The True Prison

It is not the leaking roof
Nor the singing mosquitoes
In the damp, wretched cell
It is not the clank of the key
As the warden locks you in
It is not the measly rations
Unfit for beast or man
Nor yet the emptiness of day
Dipping into the blankness of night
It is not
It is not
It is not

It is the lies that have been drummed
Into your ears for a generation
It is the security agent running amok
Executing callous calamitous orders
In exchange for a wretched meal a day
The magistrate writing into her book
A punishment she knows is undeserved
The moral decrepitude
The mental ineptitude
The meat of dictators
Cowardice masking as obedience
Lurking in our denigrated souls
It is fear damping trousers
That we dare not wash
It is this
It is this
It is this
Dear friend, turns our free world
Into a dreary prison

By Ken Saro Wiwo (1993)

Source

Ancestral Faces

They sneaked into the limbo of time,
But could not muffle the gay jingling
Brass bells on the frothy necks
Of the sacrificial sheep that limped afer them;
They could not hide the moss on the bald pate
Of their reverent heads;
And the gnarled barks of wawa tree;
Nor the rust on the ancient state-swords;
Nor the skulls studded with grinning cowries;
They could not silent the drums,
The fibre of their soul and ours -
The drums that whisper to us behind the black sinewy hands.
They gazed
and sweeping like white locusts through the forests
Saw the same men, slightly wizened,
Shuffle their sandalled feet to the same rhythms,
They heard the same words of wisdom uttered
Between puffs of pale blue smoke:
They saw us,
And said: They have not changed!

By Kwesi Brew

- A Selection of African Poetry (Revised and enlarged edition), Introduced and annotated by K.E. Senanu and T. Vincent, Longman Group Limited, 1976

The Yoruba - KMT (Egypt) Connection

Many oral traditions are replete with these stories. The Awujale of Ijebu land has shown that the Ijebus are descended from ancient Nubia (a colony of Egypt). He was able to use the evidence of language, body scarification and coronation rituals that are similar to the Nubians’, to show that the Ijebus are descendants of the Nubians. What the present Awujale claimed for the Ijebus, can be authenticated all over Yoruba land. The Awujale even mentioned (2004) that the Itsekiri (an eastern Yoruba dialect) are speaking the original Ijebu language.

Since the Nubians were descended or colonized by the Egyptians, the Ijebu, and by extension, all Yoruba customs, derived from the Egyptian. Many traditional Yorubas have always claimed Egypt as their place of original abode, and that their monarchical tradition derives from the Egyptians’. Apostle Atigbiofor Atsuliaghan, a high priest of Umale-Okun, and a direct descendant of Orunmila, claimed that the Yorubas left Egypt as a result of a big war that engulfed the whole of Egypt. He said the Egyptian remnants settled in various places, two important places being Ode Itsekiri and Ile-Ife.Chief O.N Rewane says “Oral tradition has it also that when the Yorubas came from South of Egypt they did not go straight to where they now occupy. They settled at Illushi, some at Asaba area – Ebu, Olukumi Ukwunzu while some settled at Ode-Itsekiri,.” (O.N. Rewane Royalty Magazine A PICTORIAL SOUVENIR OF THE BURIAL AND CORONATION OF OLU OF WARRI, WARRI 1987)

Since these oral traditions are passed on by very illiterate people, we can augment whatever is recorded with written sources. Concerning the migration of some of the Yoruban ancestors from the east, Conton says:
The Yoruba of Nigeria are believed by many modern historians to be descended from a people who were living on the banks of the Nile 2,000 years ago, and who were at the time in close contact with the Egyptians and the Jews. Sometime before AD 600, if this belief is correct, this people must have left their fertile lands, for reasons which we can not now discover and have joined in the ceaseless movement of tribes west wards and south-wards across our continent.

We can only guess at the many adventures they and their descendants must have had on their long journey and at the number of generations which passed before they arrived. All we can be certain about is that they were a Negro people (of which ancient Egypt probably had at least one community as we have seen) and that one of the many princely states they founded on their arrival in West Africa…..was Ife.’ Conton WF (1960. 71)

Although we agree with Conton that some of the Yoruban ancestors migrated from Egypt, we tend to toe the scientific line of Cheik Anta Diop, that the ancient Egyptians were pure Negroes.
Aderibigbe, an indigenous scholar, also accepts that the Yorubas migrated from Egypt. He says:
“The general trend of these theories, most of them based on Yoruba traditions, is that of a possible origin from “the east”. Some scholars, impressed by the similarities between Yoruba and ancient Egyptian culture – religious observation, works of art, burial and other customs – speak of a possible migration of the ancestors of the Yoruba from the upper Nile (as early as 2000BC – 1000BC) as a result of some upheavals in ancient Egypt”. (AB ADERIBIGBE 1976)

