Obalumo
Encyclopedia
Oba'lumo as Prince of the Ancient Oba Civilization
Ọbalúmọ̀ or Ọba'lúmọ̀ , (a contraction of ỌbaOba (ruler)
Oba is a West African synonym for monarch, one that is usually applied to the Yoruba and Edo rulers of the region. It is also often used by their traditional subjects to refer to other kings and queens, such as Elizabeth I of England, in their native languages.-Edo account of the word's origin:The...
Olúmọ̀), is the titular name of the founder-king (first Oba)
Oba (ruler)
Oba is a West African synonym for monarch, one that is usually applied to the Yoruba and Edo rulers of the region. It is also often used by their traditional subjects to refer to other kings and queens, such as Elizabeth I of England, in their native languages.-Edo account of the word's origin:The...
of the ancient Ìsèdó-Olúmọ̀
Isedo, Nigeria
- Location :Ìsèdó is an ancient Igbomina kingdom in northeastern Yorubaland of Nigeria. Ìsẹ̀dó was founded as a new city-state several centuries ago by Ọba'lumọ, a Prince of the ancient Oba civilization - Location :Ìsèdó (Ìsẹ̀dó or Ìsẹ̀dó-Olúmọ̀) is an ancient Igbomina kingdom in...
, city-state
City-state
A city-state is an independent or autonomous entity whose territory consists of a city which is not administered as a part of another local government.-Historical city-states:...
, an ancient monarchy
Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...
of the Igbomina
Igbomina
The Ìgbómìnà are a tribe of the Yoruba people occupying the north-central portion of the Yoruba region of southwestern Nigeria....
-Yoruba
Yoruba people
The Yoruba people are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa. The majority of the Yoruba speak the Yoruba language...
. Translations of the title Ọba’lúmọ̀ as “The King" (Oba
Oba (ruler)
Oba is a West African synonym for monarch, one that is usually applied to the Yoruba and Edo rulers of the region. It is also often used by their traditional subjects to refer to other kings and queens, such as Elizabeth I of England, in their native languages.-Edo account of the word's origin:The...
), the Lord of Knowledge” (Olumo), or “King of the Lords of Knowledge” or “King and Lord of Knowledge”, meaning “ Knowledgeable King,” suggests that this founder-monarch of the Ìsèdó city-state, who is reputed in oral history to be a veteran
Veteran
A veteran is a person who has had long service or experience in a particular occupation or field; " A veteran of ..."...
hunter and warrior
Warrior
A warrior is a person skilled in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based society that recognizes a separate warrior class.-Warrior classes in tribal culture:...
, was also a highly skilled Herbal
Herbalist
An herbalist is:#A person whose life is dedicated to the economic or medicinal uses of plants.#One skilled in the harvesting and collection of medicinal plants ....
doctor
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
/pharmacognosist
Pharmacognosy
Pharmacognosy is the study of medicines derived from natural sources. The American Society of Pharmacognosy defines pharmacognosy as "the study of the physical, chemical, biochemical and biological properties of drugs, drug substances or potential drugs or drug substances of natural origin as well...
and Babalawo
Babalawo
Babalawo is a Yorùbá chieftaincy title that denotes a Priest of Ifá. Ifa is a divination system that represents the teachings of the Orisha Orunmila, the Spirit of Wisdom, who in turn serves as the oracular representative of God...
(a diviner priest and healer priest of the Ifá
Ifá
Ifá refers to the system of divination and the verses of the literary corpus known as the Odú Ifá. Yoruba religion identifies Orunmila as the Grand Priest; as that which revealed Oracle divinity to the world...
oracle). Ọba’lúmọ̀ was a prince of the ancient Ọ̀bà
Oba, Nigeria
Oba-Igbomina , is an ancient Igbomina town in northeastern Yorubaland of Nigeria in Isin Local Government Area of Kwara State...
civilization in northeastern Yorubaland and is one of the earliest founders of the ancient Yoruba city-states, monarchies and kingdoms in southwestern Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
.
However, the reference to Ọba'lúmọ̀'s city state as Ìsèdó-Olúmọ̀ (Isedo of Olúmọ̀ ) and the existence of an Olúmọ̀ royal clan
Clan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clan members may be organized around a founding member or apical ancestor. The kinship-based bonds may be symbolical, whereby the clan shares a "stipulated" common ancestor that is a...
in Oba-Igbomina
Oba, Nigeria
Oba-Igbomina , is an ancient Igbomina town in northeastern Yorubaland of Nigeria in Isin Local Government Area of Kwara State...
