Pre-colonial Ijebu History

Nigerian archaeology has been through a series of developmental stages. The current trend in the studies of urbanization takes a cue from postcolonial pedagogy, which seeks to interpret indigenous material cultures from the eye view of their makers. This echoes a localized model of urbanization. Methods and paradigms for urbanism expand, and indigenous archaeologists have their voices heard without the outside veil. Despite these advances in methods and approaches, little is being explored in the direction of earthworks and earthwork studies to corroborate research on urbanization and state consolidation. This article turns the light on this avenue and suggests that more earthen works should be investigated if unanswered questions in urban studies must be answered.

This research was carried out in the ancient palace of Ijebu-Ode, the capital of the Ijebu kingdom. Over 20 units (ranging in size from 1m x 1m to 20m x 15m) were excavated from the King's quarters, Queen's quarters, Palace gardens, and courtyards. This series of excavations yielded a diverse range of artifacts including, beads, bronze bell anklets, knife blades, etc. A notable find is the first evidence of ceramic pavements in the Ijebu kingdom. Team members unearthed two pavements at the palace complex; one is a carved pavement that is an effigy of a local deity, the other is a geometric pavement with astronomical alignments. This research showed that behind the organization of the palace complex lies a well-designed and integrated architecture, ritual/religion, astronomy, politics, governance, and commerce, all of which functioned as a system that sustained the Ijebu Kingdom.

This paper presents the result of an investigation into the provenance of the ethnonym Ijẹbu, which was carried out with intent to gain insight into the history of the Ijẹbu people. The Ijẹbu are a major branch of the Yoruba tribe of South-western Nigeria. However, knowledge of the pre-colonial past of this group is still heavily clouded, and this research purposes to contribute to the illumination of that past.

There are traditions of long-standing relationships between the Ijebu and Bini peoples in prehistoric times, but these traditions are vague and lacking in detail. The Ijebu are a sub-group of the Yoruba tribe of South-western Nigeria, occupying parts of Ogun and Lagos States. The Bini, a section of the Edo tribe, occupy a part of Edo State. This paper will contribute towards bringing clarity to the state of knowledge on the subject of Bini-Ijebu relations by providing details derived from the comparison of Igue Ewere (a festival of the Bini) and Obinrin Ojowu (a festival of the Ijebu) which appear to be strongly connected.

The paper reviews certain aspects of a contemporary ethnographic study of early nineteenth-century Ijebu society. The original publication of the study was in French, but subsequently translated to English with annotations. This paper attempts to shed light on issues of ethnographical and historical significance concerning the Ijebu arising from the study.