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43-538: The Reformed Ogboni Fraternity was founded on 18 December 1914. It was started as an alternative of the Ogboni Fraternity for practitioners of Christianity , and its founder was the Anglican cleric T.A.J. Ogunbiyi. Founding members that joined him in starting the fraternity included Prince Orisadipe Obasa , his wife Princess Charlotte Blaize Obasa of the R.B. Blaize family, and Prince M. Akinsemoyin of

86-614: A child as the child's parents do. All members of a particular clan live in the same compound and share family resources, rights, and possessions such as land Ife was surpassed by the Oyo Empire as the dominant Yoruba military and political power between the year 1600 and 1800. The nearby kingdom of Benin was also a powerful force between 1300 and 1850. Most of the city states were controlled by Obas, priestly monarchs, and councils made up of Oloyes, recognised leaders of royal, noble and, often, even common descent, who joined them in ruling over

129-719: A common feature of pre-colonial government across much of West and Central Africa . Yorubaland in West Africa  (white) Yorubaland ( Yoruba : Ilẹ̀ Káàárọ̀-Oòjíire ) 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 142,114 km (54,871 sq mi). Of this land area, 106,016 km (74.6%) lies within Nigeria, 18.9% in Benin, and

172-460: A double maxima (peak period); March–July and September–November. Annual rainfall in Ijebu Ode in the middle of Ogun state, for example, averages 2,020 millimetres or 80 inches. The area is the center of thriving cocoa , natural rubber , kola nut and oil palm production industry, as well as lucrative logging . Ondo, Ekiti and Osun states are the leading producers of cocoa in Nigeria, while

215-722: A mortal blow. The other Yoruba city-states broke free of Oyo dominance, and subsequently became embroiled in a series of internecine wars, a period when millions of individuals were forcibly transported to the Americas and the Caribbean , eventually ending up in such countries as the Bahamas , Cuba , the Dominican Republic , Puerto Rico , Brazil , Haiti and Venezuela , the United States, among others. During

258-592: A town. The individual chiefs that serve the towns as corporate entities, called Olóyès , are subject to the Baálès that rule over them. A collection of distantly related towns makes up a clan . A separate group of Oloyes are subject to the Oba that rules over an individual clan, and this Oba may himself be subject to another Oba , depending on the grade of the Obaship. In this, government begins at home. The father of

301-616: Is 1,220 millimetres or 48.03 inches. Tree species here include the Blighia sapida more commonly known as ackee in English and ishin in Yoruba, and Parkia biglobosa which is the locust bean tree used in making iru or ogiri , a local cooking condiment. The monsoon (rainy period) in both climatic zones is followed by a drier season characterized by northwest trade winds that bring the harmattan (cold dust-laden windstorms) that blow from

344-452: Is a fraternal institution indigenous to the Yoruba -speaking polities of Nigeria , Republic of Bénin and Togo , as well as among the Edo people . The society performs a range of political and religious functions, including exercising a profound influence on monarchs and serving as high courts of jurisprudence in capital offenses . Its members are generally considered to constitute

387-442: Is more commonly known locally as iroko , Antiaris africana , Terminalia superba which is known locally as afara , Entandrophragma or sapele , Lophira alata , Triplochiton scleroxylon (or obeche ), Khaya grandifoliola (or African mahogany), Symphonia globulifera , and numerous other species. Some non-native species such as Tectona grandis (teak) and Gmelina arborea (pulp wood) have been introduced into

430-521: Is part of the Guinean forest–savanna mosaic ecoregion, a transitional zone between West Africa's coastal forests and interior savannas . Part of this region is derived savanna which was once covered in forest but has lost tree cover due to agricultural and other pressures on land. Annual rainfall here hovers between 1,100 and 1,500 millimetres (43 and 59 in). Annual precipitation in Ilorin for example

473-576: Is thus more expansive than the southern coastal section. The land is characterized by mangrove forests , estuaries and coastal plains in the south, which rise steadily northwards into rolling hills and a jagged highland region in the interior, commonly known as the Yorubaland plateau or Western upland . The highlands are pronounced in the Ekiti area of the region, especially around the Effon ridge and

