Who are the Yoruba people by fani kayode

The Yoruba people of southwestern Nigeria are a nationality of approximately 50 million people,
the vast majority of who are concentrated primarily within Nigeria, but who are also spread
throughout the entire world. They constitute probably the largest percentage of Africans that live
in the diaspora and they have made their own extraordinary contributions in virtually every field
of human endeavour throughout the ages. Descendants of the Yoruba and indeed various ancient
derivatives and forms of the Yoruba language can be found and are spoken in places like Benin
Republic, Brazil, Haiti, Cuba, the United States of America and various other parts of the
western world. Today first, second and even third generation Yoruba have settled
down and spread all over the world and are amongst the best and most sought after lawyers,
nuclear scientists, doctors, industralists, academics, writers, poets, playwrites, clerics,
theologians, artists, film producers, historians and intellectuals throughout the world. Wherever
they go they tend to flourish and excel.
This is nothing new and indeed has always been the case. The first Nigerian to be called to the
Bar was a Yoruba man by the name of Sapara Williams who was called to the English Bar and
started practising as a lawyer in 1879. Yet Sapara Williams was not a flash in the pan or a onetime wonder. Other Yoruba men followed in his footsteps in quick succession and were called to
the English Bar shortly after he was. For example after him came Joseph Edgarton Shyngle who
was called in 1888, then came Gabriel Hugh Savage who was called in 1891, then came Rotimi
Alade who was called in 1892, then came Kitoye Ajasa (whose original name was Edmund
Macauly) who was called in 1893, then came Arthur Joseph Eugene Bucknor who was called in
1894 and then came Eric Olaolu Moore who was called in 1903. Ironically Sapara Williams was
not the first Nigerian lawyer though he was the first to be called to the English Bar. In those days
you did not have to be called to the Bar to practice law and the first Nigerian lawyer that
practised without being called to the Bar was a Yoruba man by the name of William Henry
Savage. He was described as a self-taught and practising lawyer and he was a registered notary
public in England as far back as 1821. These were indeed the greats and every single one of
them was a Yoruba man.
My friend and brother the respected Mr. Akin Ajose-Adeogun, who is a historian by calling and
a lawyer by profession, is a man for whom I have tremendous respect. I have often described
him as the living oracle of Nigerian history simply because he has a photographic memory, a
knack for detail, first class sources and has read more books on Nigerian history than anyone that
I have ever met before in my life. Akin has an extraordinary mind, he is a living genius and I
have often urged him to write a book. You can ask him anything about anyone or any event in
any part of our country, since or before independence, and he will give you names, dates and the
sequence of events immediately and without any recourse to notes, books or sources. After he
has given you the information he will then cite his sources and tell you which books to go and
read in order to confirm what he is saying. I have learnt so much from him that I

must publicly acknowledge the fact that I owe him an enormous debt of gratitude. He once told
me something that I found very interesting and that reflected the semi god-like status that our
earliest lawyers, including some of the names that I mentioned earlier, enjoyed amongst the
people. These men were not only revered but they were also admired by all, including members
of the British intelligensia, legal fraternity and elites. Akin told me that many years ago in the
mid-80s Sir Adetokunboh Ademola, who himself was one of the legal greats, who was called to
the English Bar in 1934, who was the third Nigerian to be appointed as a magistrate in 1938, who
was the third Nigerian to be appointed as a High Court judge in 1948 and who was the first
Nigerian to be appointed Chief Justice of the Federation in 1958 said the following words to him.
He said, when you saw the way that the earliest Nigerian lawyers conducted themselves in court
and argued their cases you would have been filled with pride and you would have wanted to
become a lawyer yourself. Members of the public used to fill the court rooms to the brink and
sometimes even the forecourts and passages just to watch these great men perform and enjoy
their brilliance and oratory. They spoke the Queens english and they knew the law inside out. It
is not like that today. This is a resounding testimony from an illustrious Nigerian and it speaks
eloquently about where the Yoruba, as a people, are coming from and the stock and quality of
minds that they are made of.
Yet the dynamism of the Yoruba and their innovations and firsts did not stop there. It went into
numerous other spheres of human endeavour quite apart from the law. Permit me to cite just
two examples. The first lies within the field of medicine. Dr. Nathaniel King was the
first Nigerian to become a medical practitioner. He graduated from Edinburgh University in 1876
and he was a Creole of Yoruba origin. Next came Dr. Oguntola Sapara who was the second
Nigerian to become a medical practitioner and who graduated from Edinburgh University in
1884. He was followed by Dr. John Randle who graduated from Durham University in
1891, then Dr. Orisadipe Obasa who graduated from Edinburgh University in 1892, then Dr.
Akinwande Savage who graduated from Edinburgh University in 1900, then Dr. Curtis AdeniyiJones who graduated from Durham University in 1901. Others like Dr. Oyejola who graduated
in 1905, Dr. Kubolaje Faderin, Dr. Sesi Akapo and Dr. Magnus Macauly who all graduated in
1912, Dr. Moyses Joao Da Rocha who graduated from Edinburgh University in 1913 and many
others followed after that.
The second example lies within the ranks of the clergy. The first African Anglican Bishop and
the first man to translate the Holy Bible and Book of Common Prayer to any African language
(outside of Ethiopia) was a Yoruba ex-slave who gave his life to Christ, won his freedom
and rose up to become one of the greatest and most respected clerics and leaders that the African
continent has ever known by the name of Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther. Unknown to many his
original name was Rev. John Raban but he changed it in his early years. Crowther got his first
degree at the famous Fourah Bay College in Sierra Leonne (which at that time was part of
Durham University). He was ordained as an Anglican Bishop in 1864 and in that same year he
was awarded a Doctorate degree from Oxford University.

This extraordinary man who was blessed by God with an exceptionally brilliant mind was, as far
as I am concerned, one of the greatest Africans that ever lived. He not only translated the Holy
Bible and the Book of Common Prayer to Yoruba (an extremely difficult, complicated and
painstaking venture which he began in 1843 and which he completed in 1888) but he also
codified a number of other christian books and he translated them into the Igbo and Nupe
languages. He was literally the pillar and foundation of the Anglican church in west Africa.
Throughout his adult life he courageously stood up and fought for the rights and the dignity of
the African and he, more than anyone else, was responsible for the spread, influence and power
of the christian faith in Nigeria in the late 19th century. He was also the maternal grandfather of
the great nationalist Herbert Macaulay who, together with Nnamdi Azikiwe, founded the political
party known as the NCNC in 1944. Crowther was also the father-in-law of Rev. Thomas
Babington Macauly who founded the Christian Missionary Society Grammar School
(CMS Grammar School) in 1859 in what was then the Lagos Colony. CMS Grammar School was
the epitome of excellence and a citadel of great learning in those days. It was also the oldest
secondry school in Nigeria and the main source of African clergymen and administrators in the
Lagos Colony. It is not surprising that it was the son-in-law of the great Bishop Samuel Ajayi
Crowther that founded such a school and that it was his grandson that founded one the greatest
political parties that the African continent has ever known. This is another first for the Yoruba.
Yet who are these people and where did they come from? What is their origin and what is their
source of strength? What were their migratory patterns over the last 30,000 and more years and
how did they end up in Ile-Ife? What is their connection to the Middle East, to the Arabs
of Mecca and Medina, to the ancient Egyptians and to the Nubians of the Sudan? What makes
them so special and so peculiar all at the same time? What makes their religious set-up so
complicated and so profund and what allows each of the great monotheic faiths of christianity
and islam together with the traditional religions to flourish and excel amongst the very same
people at the same time? Why are the Yoruba so accommodating of outsiders and what is
responsible for their liberal disposition when it comes to their dealings with people from other
cultures, other faiths and other nationalities? Why is it that so many Yoruba families have
mixed ancestral bloodlines that go back hundreds (and in some cases thousands) of years with
so many different nationalities from outside Yorubaland and indeed from outside
Nigeria, including the Bahians of Brazil, the Haitians and Cubans of Port Au Prince and
Havana, the Creoles of Freetown (Sierra Leone , the Gas of Accra (Ghana), the tribes of
Dahomey (Benin Republic), the Edo, the Bini, the Itsekiri and other tribes from the old MidWestern region of southern Nigeria and the Nupe, the Hausa, the Fulani, the Shuwa Arab and the
Kanuri from the north? What is the cultural and spiritual affinity of the Yoruba with the people of
the old Northern region and the people of the old Mid-Western region and why are the
people from those two regions and those from the South-West collectively referred to as the
Sudanese Nigerians? Some of these questions may never be answered but in the sequel to
this essay we will attempt to at least view and analyse the Yoruba from a historical perspective

