Ipetu-Ijesa, also called Ipetu-Aro Odo among its inhabitants, is a town in Oriade local government area, Osun State, Nigeria. It is located in the western part of Nigeria, about 40 km from Ile-Ife and 37 km from Akure (capital of Ondo State). The people are of the Yoruba ethnic group, and the title of the traditional king of Ipetu-Ijesa is Ajalaye of Ipetu-Ijesa.
The area borders various cities and towns, including parts of Ijebu-Jesa, Erinmo, Erin-Ijesa, Erin-Oke, Ipo Arakeji Ijesa, Ikeji-Ile, Ira-Ikeji, Omo-Ijesa and Ile Oluji.
The women of Ipetu-Ijesa are renowned for their mat weaving skills. The mats are made from a local long fibrous grass called "Eni Uran" in the local dialect. The men are mostly farmers.
These are the Kings that reigned in the land according to the royal record:
The origin of Ipetu-Ijesa, like the earliest history of most other world societies, is shrouded in mystery but can be constructed through oral tradition. The first official history of Ipetu-Ijesa was compiled by the Ipetu Improvement Union (or IMU) in response to the order of the then Divisional Officer, who wanted to find out the roots of the incessant fighting between the ÃÂjeṣàs. This attempt was very short and was printed as a pamphlet. However, a major work was done by one of the sons of the land, Mr. J.O. Ogunjulugbe, in his outstanding book The History of Ipetu-Ijesa, which was first published in 1975. The short history written in this article is adapted from this book.
Ipetu-Ijesa was founded some centuries ago. It was first settled when á»Âlá»ÂÃÂfin, the son of OdùduwÃÂ, left Ilé-Ifẹà(the cradle of the Yorùbás) with his children and grandchildren and travelled in the direction of the âÂÂÃÂjámá»ÂÃÂâ forest â a big forest between ÃÂjẹÃÂbú, Ilé-Ifẹàand Oùdó. Among the children who travelled with him were ÃÂsemá»ÂÃÂwẹÃÂ, ÃÂwùjalè, á»Âba ÃÂdó, Gbógun, Egúnrin, ÃÂsùrìndó, á»ÂlábÃÂdànrè and á»ÂÃÂdúnwo-ÃÂgbólú. ÃÂsemá»ÂÃÂwẹàwas a daughter of á»Âlá»ÂÃÂfin, while Egúnrin was a son. ÃÂsùrìndó was the father of á»ÂlábÃÂdànrè, who is the founder of ÃÂpètu. The name ÃÂpètu or ÃÂpètu has nothing to do with Etu (antelope). The detractors of Ipetu Aro Odo encouraged that assumption to become Ipetu's history for the purpose of exploitation, especially at the time of Igbó ÃÂjìkà's conflicts.
ÃÂpetu got her name from an unusual incident which happened when the children of Olofin were still proceeding on the march of migration and founding towns. There were two hunters who accompanied á»Âlá»ÂÃÂfin and his retinue from Ilé-Ifẹàto the ÃÂjámá»Âàforest. The names of these hunters were âÂÂÃÂjaâ and âÂÂÃÂgúnâÂÂ. ÃÂja was a path tracker who was very versed in the knowledge of the paths in the forest. It was these two men who escorted á»Âlá»ÂÃÂfin and his people to where they sojourned. Hence the reference to âÂÂIgbó ÃÂjámá»ÂÃÂâ (the forest that ÃÂja knew). Here, the children of á»Âlá»ÂÃÂfin started to disperse. The ÃÂwùjalẹàleft for ÃÂjẹÃÂbúland. á»Âlá»ÂÃÂfin and the rest of his children went further until they came to a place called âÂÂẸpẹâÂÂ. It was there that ÃÂsemá»ÂÃÂwẹàand her husband left the party for Airo and later went further to found Oùdó. á»Âlá»ÂÃÂfin went further still and settled at á»Âta-ÃÂpẹÃÂtẹànear IlẹÃÂ-OlújìÃÂ. According to traditional historians, the IlẹÃÂ-Olújìàpeople were á»Âlá»ÂÃÂfin's gate-keepers (or âÂÂẸÃÂkùâÂÂ, which means door). They are still known by this name today.
Between the present Ile Oluji and the present Ipetu, the ẸÃÂkùs were aggrieved against ÃÂsùrìndó, the father of á»ÂlábÃÂdànrè. á»ÂlábÃÂdànrè had allegedly sacrificed three ẸÃÂkùs to a god. As a result of this, the ẸÃÂkùs decided to kill á»ÂlábÃÂdànrè as revenge. One day, they found á»ÂlábÃÂdànrè in a house alone without his father ÃÂsùrìndó. They surrounded the house and set it on fire. They were certain that the end of á»ÂlábÃÂdànrè had come, he would either be burnt with the house or he would try to escape and fall into their hands. His father ÃÂsùrìndó was alerted of his son's danger. He quickly sent Egúnrin and á»Âdunwò-ÃÂgbólú to go and rescue his son. This was a very difficult task that was physically impossible, so the two men resorted to using supernatural means and utilized a traditional incantation called ÃÂpètu. As they chanted the incantation, á»ÂlábÃÂdànrè was ejected from the house without the ẸÃÂkùs seeing him and landed at the place where his father was. From that day, he was referred to as ÃÂpètu, meaning the one that was called and ejected out of danger with incantations.
