Ajapada

Yoruba

Etymology

Folk etymology derived from a local myth states it comes from àjà (“a traditional rattle device”) +‎ pa (“to kill”) +‎ ẹdá (“a type of brown rat”), literally “One who kills a rat with a rattle”. It is said to come from an endurance test Odùduwà presented his descendant Àjàpadà to perform before founding Àkúrẹ́

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /à.d͡ʒà.k͡pā.dà/

Proper noun

Àjàpadà

1. (historical) a nickname for the legendary founder of the town of Àkúrẹ́ and descendant of Odùduwà, Aṣọdẹbóyèdé
2. (historical) title of the traditional ruler of the Àkúrẹ́ kingdom, replaced with title Déjì.

References

• Smith, Robert S. (1988) Kingdoms of the Yoruba‎^[1], Nigeria: University of Wisconsin Press, →ISBN