Ifẹ̀ ( , also called Ilé-Ifẹ̀) is an ancient Yoruba city in south-western Nigeria founded sometime between the years 1000 BC and 500 BC. By 900 AD, the city had become an important West African emporium producing sophisticated art forms. The city is located in present-day Osun State. Ifẹ̀ is about 218 kilometers northeast of Lagos with a population of over 500,000 people, which is the highest in Osun State according to population census of 2006.

thumb|250px|A short introductory expose of Ile Ife in the Ufẹ̀ dialect by a native speaker

According to the traditions of the Yoruba religion, Ilé-Ifẹ̀ was founded by the order of the Supreme Deity Olódùmarè by Ọbatala. It then fell into the hands of his brother Oduduwa, which created enmity between the two. Oduduwa created a dynasty there, and sons and daughters of this dynasty became rulers of many other kingdoms in Yorubaland. The first Ọọ̀ni of Ifẹ̀ was a descendant of Oduduwa, who was the 401st Orisha. The present ruler since 2015 is Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi Ojaja II, Ọọ̀ni of Ifẹ̀ who is also a Nigerian accountant. Named as the city of 401 deities, Ifẹ̀ is home to many devotees/votaries of these deities and is where they are routinely celebrated through festivals.

Ilé-Ifẹ̀ is famous for its ancient and naturalistic bronze, stone and terracotta sculptures, dating back to between 1200 and 1400 CE. He then put a five-toed cockerel on this primordial mound so that it would scatter the earth around, thus creating the land on which Ile Ife, the first city would be built.

The usurpation of creation by Oduduwa, gave rise to an ever-lasting conflict between him and his contemporaneous rival Orisha, Obatala. This symbolic rivalry is still re-enacted in the modern era by the votary groups of the two divinities during the Itapa New Year festival. On account of his creation of the world, Oduduwa became the ancestor of the first divine king of the Yoruba, while Obatala is believed to have created the first Yoruba people out of clay. The meaning of the word "Ife" in Yoruba is "expansion"; "Ile-Ife" is therefore in reference to the myth of origin as "The Land of Expansion" (the word, Ile, as pronounced in modern Yoruba language, means house or home, which would make the name of the city mean "The Home of Expansion"). It would become known as one of the most powerful of Africa's medieval states, prior to its collapse in the mid 19th century.

ÌHÀRẸ – Outer/Town chiefs (Àgbà Ifẹ̀):

  • Ọbalufe (Ọ̀runtọ́, 'Prime minister') Ife (Hereditary)
  • Ọbalọran Ife (Hereditary)
  • Ọbajio Ife (Hereditary)
  • Ọbalaye Ife (Hereditary)
  • Akọgun Ife (Hereditary)
  • Waasin ife (Hereditary)
  • Jagunọṣin ife (Nonhereditary)
  • Ejesi Ife (Nonhereditary)

----

MỌDÉWÁ – Inner/Palace chiefs (Ẹmẹsẹ̀):

  • Lọwa Ijaruwa (Leader)
  • Jaaran
  • Aguro
  • Arodẹ
  • Erebẹsẹ
  • Ishanire
  • Lọwate
  • Laadin

----

  • Ọmọba Ife
  • Yeyeluwa Ife
  • Oloori Ife

| members = * Olubuse II <br/>

  • Adesoji Aderemi
  • Tejumade Alakija

| styles = Kábíèsí <br/>Majesty <br/> Imperial Highness

| other_families = Oyo royal family <br/> Bini royal family <br/>Ijesha royal family

| cadet branches = In Ife (4)

  • Oshinkola of Iremo
  • Giesi of Moore
  • Ogboru of Ilare
  • Lafogido of Okerewe

Outside Ife (Several)

  • Oyo royal family
  • Bini royal family
  • Ketu royal family
  • Various royal families across Yorubaland.

| motto = Ilé Ifẹ̀ orírun ayé, Ibi tí ojúmọ́ ti ń mọ́ wá. (Yoruba: Ife, source origin of the world, the place from which dawn begins)

The King (Ooni of Ile-Ife)