This soon became his family name, so much so that all his children were called by it. As a consequence of this incident, the life of á»ÂlábÃÂdànrè was no longer safe among the ẸÃÂkùs. For this reason, á»Âlá»ÂÃÂfin had to give him a number of people and instruct him to go and settle somewhere else between á»Âta-ÃÂpẹÃÂtẹ and a place where there were three Akòko trees near the River á»ÂÃÂni.
á»Âlá»ÂÃÂfin was somehow conscious of the settlement of the ẸÃÂrìn people on the other side of the River á»ÂÃÂni. After á»ÂlábÃÂdànrè - now sìmply known as ÃÂpètu - left á»Âta-ÃÂpẹÃÂtẹ, Gbógun, one of the members of the team founded á»ÂÃÂrá»ÂÃÂta (which is today known as ÃÂdànrè). á»ÂÃÂdúnwo-ÃÂgbólú went on to found ẸÃÂfá»ÂÃÂn-Aláayè, while á»Âba-ÃÂdó went and founded Benin. The other children of á»Âlá»ÂÃÂfin stayed with Gbógun without founding new settlements.
Apetu and his people first settled at ÃÂpotì after leaving á»Âta-ÃÂpẹÃÂtẹ. He gave various titles to his followers for the purposes of effective administration. These titles were carbon copies of those given at á»Âta-ÃÂpẹÃÂtẹ: RÃÂsà, á»ÂÃÂdá»ÂÃÂfin, Ẹjẹmu, ÃÂró, ẸlẹÃÂmá»Â, Asába, á»ÂÃÂdá»Âlá»ÂÃÂfin, á»ÂÃÂdá»Âlé, Asàmá»Â, Lóóyìn, Lógurò and so on. Most of the á»Âlá»ÂÃÂfin's descendants bear these chieftaincy titles in their respective places of settlement. After leaving á»Âta-ÃÂpẹÃÂtẹ and ÃÂpotì, ÃÂpètu and his people settled at Oródì, where they planted many kolanut trees. This forest where they planted kolanut trees is now known as âÂÂIgbó-ÃÂjìkàâ (i.e. ÃÂjìkà's forest). Up until the present time, somewhere inside the forest is the rock that served as the boundary between Gbógun, the á»Âwá of ÃÂdànrè and ÃÂpètu. The name of this rock is âÂÂá»Âta ÃÂpinunâ (Rock of Decision). Here á»ÂlábÃÂdànrè died and was succeeded by his son, á»Âba Adébá»ÂÃÂlájá» ÃÂsÃÂpàtẹàkún. The names of the subsequent kings are listed above in their order of reigns.
It is worthy of mention to note that only the ÃÂgandò people had the sole right to the throne of ÃÂpètu. Later, after the people were well settled, some people came to settle with ÃÂpetu people at their present location; these people were sent to a place called ÃÂkè-á»Âwá. The reigning king asked his son to be the overlord of the place and report only the cases beyond his control to him. As from that time forward, all the male children of a king born on the throne would be sent to ÃÂkè-á»Âwá. As a result, selection of a new king is done from either ÃÂgandò or ÃÂkè-á»Âwá.
The town has been known in history by various names such as ÃÂpetu-ÃÂpótÃÂ, ÃÂpetu-á»Ârá»ÂÃÂpa, ÃÂpetu-Eléfòsán, ÃÂpetu-ÃÂrò Odò and recently some notable indigenes are advocating a change of name to the town's original name ÃÂpetu-ÃÂjàláyé. This is based on their observation (which has empirical evidence) that Ipetu has less of an affinity with the Ijesa people but more with ÃÂdànrè/Oùdó/ÃÂkìtì people. Ipetu-Ijesa was a creation of the late Reverend Olabode in the early 20th century. When he wanted to give a name to St Paul's Anglican Church, he referred to it as St. Paul's Anglican Church Ipetu-Ijesa to fit into a political grouping. This action changed the fortune and the history of Ipetu . It led to the town's numerous conflicts with Ilesa people on Igbó ÃÂjìkà, which is the inheritance of all Ipetu citizens. For the oral tradition, the most valuable sources are based in the palace, the chiefly houses and the priestly houses. As may be expected, accounts from such sources often differ in several important particulars.
As the Yoruba people were professional farmers, the need for productive lands might have arisen. It might have been the cause of their initial migration to the Ijamo forest, which was suitable for agriculture. This reason could not easily be disapproved because it was contained in part of the tradition existing amongst the royal bards.
Tourist sites in the area include Oluminrin Waterfalls, also known as Erin Ijesha Waterfalls, and a mat weaving market.
The College of Education of the Osun State University is located in Ipetu-Ijesa. The location of the university in the town boosts its economy.
In honour of one of the sons of the town, Air Chief Marshal Oluseyi Petinrin - who was a senior Nigerian Air Force officer and one-time Chief of the Defence Staff, the federal government created an air force school.
Osun College of Management Science (formerly Ipetu-Ijesa College of Technology) is another notable higher institution in the town of Ipetu-Ijesa.
Islam and Christianity are the dominant religions practised in Ipetu-Ijesa, with the majority of the inhabitants being Christians. St Paul's Cathedral, which houses the Bishop's throne of Ijesa North East Diocese (Church of Nigeria) Ipetu-Ijesa, is the town's oldest place of worship. It was established in 1897, when Christianity first came into the town. In recent years, the town has also seen a rise in other dominations of Christianity especially the Evangelicals like the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Foursquare Gospel Church and several others.
Ipetu-Ijesa is popular for its annual flogging competition (Opa festival). Other notable festivals in the town are the Eleworo festival and the Olotoporo masquerade festival, both of which are now dormant due to civilization.