In
1603, Andreas Joshua Ulsheimer, a German surgeon, aboard a Dutch
merchant ship, visited Lagos. He later described it as a large frontier
town surrounded by strong fence and inhabitant by “none but
soldiers and four military commanders, who behave in a very stately
manner.” The Lagos visited by Ulsheimer and his trading colleagues
nearly four centuries ago was in many ways highly developed. Each
day its four commander came together as a court and each day two
envoys were dispatched to take decisions back to their ruler in
Benin. To do so, Ulsheimer wrote, was a common practice in all towns
under the suzerainty of Benin. Food in the Lagos area was plentiful:
handsome fish, good wildfowl”, meat fruits, yams and a host
of other foodstuffs. The town was by water and by land, and many
traders who brought their wares by water and by land, and who conducted
their transactions in cowries or trade goods, amongst which brass
was highly prized. Ulsheimer was struck by the beautiful, colouful
cloth, the ivory, and the elephant tails were traded in Lagos, and
by the large amount of pepper that was available. Indeed, his party
was rewarded with five lasts of pepper for successful helping the
Benin-led army-which he possibly overstated as being ten thousand-
to lay siege to dissident neighboring towns.
Ulsheimer’s
brief, but revealing; description is remarkable in many ways. It
confirms Benin oral traditions of conquest and occupation of Lagos
during the sixteenth century. Egharevba has described how Oba Orhogbua
of Benin (c. 1550-1578) occupied the island of Lagos, established
a military camp there from that base waged wars upon some of the
people, described as rebels against his authority, in the immediate
interior. Orhogbua, Benin traditions say left Lagos when he learnt
of a coup against him at home. But he left behind in Lagos, a military
camp under three generals,. His son and successor, Ehengbuda (c.
1578-1606) on his journey to Lagos, is said to have drowned in River
Again, roughly mid-way between Benin and Lagos, when his boat capsized.
Ulsheimer’s description reveals the situation in Lagos towards
the end of Oba Ehengbuda’s reign.
Ulsheimer
also gives us the first account, documenting the transformation
of Lagos from fishing camp to a trading centre, and from an autonomous
settlement to a Benin tributary. Lagos Lagoon was known to European
traders by 1485, when it first appeared on maps, but the town of
Lagos was not included. Nor was it mentioned by Portuguese and later
Dutch merchants who were trading in the area with the Ijebu in cloth,
slaves and ivory by15192 Oral evidence indicates that the Portuguese
were sufficiently interested in the trade in this area to have established
themselves in the Ijada quarter of Ijebu-Ode. But their written
documents as those of other foreign traders are silent concerning
a town of Lagos for most of the sixteenth century.
Nonetheless,
Benin extended its military and trading pressure along a corridor
from Benin City as far as West Allada by 15303 and it is possible
that step –by step it opened staging, provisioning, and rest
camps along the route. Benin’s armed forces were surprising
large. A Dutch source of the seventeenth century indicates the King
of Benin could mobilize from 20,000 to 10,000 men4 and move contingents
of them through the waterways between Benin and Allada in war canoes
built to hold from 50 to 100 armed soldiers each. It is quite likely
that Benin recruited, by choice and by force, troops as it moved,
for its armies were too large to have moved as a single body, in
a single campaign, from one source. Lagos was probably one of many
recruitment zones and camps. For it to have presented the well-governed
and vital commercial picture that it did to Ulsheimer, however,
means it did nor emerge overnight. The years between 1530 and 1603
no doubt is a period of development, stimulated by Benin’s
presence and by opportunity this gave nearby peoples to make contact
with, even if indirectly, the growing and lucrative European trade.
Oral
traditions, well-known to historians of Lagos, indicate that Benin
found pre-existing settlement on Lagos and nearby Ido Islands. Ulsheimer
also confirmed this. Some of the inhabitants in the Lagos interior
lived in towns walled for defensive purpose and Ulsheimer’s
group armed with two cannons helped the local Benin army to conquer
and completely destroy one of such towns described as dissident.
