Ilé-Ifẹ̀: The Ritual Capital
The city the Yoruba world treats as its origin point, its Ọ̀ọ̀ni institution and ruling houses, its quarters, its groves and sacred sites, the Ọ̀rànmíyàn staff, and the Modáké̩ké̩ question.
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The city the Yoruba world treats as its origin point, its Ọ̀ọ̀ni institution and ruling houses, its quarters, its groves and sacred sites, the Ọ̀rànmíyàn staff, and the Modáké̩ké̩ question.
The Yorùbá wey dem quote, the proverbs, oríkì, ẹsẹ Ifá, word list headwords, Odù names and citations dey exactly as the corpus record dem, for every language.
Na Ilé-Ifẹ̀ be di town wey almost di whole Yoruba world dey take as di place where di world start and where Yoruba royal families begin from. E dey inside today-today Ọ̀ṣun State for southwest Nigeria, na di Ọ̀ọ̀ni dey rule am, and di claim wey di place get no be mainly about political power but na for ritual matter: crowns for other places dey get authority because dem trace their line go back to Ifẹ̀, and Ifẹ̀ itself no dey claim imperial control over di towns wey wear im crowns. For archaeology matter, e be big city between roughly di eleventh and fifteenth centuries, and na there dem produce di naturalistic copper-alloy and terracotta sculptures wey technical pass for all di works of West African art .
Di main difference wey person must keep in mind na between di ritual first-position wey Ifẹ̀ get for tradition, wey almost everybody agree to, and political power, wey Ifẹ̀ largely no exercise. Ọ̀yọ́ rule empire; Ifẹ̀ crown kings. For di nineteenth century, Ìbàdàn sack Ifẹ̀ and dem have to rebuild am, wey dey show how im ritual position no really mean say e get military power.
Dem dey generally explain Ifẹ̀ as expansion or to spread, so dat Ilé-Ifẹ̀ dey mean di house or home of expansion, as in di point where things spread go outside from . Dis meaning dey standard for local tradition and dem dey repeat am for reference literature, but make person take am as traditional etymology instead of something wey linguistics establish independently. Other ways dem take write am for older and colonial-time documents include Ife, Ilé Ifè, and, for nineteenth-century European sources, Iffe. Dem still dey call di town Ifẹ̀ Oòdáyé, Ifẹ̀ where dem make di world, and Ifẹ̀ Ooyèlagbo, for praise names.
No be only one Ifẹ̀ founding tradition dey. At least three groups of story dey, and dem no agree on one fundamental thing, wey be whether dem create Ifẹ̀ or na conquer dem conquer am.
Di creation story. Ọlọ́dùmarè give command make dem create dry land on top di water wey dey from beginning. For di version wey spread pass, dem give Ọbàtálá di work, e drink palm wine sleep, and Odùduwà come take di materials complete am, by dropping chain down, throwing hand of sand on top di water, and leaving fowl wey get five toes make e scatter di sand into land . Na Ifẹ̀ be di place where dem throw di sand, and every other place come after am. Na dis version dem dey talk pass, and na im support di Odùduwà royal claim.
Di Ọbàtálá story and di displacement reading. Another tradition dey wey hold say na Ọbàtálá, no be Odùduwà, be di original leader for Ifẹ̀, and say di original people of di place already dey ground when Odùduwà reach there. Dem no dey hide di rivalry between di two for ritual: dem dey act am again every year during Ìtapa festival, where Ọbàtálá and Ọbamèrì be di main characters, and historians dey generally see dis kind ritual re-enactment of fight as sign say real fight happen before . For dis kind interpretation, di creation story dey hide conquest, where new group under Odùduwà come push comot di original people wey get Ọbàtálá as their senior figure.
Di migration story. Di third group of tradition, wey Samuel Johnson make popular pass when e write for late nineteenth century, talk say Odùduwà travel come from east, sometimes from Mecca or Egypt, as prince wey migrate. Today, historians dey generally take dis version as nineteenth-century construction wey contact with Islam and Christianity shape, plus di desire to give Yoruba people big-name origin from outside, rather than as old tradition. E dey important to know say e dey and say e spread well-well, and e dey equally important make person no present am as di tradition.
Di Ugbo or Ìgbò counter-claim. Di Ìlàjẹ town of Ugbo dey maintain say na their own people, no be Odùduwà people, be di original people wey dey live for Ifẹ̀, and say na Olúgbó be di senior figure wey dem push comot for di events wey Ifẹ̀ tradition describe as creation. Dis na active dispute, no be just historical curiosity, and dem treat am well for di file on top eastern Yoruba. Di Ifẹ̀ Ẹdì festival, wey dey remember Mọ̀remí and how dem defeat Ìgbò raiders, people for Ifẹ̀ dey see am as defeat of outside enemy, while people for Ugbo dey see am as memory of how dem push dem comot.
