Ketu, west of the Ogun near the present Nigeria-Benin border, is one of the seven kingdoms of Oduduwa's grandsons in Johnson's list.
The traditions of the Gbe-speaking peoples (Aja and Ewe) also remember Ketu as a stage of their own migration westward. Whether the town of Ketu stands on 1 January 1200, or only the people and their first kings, is not pinned.
Who he is
- Name
- Not known. The Ketu tradition makes Sopasan, a grandson of Oduduwa, the founder of the dynasty and a later king, Ede, the founder of the present town with its gate (Idena); the king list has some fifty names but no dates.
- Title
- Alaketu of Ketu
- Since
- not pinned
- Confidence
- low
What it holds
- Ketu and its villages (estimated)
Allies and rivals
Nothing attested for 1200.
Wealth
Farming of the savanna-forest edge; markets.
Military
Town walls in the later period; nothing attested for 1200.
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.
- 1200No dated event.Depends on: Not applicable Stopped by: Not applicable
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Tradition only (Parrinder, The Story of Ketu, 1956, and Johnson).
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.
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.