But we know little of the size of these settlements or their inhabitant.
Clearly, there were no large centralized polities or major trade
centres in the immediate vicinity. Those that did exist, farther
away, such as Ijebu-Ode, Benin and the Aja port towns, were well-known
to Europeans and mentioned in their written description of the period.
European records are silent on the time before 1603. Accordingly,
we must turn to oral traditions and environmental evidence to reconstruct
a picture of pre-Benin Lagos and of the era when Benin began to
influence its development. Who in fact inhabited the area. What
was their way of life?
Benin
forces settled at a strategic place on the northwest tip of Lagos
Island where they could easily mount a defensive garrison and still
overlook the lagoon which narrows suddenly at this point between
Lagos and Ido Island. Aderibigbe suggests that there was a protracted
period during which Benin attempted to take Ido Island, apparently
the most populated place in the Lagos area and essentially, the
gateway to the mainland. Given its interests in towns, especially
Isheri, Ota and other Ogun River settlements. The Ogun was an important
waterway leading to inland trade. The large number of colonies established
by Benin throughout the Ogun basin (west from Lagos to Badagry,
and north from the coast to (latter-day) Ilaro Division boundaries,
attests to its interest. Ido was surrounded by water and given the
palisades Ulsheimer found around Lagos, it was quite likely that
Ido was also fortified against Benin invaders. Whether Benin was
initially unwilling or unable to take Ido is unclear. Certainly
it did so later, for its refugees founded new settlement nearby,
especially along the southern side of the lagoon in today’s
Eti-Osa. In contrast to Ido, Benin established a firm base across
the lagoon on Lagos Island with little resistance. At the time,
Lagos Island had one known settlement, founded by the legendary
Aromire, “lover of water”, as a fishing camp
Ido,
so traditions indicate, was a centre of local activity. It was the
seat of Olofin, a strong leader who appears to have dominated a
group of villages that were thought to exist prior to Benin conquest
and to be Awori Yoruba ancestry. In mythological language, Olofin
was said to have had many “sons” amongst whom he divided
the area’s lands. These sons and the settlements they represented
were the early settlers met by Benin forces. At the time, they probably
represented a village group, allied for governmental, protective
and perhaps economic reasons. Later as Lagos grew and its government
expanded. Olofin’s sons became known as Idejo, landowning
chiefs. The number of chiefs in the Olofin alliance is usually remembered
as a formulaic eight, ten, sixteen or thirty-two. Twelve of them
are today recognized by government Aromire, Oloto, Ojora, Onitolo,
Onitano, Onikoyi, Oniru, Oluwa, Onisiwo, Eleguishi, Ojomu and Lumegbon.
The Olofin title disappeared while the Olumegbon is now the leader
of the Idejo class and presides over its installation ceremonies.
According
to the early historians of Lagos, the settlements represented by
Idejo chiefs were not established simultaneously, but in stages.
Traditions in Idejo families confirm that this was, indeed, the
case and furthermore that not all Idejo families were of Awori descent.
As indicated, the people of Ido did predate Benin conquest. Warfare
had driven them from the mainland area of Ebute-Metta, “three
wharfs” to Ido Island where they established two small settlements;
Oto village, facing the mainland, and Ido, a fishing camp facing
Lagos Island, which eventually disappeared or was absorbed into
the larger village. These two settlement were governed together
under a chief who became known as Oloto and whose family controlled
a large stretch of land on the mainland behind Ido. The southwest
part of Ido Island was settled by a group of migrants whose origins
were traced to Aramoko in the Ekiti area. This group’s first
headman, Kueji, married an Ido woman, one Isikoko by name, and they
settled at Ijo-Ara (Ijora) where Kueji took the Ojora titles, Aro
and Odofin, eventually arose within the Ojora line. Whether or not
this occurred before the Benin era is not clear.