Confidence on top all dis matters suppose dey medium at best. Archaeology establish say big, organised settlement dey there with thick potsherd pavements and sophisticated art tradition; but e no confirm which royal story be di truth, and e no fit.
Di ruler of Ilé-Ifẹ̀ na di Ọ̀ọ̀ni, wey dem sometimes dey write as Ooni or Oni, and in full as Ọ̀ọ̀ni of Ifẹ̀. For di way Ifẹ̀ take understand am, di Ọ̀ọ̀ni no be just ordinary king but descendant of Odùduwà wey dey occupy position for di boundary between human being and spirit, person wey dem sometimes describe for Ifẹ̀ usage as di four hundred and first spirit, di one wey dey talk . E good make person handle dis kind explanation with care. Na claim wey dey come from inside di Ifẹ̀ institution about di Ifẹ̀ institution, no be neutral description of Yoruba theology, and di four-hundred-and-one count dey play on top di conventional ìrinwó ọ̀tá, di four hundred òrìṣà, in a way wey be rhetorical as much as e be doctrinal.
For history, di Ọ̀ọ̀ni na ruler wey dey stay secluded, wey dey show face for public only during di annual Olójó festival . Dat kind seclusion don end. Di modern Ọ̀ọ̀ni na person wey dey come out well-well for public and dey travel, and dis change start from di long reign of Adésọjí Adérẹmí, 1930 to 1980, wey be Ọ̀ọ̀ni and Governor of Western Region at di same time, something wey join traditional and constitutional office together for di first time.
Di Ifẹ̀ list wey dem compile for di palace start from Ọbàtálá and Odùduwà, wey dem put for di seventh to ninth centuries, pass through one long early sequence, enta documented modern series. Ọbalùfọ̀n Aláyémọrẹ appear for di list as di pesin wey dem regard as di first proper Ọ̀ọ̀ni, wey get credit say e complete di unification of Ifẹ̀ . Ọ̀rànmíyàn appear as di number six, and na im be di pesin through whom Ifẹ̀ connect to both Ọ̀yọ́ and Benin .
Di early part of di list na dynastic tradition, no be chronology. Names wey dey inside also be names of òrìṣà, dem no give how long dem reign, and pesin no suppose convert am into dates. Di documented modern series, with reign dates, dey like dis:
| No. | Ọ̀ọ̀ni | Reign | House |
|---|---|---|---|
| 43 | Adégúnlẹ̀ Abewéilá | 1839–1849 | Lafogido |
| 44 | Degbin Kùmbúsù | 1849–1878 | Lafogido |
| 45 | Ọ̀ráyẹ̀gbà Ọjaja | 1878–1880 | Lajodogun |
| 46 | Dérìn Ọlọ́gbénlá | 1880–1894 | Giesi |
| 47 | Adélékàn Olúbọ̀ṣe I | 1894–1910 | Ogboru |
| 48 | Adékọ́lá | 1910, two months | Lajodogun |
| 49 | Adémilúyì Àjàgun | 1910–1930 | Lafogido |
| 50 | Adésọjí Adérẹmí | 1930–1980 | Osinkola |
| 51 | Olúbùṣe II | 1980–2015 | Ogboru |
| 52 | Adéyẹyè Ẹniìtàn Ògúnwùsì, Ọjaja II | 2015– | Giesi |
Di numbering na di palace own and e depend on di early list; reader no suppose take di number as count of people wey dem fit verify.
Succession to di Ọ̀ọ̀ni's stool no bin dey fixed before di twentieth century. Dem formalise am under colonial administration and set am out for declaration for 1957 as rotation among four houses, wey each of dem attach to one quarter for di town: Osinkola of Iremo, Ogboru of Ìlàrẹ́, Giesi of Mòórè, and Lafogido of Òkèrewè . Another declaration for 1980 confirm di order of di rotation. Drag still dey on top weda di four-house scheme carry all di lineages wey get historical claim, and na real drag wey dey happen now, no be somtin wey dem don settle .
Make pesin check wetin di formalisation do. System wey bin dey flexible, wey di pesin with di strongest claim wey kingmakers back fit win, dem turn am to fixed rotation because of administrative convenience. Na di same colonial move wey make arrangements tight for Ìbàdàn, Abẹ́òkúta and oda places, and na one of di effects of indirect rule on Yoruba institutions wey bring plenti consequence pass but wey people no dey notice.
