Interim Royals

Adelé Ọba is a well-known phrase in the Yoruba monarchy. It is a title given to regents. The phrase is more popular among the kingdoms in Ekiti and Ondo states for a peculiar reason: unlike other communities in Yorubaland, the ascension of regents after the demise of a monarch or Oba is a widespread practice in these parts and women are the most preferred choice for the temporary seat because it is believed that women are unlikely to vie for the position of a more permanent monarch. Oftentimes, these women are princesses and the eldest daughters of the deceased kings.

The duration of a regent’s tenure as the traditional head of her community typically runs between the death of her father and the enthronement of his successor. During this time, the kingdom is under the hegemony of the regent who as ‘interim monarch’ ensures the kingdom is in order and that the palace is not devoid of central leadership. She also becomes the first person in the kingdom as she is the head of the monarchy.

PRINCESS-REGENTS AND LOSS OF IDENTITY

While her reign lasts, the princess-regent is required to conceal all traces of her femininity and instead identify as a man. These women have to dress in men’s traditional Yoruba attires—bùbá, ṣòkòtò, and agbádá—as opposed to ìró and bùbá that are worn by Yoruba women. Moreover, she is also required to abstain from sexual relations and, consequently, childbearing.

This practice is postured as one designed to honour these women. However, in their 2020 essay, ‘Cultural Imperatives of Women Leadership Role in Nigeria,’ Olupona Adeola Moromoke and Olalere Kunle Oluwafemi explain that the use of regency in Yorubaland does not ascribe full rights to the woman-regent, rendering the practice questionable. In Yoruba culture, traditional leadership roles are typically viewed as positions that are natural for men to take. In ‘Proverbs and Gender Equalities and Equities in African cultures: Yoruba culture as a Case Study,’ the authors note that women have been marginalized for long in (Yoruba) traditional leadership, thus, it has ‘become a tradition in every Yorubaland for male domination of traditional leadership.’ On this ground, for these women to assume the supreme position of authority temporarily, tradition demands they discard their identities as women by dressing as men.

The imposition of masculinity on these women implies that the ruling position they are assuming is only meant for men and that it is only right that they also become men. If these women who are supposed to be traditional leaders in their communities are being stripped of their identities, it begs the question of whether their persons are respected and honoured at all.

MARRIAGE AND REGENCY

While acting in the capacity of a monarch, the regents who are installed as spinsters must remain so until they leave the throne. They must not get pregnant during their reign and this extends to married regents. Taiwo Agbona, the regent of Aaye Kingdom (2018-2022) in Ondo State once spoke about this norm in an interview. ‘I cannot get married while on the throne and I cannot get pregnant, so whosoever that wants to marry me will have to wait till I leave the throne,’ Agbona said.

Although this is one of the rules they have to abide by, as explained by Tinuade Adejuyibe, the regent of Iboropa-Akoko (2015-2021), it is technically a restriction on their sexual relationships and consequently, their biological rights as women to procreate. According to Regent Adejuyigbe, ‘tradition doesn’t permit me to get pregnant on the throne, so celibacy is the deal.’ She also pointed out in another interview that only female regents are required to be celibate, while male regents are exempted from the rule.

A king, while on the throne, is free to marry as many women, have as many children, and even have extra-marital affairs as he wishes. If male regents get to enjoy this same benefit, the princess-regents who are also acting in the capacity of a monarch who by Yoruba customary belief is independent, supreme, and has full control over his people—ọba ba l’órí ohun gbogbo—the princess-regents should be given similar rights.

WOMEN AS PLACEHOLDERS

Another way this practice demeans the women who function as Adelé is the widespread acknowledgement that they are preferred because, compared to a man, they would be relatively easier to dethrone when it is time to install a new substantive monarch. The rules binding the regents are also made to this effect. In this Channels TV documentary about the marginalization of regents in Yorubaland, Moyinoluwa Falowo, the regent of Ibule-Soro town in Ondo state corroborated this marginalization. Falowo explained that the restrictions on marital, sexual, and procreation rights could make an Adelé woman, who wants to pursue her life, ‘eager to want to leave the position, so that is a form of bias that has been institutionalized with the practice.’

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Interim Royals

PRINCESS-REGENTS AND LOSS OF IDENTITY

MARRIAGE AND REGENCY

WOMEN AS PLACEHOLDERS

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