Ijesa

Who he is

Name

Not known. The Ijesa tradition makes the first Owa (Ajibogun, called Obokun because he fetched sea water to heal Oduduwa) a son of Oduduwa; the present town of Ilesa is said to have been laid out by a later Owa, and the traditions name earlier Ijesa seats.

Title

Owa Obokun of Ijesaland

Since

not pinned

Confidence

low

What it holds

• The Ijesa towns and villages round Ilesa (estimated)

Allies and rivals

Neighbour of Ife and of the Ekiti kings; nothing attested for 1200.

Wealth

Farming and the forest; the gold of the Ijesa hills is a modern discovery and played no known part.

Military

Not attested.

Threats

• Not attested

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

1. 1200No dated event.Depends on: Not applicable Stopped by: Not applicable

Where the sources disagree

Evidence: Tradition only.

On the map: Estimated.

Primary sources for Yoruba towns

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

• Ife, Benin, Nri, the Yoruba towns and the Akan: archaeology and recorded tradition (no contemporary text; traditions written down from the 1890s). No text of any kind exists for the forest belt in 1200.