Oyotunji: A Yoruba Kingdom in the United States of America (USA)



Oyotunji African Village is a village located near Sheldon, Beaufort County, South Carolina that was founded by Oba Efuntola Oseijeman Adelabu Adefunmi I in 1970. Oyotunji village is named after the Oyo empire, a pre-colonial Yoruba kingdom lasting from the 1300s until the early 1800s in what is now southwestern Nigeria. The name literally means “O̩yo̩ returns” or “O̩yo̩ rises again” or “O̩yo̩ resurrects” referring to the African Yoruba kingdom of Oyo, now rising in a new form near the South Carolina seashore.

Oyotunji village covers 27 acres (11 ha) and has a Yoruba temple which was moved from Harlem, New York to its present location in 1960. It was originally intended to be located in Savannah, Georgia, but was eventually settled into its current position after disputes with neighbors in Sheldon proper, over drumming and tourists.

Oyotunji was intended to follow the model of Yoruba villages in terms of layout, politics, and social relations while also incorporating some Fon traditions from the kingdom of Dahomey.

Along the road approaching Oyotunji African Village in Sheldon, South Carolina, a sign is posted in both Yoruba and English:

“You are leaving the United States. You are entering Yoruba Kingdom. In the name of His Highness King Efuntola, Peace. Welcome to the Sacred Yoruba Village of Oyo Tunji. The only Village in North America built by Priests of the Orisha Voodoo Cults as a tribute to our Ancestors. These Priests preserve the customs, laws, and religion of the African Race.”

HOW OBA EFUNTOLA ADEFUNMI I FOUNDED OYOTUNJI

During the slave trade era, many Africans were taken as slaves abroad. While going, some left with their culture and tradition which they continued within the foreign land where they found themselves. They continued with the culture and tradition of their fathers so as to maintain their identity.

The Yorubas in slavery are among the Africans that maintained their culture in the strange land and it was handed down to their children from generation to generation.

Many of their children, after the abolition of the slave trade, have married children of their former masters thus having children of mixed blood, that notwithstanding, they still carry on with their African culture in the foreign land since most of them cannot trace their root back to Africa.

The Yoruba culture has been one of the prominent and most celebrated one throughout the world till date. In the faraway United States of America, there is a Yoruba community named O̩yo̩tunji African Village. It is located near Sheldon, Beaufort County, South Carolina.

O̩yo̩tunji is regarded as North America’s oldest authentic African village. It was founded in 1970 and is the first intentional community in North America, based on the culture of the Yoruba and Benin tribes of West Africa.

It has survived 51years of sustaining the Yoruba traditional sociology and values in the diaspora. The village is named after the O̩yo̩ Empire, and the name literally means “O̩yo̩ returns” or “O̩yo̩ rises again” or “O̩yo̩ resurrects”. The village occupies 27 acres of land.

O̩yo̩tunji was founded by His Royal Highness O̩ba (King) Waja, O̩funto̩la Oseijeman Adelabu Adefunmi I.

Born Walter Eugene King on October 5, 1928, Oba O̩funto̩la Oseijeman Adelabu Adefunmi I, a Detroit native, began studying Afro-Haitian and ancient Egyptian traditions as a teenager. He was further influenced by his contact with the Katherine Dunham Dance Troupe in New York City at the age of 20, an African American modern dance troupe that drew from many cultures within the African Diaspora.

August 26, 1959, O̩ba Waja became the first African born in America to become fully initiated into the Oris̩a-Vodoo African priesthood by African Cubans in Matanzas, Cuba, and became known as Efuntola Osejiman Adefunmi. After his return to the United States, he formed the Yoruba Temple in Harlem in 1960. The temple, committed to preserving African traditions within an American context, was the cultural and religious forerunner of Oyotunji Village.

He later traveled to Haiti where he discovered more about the Yoruba culture. Armed with a new understanding of the African culture, he found the order of Damballah Hwedo, Ancestor Priests in Harlem New York.

This marked the beginning of the spread of the Yoruba religion and culture among African-Americans. He later founded the Sàngó Temple in New York and incorporated the African Theological Arch Ministry in 1960. The Sàngó Temple was relocated and renamed the Yoruba Temple.

With the rise of black nationalism in the 1960s, King began to envision the construction of a separate African American nation that would institutionalize and commemorate ancestral traditions. In June of 1970, he fulfilled this vision with the creation of Oyotunji African Village.

It was during this time that he also established a new lineage of the priesthood, Orisha Vodoo, to emphasize the tradition’s African roots. Today, over 300 priests have been initiated into this lineage and the African Theological Archministry, founded by Oba O̩funto̩la Oseijeman Adelabu Adefunmi I in 1966, now serves as the umbrella organization for the Village.

