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Alaafin, or The custodian of the Palace in the Yoruba language, is the title of the king of the medieval Oyo empire [1] and present-day Oyo town of West Africa. It is the particular title of the Oba (king) of the Oyo. [2] It is sometimes translated as "emperor" in the context of ruler of empire. He ruled the old Oyo Empire, which extended from the present-day Benin republic to Nigeria, originating from states in the South East and West to the North. The people under him are called Yoruba people and spoke the Yoruba Language.
The Alaafin of Oyo in Yoruba mythology and history is said to be one of Oduduwa seven grandsons who later became Kings, forming the bedrock of the Yoruba Civilization. [1]
The Alafin and the Oyo Mesi formed the central government of the Empire. Local provincial government was in the hands of oba (if crowned head) or bale (if not entitled to wear a crown). [3] The relationship between the Alafin and the Obas was a feudal one, that is for his rule and protection, the Obas, the Bales and chiefs of vassal states owed him certain obligations. [4] By the early 1800s, however, conflicts between the Oyo emperor (alafin) and the hereditary kings (obas) of the core city-states, who comprised an independent executive council (oyo mesi), had considerably weakened cen- tral authority-even as the Oyo Empire began to lose control over outlying kingdoms and city-states. [5]
The title was retained after the fall of the Oyo Empire as the official title of the ceremonial ruler of the contemporary natives of Oyo, Nigeria. The Alaafin is the political head of the Yoruba people and the only monarch with the pre-requisite power to appoint a chieftain representing the entire Yorubaland. [6] Examples of such appointments include Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland and Iyalode of Yorubaland.
As of 2021 [update] the Alaafin (Emperor) of Oyo was Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III who was the 45th Alaafin, [7] celebrated his 50th year on the throne. [8] Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III, Iku Baba Yeye, Alaafin (Emperor) of Oyo was the permanent Chairman, Oyo State Council of Obas and Chiefs until his death on Friday, 22 April 2022. [9] The style used for Alaafins is Imperial Majesty. [10]
Ogbomoso is a city in Oyo State, south-western Nigeria. It was founded in the mid 17th century. The population was approximately 454,690 in the 2006 census. It is the second largest city in Oyo State and also among the most populated in Nigeria. It is the 3rd most populated city in South Western Nigeria after Lagos and Ibadan. Although the principal inhabitants of the city are the Yoruba people, there are people from other parts of Nigeria and other West African countries who are residents in the city.
Salawa Abeni Alidu is a Nigerian singer. An Ijebu Yoruba from Ijebu Waterside, in Ogun State, she began her professional career in waka music when she released her debut album titled, Late General Murtala Ramat Mohammed, in 1976, on Leader Records. It became the first recording by a female artist in Yoruba Songs to sell over a million copies in Nigeria.
The Oyo Empire was a Yoruba empire in West Africa. It was located in present-day eastern Benin and western Nigeria. The empire grew to become the largest Yoruba-speaking state through the organizational and administrative efforts of the Yoruba people, trade, as well as the military use of cavalry. The Oyo Empire was one of the most politically important states in Western Africa from the mid-17th to the late 18th century, and held sway not only over most of the other kingdoms in Yorubaland, but also over nearby African states, notably the Fon Kingdom of Dahomey in the modern Republic of Benin on its west.
Waka music is a popular Islamic-oriented Yoruba musical genre. It was made popular by Alhaja Batile Alake from Ijebu, who took the genre into the mainstream Nigerian music by playing it at concerts and parties; also, she was the first waka singer to record an album. Later, younger singers like Salawa Abeni and Kuburatu Alaragbo joined the pack. In 1992, Salawa Abeni was crowned "Queen of Waka" by the Alafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi.
Abiodun was an 18th-century alaafin, or king, of the Oyo people in what is now Nigeria.
Ọ̀rànmíyàn, also known as Ọranyan, was a legendary Yoruba king from the kingdom of Ile-Ife, and the founder of the Oyo empire. Although he was the youngest of the descendants of Oduduwa, he became the prime heir of Oduduwa upon his return to claim his grandfather's throne.
Oba means "ruler" in the Yoruba and Bini languages. Kings in Yorubaland, a region which is in the modern republics of Benin, Nigeria and Togo, make use of it as a pre-nominal honorific. Examples of Yoruba bearers include Oba Ogunwusi of Ile-Ife, Oba Aladelusi of Akure, and Oba Akiolu of Lagos. An example of a Bini bearer is Oba Ewuare II of Benin.
