420-Year-Old Tortoise at Alaafin’s Palace Dies in Oyo

A 420-year-old tortoise known as Baba has died at the palace of the Alaafin of Oyo, ending the life of an animal regarded as part of the kingdom’s history.

Baba died on Monday after falling ill and stopping eating. The animal was subsequently buried, according to the Director of Media and Publicity to the Alaafin, Bode Durojaiye.

Durojaiye disclosed the development in a statement issued in Ibadan on Thursday, describing Baba as more than a palace pet and a link to the oral history of the Yoruba people.

The palace said oral history traced Baba’s origin to Oyo-Ile, the capital of the old Oyo Empire, before the tortoise was brought to the present palace in Oyo town.

Baba was reportedly cared for by successive Alaafins and inherited by successive monarchs as part of the relics associated with the palace.

The tortoise became a tourist attraction, drawing local residents and visitors who wanted to see it because of its age, unusual large size and longstanding association with the Oyo monarchy.

According to the palace, two officials were responsible for caring for Baba. Its diet included watermelon, corn pap wrapped in leaves and grass.

The palace said Alaafin, Oba Abimbola Akeem Owoade I, met Baba at the palace after ascending the throne.

Durojaiye said Baba was regarded by residents as the oldest indigene and had become an enduring symbol of the palace’s heritage.

He said the tortoise’s longevity allowed it to survive across generations of monarchs and become part of the kingdom’s collective memory.

The palace linked Baba’s significance to Yoruba traditional beliefs concerning the relationship between the living, the dead and the unborn. It referenced Wole Soyinka’s play, Death and the King’s Horseman, in discussing those connections.

Although the palace described Baba as 420 years old, that age is based on oral history rather than records. Tortoises can live for several decades, but verifying an individual animal’s age at more than four centuries is difficult without reliable records.

The palace expressed sadness over Baba’s death, saying it had lost an ageless companion that occupied a special place in Oyo’s heritage.

The animal had already been buried following its death there.