text: The earlier traditions of either a gender-fluid or an expressly female Oduduwa are seen in the spirit's representation in the Gelede tradition. Initiates of Gelede receive a shrine to Oduduwa along with a Gelede costume and mask. This speaks to Oduduwa as being associated with the divine ancestral mothers that are known as Awon iya wa or Iyami. Here, Oduduwa is revered as the mother of the Yoruba.
  Non-Yoruba views
  Certain other people have claimed a connection to Oduduwa. According to the Kanuri, Yauri, Gobir, Acipu, Jukun and Borgu tribes, whose founding ancestors were said to be Oduduwa's brothers   (as recorded in the 19th century by Samuel Johnson), Oduduwa was the son of Damerudu, whom Yoruba call Lamurudu, a prince who was himself the son of the magician King Kisra. Kisra and his allies are said to have fought Muhammad in the Battle of Badr and Kisra was forced to migrate from Arabia into Africa after losing the war to the jihadists in 624 AD. According to the legend, he and his followers founded many kingdoms and ruling dynasties along their migration route into West Africa. This tradition is a variant of the belief, popular amongst some Muslims, that held that Oduduwa was a prince originating from Mecca. However, it is thought by some scholars to derive from the later influences on Yoruba culture of Islam and other Abrahamic religions and conflicts with other traditions in the Yoruba traditional corpus.