State-Periphery Relations and Sociopolitical Development in Igbominaland, North-Central Yoruba, Nigeria

Description

This study addresses the development of chiefdoms in north central Yorubaland, AD 1200-1837, particularly the appearance of social complexity among the Igbomina. According to the historical model of state-village interaction, chiefly office emerged as a response to the activities of Old Oyo state-level polity in Igbominaland. Developments at the ‘core’ appear to have had a number of effects on the ‘periphery’. The fieldwork included surveys and test excavations in the lowland and mountainous areas of Igbomina. For the Old Oyo capital itself, archaeological and ethnohistoric information from past investigations was used. Changes in settlement pattern, ceramics, ritual practices and warfare appear to correlate with the Old Oyo’s territorial expansion and consolidation. As for state-village interaction, the relevant variables do not appear to have coincided in time with one another, nor are they equally manifest in the various Igbominaland subregions. Economic relations and direct political control are not well supported empirically.