salary is not what depicts seniority of Obas in Yoruba land. Hmmmm..... Yoruba roonu o.

Yoruba Obaship Seniority is NOT based on salary, neither is it based on how urbanized the respective towns/kingdoms are. Seniority is based on Blood lineage and royal customs.

Still my mouth does not take it to say an Oba is wrong. so i would just go down flat on my chest again and say to the Alake, ..... Kaabiyesi o. May your reign be peaceful, and may the gods grant you the wisdom to lead us aright. Again, i say, Sometimes, "peace" is better than "Truth".

-Till Friday."

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BEBE, A CELEBRATION OF WONDERS

YoruByte: BEBE, A CELEBRATION OF WONDERS

04/03/2016

"o ga o, e n se bebe o" is an expression anyone who has lived in the Yoruba speaking southwestern part of Nigeria has heard at one time or the other. The expression, loosely translated means "wow, you are doing wonders". It is a phrase usually employed to show the achievement of a great feat. It is also usually used when a party is a big success with plenty food and booze. You would usually hear something like, "Ha, ee wa si inawo ana, won se bebe ni inawo yen o" ( Ha! You didn’t come for the party yesterday, the hosts did wonders).

Many people think the word "Bebe" is a slang, probably coined by the Isale Eko (Lagos Island) boys. But no! The word "Bebe" is a proper Yoruba word which has a proper meaning and origin.

The Bebe is the golden jubilee anniversary of the king's reign. That is, the 50th year celebration of a king being on the throne. There have been just a few Bebes celebrated in the history of the Yorubas. On some VERY rare occasions, a king may evoke the Bebe celebration without being the golden jubilee celebration, but for this to happen, a VERY significant event must have occurred in the Yoruba kingdom. ONLY the Alaafin can evoke a Bebe celebration of that kind, no other king in Yoruba land has the authority to do so.

Hmmm..... The Bebe Celebration..... A celebration like no other celebration ON EARTH! Mother of all celebrations, the envy of other nations, pride of the Yoruba nation, with plump and pageantry, experienced only by chosen generations. Indeed, the Bebe is a magnificient celebration.

A Bebe celebration lasts for 3 YEARS! Yes, 3 multiplied by 365 days! That alone tells you the kind of celebration i am talking about. During the 3 years period, liberty of speech and action is granted to everyone, high and low, rich and poor throughout the Yoruba nation, without the fear of being accused of sedition or treason. No riots or fights are to be heard of anywhere, all provocations or aggravations must be suppressed throughout the 3 years while the Bebe celebration lasts, for no one is to be prosecuted during the period. All is peace.

The King's Illaris (enforcers) are rarely seen around on duty during the 3 years of the Bebe festival. Even when seen, they do not enforce anything. See, the Bebe festival is a time to just enjoy and be pampered as citizens. No tolls or tributes are paid, no taxes are paid, everyone just mingles and enjoys unprecedented enjoyments. Country folks go to Oyo to enjoy themselves without fear. Feudatory kings and princes, and those of adjacent countries pay visits to Oyo to offer congratulations; Presents are given and received. Even King Solomon would be envious of the majesty and lavishness of a Bebe celebration.

There is however one dark blot on the Bebe festival, ….. It is always accompanied with human sacrifices offered to the memory of all preceding kings from ODUDUWA downwards. Two persons for each king! So, if a Bebe is to be celebrated today, we would require AT LEAST, 84 persons for sacrifice ( I have counted 42 Kings from Odudwa to the current Alaafin. The 42 i counted do not include the kings that i do not know of, and definitely there are many of them).

So, the people are slaughtered, alongside many other animals (goats, sheeps, cows, donkeys, e.t.c). The bloods are all mixed together and poured out on the ground of the village square for the king and his courtiers to have a religious dance on the red blood. Does anyone feel like they also now understand the origin of the English phrase "Painting the town red" used in connection to parties? Maybe the Oyinbos coined that phrase after watching our Bebe Celebrations. *Flees*.

Well, the part of the Bebe ceremony where the king dances on the blood of the humans and animals is regarded as the highest act of worship and of Thanksgiving. Again, does anyone feel like they have an idea of the English phrase "Blood on the dance floor"? erm... never mind jare.

The Bebe is sometimes termed the Iku or Funeral rites, as if intended to mark the close of a long reign. This is from the fact that the few kings who celebrated it died a short time after. *Sad Face*.

The current Alaafin, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi 111 has spent 46 years on the throne. We wish Kabiyesi Long life in good health for him to be able to declare a Bebe Celebration (Baba, Please leave out the human sacrifice part o). And we wish he would break the record of living long after the Bebe celebrations.

So when next you see an “Agbero” in his “Abete” with his “fish” wrapped in his “Rizzla”, 3 “ogidigas”, 3 “Alomos”, and one “Olosho Pupa”. If he smiles at you and says awa n se Bebe n biyi with a husky voice, just smile knowing that what he uses as a slang has a deeper meaning.

- Till Next week Friday.

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YORUBYTE TOUR

The Yorubyte Tour would leave on the 25th of March 2016 (Good friday) and return on the 26th. We shall be visiting Igboho after Shaki to learn about Orompotonihun the "Female" king of the Yoruba empire and see her tomb. There is room only for 15 people.
Transport fare would be 4k per person. and hotel would be 4k per person too (2 people in a room). It is an adventure tour not a luxurious tour. Inbox me to get account details to pay into.


Olufemi fadairo can be reached on twitter using the handle @ffadairo