Ìsèdó (also known as Ìsẹ̀dó-Olúmọ̀) was an ancient

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

kingdom in northeastern

Yorubaland Yorubaland () is the homeland and cultural region of the Yoruba people in West Africa. It spans the modern-day countries of Nigeria, Togo and Benin, and covers a total land area of . Of this land area, 106,016 km2 (74.6%) lies within Niger ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

. Ìsẹ̀dó was founded as a new

city-state A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world throughout history, including cities such as Rome, ...

several centuries ago (between 1250 and 1400) by Ọba'lumọ, a Prince of the ancient Oba civilization (whose name or appellation is contracted from "Ọba Olumọ" meaning "knowledgeable king", or "king of the lords of knowledge"). Ìsẹ̀dó is fully known and called "Ìsẹ̀dó-Olúmọ̀" using its founder-king's name as an identifier suffix.

Foundation and development

Obalumo, a prince of the Oba civilization, and a veteran hunter and warrior, founded Ìsẹ̀dó, his new

in one of the areas of his frequent hunting expeditions. Recent archaeological research results (and published works of

oral history Oral history is the collection and study of historical information from people, families, important events, or everyday life using audiotapes, videotapes, or transcriptions of planned interviews. These interviews are conducted with people who pa ...

experts, anthropologists and archaeologists of the

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

, USA and the

University of Ibadan The University of Ibadan (UI) is a public university located in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. Initially founded as the University College Ibadan in 1948, it maintained its affiliation with the University of London. In 1962, it became an independe ...

, Nigeria); of the region's contemporary and later settlements suggest that Ìsẹ̀dó was founded between the 10th and the 12th centuries by Ọ̀bà refugees probably fleeing from both internal dissension in their Òbà kingdom as well as the cyclic conflicts of their Ọ̀bà kingdom with the neighbouring kingdoms, perhaps including the Nupe to the north. At its zenith towards the end of the 15th century, Ìsèdó had grown into a city-state of 13 clans, some of which were later "consolidants" into the Obalumo's kingdom at Ìsèdó and were not of the ancient Oba origin.

New arrivals

Some oral-historians indicate that at the request of an arriving faction from Ila-Yara, the city-state founded by Òràngún, Oduduwa's fourth son, the region's king, Ọba'lúmọ̀ gave land-grants to the new arrivals at a location thought to be sufficiently distant from Ìsẹ̀dó's location. Another version of the oral history, which seems more reliable, indicates that the land-grant occurred a few centuries later, when the faction of the younger of two quarreling princes arrived in the vicinity of the Ọba'lúmọ̀'s Ìsèdó kingdom, from the schism at their old kingdom at Ìlá Yàrà. Arutu Oluokun, the younger of the feuding princes, founded a settlement at the Ila-Magbon, but the new kingdom moved within a short time to found another city called Ila-Odo closer to Isedo, which subsists as the modern Ìlá Òràngún.

Consolidation and accommodation

An annual celebration called "Ìmárúgbó" (or "Òkùnrìn") festival was instituted between the two city-states during which the King Ọ̀ràngún leaves his palace with his chiefs to pay a day-long homage to his primogenitor, the King Ọba'lúmọ̀ in his (the Ọba'lúmọ̀'s) palace. This is in symbolic tribute to Ọba'lúmọ̀'s land grant and precedence of him in the region, in appreciation of Ọba'lúmọ̀'s hosting of the Òràngún's elderly mother who could not continue with the immigrant party to the location of their allocated land. The Ọ̀ràngún's mother died in the palace of the Ọba'lúmọ̀ and was buried at Ìsèdó. So the Ọ̀ràngún also visits her grave as part of this festival. While it has maintained the royal title of Oba'lúmò, the kingdom of Ìsèdó has in modern times been virtually engulfed by the present-day

Ila Orangun Ìlá Òràngún (or Ila) is an Ancient history, ancient city in Osun State, Nigeria, that was the capital of an ancient city-state of the same name in the Igbomina area of Yorubaland in south-western Nigeria. Ìlá Òràngún is more populous th ...

