Obalufon Ogbogbodirin Statue, Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria.
Each Ooni was a legend, but none so powerful as Obalufon Ogbogbodirin, the Ile-Ife king with the longest reign. Obalufon, the fourth Ooni, was a Methuselah who allegedly lived for over 400 years. The extraordinary longevity earned him the sobriquet, “Ogbogbodirin” - one who lived for a very long time till he turned to iron. He is also credited with the invention of bronze casting, a craft for which the Ife kingdom was renowned from the 12th to 14th centuries, a remarkable period of prosperity for the Yoruba civilization. Long before the rise of the Benin Kingdom as a centre of the bronze craft, Ife sculptures of bronze, brass, copper, stone, and terra cottas had trafficked around the world and reached the Nile region of Egypt.
Size: 3840px × 5760px
Location: Osun State, Nigeria.
Photo credit: © OMONIYI AYEDUN OLUBUNMI / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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