Obatala is an orisha in the Yoruba religion that is believed to have been given the task to create the Earth but failed the task by being drunk on palm wine and was outperformed by his little brother Oduduwa. He was instead given the job of creating human beings. This was authorized by his father, Olodumare which gave Obatala the name sculptor of mankind.
"Now Olodumare [the supreme being] once called on Obatala and told him that he would love him to assist in creating human beings that would live in the world he was about to create. This is because as he (Olodumare) said further he would not like the world he was planning to create to exist without human beings."
Ifẹ̀ is an ancient Yoruba city in south-western Nigeria founded sometime between the years 500 BC-1000 BC. By 900AD, 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.
The Yoruba religion, West African Orisa (Òrìṣà), or Isese (Ìṣẹ̀ṣe), comprises the traditional religious and spiritual concepts and practice of the Yoruba people. Its homeland is in present-day Southwestern Nigeria, which comprises the majority of Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, Kwara and Lagos states, as well as parts of Kogi state and the adjoining parts of Benin and Togo, commonly known as Yorubaland.
Efon-Alaaye is a town in the Ekiti State of southwestern Nigeria, inhabited by the Yoruba people. The population in 1983 was over 100,000. It belongs to Efon Local Government, one of the largest local governments in Ekiti State.
Ọ̀rànmíyàn, also known as Ọranyan, was a legendary Yoruba king from the kingdom of Ile-Ife, and the founder of the Benin Kingdom and the Oyo Empire. Although he was the youngest of the descendants of Oduduwa, he became the prime heir of Oduduwa upon his return to claim his grandfather's throne.
The Awori is a subgroup of the Yoruba people speaking a dialect of the Yoruba language. The Awori people are the original inhabitants of Lagos State and some parts of Ogun State, namely Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State. The Awori people are landowners, farmers and fishermen.
The documented history begins when Oranyan came to rule the Oyo Empire, which became dominant in the early 17th century. The older traditions of the formerly dominant Ile-Ife kingdom are largely oral.
The Yoruba of West Africa are responsible for a distinct artistic tradition in Africa, a tradition that remains vital and influential today.
The Yoruba people are a West African ethnic group who mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by the Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute more than 50 million people in Africa, are over a million outside the continent, and bear further representation among members of the African diaspora. The vast majority of the Yoruba population is today within the country of Nigeria, where they make up 20.7% of the country's population according to Ethnologue estimations, making them one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa. Most Yoruba people speak the Yoruba language, which is the Niger-Congo language with the largest number of native or L1 speakers.
Okemesi-Ekiti is the local Government Headquarters of Okemesi/Idoile Local Government of Ekiti State, Nigeria, whose headquarters is the Ekiti town of Okemesi. Its population according to 2006 population census is 56,000 residents.
Ado-Odo is the metropolitan headquarters of the ancient kingdom of Ado, renowned for its Oduduwa/Obatala temple, the ancient fortress of the traditional practice of Ifá. Oodu'a is also regarded by traditionalists as the mother of all other deities. All of these made Ado an inviolate territory in western Yorubaland—the same "father-figure" status accorded to Ile-Ife. Unlike the other kingdoms, which had at one time or the other engaged in the internecine wars that ravaged Yorubaland in the nineteenth century, Ado stood out as an unconquered sanctuary city-state throughout the period.
Iyalawo is a term in the Lucumi religion that literally means Mother of Mysteries or Mother of Wisdom. Some adherents use the term "Mamalawo," which is a partially African diaspora version of the Lucumi term, Iyaláwo and Yeyelawo are two more versions of mother of mysteries. Ìyánífá is a Yoruba word that can be translated as Mother (Ìyá) has or of (ní) Ifá or Mother in Ifá & is the Yoruba title for Mother of mysteries & the female equivalent of a Babalawo.
Obalufon Alayemore, also referenced as Ọbalùfọ̀n II or just Alayemore, was the Third Ooni of Ife, a paramount traditional ruler of the Ife Empire. He succeeded his father Obalufon Ogbogbodirin. Obalufon Alayemore was forced out of power by Ooni Oranmiyan and later returned with the help of local residents to reclaim the throne.
Iyami Aje is a Yoruba term of respect and endearment used to describe a woman of African ancestry who is considered to be an Aje, a woman who wields myriad arcane creative biological, spiritual, and cosmic powers.
The Ekiti people are one of the largest historical subgroups of the larger Yoruba people of West Africa, located in Nigeria. They are classified as a Central Yoruba group, alongside the Ijesha, Igbomina, Yagba and Ifes. Ekiti State is populated exclusively by Ekiti people; however, it is but a segment of the historic territorial domain of Ekiti-speaking groups, which historically included towns in Ondo State such as Akure, Ilara-Mokin, Ijare, and Igbara-oke. Ogbagi, Irun, Ese, Oyin, Igasi, Afin and Eriti in the Akoko region, as well as some towns in Kwara State, are also culturally Ekiti, although belong in other states today.
The Ajilesoro Royal Dynasty in llara Ile-lfe emerged from Obalufon Ogbogbodirin who succeeded his forebears Osangangan Obamakin (Oranfe) and Ogun; who reigned as the second and third Ooni of Ife over 4,000 years ago after the reign of Oduduwa. The Ooni of Ife is the supreme traditional ruler amongst the Yoruba people.
The Ife Empire was the first empire in Yoruba history. It was founded in what is now southwestern Nigeria and eastern Benin. The Ife Empire lasted from 1200 to 1420. The empire was formed by Odùduwà, and became well-known for its sophisticated art pieces. Although Yoruba was the main language of the empire, there were also various spoken dialects and languages. It rose to power through trade with Sahelian and forest states. Its capital city, Ilé-Ife, was one of the largest urban centers in 14th century West Africa.
Oke Ora is an ancient community and archaeological site situated on a hill about 8 km (5 mi) east of Ufẹ̀ (Ilé-Ifẹ̀), in between the city and the small village of Itagunmodi. Two important characters in the early history of Yorubaland; Oranife (Oramfe) and Oduduwa came from Oke Ora. Several stories and legends of the Yoruba people surround the site. In the Yoruba creation legend, it was the first mound of earth formed from the soil in a snail shell and from which Ife, the first settlement was built. Today, it continues to play an important role in certain religious rites of the Ife people, most significantly, in the coronation rituals of the Ọwọni (Ooni), king of Ifẹ̀.