The Oòni (or king) of Ife is a title of the godking Oduduwa, and some of the other powerful dynastic families of UFE is counted as the spiritual and political leader over the race now called yoruba. The OONI is the stool and title that every King in IFE took after ODUDUWA’s reign. He is the head of spiritual political and military affairs across all the lands before other kingdoms went out of ife to establish their own territories. He is traditionally considered the 401st spirit (Orisha), the only one that speaks. In fact, the royal dynasty of Ife traces its origin back to the founding of the city more than ten thousand years before the birth of Jesus Christ. All of the other kings or rulers of today’s “yoruba kingdoms” are referred to as “igbakeji orisha”. Second in command to the ORISHA- OONI. The present ruler is Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi (Ojaja II). The Ooni ascended his throne in 2015. Following the formation of the Yoruba Orisha Congress in 1986, the Ooni acquired an international status the likes of which the holders of his title hadn't had since the city's colonisation by the British. Nationally he had always been prominent amongst the Federal Republic of Nigeria's company of royal Obas, being regarded as the chief priest and custodian of the holy city of all the Yorubas. At present, it is a more modern series of buildings. The current Ooni, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi Ojaja II, Ooni of Ife, (born October 17, 1974) is a Nigerian accountant and the 51st Ooni of Ife. He succeeded the late Oba Okunade Sijuwade(Olubuse II) who was the 50th ooni of Ife, and who had died on July 28, 2015.

Cults of Divinities

Ife is well known as the city of 401 deities (also known as irumole or orishas). It is said that every day of the year the traditional worshippers celebrate a festival of one of these deities. Often the festivals extend over more than one day and they involve both priestly activities in the palace and theatrical dramatisations in the rest of the kingdom. Historically the King only appeared in public during the annual Olojo festival (celebration of the new dawn); other important festivals here include the Itapa festival for Obatala and Obameri, the Edi festival for Moremi Ajasoro and the Ugbo with their Igare (Oluyare) masqueraders.

Art history

Kings and gods were often depicted with large heads because the artists believed that the Ase was held in the head, the Ase being the inner power and energy of a person. Both historic figures of Ife and the offices associated with them are represented. One of the best documented among this is the early king Obalufon II who is said to have invented bronze casting and is honored in the form of a naturalistic copper life-size mask. 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 significant examples of naturalism in pre-colonial African art and are distinguished by their variations in regalia, facial marking patterns, and body proportions. Ancient Ife also was famous for its glass beads which have been found at sites as far away as Mali, Mauritania, and Ghana.

Oduduwa Shrine and Grove: The shrine of the progenitor of the Yoruba race. Worshippers and initiates flood the place seeking blessings and paying obeisance to the originator of their civilization.

Agbonniregun Temple: The grove of Ọrunmila, an Orisha. He is the Orisha of wisdom, knowledge, and divination. This source of knowledge is believed to have a keen understanding of the human form and of purity, and is therefore praised as often being more effective than other remedies.

Archaeology

thumb|[[Solomon's knot, Ìbọ̀, a quasi-heraldic symbol of Yoruba royalty]]

Burnt pipes (or tuyere), stone tools, broken calabash, decorated potsherds, and pottery (e.g., rimsherd, plane-sherd body, broken, and washed pottery) were excavated at Iyekere. Iron smelting, charcoal utilized in the process of smelting, and iron slags involved in pitting were also discovered.

Iron smelting occurred in the Ife region. The yield and efficiency were quite high as the iron smelting process yielded ore grade near 80 percent iron oxide, lean slag possessed less than 60 percent iron oxide, and no greater than the required amount of iron oxide in the slag was left for slag formation. may be one of the earliest workshops for producing glass in West Africa. Glass production may have begun during, if not before, the 11th century. The presence of HLHA glass beads discovered throughout West Africa reveals the broader importance of this glass industry in the region and shows its participation in regional trade networks

thumb|Glass beads of different colors and shapes from Ile-Ife, Nigeria

Government

The main city of Ife is divided into two local government areas: Ife East, headquartered at Oke-ogbo and Ife central at Ajebandele area of the city. Both local governments are composed of a total of 21 political wards. The city has an estimated population of 355,813 people.

Geography

Latitudes 7°28′N and 7°45′N and longitudes 4°30′E and 4°34′E. Ile-Ife is a rural area with settlements where agriculture is occupied by most. Ife has an undulating terrain underlain by metamorphic rocks and characterized by two types of soils, deep clay soils on the upper slopes and sandy soils on the lower parts. Within the tropical savanna climate zone of West Africa. It has average rainfall of usually from March to October and a mean relative humidity of 75% to 100%. Ife is east of the city of Ibadan and connected to it through the Ife-Ibadan highway; Ife is also from Osogbo and has road networks to other cities such as Ede, Ondo and Ilesha. There is the Opa river and reservoir, that serves as a water treatment facility for OAU college.

Climate

In Ifé, the dry season is muggy and partially cloudy, and the temperature is high all year round. The wet season is oppressive and overcast. The average annual temperature ranges from , rarely falling below or rising over .

Temperature

From January 22 to April 4, the hot season, with an average daily high temperature exceeding 91&nbsp;°F, lasts for 2.4 months. In Ifé, March is the hottest month of the year, with an average high of 92&nbsp;°F and low of 73&nbsp;°F.

