Life in the old Oyo Kingdom

           

  Politics in the old Oyo city.

As the years passed, the city of Oyo, which Oranmiyan founded, grew into a great and powerful kingdom, and remained strong and independent for hundred of years.
The king was called the Alafin, and he was known also as Ekeji Orisa – that is, Companion of the Gods.
The Yoruba kingdom was far too big for the Alafin to control  by himself and under his rule  were a number of smaller Kings, and these were provincial Kings, because each one ruled a particular area or province. The provincial Kings that lived near Oyo were completely under the rule of the Alafin, but those who lived further away became more independent and powerful for example; those in Ijebu, Egba or Ilesha.
When the Alafin died, the next king was chosen by the seven chief councillors of state, who were known as the Oyo Mesi.
In the earliest days, they always choose the Aremo; the eldest son of the passed away king, but unfortunately, the son sometimes killed his father, in order to become king himself. To avoid this, the Aremo was allowed to rule together with his father, and when his father died, the Aremo was expected to die too, by committing suicide.

If the people of Oyo did not like their ruler, especially if he was cruel to them they could force him to die.
Through their chiefs, they could present the Alafin with an empty calabash or parrot’s eggs, and this was a sign that they rejected him and he was in honour bound to kill himself by taking poison.
The Alafin did not rule alone, he was helped by his advisors.
The Oyo Mesi were the most important of these. One of the seven, the Basorun, was the "Prime Minister”.
When the people wanted the Alafin to die – it was the Basorun’s duty to give him the bad news.
Soldiers also helped to rule the country, and the soldiers who were also officials of government were called Eso, and Kakanfo,was the commander and the leader of the army. It was compulsory for all men who were not sick to go to war if called up on to do so.
The army went out every year during the dry season. If a battle was won, the commander was honoured in public, but if he was defeated, he had to kill himself for shame. Under this system, the Yoruba armies won many battles and the empire grew very much bigger.
Outside Oyo, each big town had its own government and was ruled by and Oba or a Bale, and most of the Obas ruled with the help of a council of advisors, and through this, the people had a say in their government.
What sort of life did the people lead? Most of their towns and villages were built to the same plan – they were surrounded by walls of mud to prevent attack. The walls had gates, with gateman living nearby who collected toll money from passing merchants.
The people believed in all sorts of spirits, and the Babalawo, or priest, occupied and important position in the community. He claimed to be able to cure diseases and to protect the people from evil spirits.
Houses were built of mud, and they were grouped  in a circle around a compound. These round houses were divided into apartments for individual family groups, but everybody in the compound thought of themselves as members of one family.
The roofs were thatched and the walls plastered with brown or red earth; the floor was regularly polished with green leaves, and sometimes the walls decorated. Important chiefs liked to have carved figures on their verandas, ans some of these figures still survive today.
When a child was born, the naming ceremony was performed on the 8th day or the 9th day, and until the ceremony was performed, the child must not be taken out.
Every child was believed to be born with a name, whatever happened when he was born, decided the name he was born with. Common names were: Oke, Dada, Ojo, Abiodun and some others.
Twins were believed to have magical powers and they were treated with extra care.
In some places, oracles  were consulted  before  the child was named.
In ancient times, as now, many festivals were observed, and most of these festivals were connected with one god or another. They usually took place during the harvest season when there was plenty to eat and drink. Most of the people were farmers, and the land belonged to the whole family, but the head of the family was the guardian of it. Any member of the family who wanted to use the land was given permission by the head, after discussing the matter with other senior members of the family.
The Yorubas wore clothes woven locally, while the chiefs and the kings wore big gowns, richly embroidered, and wore special clothes for various occasions. The styles included Agbada, Sokoto, Togo, Suliya and Gbariye.
Apart from farming, there were other occupations, such as weaving, dyeing and tailoring. Iron was also smelted; needles, hoes and cutlasses were made in the smithery.
Leather was made and tanned beautifully in green, yellow, brown and many other colours and made into
saddles, sheaths for swords and knives, cushions, boots and sandals. Carving was another important occupation. Many of the images carved in the early days can still be seen in palaces or in the museums. Calabash dressing was done on a large scale and beautiful patterns were carved.