08/09/2021
Oba Adetoyese Laoye II In front of his Palace at Ede (Western Nigeria) in honor of the American Study Group visiting him at his Palace. Date: 09-27-1962.
Oba Adetoyese Laoye II was an expert who could use the talking drum, to communicate with people. He was a dancer, drummer, musicologist, teacher, poet, storyteller, communicator, pianist, Yoruba cultural icon and trained pharmacist. It is doubtful to talk of the talking drum in African culture, without mentioning the name of Timi Adetoyese Laoye, whose dual status as a king and a drummer, brought him instant fame and applause all over the world.
Oba John Adetoyese Laoye II was born on the 21st of February 1899, the great-great grandson of Timi Bamigbaye Ajeniju, who was the second Timi to reign in present Ede. Ede is one of the older towns in Yoruba land and traditionally said to have been founded by Timi Agbale around 1500. Agbale was a hunter and a war lord, sent by the Alaafin of Old Oyo Empire to establish a settlement, to protect the Oyo caravan routes to Benin and the coast.
Oba Adetoyese was also a descendant of a family of drummers in Ede, from where he inherited and honed his skill in the art of drumming, through his maternal uncle. He was born to Muslim parents – Oyebisi Omolaoye and Madam Moware Odefunke. Oyebisi was a scion of the Ajeniju royal family and a Togo based prosperous trader.
Image Source: Historical Photos
