A PRELIMINARY SURVEY OF PLACE-NAMES IN OGBOMOSO, SOUTHWEST NIGERIA

Abstract

The study of place-names is almost a neglected field in African history, despite its great significance in the field of socio-historical studies. At its core, this paper creates a nexus between the studies of place-name in African historical context and how historical information can be obtained through the study of place-name: employing historical methods of data collection of primary and secondary sources of data, which include oral and documentary evidence, the paper examines the social and cultural relevance of place-names in Ogbomoso, southwest Nigeria. In Ogbomoso, place-names have fostered cooperation and understanding among the primordial social and cultural groups found in the town. The groups; by coming together, fostered progress and development of Ogbomoso, however, they revert to social and cultural groupings at critical periods to resolve internal crises. Consequently, migrants had to maintain their names to retain their socio-cultural identity. This paper, therefore, served as a means of documenting identities, experiences, and relationships of the people in Ogbomoso society. Place-names in Ogbomoso correlate with the peopling, the settlement pattern and thus significant to social identity. The paper concludes that place-names in Yoruba society in general and in Ogbomoso in particular, are descriptively woven around social identification of the various settlements. The paper is of the view that place-names will contribute significantly to the reconstruction of local and urban history in Nigeria, and enhance collective memory within everyday life and spaces. The present study complements extant studies on Ogbomoso social and cultural identities.