To further his knowledge of Yoruba culture, he traveled to Abeokuta in Nigeria in 1972 where he was initiated into the Ifa priesthood by the Oluwo of Ije̩un at Abeokuta, Ogun state, in August of 1972. He was later proclaimed Alase̩ (Oba-King) of the Yoruba of North America at O̩yo̩tunji Village in 1972.

In its early years, Oyotunji Village was home to as many as two hundred people. Today, its residential community consists of few African American families, governed by an oba (king) and the community’s appointed council.

Each family is committed to the teachings of the Yoruba tradition, which include a religious understanding of the world as comprised primarily of the “energies” of the Supreme Being Olodumare, the orisha deities, and the ancestral spirits. This religious world is maintained spiritually through rituals, chants, music, sacrifice, and annual ceremonies.

Oba Efuntola Osejiman Adefunmi passed away on Thursday, February 10th, 2005 at O̩yo̩tunji African Village in Beaufort County, South Carolina. Since Adefunmi’s death in 2005, the village has been led by his son, the fourteenth of twenty-two children of Oba Efuntola Osejiman Adefunmi, till date.

The O̩ba title is referred to as “O̩lo̩yotunji” of O̩yo̩tunji.

OBA ADEJUYIGBE ADEFUNMI II

After Oba Adefunmi I’s death in 2005, the Village has continued under the leadership of his son, Oba Adejuyigbe Adefunmi II who updated Oyotunji’s structure and goals. Focusing on sustainability projects, the Village serves as a retreat from the pressures of the wider society. Potential residents can buy land in Oyotunji. Short-term visitors can also visit the Village for research, tourism, education, spiritual consultations, festivals, and overnight lodging.

HRM Oba Adejuyigbe Adefunmi II began his destiny on earth on December 21, 1976. Born the 14th child of 22 children to His Royal Highness Oba Efuntola Adefunmi I, and the third child of five born to Iya Esu Ogo Oyewole.

King Adejuyigbe Adefunmi II was raised in the Kingdom of Oyotunji African Village and began drumming at the age of seven. He was rooted in the traditional lifestyle of the Oyotunji African Village settlement in North America and witnessed thousands of Africans in America that came to his father’s Kingdom in search of broadening their cultural awareness.

An extraordinary listener and attentive history student, the young King, under the teachings of H.R.H. Adefunmi I, was entrenched in the traditions and culture of his ancestors; the Yoruba people of Southwestern Nigeria and Benin. He was rooted in the traditional lifestyle of Oyotunji African Village settlement in North America. King Adejuyigbe Adefunmi II witnessed thousands of Africans in America that came to his father’s Kingdom in search of broadening their cultural awareness.

By the time of his graduation from the Yoruba Royal Academy, King Adejuyigbe Adefunmi II was an initiate of several sacred Egbes (African societies) to name a few: Egbe Egungun, Egbe Obatala, Egbe Onilu ayan, Egbe Akinkonju. Not the least of which would be the Prince’s entrance into Igbodu, the society of the Fathers of Mystery in the worship of Orunmila.

Traveling throughout the United States and the Caribbean in the entourage of his Father, King Adejuyigbe reflects:

“It was an amazing opportunity to observe my Baba, the Alase of Oyotunji, in all the commands and demands of being a King. I also observed, through his service to Africans in America and the undertaking of spiritual responsibilities to the tribal family within the village, and the toll it took on him.”

As a young man, King Adejuyigbe followed his first love of drumming and touring nationally and internationally performing Reggae, and African music playing alongside notables artist such as “The Wailers”, “Inner Circle”, “Freddie McGreggor”, “Junior Gong Marley”, “India Arie”, and countless others.

The development of a wide diversity of entrepreneurial skills as well as years of hard work and training in carpentry and administration on Dopkwe, (Oyotunji construction), gave birth to the “Stucco Kings” company In 2001, King Adejuyigbe moved to Key West, Fla. as an artist in residency at the Lofton B. Sands African Bahamian Museum.

King Adejuyigbe Adefunmi ll lead the team in idealizing, planning, and constructing a full-scale African Village. King Adejuyigbe Adefunmi II made many valuable contributions to the education and cultural expansion of the African American population in Key West giving daily lectures and classes to students from the Monroe County, Fla. schools.

King Adejuyigbe Adefunmi II became the King of Oyotunji on July 3, 2005, thus continuing a legacy of Yoruba Kings in America that has been confirmed and supported by the Ooni of Ile-Ife (the King of the holy city of Ife) thousands of Yoruba Americans came to celebrate the Royal Coronation.

Following the Royal Coronation, HRM traveled to The Holy city of Ile-Ife and was crowned by the Ooni of Ife just as his father did on Nov. 16, 1981. HRM was also invited to Ophia Ketou, the Republic of Benin for extensive ceremonies of installation.

