Kétou (Ketu) is said to have been founded by Ede, son of Sopasan and grandson of Oduduwa (also known as Odudua, Oòdua and Eleduwa), who ruled the Yoruba kingdom of Ile-Ife (also known as Ife) in present-day Nigeria.
Oduduwa |
Benin’s other important ritual festivals include Ague, where the first budded yams are blessed in hopes of a successful harvest; Ugie Ivie, the Festival of Beads, in which the oba’s coral and red stone regalia is bathed in cow’s blood to reinvest it with spiritual force; Ugie Erha Oba, which honors the oba’s father and all paternal ancestors; Oduduwa, a masquerade that likewise honors the oba’s paternal ancestors; and Ugie Oro, celebrating Oba Esigie’s victory over the Idah Kingdom in the 16th century.
If a chieftain's earliest pioneering ancestor left the emperor's kingdom of Ile-Ife with the crown that is now used to crown him in his own kingdom during his coronation ceremony, and if he claims direct descent from Oduduwa himself, then he is traditionally viewed by the Yoruba as a king of the highest possible rank (with him being surpassed in such a case by only the pre-eminent Yoruba monarchs, such as the Ooni of contemporary Ile-Ife and the Alaafin of Oyo).
Oduduwa had sons, daughters and a grandson who went on to found their own kingdoms and empires, namely Ila Orangun, Owu, Ketu, Sabe, Popo, Oyo and Benin.
This work dispels the Middle Eastern and Arabia origins propounded by such scholars as the late Samuel Johnson (1846–1901) and also gave prominence to the works on the Pre-Oduduwa Period by Ulli Beier among others.