Ife - July 17, 2019

From history of ancient traditions in Nigeria, you cannot talk on Benin without Ife. We went to the Ooni of Ife's palace in Ile-Ife and the pathetic National Museum next to it. Ugo's friend and classmate connected us, and just as in Benin, we drove right into the palace premises. The age-old controversy of who came first - Ooni or Oba - stared us on the face. The kids wrote a piece about that. Overall though it was a great experience.

Chizoro wrote the following article about Ile Ife.

July 17, 2019

Chizoro Nwokocha

On our 2019 summer vacation, my family and I got the privilege of  traveling to the ancient kingdoms of Ife and Benin. This is going to be a brief summary of what I learned in the kingdom of Ife. Once in Ife we drove to the Ile-Ife palace. That is where the Ooni resides.. The Ooni is the king of Ile-Ife. Ooni means king in the Yoruba language. The kingdom has been in place since around 500 B.C. Since then, there have been 51 Ooni’s in power in Ile-Ife starting with the first, Ooni Oduduwa all the way to present day with Ooni Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi. In this essay, I will be explaining the Ooni’s and what people believe and traditions that are in place. I will be explaining the rules that the Ooni must follow. In this essay, I’m going to start at the beginning of the Ooni rule with Ooni Oduduwa and the kingdoms of Ile-Ife and Benin.

In the kingdoms of Ile-Ife and Benin, there has been an ongoing controversy about which kingdom came first. Ile-Ife or Benin. The people from Benin think that the first Ooni originated from Benin but the people from Ile-Ife believe that the first Benin Oba came from one of the Ooni’s sons.

The very first Ooni to ever rule in Ile-Ife was Ooni Oduduwa. Ooni Oduduwa is considered the father of the Yorubas everywhere. There are multiple stories of who Oduduwa was and how he came to be who he was, but all of them include him being the first Ooni of Ile-Ife. On one hand, Yoruba traditionalists believe that Oduduwa was the creator of Ile-Ife and that he was one of the gods responsible for the creation of the entire world. The legend states that Oduduwa was sent by Olodumare (God) to finish the mission of his brother. On the other  hand, Ife tradition believes that Oduduwa came from Oke-Ora and came into  the valley of Ile-Ife on a chain from heaven as a blacksmith.

Each year the Ooni wears a special crown called the Aare. it weighs 50 kilograms (110.2 lbs.). The crown is a physical symbol for the Ooni. It is thought to be made from over 150 different items and is very special because it is the only thing that connects the Ooni to his ancestors. The symbol of the Ooni is an elephant because the elephant symbols all the great power the Ooni has. It is a powerful creature just as the Ooni is a powerful person.  

The Ooni is only allowed to have one wife. The heirs of the Ooni are produced by a few very important Ife families. The families take turns bearing sons to become the next Ooni. 

The Ooni only drinks holy water that, as the legend goes, was a woman who got turned into water because she was put into a well, they covered it, and when they took off what was covering the well, water was there and the woman was nowhere to be found. You are not allowed to wear your shoes when walking to get water or to the shrine near the well. There are three white bowls. You pour water into all three and once that has been done You pray over the water before you can drink it. The water is very clear and pure. The Ooni won’t drink any other water. 

There are 401 shrines  for the Yorubas to worship and 201 of those are in Ife. It is important to the Yorubas that the Ooni has many places to worship around his living area. Every June,  everyone who believes gather around the shrines every year in June and they pray and worship. 

There are 4 courts in the palace, kind of like the Legislative, Executive, and Judiciary branches. The 4th court is the court that is the ultimate court. People only visit and pray after they’ve gone to the other 3 courts and they didn’t come to a final decision. They put the final decision in the hands of god. Also, that is where the legends say Oduduwa came down on  a chain.

No one knows where the past Ooni’s were buried. There are 4 known graves in the palace, but no one knows where the others were buried. 2 of the graves in the palace are very grand. They are very large and are supposed to represent how much power the Ooni has.. 

The Ooni is the ruler of Ile-Ife, kind of like the president. There were multiple subjects covered mostly the history on the palace and the Ooni’s. As there were 51 Ooni’s, each of them did something different. There are some rules and traditions all Ooni’s have to follow. There is much to learn about the Ooni’s of Ife. I’m hope you’ve begun to understand the complex history of the Ooni’s of Ife.