Yoruba people

== Pre-colonial government of Yoruba society ==
=== Government ===
[[File:Oyoxviii.jpeg|thumb|right|[[Oyo Empire]] and surrounding states|237px]]
Monarchies were a common form of government in Yorubaland, but they were not the only approach to government and social organization. The numerous Ijebu kingdom city-states to the west of Oyo and the [[Egba people]] communities, found in the forests below Ọyọ's savanna region, were notable exceptions. These independent polities often elected a king though real political, legislative, and judicial powers resided with the ''[[Ogboni]]'', a council of notable elders. The notion of the [[Sacred king|divine king]] was so important to the Yoruba, however, that it has been part of their organization in its various forms from their antiquity to the contemporary era.

[[File:Palace of Alaafin of Oyo circa mid-1900s - Colorized.png|thumb|left|Palace of the [[Alaafin|King]] of [[Oyo empire|Oyo]] circa 1900s - Colorized]]
During the [[Yoruba Civil Wars|internecine wars]] of the 19th century, the Ijebu forced citizens of more than 150 Ẹgba and [[Owu Kingdom|Owu]] communities to migrate to the fortified city of [[Abeokuta]]. Each quarter retained its own ''Ogboni'' council of civilian leaders, along with an ''Olorogun'', or council of military leaders, and in some cases, its own elected ''Obas'' or ''Baales''. These independent councils elected their most capable members to join a federal civilian and military council that represented the city as a whole. Commander [[Frederick Forestier-Walker|Frederick Forbes]], a representative of the British Crown writing an account of his visit to the city in the ''Church Military Intelligencer'' (1853),<ref name=Phillips>{{cite journal|pages=117–131|volume=10|number=1|journal=Journal of African History|title=The Egba at Abeokuta: Acculturation and Political change, 1830–1870|year=1969|author=Earl Phillips|doi=10.1017/s0021853700009312|jstor=180299|s2cid=154430100}}</ref> described Abẹokuta as having "four presidents", and the system of government as having "840 principal rulers or 'House of Lords,' 2800 secondary chiefs or 'House of Commons,' 140 principal military ones and 280 secondary ones."<ref name=contributions>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eiQHFrA7GUwC&pg=PR18|title=Contributions of Yoruba People in the Economic & Political Developments of Nigeria|author=Jacob Oluwatayo Adeuyan|publisher=AuthorHouse, 2011|isbn=978-1-4670-2480-8|page=18|date=12 October 2011}}</ref> He described Abẹokuta and its system of government as "the most extraordinary [[republic]] in the world."<ref name="contributions" />

=== Leadership ===
[[Gerontocratic]] leadership councils that guarded against the monopolization of power by a monarch were a trait of the Ẹgba, according to the eminent Ọyọ historian Reverend [[Samuel Johnson (Nigerian historian)|Samuel Johnson]]. Such councils were also well-developed among the northern [[Okun people|Okun]] groups, the eastern [[Ekiti people|Ekiti]], and other groups falling under the Yoruba ethnic umbrella. In Ọyọ, the most centralized of the precolonial kingdoms, the ''Alaafin'' consulted on all political decisions with the prime minister and principal kingmaker (the ''Basọrun'') and the rest of the council of leading nobles known as the ''[[Oyo Mesi|Ọyọ Mesi]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Selecting a new Alaafin: Oyo Mesi and the burden of tradition and truth |url=https://www.premiumtimesng.com/opinion/554519-selecting-a-new-alaafin-oyo-mesi-and-the-burden-of-tradition-and-truth-by-hammed-isiaka-eyinade-adelabu.html?tztc=1 |access-date=2023-09-18 |website=www.premiumtimesng.com}}</ref>

Traditionally kingship and chieftainship were not determined by simple [[primogeniture]], as in most monarchic systems of government. An electoral college of lineage heads was and still is usually charged with selecting a member of one of the royal families from any given realm, and the selection is then confirmed by an [[Ifá]] oracular request.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ellis |first1=Alfred Burdon |title=The Yoruba-speaking Peoples of the Slave Coast of West Africa: Their Religion, Manners, Customs, Laws, Language, Etc. With an Appendix Containing a Comparison of the Tshi, Gã, Ew̜e, and Yoruba Languages |date=1894 |publisher=Chapman and Hall |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x9UKAAAAIAAJ&q=%22Chapter%20X.%20System%20of%20government%22}}</ref> The Ọbas live in palaces that are usually in the center of the town. Opposite the king's palace is the ''Ọja Ọba'', or the king's market. These markets form an inherent part of Yoruba life. Traditionally their traders are well organized, have various guilds, officers, and an elected speaker. They also often have at least one ''[[Iyaloja]]'', or Lady of the Market, who is expected to represent their interests in the aristocratic council of oloyes at the palace.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vf8VAQAAIAAJ|page=112|title=Africa since 1914: a historical bibliography|volume=17|author=ABC-Clio Information Services|publisher=ABC-Clio Information Services|year=1985|isbn=978-0-87436-395-1}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0VGBAAAAMAAJ|title=Where Women Work: A Study of Yoruba Women in the Marketplace and in the Home, Issues 53-56 of Anthropological papers|author=Niara Sudarkasa|publisher=University of Michigan|year=1973|pages=59–63}}</ref>

