In the palace of the Soun of Ogbomoso can
be found a 330 year old giant male tortoise that has witnessed the
installation of 17 SounsThe ancient town of Ogbomoso and second largest
city in Oyo state, has continued to attract tourists from all over the
world because of Alagba, the legendary giant male tortoise that has
lived and witnessed the installation and coronation of 17 Soun’s of
Ogbomosoland who have reigned in the town since its inception.
Popularly called Alagba as a sign of
respect because of their claim that it is the oldest living animal in
the world, the tortoise has been acclaimed to be 330 years old by the
people of Ogbomoso land.
In deference to its age, it is called
Alagba, which means ‘the elderly one’ in Yoruba. In Ogbomoso, where the
legendary tortoise lumbers about in the palatial grounds of the palace,
it is almost a sacrilege to refer to Alagba as an ordinary tortoise.
Since Alagba is believed to be older
than everyone in Ogbomoso, its true age relies heavily on oral history.
Its present age was arrived at by calculations done from the period the
Soun who brought it to the palace reigned.
Mr Ajani Sunday Toyin, secretary to the
present Soun of Ogbomoso, said Alagba, was brought to the palace by His
Royal Highness, Oba Ikumoyede Ajao, the third Soun to the founder of
Ogbomoso, who is believed to have reigned between 1770 to 1791.
Oba Ikumoyede, according to the present
Soun of Ogbomoso’s, Khakaki, Mr Adeniyi Alagbe (the Oba’s praise singer)
and Mr Abdullahi Bello, who used to carry the umbrella that shields the
Oba from the sun, is a hunter who got the tortoise and brought it to
the palace before he became the ruler of the town. Since it was
customary in those days to transfer the property and all palace
belongings to the new monarch, Alagba has remained in the palace after
the king’s death till date.
Alagba is said to be guarded by the Soun
of Ogbomoso himself, and three other able men, which include Mr
Adeniyi Alagbe, Mr Abdulahi Bello and Baba Iyabo, who carry out the
Oba’s instructions to take care of Alagba. They say the animal eats
three times a day like human beings and that its meals are prepared
together with people’s food in the palace. “He usually eats food of
three to four people whenever it is eating and finishes one and half
bucket of water (approximately 38 litres of water) which he takes once
in every three months, ” Mr Bello said.
The animal is said to eat everything
that human beings eat, but likes pawpaw, particularly. It is said to
detest heat and plays a lot in the rainy season, moves around in the
palace and sleeps under a shaded flower in the palace. His weight is put
at over 100kg since its weight is equivalent to two bags of cement, and
it requires many hefty men to lift it up.
“No matter how heavy a person is, Alagba
will carry him or her on its back and be moving about, but the
incumbent Oba, who cares so much about the well-being of Alagba, stopped
people from climbing on its back as the animal got older,” Mr Alagbe
said.
Suleiman Abdullahi, Alagba’s
photographer, said Alagba used to be caged and chained in the past for
protection. This later affected its legs and made them perforate its
shell, and connect the chain to it, and tied him down so that the
tortoise won’t be stolen.
“The animal has attracted lots of
tourists from all over the world and majority of them even wished to
take the tortoise away, if they were permitted,” he said.
He further stated that Alagba was sick
three years ago and required surgery on its neck, while its doctors put
its survival chances at 50 per cent. But later, it recovered, despite
Soun’s rejection of the surgery. Also in 2008 during the dry season, he
fell sick again for many weeks , which made him reject food and refuse
to play .When Kabiyesi’s attention was called to it, he was treated and
started eating and playing after the treatment.
Just like some items in traditional
palaces that exist for mystical purposes, Sunday, the Oba’s secretary,
said Alagba’s existence in the palace has no such inclination. Alagba
according to him, is just a special creature by God and an aged animal
that is well taken care of by the Kabiyesi .He reiterated that there are
veterinary doctors who attend to it, give drugs that they put in his
drinking water and its food, adding that it would have died if it was
still in the bush.
Moreover, all sorts of myths have been
woven around Alagba. Some say it hears what people say but cannot speak,
Alagbe says. “It recognises kabiyesi‘s voice. If kabiyesi calls it
Alagba, it will be shaking its head in agreement, while some people stay
near Alagba to offer prayers for longevity.”