and this may explain why they are what they undoubtedly are- primus inter pares, the first
amongst equals.
The Yoruba are ancestors of the black Cushite migrants and settlers that did not go to
Africa
In his 2000 page book titled Ile-Ife-The Source of Yoruba Civilisation, Prince Adelegan
Adegbola wrote the following about the Yoruba people of south-western Nigeria- the Yoruba
are the progeny of great kingship, efficient kingdom-builders and astute rulers. They have been
enjoying for centuries a well-organized pattern of society, a pattern which persists, in spite of all
the changes resulting from modern contacts with the western world. Their kings have, from very
long past, worn costly beaded crowns and wielded royal scepters. No one remembers the time
when the Yoruba people have not worn clothes. Their character of dignity and integrity is an
ancient one. In reality, the Yoruba claim to be descendants of a great ancestor.
There is no doubt at all that they have been a great race. They are, and they appear in some
ways to be detrimentally over-conscious of their great ancestry and long, noble traditions..the
Yoruba are one of the most researched races in the world.
According to Professor S.O. Arifalo, by 1976 the available literature on the Yoruba, despite many
omissions, numbered 3,488 items. These vast amounts of works are quite substantial and
unrivalled in sub-Saharan Africa. Also the artifacts showed that the Yoruba were intelligent,
complex and wealthy people whose art and technological skills were unsurpassed in pre-historic
Africa. Almost everything we know about the Yoruba people comes from Ile-Ife.
Professor Adegbolas research is as fascinating as it is outstanding. It is a must read for all
those that are interested in finding out who the Yoruba are, where they come from, what they
stand for and what their contribution to religion, culture, the arts and civilisation really is. His
research into the history of the Yoruba and the various Yoruba kingdoms is second to none. His
findings certainly put a lie to the controversial assertion made by Sir Hugh Trevor-Roper, one of
the best-known and most respected historians that ever lived, who once said that the history of
Africa is darkness, nothing but darkness.
Nothing could be further from the truth and it is clear to me that this Englishman, despite his
outstanding credentials, knew next to nothing about our rich history, heritage and culture which,
in my view, was far more advanced and goes back for thousands of years more than even his
own. In this essay, I will make my own contributions to the debate and I will concentrate
primarily on the pre-historic era of the Yoruba before the coming of Oduduwa to Ile-Ife and
before the establishment of the great kingdoms and princely states. I will focus on their origins as
a people and their migratory patterns.

The Yoruba are ancestors of the black Cushite migrants and settlers that did not go to Africa with
the other descendants of Cush but that rather chose to settle in the areas and environs that were to
later become the ancient cities of Mecca and Medina in what is presently known as Saudi Arabia.
They were not Arabs but they were there as settlers for thousands of years and they constituted
an industrious, prosperous, powerful, large and respected minority within the larger Middle
Eastern community.
However, they were eventually driven out of those Arab towns and communities and forced to
leave them for refusing to give up their religious faith, their deep mysticism and paganism and
their idol worship after Islam was introduced to those places by the Prophet Mohammed in 600
AD.
They migrated to the banks of the great River Nile in Egypt where they intermingled and intermarried with the Egyptians, the Nubians and the Sudanese of the Nile. The Egyptian roots and
connections of the Yoruba are deep and irrefutable and the third and final part of this essay is
dedicated solely to exploring and explaining those roots. For thousands of years many of the
Yoruba remained on the banks of the Nile but the bulk of them eventually migrated to what was
to later become known as north-eastern Nigeria and once again they settled, mingled and interbred with the Shuwa Arabs and the Kanuris of Borno.
From there they eventually swept across the whole of the north and migrated down south to the
forests and farm lands of what is now known as south-western Nigeria making their primary
place and location of settlement and pagan worship Ile-Ife. Ile-Ife is to the Yoruba traditional
worshippers what Mecca is to the Muslims and what Jerusalem is to the Jews and the Christians.
The establishment of Ile-Ife as the centre and source of all that is Yoruba was confirmed by
Oduduwa himself when he sent his sons out from Ile-Ife to other parts of Yorubaland to establish
their own independent kingdoms, including Bini Kingdom. It was after that that we broke up into
various kingdoms and communities within what later became known as the old Western Region
of Nigeria.
Some of those kingdoms and empires were sophisticated, powerful, large and great (like the Oyo
Empire) and some were not so great and large. Yet each was fiercely independent and established
its own sophisticated system of government, customs, legal codes and conventions.
Sadly these Yoruba kingdoms spent one hundred years fighting one another in totally
unnecessary civil wars before the arrival of the British, but it is a historical fact that they were
never defeated in any war or conquered by any foreign army. Yet the only things that they had in
common amongst themselves was their language (which broke into different dialects), their
historical heritage, their affinity and respect for Ile-Ife and their acknowledgement of that town
as being their spiritual home and finally their acceptance of the Oonirissa of Ife as the living

manifestation of Oduduwa, the quintessential icon of royalty and splendour and Gods chief
representative on earth.
This collection of different kingdom states with a common ancient root was collectively known
as the Yoruba. Yet the fact of the matter is that the word Yoruba has NO meaning in our
language or any other language that is known to man.
No-one has been able to tell us with certainty the meaning of the word Yoruba or indeed where
it really came from. This really is very strange and is indeed a deep and unsettling mystery. For
all we know it could even be a deep and ancient insult. That is why I have always preferred to be
referred to as an Ife rather than a Yoruba. Another question that is often asked is why did our
forefathers indulge in all the mass migrations from first Mecca and Medina, then to Egypt, then
to Borno, across the vast plains and desert lands of northern Nigeria and then finally settled in
the forests of the western region?
Historians have ventured a number of reasons for this, but the truth is that no-one knows with
much certainty. My own personal theory is that the reason that our forefathers kept having to
migrate until we found somewhere of our own was either because of war or because we refused
to give up our pagan beliefs and practices. I believe that when Islam was eventually introduced
into the areas that we once settled our forefathers suffered all manner of persecution for their
tenacity to their ancient pagan faith and their refusal to convert and consequently they had to
move on. I may be wrong and many historians have offered one or two other explanations for
these mass migrations yet whatever the reasons for them may have been, whether they were due
to war, famine or religious persecution, it is clear that the influence of the Arabs, the Egyptians,
the Nubians, the Sudanese, the Kanuris, the Nupes and all the other nations that we once lived
with, mingled with and mixed our blood with through breeding and marriage is very strong
amongst the Yoruba people, their music, their language and their culture till today. We shall
return to this theme in part three of this essay.
For thousands of years, the Yoruba were pagans and Ifa was their cornerstone. Their faith was
polytheic in nature and they believed, like the Ancient Egyptians, not in one Supreme Deity, but
in a pantheon of gods each of which had its own place and served its own purpose. As a matter of
fact, most of the ancient gods that the Egyptians worshipped were introduced to them by Yoruba
diviners, sorcerers and pagan priests. Such was the level of our influence on Egyptian culture,
religion and history. The monotheic faiths of Islam and Christianity were both espoused by the
Yoruba thousands of years later and were both established primarily by the strong trade links that
existed between them and the Hausa/Fulani from the north, the Turkish traders of the Ottoman
empire from the southern Atlantic coast, the Portuguese and European traders who plied that
same southern Atlantic coast and the Christian missionaries who vigorously evangelised the
whole territory.