There
were other chiefs in the Ido group. The Elegushi of Ikate and Ojomu
and Ajiran have traditions stating they fled Ido to escape Benin
raids and settled in Eti-Osa area in the south shore of the lagoon
east of Lagos Island. This being the case, their settlements and
independent chieftaincies came after, not before, Benin. The Ojomu
title, however, is not entirely explained by the refuges tradition,
since until recently it was not included in the Idejo, but in the
Akarigbere class of chiefs, that is inn the administrative line
of Lagos chiefs that, for the most part, claim Benin origins. Another
Ido chief, the Opeluwa, also became Lagos chiefs. Eventually, then
the Lord group gave birth to four Idejo chiefs (Oloto, Ojora, Elegushi
and Ojomu) and one Ogalade chief (Opeluwa). At least one (oloto)
and possibly three chiefs (Oloto, Ojora, and Opeluwa) were in existence
at Ido before the arrival of Benin.
The
members of the Aromire settlement gave land to Benin conqueror on
Lagos Island, and thus we can be sure that they, like the Oloto
People, existed prior to conquest. Armoire again did not represent
a single group. One section of the family settled at Tolo on the
western tip of Lagos Island, and it became headed by the Onitolo,
a descendant of the Aromire family. Another Idejo title holder,
the Onitano, was said to be the grandson of Oshoboja’s daughter.
Still another Idejo chief, the Onikoyi, was brought into Lagos by
Aromire family through marriage. The founder of Onikoyi family lived
at Oke-Ipa on Ikoyi Island, named after his ancestral home which
was believed to have been in Old Oyo. Adeyemi a leader of the Oke-Ipa
settlement married Efunluyi, daughter of Meku armoire, who was believed
to be the sixth title holder of the Aromire line. In honour of her
deliverance of a son, called Muti, Chief Meku allocated to his daughter
and son-in-law a plot of land near Iga Aromire “Aromire Court”,
on Lagos Island. The house built on that plot became Iga Onikoyi
and Aromire’s son-in-law the first holder of an Idejo title
in Lagos, the Onikoyi title. All in all, four related Idejo chieftaincies
came out of the Aromire line: armoire itself, Onitolo, Onitano,
and Onikoyi.
The
remaining four Idejo titles clearly came into existence after the
invasion of Benin. To chart this process, let us return to Ulsheimer.
If his account is correct, then it appears that the daily gathering
of Lagos governors was one of military commanders from Benin, and
not heads of local settlement. Gradually, however, additions were
made to that body. The vehicle via which accretion took place eventually
was called Ose Iga a ceremonious meeting of Lagos held at the palace
every seventeen days. The Osega was attended by a body of chiefs
whose agenda was devoted to proposing and debating community policy.
Before discussions at each meeting, sacrifices were performed. After
each meeting the assembled chiefs were fed and entertained by the
Oba. Rights to sit on his highest decision making body of the community
were extended to all recognized chiefs. Indeed, the culmination
of investiture ceremonies took place in the Ose chamber of the palace.
Until a chief was brought into Osega, he was effectively not a functioning
part of the larger policy. It does appear, however, that leaders
of surrounding village who saw themselves as clients of the Oba
could attend the Osega. Village settlement in and around Lagos Island
were of several types: those powerful enough to be represented by
their chief on the Osega; those that were clients (and the nature
of the tie differed markedly among settlements. Ranging from complete
dominance and overlordship to a loose control or dependency); and
those that retained autonomy, foregoing the political and protective
links that representation at the Lagos Osega could offer them.
The
number of chiefs with rights to attend the Osega grew slowly and
fluctuated. Olumegbon, leader of the Idejo class was said to have
been brought into Lagos and given a title by Ado, one of the early
Bini rulers. The first Olumegbon came from Aja, east of Lagos toward
the Lekki Lagoon. The reasons for his inclusion among the chiefs
who attend the Osega may never be known to us. It is possible that
the Benin warriors found him and his people located at a vital position
on their east-west trade corridor and therefore wished to control
that position themselves by alleviating its headman to a chieftaincy
title in Lagos rather than subjugating him. It is also possible
that he was originally a part of the Ido alliance and brought in
as its senior representatives. In any case, Olumegbon was allocated
a plot for an Iga in the Iduntafa area of Lagos and thus within
the portion of land originally allocated by Aromire to the Benin
rulers.