=== City-states ===
{{Main|Yorubaland}}
{{See also|Oyo Empire#Political Structure}}
The monarchy of any [[city-state]] was usually limited to a number of royal lineages.<ref>A. Adelusi-Adeluyi and L. Bigon (2014) "City Planning: Yoruba City Planning" in Springer's Encyclopaedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures (third edition), ed. by Helaine Selin.</ref> A family could be excluded from kingship and chieftaincy if any family member, servant, or slave belonging to the family committed a crime, such as theft, fraud, murder or rape. In other city-states, the monarchy was open to the election of any free-born male citizen. In [[Ilesa]], [[Ondo City|Ondo]], [[Akure]] and other Yoruba communities, there were several, but comparatively rare, traditions of female ''Ọbas''. The kings were traditionally almost always [[Polygamy|polygamous]] and often married royal family members from other domains, thereby creating useful alliances with other rulers.<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Yoruba and Their Language Newspapers: Origin, Nature, Problems and Prospects|journal=Studies of Tribes and Tribals|year=2004|doi=10.1080/0972639X.2004.11886508|last1=Salawu|first1=Abiodun|volume=2|issue=2|pages=97–104|s2cid=194810838}}</ref> Ibadan, a city-state and proto-empire that was founded in the 1800s by a [[Multilingualism|polyglot]] group of refugees, soldiers, and itinerant traders after the fall of Ọyọ, largely dispensed with the concept of monarchism, preferring to elect both military and civil councils from a pool of eminent citizens. The city became a military republic, with distinguished soldiers wielding political power through their election by popular acclaim and the respect of their peers. Similar practices were adopted by the ''[[Ijesha|Ijẹsa]]'' and other groups, which saw a corresponding rise in the social influence of military adventurers and successful entrepreneurs. The [[Igbomina tribe|Ìgbómìnà]] were renowned for their [[agriculture|agricultural]] and hunting prowess, as well as their woodcarving, leather art, and the famous Elewe masquerade.<ref>{{Cite journal |doi=10.1086/203234 |title=The Beginnings of Agriculture in West Africa: Botanical Evidence |year=1985 |last1=Sowunmi |first1=M. A. |journal=Current Anthropology |volume=26 |pages=127–129 |s2cid=145073849}}</ref>
[[File:The belief in the god of thunder sango in the traditional Yoruba society 4.jpg|thumb|right|Depiction of a traditional [[Shango|Sango]] venerating fraternity|195px]]

=== Groups, organizations and leagues in Yorubaland ===
Occupational guilds, social clubs, secret or initiatory societies, and religious units, commonly known as Ẹgbẹ in Yoruba, included the ''Parakoyi'' (or league of traders) and ''Ẹgbẹ Ọdẹ'' (hunter's guild), and maintained an important role in commerce, social control, and vocational education in Yoruba polities. There are also examples of other peer organizations in the region.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v4MYAAAAYAAJ|title=Diversity of Creativity in Nigeria: A Critical Selection from the Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on the Diversity of Creativity in Nigeria|author1=Bolaji Campbell|author2=R. I. Ibigbami|publisher=Department of Fine Arts, Obafemi Awolowo University|year=1993|page=309|isbn=978-978-32078-0-6}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KGGTAAAAIAAJ|title=Indigenous Organizations and Development Higher Education Policy Series (IT studies in indigenous knowledge and development)|author1=Peter Blunt|author2=Dennis M. Warren|author3=Norman Thomas Uphoff|publisher=Intermediate Technology Publications|year=1996|isbn=978-1-85339-321-1}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ju5EAQAAIAAJ|title=Africa, Volume 68, Issues 3-4|author1=Diedrich Westermann|author2=Edwin William Smith|author3=Cyril Daryll Forde|publisher=International African Institute, International Institut|page=364|year=1998}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fLIXAQAAMAAJ|title=Memoirs of the American Anthropological Association, Issues 63–68|author=American Anthropological Association|year=1944}}</ref> When the Ẹgba resisted the imperial domination of the Ọyọ Empire, a figure named Lisabi is credited with either creating or reviving a covert traditional organization named ''Ẹgbẹ Aro''. This group, originally a farmers' union, was converted to a network of secret militias throughout the Ẹgba forests, and each lodge plotted and successfully managed to overthrow Ọyọ's ''Ajeles'' (appointed administrators) in the late 18th century.
Similarly, covert military resistance leagues like the ''Ekiti Parapọ'' and the ''Ogidi'' alliance were organized during the 19th century wars by often-decentralized communities of the Ekiti, Ijẹsa, [[Igbomina tribe|Ìgbómìnà]] and Okun Yoruba in order to resist various imperial expansionist plans of Ibadan, Nupe, and the [[Sokoto Caliphate]].