Ìbàdàn Mẹ́sì Ọ̀gọ́
Reading Ibadan Through Oral Memory
Ìbàdàn mẹ́sì ọ̀gọ́, ilé Olúyọ̀lé.
Ìlú Ògúnmọ́lá, olódogbo kẹ́rì lójú ogun.
Ìlú Ìbíkúnlé, alágbàlá jà-yà-jà-yà.
Ìlú Àjàyí, ẹni tí ń gbórí Ẹ̀fọ̀n ṣe fìlà-fìlà.
Ìlú Látòósà, Arẹ̀-Ọ̀nà Kakanfò.
Ìbàdàn ọmọ ajọ̀rò-sùn,
Ọmọ a jẹ igbín yó, fi ikarahun fọ́rí mú.
Ìbàdàn màjà-màjà bí ẹni tó jí kin-in-ni,
Ẹni tó ja aládùúgbò gbogbo lógun.
Ìbàdàn kì í bá ni ṣe ọ̀rẹ́,
Àì mú ẹni lọ sí ogun.
Ìbàdàn kúré!
Ìbàdàn bẹ̀rẹ̀ kí o tó wọ̀ ọ́.
Níbi olè gbé ń jàre ọlọ́hun.
Bí Ìbàdàn ṣe ń gbóná ilé,
Bẹ́ẹ̀ ni ó ń gba àjòjì.
Ẹlẹ́yẹ̀lé ni omi tí tèrù-tọmọ ‘Láyípò ń mu.
Aṣejírẹ̀ ni omi abùmù-buwè nílé Ìbàdàn.
A kì í wáyé ká má ní àrùn kan lára;
Ìjà ìgboro ni àrùn Ìbàdàn.
Reading the Oríkì
The Oríkì of Ibadan reveals a city that remembered itself through movement, warfare, migration, resilience, and power.
Unlike older sacred royal centers such as Ilé-Ifẹ̀ or old Ọ̀yọ́, nineteenth-century Ibadan emerged during a period of political instability and warfare following the collapse of the old Ọ̀yọ́ Empire.
The repeated military language within the Oríkì reflects this history. Ibadan remembers itself as a city forged through conflict, ambition, survival, and expansion.
The Oríkì also preserves the memory of important figures associated with Ibadan’s rise, including Ògúnmọ́lá, Ìbíkúnlé, Àjàyí, and Látòósà. Their presence within the praise poetry transforms the Oríkì into more than poetic celebration — it becomes a form of political and historical memory.
At the same time, the Oríkì references rivers, landscapes, hospitality, and everyday life, reminding us that Yoruba oral tradition preserved not only kings and warriors, but also geography, migration, environment, and social relationships.
Hidden histories
Beneath the celebrated military identity of Ibadan also exist quieter hidden histories:
- women who sustained markets and food systems,
- praise singers and oral custodians,
- families who maintained lineage continuity,
- migrants and traders who shaped urban life,
- and the unseen labor that made a powerful city possible.
Through oral tradition, Ibadan continues to remember itself not only as a war city, but as a living human community shaped by memory, movement, struggle, and survival.
This entry forms part of Royal History Museum’s ongoing Oral Tradition Initiative: “Preserving Yoruba Royal Heritage Through Oral Tradition and Digital Interpretation.”