Aganju of Oyo was a Yoruba emperor of the Oyo state, in present-day Nigeria. He was said to have been the fourth Alaafin or old Oyo.
Alayeluwa Oba Okunade Sijuwade CFR was the fiftieth traditional ruler or Ooni of Ife from 1980 to his death in 2015, taking the regnal name Olubuse II. He was the traditional ruler of the Yoruba Kingdom of Ile-Ife a traditional Yoruba state based in the town of Ife in Osun State, Nigeria. He was crowned on 6 December 1980 in a ceremony attended by the Emir of Kano, Oba of Benin, Amayanabo of Opobo and Olu of Warri, as well as by representatives of the Queen of England.
Chief Emmanuel Oyedele Ashamu commonly known as Chief E. O. Ashamu or The Mayo of Oyo was a Nigerian land owner and Oyo Chief who was prominent in the Nigerian business sector during the 1960s - 1990s. He was a pharmacist by training and was the owner of Industrial Chemists Ltd, Lagos. He rose to become one of the most prominent businessmen in Africa, with interests in agriculture, banking, transportation and real estate.
Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III was the Alaafin, or traditional ruler, of the Yoruba town of Oyo and rightful heir to the throne of its historic empire.
Chief Ganiyu Adams, popularly known as Gani Adams, is a Nigerian activist, politician, traditional aristocrat and the 15th Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland.
The Ìyálóde is a high-ranking female chieftain in most of the Yoruba traditional states. The title is currently within the gift of the obas, although Njoku asserted in 2002 that the process of choosing an Ìyálóde in pre-colonial Nigeria was less of a choice by the monarch, and more of the accomplishment and involvement of the woman to be so honoured in economic and political matters.
Akeem Adeniyi Adeyemi also known as Skimeh is a Nigerian politician. He is a member of the Nigeria Federal House of Representatives representing the Afijio, Oyo West, Oyo East, Atiba West federal constituency. He is the son of the paramount king of Oyo town Oba Lamidi Olayiwola III.
The Yoruba Revolutionary Wars, otherwise known as the Yoruba Civil Wars, were a series of conflicts that engulfed the Yoruba-speaking areas of West Africa in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Robin Law summarizes the causes of the wars as the disintegration of the old Oyo Empire after the death of Alaafin Abiodun in 1789 and a resurgence of long-standing quarrels between the provincial chiefs over various issues. The root of the first disagreements can be traced to the feud between two noble houses; Laderin, based in Ilorin, and Yamba, based in the capital at Oyo-Ile. The conflict was also exacerbated by a Muslim slave rebellion led by a Fulani Muslim cleric, Shehu Alimi, and sponsored by the Aare Ona Kakanfo, Afonja, a descendant of Laderin, the founder of Ilorin, in 1817.
The Oyo Mesi is the privy council of Oyo, a Yoruba traditional state in Southwestern Nigeria. It dates to the medieval period, when it served as the government of a powerful pre-colonial state that was known as the Oyo empire.
The Kiriji War, also known as the Ekiti–Parapo War, was a 16-year-long civil war between the subethnic kingdoms of the Yoruba people, specifically divided between the Western Yoruba, which was mainly the Ibadan and Oyo-speaking Yorubas, and the Eastern Yoruba, who were the Ekiti people, Ijesha, Ijebu people, and others.
Obadoke Latoosa Oyatoosa, but more commonly referred to as Latoosa, and later Mohammed Obadoke Latoosa, was a Yoruba General, Warlord, and Chief who was the Aare Ona Kakanfo of the Oyo Empire, the ruler of the self proclaimed Ibadan Empire, and the commander and leader of the Western forces of Ibadan during the Kiriji War from 1877 to his death in 1885.
Alaafin Atiba Atobatele was a king of the Oyo Empire. He was the son of King Abiodun of Oyo, and Eni-olufan from Akeitan.
Welcome to the website of His Imperial Majesty, The Alaafin of Oyo, The Head and Paramount Ruler of the Yorubas.
4. The official website of the Alaafin of Oyo (https://www.alaafinoyo.com )
5. A Symbol of Yoruba Culture and Unity: The Life and Royalty of His Imperial Majesty, Oba Adeyemi III, the Alaafin Oyo by Siyan Oyeweso and Olutayo C. Adesina