In Yoruba land ,a late king's wife who leaves the palace before the new king's arrival remains an "olorì" (queen) all her life , while a wife who waits to be inherited by the new king is called an "ìyáàfin ". The new king's wife (married by himself and not inherited) is also an "olorì". "ìyáàfin "≠Mrs.
A Yoruba proverb says "Idà ahun la fi í p'ahun" ( "the sword of the tortoise is used to kill him"). "Idà ahun" has a plot that is strikingly similar to that of the Bible book of Esther.
The king of Ọ̀jẹ́tẹ̀dó has 8 queens (olorì) and 3 inherited wives (ìyáàfin ). The king , Arékèémáṣe ( the Ọlọ́jẹ̀ of Ọ̀jẹ́tẹ̀dó ), is celebrating the 10th anniversary of his coronation. Surrounding kings come because he is a good king, unlike his predecessor. Each queen (inherited or not) makes her own feast but Jókòótọlá (the favourite) outshines them all.
Later on , all the other queens sit with the king while Jókòótọlá is nowhere to be found. Like Vashti in the Bible, Jókòótọlá refuses to come out when sent for 3 times. The council of chiefs decides to downgrade her to the oldest queen's slave and choose a new favourite queen.
The Ifa oracle does not choose any of the other queens as the new favourite but says a poor woman from another town would be the right favourite. Oyíndàmọ́lá, a poor honey seller's daughter from Ògún-Olówu, becomes the new favourite queen. She is a complete orphan adopted and reared up by her uncle, Oyínmáyọ̀wá, after his wife died childless. Oyíndàmọ́lá is both beautiful and humble, kneeling down to greet even the servants, let alone fellow queens and the chiefs.
Fáṣílọ, the oldest queen, is happy and feels loved when Jókòótọlá is made her slave. The other queens , especially Òrìṣádájọ́ (the second-to-be-married queen), are unhappy and jealous of Oyíndàmọ́lá. While the other queens eventually resign to fate, Òrìṣádájọ́ resents the king and even Fáṣílọ (who she sees as part of the plot because she inherits Jókòótọlá). Òrìṣádájọ́ plots with Jókòótọlá and the chief cook to poison the duo at a feast Òrìṣádájọ́ would organise to "avert danger from the king". Jókòótọlá hopes to be the new king's favourite after the deaths of Arékèémáṣe and Fáṣílọ.
The chief cook serves the king and the queens their food. The king asks her to call a servant and starts eating before she leaves. The 3 conspirators meet and dance happily.
The following day, the king and Fáṣílọ wake up unharmed. The 3 crooks go to their herbalist in anger. Unknown to them, Oyínmáyọ̀wá's servants have eavesdropped on the trio's conversation in the bush while looking for bees and told Oyínmáyọ̀wá, who then tells the king of the plot before the day of the feast. The king and Fáṣílọ have fed the chief cook's food to their goats and are eating something else when the chief cook returned. Both goats die.
The king calls the townspeople together, promotes the chief guard and orders the execution of the 3 crooks. The chief guard is sorry for Òrìṣádájọ́, as if he has a secret relationship with her. The king makes him his confIdànt and spy, next to Oyíndàmọ́lá in importance.
Soon, smallpox breaks out in the town and sacrifices seem to increase the outbreak. The herbalist invited by the chief guard tells the king to prohibit the sale and use of honey in Ọ̀jẹ́tẹ̀dó and its subordinate towns. Remember that Oyíndàmọ́lá's uncle sells honey. The smallpox outbreak goes down but not out. Oyíndàmọ́lá's uncle and the entire family lose their means of livelihood to this new law. Oyíndàmọ́lá gives her uncle feeding money, but what of his apprentices? The chief guard's spies catches those secretly selling honey and throws them into jail to await their execution. Oyínmáyọ̀wá sends for his niece, the favourite queen, and asks her to plead with the king to cancel the law. He suspects that the smallpox outbreak is stagemanaged to justify the ban on their family profession. Oyíndàmọ́lá asks her uncle and her hometown's king to ask their herbalist to confirm the plot and pray for her success in talking to the king about the matter. The herbalist confirms the law is a trick and makes the necessary sacrifices. Oyínmáyọ̀wá duly informs Oyíndàmọ́lá.
Oyíndàmọ́lá first calls 3 chiefs ( Balógun, Ọ̀tún and Ìyálóde). She tactly begs them to convince the king to find out from his personal herbalist why the smallpox outbreak is yet to FULLY go away despite obeying the chief guard's herbalist by banning the sale of honey. They agree.
The king dreams that he has smallpox and is cured when rubbed with honey. The chief guard discards the dream as meaningless and suggests calling that herbalist of his for clarification. Then the 3 chiefs Oyíndàmọ́lá talked with enter. The king agrees with them and sends for Famukomi, a herbalist from Kajola, who recommends the use of honey. Arékèémáṣe secretly calls Oyínmáyọ̀wá to supply the honey. Oyínmáyọ̀wá and his servants are caught and jailed by the chief guard's spies while returning from the assignment.
The king sends honey syrup secretly to all smallpox victims through the Ìyálóde and they are all cured the next day. The king asks for Oyínmáyọ̀wá but can't find him until one of the chief guard's servants feeding Oyínmáyọ̀wá squeals to Queen Oyíndàmọ́lá.
After knowing about Oyínmáyọ̀wá's imprisonment, the king tells the chief guard to suggest one person to honour as "Olú-ọmọ" of Ọ̀jẹ́tẹ̀dó and one person to punish for misleading the king at the next day's ceremony. He suggests himself as "Olú-ọmọ" and Oyínmáyọ̀wá as the person to be beheaded as a lesson to the other honey-sellers. The king accepts his self-nomination but pleads for Oyínmáyọ̀wá's punishment to be reduced to 20 years' imprisonment (and 10 years for the other caught honey-sellers), and tells him to prepare for the D-day.
Oyíndàmọ́lá is frightened when the king tells her to wait longer for Oyínmáyọ̀wá's release and she hears about the chief guard's preparation for his promotion. Despite her disappointment, Oyíndàmọ́lá walks in with the king on the D-day (unlike Jókòótọlá who refused to come for no reason). The chief guard, his fiancee and their friends wear uniform clothes.
To the surprise of the townspeople (including Queen Oyíndàmọ́lá), Oyínmáyọ̀wá is made "Olú-ọmọ". The chief guard's favourite servants reveal how he imported smallpox into the town and instigated his herbalist to ban honey selling. The fake herbalist confirms the story. The chief guard keeps quiet. The chief guard's servants are spared because they can't have refused his orders while he and his fake herbalist are executed.
