A Review of Ìjàpá Tìrókò Ọkọ Yánníbo by Ọlágòkè Òjó
Ìjàpá Tìrókò Ọkọ Yánníbo is a collection of twenty short folktales by Ọlágòkè Òjó, first published by Learn Africa Plc in 1973. The stories revolve around Ìjàpá (the tortoise) and other animals or humans. These tales highlight the cunning, greed, and crafty intelligence that Ìjàpá uses to outsmart other characters. Mr. Ọlágòkè Òjó stated in the book’s Foreword that the book was written for students learning the Yoruba language, for those who enjoy humorous folktales, and for readers interested in stories that teach how to write Yoruba properly.
Introduction
Ìjàpá features in all twenty stories contained in the book. There is not a single one in which he does not display wickedness, selfishness, or betrayal toward those he interacts with. At times, he succeeds in his schemes—this is the most common outcome in the stories. Yet, in some cases, he also suffers consequences for his bad behaviour. For instance, in Ìjàpá àti Àtíòro, the Leopard smashed him against a rock, breaking his shell into pieces. And in Ìjàpá àti àwọn Ẹranko, he ends up as someone who can no longer enter the town again.
That Ìjàpá benefits from his bad behaviour more times than he suffers for it shows us that the author primarily promotes Ìjàpá’s crafty intelligence above other themes in the book. Only in a single story does Ìjàpá use his cunning for good.
Above all, the book is humorous and entertaining.
Themes in Ìjàpá Tìrókò Ọkọ Yánníbo
The themes across the stories in Ìjàpá Tìrókò Ọkọ Yánníbo are cunning wisdom, revenge, wickedness, deceit/trickery, and greed.
Characters
Ìjàpá: Ìjàpá appears in all twenty stories and is the central character. He is wicked, greedy, clever, and full of cunning wisdom, which he often uses to escape numerous troubles he brings upon himself.
Yánníbo: Yánníbo is Ìjàpá’s wife. She appears in six of the stories. Most of the time, Ìjàpá deceives Yánníbo about the gains he brings home after his exploits. However, in some cases, they enjoy the benefits together. We cannot say she fully supports her husband’s behaviour because, in the story Ìjàpá àti Yánníbo, she disapproves of the exploitative way he gathers yams and even gives him money to start his own farm.
Ìgbín (the Snail): Ìgbín appears in four of the stories. In all of them, the author portrays him as wiser than Ìjàpá. Often, he uses his wisdom for good purposes.
Ẹkùn (the Leopard): Ẹkùn appears in five stories. In all but one of them, Ìjàpá suffers in his encounters with Ẹkùn. From this, we can infer that the author is trying to show that wisdom is superior to strength.
Erin (the Elephant): Erin appears three times in the book. In all three instances, Ìjàpá outsmarts him despite his great strength. Like with Ẹkùn, this also demonstrates the theme that wisdom surpasses physical power.
Other characters include Ajá (the Dog), Ẹyẹlé (the Dove), Ọ̀bọ (the Monkey), Adígbọ́nránńkú (the Hyena), and some human characters.
