Ile-Ife
/ìlè ìfẹ̀/noun
A historic Yoruba city in southwestern Nigeria, regarded in Yoruba tradition as a primary center of creation and kingship.
Did you know?Ile-Ife produced remarkably naturalistic metal and terracotta heads between roughly the 12th and 15th centuries, challenging older colonial claims that such artistry could not have developed locally.
Etymological Timeline
Precolonial Yoruba tradition
Yoruba
Ilé-Ifẹ̀
“A sacred city associated with creation, ancestral origins, and the beginning of Yoruba civilization.”
Medieval period
Yoruba
Ifẹ̀
“The name of the central Yoruba sacred and political city; its deeper lexical interpretation remains debated.”
12th–15th Centuries
Yoruba
Ilé-Ifẹ̀
“A major urban and ritual center known for sophisticated copper-alloy and terracotta sculpture.”
19th Century
English
Ife / Ilé-Ifẹ̀
“Forms used in European and colonial records for the Yoruba city.”
Modern English
English
Ile-Ife
“A historic Nigerian city and an important center of Yoruba religious, artistic, and cultural heritage.”