Obalumo

Variant Ọbalúmọ̀ (or Ọba'lúmọ̀ , a contraction of Ọba Olúmọ̀), is the titular name of the founder-king of the ancient Ìsèdó-Olúmọ̀ city-state of the Igbomina-Yoruba. A classical translation of the title Ọba’lúmọ̀ is “The King, the Lord of Knowledge” or “King of the Lords of Knowledge” meaning “ Knowledgeable King,” a description which suggests that this founder-king of the Ìsèdó city-state, who is reputed in oral history to be a veteran hunter and warrior, was also a highly skilled Herbal doctor/pharmacognosist and Babalawo (a diviner priest of the Ifa oracle).

Some oral history ascribe a personal name of Tìímọ̀ (pronounced Tì-í-mọ̀) to the first King Ọba'lúmọ̀. Tìímọ̀ led one of the migrations from the Ọ̀bà kingdom perhaps as a result of the cyclic conflict with their Nupe neighbours to the north. The orature of the Ìsèdó people refer to their recent ancestry from King Ọba'lúmọ̀ (Ọmọ Ọba’lúmọ̀ n’Ìsẹ̀dó), their more remote ancestry from the Ọ̀bà kingdom (Ọmọ ọrọ̀ l’Ọbà), as well as to their more ancient royal ancestry from King Olúnlákin of Ọ̀bà (Ọm’Ọba Olúnlákin).

Results of recent archeological research of the region's contemporary and later settlements suggest that the Ìsèdó City-State commonly known as Ìsèdó-Olúmò (i.e. the Olúmò’s Ìsèdó), was established between the 10th and the 12th centuries by Òbà refugees (led by Oba'lúmò), displaced by internal wranglings within their former kingdom or/and the cyclic conflicts with the neighbouring Nupe to the north.

Oratures of ancient origin and oral-historians ascribe the role of land-grant authority to the Oba'lúmò of Ìsèdó. Some oral historians report that at the request of Oduduwa’s fourth son Òràngún, the region’s king Oba'lúmò gave land-grants to the later arriving Òràngún immigrants at a location sufficiently distant from Ìsèdó’s location. Another, seemingly more reliable version of the oral history, indicates that the land-grant occurred a few centuries later, when the faction of the younger of two quarreling princes arrived from the Ìlá Yàrà schism in the vicinity of the Oba'lúmò's Ìsèdó kingdom. This younger prince Arutu Oluokun founded Ila-Magbon but the new kingdom was forced to move within a short time to establish another settlement at Ila-Odo which is the settlement that became the modern Ìlá Òràngún.

An annual celebration called "Ìmárúgbó" (or "Òkùnrìn") festival was instituted between the two city-states during which the King Òràngún leaves his palace with his chiefs to pay a day-long homage to the King Oba'lúmò in the Oba'lúmò's palace. This is in partly in symbolic tribute to Oba'lúmò's land grant and his (Oba'lúmò's) precedence of him (the Òràngún) in the region, and partly in appreciation of Oba'lúmò's hosting of the Òràngún's elderly mother who could not continue with the immigrant party to their allocated land. The Òràngún's mother died in the palace of the Oba'lúmò and was buried at Ìsèdó, so the Òràngún also visits her grave. The Oba'lúmò's Ìsèdó has been virtually engulfed by the modern Ila Orangun but the clan has maintained the royal title of Oba'lúmò.

The older Òràngún prince's faction departing the Ìlá Yàrà schism established a new settlement called Igbohun, and after a few other settlement locations, founded the modern Òkè-Ìlá Òràngún near the original Igbohun. The Obaálá clan of Òkè-Ìlá Òràngún, according to their oratures which refer to their origin from Ìsèdó, is actually a segment of the Ìsèdó royalty which emigrated several centuries ago for some yet indeterminate reason to the kingdom of Oke-Ila Orangun. At Òkè-Ìlá , the Ìsèdó immigrants retained their royal title of Oba'lúmò (and for some time probably their separateness), but subsequently "federated" with the Òkè-Ìlá Òràngún kingdom and were accorded a new recognition awarding their clan the title of Obaálá ("mighty king" or "senior king"), a title next in rank to the Òràngún of Òkè-Ìlá the paramount king, the holder of which automatically becomes regent on the demise of any reigning Òràngún of Òkè-Ìlá. For some reason, perhaps connected to internal strife that let to the treacherous murder in war of the Obaálá candidate, the Ìsèdó clan of Òkè-Ìlá did not fill the Oba'lúmò title for more than a century before the current one that was installed in 2003.