Oduduwa is a very interesting figure, come to think of it.
I find his story and the mystique around him as a historical figure worth looking into.
I'm of the view Oduduwa is worth knowing about not just because he has a intriguing story, dynasty and lineage; my being of Yoruba descent by birth and parentage contributes to this.
The Yorubas are spread across about eight core states in modern Nigeria, we are a race of people rich in culture, tradition, philosophies and wisdom.
With many Yoruba sons and daughters in almost every nation of the world, the influence of the Yorubas continues to be felt with great and positive impact.
There are a number of accounts of the Oduduwa legend, it can be hard to determine what is fact and what is fiction but one thing is sure Oduduwa was a real person.
I believe this because archaeology shows us some evidence.
There are artefacts from the time period he lived in that are still around and can be seen today.
His royal crown (Adé Àrè) for instance which symbolizes divine authority and royal lineage is still worn by his present descendant and custodian today, the king (Oba) of Ile-Ife.
There are ancient art works, wooden sculptures and statues that give us an insight into what he looked like and how he dressed- regal in his outlook, tall, authoritative and royal in his white attire .
These things are hard to make up.
Many people are of the belief that Oduduwa is the father of the Yoruba people, he is credited as being the progenitor of the Yoruba race.
There are different beliefs about how Oduduwa came about.
Some are of the school of thought that Oduduwa is the son of Nimrod the great hunter who was the brainchild of the dream to built a tower that reaches to the heavens where God is, the tower of Babel.
Some historians believe Oduduwa is the son of a man called Lamurudu who was a great hunter and Lamurudu is Nimrod.
I struggle to believe this as my findings show that Oduduwa didn't live during the time of Nimrod.
There are some others who believe Oduduwa is God's chosen and anointed king which happens to be king David the shepherd from the scriptures. The think Oduduwa is king David.
This is not correct as far as I am concerned.
As a lover of history and a person who enjoys biographies, my inquisitive and investigative mind has been researching and digging deep for some answers and what is truth, this I do during my spare time.
I've sought to know- who really was Oduduwa, where did he really come from, did he really descend from heaven on a chain, with a cockerel and a hand full of earth with which he formed the land of Ile-Ife upon waters according to Yoruba myth?
I can't help but wonder if this is the true account, though this is the account most custodians of the Yoruba tradition hold unto.
Oduduwa is presented as a deity, a divine king of some sort.
There are researchers who believe Oduduwa is a migrant who moved to what became Ile-Ife in Nigeria from either Ethiopia, North Sudan, Egypt or Mecca.
I find Oduduwa's migrating from any of those countries to Ile-Ife easier to believe.
I also have an understanding that there are mysteries in this world and life.
I'm aware not everyone on this earth who looks like a human being is a real human being.
The Bible confirms this.
Melchizedek was a priest and king, he was the king of a kingdom called Salem.
Salem means peace.
Melchizedek was the king of peace (a shadow, a type of Jesus Christ to come who hadn't come to the earth at the time)
The Bible says Jesus had been made a priest after the order of Melchizedek.
Melchizedek was a mystery on the earth who just existed, a divine being who manifested on earth as a being who is a king.
We are informed in the scriptures that Melchizedek had no genealogy- no father, no mother, no family background, no ancestors we can trace or link to him.
Could Oduduwa have been such a person?
I believe divine beings come to the earth disguised as human beings for a reason and a purpose.
Jesus Christ was such a person.
He is God, a part of the heavenly Father come to the earth to set humanity free from sin, death and Satan!
A major difference between Oduduwa and Jesus Christ is that Oduduwa's kingdom is of this earth while Jesus's kingdom is spiritual but has an earthly impact.
Oduduwa had a wife/wives, he has a biological lineage while Jesus didn't get married to start a human lineage, rather He started a spiritual kingdom family through spiritual adoption.
Jesus came into the earth through the right 'door'. He was born of a woman, that is the entrance to being legal on the earth.
Legend tells us Oduduwa descended from heaven with a chain.
If Oduduwa truly came from the heavens it means he's a spirit, a divine being.
