Where is ile ife

I was lucky enough to watch the fully booked show and the entire experience transported me a few weeks back to when the Ooni of Ife invited a few travel writers and I to explore Ife while staying at the new Ife Grand resort. Ife is part of Osun state, but dates back to around B. C and is the oldest Yoruba city. According to Yoruba lore, Ife was founded by deities, Oduduwa and Obatala when they created the world.

Besides its mark in the history of the Yoruba people, Ife is famous for art. From terracotta sculptures, to stones and bronze sculptures that can still be found in the museum. Without giving up the plot of the play, the play focuses on the pain and lengthy strides Queen Moremi took in helping her people. If you ever find yourself in Ife, first stop at a local bukka and order a plate of iyan with efo riro, no one does pounded yam and spinach stew like Osun people.

Beyond the palatial Yoruba themed rooms, we had the pleasure of spending one of the evenings with the Ooni of Ife at his palace. If you have a day to spare, try to plan an afternoon exploring the palace of the Ooni. Take a sip from the well that, according to our guide. Measure ad performance. Select basic ads. Create a personalised ads profile. Select personalised ads. Apply market research to generate audience insights. Measure content performance.

Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. Share Flipboard Email. Kris Hirst. Archaeology Expert. Kris Hirst is an archaeologist with 30 years of field experience.

Her work has appeared in scholarly publications such as Archaeology Online and Science. Twitter Twitter. It is considered the ancestral home of the Yoruba people. Obatala fashioned the first humans out of clay while Oduduwa became the first divine king of the Yoruba people. Historical evidence, however, tells a different story. According to historians the area was originally populated by the Igbo people when Oduduwa and his army invaded the city from the north, pushed the earlier inhabitants to the east, and established the first Yoruba kingdom.

After the death of Oduduwa, his sons and other descendants spread out from Ile Ife to found other Yoruba states. The current royal dynasty of Ile Ife is over eight centuries old.

Ife is world famous for its art. In January , two feet below the ground of the Wunmonije Compound in Ife, a cache of bronze heads was uncovered while a foundation for a house was being dug. It would become one of the most important chance finds in the history of African art.

Although no photos of the excavations exist, historians have a good recollection of the excavation:. While clearing away the topsoil the workmen had struck metal and further digging revealed a group of cast heads. Thirteen life-size heads and a half-lifesize half figure were unearthed. Soon after, the same site yielded additional finds of five more works: a life-size head, three smaller heads, and a torso.

The identification and function of these heads remain uncertain. It is believed that artistic production in the kingdom began to wane as political power and wealth shifted to the neighboring kingdoms of Benin and Oyo in the s.