Unlike Conton, Aderibigbe was able to pinpoint a cause for the Yoruban migration – war. Olumide Lucas did a lot of job to show similarities and identities between the ancient Egyptians and the Yoruban peoples. The date that Aderibigbe gave (2000BC – 1000BC) is much earlier than that given by Conton. Aderibigbe’s date corresponds to that of the Hyksos invasion of Egypt 2000-1500BC. On the possible eastern origin of the Yorubas, Tariqh Sawandi says:
“The Yoruba history begins with the migration of an east African population across the trans-African route leading from Mid-Nile river area to the Mid-Niger. Archaeologists, according to M. Omoleya, inform us that the Nigerian region was inhabited more than forty thousand years ago, or as far back as 65,000BC. During this period, the Nok culture occupied the region. The Nok culture was visited by the “Yoruba people”, between 2000BC and 500BC. This group of people were led, according to Yoruba historical accounts, by king Oduduwa, who settled peacefully in the already established Ile-Ife, the sacred city of the indigenous Nok people.

This time period is known as the Bronze Age, a time of high civilization of both of these groups. According to Olumide J. Lucas, “the Yoruba, during antiquity, lived in ancient Egypt before migrating to the Atlantic coast”. He uses as demonstration the similarity or identity of languages, religious beliefs, customs and names of persons, places and things. In addition, many ancient papyri discovered by archaeologists point at an Egyptian origin. (Tariqh Sawandi: Yorubic medicine: The Art of divine herbology – online article).
Ademoyega commented that the Ekiti section of the Yorubas must have migrated to their present area around 638AD, when the Muslims took over Egypt and forced some of the Yoruba people to migrate to their present area.

So, we see that the Yoruba did not come in one migration, but in many different migrations – in waves. The first possible migration might be connected with the Hyksos invasion. Some words in the Yoruban vocabulary echo the words used in Egypt in predynastic times and in the early dynastic periods. Some Egyptian gods of this period have strong identities with Yoruban deities. For instance, gods such as Adumu (Adumu) Hepi (Ipi) Ausar (Ausa), Horise (Orise), and Sámi (Sámi) Nam (Inama) are present in Yoruba. All these gods existed in the pre-dynastic and early dynastic periods of Egypt. TODAY, AMONG THE ITSEKIRI-YORUBAS ,THESE GODS CAN STILL BE PHYSICALLY SEEN, AT LEAST, ONCE A YEAR! Neighbouring peoples are already initiated into the various gods systems and beliefs in yorubaland.the agban ancestral worship was first organized in Urhoboland during the funeral ceremony of chief Ayomanor of Sapele (1949). The Ipi system was first organized in Urhoboland in March 11, 2005.

We can also see words that existed in the Graeco-Roman period in some of the Yoruban dialects. When the Romans took over Egypt, they infiltrated the Egyptian area with their language. In present Yoruba, we can still find words of Roman descent. For instance, the Yoruba called the palm frond ‘Mariwo’. This word is derived form the Latin Rivus (River). One of the declensions of river is Rivo (by the river). Since the Yoruba language possesses no “V”, the word become riwo. Thus, the word “Omariwo” means the child by the river. Some other words like Sangi (blood in Itsekiri-yoruba dialect) thought to have been derived form the Portuguese were actually brought as a result of the Roman Conquest of Egypt. Sangi is blood and the Latin term is Sanguis. Some eastern Yoruba use the term “Ihagi” which is clearly a corruption of the Roman Sanguis. A Christian army in 540AD invaded Egypt and some persons believed to have reached Yoruba land were driven from Egypt.

With the commencement of the Arab period in Egypt, some indigenous Egyptians who never wanted to accept the Islamic religion escaped to present Yoruba land. It was probably in this period that words such as Keferi (Kafri pagan in Arab) infiltrated into the Yoruboid vocabulary.
All said and done, more than fifty percent of the Yoruboid vocabulary of today can be deduced either directly or indirectly from the ancient Egyptian. These are the original ancient Egyptian language devoid of Arab and Latin words that are very few in the Yoruboid vocabulary
It is not really certain when king Oduduwa came from Egypt. He must have come in one of the many migrations. But since the Yoruba religious discourse has a lot of identities with early Egyptian practices, Oduduwa would have left Egypt at a very early period perhaps after the Hyksos invasion of 2000-1500BC ,but not later than 30BC.

