In the early 1970s, when Nobel
Laureate Wole Soyinka wrote his play, Death and the King’s Horseman, he
embalmed a portion of Yoruba culture which suggests that there is a connection
between the world of the living, the world of the dead and the world of the
unborn.
Based on real events, Soyinka
narrated how it was a norm for Elesin Oba, known as the king’s horseman, the
king’s horse, and the king’s dog to all die in a suicide ritual done after the
king’s passing. The trio — Elesin Oba, the horse and the dog — were expected to
go on to serve the king in the afterlife.
But in Ogbomoso, outside
Soyinka’s play, one king’s tortoise, who connected all three worlds presented
by the Nobel laureate, defied these odds to become the most popular animal in
southwest Nigeria today. This animal is none other than the great reptile of
Ogbomoso, fondly called Alagba (elderly one) — for its length of years.
Alagba was reported to have been
brought into the palace by Isan Okumoyede, the third king of Ogbomoso who
reigned from 1770 to 1797. This tortoise has gone from being a king’s pet to
being a companion for kings, and it is eventually on its way to becoming a
deity in the history of the kingdom.
‘PEOPLE ASK IF ALAGBA IS ALIVE BEFORE THEY ASK IF OUR KING IS’
 |
| Jimoh Oladunni Ajagungbade, Soun of Ogbomoso |
Adedeji Atiba, an Erastus Mundus
scholar in Poland who hails from Ogbomoso, says Alagba “was more than an
animal… he was a symbol of the Ogbomoso township”.
Atiba, who is currently in Spain,
said that anywhere he goes and tells people he is from Ogbomoso, they
ask him if Alagba is still alive before they ask about the wellbeing of the king.
“I don’t know how to explain it.
But one could say he was almost as popular as the king,” Atiba said
“When you tell people you are
from Ogbomoso, people will ask you about the veracity of the fact that Alagba
is 300+ years old. Then they will ask if it is still alive before they ask if
our king is alive.”
Alagba may have outlived many
kings, but the king who is said to have catered for him the most is the only
king of Ogbomoso in the last three centuries to have outlived the elderly one.
Toyin Ajamu, the private
secretary to the soun (king) of Ogbomoso, Oladunni Oyewumi, said his principal
used private resources to cater to Alagba during his lifetime.
“Alagba had lived in the palace
for centuries. The tortoise played host to many monarchs in Ogbomoso in the
past,”Ajamu said.
“Alagba became popular because
Oba Oladunni Oyewumi used his personal resources to cater for her well being.
The tortoise had two staff members of the palace, dedicated to her.”
‘ALAGBA ATE POUNDED YAM, AMALA’
Samuel Ojo, one of the dedicated
carers, said in a 2018 interview that he had taken care of the tortoise for
many years and knows what goes on in the palace.
Speaking on what his food
routine, Ojo said Alagba “eats every food eaten by any Omoluabi (Yoruba for
person of honour)”. He loved pounded yam.
“Alagba eats rice, pounded yam,
amala, sweet drinks, and fruits, such as pawpaw, water melon… basically
anything Omoluabi eats. In addition to this, he eats grass. We human beings
also eat grass, but our grass is vegetable, ewedu, and so on,” Ojo said.
“There is no food you give him,
no drink you give him that he wont take.”
“According to the history we
heard, this is about the 20th king he is serving, and one of the oldest, and
longest ruling monarch is the current king Oba Jimoh Oladunni,” Ojo said in
Yoruba language.
‘DRINKS WATER ONCE IN TWO WEEKS’
 |
| Alagba loved tourists |
Oladimeji Olaleke, one of the
king’s steward and also catered to Alagba, added that old one has a bath every
Saturday, and drinks water only once in two weeks.
Olaleke, who carries the king’s
umbrella, said “there is nothing he does not eat, he eats what we eat, and he
drinks water only once in two weeks. Once. And twice in a month”.
