The ancient palace of the Alaafin of Oyo, Oyo State, has been thrown into mourning following the death of Baba, a tortoise believed to have lived for about 420 years.
Baba, regarded as one of the palace’s treasured relics, reportedly died on Monday after falling ill and was later buried.
His death has brought an end to a remarkable presence that, according to palace accounts, survived through the reigns of several Alaafins.
The Alaafin’s Director of Media and Publicity, Bode Durojaiye, disclosed this in a statement issued in Ibadan on Thursday.
Durojaiye said Baba was not regarded as an ordinary tortoise, but as a living link to the history and traditions of the Yoruba people.
“Baba was more than a tortoise in status. He represented a part of the oral history of the Yoruba race,” he said, adding that the Alaafin had lost an “ageless companion.”
According to the palace, oral tradition traced Baba’s origin to Oyo-Ile, the ancient capital of the Oyo Empire.
He was reportedly brought from Oyo-Ile to the present Alaafin’s palace in Oyo town, where he eventually became one of its most recognisable attractions.
For years, visitors trooped to the palace to catch a glimpse of the giant tortoise, drawn by stories surrounding its extraordinary age and size.
The palace said two officials were assigned to care for Baba, feeding him watermelon, corn pap wrapped in leaves and grass.
“Baba fell ill on Monday, just a little sickness and couldn’t eat anymore,” the statement said.
The tortoise was described as a companion to successive Alaafins, with each monarch reportedly inheriting him as part of the ancient relics associated with the Oyo Kingdom.
The palace said Baba was adopted as his name because nobody could identify his original name, with the name also reflecting the belief that the tortoise was male.
“He drew his own crowd. Strong and friendly, Baba was the reason many people trooped to the ancient palace in its days,” the statement added.
In Oyo, Baba was reportedly regarded as the “oldest indigene” and one of the monarch’s most cherished pets.
The palace also connected his symbolic importance to Yoruba beliefs about the relationship between the living, the dead and the unborn, citing Wole Soyinka’s play, Death and the King’s Horseman, in explaining the cultural significance attached to the ancient tortoise.
His death, the palace said, was therefore not merely the loss of an animal but the disappearance of a familiar figure that had become part of the palace’s oral history and cultural heritage.
“Then, he died. Just like that. He had since been buried. Good night, Baba.”
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