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516-533: The Akinsemoyin royal family. Prince Obasa was recognized by the founders as the first Oluwo , or master , in the same year. Although the fraternity was started both by and for the Christian elite, it has since grown in scope, and today its membership includes aristocratic followers of different faiths. External elements that influenced the fraternity's founders during its creation included everything from

559-810: The Atlantic Ocean , and northwards into the Niger river . Some southward flowing rivers include; The Osun and Shasha rivers which empty into the Lekki Lagoon , the Ogun River and its major tributaries; the Oyan and Ofiki which empties into the Lagos Lagoon , the upper Mono River , Oba River , Erinle River , Yewa River which discharges into the Badagry creek, Okpara River which forms part of

602-687: The Ogou , Anié and Est-Mono prefectures in Plateaux Region , and the Tchamba prefecture in Centrale Region . The climate of Yorubaland varies from north to south. The southern, central and eastern portions of the territory is tropical high forest , known as the Yoruba lowland forests ecoregion. The characteristic vegetation is verdant closed-canopy forests composed of many varieties of hardwood trees including Milicia excelsa which

645-599: The Okemesi fold belt, which have heights in excess of 732 m (2,400 ft) and are characterized by numerous waterfalls and springs such as Olumirin waterfall, Arinta waterfall, and Effon waterfall. The highest elevation is found at the Idanre Inselberg Hills , which have heights in excess of 1,050 metres (3,440 ft). In general, the landscape of the interior is made up of undulating terrain with occasional inselbergs jutting out dramatically from

688-651: The Oyo Empire . Shortly after, they overran the Yoruba city of Ilorin and then sacked Ọyọ-Ile , the capital city of the Oyo Empire. Further attempts by the Sokoto Caliphate to expand southwards were checked by the Yoruba who had rallied to resist under the military leadership of the city-state of Ibadan , which rose from the old Oyo Empire, and of the Ijebu city-states. However, the Oyo hegemony had been dealt

731-540: The Sahara . They normally affect all areas except a small portion of the southern coast. Nonetheless, it has been reported that the harmattan has reached as far as Lagos in some years. Oduduwa is regarded as the legendary progenitor of the Yoruba, and almost every Yoruba settlement traces its origin to princes of Ile-Ife in Osun State, Nigeria. As such, Ife can be regarded as the cultural and spiritual homeland of

774-516: The nobility of the various Yoruba kingdoms of West Africa . Each Ogboni lodge is led by a group of six principal officers that are collectively known as the Iwarefa , a contraction of Iware Mefa ( lit. "The Six Wise Elders"). These individuals are the most powerful figures in the polity that the lodge serves and are the inner council of advisors to its king or viceroyal chieftain . Though versions of this fraternal group are found among

817-650: The 19th century, the British Empire gradually colonized Yorubaland. In 1892, the British declared war on the Ijebu Kingdom in response to its barriers on trade. The British emerged victorious in the conflict and occupied the Ijebu capital. After British colonization, the capital served as an administrative center for colonial officials as the kingdom was annexed to the colony of Southern Nigeria . The colony

860-576: The Fulani of Northern Nigeria, the Yoruba were getting ready to recover from what is popularly known as the Yoruba Civil War. One of the lessons of the internecine Yoruba wars was the opening of Yorubaland to Fulani hegemony whose major interest was the imposition of sultanistic despotism on Old Oyo Ile and present-day Ilorin. The most visible consequence of this was the adding of almost one-fifth of Yorubaland from Offa to Old Oyo to Kabba to

903-1174: The Nigeria-Benin border before fully re-entering Benin to join the Ouémé River (Ofe in Yoruba) which drains into Lake Nokoué and the Porto-Novo creek. On the eastern flank, the Owena (Siluko), Ofosu and Ose rivers empty into the Benin river creek. Those which flow in a northerly direction into the Niger include the Moshi river, Oyun, Oshin , Awun, Asa, Ero and Oyi . The Nigerian part of Yorubaland comprises today's Ọyọ , Ọṣun , Ogun , Kwara , Ondo , Ekiti , Lagos as well as parts of Kogi . The Beninese portion consists of Ouémé Department , Plateau Department, Collines Department , Tchaourou commune of Borgou Department , Bassila commune of Donga Department , Ouinhi and Zogbodomey commune of Zou Department , and Kandi commune of Alibori Department . The Togolese portions are

