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Oba means "ruler" in the Yoruba[1][2] language. 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.
The title is distinct from that of Oloye in Yorubaland, which is itself used in like fashion by subordinate titleholders in the contemporary Yoruba chieftaincy system.[3]
The following items or accessories of office often accompany the position of Obaship in Yorubaland.
- Ade - Royal crown - The ultimate symbol of authority. Distributed from Ife to all original Obas.[4][5]
- Irukere - Royal Horsetail - Symbol of grace and peace.[6]
- Odigba - Collar of beads. Also known as the Ejigba and Edigba.[7]
- Opa Ase - Scepter of authority, also known as Opa ileke.[8]
- Ada - Sword of justice, state sword always brought from Ife and invested on all original Obas during coronation.[9]
- Ileke - Beads (Coral or Glass).
- Agba - State drums beaten for the Oba. Also called Gbedu, it is the largest of the Yoruba drums.[10]
- Ewu Ileke - Beaded gown or tunic, also known as Ewu okun,[11] Incuding beaded footwear (Bata ileke).[12]
The Yoruba chieftaincy system can be divided into four separate ranks: royal chiefs, noble chiefs, religious chiefs and common chiefs. The royals are led by the obas, who sit at the apex of the hierarchy and serve as the fons honorum of the entire system. They are joined in the class of royal chiefs by the titled dynasts of their royal families. The three other ranks, who traditionally provide the membership of a series of privy councils, sects and guilds, oversee the day-to-day administration of the Yoruba traditional states and are led by the iwarefas, the arabas and the titled elders of the kingdoms' constituent families.[13]
There are two different kinds of Yoruba monarchs: The kings of Yoruba clans, which are often simply networks of related towns (For example, the oba of the Ẹ̀gbá bears the title "Aláké" because his ancestral seat is the Aké quarter of Abẹ́òkúta, hence the title Aláké, which is Yoruba for One who owns Aké. The Ọ̀yọ́ ọba, meanwhile, bears the title "Aláàfin", which means One who owns the palace) and the kings of individual Yoruba towns, such as that of Ìwó — a town in Osun State — who bears the title "Olúwòó" (Olú ti Ìwó, lit. 'Lord of Ìwó').[14]
The first-generation towns of the Yoruba homeland, which encompasses large swathes of Benin, Nigeria, and Togo, are those with obas who generally wear beaded crowns; the rulers of many of the 'second generation' settlements are also often obas. Those that remain and those of the third generation tend to only be headed by the holders of the title "Baálẹ̀" (lit. 'King of the land - Oba-Ilẹ̀'), who do not wear crowns and who are, at least in theory, the reigning viceroys of people who do.
All of the subordinate members of the Yoruba aristocracy, both traditional chieftains and honorary ones, use the pre-nominal "Olóyè" (lit. 'Lord of a title - Olu-óyè', also appearing as "Ìjòyè" meaning conglomerate of titles) in the way that kings and queens regnant use 'Ọba'. It is also often used by princes and princesses in colloquial situations, though the title that is most often ascribed to them officially is "Ọmọba" (lit. 'Child of a Monarch', sometimes rendered alternatively as "Ọmọọba", "Ọmọ ọba" and "Ọmọ-ọba"). The wives of kings, princes and chiefs of royal background usually make use of the title "Olorì" (the equivalent of Princess Consort), though some of the wives of dynastic rulers prefer to be referred to as "Ayaba" (the equivalent of Queen Consort). The wives of the non-royal chiefs, when themselves titleholders in their own right, tend to use the honorific "Ìyálóyè" (lit. 'Mother who owns a title') in their capacities as married chieftesses.
The bead-embroidered crown with beaded veil, foremost attribute of the Oba, symbolizes the aspirations of a civilization at the highest level of authority. In his seminal article on the topic, Robert F. Thompson writes, "The crown incarnates the intuition of royal ancestral force, the revelation of great moral insight in the person of the king, and the glitter of aesthetic experiences."[15]
The Oba is the custodian and protector of the culture,tradition and heritage of the Edo/Benin people. He is said and believed to be God representative on earth.
As a sacred ruler, the oba is traditionally regarded by the Yoruba as the ex officio chief priest of all of the Orisha sects in his or her domain. Although most of the day-to-day functions of this position are delegated in practice to such figures as the arabas, certain traditional rites of the Yoruba religion can only be performed by the oba, and it is for this reason that the holders of the title are often thought of as being religious leaders in addition to being politico-ceremonial monarchs.
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