[11] Ilé-Ifẹ̀ is famous worldwide for its ancient and naturalistic bronze, stone and terracotta sculptures, dating back to between 1200 and 1400 CE.

[11] According to Yoruba religion, Olodumare, the Supreme God, ordered Obatala to create the earth, however on his way he over indulged in palm wine and got drunk.

[12] He then put a five-toed cockerel on this primordial mound so that it would scatter the earth around, thus creating the land on which Ile Ife, the first city would be built.

[8] Oduduwa planted a palm nut in a hole in the newly formed land and from there sprang a great tree with sixteen branches, a symbolic representation of the 16 clans of the early Ife pre-urban confederation; Elu Merindinlogun, (Thirteen initial and 3 later ones).

[13] The usurpation of creation by Oduduwa, gave rise to an ever-lasting conflict between him and his contemporaneous rival Orisha, Obatala.

This symbolic rivalry is still re-enacted in the modern era by the votary groups of the two divinities during the Itapa New Year festival.

[15] Oduduwa had sons, daughters, and grandchildren, who went on to found their own kingdoms and empires, namely; Ila Orangun, Owu, Ketu, Sabe, Egba, Popo and Oyo.

The young boy went on to become the first widely accepted ruler and Oba of the second Edo dynasty that has ruled what is now Benin from that day to this.

In fact, the royal dynasty of Ife traces its origin back to the founding of the city more than ten thousand years before the birth of Jesus Christ.

Following the formation of the Yoruba Orisha Congress in 1986, the Ooni acquired an international status the likes of which the holders of his title hadn't had since the city's colonisation by the British.

Nationally he had always been prominent amongst the Federal Republic of Nigeria's company of royal Obas, being regarded as the chief priest and custodian of the holy city of all the Yorubas.

[10] In former times, the palace of the Ooni of Ife was a structure built of authentic enameled bricks, decorated with artistic porcelain tiles and all sorts of ornaments.

He succeeded the late Oba Okunade Sijuwade(Olubuse II) who was the 50th ooni of Ife, and who had died on July 28, 2015.

Often the festivals extend over more than one day and they involve both priestly activities in the palace and theatrical dramatisations in the rest of the kingdom.

One of the best documented among this is the early king Obalufon II who is said to have invented bronze casting and is honored in the form of a naturalistic copper life-size mask.

Ilé-Ifè is known worldwide for its ancient and naturalistic bronze, stone and terracotta sculptures, which reached their peak of artistic expression between 1200 and 1400 CE In the period around 1300 CE the artists at Ife developed a refined and naturalistic sculptural tradition in terracotta, stone and copper alloy—copper, brass, and bronze—many of which appear to have been created under the patronage of King Obalufon II, the man who today is identified as the Yoruba patron deity of brass casting, weaving and regalia.

Igbo Olokun in the city of Ile-Ife, in south-western Nigeria, was said to have a history of glass makers with unique manufacturing techniques in West Africa.

Analysis of the composition of the artefacts and preliminary dating of the site puts the main timing of glass-working between the 11th and 15th centuries AD.

The results of these studies suggest that glass bead manufacture at this site was largely independent of glass-making traditions documented farther afield, and that Igbo Olokun may represent one of the earliest known glass-production workshops in West Africa.

This source of knowledge is believed to have a keen understanding of the human form and of purity, and is therefore praised as often being more effective than other remedies.

[citation needed] In Ifé, the dry season is muggy and partially cloudy, and the temperature is high all year round.

Ife is home to a regional agricultural center with an area that produces vegetables, grain, cocoa, tobacco, and cotton.