Written by Ifá Bité

Source

A Benin Account of the Origin of Oduduwa

Many centuries ago, at the time when Benin was called Igodomingodo, that geographical area now known as Benin, was the hub of a conglomeration of little towns that developed or spread into most of the areas of modern Bendel State. Throughout that period, lgodomingodo made steady progress especially in the areas of spiritual, philosophical and administrative development. Its efforts were largely concentrated on the arrangement of human order so that by the time Europeans made contact with the people of Benin in the 15th century, they had already established an administrative system which, till this day, baffled the Europeans and earned for the Capital of this "far flung" African country, the appellation "City". The nucleus of this great civilization was the monarchy which the Binis perfected around the 18th century when, after a series of experimentation with the Ogiso, and some of the past-Ogiso Obas, they introduced a monarchical system that is based on the principle of primogeniture, beginning with Ewuakpe, about 1712 A. D.

From the days of Owodo until now, the system of direct ascension has endured making the Benin Royal family one of the oldest families in Africa. It's history spans more than 800 years. Benin City remains today as conservative as it ever was. Shifting slowly, sometimes uneasily, under the pressures or demands of modernity, Benin recognizes that all living organisms (including states and cities) change. That change has reduced to mere historical fact the political influence Benin exercised over places such as Eko (Lagos) which she founded at the time of Oba Orhogbua (about 1550 A.D.) Ghana, Dahomey, both across the borders of modern Nigeria; Onitsha on the Niger and many other places such as Asaba, Agbor, lssele-Uku, Warri, ldah etc. Many of these towns actually owe their corporate existence to Benin. Since inter-action between African kingdoms began around the 14th century, Benin found herself in a unique geographic position by occupying mid -way between what the early Europeans referred to as the "Yoruba country" and the "lbo country". This proximity to the two areas no doubt broadened the outlook of the Binis in later years.

Quite tolerant and receptive of other ideas and norms, it is no wonder that today both the Eastern and 'Western neighbors of Benin have exercised a considerable influence on her socio-political life. The influence of the Yoruba is more felt. This is so because after about 800 years of intercourse both cultures had to rub off on each other. Thus, while the Binis have accepted many Yoruba gods, the Yoruba on the other hand accepted several of the socio-political reforms introduced by the Binis.

Contact with the Yoruba was made quite accidentally by Ekaladerhan, the son of the last Ogiso, who was banished in the 12th century. After wandering in the jungles for several years, he showed up in a town. Hitherto, neither Ekaladerhan, nor the people on whom he stumbled were aware of the existence of other people on earth than those that belonged to their immediate environment. To the people therefore, Ekaladerhan must be a god, a forest god; especially as they discovered him in the jungle.  He was adept in hunting and he understood the habits of animals to an astonishing degree. These facts, no doubt put mystique on his being and his personality. By a twist of Fate, Ekaladerhan who was banished by his own people had been accepted by a people who stumbled on him in the forest. He was brought into town where he married one of them and lived to a ripe old age.  

When his father Owodo was himself banished for ordering the execution of a pregnant woman, Evian was appointed administrator. But he sought to appoint Ogiamien his son as his successor. The move was resisted by the Bini and that gave rise to political strife and anarchy. A search party was then sent to look for the long-banished Prince and the trail inevitably ended at Uhe where Ekaladerhan had established. Alas, He was a very old man. So, even if he wished to grant the delegation's plea to return home, he was not physically capable of undertaking such a hazardous journey. But he allowed his son Oronmiyan, who had volunteered, to go with the delegation. Oronmiyan arrived around 1200 A.D. He fathered Eweka the first. Oba Erediauwa, is the 38th king of the Edo by this direct line of succession from Eweka the first.

Ogiso Owodo - Father of Oduduwa

Ekaladerhan - Oduduwa (Izoduwa)

Source

The Yoruba Perspective

Mind you, the Oduduwa-Oranmiyan-Eweka connection between Ife and Benin from the side of the Yoruba history is also well-agreed, but to the Yoruba, certainly Oduduwa came from the Eastern Sky on a Chain from Heaven.  In short, the Yoruba are uncertain where he came from,  but he certainly did not come with a Bini twang, breathing heavily with would-be-executioners on his tail.  To make such a claim smacked of both cultural hegemony and imperial arrogance on the part of the Bini-Edo - not to talk of a hint of monarchical superiority...  Whether the mythical Oduduwa-from-the-Sky (in Yoruba creationism) got conflated with a human Oduduwa who later performed political and mystical wonders at Ile-Ife - as speculated by E. Bolaji Idowu - remains a mystery, which the Bini cannot, should not, dare not thereby try to solve for the Yoruba.