(in Isin Local Government Area of Kwara State, Nigeria) - one of the extant Oba-heritage towns named Oba
Oba, Nigeria
Oba-Igbomina , is an ancient Igbomina town in northeastern Yorubaland of Nigeria in Isin Local Government Area of Kwara State...
- suggests a different meaning and origin of the name and title Ọba'lúmọ̀ n'Ìsèdó. It seems that Ọba'lúmọ̀ founded a city-state dominated by people from the Olúmọ̀ clan of their Oba origin, and he therefore adopted the title (or was titled) Ọba'lúmọ̀ in his new kingdom
Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...
- meaning "the king from the Olúmọ̀ clan". The other deductions of the name referring to the legendary knowledge of herbal
Herbal
AThe use of a or an depends on whether or not herbal is pronounced with a silent h. herbal is "a collection of descriptions of plants put together for medicinal purposes." Expressed more elaborately — it is a book containing the names and descriptions of plants, usually with information on their...
remedies and the Ifá
Ifá
Ifá refers to the system of divination and the verses of the literary corpus known as the Odú Ifá. Yoruba religion identifies Orunmila as the Grand Priest; as that which revealed Oracle divinity to the world...
oracle seems to be a heritage of the entire Olúmọ̀ clan, and may not be peculiar to King Ọba'lúmọ̀ .
Oba'lumo as King of His Own New Isedo City-State
Some oral history accounts ascribe a personal name of Tìímọ̀ to the first King Ọba'lúmọ̀, (ObaOba (ruler)
Oba is a West African synonym for monarch, one that is usually applied to the Yoruba and Edo rulers of the region. It is also often used by their traditional subjects to refer to other kings and queens, such as Elizabeth I of England, in their native languages.-Edo account of the word's origin:The...
) of Isedo. Other oral history accounts suggest that Tìímọ̀ was simply the reigning Ọba'lúmọ̀ (Oba
Oba (ruler)
Oba is a West African synonym for monarch, one that is usually applied to the Yoruba and Edo rulers of the region. It is also often used by their traditional subjects to refer to other kings and queens, such as Elizabeth I of England, in their native languages.-Edo account of the word's origin:The...
of Isedo) at the time of contact with the migrating group of one of the two factions departing from Ila Yara whose leader founded Ila Orangun adjacent to Ìsẹ̀dó, the kingdom where Tìímọ̀ was reigning as the then King Ọba'lúmọ̀.
The first King Ọba'lúmọ̀ (same Oba
Oba (ruler)
Oba is a West African synonym for monarch, one that is usually applied to the Yoruba and Edo rulers of the region. It is also often used by their traditional subjects to refer to other kings and queens, such as Elizabeth I of England, in their native languages.-Edo account of the word's origin:The...
Tìímọ̀ according to one of the oral history accounts) led one of the major migrations from the ancient Ọ̀bà
Oba, Nigeria
Oba-Igbomina , is an ancient Igbomina town in northeastern Yorubaland of Nigeria in Isin Local Government Area of Kwara State...
kingdom, perhaps as a result of the cyclic conflict with their Nupe neighbours to the north. The orature of the Ìsèdó people across Yorubaland refer to their recent ancestry from King Ọba'lúmọ̀ (Ọmọ Ọba’lúmọ̀ n’Ìsẹ̀dó), their more remote ancestry from the Ọ̀bà kingdom (Ọmọ ọrọ̀ l’Ọbà), as well as to their more ancient royal ancestry from King Olúnlákin of Ọ̀bà (Ọm’Ọba
Oba (ruler)
Oba is a West African synonym for monarch, one that is usually applied to the Yoruba and Edo rulers of the region. It is also often used by their traditional subjects to refer to other kings and queens, such as Elizabeth I of England, in their native languages.-Edo account of the word's origin:The...
Olúnlákin).
Dating the Ìsẹ̀dó-Olúmọ̀ City-State
Oral history analyzed in the light of recent archaeological research results (and published works of oral history expertsOral history
Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews...
, anthropologists
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
and archaeologists
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
of the Arizona State University
Arizona State University
Arizona State University is a public research university located in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area of the State of Arizona...