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946-718: The Ogbonis which were in the judiciary wing. In most cases, the message would compel the Oba to take his own life, which he was bound by oath to do. Following a jihad (known as the Fulani War ) led by Uthman Dan Fodio (1754–1817) and a rapid consolidation of the Hausa city-states of contemporary northern Nigeria, the Fulani Sokoto Caliphate annexed the buffer Nupe Kingdom and began to press southwards towards

989-471: The Yoruba nation, both within and outside Nigeria. According to an Oyo account, Oduduwa was a Yoruba emissary; said to have come from the east, sometimes understood by some sources as the "vicinity" true east on the cardinal points, but more likely signifying the region of the Ekiti and Okun sub-communities in Yorubaland, Nigeria. On the other hand, linguistic evidence seems to corroborate the fact that

1032-422: The affairs of their societies, although this is largely due to the history of their respective chieftaincies and not to any official authority. Ogboni lodges were one of the main commissioners of brass jewelry and sculpture in pre-colonial Yorubaland, using the metal's rust -resistant qualities as an apt metaphor for the immortal functions and beliefs of Ogboni adepts. The most recognizable of these symbols

1075-574: The author didn’t explain, nor elaborate on what Rajo witchcraft meant . On December 19, 2019, Francis Meshioye the Olori Oluwo (which in English means the supreme leader of the organization) negated any alleged claim of wrongdoing on the part of the organization and expressly stated that there was nothing sinister about it. Ogboni fraternity Ogboni (also known as Osugbo in Ijèbú )

1118-454: The community. While membership in the Ogboni generally signified a high level of power and prestige, the society held pre-eminent political authority among decentralized groups like the Ègbá, where they were intimately involved in the selection of rulers that served as little other than figureheads in practice. In contemporary Yorubaland , Ogboni members still command great power and influence in

1161-472: The continuing approval of their constituents as a matter of policy, and could be easily compelled to abdicate for demonstrating dictatorial tendencies or incompetence. The order to vacate the throne was usually communicated through an aroko or symbolic message, which usually took the form of parrot eggs delivered in a covered calabash bowl by the Basorun the head of Oyomesi (the lawmakers) after Judgements from

1204-460: The dominant Yoruba military and political power between 1700 and 1900. Yoruba people generally feel a deep sense of culture and tradition that unifies and helps identify them. There are sixteen established kingdoms, states that are said to have been descendants of Oduduwa himself. The other sub-kingdoms and chiefdoms that exist are second order branches of the original sixteen kingdoms. There are various groups and subgroups in Yorubaland based on

1247-868: The early Christianity of Nigeria (as manifested in the local chapter of the Keswick Convention ) to English Freemasonry . Membership is open to males between the ages of 21 or older and females who are 40 or older who agree to embrace a "non-idolatrous faith in God". As of May 2010, the Reformed Ogboni Fraternity had had 940 lledi or conclaves in Nigeria, one in Cameroon, five in London, five in Italy, and one in Belgium. Notable members of

1290-536: The eastern half of Yorubaland was settled at an earlier time in history than the western regions, as the Northwest and Southwest Yoruba dialects show more linguistic innovations than their central and eastern counterparts. Between 1100 and 1400, the Yoruba Kingdom of Ife experienced a golden age , part of which was a sort of artistic and ideological renaissance. It was then surpassed by the Oyo Empire as

1333-426: The ecosystem and are being extensively grown in several large forest plantations. The coastal section of this area features an area covered by swamp flats and dominated by such plants as mangroves and other stilt plants as well as palms, ferns and coconut trees on the beaches. This portion includes most of Ondo, Ekiti, Ogun, Osun, Lagos states and is characterised by generally high levels of precipitation defined by

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1376-465: The family is considered the "head" and his first wife is the mother of the house. If her husband chooses to marry another wife, that wife must show proper respect to the first wife even if the first wife is chronologically younger. Children are taught to have respect for all those who are older than they are. This includes their parents, aunts, uncles, elder siblings, and cousins who they deal with every day. ... Any adult presumably has as much authority over

