Tunde Odesola

With three horizontal lines on each side of his mulatto cheeks complementing the three vertical lines on his forehead, the abaja tribal marks beautifying the face of Adejuyigbe Adefunmi were not sculpted in the heart of Yorubaland, they were incised in the United States of America, when the prince was eight days old.

His father, Oba Efuntola Oseijeman Adelabu Adefunmi I, who founded Oyotunji, an African village near Sheldon, Beaufort County, South Carolina, joined his ancestors on February 11, 2005, after living for seven decades and six years.

Oba Adefunmi I embarked on the journey to the great beyond after decades on the throne, bestowing a legacy of Yoruba cultural reawakening. His son and successor, Oba Adejuyigbe Adefunmi II, was the 19th among 23 children, all of whom were born to Efuntola in the polygamous family he ran in the US.

Tragically, the successor Oba Adefunmi II succumbed to multiple knife injuries inflicted by his elder sister, Akiba Kasale Meredith, 53, on Monday, July 29, 2024, after the village celebrated Sango festival the previous Saturday and Sunday.

But, in a viral video recorded years before his death, the 47-year-old Oba Adefunmi II, spoke with pride about the vision and enduring relevance of Oyotunji, saying, “Oyotunji African Village is one of its kind in North America today. It’s the only African village with a king, king’s wives, with chiefs, a school, a library and all of those good things. Oyotunji was configured to be a monastery of sorts for the reconfiguration, restoration, and, of course, researching our traditional African culture. We’re descendants of West Africa. Of course, as we know, people without a culture are lost.”

He continued, “The future of Oyotunji remains relevant in that we continue to educate, we continue to cater to all of those who are soul-searching, looking for their ancestors and who they are. By coming to Oyotunji, you can get a snapshot of how our ancestors lived before. You are going to get a splash of Africa in one day, from the cuisine to the dancing, the drumming, the atmosphere, and the heat from the sun is really reminiscent of Africa.

“Our gates are always open to people to come and we offer them spiritual services. We do not practice a religion, we practice a culture, and that’s why we want people to know about Oyotunji, and you can be a part of this culture.”

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In an interview published in The PUNCH, on April 15, 2017, the young ruler of the village, which sits on 27 acres, said Oyotunji, over the years, had been sustained by God and the selfless commitment of villagers.

His words, “Our forefathers and mothers were the ones who pulled their small resources together to get the land and the rest was up to Eledumare. We had the men in the village who were the builders and the women in the village were the protectors of the village and the children were the future. There was no funding from the government, Africa or Europe. We utilised our African culture to create income, so Oyotunji became a tourist destination.”

On the origin of tribal marks in the community, the king explained, “The tribal marks began in Oyotunji in 1975. Each person in Oyotunji began to receive tribal marks. I received my ila oju (tribal marks) when I was eight days old, just before the isomo loruko (naming ceremony). Men and women receive them. However, today, it is not mandatory as it was. Now it is up to the parents and children if they want to receive them. Today, many adults are coming to us to receive tribal marks but I tell them we don’t do it when you are old because it is very painful.

“As a child, it is just like circumcision. It is the child’s first cut in the community. When you bleed, they put ewé (leaves) and àsè (traditional powder). When those things are put, they make you powerful. We chose to bear marks similar to the Oyo people because my father was so mystified by the Oyo Empire. I don’t think there has been an empire like that since and that is why he named the village after Oyo. As we know, Oyo was the political capital of the Yoruba people while Ile-Ife is the spiritual capital of the Yoruba race.”

Oba Adefunmi II also spoke about how his father became king. The title was not self-proclaimed, he emphasised, recalling that the people of Oyotunji made his father king in 1972 when they felt the village needed a leader.

“Some of our descendants were stolen and taken to America but my father always knew that he had royal blood. It was not until 1972 when the people of Oyotunji after 20 years of Yoruba culture development, realised that my father should become a king. My father did not make himself a king, he was just the builder and constructor. One day, the people woke up and decided to make him king…They told him to sit down and said that from that day, there was no more work for him and he would become the ruler of the village,” he said.

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Explaining how Oyotunji drew its spiritual legitimacy from Ile-Ife, Oba Adefunmi II recalled his father’s visit to Nigeria in 1981 for the Orisa World Conference, and how Ooni Okunade Sijuwade made his father king.

Adefunmi said, “My father visited Ile-Ife on November 16, 1981 for the Orisa world conference held at the University of Ife. Meanwhile, Oyotunji had been in existence for about 11 years while the Yoruba culture movement had been in existence in North-America for about 20 years. Baba came to the conference and Oba Sijuwade was there.”