, USA and the University of Ibadan
University of Ibadan
The University of Ibadan is the oldest Nigerian university, and is located five miles from the centre of the major city of Ibadan in Western Nigeria...
, Nigeria); of Igbomina
Igbomina
The Ìgbómìnà are a tribe of the Yoruba people occupying the north-central portion of the Yoruba region of southwestern Nigeria....
-Yoruba region's contemporary and later settlements suggest that the Ìsèdọ́ City-State commonly known as Ìsẹ̀dó-Olúmọ̀ (i.e. the Olúmọ̀’s Ìsẹ̀dó), was established between the 10th and the 12th centuries by Ọ̀bà
Oba, Nigeria
Oba-Igbomina , is an ancient Igbomina town in northeastern Yorubaland of Nigeria in Isin Local Government Area of Kwara State...
emigres (led by Ọba'lúmọ̀), who departed the internal wranglings within their former kingdom or/and perhaps cyclic conflicts with the neighbouring Nupe to the north. (It was presumably the same problem of cyclic conflicts with the Nupe that caused the ancient Òwu kingdom, perhaps a contemporary of Ọ̀bà, to relocate further south from their original city-state in this region to establish a new settlement named Orile-Òwu, south of Ile-Ifẹ).
Relationship with Neighbouring Ancient City-States
Oratures of ancient origin and oral-historians ascribe the role of land-grant authority to the Ọba'lúmọ̀, monarch of Ìsẹ̀dó. Some oral historians report that at the request of Oduduwa’s fourth son, named Fagbamila and nicknamed Ọ̀ràngúnOrangun
Orangun or Ọ̀ràngún is the title of both paramount kings of the Yoruba kingdoms of Ila Orangun and Oke-Ila, Ila Orangun and their ancient kingdom of Ila-Yara of northeastern Yorubaland, presently in southwestern Nigeria.-History:...
, the region’s king Ọba'lúmọ̀ gave land-grants to the later arriving Ọ̀ràngún immigrants at a location sufficiently distant from Ìsẹ̀dó’s location. Another, seemingly more reliable version of the oral history, indicates that the land-grant occurred a few centuries later, when the faction of the younger of two quarreling princes arrived from the Ìlá Yàrà
Ila Yara
Ila Yara was the original kingdom founded about the 12th century by Ajagun-nla , also nicknamed "Orangun", the legendary son of Oduduwa. The kingdom split into two after Orangun Apakiimo was installed towards the end of the 15th century...
schism in the vicinity of the Ọba'lúmọ̀'s Ìsẹ̀dó monarchy. This younger prince, Arutu Oluokun, founded Ila-Magbon
Ila, Nigeria
Ìlá Òràngún, is an ancient city in Osun State, Nigeria that was capital of an ancient city-state of the same name in the Igbomina area of Yorubaland in southwestern Nigeria...
but the new monarchy was forced to move within a short time to establish another settlement at Ìlá-Ogbogbo or Odò-Ìlá (meaning Ìlá of fthe lowland) which is the settlement that became the modern Ìlá Ọ̀ràngún.
An annual celebration called "Ìmárúgbó" (or "Òkùnrìn") festival was instituted between the two city-states during which the King Òràngún leaves his palace with his chiefs to pay a day-long homage to the King Ọba'lúmọ̀ in the Ọba'lúmọ̀'s palace. This is partly in symbolic tribute to Ọba'lúmọ̀'s land-grant and his (Ọba'lúmọ̀'s) precedence of him (the Ọ̀ràngún) in the region, and partly in appreciation of Ọba'lúmọ̀'s hosting of the Ọ̀ràngún's elderly mother who could not continue with the immigrant party to their allocated land. The Ọ̀ràngún's mother died in the palace of the Ọba'lúmọ̀ and was buried at Ìsẹ̀dó, so the Ọ̀ràngún also visits her grave.
