The Ìkálẹ̀ (Yorùbá, Nigeria) Migration Theories and Insignia

I

Ìkál is one of the several dialects spoken by the Yorùbá of Nigeria (Adeoye 1979:5). The name also refers to the people who speak the dialect. This subgroup is made up of fourteen communities in the southwestern part of Ondo State of Nigeria. They share boundaries with the Ìlàjẹ, Ìj Àpì, and Ìj Àrògbò to the south; Òdígbó Local Government to the north; Edo State to the east; and Ògùn State to the west. Ìkálè. communities include Ìkyà, Òde-Ìrèlè, mn, Igbódìgò, Àyèká, Ìdèpé (Òkìtìpupa), Òde-Aye, Erínjẹ, Òṣóòró and Ìgbìnsìn-Ọlt. Others are Àkótógbò, Àjàgbà, Ìyànsàn and Ijù-ṣun. These last four communities were formerly grouped under the Benin Confederation. Traces of Edo language and culture show very clearly in their ways of life. Òṣóòró is a conglomeration of Igbótako, Ìlútitun, Iju-Odò, Iju-Òkè, Erékìtì, and Ọmtṣ towns. The Ìkál also have kindred communities in parts of Ògùn State, viz., Ayédé, Àyílà, Aràfn and Moblrundúró.

While some Ìkál communities claim direct descent from Ilé-If, others claim Benin, or Ugbò descent, and a few others elsewhere. Oral tradition confirms that there were migrations from If Oòyè before the Benin contact of the sixteenth century, which tend to link Ìkál dynasty to Ọba Esigie (Bajowa 1992:3). In an interview with Chief M.A. Fabunmi, he narrated the If version of the Ìkál migration from Ile-If. According to him, it occurred during the edì festival, an annual festival in Ilé-If. For seven days, he claimed, the priests would spread mats on the floor on which all necessary rites would be performed. The mats would be removed on the seventh day, marking the end of the festival. When the mats are removed, elders would say, "a ká il." Chief Fabunmi said that was the day the people now known as Ìkál migrated from Ile-If.

The people never settled in the same spot, and when they met each other as they moved about, they exchanged greetings and asked from each other the day they left Ile-If. In response, they said that they left "ní ọj ìkál," the day when mats were removed from the ground. Since then, they have started calling themselves Ìkál. Bajowa (1992:2) claims that Ìkál refers to an incident that happened during the second Abòdì's visit to Ilé-If. Before he left Ilé-If, he knelt down inside a circle of chalk to receive blessings from the Ọni of If. Ìkál is said to be derived from the drawing of circle with the hand, ìka, on the ground, il.

However, the genuineness of these migration theories riddles remains to be determined. What is clear is that the cultures of the Ìkál and the Edo are relatively similar. Moreover, both Ìkál and Ìlàjẹ oral traditions emphasize their mutual relationship with If in their frequent mention of If in their music and in their propitiations.

II

Scholars who have written on this matter include Adepegba (1995), Akinjogbin (2002), Bajowa (1992, 1993) Awolalu (1979) and Sheba (2002). Adepegba (1995:18) notes that Ile-If is the traditional origin of the Yorùbá, and most likely their first urban center. Akinjogbin (2002:9) also regards those who claim to have migrated from If as Yoruba people, and the area they occupied as belonging legitimately to Yorùbá land. He recalls an earlier tradition gathered in the 1930s by Jacob Egharevba relating that the present Benin monarchy traced its origin from Ile-If and that there are strong evidences to show a close relationship between Benin and If.

Bajowa (1993:25), when researching into the history of the Ìkál links the dynasty with the reign of Ọba Esigie, the ruler of Benin from 1504 to 1550. According to him, Abodi, who...