Both Christianity and Islam eventually took full root in the land and in the hearts and minds of
the Yoruba people whilst paganism, Ifa and the practice of their more traditional faith was
eventually pushed to the back seat. This was quite an achievement because for thousands of
years both Christianity and Islam were fiercely resisted by the Yoruba and even till today many
Yoruba people still tenaciously hold on to their traditional faith. That is why it is very difficult to
find a Yoruba family that does not have Christians, Muslims and adherents of the more
traditional and ancient tribal faiths in their ranks.
The slow and massive migration of the Yoruba from Arabia, Egypt, Borno, through northern
Nigeria and to their own homelands in the south-west are why they, together with the other
numerous tribes in mid-western (the Bini, the Ishan, the Urhobo, the Itsekiri, the Isoko and all
the other tribes that were once part of the old Western Region of Nigeria) and northern Nigeria
are generally known as the Sudanese Nigerians. This is because they all migrated from north
Africa and the Sudan to their present locations.
By way of contrast, the various tribes from the rest of southern Nigeria who migrated from
eastern and southern Africa to their present locations comprise of the Igbo and the people of the
eastern Niger-Delta area (including the Ijaws, the Ikweres, the Kalabaris, the Efiks, the Ibibios,
the Ika Igbos and all other tribes that were part of the old Eastern Region of Nigeria). These
people are known as the Bantu Nigerians and they are very different to the Sudanese in terms
of their outlook to life and their culture and history. Permit me to explain this assertion. The
history of the people that are known as the Sudanese Nigerians is well-documented, wellentrenched and well-acquainted with strong and respected hierarchical structures and the
administration of extremely large and powerful, culturally-diverse, cosmopolitan and
sophisticated empires that once stretched across thousands of miles of different territories and
civilisations. These great empires, which were headed by powerful kings and emperors, such as
the Oyo, Habe, Nok, Nupe, Tiv, Borgu and Sokoto Empires, conquered many lesser peoples in
centuries past and administered many territories when compared to the Bantus.
The Bantus only experience and knowledge of ancient empire and kingship is limited to a few
relatively small yet notable kingdoms and coastal states in what is presently known as Nigerias
eastern Niger-Delta area. Examples of this are the Kalabaris who have their Amayanabo, the
Efiks who have their Obong and a few others. The most populous tribe amongst the Bantu are
the Igbo. They are originally of Jewish stock and they have absolutely no history of kingship,
empire and organised hierarchical structures at all. They were essentially republican in nature
and they were a collection of village and forest communities that were bound together only by
their common language and their ancient heritage. That is why the Igbo often take pleasure in
saying Igbo enwe eze, meaning the Igbo have no king. Outside of the royal kings of Onitsha
and Asaba, to have kings and chiefs amongst the Igbo was a relatively new phenomenon which
certainly does not pre-date the last 150 years. As a matter of fact, the kings of those two towns

and communities were not even originally of Igbo stock, but were offshoots of the Royal House
of Bini in what is presently known as Edo State.
The Obi of Onitsha and the Asagba of Asaba and indeed most of their subjects were descendants
of the Oba of Benin and the people of Edo respectively. The Igbo did not even have chiefs up
until 150 years ago. It was when the British colonialists arrived in the east that they appointed
warrant chiefs for them. This explains why the Igbo particularly find it exceptionally difficult
to understand the complexities and subtleties of people that do not share their republican heritage
or beliefs.
Yet the truth about the Nigerian situation is that everybody and every tribe and nationality, no
matter how big or small, brings something to the table. That is what makes us so special and
unique as a people and that is what makes our country so great. There is indeed unity in diversity
and whether you are a Yoruba, an Igbo, a Fulani, a Hausa, a Tiv, an Idoma, a Nupe, an Urhobo,
an Ishan, an Itsekiri, an Isoko, a Kalabari, a Kataf, a Shuwa Arab, a Kanuri, a Berom, an Igbira, a
Bini, an Ikwere, an Efik, an Ibibio, a Jukun, an Ijaw or any other tribe or nationality, it is in the
greater collective and the beautiful racial and cultural melting pot that Nigeria has become that
we can find our true power and greatness. The Yoruba, no matter how rich our history, are only a
part of a much greater family of peoples each with their own noble heritage and proud history.
In the third and final part of this essay we will explore the Egyptian roots of the Yoruba and we
will consider the remarkable similarities between ancient Egyptian culture, religion and language
and that of the Yoruba people
Up until 1292 BC and the ascension of King Menpehtyre Ramesses, all the Pharaohs of Egypt
were black. These include some of the better known ones such as King Horemheb (who preceded
King Ramesses), King Khafra (who was depicted by the Great Sphinx of Giza), King
Tutankhamun (the young Pharoah whose tomb was discovered with enormous riches and a
terrible curse by a British archaeologist and explorer called Howard Carter), Queen Cleopatra
(whose beauty was enchanting, who captured the emotions of Julius Caesar and Mark Anthony,
who divided the Roman Empire and whom this writer honoured with a poem titled The Nubian
Queen), Queen Nefertiti (who was the wisest of the wise and the most compassionate of all the
Egyptian monarchs), King Piye (who was the conqueror of Egypt, the master of Nubia and the
greatest of all the Cushite warrior kings) and the two Pharaohs that the biblical Moses and the
biblical Joseph knew respectively and that had such a great impact on Jewish history and the
fortunes of the Jewish people. All these Pharaohs were black African Nubians who were to be
later referred to as the Sudanese.
The fact of the matter is that right up until the establishment of the 19th dynasty and the coming
of King Ramesses in 1292 BC, the rulers of Egypt were all Nubians and not the brown and
olive-skinned Euroasiatics and Arabs that the Ramessesian era ushered in.

The Nubians not only ruled Egypt for thousands of years but they also constituted the majority of
those that made up the Egyptian middle class and intelligentsia including the clerics, theologians,
artists, writers, poets, medics, artisans, builders, architects, astrologers, mathematicians and
professionals. The Ancient Egyptians themselves referred to their homeland as Kmt (which is
conventionally pronounced as Kemet).
According to the celebrated historian Cheikh Anta Diop, the Ancient Egyptians reference to
themselves as Black people or kmt and kmt was the etymological root of other words,
such as Kam or Ham, which refer to black people in Hebrew tradition. Diop, William Leo
Hansberry, and Aboubacry Moussa Lam have argued that kmt was derived from the skin
colour of the Nile valley people, who they claim were black.
And they were absolutely right. These are the facts though some western and Arab Egyptologists
find it hard to accept and often seek to deny it. Yet whether anyone likes to accept it or not the
fact remains that the greatest civilization that the world has ever known, which is the Egyptian
civilization, was led and established by people of colour and those same people were the
custodians of the deepest mysteries and secrets of our world and of the human race.
The final batch of ancient Cushites that remained in Arabia for thousands of years after all the
others had left and that had refused to leave those lands for Africa with their Ethiopian brothers
and sisters eventually migrated to the Egyptian Nile Valley from Mecca and Medina.
Thousands of years later, this last wave of Cushite migrants were to be referred to as the
Yoruba. Yet for thousands of years before the word Yoruba was even conceived and after
their arrival in the Nile Valley, these same people constituted an essential and vital part of the
ruling and middle class of the Sudan, Nubia and Ancient Egypt.
The Cushite forefathers of the Yoruba were a learned and mystical people that were well versed
in philosophy, the arts, history, the mysteries of the age, science, anthropology and the secrets of
the spirit realm and human existence.
Their contribution to Ancient Egyptian culture and art was second to none. Most importantly, the
pantheon of gods that they had worshipped, guarded jealously and served for thousands of years
whilst in Mecca and Medina before their migration to the Nile Valley, were accepted by the
Egyptian ruling elite and were fully integrated and superimposed on the Egyptian religious
stratosphere.
As a matter of fact, those gods were not only accepted but they eventually became the
cornerstone and foundation of Ancient Egyptian culture and religion. That is the level of input
that the Yoruba made into the affairs and development of Ancient Egypt.

In our quest to further explore the ancient Egyptian roots of the Yoruba, permit me to quote
copiously from an excellent contribution titled YORUBA- THE EGYPTIAN CONNECTION
which was written by Olomu and Eyebira. The write-up is utterly fascinating in terms of its depth
and research. In the section titled The Oduduwan Revolution. The authors wrote the following-

THE ODUDUWAN REVOLUTION

In the first chapter, we talked about the aboriginal nature of the Yoruban peoples. In this chapter,
we shall talk of a possible migration from ancient Egypt. Many traditions point to a fact that an
alien group (Egyptians) immigrated to Yoruba land and mixed with the original population.
Many oral traditions are replete with these stories. The Awujale of Ijebu land has shown that the
Ijebus are descended from ancient Nubia (a colony of Egypt). He was able to use the evidence of
language, body, scarification, coronation rituals that are similar to Nubians etc, to show that
the Ijebus are descendants of the Nubians. What the present Awujale claimed for the Ijebus, can
be authenticated all over Yoruba land. The Awujale even mentioned (2004) that the Itsekiri (an
eastern Yoruba dialect) are speaking the original Ijebu language.
Since the Nubians were descended or colonized by the Egyptians, the Ijebu, and by extension, all
Yoruba customs, derived from the Egyptian. Many traditional Yorubas have always claimed
Egypt as their place of original abode, and that their monarchical tradition derives from the
Egyptians. Apostle Atigbiofor Atsuliaghan, a high priest of Umale-Okun, and a direct
descendant of Orunmila, claimed that the Yorubas left Egypt as a result of a big war that
engulfed the whole of Egypt. He said the Egyptian remnants settled in various places, two
important places being Ode Itsekiri and Ile-Ife.Chief O.N Rewane says Oral tradition has it
also that when the Yorubas came from South of Egypt they did not go straight to where they now
occupy. They settled at Illushi, some at Asaba area Ebu, Olukumi Ukwunzu while some
settled at Ode-Itsekiri,. (O.N. Rewane Royalty Magazine A PICTORIAL SOUVENIR OF
THE BURIAL AND CORONATION OF OLU OF WARRI, WARRI 1987)
Since these oral traditions are passed on by very illiterate people, we can augment whatever is
recorded with written sources. Concerning the migration of some of the Yoruban ancestors from
the east, Conton says:
The Yoruba of Nigeria are believed by many modern historians to be descended from a people
who were living on the banks of the Nile 2,000 years ago, and who were at the time in close
contact with the Egyptians and the Jews. Sometime before AD 600, if this belief is correct, this
people must have left their fertile lands, for reasons which we can not now discover and have
joined in the ceaseless movement of tribes west wards and south-wards across our continent.