The older Ọ̀ràngún monarch's faction departing the Ìlá Yàrà schism, established a new settlement called Igbohun. After a few other settlement locations, the modern Òkè-Ìlá Ọ̀ràngún
Òkè-Ìlá
Òkè-Ìlá Òràngún is an ancient city in southwestern Nigeria that was capital of an ancient Igbomina-Yoruba city-state of the same name....
was founded near the original Igbohun. The Ọbaálá clan of Òkè-Ìlá Ọ̀ràngún, according to their oratures which refer to their origin from Ìsẹ̀dó, is actually a segment of the Ìsẹ̀dó royalty which emigrated several centuries ago at the invitation and inducement of Orangun Apakiimo
Orangun
Orangun or Ọ̀ràngún is the title of both paramount kings of the Yoruba kingdoms of Ila Orangun and Oke-Ila, Ila Orangun and their ancient kingdom of Ila-Yara of northeastern Yorubaland, presently in southwestern Nigeria.-History:...
to join him to found his (Orangun's) new kingdom at Igbohun
Òkè-Ìlá
Òkè-Ìlá Òràngún is an ancient city in southwestern Nigeria that was capital of an ancient Igbomina-Yoruba city-state of the same name....
. At Òkè-Ìlá Ọ̀ràngún (as the kingdom was subsequently known), the Ìsẹ̀dó immigrants retained their royal title of Ọba'lúmọ̀ as agreed with Orangun Apakiimo, perhaps maintaining their separateness for some time until they subsequently "federated" or consolidated with the Òkè-Ìlá Ọ̀ràngún kingdom. Within the consolidated Òkè-Ìlá Ọ̀ràngún kingdom hierarchy, the Ọba'lúmọ̀ or Ìsẹ̀dó clan won rights to the additional high title of Ọbaálá
Obaala
Obaala is a senior title in the royal council of many kingdoms of the northeastern Yoruba - the Igbomina, Ijẹṣa and Ekiti sub-ethnics....
(meaning "mighty king" or "senior king"), in addition to their royal title of Ọba'lúmọ̀ remaining recognized and maintained. This is a significant recognition of the Ọba'lúmọ̀ clan since the Ọbaálá
Obaala
Obaala is a senior title in the royal council of many kingdoms of the northeastern Yoruba - the Igbomina, Ijẹṣa and Ekiti sub-ethnics....
title is next in rank to the Ọ̀ràngún
Orangun
Orangun or Ọ̀ràngún is the title of both paramount kings of the Yoruba kingdoms of Ila Orangun and Oke-Ila, Ila Orangun and their ancient kingdom of Ila-Yara of northeastern Yorubaland, presently in southwestern Nigeria.-History:...
of Òkè-Ìlá (the paramount king of the consolidated city-state), and the holder of the Ọbaálá
Obaala
Obaala is a senior title in the royal council of many kingdoms of the northeastern Yoruba - the Igbomina, Ijẹṣa and Ekiti sub-ethnics....
title automatically becomes regent king on the demise of any reigning Ọ̀ràngún of Òkè-Ìlá, and he rules until the next Ọ̀ràngún is installed.
Current Status of Ìsẹ̀dó and Ọba'lúmọ̀'s Modern Role
The Ọba'lúmọ̀'s original Ìsẹ̀dó city-state has been virtually engulfed by the modern Ìlá Ọ̀ràngúnIla, Nigeria
Ìlá Òràngún, is an ancient city in Osun State, Nigeria that was capital of an ancient city-state of the same name in the Igbomina area of Yorubaland in southwestern Nigeria...
, but the clan has maintained the royal title of Ọba'lúmọ̀ in the traditional establishment. The modern Ọba'lúmọ̀ territory which is now enclosed within Ìlá Òràngún, has about thirteen various sub-clans (or mega-family) compounds. The Ọba'lúmọ̀ clan at Ila, as with the branch of the clan
Clan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clan members may be organized around a founding member or apical ancestor. The kinship-based bonds may be symbolical, whereby the clan shares a "stipulated" common ancestor that is a...
in Òkè-Ìlá Ọ̀ràngún, has maintained traditions and festivals that go back about ten centuries to the founding of Ìsẹ̀dó, as well as to their original homeland at Ọ̀bà.
Oba'lumo in Consolidated Òkè-Ìlá Ọ̀ràngún
In the consolidated Òkè-Ìlá Ọ̀ràngúnÒkè-Ìlá
Òkè-Ìlá Òràngún is an ancient city in southwestern Nigeria that was capital of an ancient Igbomina-Yoruba city-state of the same name....
state, the Ọba'lúmọ̀ title was contemporaneously established coincident with the creation of the new Oke-Ila state resulting from the split in the Ila Yara
Ila Yara
Ila Yara was the original kingdom founded about the 12th century by Ajagun-nla , also nicknamed "Orangun", the legendary son of Oduduwa. The kingdom split into two after Orangun Apakiimo was installed towards the end of the 15th century...
kingdom at the end of the 15th century. Due to the local crises engendered by the series of wars among the Yoruba in the 19th century, the Ìsẹ̀dó clan did not fill the Ọba'lúmọ̀ title for more than a century (since the last one reigned at their refugee-settlement at Omi Osun
Omi Osun
Omi-Ọṣun, literally meaning "Ọṣun's waters", is the northernmost source tributary of the Ọṣun River in southwestern Nigeria...
), before the current Obalumo was installed January 17, 2003 at Oke-Ila. The clan's oral historians summarily attribute the long interregnum
Interregnum
An interregnum is a period of discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order...
to a shortfall in the clan's male population (possibly due to the frequent wars and slave raids which necessitated the temporary relocation of the consolidated Oke-Ila kingdom to Omi-Ọsun
Omi-Osun ruins
The Omi-Ọsun ruins are the remains of an ancient settlement of the Oke-Ila Orangun kingdom, located along the Omi-Ọsun river in southwestern Nigeria. The ruins consist of remnants of ancient walls, potsherds, and other relics. Much of the site complex is currently overgrown with thicket, but large...
) and the consequent dearth of suitable candidates. The clan's oral historians further indicate that there was a shortage of the required retinue of palace servants that were to be dedicated to fulfil the numerous royal restrictions, ritual
Ritual
A ritual is a set of actions, performed mainly for their symbolic value. It may be prescribed by a religion or by the traditions of a community. The term usually excludes actions which are arbitrarily chosen by the performers....
observances, ritual avoidances, ceremonies and royal etiquette
Etiquette
Etiquette is a code of behavior that delineates expectations for social behavior according to contemporary conventional norms within a society, social class, or group...
s of the holder of the Ọba'lúmọ̀ title, such as his daily-fresh drinking water (to be fetched at dawn by young women in virtual-nudity wearing only heavy beads around their waists), the ceremonial etiquette for the preparation and serving of the Oba’lúmò’s meals (in absolute silence), and various other ceremonial routines and rituals of Ìsẹ̀dó royalty.
Accounting for the Oba'lumo Interregnum in Òkè-Ìlá Ọ̀ràngún
However, there are other likely reasons for this long interregnum judging from oral historians accounts of events. One reason may be connected with the internal strife, dissension and conspiracies in the consolidated Òkè-Ìlá Ọ̀ràngúnÒkè-Ìlá
Òkè-Ìlá Òràngún is an ancient city in southwestern Nigeria that was capital of an ancient Igbomina-Yoruba city-state of the same name....
kingdom (possibly caused or exacerbated by the external pressures of military attacks and aggression from the Ibadan
Ibadan
Ibadan is the capital city of Oyo State and the third largest metropolitan area in Nigeria, after Lagos and Kano, with a population of 1,338,659 according to the 2006 census. Ibadan is also the largest metropolitan geographical area...
(late 19th Century) and neighbouring polities (of Ekiti), culminating in the alleged assassination at the war-front, of Páko, the clan's designate/candidate for the Ọbaálá title (and possibly also for Ọba'lúmọ̀ royal title) by a treacherous faction of Òkè-Ìlá Ọ̀ràngún
Òkè-Ìlá
Òkè-Ìlá Òràngún is an ancient city in southwestern Nigeria that was capital of an ancient Igbomina-Yoruba city-state of the same name....
troops during the most recent relocation of the consolidated kingdom to Omi-Ọsun
Omi-Osun ruins
The Omi-Ọsun ruins are the remains of an ancient settlement of the Oke-Ila Orangun kingdom, located along the Omi-Ọsun river in southwestern Nigeria. The ruins consist of remnants of ancient walls, potsherds, and other relics. Much of the site complex is currently overgrown with thicket, but large...
. Another reason is an effort to demonstrate allegiance to the paramount king, the Orangun, by focusing resources on rebuilding Orangun's palace and the kingdom at large, subsequent to the relocation back to Oke-Ila from Omi-Osun.
The Incumbent Oba'lumo in Òkè-Ìlá and Ìlá
The current Ọba'lúmọ̀ of the Ìsẹ̀dó kingdom at Ìlá Ọ̀ràngún, (monarchMonarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
of the Ìsẹ̀dó kingdom at its original site, now almost enclosed within the modern Ìlá Òràngún
Ila, Nigeria
Ìlá Òràngún, is an ancient city in Osun State, Nigeria that was capital of an ancient city-state of the same name in the Igbomina area of Yorubaland in southwestern Nigeria...
