Ogunwusi, speaking through his media aide, Moses Olafare, said an ex-queen could remarry once necessary traditional rites were done to free her from the marriage covenant entered into when she was being married.

Taboos before Ooni’s ex-wives

Ogunwusi, speaking through his media aide, Moses Olafare, said an ex-queen could remarry once necessary traditional rites were done to free her from the marriage covenant entered into when she was being married.

The kabiyesi said, “No woman deserves to be subjected to perpetual bondage of marriage embargo but traditional rites have to be done to avert possible ugly consequences.

“There are traditional rites of matrimonial covenant done for the queens being married and it’s only commonsensical to procedurally reverse the covenant in accordance with the spiritual traditions of such kingdoms.”

Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Lekan Balogun, said it was an abomination for anyone to take over the wife of a king, who is believed to be second-in-command to deities. Olubadan spoke through his media aide, Mr Oladele Ogunsola.

A contestant for the Alaafin of Oyo stool, retired Archbishop of Methodist Church of Nigeria, octogenarian Ayo Ladigbolu, said the wives of the late Alaafin could remarry, adding that age and self-respect could, however, prevent them from doing so.

Commenting on whether the Alaafin’s queens could remarry without undergoing cleansing rites, Ladigbolu who is a cousin to the late Adeyemi, said, “It could be abominable in view of the mysteries surrounding royal weddings and its peculiarities, aura and taboos The nature of their previous conjugation will determine the rituals involved in the cleansing rites.

On the consequences of Alaafin’s queens remarrying without undergoing certain rites, Ladigbolu said, “As in all obligatory situations, one can expect that if a royal spouse exposes her sacred embodiment to any other without due cleansing or ‘separation’, there may be unpleasant consequences the nature of which cannot be enumerated.”

A prince and former Governor of Osun State, retired Brigadier General Olagunsoye Oyinlola, however, said there was nothing wrong in an oba inheriting the harem of a departed oba. He said, “My father inherited wives from his predecessor, and my mother was one of those inherited, that’s the custom. Nothing bad happened to my father.”

A first-class oba, the Eselu of Iselu land in Ogun State, Oba Akintunde Akinyemi, said a queen that went through traditional rites when marrying a king can never remarry, adding that anyone that slept with such a woman would be ruined for life.

“The wife could die after the demise of the oba. But, in a case where the woman didn’t do traditional rites, she’s free to go anywhere, she can even have extramarital affairs. The traditional rites involve taking blood samples.”

Another first-class ruler in Oyo State, the Onpetu of Ijeru land in Ogbomoso, Oba Sunday Oyediran, said wives of a departed monarch could choose to be inherited by the incoming oba or choose not to remarry, lamenting that modernisation had eroded Yoruba culture and tradition.

The Alawe of Ilawe Ekiti, Oba Adebanji Alabi, said it was unorthodox for the wives of a late monarch to marry somebody else outside the palace. “It’s generally assumed that wives of departed obas will be inherited by the reigning monarch. They may not have an amorous relationship but it’s the responsibility of the monarchs to take care of them,” said the first-class ruler.