We can only guess at the many adventures they and their descendants must have had on their
long journey and at the number of generations which passed before they arrived. All we can be
certain about is that they were a Negro people (of which ancient Egypt probably had at least one
community as we have seen) and that one of the many princely states they founded on their
arrival in West Africa..was Ife. Conton WF (1960. 71
Although we agree with Conton that some of the Yoruban ancestors migrated from Egypt, we
tend to toe the scientific line of Cheik Anta Diop, that the ancient Egyptians were pure Negroes.
Aderibigbe, an indigenous scholar, also accepts that the Yorubas migrated from Egypt. He says:
The general trend of these theories, most of them based on Yoruba traditions, is that of a
possible origin from the east. Some scholars, impressed by the similarities between Yoruba
and ancient Egyptian culture religious observation, works of art, burial and other customs
speak of a possible migration of the ancestors of the Yoruba from the upper Nile (as early as
2000BC 1000BC) as a result of some upheavals in ancient Egypt. (AB ADERIBIGBE
1976)
Unlike Conton, Aderibigbe was able to pinpoint a cause for the Yoruban migration war.
Olumide Lucas did a lot of job to show similarities and identities between the ancient Egyptians
and the Yoruban peoples. The date that Aderibigbe gave (2000BC 1000BC) is much earlier
than that given by Conton. Aderibigbes date corresponds to that of the Hyksos invasion of
Egypt 2000-1500BC. On the possible eastern origin of the Yorubas, Tariqh Sawandi says:
The Yoruba history begins with the migration of an east African population across the transAfrican route leading from Mid-Nile river area to the Mid-Niger. Archaeologists, according to
M. Omoleya, inform us that the Nigerian region was inhabited more than forty thousand years
ago, or as far back as 65,000BC. During this period, the Nok culture occupied the region. The
Nok culture was visited by the Yoruba people, between 2000BC and 500BC. This group of
people was led, according to Yoruba historical accounts by king Oduduwa, who settled
peacefully in the already established Ile-Ife, the sacred city of the indigenous Nok people.
This time period is known as the Bronze Age, a time of high civilization of both of these groups.
According to Olumide J. Lucas, the Yoruba, during antiquity, lived in ancient Egypt before
migrating to the Atlantic coast. He uses as demonstration the similarity or identity of
languages, religious beliefs, customs and names of persons, places and things. In addition, many
ancient papyri discovered by archaeologists point at an Egyptian origin. (Tariqh Sawandi:
Yorubic medicine: The Art of divine herbology online article).

Ademoyega commented that the Ekiti section of the Yorubas must have migrated to their present
area around 638AD when the Muslims took over Egypt and forced some of the Yoruba people to
migrate to their present area.
So, we see that the Yoruba did not come in one migration, but in many different migrations in
waves. The first possible migration might be connected with the Hyksos invasion. Some words
in the Yoruban vocabulary echo the words used in Egypt in predynastic times and in the early
dynastic periods. Some Egyptian gods of this period have strong identities with Yoruban deities.
For instance, gods such as Adumu (Adumu) Hepi (Ipi) Ausar (Ausa), Horise (Orise), and Smi
(Smi) Nam (Inama) are present in Yoruba. All these gods existed in the pre-dynastic and early
dynastic periods of Egypt. TODAY, AMONG THE ITSEKIRI-YORUBAS ,THESE GODS CAN
STILL BE PHYSICALLY SEEN, AT LEAST, ONCE A YEAR! Neighbouring peoples are
already initiated into the various gods systems and beliefs in yorubaland.the agban ancestral
worship was first organized in Urhoboland during the funeral ceremony of chief Ayomanor of
Sapele (1949). The Ipi system was first organized in Urhoboland in March 11, 2005.
We can also see words that existed in the Graeco-Roman period in some of the Yoruban dialects.
When the Romans took over Egypt, they infiltrated the Egyptian area with their language. In
present Yoruba, we can still find words of Roman descent. For instance, the Yoruba called the
palm frond Mariwo. This word is derived form the Latin Rivus (River). One of the
declensions of river is Rivo (by the river).Since the Yoruban possesses no V, the word
become riwo. Thus, the word Omariwo means the child by the river. Some other words like
Sangi (blood in Itsekiri-yoruba dialect) thought to have been derived form the Portuguese were
actually brought as a result of the Roman Conquest of Egypt. Sangi is blood and the Latin term is
Sanguis. Some eastern Yoruba use the term Ihagi which is clearly a corruption of the
Roman Sanguis. A Christian army in 540AD invaded Egypt and some persons believed to have
reached Yoruba land were driven from Egypt.
With the commencement of the Arab period in Egypt, some indigenous Egyptians who never
wanted to accept the Islamic religion escaped to present Yoruba land. It was probably in this
period that words such as Keferi (Kafri pagan in Arab) infiltrated into the Yoruboid vocabulary.
All said and done, more than fifty percent of the Yoruboid vocabulary of today can be deduced
either directly or indirectly from the ancient Egyptian. These are the original ancient Egyptian
language devoid of Arab and Latin words that are very few in the Yoruboid vocabulary
It is not really certain when king Oduduwa came from Egypt. He must have come in one of the
many migrations. But since the Yoruba religious discourse has a lot of identities with Egyptian,
Oduduwa would have left Egypt at a very early period perhaps after the Hyksos invasion of
2000-1500BC ,but not later than 30BC.

Could the Yoruba have migrated from a white Egypt? Far-from the truth!
PROOFS OF EGYPTIAN NEGRONESS
1. Egypt was a part of Africa and therefore should be black
2. The Egyptians believe that Egypt was a colony of Ethiopia, and that the religion was brought
to Egypt by King Horus from the south (inner Africa). Thus when the Egyptians died, they
buried their corpses with their faces facing the South West (the direction of West Africa, home of
the Yoruba)
3. Some West African peoples claim that their ancestors migrated to ancient Egypt. The Yorubas
claimed that a mystic-prophet Orunmila (Oritse Udeji among the Itsekiri) migrated to Egypt and
established a religion. Archaeology and cross-cultural studies have shown that Negroes migrated
from West Africa to ancient Egypt.
4. Anthropologists have discovered, to their dismay, that Egyptian cultural traits: divine kingship,
forms of burial, Osirian cult, etc., permeate some parts of Negro Africa.
5. Some deities exist in Egypt and in Negro Africa, such as Adumu, Hepi, Inama, Sami Horise
etc.
6. The Greeks referred to the Egyptian as Hoi Aiguptos, (black people); the Egyptians
referred to themselves as Kam (black in their language.)
7. Melanin test proved that the Egyptians were black.
8. Osteological measurements which are less misleading than craniometry in distinguishing a
black man from a white man has proved that the ancient Egyptians belonged to the black race.
Lepsius, a German Savant at the end of the nineteenth century, made the studies and his
conclusion remains valid. Future studies have not contradicted the Lepsius canon, which in
broad figures gave the bodily proportion of the ideal Egyptian: short armed and of Negroid or
Negrito physical type.
9. Most West African claim Egyptian ancestry. If they are black, their ancient Egyptian ancestors
must be black.
10. Ancient paintings on caves and temples in Egypt depict blacks. At first there were only black
paintings, in later times, the blacks were shown ruling over whites and yellows (Asians).
11. Ancient statues and carvings found in Upper and Lower Egypt showed black skins, and
features.
12. Ancient monuments such as the pyramid have been replicated in other parts of Africa. A
typical example is the Warri pyramid recorded in Roth (1671).
13. Language similarities exist between the Egyptians and some groups in west Africa such as
the Wolof and particularly more so, the Yorubas ( more then 500 similar words have been
discovered bearing identical meanings. See Yoruba is Atlantis by the same authors: to be
published).
14. Recent findings of Genetics and Molecular Biology and Linear Analysis have proved the
Egyptians were Negroid.
15. The testimony of classical writers such as Plato, Homer, Aristotle, Pythagoras etc., portrays
the Egyptians as blacks.