According to Adefunmi, Oba Sijuwade was impressed when his father showed pictures and slides of Oyotunji on a projector, saying this prompted the paramount ruler to invite his father, along with all the dignitaries that attended the conference, to a reception inside the palace.

“During the reception, he (Ooni) surprised my father by singling him out and he told his kingmakers to take him to the back (of the palace). (There,) my father said they sacrificed a goat to the Ada Oba Akogun (the sword), and the Ooni consecrated it by saying that from that day forward, he (Efuntola) would be the king of all the Yoruba in North America. This was the second coronation for my father. He then received his official status from the Source of the Yoruba kingdom. Baba came back to the United States with that and began to expand the royal family, the crowns, royal insignia, and the Yoruba culture, but this time with the spiritual backing of the source,” he said.

For any Yoruba king to fight over the control of Oyotunji is tantamount to the parable of ‘Eni ri n kan e’ – ‘someone who finds a prized jewel and is dying out of excitement over his find; what should the one that lost the jewel do?’

Oyotunji means ‘Oyo has risen again’. Its conception was the sole work of African-Americans inspired to retrace their ancestry. No Ooni or Alaafin supplied manpower nor contributed a dime to the creation of Oyotunji, thereby making any claim to the community by any traditional ruler an attempt to reap where they did not sow.

“Ko si gbe ru mi laafin” is an ancient proverb which validates the palace as a silo, where the poor drop choice foods and ware. But some Yoruba monarchs are changing this narrative. One such example is the Orangun of Oke-Ila, Oba Adedokun Abolarin, who built a school for indigent students. Another example is the new Owa Obokun of Ijesaland, Oba Adesuyi Haastrup, who has deployed his funds to the construction of roads within his domain and the sponsoring of 50 Ilesa youths to Nasarawa State for an agric empowerment programme.

Retired broadcaster and cousin to the kabiyesi, Folasade Odunlade, nee Haastrup, also said the Owa Obokun has given 1,000 indigent students in the community bursary awards.

“Baba o gbodo so wipe o di owo omo ohun lorun,” a father shall never seek help in the hands of his children in heaven. No matter how successful the child is, he’s the son of his father.

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There’s no gainsaying the fact that Oyo played a prominent role in the protection of Yorubaland hundreds of years ago, but the place of Ile-Ife as ‘The Source’ is evergreen. When scholars speak about the Old Oyo Empire, they refer to it in the past, using the verb ‘was’ because it no longer exists. But Ile-Ife is past, present and continuous because it is the source of Yoruba.

After the fall of the Oyo Empire, Ibadan warriors also protected Yorubaland. Is it, therefore, right for the Olubadan to claim equality or supremacy over the Ooni? NO!

After Nigeria’s independence, Ibadan rose to become the political capital of the Western Region, while Lagos rose to become the commercial capital of the entire country, and later became more politically powerful than Ibadan from 1999. But, won’t it be childish for Ibadan and Lagos to bicker over who is greater when there are many issues confronting the Yoruba race?

In the Ogbori Elemoso epic by Lere Paimo, the antagonist, Elemoso, warns Soun Ogunlola, the protagonist, “O ma je ki awon ara Oyo o tan e?” – Don’t let Oyo people deceive you. This is a piece of advice for Alaafin. The Alaafin shouldn’t allow bad counsel to mislead him. He started well, he should not derail now. The Ooni too will find this counsel and the ‘agba ni n gba’ counsel invaluable because, truly, tolerance is the forte of the elderly.

The Awise Agbaye, Prof Wande Abimbola, said plans were afoot to settle the alleged bickering between the two prominent rulers, saying it was unnecessary.

In an interview with me, Abimbola said, “Yoruba elders shall look into it. We shall settle it. The Yoruba do not need such a quarrel. Ife is the source of Yoruba, and Oyo played a crucial role in the history of the Yoruba. So, both rulers should show respect to each other. We must find a middle ground for both respected kings to stand upon – a middle ground of honour and solidarity for us all.”

No Ooni in history ever wore tribal marks, though the ‘pele’ tribal marks are the commonest in Ife. ‘Abaja’ is the most common tribal mark among Oyo people. Therefore, if ‘onipele’ – the ‘pele’ tribal mark wearer – is angry, let the ‘alabaja’ hug him: The Alaafin and the Ooni should unite.

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