The Ijesha (written as Ìjẹ̀ṣà in Yoruba orthography) are a sub-

ethnicity An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

of the Yorubas of West Africa. Ilesha is the largest town and historic cultural capital of the Ijesha people, and is home to a kingdom of the same name, ruled by an Oba locally styled as the Owa Obokun Adimula. The present ruling family of Ijesha is the Aromolaran family with the current reigning Owa Obokun being Oba Gabriel Adekunle Aromolaran.

Geography

Ijeshaland is located at latitude 8.92°N and Longitude 3.42°E. It lies in a forested region at the heart of the Yoruba country west of the Effon ridge which separate the Ijeshas from the Ekitis to their east, and at the

intersection In mathematics, the intersection of two or more objects is another object consisting of everything that is contained in all of the objects simultaneously. For example, in Euclidean geometry, when two lines in a plane are not parallel, their i ...

of roads from Ile-Ife,

Oshogbo Osogbo (also ''Oṣogbo'', rarely ''Oshogbo'') is a city in Nigeria. It became the capital city of Osun State in 1991. Osogbo city seats the Headquarters of both Osogbo Local Government Area (situated at Oke Baale Area of the city) and Olorund ...

, Ado Ekiti and

Akure Akure is a city in south-western Nigeria. It is the capital and largest city of Ondo State. The city had a population of 403,000 as at the 2006 population census. History Pre 1914 Rock engravings dating back to the Mesolithic period, hav ...

. The Ijesa cultural area presently covers six local government councils within Osun state and Okemesi currently the headquarter of Okemesi/Ido-ile LCDA in Ekiti State of Nigeria. The Ijesha territory is adjoined by the Ekiti on the east, the

Igbomina The Ìgbómìnà (also colloquially Igboona or Ogboona) are a subgroup of the Yoruba ethnic group, which originates from the north central and southwest Nigeria. They speak a dialect also called Ìgbómìnà or Igbonna, classified among the Cent ...

to the north, the Ife to the south, and the

Oyo Oyo can refer to: Places Nigeria * Oyo Empire, a former Yoruba state that covered parts of Nigeria and Benin, or the capital city * Oyo State, a present-day state of Nigeria named after the Oyo Empire * Oyo, Oyo State, a city founded in the 18 ...

and Ibolo to the west. The nationally famous Olumirin waterfalls, more popularly known as

Erin-Ijesha Waterfalls Erin-Ijesha Waterfalls (also known as Olumirin waterfalls) is located in Erin-Ijesha. It is a tourist attraction located in Oriade local government area, Osun State, Nigeria. The waterfalls were discovered in 1140 AD by one of the daughters of ...

is located in Ijeshaland. Ijeshaland is rich in Gold has the largest deposit in Nigeria

History

The word Ìjèsà comes from the phrase ijè òòsà, meaning food of the gods. This name was given because neighboring enemies often exclusively raided Ijesha towns for humans to sacrifice to the

orisha Orishas (singular: orisha) are spirits that play a key role in the Yoruba religion of West Africa and several religions of the African diaspora that derive from it, such as Cuban, Dominican and Puerto Rican Santería and Brazilian Candomblé. T ...

. The Ijesha may have lost some territory to their neighbours during various conflicts and wars of the nineteenth and preceding centuries. The people of Oke-Ako,

Irele Ikale or old Ikale local government is Yoruba tribes in Ondo state Nigeria.It originally included what is now irele Local government. Which was split into Irele and Okitipupa local government. Irele is a Local Government Area in Ondo State, Nige ...

, Omuo-Oke are said to speak a dialect similar to Ijesha.

Ilesa

The city state of Ilesa (''Ile ti a sa'', which means "a homeland we chose") is the traditional headquarters of Ijesaland. It was founded in c.1250 by Owaluse, a grandson of Ajibogun Ajaka Owa Obokun Onida Arara, one of the most accomplished great-grandsons of Oduduwa, the royal progenitor of the Yoruba race of South-Western Nigeria,

Benin Republic Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north ...

and Togo. The city was described by Rev. William Howard Clark in 1854 as:

''For its cleanliness, regularity in breadth and width, and the straightness of its streets, the ancient city of Ilesa far surpasses any native town I have seen in black Africa''.

The Ijesha royal family

The Ijesha royals all claim descent from Oba Oduduwa by way of Ajibogun. In addition to serving as rulers of Ijeshaland, the dynasty has also contributed to the development of other powerful kingdoms in Yorubaland. The ruling houses of the

Akure Kingdom The Akure Kingdom is a traditional state with headquarters in Akure, Ondo State, Nigeria. It is the successor to an ancient Yoruba city state of the same name. The ruler bears the title "Deji of Akure". Location Akure is located in southwestern ...

, for example, claim descent from the Owas by way of Princess Owawejokun, a daughter of Owa Atakunmosa. The rulers of the Kingdom have been:

References

{{Authority control Yoruba subgroups