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#Post#: 20--------------------------------------------------
Legacy Of Islam In Yoruba Land
By: Captshittu Date: July 28, 2017, 5:09 pm
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LEGACY OF ISLAM IN YORUBALAND
Islam came to Oyo Empire in 14th century during the reign of
Mansa Musa in Mali and subsequently conversion to Islam by some
Yorubas. It was popularly called “Esin Imale” – religion brought
by the Malian people. However, some people erroneously
translated “Esin Imale” as “hardened religion to practise”.
According to Akinjogbin (1971), Islam had come to the ancient
Yoruba Kingdom of Oyo by the 14th century through trans-Saharan
trade. The origin of the word ‘Yoruba’ has been traced to Arabic
writers such as Ahmad Baba (1627 in his mi’raj al-su’ud) and
Muhammed Bello (1837 in his infaq al-maysur) both of whom were
reported among the earliest to name the people in Oyo ‘yariba’,
‘yaruba’, ‘yarba’ at a time when they are still referring to
themselves by their diverse ethnic identities (Ogunbiyi, 2003).
Yoruba people were earlier, before the advent of Islam, called
“karo o ji re” while a lot of people were recognized by
dialectal affiliation e.g Egba, Ijesa, Ife people etc.
The first mosque was built in Oyo-Ile in 1550. Islam was
established in Iwo in 1655, spread to Iseyin in 1760, Saki in
1790, Osogbo in 1889 while Ibadan, Abeokuta, Ijebu-Ode, Ikirun
and Ede knew about Islam before Fulani Jihad (Gbadamosi, 1978).
Islam came to Lagos in 18th century while the first mosque was
built in 1774.
In Yoruba cultural analysis of Ifa divinity, every new born baby
was taken to Ifa for future consultation popularly called
“Ikosejaye”. A new dimension to Ifa prediction was a strange
corpus of Ifa called “Odu Imale” which was exclusively preserved
for a new born baby that will later accepted and practised Islam
(see Gbadamosi, 1978). For instance, Oba Aliyu Oyewole
(1795-1820), the seventh Akinrun of Ikirun was reported during
“Ikosejaye” that he will practised Islam despite the fact that
he was born into traditional belief. Yet, the prediction came to
pass and Islam became a well-known religion in Ikirun during his
tenure so much so that he introduced Shariah Court in Ikirun
just like Shariah was also practised in Ijebu-ode, Iwo, Iseyin
among other places before colonial master cum missionary came in
1842 and abolished the Islamic judicial system.
The case of Ibadan during the reign of Iba Oluyole is also worth
mentioning when Ifa predicted the coming of Muslim clerics and
the warning that they should be honoured and accommodated. It
came to pass and the Ibadan Generalissimo, Aare Latoosa, during
this time has problem of having a male child among his numerous
wives. Yet, Ifa directed him to seek divine intervention in the
hands of Muslim clerics which he sought and his prayer was
answered (Gbadamosi, 1978). He, therefore, became the first
Muslim Oba in Ibadan. He compensated the clerics by building a
Central Mosque beside his palace. It is the replica of this
“divine” assistance that led to the building of Central Mosques
beside palaces in Yorubaland even within the premise of Ake
palace in Egbaland.
Islam revolutionized Yoruba socio-cultural evolution so much so
that
Yoruba were taught how to read and write by the Malian Muslim
traders in Arabic language. Yoruba history, for the first time,
was documented in Arabic language while child-naming conventions
were borrowed from Islamic tradition. The modes of dressing in
cultural Yoruba were largely inherited from Muslims traders.
Islamic tradition standardized the excessive polygamous marriage
in Yoruba and curtailed the culture of mal-treating women as
mere slaves and appendages. Societal culture, like “Ojude-Oba”
among others in Ijebu-Ode, were established after the legendary
warrior, Balogun Kuku accepted Islam and became Muhammed Bello
Kuku.
SOURCES
I. A. Akinjogbin, “The Expansion of Oyo and the Rise of Dahomey
1600-1800,” in History of West Africa, 2 vols., ed. J. F.
Ade-Ajayi and M. Crowder (London: Longman, 1971),
I. A. Ogunbiyi: The Search For A Yoruba Orthography Since The
1840s: Obstacles To The Choice Of The Arabic Script, Sudanic
Africa, 14, 2003, 77-102
J.F. Ade-Ajayi: How Yoruba was reduce to writing, Odu 8
K. Dike: Opening Remarks in Hunwick J. O. Report of a Seminar
on the Teaching of Arabic in Nigeria, Ibadan and Kano, 1965.
J. Hundwick: West Africa, Islam and the Arab World Studies in
Honour of Basil Davidson. Princeton: Markus Wiener Publishers,
2006.
T.G.O. Gbadamosi: The Growth of Islam among the Yorub[truncated
by WhatsApp] :-X
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