Ife (Ifè, also
Ilé-Ifẹ̀) is an ancient
Yoruba city in south-western
Nigeria. Evidence of settlement of the city has been discovered dating back as far as
500 BC. It is located in present day
Osun State, with a population of 501,952.
About
Today a mid-sized city, Ife is home to the
Obafemi Awolowo University and
Natural History Museum of Nigeria. Ife people are of the
Yoruba ethnic group, one of the largest ethnic groups in
Africa. Ife has a local
television station called NTA Ife, and is home to various businesses. Ife is also the trade center for a farming region.
Yams,
cassava,
grain,
cacao, and
tobacco are grown.
Cotton is grown and used to weave
cloth.
Hotels in Ilé-Ife include Hotel Diganga Ife-Ibadan road, Mayfair Hotel, Obafemi Awolowo University Guest House etc. Ilé-Ife has a
stadium with a capacity of 9,000 and a second division professional league
football team.
The meaning of the word "Ife" in Yoruba language is love. Ife is also a name.
History
According to Yoruba legend, Ife is where the founding deities
Oduduwa and
Obatala began the creation of the world, as directed by the paramount deity
Olodumare. Obàtálá created the first humans out of clay, while Odùduwà became the first divine king of the Yoruba. The Oòni (King) of Ife claims direct descent from the god Oduduwa, and is counted first among Yoruba kings. To this day many of the surviving traditional religious groups of the city celebrate the creation of the world during the
Itapa festival.
Mythic Origin of Ife
The Yoruba claim to have originated from Ife. According to
Yoruba mythology, Olorun, the supreme god, ordered his son, Oduduwa, to climb down from the heavens on a chain with three things. Oduduwa scattered a handful of dirt over the ocean creating Ile Ife, then put a cockerel on the land which dug a hole. Oduduwa planted a palm nut in the hole and from there sprang a great tree with sixteen branches representing the families of the early Yoruba states.
Migratory Origin of Ife
Another origin story from the Yoruba is that they were the product of intermarriage between a small band of invaders from the savanna and the indigenous inhabitants of the forest. According to this version, Oduduwa was the son of Lamurudu, a prince from the east (possibly Mecca). The Yoruba chafed under Islam, and Oduduwa and the natives left the land. After wandering for some time, they found and settled the state of Ife. Oduduwa then had a son call Okanbi, Okanbi then had seven descendants who founded the Yoruba states of Owu, Sabe, Popo, Benin, Ila orangun, Ketu and Oyo.
Ife Kingdom
Between
700 and
900 A.D., Ife began to develop as a major artistic center, and the city was a settlement of substantial size between the 9th and 12th centuries, with houses featuring potsherd pavement. Ilé-Ifè is known worldwide for its ancient and naturalistic bronze, stone and terracotta sculptures, which reached their peak of artistic expression between
1200 and
1400 A.D. After this period, production declined as political and economic power shifted to the nearby kingdom of
Benin which like the Yoruba kingdom of Oyo, developed into a major empire.
Bronze and terracotta art created by this civilization are one of the earliest and most significant instances of realism in art, dating back to before the European Renaissance.
See also
Notes
References
- Akinjogbin, I. A. (Hg.): The Cradle of a Race: Ife from the Beginning to 1980, Lagos 1992 (The book also has chapters on the present religious situation in the town).
- Bascom, William: The Yoruba of Southwestern Nigeria, New York 1969 (The book mainly deals with Ile-Ife).
- Lange, Dierk: "The dying and the rising God in the New Year Festival of Ife", in: Lange, Ancient Kingdoms of West Africa, Dettelbach 2004, pp. 343-376.
- Willett, Frank: Ife in the History of West African Sculpture, London 1967 (The book also deals with some oral traditions of Ile-Ife).
External links
