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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:The ideological base of power of the alaafin of oyo and of his chiefs
Author:Babayemi, S.O.
Year:1981
Periodical:Kiabārā: Journal of the Humanities
Volume:4
Issue:2
Pages:51-65
Language:English
Geographic term:Nigeria
Subjects:traditional rulers
history
Oyo polity
Abstract:Marc Bloch has noted that historians have been too engrossed in the origins of institutions, and have been ignorant of how the present impinges upon the past. This is particularly true of the history of Old Oyo (Yoruba, Nigeria). The various traditions of the foundation of Oyo have diverted the attention of historians from investigating the interactions of the various people that formed the nucleus of the emerging Oyo kingdom. A study of the relations between the various groups not only shows how each group developed in response to the interactions of the various groups, but also how the various political systems developed. To understand the relationship between the Alaafin (king of Oyo) and his chiefs one needs to examine the Yoruba worldview in relation to the idea of the cosmos. The power of the Alaafin is associated with the power of Olorun, owner of heaven; the power of his chiefs is associated with the power of Onile, owner of earth. The ruler is believed to have superior power over his chiefs, but the chiefs, as owners of the land, are regarded as senior to the ruler in matters relating to the earth. Ref.
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