A tortoise believed by palace tradition to have lived for about 420 years has died at the palace of the Alaafin of Oyo.
Known affectionately as Baba, the tortoise was regarded as one of the palace’s treasured relics and a living link to the history of the old Oyo Empire.
Baba reportedly fell ill on Monday, stopped eating and later died.
He was subsequently buried, according to a statement issued on Thursday by Bode Durojaiye, Director of Media and Publicity to the Alaafin.
The palace said Baba had been cared for by successive Alaafins and remained a familiar presence at the royal residence for generations.
“Baba was more than a turtle in status. He represented a part of the oral history of the Yoruba race. Now, the Alaafin has lost an ageless companion,” Durojaiye said.
According to the palace, oral history traced Baba’s origin to Oyo-Ile, the ancient capital of the Oyo Empire, from where the animal was brought to the present-day palace in Oyo town.
His reported age, unusual size and long association with the royal household turned him into a tourist attraction, with visitors coming to the palace to see the tortoise.
Two palace officials were reportedly assigned to care for Baba.
His diet included watermelon, corn pap wrapped in leaves and grass.
The palace described Baba as a creature that had acquired a special place in the cultural memory of Oyo, saying successive monarchs inherited responsibility for caring for him as part of the relics associated with their predecessors.
“In Oyo, Baba was regarded as the oldest indigene. It was the Paramount Ruler’s most besotted pet. The Monarch met it in the Palace. Baba was nourished by a succession of kings, who inherited him as part of the relics of their ancestors,” the statement said.
The palace also linked Baba’s significance to traditional Yoruba conceptions of the relationship between the living, the dead and the unborn, drawing a connection with themes explored in Wole Soyinka’s celebrated play, Death and the King’s Horseman.
Baba was said to have been strong and friendly and had become one of the attractions for people visiting the ancient palace.
The palace statement said his name was adopted because of his reported advanced age, with “Baba” signifying an elder or respected father figure.
“Baba, the turtle, must have drawn its name from the fact that it was the oldest creature. No one could call him by his name, so Baba was adopted, indicating that it was a male,” the statement said.
The palace added that the tortoise “drew his own crowd” and became a familiar part of the royal compound.
Although the palace places Baba’s age at about 420 years, that figure is based on oral tradition and is not independently established in the statement.
The palace described his death as the loss of a longstanding companion and a symbol of its oral history.
“Baba fell ill on Monday, just a little sickness and couldn’t eat anymore. Then he died. Just like that,” the statement said.
“He had since been buried. Good night, Baba.”
