SOME OF THE NAMES THAT ARE PECULIAR TO ROYALTIES IN OYO-ALAAFIN:

Among the Yorubas, especially the Oyos; names are not just for mere identification; the common belief is that the name a person bears has tendency of influencing his or her life either positively or negatively;`Oruko ma n ro ni'.

 

Yorùbás do not just give name to their  new born baby or babies; there are some factors  that do come into play when considering name to give;`Ilé ni àá wọ̀, kí á to so omo ní orúko`.

There are some names that can be said to be natural; Yorùbas call them` Orúkọ à mú ti ọ̀run wá`. Names like Táíwò, Kẹ́hìndé, Sàlàkọ́, Ìdòwú, Ìgè, Tàlàbí, Òjó, and several others fall into this category. Names like Fálétí, Sàngódáre, Òguúnníyì, Abóyàdé are examples of names that are religious-inclined. Some names are circumstantial; they reflect circumstance[s] that occured during or before the birth of  the  child; for instance Àbíìbá, Babaárìnsá, Ikúmólú, Ọdún-ìtàn.

Names like Babátúndé, Babájídé, Yétúndé, Ìyábọ̀  and  the like portrait Yorúbás` belief in life after death and re-incanation. Names like Abíóyè, Abíódún, Abéégúndé, Abódúnrìn and lot more  can be said to be incidental; they tell about the event or happening that occurred  while names like Balógun, Akíngbadé, Akínníyì etc  show that the family the child is born into is valiant.

There are not a few names that are believed to be associated with royalties in Yorùbáland; when you hear names like Adéwálé, Adéníyì, Adélakùn, Adéníran, Adéríbigbé and a host of others; what will first go to your mind is that the bearer[s] is[are] of the royal lineage. Of course, royal seeds do answer all these names but they are not strictly for the royalties; you do not need to carry blue blood before you can be named Adéyemí, Adéseéní, Adéwùmi, Adékúnlé or any other names that has Adé [i.e Crown] as prefix.

Meanwhile in Ọ̀yọ́-Aláàfin, there are some names that are peculiar only to the royal lineages ; they are strictly for the royalties and the moment you see anybody bearing any of the names; you have seen someone with royal background.

Following are some of the names that are peculiar to royal lineages in Ọ̀yọ́-Aláàfin;
i. Àfọ̀njà [Only male bear the name]

ii. Sàndà [ For male alone]

iii. Ògbojà [Only female bear it]

iv. Tẹ̀llà [Male only]

v. Ògboo [Female]

vi. Àgbọ̀nyín [Both male and female but more common among male]

vii. Àkèé [Both male and female]

Now, if these names are only for the royalties; who are the royalties in Ọ̀yọ́-Aláàfin? Traditionally, officials in Ọ̀yọ́ can be divided into two major groups viz Royalty and Nobility. Nobility group is composed of the members of Ọ̀yọ́-Mèsì -in - council and the Ààrẹ -Ọ̀nà- Kakaǹfò who is not Ọ̀yọ́ resident. They always being addressed as `Iba` Ọ̀yọ́-Mèsì are seven in number since the time the title of Ọ̀nàmodékè has become obsolete and they are;

i . Iba-Ọsọ̀run or Basọ̀run,

ii. Iba Àgbaakin,

iii. Iba Alápìńni,

iv. Iba Sàmù,

v. Iba Lágūnnà,

vi. Iba Akínnikú,

vii. Iba Ashìpa

Besides the Crown itself, the royal group is of two  classes namely;

i.) The  Bàbá-Ọbàs or the Fathers of the King: Members of this class are Ọ̀nà- Àká, Ònà-Ìshokùn and Ọmọ-Ńlá.

ii.) The Brothers of  the King: In this royal class we have;
Baba-Ìyajì, Olúsàmì, Àtíńgísì, Àrólé-Ọba, Agúnpopo and Àrólé - Ìyá-Ọba.

Ours is a very rich heritage!..... Regards

Authored By:

Òkédìjí Steve Túndé,


➡️➡️➡️➡️➡️➡️➡️➡️➡️➡️➡️➡️➡️➡️

For further verification, confirmation  or enlightenment on the information therein, you  may always contact the Author (Òkédìjí Steve Túndé) of that article, else, the following sons of the soil can satisfy your inquisitive minds through their Facebook page:

Onikẹ Rahmon, &
Eyinadé Patrick Sẹ́gun

Thanks for reading.




- Lastbosoft