Contested accounts

⑂ The End of Ṣàngó's Reign

Did Ṣàngó abdicate freely, or was he forced from the throne?

Johnson preserves two accounts of how the reign of Ṣàngó — the fourth king, afterwards deified as the god of thunder — came to its end, and he declines to choose between them: 'Both accounts may be true, there may have been two parties.'

The accounts

Alternative Oral tradition

Voluntary abdication from a broken heart

Ṣàngó, 'the author of his own misfortunes', was so dismayed by the calamity he had caused that he resolved of his own will to abdicate and retire to his maternal grandfather's court.

“Ṣàngó who was the author of his own misfortunes became alarmed and dismayed at what had happened and from a broken heart he was resolved to abdicate the throne and retire to the court of his maternal grandfather, Elempe king of the Nupes.”
Read in context — Part II, Ch. 1 ¶40 →

Source: Johnson 1921, Part II Ch. I §4 · Part II, Ch. 1 ¶40

Why ranked alternative: First account given; Johnson notes both versions may be true, reflecting two parties in the state.

Alternative Oral tradition

Asked to abdicate by a party in the state

Ṣàngó did not abdicate of his own free will but was asked to do so by a strong party in the state.

“According to other accounts, he did not abdicate of his own freewill, but was asked to do so by a strong party in the state. Both accounts may be true, there may have been two parties, for to this day, Yorubas have an abhorence of a King given to making deadly charms ; because for one who already has absolute power inv …”
Read in context — Part II, Ch. 1 ¶42 →

Source: Johnson 1921, Part II Ch. I §4 · Part II, Ch. 1 ¶42

Why ranked alternative: Second account given; Johnson notes both versions may be true, reflecting two parties in the state.

Anchored in the text

Part II, Ch. 1 ¶40 · Part II, Ch. 1 ¶42

Related people & places

Ṣàngó

Settled facts are stated plainly; every disputed claim is attributed to its tradition or scholar and ordered by the weight of evidence behind it. Accounts now thought mistaken are kept too, with the reason why — seeing how the history has been understood over time is part of the story.