The Opa Oranmiyan, or staff of Oranmiyan, is a granite monolith
standing over eighteen feet tall that commemorates a legendary warrior,
ruler, and progenitor. Said to have been the son of Odudua, the first
divine king of Ife, Oranmiyan is credited as the founder of the Benin
dynasties and the Yoruba Oyo kingdom. The age of the monolith is uncertain,
but it is estimated to have been erected sometime during the first
millennium A.D.
An important urban center in contemporary southwestern Nigeria,
Ife’s origins can be traced back to around 350 B.C., when it began as a
cluster of some thirteen hamlets. Ife holds particular significance to the
Yoruba, a traditionally urban people who represent one of the largest
ethnic groups in Nigeria and on the African continent. Spreading through
the African Diaspora, Yoruba heritage has furthermore made important
contributions to the cultures of Cuba, Brazil, and the United States. The
many religious arts of the Yoruba have long served to mediate relations
between worshippers and an elaborate pantheon of gods, and have more
recently expanded to address the Muslim and Christian faiths. Yoruba
peoples today maintain a plurality of views but remain linked by a common
cultural heritage.
According to the Yoruba worldview, Ife is the place of origin of all
humankind and is therefore of particular religious and political
importance. Here the deities Odudua and Obatala, under instruction from the
creator Olodumare, began the creation of the world. Obatala has become
associated primarily with the creation of the first humans with clay, while
Odudua’s legacy as the first divine king of the Yoruba is political. Yoruba
monarchs still trace their lineage back to the founding of Ife, and it
remains the seat of Yoruba sacred kingship. The Oni (King) of Ife, himself
considered to be descended from the god Odudua, determines the legitimacy
of all other Yoruba kings by assessing their right to wear royal beaded
crowns.
In the latter half of the first millennium A.D., Ife began to
develop into a flourishing artistic center. The discovery of Ife’s now famous naturalistic bronzes, terracotta, and stone sculptures challenged European assumptions about the nature of African art and initiated significant debates concerning the antiquity of its past.
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Hello, What kind of nonsense is this? Why is that that some African are sometimes so proud that they lie to justify their pride. First you talk about West African Kingdom being 10,000 years old. Now Ife is about 2,350 years old (350 BC) and Oduduwa’s son founded Benin.
Let us agree for a minute that Oranmiyan (Spell) founded Benin. His son Eweka the first was born around 800 years ago and was first King of Benin, not Ogodomigodo ruled by 35 Ogisos before Eweka. This means that even if Oduduwa’s son founded Benin, he can not be more than 1000 years in historical age. If this is so, his father Oduduwa cannot be more than 1,200 years in historical age.
This also concludeds that ogodomigodo (Old Edo/Benin) that was ruled by 35 Ogisos MUST be older than Oduduwa. If the average Ogiso ruled for about 10 years, that will be a period of about 350 years between Ogodomogodo and the new Benin Empire. So, Ogodomigodo must be at least 1150 years. Since no man can live for more than 200 years, and Oduduwa, Oranmiyan, and Eweka are in the same period in time, then neither Yoruba or Oduduwa is more than 1000 years.
Please stop educating the world with all these lies. It is always easy to separate facts from pride. Africa already lacks credibility in many things, please do not let our folktales, history and facts also suffer the same fate. FACT is SUPERIOR to PRIDE. Thanks.
In the latter half of the first millennium A.D., Ife began to
develop into a flourishing artistic center. The discovery of Ife’s now famous naturalistic bronzes, terracotta, and stone sculptures challenged European assumptions about the nature of African art and initiated significant debates concerning the antiquity of its past.
***********************************************
Hello, What kind of nonsense is this? Why is that that some African are sometimes so proud that they lie to justify their pride. First you talk about West African Kingdom being 10,000 years old. Now Ife is about 2,350 years old (350 BC) and Oduduwa’s son founded Benin.
Let us agree for a minute that Oranmiyan (Spell) founded Benin. His son Eweka the first was born around 800 years ago and was first King of Benin, not Ogodomigodo ruled by 35 Ogisos before Eweka. This means that even if Oduduwa’s son founded Benin, he can not be more than 1000 years in historical age. If this is so, his father Oduduwa cannot be more than 1,200 years in historical age.
This also concludeds that ogodomigodo (Old Edo/Benin) that was ruled by 35 Ogisos MUST be older than Oduduwa. If the average Ogiso ruled for about 10 years, that will be a period of about 350 years between Ogodomogodo and the new Benin Empire. So, Ogodomigodo must be at least 1150 years. Since no man can live for more than 200 years, and Oduduwa, Oranmiyan, and Eweka are in the same period in time, then neither Yoruba or Oduduwa is more than 1000 years.
Please stop educating the world with all these lies. It is always easy to separate facts from pride. Africa already lacks credibility in many things, please do not let our folktales, history and facts also suffer the same fate. FACT is SUPERIOR to PRIDE. Thanks.
