ONI of IFE
Posted On Sunday, March 18, 2007 at at Sunday, March 18, 2007 by Unknown
In 1980, Sijuwade became the fiftieth Oni( King ) of Ife, one of the most ancient African Dynasties.
Formerly, during his coronation, an Oni had to embrace the sword of justice, and enter into his palace on a cloth stiffened by the dry blood of sacrificed men and women.
Today the Oni is a rich businessman, with several vaste properties in Nigeria and England.
According to legend, Oduduwa, the first king of Ife, was expulsed from Mecca by the moslem party. In order to avenge him, Oranyan his great grandson, undertook a punitive expedition which never made it, because of a quarrel with his brothers. Vexed, Oranyan refused to return to Ife. He installed himself in Oyo, leaving his treasures and fetishes with Adimu, his loyal servant. Adimu was the son of a slave, spared from being sacrificed because she was pregnant.
With time, Adimu became the king of Ife, under the name of Oni, which is a contraction of the phrase "omo olowoni", meaning the child of the victim to be sacrificed.
