Mighty warlords are seen in a historical photo from the 1877 (19th century) KIRIJI War, also known as the Ekiti Parapo War. Olugbosun of Oye, Fabunmi of Oke Imesi Ekiti, Ogedengbe of Ijesha land, Aruta of Ijesha land, Faboro of Iddo Ekiti, and the flute player Afunpe are all seen in this photo.
From 1877 to 1893, the Yoruba people in Western Nigeria engaged in the longest tribal conflict in modern history. The 16-year Kiriji War, also known as the Ekiti-Parapo War, was mostly fought between Ibadan and the combined troops of Ekiti and Ijesha. In Yoruba country, it was the war that put an end to all wars.
“Kiriji” was the onomatopoeic term for the conflict, derived from the booming sound of the cannons that Ogedengbe’s Ekitis and Ijeshas, commanding over the Ibadan soldiers, purchased in large quantities. But it came to a standstill.
As a result, the Kiriji War continues to be the longest civil war in history involving any West African ethnic group. The tribes of South-Western Nigeria are, in fact, the only race in contemporary history to have fought one another in civil wars for 73 years (1820–1893) and to have survived the ordeal to remain a single tribe.
