The Ada and Abere (Yoruba: Àdá àti Abẹ̀rẹ̀) are Yoruba ceremonial state swords used as symbols of royal authority. Comparable state swords, varying in form, function and local name, are also found in the royal traditions of the Edo, Fon and Ga, Itsekiri, some Ijaw polities and several Igbo polities.
Ada
=== Veneration of Ògún === As seen in the Orisha tradition, the Yoruba greatly revere their departed ancestors, and as such, have the belief that prayers offered to them are potent to procure temporal blessings. Ogun, one of the earliest kings of Ife, the totemic capital of the Yoruba nation, is venerated as the spirit of metal work and as a primordial Orisha of creativity, warfare, and technology. One of the most important objects in the cult of Ogun is the ceremonial Ada sword. This ceremonial sword is dedicated to him and is known by the name Ada-Ogun. Ogun devotees are afforded traditional respect in some courts which permit them to swear by a piece iron, in the same manner that Christians and Muslims swear to the Bible and the Quran.
Ada and Abere in Yorubaland and related ceremonial sword traditions
Oyo Empire
One of the most renowned state swords is the Ida-Oranyan (Oranyan's Sword), named after the legendary founder of the Oyo Empire and the Benin Kingdom. Whenever a new Alaafin was to be crowned, he was expected to go perform acts of reverence at the grave of Oduduwa and receive benediction. He then receives two items from Ife; The Ida Oranyan (Oranyan's consecrated sword of Justice), and the Igba Iwa (Calabash of existence) which are brought over. The sword was ceremoniously placed in his hands while the calabash was set before him to choose, but before then, the King-in-making had to swear an oath never to ever attack the territory of the kingdom of Ife. Without this being done, the king had no authority to order an execution and hence, no supreme judicial authority. In this practice the Sword of Justice symbolised the authority to make judgments over life and death. A similar coronation took place whenever the Alaafin sought to give authority to representatives within his empire/realm, he would give a sword of justice to the would be 'kingling', who would have a direct connection to the throne. The swords owned by Chiefs and Baales were rarely displayed except during important festivals or special occasions such as the coronation of an Oba or the installation of a chief.
Kingdom of Dahomey
The Kingdom of Dahomey had its own traditions of ceremonial swords. The hwi was a prestige or ceremonial sabre associated with high-ranking political and military officials, with variations in its decoration and form reflecting the status of its bearer. The gubasa was a ceremonial sword associated with Gu, the Fon deity of iron and war. Barnes and Ben-Amos describe it as an emblem of Gu and record a Fon tradition in which the creator carried Gu in the form of a gubasa while making the earth habitable for humanity. The gubasa also became an important element of royal imagery under King Glélé, appearing in works associated with his reign and with his identification with Gu and warfare.
Benin Kingdom
The Kingdom of Benin developed a distinct tradition of ceremonial swords centred on the ada and eben. The curved ada was closely associated with the authority of the Oba and was restricted principally to the monarch and a small number of high-ranking chiefs and priests. It was carried before the Oba during public appearances by pages known as emada, and historically symbolised, among other aspects of royal authority, the Oba's right to take life. The eben, by contrast, is a broad, leaf-shaped ceremonial sword used more widely by chiefs. It is raised and twirled in ceremonial dances as an expression of chiefly status and homage to the Oba and the royal ancestors. Susan Mullin Vogel notes that on one eighteenth-century royal staff, two ada flank a single eben. She interprets the two ada as an image of the king's domination over the chiefs of the realm, represented by the eben between them. Kathy Curnow records an account from Chief Osa that his founding ancestor came from Ife with three avanaka, one each for himself, the Oba and the Ine of Igun. Chief Osa stated that in earlier times the avanaka was used for ada and eben.
== Archaeology == Whether for ceremonial use, or for conventional use, it is evident that swords across these cultures have taken on varied identities, and many early oral traditions point to Ife as a source of their royal authority. Archaeological discoveries of ancient sword carvings of both types in rock as well as stone sculptures belonging to the period of early Ife monuments and 'fluorescence era' (1000 — 1400 CE) have been found in Ife and its immediate surroundings. One such example are the Ada and Abere carvings in relief from the Agidi grove, 9 miles south of the urban centre of Ife, within the Ife Kingdom, visited by archaeologist Kenneth Murray in May 1945, and Frank Willett in 1957. Agidi is an Ife personage said to have lived between Oduduwa and Obalufon. Another such example is the Ada Eledisi (The sword of Eledisi) in Ife. Yet another figure from the site of Igbo Orodi was sculpted holding a curved sword in its left hand and an Irukere (fly whisk) in its right with iron pegs on its body like the granite Oranmiyan staff in Ife.
== Contemporary issues == On the 22nd of November, 1957, an incident occurred in the Western Region of Nigeria. A pamphlet was produced by the Western Nigeria information service describing the new mace of office presented to the parliament at Ibadan. The pamphlet was criticized by the ethnic minorities of the region as having what was described as "traditional Yoruba patterns" and "four ceremonial swords in silver"; symbols which were Yoruba heraldic insignia symbolizing the power/authority of 'chiefs' in Yorubaland. These criticisms stemmed from a perception of marginalization by the region's ethnic minorities who feared Yoruba domination and perceived these symbols as too "Yoruba-centric" (at the time). Eventually, it was found out that the symbols in question were just as symbolic in Benin as they were among the Yoruba people, including the fact that the Olu of Warri just had one such sword carried before him at a hearing about the rights of minorities in contemporary Nigeria.
== See also == Ife empire Oyo empire Fon people Benin Kingdom Attribution:
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