16. the physical photograph of Yuyi of ancient Egypt is Negroid (Barbara Mertz : Red Land
,Black land: 1967)
In order to prove the Egyptians origin of the Greek oracle of Dodona, Herodotus says:
And when they add that the dove was black, they gave us to understand that the woman was
Egyptian.
The doves mentioned in a text Epirus stands for two Egyptian women, reputed to have
brought the oracle from Tebu (Thebes)[today there are two Tebus in Yoruba land] in Egypt to
establish the oracle of Dodona in Greek and Libya.
Another antiquarian, Lycinus, describing a young Egyptian, mentioned Negroid features. This
boy is not merely black; he has thick lips and his legs are too thin His hair worn in a plait
behind shows that he is not a free man.
The mention of black, thick lips and hair worn in plaits behind are totally of African
origin. In those days Itsekiri owned slaves (mostly Sobo) were either clean-shaven, or they wore
their hair in plaits until they regained freedom. Thus, unknowingly, Lycinus had drawn an
identical cultural affinity between the Kamites and the Yorubas.
Marcelinus, a Latin historian writes:
The men of Egypt are mostly brown or black with a skinny and desiccated look.
Appolodorus, who lived in the first century before our era, commented on Egypt as Negroes:
Aiguptos captured the country of the black footed ones and called it Egypt after himself.
Aristotle an ancient Greek philosopher, a disciple of Plato in a naive way showed that the
Egyptians were black, hear him:
Those who are too black are cowards, like for instance the Egyptians and the Ethiopians, but
those who are excessively white are also cowards as we can see from the example of women, the
complexion of courage is between the two.
Herodotus, 485-425BC, the father of history, further said concerning the ancient Egyptians:
It is in fact manifested that the Colchidians are Egyptian by race. Several Egyptians told me
that in their opinion that the Colchidians were descendants of the soldiers of Sesostris. I had
conjectured as much myself from two pointers, firstly because they have black skins and kinky
hair (to tell the truth this proves nothing for other peoples have them too) and secondly more

reliably for the reason that alone among mankind, the Egyptians and the Ethiopians have
practiced circumcision since time immemorial. The Phoenicians and the Syrians of Palestine
themselves admit that they learnt the practice from the Egyptians, while the Syrians in the river
Thermodon and the Pathenoise region and their neighbours the Macrons say they learnt it
recently from the Colchidians. These are the only races which practice circumcision, and it is
observable that they do it in the same way with the Egyptians. As between the Egyptians
themselves and the Ethiopians, I can not say which of them taught the other the practice, for
among them; it is quite clearly a custom of great contiguity. As to the further strong proof to my
belief is that all those Phoenicians trading to Greek cease to treat the pudenda after the Egyptian
manner and do not subject their offspring to concussion.
Herodotus mentioned black skins and kinky hair as features of the Colchidians of being
descendants of the Egyptians; he also mentioned the survival of circumcision. It should be noted
that Abraham the Arab patriarch of the Jews learnt circumcision from Hagar, his Egyptian
slave wife, whence the custom spread to the Jews. Herodotus also commented that other peoples
(those in inner Africa and the black Sumerians and Canaanites) also had kinky hair.
The towns of ancient Egypt: On (Annu) or Heliopolis, Hermonthis, Dendera, Tebu etc., were
developed by Annu, the pre-dynastic blacks of Egypt. Skeletons of the Negro Annu were
ubiquitous in ancient Egypt...
Mene, the first pharaoh of the first dynasty, sometimes identified with the God-man Osiris (A
black forerunner of Christ) was a Blackman. Zoser, Sesostris, Amenhopis, Khufu, Menthuhotep,
Queen Amuses, Nefertari etc., were also all Negroes.
The Egyptian religion and other cultural practices show strong African and more so Yorubic
characteristics. These can be seen in the following areas:
1. The lost wax method of brass or bronze making, which was common to both the Yoruba
peoples (particular Ife) and the ancient Egyptians.
2. The ritual of initiation
3. Striving to achieve the ultimate in Good and truth (summun bonum)
4. The doctrine of transmigration of soul and reincarnation is widely believed in, by both
peoples.
5. The concept of the god king.
6. Aspiration to achieve the great good of the gods wealth health and long life.
7. The Yorubic regalia, in most cases, are strikingly similar to pharoanic ones.
8. Veneration of the Ram in both places. Among the eastern Yorubas (Itsekiri especially, most of
the water deities are depicted as ram following the predynastic and pharoanic patterns).
9. Both peoples answer the theophorous names.
LINGUISTIC SIMILARITIES

Since Ferdinand de Saussure, the surest way to prove a cultural contact between peoples is to
adduce linguistic evidence (Ferdinand de Saussure (1972) General HISTORY OF Africa).
One of the largest inhabitants of Egypt were Yoruboid , and it will be expected that a good
percentage of their language will be yoruboid ,too. See the table below.
EGYPT YORUBA
1. Wu (rise) Wu (rise)
2. Ausa (Osiris, father of the gods) Ausa (father)
3. Ere (python/ Serpent) Ere (Python / Serpent)
4. Horise (a great god) Orise (a great god)
5. Sen (group of worshippers) Sen ( to worship)
6. Ged (to chant0 Igede (a chant)
7. Ta (sell / offer) Ta (sell/offer)
8. Sueg (a fool) Suegbe (a fool)
9. On ( living person) One ( living person)
10. Kum (a club) Kumo( a club)
11. Enru (fear / terrible) Eru (fear / terrible
12. Kun / qun (brave man) Ekun (title of a brave man)
13. Win (to be) Wino (to be)
14. Odonit (festival) Odon (festival)
15. Ma or mi (to breath) Mi. (to breathe)
16. Tebu (a town) Tebu (a town)
17. Adumu (a water god) Adumu (a water god)
18. Khu (to kill) Ku (die)
19. Rekha (knowledge} Larikha (knowledge)
20 Hika (evil) Ika (evil)
21 Mhebi (humble) Mebi, humble to ones family
22 Sata (perfect) Santan (perfect)
23 Unas (lake of fire) Una (fire)
24 Tan (complete) Tan (complete)
25 Beru (force of emotion) Beru (fear)
26 Em (smell) Emi (smell)
27 Pa (open) Pa (break open)
28 Bi (to become) Bi (to give birth, to become)
29 Hepi (a water god) Ipi (a water god)
30 Sami (water god) Sami (a water god)
31 Osiri (a water god) Oshiri (a water god)
32 Heqet Re (frog deity) Ekere (the frog)
33 Feh (to go away) Feh (to blow away)
34 Kot (build) Ko (build)

35 Kot (boat) Oko (boat)

36 Omi (water) Omi (water)
37 Ra (time) Ira (time)
38 Oni (title of Osiris) Oni (title of the king of Ife)
39 Budo (dwelling place) Budo (dwelling place)
40 Dudu (black image of Osiris) Dudu (black person)
41 Un (living person) Una (living person)
42 Ra (possess) Ra (possess/buy)
43 Beka (pray/confess) Be or ka (to pray or confess)
44 Po (many) Po (many/cheap)
45 Horuw (head) middle Egyptian Oruwo (head) (Ijebu)
46 Min (a god) Emin (spirit)
47 Ash (invocation) Ashe (invocation)
48 Aru (mouth) Arun (mouth ) Ilaje
49 Do (river) Odo (river)
50 Do (settlement) Udo (settlement)
51 Shekiri (water god) Shekiri (a water god)
52 Bu (a place) Bu ,a place
53 Khepara (beetle Akpakara (beetle)
54 No (a water god Eno (a water god)
55 Ra -Shu (light after darkness Uran-shu (the light of the moon
56 Run-ka (spirit name) Oruko (name)
57 Deb/dib to pierce Dibi (to pierce)
58 Maat (goddess of justice Mate (goddess of justice)
59 Aru (rise) Ru (rise up)
60 Fa (carry) Fa (pull)
61 Kaf (pluck) Ka (pluck)
62 Bu bi (evil place) Bubi (evil place)
63 In- n (negation In-n (negation)
64 Iset (a water god) Ise (a water god)
65 Shabu (watcher) Ashonbo (watcher)
66 Semati (door keeper) Sema (lock/shut the door)
67 Khenti amenti (big words of Osiris Yenti yenti (big, very big)
68 Ma (to know) Ma (to know)
69 Bebi, a son of osiris) Ube, a god
70 Tchatcha chief (they examined the death to see if they tricked tsatsa (a game of tricks,
gambling )
71 Ren( animal foot) Ren (to walk)
72 Ka (rest) Ka (rest/tired)
73 Mu (water) Mu (drink water)