When asked what His Majesty looks forward to the most, following in the footsteps of his Father, he says:

“the passion of my heart at this point in my journey is twofold, to fulfill my Baba’s vision for the Kingdom of Oyotunji in its ultimate beauty and to pass to the next generations our customs, traditions, cultural lifestyle, and skills in a way that serves the betterment of our world and its people”.

Our focus is the practical application of ancient African traditions and culture in a modern time utilizing our ancient African worldview to guide us while providing nature based solutions, the earth is our religion, and if you do not care for our mother you are disrespecting the Orisa”.

Oba Adefunmi II further aspires to increase to all peoples and cultures of the world the practical value for ancient traditions today!

In an interview, Oba Adejuyigbe Adefunmi II said:

“The reason my father the late king chose to resurrect the act of polygamy is because naturally, there are more women than men on earth and if every man and woman got together, there would be a country full of women who would be alone. The idea is that our marriages are not sanctioned by the state.

We never looked to the government or the state for approval or money, we have our own kingdom. There is a sign before you step into Oyotunji that says you are now leaving the United States of America and entering the sacred voodoo kingdom of Orisa priest, we have the laws of our people.

Basically, we are letting people know that you are leaving the mindset of America and entering with the mindset of an African. That means you may see things you do not understand and it may be different. At Oyotunji, we issue our own documentation for marriage, so your marriage is based on religion rather than politics.

Even our school in the kingdom is sanctioned by Oyotunji. In 1981, Oyotunji was issued a religious charter to operate under a 501C3 status, a non-profit status and it is called the ATA, the African Theological Arch-ministry. So, we are a product of the ATA. This is the business and “legal” arm of Oyotunji.

So we are a tax-exempt organization, so we do not pay tax to the state because we are basically considered as a church to the American government or a large religious institution. So we never look to the American government for approval.

“My wives are in Canada, Atlanta, Oyotunji, Virginia, and different places. African people always did things upfront as opposed to doing it closed doors. European people would sneak out of the big house, go into the plantation and sleep with all the slave girls, then sneak back into the house like nothing ever happened.

That is not the case with African men. I like to quote the great Fela Kuti who said that African men don’t run around the street chasing women. Instead, he brings the women to his house and surrounds himself with them as he sits in one spot. At Oyotunji everybody does not practice polygamy, it is reserved for only the people that can afford it. It requires a lot of money and land. That scares people away from polygamy and I think I am the only Yoruba in North America that I know who practices polygamy”,

In the same interview, he continued:
“Our education is based on our culture. In Oyotunji, we have our own school, we had to educate ourselves because we could not let the Oyinbos teach our children about Plato, Aristotle, Greek and all these things, we grew up learning about the ancient kingdoms, like Ile Ife, Accra, Ashanti, Ouagadougou, all those great kingdoms of our great extended African ancestors.

For a long time, people were not allowed to get jobs outside Oyotunji. Baba looked down on you if you went to get a job outside the village because he believed that we worked for the Oyinbos for over 200 years, now you should work to build an African nation in North America.

So for the first 30 years, all the income of Oyotunji came from Oyotunji. As time went on and population decreased because people started moving to other cities to take on other things, Baba encouraged his people to get jobs so that they could make their own money.

That was the time I went out and left Oyotunji to explore the outside world. I took up construction and started to learn the major conventional way of building houses and this is something we brought back to Oyotunji. Basically we were taught to go out, acquire something and bring it back to build our nation.

I was about 22 years old when I moved to California from there I went to Atlanta then I took up an artisan residence in Key West Florida. I took my both construction knowledge and my African knowledge to build a small village in Key West where the local people there could come and see the Yoruba culture in that little village.

It was when I was about 25 years old that I was called back to Oyotunji to assume the throne. I had to give up my fabulous life as a musician to become the king. I played with reggae bands and we travelled, stayed in hotels, met girls, drank, ate and made money. I travelled with a few bands in North America.

I performed rap music as well for many years, however, when it was time, they called me home and I had to give up everything in one day. I was living the good life, going to parties one day and the next day I was in Oyotunji dressed in black mourning dress for three months. We used the traditional coronation process as our ancestors did.”

HISTORY THROUGH PICTURES



OYOTUNJI AFRICAN VILLAGE TODAY

Now after 51years, the Kingdom of Oyotunji African Village continues to sustain and promote an appreciation for the “depth of culture, beautiful art, the grandeur of customs and resilient history of the New World Yoruba in the United States.”

In Oyotunji, you have to be married in order to own land. they don’t sell land but they give it to you based on your needs. If you need land, you would have to get a wife and write a petition to the Oba who would grant you some land. If you want to expand, then you can get more wives.

If you have more wives and children, the Oloyotunji would give you more land so that you would continue to build. You have to practice Yoruba etiquette, they do not have a moral system but an etiquette system which are some of the things that they expect you to do.

