Ooni Luwoo of Ile Ife

“With great power comes great responsibility” - (Spider-Man comics).

Tranascribed oral tradition has it that Ooni Luwoo (in some records called the Lúwo Gbàgìdá), was the 21st Ooni (ruler of Ife) and the first and only ever female Ooni of Ife till date. She ruled in the 10th century. 

 

Ooni Luwoo, being a beautiful woman who derived great joy from her physical appearance and that of her surroundings, kept the men and women of Ife on their toes by ensuring they partook in keeping their environment well-groomed at all times. Ooni Luwoo didn’t quite enjoy walking on bare soil, so she commissioned and supervised the construction of paved walkways consisting of quartz pebbles and broken poetry. The walkways are popularly known as “apaadi Luwo” - Luwoo’s potsherd pavements (now owned by the Ife Museum). Although they were originally made to pave the way for the queen so as not to soil her feet & dress during the rainy season, by the 14th & 15th centuries, apaadi Luwoo had become part of the architectural heritage of the Ife people. 

The elders of the land came to view her as high-handed, so at the end of her reign, the council of Obas had a meeting and decided never to make a woman the Ooni of Ife again.

 

Ooni Luwoo, though given negative labels by her council of chiefs, still played a vital role in helping her son Adekola Tolu create the city of Iwo, contributing to his becoming the first Oluwo of Iwo.

 

Cited: