Oduduwa was a Yoruba divine king, legendary founder of the Ife Empire and a creator deity (orisha) in the Yoruba religion. According to tradition, he was the holder of the title of the Olofin of Ile-Ife, the Yoruba holy city. He ruled briefly in Ife, and also served as the progenitor of a number of independent royal dynasties in Yorubaland.
In Yoruba religious traditions, Oduduwa is seen as a divine or semi-divine being that was sent by the creator deity, Olodumare, from heaven to create the earth upon the waters. These beliefs are held by Yoruba traditionalists to be the cornerstone of their story of creation. Obatala, Oduduwa's sibling, and Oduduwa here are represented symbolically by a calabash, with Obatala taking the top and Oduduwa taking the bottom. In this narrative, Oduduwa is also known as Olofin Otete, the one who took the Basket of Existence from Olodumare. Historical accounts hold that he migrated into the Ife valley from Oke Ora, a community to Ife's east. The time and length of his reign are not certain, but Yoruba spirituality believes that Oduduwa is believed to be as old as time itself.
Oduduwa was the first ruler of a unified Ife, which before him had existed as a group of loosely allied communities of thirteen Elu. He is also the founding father of various independent royal dynasties in Yorubaland, and is today venerated as “the hero, the warrior, the leader, and the father of the Yoruba race”.
Etymology
The etymological derivation of the Yoruba name “Oduduwa” is: Odu-ti-o-da-uwa (i.e. Odu-ti-o-da-iwa).
This translates literally to: The great repository which brings forth existence.
Ife traditions
Ife tradition, which modern Yoruba historians accord precedence, relates that Oduduwa was a personage who migrated from the community of Oke Ora, a hilltop abode to the east of the original Ife confederacy of communities known as the Elu. Leadership of the confederal agreement that existed between the thirteen communities of what would become Ife was structured to be rotational between the Obas of each community taking turns at chairmanship. The communities are remembered to be; Iloromu, Imojubi, Ideta (Idita), Oke-Oja Parakin, Ido, Iwinrin, Odin, Ijugbe, Iraye, Oke-Awo, Iloran and Omologun. At that time Oduduwa and his followers migrated down into the ife valley below, there was a brewing level of dissatisfaction amongst the communities on the issue of Obatala's kingship, which was unsatisfactory to some.
Oduduwa and his group are believed to have disrupted the political structure of the 13 communities through the support of about 6 (Elu Mefa) of the 13 component communities. Rather than deposing Obatala, the town was divided into two with both figures serving as kings of their respective groups. His reign was largely restricted to Idio. However, Ife tradition states that he was never known as an Ooni and neither did he use the Ife traditional crown.
Oduduwa had only one son whose name was ‘Okanbi’, who also went by the alias ‘Idekoserake’. Okanbi, in turn, gave birth to seven children: the first of them being two princesses after which came five princes.
Through war lasting many years, Oduduwa was able to defeat the forces of the 13 indigenous communities of Ife led by Obatala (the most powerful and sweetest god) and formed these communities into a single Ife state.
He held the praise names Olofin Adimula, Olofin Aye and Olufe. Since he is held by the Yoruba to have been the ancestor of their numerous crowned kings, his name, phonetically written by Yoruba language-speakers as Odùduwà and sometimes contracted as Ooduwa, Odudua or Oòdua, is generally ascribed to the ancestral dynasties of Yorubaland. Following his posthumous deification, he was admitted to the Yoruba pantheon as an aspect of a primordial divinity of the same name, historical accounts state.
Later years
The leadership contest was brought to an end following the collaborative effort of Obatala, Orunmila and Owa Ilare. The three figures were able to facilitate the death of Oduduwa. Following this, a major part of Oduduwa's support base dispersed - this has been reinterpreted to mean a dispersal of his children and grandchildren from Ife to the outposts that they had previously founded or gained influence over.