The ethics of Oyotunji require that you dobale (prostrate) when you see your elder or you ‘tesile’, that is when you touch the ground and kiss your hand. It is a form of respect. At Oyotunji, you have to wear the Yoruba aso (clothes).

Oyinbo (foreign) clothes are not necessarily permitted. They accept jeans and dashiki. Women are not allowed to wear pants. Sometimes if they have visitors that are wearing tight dresses, Oyotunji women would wrap them with a cloth to cover them up because this is the law.

They are cultural people and they have ways of doing things, not like the Oyinbo people. There is no fighting in the village and if there is a fight, the aggressor would have to pay. If you want to continue fighting, the elders would take you into the Igbo (forest) and both of you can continue. Once that is done, it is over.

Each person is required to pay an assessment to the crown. Young boys and girls are not allowed to fraternize and date like you have in the western society where you end up with teenage pregnancy. They have the men and women compounds. You also have to join your gender society at 14.

It is like the right of passage, the boys join the Akinkanju society (society of courage), while the girls join the egbe Moremi because their heroine is Moremi. All the women in Oyotunji strive to be like Moremi. The idea is that they utilize the laws and rules of Yoruba culture.

Many years ago, if they had a dance in Oyotuji men and women could not dance together unless you were married and even if you were married, there must be space between both parties while dancing but things are a bit relaxed now. You also have to report daily for community service.

Oyotunji represents a reshaping of African cultural and religious traditions while reflecting black nationalist trends. Black nationalist ideals ranged from racial consciousness and religious separatism to political independence and date back to the nineteenth century. Village residents enacted these tenets at Oyotunji by combining them with African-derived cultural and historical elements.

Oyotunji African Village is the first intentional community based on the culture of the Yoruba and Dahomey tribes of West Africa; founded (1970) in the Americas. Now in 2018, after over 45 years of sustaining the only Kingdom based on traditional Yoruba sociology and values, OAV brings to the Low-country and greater global community the depth of culture, beautiful art, the grandeur of customs, and resilient history of the New World Yoruba.

Oyotunji African Village is positioned as the pinnacle center for learning, exploring, and celebrating the ancient traditions and culture of the Yoruba people of present-day West Africa. The vision of this unprecedented institution lends itself to flowering into a national and international ethnic, cultural, resource, and service-based community. With goals to cultivate media production (print and audiovisual) facilities, ongoing sustainable agriculture/mariculture initiatives, as well as import/export and entertainment conglomerate business ventures.

The Kingdom of Oyotunji African Village’s core business is to serve in the elevation of humanity’s understanding and appreciation of the genius, highly technical, social, and Royal hierarchy of African people. The institution of OAV serves as a real-time reminder of the sociology and African world view contribution made to society by African ancestors of antiquity.

AFRICAN THEOLOGICAL ARCHMINISTRY (A.T.A.): The mission and vision of the African Theological Archministry (A.T.A) is to organize and create places of worship while preserving and teaching the spiritual technologies, cultures, and heritage of our Yoruba-based African ancestors. We commit to creating an institution that will inspire and empower all people to consider the use of ancient African traditions as a basis to revitalize ourselves, families, communities, oceans, rivers, lakes, animals, and soil.

The calling card of the African Theological Archministry is cultural restoration through innovation and serviceability. African Theological Archministry’s future goal is to cultivate a united inter-generational collection of traditional chiefs, leaders, dignitaries and African Traditional Religious devotees, and Pan-African professionals who share and distribute educational programs and materials dedicated to the spiritual, psychological, social, and economical freedom of people’s of African descent.

The village is also a destination for visitors who are encouraged to enjoy the following:

–The Trader’s Bazaar African Market located within Oyotunji African Village is a 25-year-old authentic African market operated by Village residents. Many hand-carved wooden statues, beaded jewelry, books, cloth, and traditional attire along with spiritual charms, soaps, and other products adorn the shelves of this market.

–On-site lodging for overnight stays: Oyotunji African Village visitors now have the opportunity to stay on-site within its newly renovated, hostel-styled Afrique.

–Festivals – The Kingdom of Oyotunji African Village hosts 14 annual traditional African Festivals and ceremonies that are open to the public from January until December.

–Cultural Education: OAV is positioned as the pinnacle center for learning, exploring, and celebrating the ancient traditions and culture of the Yoruba people of present-day West Africa.

— Eat, sleep and play without leaving the village: Meals are available on-site.

The Kingdom of Oyotunji African Village’s core business is to serve in the elevation of humanity’s understanding and appreciation of the genius, highly technical, social, and Royal hierarchy of African people. The institution of OAV serves as a real-time reminder of the sociology and African world view contribution made to society by African ancestors of antiquity.

REFERENCE/SOURCE

1. Seun Adeye̩mi
2. Oyotunji Website
3. The Sheets
4. Punch Ng
5. Pluralism

Written by Johnson Okunade

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