Making sense of the people to people of (Odo Ayanyelu) Ijesha-Ijebu

Roots, trunks, branches, and leaves

I do not know if I am ready to take on this onerous task, an activity my father has been working on plotting the genealogies of the people of Odo Ayanyelu of Ijebuland, not Epe, more commonly known as Ijesha-Ijebu in Ogun State and quite different from Ijebu Ijesha in Osun State.

One cannot help the fascination with names and nicknames along with the legends and stories that explain the relationships between the people, the families, the age-grades and animist institutions that represent the cultural identities of the people of Ijesha-Ijebu.

The document needs extensive formatting, probably the use of genealogy software with it being put online for others to fill in the gaps, for there are many. I learnt new names, especially of my maternal grandfather who died over 4 years before I was born.

Building the links

The task if I should extricate myself from this Garden of Gethsemane travail of wondering if this cup might pass from me to another, for this is no task to take lightly. The impression I have is to have this transferred to an online genealogy application with unlimited generational relationship and point-click referencing that would allow visitors to the page to research individuals, add notes, extend scopes and grow the trees.

The deeper work would be contacting descendants, families, relations, and friends to put flesh on the bones, the incomplete and missing parts that could become a tapestry of communal significance.

It needs to be done and refined, all credit goes to my father, Otunba J. O. Akintayo, who has through his life and still now continues to serve the community of Ijesha-Ijebu in formidable and exemplary ways. I would think about this in due course.