Dem divide Ilé-Ifẹ̀ into quarters wey get name, conventionally six: Ìlàrẹ́, Ìlọdẹ̀, Mòórè, Iremo, Òkèrewè and Ìráyè . Dis ones no be neighbourhoods in di modern municipal sense. Each one na territorial and lineage unit wey get im own chiefs, and di quarters dey function inside tradition as di places where founders of oda towns take start. Ifẹ̀ tradition name, among odas, di Orímọlùṣì of Ìjẹ̀bú-Ìgbò and di Adimula of Ifẹ̀wàrà as people wey come out from Òkèrewè, di founders of Ìgbàjọ and Ọ̀mù-Ọ̀pọ́ from Ìlàrẹ́, and di founders of Òkè-Ìgbó and Ìdó-Àjínàre from Mòórè .
Dat structure na di mechanism wey make di claim of Ifẹ̀ origin clear and concrete. Town no dey just talk say e come from Ifẹ̀; e dey talk which quarter, wey be specific claim wey pesin fit check inside di tradition, and na di reason why quarter identity for Ifẹ̀ get weight far pass di town im own boundaries.
For administrative side, di city today spread across four local government areas, Ifẹ̀ Central, Ifẹ̀ East, Ifẹ̀ North and Ifẹ̀ South, wey contain twenty-one political wards .
Ọ̀pá Ọ̀rànmíyàn. Di Ọ̀rànmíyàn staff stand for Mọ́pà along Arubidi Road for Arubidi area of Ifẹ̀, on ground wey high reach about twenty-eight metres above sea level. Na granite monolith roughly eighteen feet high and about four feet square for di base, wey get iron nails arranged inside pattern, and e dey among di tallest stone monuments for West Africa . Tradition identify am as Ọ̀rànmíyàn's staff, wey dem plant where e end im career. Di ritual weight wey e get dey specific and active till today: e connect to di installation rites of both di Ọ̀ọ̀ni of Ifẹ̀ and di Aláàfin of Ọ̀yọ́ , wey make am physical object wey join di two senior Yoruba thrones together.
Igbó Olókun. Sacred grove wey join with Olókun, and di place where dem bin dey produce glass. Di Igbó Olókun workshops dey among di earliest known glass-production sites for West Africa, wey operate roughly between di eleventh and fifteenth centuries with recipes and raw materials wey dem get locally, one distinct high-lime high-alumina composition wey imported glass no match . Di beads wey dem make there spread far and wide and function as instruments of political and ritual value, no be ordinary decoration . Na dis be di single strongest archaeological evidence for di regional economic reach of Ifẹ̀'s, because na technology wey Ifẹ̀ clearly get wey im neighbours no get.
Òkè Mògún. Di main shrine of Ògún for Ifẹ̀ and di destination of di Ọ̀ọ̀ni's procession during Olójó .
Ilé Odùduwà and di Odùduwà shrine, di Àgbọnnìrègún grove wey dem connect with Ọ̀rúnmìlà, and Ìta Yemòó, di site north of di town centre where dem find di popular Ìta Yemòó bronzes. Potsherd pavements, floors wey dem lay with broken pottery wey stand on edge inside herringbone patterns, dey across di town and na di diagnostic Ifẹ̀ urban feature, wey date di built city to roughly di twelfth to fourteenth centuries .
Di Ifẹ̀ groves no be open sites. Access to plenti of dem dey restricted to di relevant priesthoods, and di internal ritual content of di Olójó seclusion and of di grove rites dey with di officiants and no be public tin. Na statement about wetin pesin fit know, no be gap wey dem suppose fill.
Olójó. Na the principal Ifẹ̀ festival, wey dem dey do for September or October, wey people understand as the commemoration of the first dawn, ọjọ́ àkọ́kọ́, and to honour Ògún . How e take dey happen na seclusion wey emergence dey follow after. The Ọ̀ọ̀ni go withdraw for seven days to fast and commune with the ancestors; before e come outside, women from the two lineages wey matter go perform ritual clean-up for the palace . E go come emerge wear the Àrẹ crown, wey tradition identify as the crown wey Odùduwà wear, and e go lead procession of chiefs and priests go Òkè Mògún, where dem dey renew oaths and the Àràbà go perform divination for the foot of Òkè Tase . Chiefs dey dance to the bẹ̀mbẹ́ drum, each person with im own drumming and song, and na only the Ọ̀ọ̀ni dey dance to the drum wey dem dey call Òsìrìgì .
The Àrẹ crown carry heavy taboos. Dem dey wear am once a year and na only inside this sequence, and the seclusion wey dey happen before am na condition to wear am.
