Oranmiyan’s giant staff

If you are in Ile-Ife, you can easily develop an idea of what it feels like to be a giant.  Or at least you will form an idea of how the world appears to a giant. It is very likely that someone will tell you about the   staff of Oranmiyan, which is one of the […]

If you are in Ile-Ife, you can easily develop an idea of what it feels like to be a giant.  Or at least you will form an idea of how the world appears to a giant. It is very likely that someone will tell you about the   staff of Oranmiyan, which is one of the many sites  visitors like to  go to  in  the city. Oranmiyan was the sixth Ooni of Ife,and a giant, and Olukere-mude and Olojo are two festivals regularly held in Ife which are associated with  his staff. Nathaniel Ogunmola of the National Museum, Ile-Ife, commenting on Oranmiyan says “According to Ife oral tradition, Oranmiyan is one of the grandsons of Oduduwa. Oral tradition also says Oranmiyan was a warrior fighting wars of expansion. At  a point in time he founded the Oyo as well as the Benin empires.”
Oranmiyan’s tall   staff is actually the staff he used  in his day to day activities, so the traditional sources say, and this  simply means that Oranmiyan must have been a giant. The sources also agree upon this point. Oranmiyan certainly performed a number of deeds which were  giant in size, or  at least  of giant dimension, like rising from the grave to fight for his people when they were attacked. Is there an act, occuring either in literature or in oral sources, that  is truly greater than that? He did not only rise from the grave, he also gave his people a whistle, which  they were to blow whenever they needed his help. Then he would immediately rise from the grave when summoned. A whistle that could raise the dead?  This sounds like another giant deed of his.

Ogunmola also writing about the staff in Ife Art states “The staff is the most spectacular antiquity in Ile Ife and is believed to be one of the tallest stone sculptures south of the sahara. It is a granite column of about 18 feet 1 inch(5.5cm)in height and  about 4 feet square in width at the base… The belief is that it was erected on the spot where Oranmiyan was originally buried; however, an archaeological investigation has proved otherwise.”
Another interesting point is that several iron studs have been driven into the staff. Again, Ogunmola comments “The iron studs on Oranmiyan’s staff had been interpreted at various times as a diary of events in the life of Oranmiyan as a warrior.Some believe it represents  a record of festivals in Ile-Ife.”
In  an interview with Daily Trust, Ogunmola says that some hold the view that the iron studs represent  the number of bullets fired at Oranmiyan during the wars of expansion.
He adds “Johnson further interpreted the 62 iron studs in the middle of  the stone monolith to mean the number of years Oranmiyan spent to fight wars of expansion, while the 31 iron studs on either side  of the staff represent the number of years he stayed in Oyo and Benin respectively.In  his article referred to earlier, Ogunmola shows that “The written character on the staff actually gave us a clue to the fact that Yoruba at a point in history had developed some forms of ancient writing that is evident in Ifa corpus… Oranmiyan  staff equally suggests  that carving in stone is part of the artistic tradition in Ile-Ife.”
He adds that the style and technique used, show that Ife must have had knowledge of iron working long before the coming of the Europeans. It is also on record that the stone monolith fell down twice  as a result of heavy rainstorms, between the years 1884 and 1953. The Oranmiyan staff is also connected   with  the installation rites  for both the Ooni  of Ife as well as the Alafin of Oyo. Ogunmola writes “Before an Alafin is enthroned/crowned, part of his installation rites requires that he must come physically to Oranmiyan grove for a very important rite and the ceremony of receiving sword of authority, before he could be crowned as Alafin. Thus  the rites symbolize his authority and legitimacy on the throne.”
It  has also been said that Yoruba generals before going to war in the past, usually come to Ife and offer sacrifices to the deity of Oranmiyan and the staff to ensure victory. Beside  war situations, today people also  come to pray before the staff, Ogunmola says.