The
last three Idejos chiefs. Oluwa-Onisiwo and Oniru were brought into
Osega at the time of Akinsemoyin in thee mid to latter part of the
eighteenth century. Oluwa came to the Lagos area from Iwa, near
Badagry, and settled on lands in the Apapa Ajegunle area. Onisiwo
ancestors came from the Porto Novo area and settled to the south
of Oluwa in the Tarwa/Tomaro area. The forebears of Oniru established
a settlement at Iru village, close to today’s Federal Palace
Hotel on Victoria Island, overlooking the beach of the Atlantic
Ocean. Although not confirmed by the family, it is widely believed
that, given their settlement on the seafront, the Oniru people descended
from ocean-going fishermen who migrated eastward from as far west
as today’s Ghana. The Oniru family strengthened its ties to
the Idejo landowners by marrying into the Aromire family early on.
All three chiefs, in fact, were said to have strengthened their
ties to Lagos by marrying daughters of Akinsemoyin, but this is
still a matter of debate. All in all, we can be sure that there
were two pre-Benin settlements-Aromire and Oloto at Io-and possibly
the immigrating Ojora group. Water rights were important to these
groups and they give us a relative chronology of settlement. Fishing
was the mainstay of the early local economy and therefore control
of lagoon fishing rights was the most valuable fixed asset in the
region. It is significant that three chiefs-Aromire, Oloto, and
Ijora-settled at wharfs and controlled the fishing waters surrounding
them. Their control stretched from Lagos Island, east to five Cowries
Creek, across the lagoon as far as Akoka, and thence west to Apapa.
With one exception, fishing rights in the water surrounding Lagos,
first settlement were vested in these three groups. The exception
was Itolo Wharf, controlled by the Onitolo, an offshoot of the Aromire
family, who was allocated by this location and offshore fishing
rights after the first Aromire title holder had been recognized.
Other Idejo families who controlled fishing rights in Lagos area
waters were located at increasingly distant locations suggesting
their increasingly late arrivals. Oluwa in the waters off Apapa,
Onisiwo in the creeks and lagoons surrounding the islands and the
a pits of land south of Apapa, and Oniru near the small wharf at
the mouth of Five Cowries Creek.
Re
turning to the Osega, it appear that incorporation into it was the
result of Lagos’ expansion. As the city expanded and as its
commercial importance waxed. Its sphere of influence in surrounding
settlement grew and peoples’ interest grew in joining it.
There were consideration to be made on both sides. Lagos did not
want to give power or title, to a settlement or its leader unless
it was profitable. Similarly, a leader did not wish to join another
polity, and thus relinquish some autonomy, unless he gained economically,
militarily or in status. A weak settlement could be conquered or
placed in a client position under an overload in Lagos rather than
incorporated into a elite circles of Osega. A strong settlement
needed to be recognized in a grand manner and this was the function
of Osega, In as much as incorporation into the Osega occurred at
different times, and settlements of Idejo chiefs were established
at different times, their origins also represented different elements.
Lagos
traditions are strong in ascribing Awori origins its Idejo chiefs.
But as we have seen, the homeland of Idejo chiefs were not necessarily
Awori. Some of the Idejo titles and settlement, moreover, were created
internally, or by resettlement. Yet today most Idejo chieftaincy
families have incorporated certain Awori cultural elements into
their own traditions. This is process that could occur after, not
necessarily before their arrival in the Lagos area. Marriage played
an important role in the incorporation process. Onitu family members
have traditions, although they are debated that their relationship
to the Olofin group was established through marriage rather than
descent. The armoire family, too, was expanded through marriage,
as in the case of the Onikoyi and an Ojora leader married an Ido
woman. The examples are numerous. The point is that the assumption
of Awori identity was as much an acculturative process through marital
alliance or association by proximity as it was a genetic one. After
all, the Benin conquerors were eventually absorbed into Lagos identity,
although their positions of origin were not obscured. Ideologies
of common origin are common to people who ally together in order
to strengthened their position, whether they are Benin overlords
wishing to solidify their status as an aristocratic ruling class
or Idejo chiefs wishing to assets their rights to participate in
the governing bodies of that aristocratic class by virtues of their
collective status as controllers of land and fishing rights.