But do divine beings need chains to come to earth, do they need chains to transport themselves into our physical realm? They don't.
This is why I doubt the legend that he came from heaven with a chain.
Angels are divine beings, they come into our earthly plain but they don't need chains to do so.
The Bible encourages us to be good to people, to show generosity to strangers for some have done so and entertained angels unaware. Abraham experienced this, I have experience it before too.
This is one of the things I love about Yoruba people, our hospitable nature. we fulfill that scripture. No wonder we have been so blessed as a people.
Abraham hosted divine beings in his home. There is no record they came to earth with chains.
If anything, chains are a tool of bondage, limitation and judgement.
Divine chains are used to tie down evil or disobedient spirits by God as a form of punishment.
The Bible reveals to us that during the days of Noah, a rebellious set of angels came to the earth to take wives, they were punished for it eventually by God because angels are not created to marry.
Those rebellious fallen angels are bound with chain in a realm/compartment beneath the earth called Tartarus.
These angels didn't come with a chain to earth, they came in the form of men in order to marry women.
To function on earth for a long duration of time spirits have to take on the form of human beings to be legal here.
The earth is the home of human beings, given to us. You have to be human to be legal here.
God is the Father of all spirits.
If Oduduwa was truly a spirit who came to the earth from the heavens to start a kingdom here on earth and he married and started a human lineage according to the account of Yoruba custodians then he was an illegitimate authority who lived on the earth and this should make us question the very foundation of what the Yoruba kingdom has been built on.
The Yoruba kingdom, much like all other kingdoms of this world has its imperfections, it's flaws, and errors in has been built on.
If Jesus Christ, angels, and Melchizedek could appear on earth without the use of a chain to climb down from heaven, that automatically throws the Oduduwa descending from heaven narrative out the window.
Emperor Oduduwa's clothing, as we see from the depictions we have of him, was a man who dressed a certain way people dressed in his time.
The royals of his day had flowing like garments similar to what he used to have on.
It makes it easy to conclude he was a migrant, a human being who probably lived in certain parts of the world before he journeyed to Ile-Ife to start what is now known as the Yoruba race.
Oduduwa arrived in what is now know as Ile-Ife with knowledge of trade, commerce, agriculture, and community building.
He must have acquired this knowledge from somewhere.
His knowledge and the way he dressed, very likely was influenced from societies/kingdoms that had been operating and functioning successfully at the time because he lived in those environments and experienced those cultures.
He may have lived in more than one place before he started out in Ile-Ife.
He might have lived in North Sudan, Ethiopia and Egypt at different times where he learned and got lots of exposure. Like a lot of adventurous characters of his time he may have been a journey man looking for a place to settle and build from.
Whatever the real truth is about Oduduwa, God knows.
But I know he is no divine being, he was a human being.
If he was a spirit being like the Yoruba myths and legend claim, the Yoruba people should be a race of hybrids (half human and half spirit) like the offspring of Nephilims (fallen angels) from Genesis 6 in the Bible.
Obviously, that's not the case.
Fallen angel wisdom and technology may have played a role in helping Oduduwa, leading and guiding to Ile-Ife to establish a kingdom.
Men turned to fetish powers in those days for help, strength and conquest.
Oduduwa was not exception to this.
Many people still turn to such powers today, its what they know; its what their 'fathers' passed down to them.
This is what most of the kingdoms of this world have been built on. And it usually requires sacrifices and blood shed.
The present system of this world is no exception.
The only kingdom that is built on love, light, peace and joy is the kingdom of God, the kingdom of God's dear son. The kingdom we come into through Jesus Christ.
The only blood shed that took place for this Kingdom is the blood of Jesus Christ, His blood plays a role in our translation into His kingdom.
This is the kingdom where you should be my dear friend and reader.
Only God knows the real truth about Oduduwa, the case I present and my perspective is that he was simply a human being.
He carved his place in human history.
Oduduwa will always remain an intriguing myth and the wonderful people of the Yoruba race/kingdom with our tales, legends, warriors, kings, politics, wars, culture and history is a beautiful lineage to have.
The Yorubas are a wonderful people.
May we bring the true God glory!