In terms of development, the Ife central area of Ilé Ifè is more developed. The areas include Parakin, Eleyele, Modomo, Damico, and Crown Estate Area. These areas are characterized by modern houses, good road network, constant electricity and security.

Education

<!---♦♦♦ Only add schools to this list if they already have their own article on the English Wikipedia ♦♦♦--->

<!---♦♦♦ Please keep the list in alphabetical order ♦♦♦--->Ife has several universities that are well-known both in Nigeria and internationally; such as the Obafemi Awolowo University (formerly University of Ife), and Oduduwa University.

It is also home to the Seventh Day Adventist Grammar School, Ile-Ife, Oduduwa College and Moremi High School, which are notable schools established over 30 years ago.

Notable people

  • Adesoji Aderemi; (Atobatele I) (1889-1980), 49th Ọọ̀ni of Ifẹ̀
  • Dele Momodu (born 1960), journalist
  • Tunde Odunlade (born 1954), artist and musician
  • Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi; (Ọjájá II) (born 1974), 51st Ọọ̀ni of Ifẹ̀
  • Femi Fani-Kayode (born 1960), Nigerian politician, essayist, poet and lawyer
  • Iyiola Omisore (born 1957), Nigerian businessman, engineer and politician
  • Chief Remi Adetokunboh Fani-Kayode, Q.C., SAN, CON
  • Alayeluwa Oba Okunade Sijuwade Olubuse II (1930–2015), 50th Ọọ̀ni of Ifẹ̀

See also

  • Ife Empire
  • History of the Yoruba people
  • List of rulers of Ife

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 south-western Nigeria, New York 1969. The book mainly deals with Ife.
  • Bascom, William "The Olojo festival at Ife, 1937", in: A. Falassi (ed.), Time out of Time: Essays on the Festival, Albuquerque, 1987, 62–73.
  • Blier, Suzanne Preston. Art and Risk in Ancient Yoruba: Ife History, Power, and Identity c.1300, Cambridge University Press 2015. .
  • Blier, Suzanne Preston. http://scholar.harvard.edu/files/blier/files/blier.pdf "Art in Ancient Ife Birthplace of the Yoruba"]. African Arts 2012
  • Frobenius, Leo, The Voice of Africa, London 1913 (Frobenius stayed for nearly two months in Ife, in 1910–11).
  • Johnson, Samuel: History of the Yorubas, London 1921.
  • 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.&nbsp;343–376.
  • Lange, Dierk: "Preservation of Canaanite creation culture in Ife", in: H.-P. Hahn and G. Spittler (eds.), Between Resistance and Expansion, Münster 2004, 125–158.
  • Lange, Dierk: "Origin of the Yoruba and 'Lost Tribes of Israel'", Anthropos, 106, 2011, 579–595.
  • Olubunmi, A. O. The Rise and Fall of the Yoruba Race 10,000 BC–1960 AD, The 199 Publishing Palace
  • Olubunmi, A. O. On Ijesa Racial Purity, The 199 Publishing Palace
  • Ogunyemi, Yemi D. (Yemi D. Prince), The Oral Traditions in Ile-Ife, , Academica Press, 2009, Palo Alto, USA.
  • Ogunyemi, Yemi D. (Yemi D. Prince): The Aura of Yoruba Philosophy, Religion and Literature, , Diaspora Press of America, 2003, Boston, USA.
  • Ogunyemi, Yemi D. (Yemi D. Prince): Introduction to Yoruba Philosophy, Religion and Literature, , Athelia Henrietta Press, 1998, New York, USA.
  • Ogunyemi, Yemi D. (Yemi D. Prince): The Covenant of the Earth–Yoruba Religious & Philosophical Narratives, , Athelia Henrietta Press, 1998, New York, USA.
  • Olupona, Jacob K.: City of 201 Gods: Ile-Ife in Time, Space and Imagination, Berkeley 2011.
  • Stride, G. T. and C. Ifeka: "Peoples and Empires of West Africa: West Africa in History 1000–1800", New York 1971.
  • Walsh, M. J., "The Edi festival at Ile Ife", African Affairs, 47 (1948), 231–8.
  • Willett, Frank: Ife in the History of West African Sculpture, London, 1967. The book also deals with some oral traditions of Ile-Ife.
  • Wyndham, John: "The creation", Man, 19 (1919), 107–8.
  • Ife – World History Encyclopedia
  • Homepage of the Ooni of Ife
  • The Story of Africa: Ife and Benin BBC page on Ife
  • Yoruba Myths Por Ulli Beie