| Name | Ilé-Ifẹ̀ |
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| Dot x | |dot_y = |
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| Pushpin map | Nigeria |
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Ife (, also Ilé-Ifẹ̀) is an ancient Yoruba city in south-western Nigeria. Evidence of urbanization at the site has been discovered to date back to roughly 500 AD. It is located in present day Osun State, with a population of 501,952.
About
Today a mid-sized city, Ife the holy city, 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 ethno-linguistic groupings 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 the Yoruba language is 'sprawl' or 'expansion'; 'Ile-Ife' means 'The House of Expansion' (the city is regarded as the origin of Yorubà culture, industry and of people of Yoruba descent.) It has been called the "
Athens of Africa"
History
According to the Yoruba people, 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. According to anthropologists, its habitation can be traced as far back as 350 BCE.
Mythic origin of Ife
The Yoruba claim to have originated in Ife. According to
their mythology, Olorun, the supreme god, ordered his son, Oduduwa, to climb down from the heavens on a chain with three items. 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.
A major exhibition entitled Kingdom of Ife: Sculptures of West Africa, displaying works of art found in Ife and the surrounding area, was being held in the British Museum from 4 March to 4 July 2010.
See also
Legends of Africa
Niara Sudarkasa
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
Homepage of the Ooni of Ife
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.
Wyndham, John: Myths of Ífè
The Story of Africa: Ife and Benin BBC page on Ife
Category:Archaeological sites in Nigeria
Category:Populated places in Osun State
Category:Yoruba history
Category:Holy cities
Category:8th century in Africa