Source

Haitian Vodoun Creation Story

Damballah, the great sky-serpent and father of all the Loa, created all the waters of the Earth. The movement of his 7,000 coils formed hills and valleys on Earth and brought forth stars and planets in the cosmos. He forged metals from his heat and sent forth lighting bolts to form the sacred rocks and stones of the world. When he shed his skin in the sun, releasing all the waters over the land, the reflection in the waters created a rainbow. Damballah fell in love with the rainbow, and made it his wife, Aida-Wedo (she represents the sky as a whole).

The Loa descended upon the first faithful in the legendary city of Ifé, located in Nigeria, where all life and and spiritual strength come from.

Loa - spirit, intermediary between the creator and humanity

Source

The Vodoun Creation Story

MAWU-LISA, the Great Creator, is a being with two faces. The first is MAWU, a Goddess, whose eyes are the moon. The other is LISA, a God, whose eyes are the sun. MAWU is calm and cool like the moon, and LISA, is hot and ruthless like the sun.

Since MAWU-LISA is both God and Goddess, MAWU became pregnant and had a total of 9 children; including 2 pairs of twins. The first to be born were twins, a God named DA ZODJI, and a Goddess called NYOHWE ANANU. The second birth was SOGBO, who like his parent was God and Goddess in one. The third birth was also twins, a God, AGBE, and a Goddess, NAETE. The fourth to be born was AGE, a God. The fifth GU, also a God: GU is all body. He has no head, instead of a head, a great sword is coming out of His neck. His trunk is of stone. The sixth birth was not a spiritual being, but DJO, air, and is needed to create the breath of life. The seventh to be born was LEGBA; MAWU said LEGBA was to be her spoiled child God, because he was the youngest.

One day the Goddess face of MAWU-LISA assembled all the children in order to divide the kingdom of the Universe. To the first twins, DA ZODJI and NYOHWE ANANU, She gave all the riches and told them to go and inhabit the earth. She said the earth was for them. MAWU said to SOGBO, that he was to remain in Heaven, because he was both God and Goddess. She told AGBE and NAETE to go and inhabit the
sea and command the waters. To AGE, she gave command of the animals and birds and told him to live in the bush (forest) as a hunter.

To GU, MAWU said he was her strength, and that was why he was not given a head like the others. GU is a blacksmith God who makes weapons for war and tools to build. Thanks to him, the earth would not always remain wild bush. GU taught men about warfare and how to build houses and farms. MAWU told DJO to live in space between the earth and sky. He was assigned the life-span of man. Thanks to him also, his brothers and sisters would be invisible. This is why another name for Vodun (Gods and Goddesses) is DJO the Invisible Ones.

When MAWU said this to the children, she gave the DA ZODJI and NYOHWE ANANU the language which was to be used on earth, and took away their memory of the language of Heaven. She gave SOGBO the language he would speak, and removed the memory of his parent language.

The same was done for AGBE and NAETE, AGE, and GU. But DJO was given the language of men.
Next she said to LEGBA, "You are my youngest child, and as you are spoiled, and have never known punishment, I cannot turn you over to your brothers. I will keep you with me always. Your work will be to visit all the Kingdoms, and to give me an account of what happens." So LEGBA knows all the languages known to his brothers and sisters. He also knows the language MAWU speaks and LEGBA is MAWU's spokesman. If one of the siblings wishes to speak, he/she must give the message to LEGBA, for they no longer know how to address MAWU-LISA.

* Research by Tash Wilson @ http://antoinefamilyreunion.blogspot.com/2011/08/vodun-creation-story.html

Akan Narrative on the Seperation of Nana Nyame and Human Beings

Nana Nyame, the supreme 'God', lived in the sky, though not the sky. The sky was very close to the earth, occupied by an old woman (Abrewa) and her children. The only food they ate was fufu. But whenever she prepared the meal the pestle would strike 'God', meaning they could reach 'God' whenever necessary. This went on for a long time until one day 'God' asked her to stop or 'God' would move to a higher sphere. But 'God's' demands fell on deaf ears and rightly so since she and her children had to eat. So one day 'God' ascended higher so that the pestle was unable to reach anymore. Undaunted by 'God's' action the Abrewa instructed her children to pile up all the mortars they could find. Her aim was to restore the lost proximity to 'God' and she almost succeeded. It got to a point where only one mortar was needed to reach 'God', and after a futile search for the last mortar she instructed her children to remove the original mortar at the bottom of the pile to be place[d] at the top. This, of course, proved to be a tragic blunder because as soon as the mortar was removed, the pile collapsed and fatally injured some of her children.





- Anthony Ephirim-Donkor - African Spirituality: On Becoming Ancestors, (African World Press, 1997)