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Alaafin Ofinran

OFINRAN

The Oyo refugees were first received with open arms by the King Eleduwe and his Balogun Bokoyo because Ofinran’s mother was a Bariba woman. The refugees having no regular employment here joined the Baribas, who are a race of marauders, in all their expeditions. In one of these expeditions Irawo in the Yoruba country was taken, and also Oke Isero were died the famous war chief Gbonka Eleri-onigbajo.

After this, the Bariba began to ill-treat the refugees, but the young prince proved himself equal to the occasion; he collected his people together, and set out at their head for Oyo.

When they arrived at a place called Kusu, they encamped there to complete the preparations for the journey to Oyo. From Kusu the King sent delegates to Ota for Ifa priests, as he and his chiefs superstitiously believed that their misfortunes arose from their rejection of Ifa worship; the Alado then came to initiate the Alaafin and his people into the mysteries of the Ifa worship. Thus Ifa was accepted by Yoruba proper among the gods of the land.

The Egungun mysteries also were hitherto unknown to the Yoruba’s, by this means the Tapas have long imposed upon them, they believing in the reality of the so called apparitions. On the hill Sanda at Kusu the secret was made known to Saha the King’s head slave.

The first Alapinni with the other Egungun priests the Elefi, Olohan, Oloba, Aladafa, and the Ologe, emigrated from the Tapa country to Yoruba, joining the remnants returning from the Bariba country. These became the first priests, and instructed the Yoruba’s further in the Egungun worship; therefore the honours and emoluments to be enjoyed in this worship by right belong to them and the successors unto this day.

 

Before the encampment at Kusu was broken up, the King died, and was succeeded by his son Eguguoju. The deceased King’s body was wrapped in an ass’s skin to be taken to Oyo. At a place called Okutu-gbogbo the cord broke, and the body had to be bound up afresh before they could proceed. On the very spot in which this happened, the palace at Saki was built. Sokia “ti iwo ewn irin” (clad with a coat of mail) was the Basorun of this period.