How The City Of Ile-Ife Was Paved By A Yoruba Woman In 1067 BC
January 18, 2021 1523
Share this:
Although this might come to you as a
surprise, but there is well-documented evidence that the City of Ile fie, an
ancient urban centre, and the cradle of Yoruba civilization located in present
day Osun state, south-western Nigeria, was first paved by a woman around 1067
BC.
Ile-Ife was first occupied at least
since the 1st millennium CE, and it became the religious and cultural centre of
the Yoruba race. It was very significant to the Ife culture during the 14th and
15th centuries CE, and is traditionally considered the birthplace of the Yoruba
civilization, which began in the later part of the African Iron Age. Today,
Ile-Ife is a prosperous and thriving metropolis with a population of around
350,000 people, mostly Yorubas.
Residents of the ancient kingdom were
noted for making naturalistic Benin bronzes, terracotta heads, and copper alloy
sculptures. Also, evidence at excavation sites show local manufacture of glass
beads, adobe brick houses, and potsherd pavements.
Queen Luwoo Gbagidi is credited with
being the first person to commission the creation of uncommon pavements (now
owned by the Ife Museum) and various other open-air courtyards paved with shred
and pieces of pottery o adorn and beautify her environment and any other Yoruba
town she visited during her reign.
Born to Otaataa from Owode compound,
Okerewe, Luwoo Gbagidi was married to Chief Ọbalọran of Ilode and was the
mother of Adekola Telu, the founder of Iwo town. After the death of Ooni Giesi,
she was crowned the next Ooni, the first female to assume the throne.
Although not much has been said or
recorded about her, in part due to the tradition of much of pre-colonial
history of Nigeria being passed down through oral means, history has it that
Luwoo Gbagidi was one of the most effective and influential Oonis of Ile-Ife.
Being a very beautiful and physically
attractive woman, the Ooni took great pride in ensuring her kingdom was well
taken care of. She encouraged her subjects to keep the environment clean and
well groomed.
Since she was averse to walking on
bare soil, she was instrumental in ensuring the streets of Ile-Ife were paved.
Lawbreakers were used as manual labour on the road constructions sites, with
miscreants often commanded to bake clay, and later using their bare knuckles to
break them into pieces and lay on the floor for the queen to walk on.
Her no-nonsense approach to rulership
made even the menfolk to fear her, as she showed a great dislike for lazy men
who broke the laws of the land. But she treated all equally, slave or freeborn,
although was often seen as high-handed as she didn’t tolerate any form of
insubordination and indiscipline.
As a result of this, when her reign
came to an end, the council of obas were determined never to allow a woman
before an Ooni ever again. However, even though much hated by the kingmakers,
Ooni Luwoo still managed to assist her son, Adekola Tolu, to create the city of
Iwo, and become the first Oluwo of Iwo.
Sources:
https://swifttalk.net/2019/09/27/queen-luwo-gbagida-the-first-and-only-female-ooni-of-ife/
https://www.thoughtco.com/ile-ife-nigeria-169686