Ẹdì. The festival wey dey commemorate Mọ̀remí Àjàṣorò, wey tradition tok say allow herself make Ìgbò raiders wey dey disturb Ifẹ̀ capture am, learn say their fearful look na from raffia costume wey fire fit destroy, escape come back with the knowledge, and pay the vow wey she make to Èsimìrìn stream with the life of her only son Olúorogbo . Ẹdì combine priestly ritual inside the palace with public drama across the town . If dem read am alongside the Ugbo claim, the festival also be yearly re-performance of dispute wey never end.
Ìtapa. The Ọbàtálá and Ọbamèrì festival, wey dey re-enact the Odùduwà and Ọbàtálá conflict, and dey function as new-year rite .
The Ifẹ̀ sculpture tradition reach im highest level around 1200 to 1400 CE, as dem work for terracotta, stone, copper and copper alloy for level of naturalism wey no get close match for the region . Tradition credit Ọbalùfọ̀n II say na im introduce bronze casting, and dem identify one life-size natural copper mask with am . The heads vary for regalia, facial striation and proportion for ways wey dey suggest portraits of specific individuals instead of generic type .
Ifẹ̀ metallurgy stand on top real industrial base: iron smelting for Ifẹ̀ work ores wey near eighty percent iron oxide . Therefore, the artwork show evidence of concentrated wealth, specialised craft organisation and long-distance supply of copper, and none of these na small claim. Wetin e no show evidence for na empire. No Ifẹ̀ equivalent dey for Ọ̀yọ́'s tributary apparatus, and to assume political dominance from artistic achievement na mistake wey older writing on Ifẹ̀ dey make routinely.
Modáké̩ké̩ dey inside the Ifẹ̀ urban area, for Ìráyè quarter, and na separate community with im own ruler, the Ògùnsùà. People from Ọ̀yọ́ wey the collapse of the empire and the wars wey follow am displace come settle there for mid-1840s, and e grow fast as more refugees arrive .
The dispute wey follow na one of the longest intercommunal conflicts for Nigeria, with recorded clashes from the period 1835 to 1849 dey go and serious fightings wey repeat reach 2000 . How e be na land dispute wey take permanent shape: Ifẹ̀ dey view themselves as the landowning community and Modáké̩ké̩ as tenants, Modáké̩ké̩ dey view themselves as settled community of long standing wey get right to their own administration, and whether to create or not create separate local government area for Modáké̩ké̩ na the concrete issue since the 1980s . Casualties across all the episodes reach thousands and the 1997 to 2000 phase destroy large parts of the two settlements.
Make dem present the conflict as dispute over land tenure, autochthony and local government structure, because na wetin the sources support be that. E no be ethnic conflict for the normal sense: the two communities na Yoruba, both dey speak Yoruba, and the division dey between autochthonous claim and settler claim inside one people.
Ilé-Ifẹ̀ na mid-sized Nigerian city for Ọ̀ṣun State. The 2006 census record 509,035 people for the city, the largest for the state, with metropolitan estimates around 835,600 for 2022 . Na there Ọbáfẹ́mi Awólọ́wọ̀ University dey, one of Nigeria principal universities and the institutional home of plenty scholarship on Yoruba history and art, together with the Natural History Museum and the Ifẹ̀ Museum. Im economy mostly depend on university, administration and trade instead of industry.
Im standing for the Yoruba world still dey ritual and people still dey drag am for the edges. The long-standing question of seniority between the Ọ̀ọ̀ni and the Aláàfin, wey be about whether ritual seniority or historical political power suppose rank first, na real and recurring dispute for Nigerian traditional-ruler politics and dem don litigate am for different ways since colonial period. E never settle and this document no settle am.
Guide to the gazetteer, what each file covers, the argument that runs through the section, and how to read it in order or by interest.
The imperial capital in both its forms, the archaeology of the ruined city at Ọ̀yọ́-Ilé, the palace and wall systems, the Aláàfin institution and the constitutional check the Ọ̀yọ́ Mèsì exercised over it.
The hill kingdom Ọ̀yọ́ never took, the seawater story behind its ruler's title, its subjection to Ìbàdàn, and Ògèdèngbé, who commanded the alliance that ended Ìbàdàn's expansion.
Ilé-Ifẹ̀ between roughly the eleventh and fifteenth centuries, its sculpture in copper alloy and terracotta, the industries that paid for it, and its relationships with Benin, Ọ̀wọ̀ and the Niger.
The sacred grove that is a UNESCO World Heritage site, the founding covenant behind it, and the Ìbọ̀lọ̀ and Epo towns of the Ọ̀yọ́ frontier: Ìwó, Èdè, Ìkirun, Ìlá-Ọ̀ràngún and their neighbours.
A scholarly historical account of Ilé-Ifẹ̀, examining its cosmogonic traditions, political centralisation, sacred institutions, archaeological record, and modern developments.