The Akoko-Ikale: a Revision of Colonial Historiography on the Construction of Ethnic Identity in Southeastern Yorubalandhttp://akinscogist.blogspot.com/2015/05/how-to-convert-2gb-memory-card-to-4gb.html
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The need to address and underscore the threat to identity posed by Ikale's historigraphical neglect and its fundamentally flawed Edo identity constitutes the major plank for this study. It is against this backdrop that this paper finds it expedient to focus on the origin and ethnic identity of the Akoko-Ikale. This important Ikale sub-group is singled out for scrutiny because of my belief that a systematic attempt at tracing the origin and pattern of migration of specific and very significant Ikale lineage groups such as the Akoko-Ikale represents the best way to discredit Ikale's widely alleged Edo identity and Benin ancestry.
The theoretical approach adopted is the genetic model of comparative historical inquiry. A genetic approach, when applied to the foregoing discourse, attempts to determine the ethnic identity of a people through investigating what they share in common with and wherein they differ from other societies (in this case, other Yoruba sub-ethnic groups) with which they are directly affiliated through lines of descent. Institutional and cultural similarities often rest on the fact that one society descended from the other or that both had a common ancestor from whom each had acquired some traits.
Given its wide territorial landscape and the fact that Akokoland represents a meeting ground for diverse peoples and cultures, ranging from Yoruboid, Edoid and Nupoid identities, it has been difficult to pinpoint the actual place where the Akoko-Ikale originated in Akokoland. While some Akoko towns that speak various Yoruboid dialects—a few of which include, Ikare, Oka, Ifira, Akungba, and Oba—have traced their origin to Ile-Ife, others like Isua, Epinmi, Ipe, Sosan, and Afa whose dialects are Edoid, claim that their movements to Akoko was directly from Benin. Yet, another section that comprises Ikaram, Akunu, Ibaram, Gedegede, Dada, and others whose dialects are an admixture of Yoruboid, Edoid, and Nupoid languages are believed to have migrated from Kabba in Kogi State. It is important therefore to find out if the Akoko-Ikale actually descended from any of these groups.
Rather than relying solely on conventional sources, such as archival documents, secondary sources, and oral history from palace historians, I draw on comparative evidence from Akoko-Ikale and Ise-Ifira totemic distribution, comparative dialectology, ethnographic surveys, oriki (praise poetry), family names, and rituals to establish a Yoruba origin and identity for the Akoko-Ikale.
I
The Akoko-Ikale constitute a significant part of the Ikale sub-ethnic group in southeastern Yorubaland. However, as far as Yoruba historiography is concerned, the Akoko-Ikale and indeed the larger Ikale nation have suffered from neglect because they remain one of the least researched groups in Yorubaland. As a result of the dearth of serious academic works on the Ikale people, official and hegemonic accounts of Ikale's origin and ethnic identity that became institutionalized during the colonial era have become the abiding mantra in Ikale contemporary historical discourse. For instance, the Akoko-Ikale, as well as the generality of the people of Ikale, who are culturally, linguistically, and biologically of Yoruba stock, are widely perceived to have originated from Benin and so are Edoid people.The need to address and underscore the threat to identity posed by Ikale's historigraphical neglect and its fundamentally flawed Edo identity constitutes the major plank for this study. It is against this backdrop that this paper finds it expedient to focus on the origin and ethnic identity of the Akoko-Ikale. This important Ikale sub-group is singled out for scrutiny because of my belief that a systematic attempt at tracing the origin and pattern of migration of specific and very significant Ikale lineage groups such as the Akoko-Ikale represents the best way to discredit Ikale's widely alleged Edo identity and Benin ancestry.
The theoretical approach adopted is the genetic model of comparative historical inquiry. A genetic approach, when applied to the foregoing discourse, attempts to determine the ethnic identity of a people through investigating what they share in common with and wherein they differ from other societies (in this case, other Yoruba sub-ethnic groups) with which they are directly affiliated through lines of descent. Institutional and cultural similarities often rest on the fact that one society descended from the other or that both had a common ancestor from whom each had acquired some traits.
II
As a major segment of the Ikale population, the Akoko-Ikale arefoundmainly in the Osooro district of Ikaleland, which happens tobe the largest and most populous Ikale unit. Apart from the Osoorodistrict of Okitipupa Local Government Area of Ondo State, theAkoko-Ikale also spread to Aiyede, Ayila, Ayetumara, Igodan Kuda,Ajegunle, and so on, all in Ogun Waterside Local Government Area ofOgun State. Archival accounts and secondary sources, as well as theofficial history of Osooro, like that of the other Ikale districts,state that the inhabitants of Osooro are Edoid people who migratedfrom Benin. Unofficial oral traditions collected in Ikaleland andAkokoland, however, give the impression that the Akoko-Ikale aredescended from hunters and warriors who migrated from the mainlandAkoko-Yoruba country in the northernmost part of Ondo State, adistance of about two hundred and twenty kilometers from Ikaleland,probably during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.Given its wide territorial landscape and the fact that Akokoland represents a meeting ground for diverse peoples and cultures, ranging from Yoruboid, Edoid and Nupoid identities, it has been difficult to pinpoint the actual place where the Akoko-Ikale originated in Akokoland. While some Akoko towns that speak various Yoruboid dialects—a few of which include, Ikare, Oka, Ifira, Akungba, and Oba—have traced their origin to Ile-Ife, others like Isua, Epinmi, Ipe, Sosan, and Afa whose dialects are Edoid, claim that their movements to Akoko was directly from Benin. Yet, another section that comprises Ikaram, Akunu, Ibaram, Gedegede, Dada, and others whose dialects are an admixture of Yoruboid, Edoid, and Nupoid languages are believed to have migrated from Kabba in Kogi State. It is important therefore to find out if the Akoko-Ikale actually descended from any of these groups.
Rather than relying solely on conventional sources, such as archival documents, secondary sources, and oral history from palace historians, I draw on comparative evidence from Akoko-Ikale and Ise-Ifira totemic distribution, comparative dialectology, ethnographic surveys, oriki (praise poetry), family names, and rituals to establish a Yoruba origin and identity for the Akoko-Ikale.
III
Oriki is the most popular of the Yoruba oral poetic genres. Lasebikan aptly captures the historical significance of oriki...
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