Sixteen Sons of Oduduwa

About the Book

This is an epic play written in free verse on the Yoruba mythology which believes that Oduduwa, the first Ooni (ruler) of Ife (the earth) sent his sixteen sons to go and fetch the ocean water to cure his eyes which was going blind. The sixteen sons left home to search for the ocean water after the Ifa oracle foretold that the ocean water was the only source of regeneration for the blindness. The alternative was if the high priest of Orishanla, bestowed his divine healing through a special soap that foamed like the ocean water. Unfortunately, Orishanla’s sacred soap was not available to perform this ritual; therefore, Oduduwa had no other means but to send his sixteen sons to the ocean, which had moved far away from Ile-Ife since Oduduwa created the earth on top of the ocean water from the sacred landing spot in Ife. The sixteen sons left home riding horses for the journey in search of the ocean water. On their way through the forest, they were unexpectedly dispersed and took separate routes through the act of God, who dispersed them with whirlwind and clouds. In the end, only the youngest of the sixteen sons, named Obokun, came back home with the ocean water to cure the blind eyes of their father. The remaining fifteen stayed away on the road and founded new Kingdoms—Obokun later went back and founded his own kingdom in Ilesha.

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