74 Abi (against) Ubi (against / impediment)

75 Reti (to beseech) Retin (to listen)
76 Hir (praise) Yiri (praise)
77 Ta(spread out) Ta (spread out)
78 Kurud (round) Kurudu (round)
79 Ak male Ako (male)
80 Se to create Se (to create)
81 Hoo (rejoice) Yo (rejoice)
82 Kamwr (black) Kuru (extremely black
83 Omitjener (deep water) Omijen (deep water)
84 Nen, the primeval water mother) Nene (mother
85 Ta (land) Ita (land junction)
86 Horiwo (head) Oriwo (head)
87 Ro (talk) Ro (to think)
88 Kurubu (round) Kurubu (deep and round)
89 Penka (divide) Kpen (divide)
90 Ma-su (to mould) Ma or su (to mould)
91 Osa (time) Osa (time)
92 Osa (tide) Osa ( tide)
93 Fare (wrap) Fari (wrap)
94 Kom (complete) Kon (complete)
95 Edjo (cobra) Edjo (cobra)
96 Didi (red fruit) Diden (red)
97 Ba (soul) Oba (king) soul of a people
98 Ke (hill) Oke( hill
99 Anubis (evil deity) Onubi (evil person)
100 Kan (one: Middle Egyptian) Okan one)
101 Nam (water god) Inama (water god)
The words above are used to show that most Yoruban words are identical to the ancient Egyptian.
BINIS: THE ODUDUWAN LEGACY
Since the month of May 2004, there has been a raging intellectual battle on the personality of
Oduduwa. The Binis claim he was a Bini prince, the Ifes claim otherwise.
This approach will be purely scientific and will be as objective as possible. The following areas:
(1) The personality of Oduduwa {Ikaladeran?}; (2) archaeological researches; (3) the
linguistic linkages; (4) scientific analysis of the myths; and (5) Benins historical debt to
Oduduwa will be analyzed. (a) The monarchies; (b) the water religion, (c) bead manufacturing
(d) salt industry; and (e) the Lagos conquest, will be scientifically analysed.

1. THE PERSONALITY OF ODUDUWA

The personality of Ikaladeran; whether he was the man who later became Oduduwa will be
scientifically analyzed
In this discourse, Oduduwa is seen as the founder of the Yoruba monarchical system, or at least,
a founder of a prominent dynasty in Yoruba history. There must have been many dynasties in Ife,
as Ife legends put pre-Oduduwa monarchs at more than ninety.
The personality of Oduduwa has suffered many attacks in recent times. The Binis claim he was a
Benin prince (Ekaladerhan), who later became Imadoduwa or Izoduwa, and then Oduduwa. The
Igbos claim he was an Igbo man from Nri. Some Igalas claim he hailed from Igala land. The
Igalas have many Ifes, and they claim Oduduwa was from one of such Ifes. The Igala language is
close enough to the Yoruba, to assert a common origin for both peoples.
The present writers are holding the following positions:
1. The Yorubas are aborigines or autochthonous to their present environment;
2. The monarchical structure seems to be alien. The present writers tend to place the origin of the
Yoruba monarchy in ancient Egypt and Nubia. This is because a lot of Egyptian related relics,
words and practices can still be discerned among the Yorubas, particularly among the following:
Ife (where the Ifa oracle and Yoruba monarchical system blossomed); Ijebu (with some ancient
settlements; Ijebu Ode, the seat of the Awujale, Ode, the seat of Lenuwa, in present day Ogun
Water side Local Government, Oke-Eri, purported to be the home of the biblical queen of Sheba,
called Bilikisu in Ijebu legends), Ugbo, the ancient city of the Ilajes, Idanre (the home of Ogun,
the god of iron), all show some similarities and identities in their monarchical and religious
authorities.Basil Davidson, Olumide Lucas, Tariqh Sawandi, and even the present Awujale of
Ijebu land, have pointed to ancient Egypt or Nubia as the origin of Yoruba monarchical system.
All the above have used the similarities or the identities of cultural practices to substantiate their
claims.
If the Yorubas left the Egyptian or the Nubian axis, they must have left during turbulent periods
of war, economic stagnation or religious persecution. Thus, we shall examine the periods of
upheavals in black Egypt and black Nubia; and examine when the Yoruban aristocracy
descended from the Nile valley. They may not be one migration, but several migrations and the
personality called Oduduwa, must have led one of the various migrations.
The first crop of migrants or southward push of the Egyptians took place about 2000BC
500BC. The Hyksos invasion (2000-1500BC) caused some of these southward migrations. Many
of the black Egyptians seemed to have moved to Yoruba land during this period. .

The second wave of migrations will correspond to what Laoye Sanda, of the department of
Public Administration,The Polytechnic,Ibadan refers to as the black Nubian emigrants. The
Nubians were black, they occupied present day Sudan, which was an integral part of the
Egyptian Empire. The vocabulary, body scarification, and religious discourse resemble those of
the Ijebus and more so, the Itsekiri. The 1984 Awujales coronation manual will make this
manifest. These migrations occurred about 500BC.
A third wave of migration took place between 90BC and 30BC. The present writers feel the
personality called Oduduwa, came in that migration trend.
A fourth migration will correspond to the Christian conquest of Egypt, about 100AD.
The last wave of migration will correspond to the Arab enforced emigration, between 700AD
1100AD, when the Arabs had consolidated their control over Egypt; they chased the last batch of
traditional worshipping Egyptians from Egypt. This occurrence would have led to many Yoruba
claiming that their ancestors were chased from somewhere in the Middle East for not accepting
Islam.
The proof of archaeology
There has been a dearth of archaeological researches in Nigeria. Whatever research has been
done is not final, for new finds can be found in future.
The most ancient archaeological finds in Nigeria are the following: (1) the relic at Iwo Eleru
(with a radio carbon date of about 12,000BC). Iwo Eleru is close to Akure, Ondo State. (2) The
findings at Igbo-Ukwu of about 6000BC. (3) The findings at the Mejiro cave near Oyo (about
4000BC). The Nok culture that is more than 1000BC. (4) The Oke-Eri walls and graves
purported to be more than a thousand years. The walls are reputed to be the biggest in the world,
but for the walls of China. (5) The bronze heads at Ife about 1000AD. (6) The bronze heads at
Benin about 1400AD. This might authenticate the Ife claim that the Binis got the civilization of
bronze casting from the Ifes. Both the Binis and the Ifes claim that Igueghae was the one who
taught the Binis how to cast bronze, during the reign of the Oba Oguola, fourth king from
Eweka, the son of Oramiyan, a distant descendant of Oduduwa from Ife.
THE LINGUISTIC LINKAGES
According to the studies of philology and etymology, most of the languages in Nigeria in the
Kwa group of languages have a meeting point. The Yorubas and Idoma separated some six
thousand years ago; while the Yoruba and Igalas separated about 2 thousand years ago; two
thousand years ago corresponds to the time that the Yoruba dialects: Ekiti, Ijebu, Oyo, Itsekiri,
Ilaje, Ikale etc started having distinct dialectical identities.

