Odurinde as a surname as common as Bello in iLorin?
Saturday, May 2nd, 2009
How many Bellos can you count in iLorin?
I have never been a big genealogy fan, recent events, mainly the revelation that there is an awful lot more Odurindes out there than I imagine aroused my interest in the origin of the name Odurinde and possible ancestral connection of all the Odurindes to one origin. I used to think the name is fairly unique to the part of Yorubaland my father comes from (Irepodun local government of Osun state).
After searches for the keyword “Odurinde” on the Internet and Facebook and other social networking sites I was quite surprised to find so many Odurindes.
Using my not so good Yoruba language skills to break the name down to its component words, I hypothesis that Odurinde was derived from two words; Odu (Odu Ifa) rinde (arrived) hence the name is probably taken on by family of Ifa priests who did not go out to actively seek Odu Ifa but Odu ifa walked into their lives and appointed them as ifa priests. If my hypothesis is correct, then the chances of all Odurindes being linked to one original source is slim, the only connections will be the fact that they all acquire ifa priesthood through the same method.
If would be fantastic if someone with a better understanding of the origin of the name Odurinde or Youruba surenames in general puts me right.
I will also like to hear from Odurindes out there and what part of Yorubaland they come from. Perhaps instead of the joke/saying I used to hear in Lagos about the lack of scarcity of Bellos in iLorin, I can start saying “there is no scarcity of Odurindes in Osun/Oyo state?.