), is His Royal Highness, Oyèdèjì Àjídé, while the current Ọba'lúmọ̀ of the émigré Ìsẹ̀dó-Oke or Ìsẹ̀dó Ori Oke (Isedo of the hilltop) kingdom - monarch
Monarch
A monarch is the person who heads a monarchy. This is a form of government in which a state or polity is ruled or controlled by an individual who typically inherits the throne by birth and occasionally rules for life or until abdication...
of the relocated segment of the original Ìsẹ̀dó kingdom - subsequently consolidated into Òkè-Ìlá Ọ̀ràngún, and also (especially in recent times) referred to as Ọba'lúmọ̀ of Òkè-Ìlá since the consolidation, is His Royal Highness, Dr. Olúfẹ́mi Ọládàpọ̀ Babalọlá.
The Royal Court of the Ìsẹ̀dó realm in Ìlá Òràngún consist of the Ọba'lúmo's 12 or 13 hereditary Ìsẹ̀dó chiefs under His Royal Highness, Oyèdèjì Àjídé, while the Royal Court of the Ìsẹ̀dó realm in Òkè-Ìlá Ọ̀ràngún consist of Ọba'lúmo's 3 or 4 hereditary Ìsẹ̀dó chiefs under His Royal Highness, Dr. Olúfẹ́mi Ọládàpọ̀ Babalọlá.
Integrating the Ancient with the Modern
In modern times, the monarchs of the Ìsẹ̀dó clans of the modern Òkè-Ìlá Ọ̀ràngún and Ìlá Ọ̀ràngún, (the two extant Ọba'lúmọ̀ royal titles), work cooperatively with the two paramountHigh king
A high king is a king who holds a position of seniority over a group of other kings, without the title of Emperor; compare King of Kings.Rulers who have been termed "high king" include:...
kings, (the Ọ̀ràngún of Òkè-Ìlá and the Ọ̀ràngún of Ìlá), for the development and traditional governance of their various consolidated city-states, while maintaining as much as practicable, their own ancient royal traditions, the customs
Cultural heritage
Cultural heritage is the legacy of physical artifacts and intangible attributes of a group or society that are inherited from past generations, maintained in the present and bestowed for the benefit of future generations...
and the practices
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
of their original kingdoms
Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...
, both earlier at their Ọ̀bà homeland
Homeland
A homeland is the concept of the place to which an ethnic group holds a long history and a deep cultural association with —the country in which a particular national identity began. As a common noun, it simply connotes the country of one's origin...
and later at Ìsẹ̀dó.
The Ọba'lúmọ̀ Ìsẹ̀dó-Oke (Ìsẹ̀dó Realm in Òkè-Ìlá Ọ̀ràngún), His Royal Highness, Dr. Olúfẹ́mi Ọládàpọ̀ Babalọlá has been especially active since 1984 in documenting the detailed history of the ancient kingdoms of the Igbomina
Igbomina
The Ìgbómìnà are a tribe of the Yoruba people occupying the north-central portion of the Yoruba region of southwestern Nigeria....
-Yoruba region, especially the ancient Oba civilization, the original Orangun's city state of Ila-Yara, and the subsequent city states of Oke-Ila, Ila and Isedo. His Royal Highness, Dr. Olúfẹ́mi Ọládàpọ̀ Babalọlá has also been active since 2004 in promoting tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
and planning tourism expeditions to the various heritage sites and physiographic sites and cultural performances of the Igbomina-Yoruba and other Yoruba areas. He has led various special tours and expeditions to the various old sites, ruins
Ruins
Ruins are the remains of human-made architecture: structures that were once complete, as time went by, have fallen into a state of partial or complete disrepair, due to lack of maintenance or deliberate acts of destruction...
and existing towns and historical places of Yorubaland
Yorùbáland
Yorubaland, or Yorùbáland , is a cultural region in Nigeria, Benin, and Togo that includes the indigenous territory and cultural reach of the Yoruba people.- History :-Settlement:Oduduwa is regarded as the legendary progenitor of the Yoruba...
, especially of the Igbomina-Yoruba region, verifying oral history
Oral history
Oral history is the collection and study of historical information about individuals, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews...
and oral poetry of various clans and ancient kingdoms.