Linguistic studies have indicated that Yorubas in the Eastern Flanks of the Yoruba nation; Ekiti,
Yagba, Kabba, Owo, Ijebu, Itsekiri and to some extent the Ifes, speak the most ancient Yoruba
dialects. Glottochronological studies have shown that the dialects in the south east are more
ancient than those of central Yoruba land and western Yoruba land. The table displays it further
still.
A table showing east to west ancientness of the Yoruboid languages.
ENGLISH ITSEKIRI YORUBA OYO YORUBA
RESPECT OGHO OWO
MONEY OGHO OWO
LOOK GHO WO
SAY GIN WI
FORBID GHO( r ) WO( r )
THEM AGHAN AWON
The table shows that the Itsekiri dialect retains the more ancient gh or g guttural sound
to the more liquid w of the Oyos.
If it is taken that the Yoruban ruling class came from Egypt, the southern Yoruba block,
particularly the Itsekiri, would have served as an initial stopping point and a secondary course of
dispersal. The table displays it further still
EGYPTIAN ITSEKIRI-YORUBA OYO-YORUBA
ADUMU (Water god) ADUMU (Water god) ADAMU (A god)
Kuku (Darkness) Okuku (Darkness) Ouku (Darkness)
Dudu (Black Image of Osiris) Dudu (black ) Dudu ( black )
Omi (Water) Omi (Water) Omi (Water)
Heket-Re (Frog god) Ekere (Frog) Akere (Frog)
Horise (Sky god) Orise (Sky god) Orisa (A god)
Hika (Evil) Ika (Evil) Ika (Evil)
Shu (Evil god) Eshu (Evil god) Eshu (Evil god)
Co-opted from 500 word-word correlation between, Yoruba and Egyptian languages .
From the above, it means that the eastern Yoruba blocs such as the Itsekiri, Ilaje, Ijebu and the
Owo are more cognate with the Egyptian than those of Oyo or Ife. .
The Awujale has testified that the Itsekiri are speaking the original Ijebu dialect. . This is why
Bolaji Idowu derived the origin of Oritse to the Itsekiri-Owo axis within the eastern Yoruba
kingdoms...

It is proper here to state that the word Orise is almost cognate with the Egyptian, Horise.
Both deities represent very high gods.. Both deities were first water divinities before they
became sky or heavenly divinities. Both words are derived from identical etymological origins.
Hori(Ori) means head in both places. Se, means a source in both places. Thus both words
mean a source of creation in both places. This type of linguistic similarity or identity cannot have
arisen by mere accident - there was a concrete historical intercourse. The Binis call God Oyisa, a
corruption of the eastern Yoruba form. This is certain because the Binis cannot derive the
meaning of Oyisa by breaking the word into morphemes as the Yoruba can display, or draw up
any identity with ancient Egypt.
A SCIENTIFIC ANALYSIS OF THE MYTHS
1. Oduduwa The myth of Oduduwa seems to be valid. Minus the fact that many Yoruba claim
descent from Oduduwa, some Urhobos and even Ijaws also claim descent from Oduduwa.
2. Ekaladerhan This name exists in very little, if at all it exists, in the oral tradition of any of
the Bini neighbors. There has been no relevant oral tradition among any of the circumjacent
peoples that can recognize Ekaladerhan or identify him as Oduduwa. So, the Ife claim
concerning Oduduwa seems to be more tenable.
3. Oduduwas descent from heaven The Ifes have been totally embarrassed by the
invectives thrown on them by the Binis in their I claim that Oduduwa fell from the sky.
Yes! It is true. People can fall from the sky as modern interaction between earthmen and those
from other planets have authenticated, and this can be displayed both in mythology and in real
hardcore science in many parts of the world. The story of Ezekiel in the bible, the story of the
Dogon mystic tribe of Mali are cases in point.
Then, some Yoruba ancestors would have been some of the Umales (aborigines) using their
Umale-Olunas (spaceships) to travel across the universe, as this can still be sighted in Yoruba
land today.
4. The huge bodies of water which the Bini and Yoruba mythologies claim their ancestors landed,
would have been one of two waters (1) the Atlantic ocean, the home of Umale-Okun at the
coastal flanks of Yoruba land , or the Mediterranean which was the biggest body of water known
to the ancient Negro Egyptians.
BINI AND EASTERN YORUBA HISTORICAL LINKAGES
- The Monarchies
There are areas where the eastern Yorubas and the Binis have a lot of historical linkages. It is an
indisputable fact that the founder of the present Itsekiri dynasty was Ginuwa, the first son of Oba
Olua of Benin. The Binis ruled over most parts of Ondo state: Akure and Ode-Ondo, to be more
specific. They even established dynasties in some of these places, including Owo. There are a lot

of titles that the Eastern Yorubas derived from the Binis. Those titles include: Ologbotsere,
Iyatsere, Otsodin, Olisan (Oliha) etc. There are also many areas where the Binis are indebted to
the Eastern Yorubas. Many of these have not been given prominence by historians. But the more
we delve into History, the more we are convinced of Binis indebtedness to the Yorubas,
particularly the Itsekiri-yorubas. Some of this indebtedness are the Bini religious discourse, the
conquest of Lagos, the manufacture of salt etc.
THE CONQUEST OF LAGOS
On face value, the Lagos conquest seemed to have been done by the Binis. Many authorities
however, agree that it is the Itsekiri of Warri that served in the Navy that attacked Lagos. The
assertion is likely to be true because of the following (1) The Binis are not watermen and could
not easily travel on the lagoons to Lagos. (2) The name Olu is common among Lagos Obas
eg. The Olu of Ikeja, the Olu Eko of Eko (Eleko) etc. The name Olu is Itsekiri or Oyoyoruba and not Edo or Bini (3) The Eyo masquerade attire and dance style is similar to that of
Awankere of Warri. It is true that the Eyo masquerade originated in Ijebu, but the attire is purely
of Warri origin. This will authenticate a not-too-popular Okere(Warri) legend, that it was the
descendants of Ekpen that accompanied Orhogbua (Osogbua) to conquer Lagos. .
. Also, the drums used by the Awori people bear striking resemblance to the Itsekiri drums, but
bear no resemblance to the Bini drums. In summary, the material culture of the Aworis is far
more akin to the Itsekiri than to the Binis.
Now hear the authorities: Captain Leonard says; Of the Jekri (Itsekiri) also there is much more
definite, although to a certain extent contradictory evidence. According to one account, they are
said to be closely connected with the Yoruba, the Warri kingdom having extended to and
embraced Lagos as well as some of the surrounding territories to this day (1906), in fact, Jekri
inhabit the strip of country, along the coast from the Benin river westward to Lagos This might
be due to the fact that Itsekiri held most of the trading posts along the coast when Leonard was
writing.
Captain Leonard in another section of his work says: And from all accounts, it is more than
possible, if not evident that the army of warriors who founded Lagos proceeded in reality from
Warri, but doubtless by the command of the king of Benin.
.
Corroborating Leonard and Nirven that the Itsekiri aristocracy has at least some politicoeconomic interests in Lagos, H. Ling Roth says Such corals as the Binis had, were obtained
through Jekri traders either from the Benin River or Lagos.
ORIGIN OF BINI BEADS

The Itsekiri have always claimed that beads started with them and that the Binis got their beads
from them. Settlements such as Omadino, Inorin, Ureju and Korobe area of the Warri kingdom
are the ancient Itsekiri settlements with the bead industry.
The people of Ureju and Korobe in Koko claimed to have given Ogboruware (Ewuare), probably
a usurper to the Bini throne, beads for the first time. There is a legend among the Korobes, that
Ogboruware (Ewuare), had his swelling disease as a result of an affliction placed on him by
Korobe, a legendary spiritual woman. Now hear the authorities:
H Ling Roth says
According to Bold, coral beads, are the intrinsic treasures of the rich, being held in highest
estimation and from their rarity, are only in the hands of a few chiefs, whose avidity for them is
immeasurable, the species admired are the pipe beads of various dimensions and are valued at
ten large jars of oil an ounce, of the smaller sort, and so on in the proportion for the larger
sized. Mr. Punch informs me that as a matter of fact, the king of Benin had few, if any of the
large coral beads such as Nanna, Dore, Dudu and Jekri chiefs obtained from the merchants in the
Benin River. His coral was insignificant pipe agate and was only significant when made up into
vests and hats. The Benin value more the agate beads and especially the dull agate was a kings
gift and no one could wear such a necklet unless it was given to him by the king. It was death in
fact, to wear it otherwise. The shiny crystalline agate, with white quartz, anyone could wear.
Such corals as the Binis had were obtained through Jeiri traders, either from the Benin river or
Lagos. The Binis said it was dug up at the back of Benin but everything in the days I am
speaking 14 15 years ago (from 1898) which was at all mysterious came from the back of
Benin .
Eve de Negri says,
This coral was first discovered (so it is told) during the fifteenth century in the reign of Oba
Ewuare. This type of coral was obtained from a tree, growing on the sandy bank of the Benin
River.
PC llyod also commented that Itsekiri legends claim that their ancestors, the Umales, got the blue
corals from particular trees that were growing in the Jekri country.
from the above quotations, it is evident that the Benin got their beads from the Itsekiri, and the
Itsekiri legends that they gave beads to Oba Ogboruware (Eware), has to be positively examined
by scientific historians.