The
claims of common origin through Olofin of Iddo and prior to that
through Ogunfuminire, of Isheri and of common Awori calculating
identity are, in the parlance of historians who specialize in evaluating
oral traditions, historical clichés. In them, a number of
separate, individual traditions are shortened, streamlined, and
altered in order to conform to one another. This is a collective
process that facilitates the transmission of information. More importantly,
it legitimates the position that a group of people may wish to assert.
For Idejo chiefs, the claim to first settler status was simplified
when they were able to cite a single, socially validated tradition
of common origin. An analogous process can be seen in the Ife legend.
Here Awori and other Yoruba speaking peoples legitimate what they
have in common and their accompanying feelings of solidarity, through
a single, streamlined historical cliché stating that they
all originated from one point, Ife, through one common ancestor,
Oduduwa. While historical clichés have a social function
to perform as they promote unity and collective identity, they tend
to erase the distinctive features various groups of people may have
and to obliterate their unique histories origin, migratory patterns,
and the like. In the case of Lagos, the rich and varied backgrounds
of Idejo chiefs tended to be obscured by the overarching legend
of Olofin and the ascribed identity of Awori.
Still,
the Awori undoubtedly enjoyed a domegraphic advantage in the Lagos
area at a critical stage in the formative years of Lagos. If it
were not so this identity would have played a strong role in local
traditions. Awori are marked by one particular feature: the distinctiveness
of their speech, which has been described as a recognizably separate
dialect of Yoruba. In many other respects there were and still are
differences amongst Awori peoples.
Early
European administrators divided Awori into four groupings: southern,
Eastern, Central and Western. Of Southern (coastal) and Eastern
(next to Lagos) Awori, the internal differences were too marked
and actual origins too diverse to characterize them as a whole.
Of the Central and Western groups (including Ilaro and Ilogbo),
however, more could be said. Both groups shared similar social and
cultural, especially ritual, customs and both shared strong traditions
of having moved south in slow, step-wise migrations to escape war
and slave raids. Places of origin were scattered, but Egbado, Ketu
and Oyo figured prominently among them. Two groups were further
linked by traditions of cross-migrations, e.g. some Ota elements
were said to have originated in Old Ilogbo, i.e. Western Awori territory,
although traditions of the Olofin group placed them primarily in
the Central group
There
were similarities between Ijora, Oto and Aromire family rituals
and Central Awori rituals. The Efe-Gelede masquerade (Efe falling
on the eve of a Gelede outing) was common to the Ilaro (Egbado Awori)
region and to Oto and Ijora. The capping ceremonies for Chief Oloto,
in fact specifically include the Efe-Gelede rites. Elegbara festivals
were common amongst Central and Western Awori and the Ido chieftaincy
groups. Two families, Oto and Ijora and at once time, Aromire, maintained
Elegbara arenas for performances of annual festivals. The Central
and Western Awori were united in their skills and occupations of
which three stood out. Two ancestors were hunters: Ogunfunminire,
“the god of iron has given me luck”, and Olofin. Others
were farmers-the soil of the area were rich and raising yams and
vegetables was significant. More interesting, perhaps because it
was less common, was iron-making. The Ota region was one of the
early and rich smelting centre of Yoruba land, and several sites
were prominent. Ilobi near today’s Ilaro (but settled long
before it) was first settled by Ketu people who were searching for
iron ore deposits in and area where water supplies were sufficient
for operating the thirsty smelters. Ilobi designated one of its
chiefs to run its smelting operations. Ajilete, too, was a richly
endowed iron town. Its Oba was Ajilete Iyawo Ogun. :Ajilete the
consort of iron” Even Benin colonist established iron smelters
in the area in order to equip their forces.
