Iye Idolorusan
Iye Idolorusan (also written Udolorolusan; died approximately 1870–1875), known to European traders as Queen Dola, was an Itsekiri princess, wealthy trader and political figure in the Kingdom of Warri. She became prominent during the succession crisis that followed the deaths of Olu Akengbuwa and his principal heirs in 1848.[1]: 214–216 Although a later biographical account describes her as a ruler who served as “a kind of regent”, she was never installed as Olu. In the Itsekiri account recorded by William A. Moore, Prince Eri, a son of Akengbuwa, was the person formally appointed as olotu, or regent.[2][3]: 91–93
Family and trade
Iye and her sister Uwala were daughters of Olu Erejuwa and Emaye. After Erejuwa's death, Emaye married his son and successor Akengbuwa, who was Erejuwa's son by another wife and therefore Iye's paternal half-brother. Emaye subsequently bore Akengbuwa three children, including the princes Omateye and Ejo.[1]: 214–215 [2]: 176
Lloyd's 1963 account states that Iye and Uwala founded Batere as a possible refuge for Omateye and Ejo should they have to flee from Ode-Itsekiri.[1]: 214 Moore gives a different account, stating that Akengbuwa ordered a settlement built at Batere for Omateye and his sisters after rivalry developed between Omateye and another prince, Agbagba.[3]: 63–66
Moore records that Iye was initially married to Ide of Eghoroke before marrying Omoku, a royal governor stationed at Bobi. Iye lived in her own settlement, Ajiye, in Bobi Creek. She and Omoku had a son, Tsanomi, whose name appears as Chanomi in British records and in Sheldon's biography.[3]: 66 [2]: 176 Iye accumulated considerable wealth through trade, and European merchants called her “Queen Dola”.[1]: 215
Succession crisis
Moore dates Akengbuwa's death to 14 June 1848 and Omateye's death to four days later. In his account, Ejo was briefly installed but died after three lunar months.[3]: 90–91 Lloyd gives the broader account that Akengbuwa and his two principal heirs died in rapid succession, with the deaths of Omateye and Ejo alleged to have resulted from unnatural causes. The crisis caused a large-scale departure from Ode-Itsekiri and the dispersal of members and dependants of the royal family.[1]: 214–215
The precise course of events at the capital is uncertain. Obaro Ikime, while cautioning that it could not be clearly reconstructed, summarizes a tradition in which Iye returned to Ode-Itsekiri and, with the assistance of Ebrimoni, established a council of state composed mainly of members of the royal family. Attempts to install another Olu failed because the leading candidates were considered ineligible on account of their maternal ancestry. Prince Eri was instead appointed olotu.[4]: 39–40
Moore's fuller traditional account states that Iye initially escaped to Okere during the violence and returned after it had subsided. She then headed a council containing royal princes, free citizens and leading royal retainers. According to Moore, Iye subsequently summoned Prince Eri from Gborodo and arranged the rites through which he was formally made olotu; meetings concerning the kingdom were thereafter held at his residence.[3]: 91–93
Relations with British officials
Ebrimoni was a senior enslaved royal retainer who had belonged successively to Iye and Omateye before returning to Iye. In March 1849, Commander Tudor of HMS Firefly visited the Benin River following complaints from European merchants. Tudor intended to travel to Ode-Itsekiri to meet Iye but did not do so. He instead concluded an agreement with Diare and Idibofun of Jakpa concerning the protection of commerce on the river.[1]: 215
Consul John Beecroft later reported that Ebrimoni collected the comey, or customs payments, from European ships and paid them to Iye. Lloyd interpreted this as suggesting that Iye and Ebrimoni were regarded as inheritors of some of the monarchy's commercial authority.[1]: 215 In 1851 Beecroft proposed installing Ebrimoni as Olu, but members of the royal family rejected the proposal because of Ebrimoni's enslaved status. When the royal factions remained unable to agree upon an Olu, Diare was instead selected as Governor of the Benin River.[1]: 215–217 [4]: 40
Later life
Iye continued to reside at Bobi. Her son Tsanomi later became Governor of the Benin River, holding the office from 1870 until 1879.[2]: 177 [4]: 75–76 Iye died sometime between approximately 1870 and 1875. The interregnum continued long after her death and ended with the installation of Ginuwa II on 7 February 1936.[2]: 176–177 [4]: 251–252
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Lloyd, P. C. (July 1963). "The Itsekiri in the Nineteenth Century: An Outline Social History". The Journal of African History. 4 (2): 207–231. doi:10.1017/S0021853700004035. JSTOR 179535.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Sheldon, Kathleen (2012). "Iye Idolorusan". In Akyeampong, Emmanuel Kwaku; Gates, Henry Louis Jr. (eds.). Dictionary of African Biography. Vol. 3. Oxford University Press. pp. 176–177. ISBN 978-0-19-538207-5.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Moore, William A. (1970) [1936]. History of Itsekiri (2nd ed.). London: Frank Cass. ISBN 978-0-7146-1701-5.
- 1 2 3 4 Ikime, Obaro (1969). Niger Delta Rivalry: Itsekiri-Urhobo Relations and the European Presence, 1884–1936. Harlow: Longmans. ISBN 978-0-582-64515-8.