such that the old Isedo township now lies, in the southeast quadrant of Ila Orangun. In Oke-Ila, the oratures of the Ọbaálá clan refer to their origin from Ìsèdó, indicating that they are actually a segment of the Ìsẹ̀dó royalty which emigrated several centuries ago to an alliance with Apakiimo, the last Orangun at Ila Yara kingdom to found his (Orangun's) new kingdom now known as Oke-Ila. In this five-centuries-old quasi-consolidation treaty to help found with the new Oke-Ila Orangun state, the Ìsẹ̀dó immigrants "of the hilltop" (Isedo Oke or Isedo Ori Oke)were retained their royal title of Ọba'lúmọ̀, and subsequently were accorded a new recognition (possibly for their foremost contribution to the establishment of the new kingdom), awarding their clan the title of Ọbaálá ("mighty king" or "senior king"), a title next in rank to the Ọ̀ràngún of Oke-Ila the paramount king. The Ọbaálá is also designated as the automatic regent upon the demise of any reigning Ọ̀ràngún.

Heritage and diaspora

The Ìsèdó

clans A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, a clan may claim descent from a founding member or apical ancestor who serves as a symbol of the clan's unity. Many societie ...

retain references in their oratures to their ancestry from Ìsẹ̀dó and the ancient Ọ̀bà kingdom, and citing their descent from King Ọba'lúmọ̀ of Ìsẹ̀dó and King Olunlakin of Ọ̀bà as well as nostalgically referring to themselves as "children of the great wealth" of Ọ̀bà. Other examples of Igbomina and non-Igbomina towns (in Kwara and Ọṣun states of Nigeria) with large concentrations of Ọ̀bà people, now commonly called 'The Ọ̀bà Diaspora', include the following: Oke-Ila Ọrangun, Ila Ọrangun, Ọra-Igbomina, Ipoti-Ekiti, Isanlu-Isin, Oke-Onigbin
Omu-Aran
Rorẹ, Ọyan, Inisha, Ipee, Oke-Ode, Babanla, Ajasẹ-Ipo, Omupo, Esiẹ, Oro, Ijomu-Oro, Iddo-Oro, Idofin, Ado-Eku, Oreke, Sanmora, and Pamo. The Ìsèdó

appear to be the earliest surviving ut perhaps not the onlygroup in 'The Ọ̀bà Diaspora' that purposefully set out and founded a surviving kingdom ruled by the king Ọba'lumọ. Subsequent Ọ̀bà-derivative kingdoms and diasporas appear to have resulted solely from refugee flights from wars and slave raids. Ìsèdó communities resulting from the diaspora of such wars exist in Ipoti-Ekiti, and other

and Ekiti towns as well as Omido (

Kwara State Kwara () is a state in Western Nigeria, bordered to the east by Kogi State, to the north by Niger State, and to the south by Ekiti, Osun, and Oyo states, while its western border makes up part of the international border with Benin. Its ca ...

) and other towns in Kwara State.

Isedo and Oba diaspora tourism

The legends of origin and of emigrations of the Isedo from Oba has been a major effort of His Royal Highness, Dr. Olúfẹ́mi Ọládàpọ̀ Babalọlá. He has also been active since 2004 in promoting tourism (

heritage tourism Heritage tourism is a branch of tourism centered around the exploration and appreciation of a region's cultural, historical and environmental heritage. This form of tourism includes both tangible elements, such as historically significant sites, ...

cultural tourism Cultural tourism is a type of tourism in which the visitor's essential motivation is to learn, discover, experience and consume the cultural attractions and products offered by a tourist destination. These attractions and products relate to the ...

and geo-tourism), and planning tourist expeditions to include the various Isedo and Oba heritage sites which he himself visited, and physiographic features and cultural performances/traditional occupations of the Igbomina-Yoruba and adjoining Yoruba areas. He has led various special tours to the various old sites,

ruins Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...

and existing towns and

historical History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...

places of

, especially of the Igbomina-Yoruba region, verifying

and oral poetry of various

and ancient kingdoms.

References

{{Nigerian traditional states Ila kingdom Nigerian traditional states History of the Yoruba people