Awori
also were familiar with river and creek fishing, as were many inland
peoples. An early canoe building center (but of unknown date) was
said to have existed north of Isheri in the Iro-Iori area at the
point where navigability of the Ogun River ceases. The legendary
ancestors of the Olofin group navigated the Ogun River and arrived
at their Lagos Lagoon destination in Canoes. Water deities and rituals
were familiar parts of their cultural heritage and many have been
transported to the new settlements. The Awori, however, did not
introduce Olokun, the great sea deity, for it came from a coastal
village. The source of Ota, a lagoon deity, is shrouded in mystery
although Ota rituals seems to center within the Ido group of families.
The deity is believed to emit fire during periods of the full moon,
and to act as a guide to voyages at night. Like Olokun it is prohibited
for security, peace and a bountiful fish harvest. Sharks also are
ritually symbolic in the Lagos area and their snouts have been placed
on many shrines, especially the Oju Egun in each chieftaincy Iga.
The ritual worship of sharks extends to Eshire where, known by another
name, an ox is sacrificed to an Ogun River deity each November,
shortly after sharks that spawn upstream arrive.
Whether
or not Awori migrants moved voluntarily into the lagoon area is
unknown. Sea, salt and smoked/dried fish were valuable inland trade
items and they, alone, could have drawn prospective trader south.
There are strong indications, however, that the people now know
as Awori represent a long and uneven movement of people of Ketu,
Egbado, Oyo and no doubt other origins who were forced south by
warfare and slave raids, and that was occurring as early as the
fourteenth to fifteenth centuries, prior to and perhaps extending
into the same period that saw Benin march west. That these peoples
and Benin met and interacted in the wedge of territory to the east
and north of the Lagos lagoon is clear. Town founding traditions
in nearby areas go back to either stock and sometimes both. Early
British travelers called this area the “territory of Ado”
i.e. the territory of Edo (Benin). The mixture of Edo and Yoruba
language was such that in the early twentieth century administrators
labeled the language of this area not as Awori but as Bini-Awori.
The
lagoon, we submit, was a frontier for both Benin and Awori peoples.
Given their land-oriented skills, the environment initially was
not hospitable for either people. Coastal lands from the Benin River
to Badagry were sandy and unfit for large scale agriculture, although
palm products were abundant and yams could be cultivated in some
near-coastal soils. Swamps penetrated well into the hinterland and
was filled with thick stands of mangrove and high brush. Water transport
was necessary to movement, and it brought people into contact with
relative ease. It was not swift, however, and it required a keen
knowledge of the waterways.
The
two significant economic undertakings in the area, as indicated,
were fishing and salt making, either from mangrove tree roots or
sea water. Salt was an important items of exchange as there is no
evidence of brine deposit in the whole of Yorubaland. Indeed, Benin
traditions hold that the march west was triggered by a quest for
salt; but neither they nor Awori were skilled in salt-making. Neither
were they skilled in lagoon fishing and in operating the complex
systems of water rights that had developed for large bodies of water.
The lagoon area did not have sufficiently centralized policies for
permanent market centre to thrive. There were no strong governmental
umbrellas that protected large-scale movements of people for trade
or do fishing, which made both endeavors risky and dangerous. Lagoon
dwellers, like frontiersmen everywhere, were required to develop
independent military prowess and to learn to move in water with
care and stealth. Stories of pirates, raids and kidnapping along
the coastal waterways, even after Lagos became a powerful city-state
indicate that this was indeed frontier territory. The skills for
operating inn this environment, we believe, were not likely to have
been well-developed among the land-oriented Awori who themselves
had no large centralized polities. Like fishing skills, water rights
systems and knowledge of the terrain were acquired by Awori settlers
from fishing people whose camps and small settlements no doubt preceded
them in the area.
