THEt FIRST AND ONLY FEMALE OONI OF IFE

When you hear of females who have played vital role in the ancient time, the likes of Queen Amina, Mary Slessor etc. Yoruba land is also blessed with those female heroines who have written their name on the marble of history...

Of such heroines is OONI LUWO GBAGIDA the only female who ruled Ile-Ife as the 21st ruler of the ancient city of Yoruba cradle..

OONI LUWO GBAGIDA is the mother of Adekola Telu who eventually founded Iwo kingdom..

Most accounts have stated that a female, Ooni Luwoo, was the 21st Ooni of Ife, the supreme traditional ruler of Ile Ife. She succeeded Ooni Giesi and was succeeded by Ooni Lumobi.

The legacy of Ooni Luwoo

In some accounts, she is referred to as Lúwo Gbàgìdá, a descendant of Otaataa from Owode compound, Okerewe. She was said to have been married to Chief Ọbalọran of Ilode and became the mother of Adekola Telu, the founder of Iwo town.

She was the first and only female to take the crown as Ooni after the demise of Ooni Giesi.

Ooni Luwoo was a beautiful woman who took great pride in her physical appearance and that of her surroundings. For this reason, she put the whole town of Ife hard at work at keeping the whole town clean and beautiful — both men and women.

She was also known to commission the unique Yoruba custom of construction of decorative pavements and open-air courtyards paved with pottery shreds. The streets of Ile-Ife were paved with quartz pebbles and broken pottery as punishment for anyone who committed an offence. The offenders were ordered to bake the clay, and afterwards use their bare hands to break it into pieces and then lay it on the floor for the queen to walk on.

When next anyone says Yoruba women are not exposed, tell them about OONI LUWO GBAGIDA..