The Meaning Of Iku Baba Yeye (Mystery and Facts)

While showering, an Alaafin of little height requested one of his Queens to assist him clean his back. For the first time, the wife realized the King’s diminutive size and ridiculed him, saying, “Ee ti e ju bayi na lo” ( So, you are this small).

The King was offended and ordered the beheading of the Queen’s Parents. The heads were placed in a calabash and presented to the Queen. “Iku to pa baba ati yeye mi,” she screamed, stunned ( The death that killed my father and mother). In reference to later Alaafins, the statement was distorted and truncated to “Iku baba yeye.”