The Rulers of Ife: The Traditional and Adaptive Roles of the Ooni

Ife is an ancient city of the Yoruba located in the south-western part of modern day Nigeria. Based on the archaeological evidence, the urbanization of the site may be dated back to around 500 AD. The ruler of Ife is known as the Ooni, and is believed to be a direct descendant of the Yoruba god Oduduwa. In one version of the Yoruba creation story, this deity plays an important role in the making of human beings.

The Creation Myth of the Yoruba

According to the creation myth of the Yoruba, there was a time when human beings were physically closer to the realm of the gods. Like other creation myths, however, this close relationship was ruined due to some unfortunate incident. One story claims that a greedy person went to Heaven on a regular basis and ate too much food, whilst another story claims that Heaven was soiled by a woman with dirty hands. Therefore, the Supreme deity, Olodumare, removed the realm of the gods from the people he created. One result of this incident was that the other gods began to assume new roles and took bigger responsibilities in the human realm.