A source at the palace told Sunday Trust
that for a long time since its existence, Alagba was the only being
that the king‘s wives usually run to for refuge to avoid the king’s
anger. The king usually pays him a visit whenever he is coming back
from an outing or strolling around the palace.
Whatever might have been anybody’s offence to the king, the kabiyesi overlooks it if such person runs to Alagba for protection.
The tortoise refused to respond when one
of the guardian took our reporter to Alagba for introduction, because
she called him Ijapa (Yoruba name for tortoise) when she got there. It
responded when called Alagba twice and was told he has a visitor. The
ancient one slowly opened one of its eyes and brought out its neck full
of age, spots and thick rough warts, and started moving round the
palace.
Slowly, it retreated into its thick shell and went back to sleep, its thoughts as mysterious as its age.
Debunking claims by some people of
celebrating Alagba’s birthday some years back, another source at the
palace said there has never been any celebration in his name, and that
no importance is attached to him because of the conviction that people
may want to start worshipping him if such is done. “Kabiyesi only makes
reference to him whenever there is celebration in the palace in
recognition of past Obas, but no occasion has been organised in respect
of the tortoise,” he said.
Contemplating on how Alagba’s age can be
determined, apart from the use of oral history, Mr Adegbola of Ibadan
Agbodi zoological garden, said looking at the body cells and carapace
(shell) of tortoise can help to determine its true age. He claimed not
to be expert in that area, but grew to understand that, having worked in
the zoo for over 20 years now. He however claimed that it is possible
because he has seen tortoises that live long , but not as long as
Alagba, adding that the new one in their garden is now 38 years old
He was however doubtful of the
possibility of any expert in the country undertaking a venture to
determine Alagba’s true age, since it would be of no economic value to
them.
Sunday Trust gathered from Mrs Olajumoke
A. Morenikeji, a Zoologist at the University of Ibadan and Director of
the institution’s zoological garden, who said it is possible for Alagba
to have lived that long, having seen one who lived long before . It is
oral evidence and there is no scientific evidence to support it.
She stated that tortoises generally live
longer than other animals, as the one they had at the garden died after
living for over 125 years.
According to mirrornews@mgn.co.uk on the internet, tortoises generally live longer and give reasons for their longevity.
The site gave the reason why tortoises
are able to live so long as having a lot to do with how they are built
and how they live. They are protected by a strong hard shell and they
are good at avoiding predators. They also live and move slowly, which
means they use up less energy than lots of other creatures. If a
tortoise is unable to find enough food, they can survive for longer on
less, more easily than animals that burn through their energy really
quickly.
The site also added that Addwaitya, the
giant tortoise, is reckoned to have been 255 when it died at an Indian
zoo in 2006, making him the oldest animal in the world. Jonathan, the
tortoise, is believed to be 176-years-old and was photographed during
the Boer war around 1900, and its life has spanned eight British
monarchs from George IV to Elizabeth II and 50 prime ministers. It was
taken on the South Atlantic island of St Helena, where Jonathan still
lives today, along with five other tortoises David, Speedy, Emma,
Fredricka and Myrtle, in a plantation.
The previous oldest tortoise was widely
thought to be Harriet, a giant Galapagos land tortoise, that died in
2005 aged 175 in Australia. Despite its old age, locals say it still has
the energy to regularly mate with the three younger females.
In March 2006, it was reported that an
Aldabra tortoise at the Calcutta zoo died and was estimated to be 250
years old. A Madagascar radiated tortoise was said to have lived in
captivity to at least 188 years. Similarly, a 176-year-old giant
tortoise from an Australian Zoo died in June, 2006. Typically, the
Galapagos tortoise lives 150 years. Other varieties regularly live to be
100.
But now Alagba is seen to be the oldest
living animal in the world, having gone through the history of other
long living animals.
Some of the visitors at the palace who
came to see Alagba advised that he should be taken to museum to generate
revenue for government, as such kind of creature is rare to come by
these days.
There are also insinuations that some
people are planning to steal the animal, which someone said is the
reason behind the security around the tortoise.
