Oba's crown

Beaded Crown

An Oba's crown represents the highest level of authority vested in Yoruba rulers. Referred to as an Adé, the bead-embroidered crown is the foremost attribute of the ruler and the greatest mark of honour and sanction of divine authority together with the "Opa Ase" (scepter of Authority)[1] and the Odigba/Ejigba (royal collar of beads).[2] An Oba's crown may also be referred to as an Adé ńlá, literally: Big Crown. Ade in Yorubaland are elaborate conical head gears that feature a heavily beaded veil and fringes that shields or obscure the face.

Below the Ade are the Akoro which are smaller coronets worn by regional rulers under the suzerainty or authority of a more powerful provincial or regional Oba, or Obas who were essentially vassals under the Emperor of an empire.[3] The titles of Oloja and Baale are two titles that are known to wear Akoro in Yorubaland rather than an Ade which they do not possess the right to wear.[4][5]

In his article on the topic, Robert F. Thompson writes, "The crown incarnates the intuition of royal ancestral force, the revelation of great moral insight in the person of the king, and the glitter of aesthetic experience."[6]

  1. ^ Oyěwùmí, Oyèrónkẹ́ (1997). The Invention of Women: Making an African Sense of Western Gender Discourses. U of Minnesota Press. p. 94. ISBN 978-0-8166-2441-6. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
  2. ^ The Dancing Palm Tree and Other Nigerian Folktales. Texas Tech University Press. 1990. p. 93. ISBN 978-0-89672-216-3. Retrieved 8 October 2024.
  3. ^ Johnson, Samuel (1966). The History of the Yorubas: From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the British Protectorate. Cambridge University Press. p. 8. ISBN 978-1-108-02099-2. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  4. ^ Fraser, Douglas; Cole, Herbert M. (1972). African Art and Leadership. Univ of Wisconsin Press. p. 210. ISBN 978-0-299-05824-1. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  5. ^ "King Chronicles: Not All Crowns Are Created Equal". Obafemio.com. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  6. ^ Thompson, Robert F. (1972). Douglas Fraser and Herbert M. Cole (ed.). African art & leadership. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press. pp. 227–260. ISBN 0299058204.