“When wants to drink water, he
comes to the palace entrance, that’s the cue we get when he wants to drink
water. He would drink about four litres of water, and in 15 minutes, he is done
drinking it.
“We bath him every Saturday,” he
added.
Ismail Adedokun, another king
steward who was born in the palace, said the tortoise has become very important
in the entire Yorubaland.
“If we look through all the
palaces in Yorubaland, this manner of animal is scarce. As we are here now, if
he does not approve of this interview, he won’t accept being filmed, he would
retract into its shell,” Adedokun said.
He added that Alagba, who has
become a significant symbol in Yorubaland, loves having children and tourists
around, and gets really playful when any of them come visiting.
HOW OLD WAS ALAGBA?
 |
| At 187, Jonathan, a giant turtle, is regarded in the west as the world’s oldest animal. |
Before his death, there had been
many questions over Alagba’s age. While the palace claimed he was over 300
years old, the west said historical records suggest otherwise. To make a
questionable matter worse, the palace has no certain age for it.
A 2011 report by NTA News24
claimed that the tortoise was 330 years old, suggesting he would have been 338
years old at the time of death in 2019. Sadly, in that same bulletin, the
reporter — in what looked like a slip — said that the tortoise was 325 years
old at the time, creating more doubts around the specific age.
The king’s stewards in the same
palace said in 2018 that the tortoise was 347 years old in 2018, making him
approximately 348 as at time of death.
The king said at the time that
the tortoise was more than 300 years old. He added that for about 60 years that
he had been close to the tortoise, the reptile had only taken ill once. Once in
60 years.
The second illness in 68 years
has proven fatal.
Reptile curator and experts told
the BBC, that it is unlikely for Alagba to have been as old as 300 years. They
claim that tortoise live for about 70 to 80 years, or 100 at best, adding that
the giant tortoise could live up to 200 years — but Alagba was no giant
tortoise.
BBC says the oldest tortoise and
animal in the world is believed to be Jonathan, an 187-year-old giant tortoise
who lives in St Helena.
Palace history says Alagba
reigned with Isan Okumoyede, who was king in 1770. If Alagba was born the year
Okumoyede took the throne, he would be 249 years old in 2019. If he was born
the year Okumoyede died, which is very unlikely, he would have been 222 years
old, making him older than Jonathan on both accounts, and the oldest animal in
the world.
Worthy of note is the fact that
Jonathan’s carers do not know his exact age — they began counting the years
when he was brought to St. Helena. He is originally from Seychelles. Adwaita,
another Seychelles tortoise who lived in Kolkota, India, was said to have lived
for 255 years.
Based on palace estimates, Alagba
would be between 300 and 348 years old. To be near exact, some carbon dating
may be required.
Even in death, Alagba is still
fighting for his place as the oldest being of the 21st century.
FAGUNWA AND THE AFTERLIFE
 |
| Aruna and Imade in 1973. Photo Credit: Bob Golding |
Are the most popular animals in
Nigeria all dead? Yes and no — it solely depends on who you are asking. In
2006, the University of Ibadan Zoological Gardens lost Imade, its most popular
gorilla, who had lost her husband, Aruna, in 1995. Both have been embalmed and
are on display at the zoo.
Like Imade and Aruna, Alagba is
gone — but his memories are with us.
Before Soyinka, Daniel Fagunwa,
better known as D. O. Fagunwa, reputed as the pioneer of Yoruba-language
novels, also spoke of animals and the afterlife many times in his novels. In
fact, Ologbo Ijakadi, one of the main characters in Fagunwa’s 1949 novel Ireke
Onibudo was described as a tough and cunny animal who was like a fox but had
the shell of a tortoise.
If there is an afterlife for
animals as the culture suggests, Alagba will be in heaven with Imade and Aruna
for their service to Nigeria, while Ologbo Ijakadi will be burning in hell —
for its disservice to humanity. Fagunwa and Soyinka have to be right.
Goodnight Alagba!
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com