In
1934, a British administrator recorded an interview with the Oloro
and Erelu Odibo of Lagos, in which the two chiefs suggested that
the Olofin people were given land in Ido by two inhabitants of Lagos
Island: Olopon and Omuse. The two then returned to their villages
and left the newcomers to themselves. For these chiefs then, Olopon
and Omuse represented, however symbolically a pre-existing population.
The tradition is too vague to be reliably traced, but it does indicate
that human habitation existed in the areas from very early period
and that succeeding populations have been layered on one another
for centuries and perhaps millennia.
Who
were these early inhabitants of the lagoon area? Traditions of lagoon
people and parts of the Nigeria Delta indicate that fishing in lagoon,
creeks and seaside was to a large extending a migratory occupation.
Fish species move and seasons fluctuate. Hence fishing camps were
often established at various points and fishermen were known to
move to them and away from their home bases for long periods. As
in farming, the concept of near and distant fishing grounds was
practices among lagoon fishermen. The near, or home grounds were
needed for quick fishing. The distant ground entitled setting up
camps where curing and smoking could take place.
Given
their need for mobility, it was likely that the early lagoon fishing
groups intermixed in customs and social institutions. From the Benin
River to Allada, little settlements came into contact with one another
and undoubtedly influenced the customs of one another.
The
Ilaje peoples of Mahin (Okitipupa) were known to have moved some
200 miles west, and thus well beyond Lagos Island, in their immigrations.
They probably did not collaborate fully with Benin in its westward
march and this would explain why Oba Orhogbua (c1550-1578) on his
return journey from Lagos attacked Mahin and executed its ruler
as a traitor. The earliest period of their movements is yet unknown
but it is not unrealistic to suggest that they were acquainted with
the coastal waterways by the fifteen century. Furthermore an analysis
of the traditions of some of the Ijo groups in the Western Delta
fringe suggest that the Egbema had visited the vicinity of Lagos
(Ukuroma or Iko (Eko, Lagos) in early times. The traditions of Olodiama
Ijo agree with those of Benin that the same Oba Orhogbua (c1550-1578)
after defeating the Ileja, stopped at Ikoro, a major town of the
Olodiama Ijo on his return from Lagos to Benin. Although, how and
where the Benin obtained their boats is not yet known it is safe
to suggest that the Ijo and perhaps the Ilaje supplied the boats.
The Aja speaking peoples of today’s Republic of Benin, known
colloquially in the Lagos area as Egun, migrated eastward in large
number early in the eighteenth century, but a small, earlier infiltration
Allada and Lagos Island from earliest times. During the latter part
of the fifteenth century, the Ijebu appear to have begun moving
south into the lagoon area, and it was Kita fishermen of Ghana who
moved hundreds of mile eastward in their fishing migrants who were
credited with teaching Ijebu migrants in the Eti-Osa area hoe to
fish.
Once
again, intermarriage was undoubtedly a prime vehicle for transmitting
one people’s way of life to another. Today’s inhabitants
of Epe, Mahin, Ijebu and Ikale all represent fairly recent intermixing
of formerly separate population groups. The process is similar at
the level of language, including Yoruba, Edo, Urhobo and Ijo. The
Awori-Benin linguistic blend of Lagos is another example. The point
is that we should not look to a single proto-population,, but to
a proto-culture sharing area where there flourished peoples with
high developed water-oriented skills (fishing, slat-making canoe-making
and individual prowess) and a well developed sense of territorial
rights and obligations with respect to waterways.
It
is with these suggestions that we wish to conclude. For here lies
a key to visualizing the Lagos Lagoon area from earliest times to
the present. The migrant fisher folk who frequented the lagoon and
camped on the shores of Lagos and Ido Island before Ulshiemer’s
1603 visit no doubt stemmed from many source spreading their way
of life in the course of movements. After them, the Awori, and then
the Benin peoples, added new layers to the populations and firmly
embedded certain aspects of their home cultures into those of the
emerging city-state of Lagos. These influence were neither a beginning
nor an end. The hallmark of Lagos was and still is its ability to
absorb many peoples languages and many cultural influences. It has
done so since time immemorial, and it is a process to which there
is no predictable end.
