Ancient Ooni of Ife's door of instruction.
Visitors to the palace at Ile Oodua easily gain insight into the various activities of the king from the pictures engraved on the door of the ancient palace. The images represent activities of the ancient Ooni, outlining the palace tradition, taboos and etiquette. The first image is of a man on a palm tree. The import is clear: Ile-Ife indi¬genes love drinking palm wine, but they don’t tap the natural juice; instead they rely on wine tappers from neighboring villages for the supply of their favorite natural drink. Prominent amongst other depictions is of figures whose hands are tied with chains, which portrays the treatment meted out to offenders in the olden days. The picture of a man on a horse is a rid¬dle: Ooni has a lot of horses but he does not ride them. Others ride the horses on his behalf, hence they praise him as “a king that has horses but would not ride on them.” Pictograph of a man blowing a horn explains how the king is roused from his bed every morning. For those familiar with the palace customs, it is a depiction of the royal panegyrist at work. In ancient time, when kings embarked on a journey, his belongings and gifts were carefully packed inside wooden boxes carried by able-bodied men. This was captured with the image of a man with a wooden box on his head. A single carving of the umbrella indicates that such auseful item has spiritual connotation in the palace in Ile Oodua. Only Ooni has the right to use an um¬brella in the palace premises. No other human is allowed into the palace premises with an umbrella. Those who break the rule are dragged before the Emese Court where his transgression will be judged and the umbrella afterward is impounded and burnt to ashes. Other than features on the pictograph of the palace door include palace policemen [Akoda], acrobats [Apidan] who entertain victors to the royal courts while awaiting the king’s arrival, and [Amokun] who in the past were the king’ bearer, four able-bodied men chosen to carry the king.
Size: 5760px × 3840px
Location: Osun State, Nigeria.
Photo credit: © OMONIYI AYEDUN OLUBUNMI / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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