1419-456: The fraternity have included: The organization has been alleged to be a secret cult partaking in human sacrifices, although no cogent evidence has ever substantiated this. In an exposé on occultism titled Occult Grandmaster Now in Christ , a Nigerian bestseller written in 1993 by Iyke Nathan Uzorma, the organization was alleged to be engaging in "Rajo witchcraft" which had little to no credence as

1462-411: The kingdoms through a series of guilds and sects. Different states saw differing ratios of power between the kingship and the chiefs' council. Some, such as Oyo, had powerful, autocratic monarchs with almost total control, while in others such as the Ijebu city-states, the senatorial councils were supreme and the Ọba served as something of a figurehead. In all cases, however, Yoruba monarchs were subject to

1505-447: The many distinct dialects of the Yoruba language, which although all mutually intelligible , have peculiar differences. The governments of these diverse people are quite intricate and each group and subgroup varies in their pattern of governance. In general, government begins at home with the immediate family. The next level is the extended family with its own head, an Olori-Ebi . A collection of distantly related extended families makes up

1548-716: The original Ogboni, including the Reformed Ogboni Fraternity and the Aborigine Ogboni Fraternity . Similar traditional institutions combining political, judicial, and sacred duties exist among the various ethnic nationalities of southern Nigeria , including Nze na Ozo in Igbo -speaking southeast Nigeria and Ekpe/Ngbe/Ugbe in the Cross River region of southeastern Nigeria and southwestern Cameroon . Initiatory secret societies are

1591-569: The remaining 6.5% is in Togo. Prior to European colonization , a portion of this area was known as Yoruba country . The geo-cultural space contains an estimated 55 million people, the majority of this population being ethnic Yoruba . Geo-physically, Yorubaland spreads north from the Gulf of Guinea and west from the Niger River into Benin and Togo . In the northern section, Yorubaland begins in

1634-443: The southern portions of Ogun and Ondo states ( Odigbo , Okitipupa and Irele ) play host to large plantations of oil palm and rubber. The northern and western portions of the region is characterized by tropical woodland savanna climate (Aw), with a single rainfall maxima. This area covers the northern two-thirds of Oyo, northwestern Ogun, Kwara, Kogi, Collines (Benin), northern half of Plateau department (Benin) and central Togo. It

1677-680: The suburbs just west of Lokoja and continues unbroken up to the Ogooué River tributary of the Mono River in Togo , a distance of around 610 km. In the south, it begins in an area just west of the Benin and Osse (Ovia) river occupied by the Ilaje Yorubas and continues uninterrupted up to Porto Novo , a total distance of about 280 km as the crow flies. West of Porto Novo Gbe speakers begin to predominate. The northern section

1720-461: The surrounding expanse. Some include: Okeagbe hills: 790m, Olosunta in Ikere Ekiti: 690m, Saki and Igbeti hills. With coastal plains, southern lowlands, and interior highlands, Yorubaland has several large rivers and streams that crisscross the terrain. These rivers flow in two general directions within the Yoruba country; southwards into the lagoons, estuaries and creeks which empty into

1763-462: The various types of Yoruba states – from highly centralized kingdoms and empires like Oyo (where they were expected to check the authority of the Oyo Mesi ), to the independent towns and villages of the Ègbá and the Èkiti – the Ogboni are recognizable for their veneration of the personified earth (Ilè or Oduduwa) and their emphasis on both gerontocratic authority and benevolent service to

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1806-452: Was a pair of Ogboni initiates, one male and one female, attached by a chain and worn around the neck. The pair are thought to symbolize the attachment of the sexes in procreation and balanced society. Generally, one or both figures will hold a thumb in the grip of the opposite hand, demonstrating the paramount Ogboni handsign denoting initiation and membership. A number of fraternities in Nigeria have incorporated references and insignia from

1849-528: Was gradually expanded by protectorate treaties. These treaties proved decisive in the eventual annexation of the rest of Yorubaland and, eventually, of southern Nigeria and the Cameroons . In 1960, greater Yorubaland was subsumed into the Federal Republic of Nigeria . According to Yoruba historians, by the time the British came to colonize and subjugate Yorubaland first to itself and later to

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