BINIS LEARNT ABOUT SALT FROM THE ITSEKIRI

The Binis are land-bound people and they know very little about salt. Itsekiri legends testify that
they gave salt to Binis for the first time
The Itsekiri are known as the manufacturers of salt.. Alagoa, H Ling Roth, and Obaro Ikime,
agree to this position. H. Ling reports,
According to Roupels officials, king Osogbua (Orhogbua) is credited with discovering salt
in the Jekiri country. Pg. 142.H Ling Roth Great Benin
It is now factual that Orhogba discovered salt when he came to the Jekiri (Itsekiri) country to
seek the assistance of the Itsekiri navy in order to attack Lagos. In 1818 they also sought the
assistance of Kaye, an Itsekiri mystic-warrior in order to attack Akure. He was given Ologbo
some 25 kilometres south of Benin city.
The itsekiri were the major salt producers in the Niger delta area. On this hear Alagoa: the
itsekiri supplied clay pots to to such Ijo communities as the Gbaramatu and Bassan, and and also
sold salt to traders from eastern delta who took it up the NigerOther Ijo exchanged dried
fish and salt ,which was manufactured by the Itsekiri ,with the Urhobo ,Isoko and Igbo groups
along the periphery of the Niger Delta and along the Lower Niger (Alagoa 1989:729)
WATER RELIGION OF THE BINIS
The cult of Olokun (the water religion) of the Binis seems to be purely alien. This is due to the
following reasons: (1) the Binis are a land based people. Their main occupations are; farming,
hunting and sculpture. So it will be unthinkable for the Binis to have a water religion as a major
cult. (2) If a water religion exists among the Binis, and it has become prominent, the Binis might
have copied from one of their riverine neighbors (3) these neighbours are the Ijaws, the Itsekiris,
the Ilajes, and more distant neighbours being, the Asabas, the Onitshas, the Afenmai or Igala
people around the river Niger.
The Afenmais and the Igalas seem too distant from Benin to have a good influence on them. The
Asabas and the Onitshas, also, seem to be too far away form Benin. Minus that, they dont
seem to have any serious water cult to influence the Binis to have a viable water religion.
Thus, the Bini (a land locked people) must have had their water religion from the Ijaws, the
Itsekiris or the Ilajes. The Bini religious discourse has nothing to do with the Ijaws. Besides that,
the Ijaws that are the immediate neighbours of the Binis did not have any significant civilization.
These Ijaw neighbours are the Egbemas, the Arogbos, the Apoisnow Yoruba-speakingthe
Ogbe-Ijohs, the Isabas, the Gbaramatus, the Ogulaghas, the Oburutus, and the Meins. No
significant civilization or kingdom has emerged from these Ijaw clans. E.J Alagoa asserted that

most of these Ijaws did not arrive their area by 1500, which is quite recent according to historical
chronology. The cases settled in the Supreme Court between the Ijaws and the Itsekiri; place the
date of Ijaws coming to these areas at the early 19th century. Now, hear Prof.Alagoa , an Ijaw
doyen of history:
Pereiras record suggests that those Ijo groups now living west of the Forcados and east of
the Bonny had not yet arrived at their present territory by 1500. Thus, it is unthinkable for the
Binis to have copied the water religion from the Ijaws.
The Itsekiri and the Ilajes receive the likelihoodof having given water religion to the Binis for the
following reasons:1)The Binis situate the home of Olokun, the god of the sea, in the Atlantic
Ocean. Both the Itsekiris and the Ilajes are in the Atlantic coast. (2) The Bini religious discourse
shows a strong Yoruba affinity. The name, Olokun, (Olu Okun) is an eastern Yoruba name that
can apply to the Itsekiri as well as Ilajes, as eastern Yoruba dialects. The Binis call God Osa,
which is the same word that the Itsekiri call father. The other Bini word for God, Oyise, is clearly
corruption of the much older Itsekiri name, Oritse. . In the early days of November 2004 , the
Bini Monarch invoked an Ilaje deity, Aiyelala, to recover some property that was stolen from the
Oba Market in Benin . This will authenticate the Ilaje story of the Binis coming to Ugbo once
every year to serve Umaleokun, the water god of the Ugbo Yoruba
H. Ling Roth went further, quoting Burton says:
Similar to other west Africans, the Bini When drinking,the Binis always pour a few drops
upon the ground, muttering the while (Mobia, Malaku Mobia (Mobie, Umalokun, Mobie)
Ibeg, O Malaku (Umale-Okun, fetish guardian of lands and waters 1 beg of thee to defend me
against all evil, to defeat and destroy all my foes. This said, a broken bittock of Kola (stercula
acuminata) is thrown upon the ground, and is watered with a few drops of palm wine. Burton
Pg. 281. Mobia (Mobie) is however the Jekiri for 1 beg you : 59.
It is evident that the Bini religious discourse was, and to some extent is, still infiltrated with
Itsekiri and Ilaje. This is most evident in the water religion of the Binis.
From the above, we see that some of the most important aspects of the Bini civilization: their
bead industry, the cult of Olokun (Olu Okun King of the sea), their salt industry etc are from
the eastern Yoruba land of Itsekiri and to some extent the Ilajes. Apart from this, the Itsekiri
warrior, Ikaye, saved the Bini kingdom from being crushed by the Akures. For his settlement
Oba Semede gave him Ologbo.
Again when there was leadership dispute between Obaseki and Aigwobasinwin, it was an Itsekiri
chief, Dore Numa, who restored the Benin monarchy. He also gave them a lot of beads which the
Bini aristocracy has not returned till today. It is therefore unthinkable that Ife, where the Yoruba
kingship blossomed, would have copied from Benin. This is most evident when we consider the
following facts: (I) The name, Oba (the Edo word for king), is copied from the Yorubas,

particularly those from Ife (2) the heads of the Obas of Benin were taken to Ife, until very
recently. The place where the heads of the Obas of Benin were buried is still called Orun Oba
Ado, the heaven of the kings of Benin. (3) The Binis normally take permission from the
Ooni, to crown new kings. There is no recorded history that the Oonis took permission from the
Binis before getting crowned (4) The official language in the court of the Oba of Benin until
1934 was Yoruba. There was no time that Bini language was spoken in Ife. The Portuguese and
other Europeans who were in the Bini area for more than 500 years (from 1486 when they got to
Benin till 1960.)had no knowledge of Oduduwa being a Bini man.
So, scientifically speaking, the Ife position seems more tenable than that of the Benin. Oral
traditions can be fabricated. So, rigorous history of the 21st century must be purely scientific
even if we recourse to oral tradition, they must face scientific testing and not based on moribund
oral tradition. Aspects such as linguistic analysis, archaeological discoveries, cultural practices
etc, must come into the forefront when reconstructing the history of preliterate peoples like the
Binis and the Ifes.
THE EDOS ARE DESCENDED FROM THE IRIGBO OF ODE_ITSEKIRI
In one of their accounts, the Edos claim discent from God himself, who they say is the grand
father of Iso (Sky) who in turn is the grand father of Idu, ancestor of the Binis. One of the
brothers of Idu called. Olukumi (the Yorubas were first called Olukumi, today a tribe called
olukumi, speaking a language very similar to Itsekiri-Yoruba, and the legends claim they all
descended from Egypt, are to be found in parts of Edo and Delta States) lived with him in Uhe
(Ife) before they left to found Benin. Michael Crowder: The story of Nigeria, Page 63.
The word Olukumi in Itsekiri, means a friend of mine. The word Olukumi, rather than Ore is still
used in Ife is evident that Idu and his brothers left to Ile-Ife, after the southward migration of the
Yorubas to Ode-Itsekiri and thence to Ile-ife. This is why the story of a watery terrain remains in
the tradition of the Binis and the Ifes who are located very far from the Atlantic coast. The vast
expanse of water, where the ancestors of the Binis and the find themselves is no other place than
the Itsekiri territory of the Atlantic coast.
At a time, the powerful Bini kingdom was paying tax to the Olu of Warri when the yoke of
imperialism crumbled the once great kingdom of the Guinea. Concerning this issue Michael
Crowder says:
With the decline of Ughoton
the Benin had to use theports of the Benin river and thus, pay dues to the Olu of Warri in whose
territory the ports was located.17
In conclusion the Itsekiris introduced the following to Benin: salt, beads, and the worship of
Umale Okun. The Itsekiri under Dore also helped the Binis to revive their monarchy.