Dada’s Family Tree

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Family

• Aganju(parent),Yemoja(parent),Shango(sibling)— Consort

  Shango and Dada are sons of Aganju and Yemoja. Dada, the orisha of vegetation, was the elder brother, but Shango's fiery temperament led him to claim the throne of Oyo.

Associated with

• Eshu

  Eshu's trickery played a role in the succession crisis between Dada and Shango at Oyo. Some patakís describe Eshu provoking the conflict that led to Dada's abdication, testing whether the gentle king could hold power.

• Oduduwa

  Dada Ajaká, descended from Oduduwa's royal line through Oranmiyan, ruled Oyo as a peaceful king before Shango usurped the throne, upholding Oduduwa's traditions of governance.

• Oranmiyan

  Dada, Oranmiyan's grandson through Shango, abdicated the throne of Oyo in favor of his more martial brother Sango-Koso. The dynastic line from Oranmiyan through to Dada and Shango shaped the succession of Oyo's Alaafins.

• Sango-Koso

  Dada, Sango-Koso's elder brother, abdicated the throne of Oyo because he lacked the martial temperament required of an Alaafin. Sango-Koso succeeded him and later honored Dada by placing the royal crown on his head.

• Shango

  Dada Ajaká was the Alaafin of Oyo before Shango. Considered too gentle to rule, Dada was deposed by the more forceful Shango, who seized the throne and established himself as the kingdom's most powerful king.