Moremi Statue in Ile- Ife: A Symbol of Yoruba Aesthetics

Abstract

Moremi was a Yoruba heroine whose statues are in Ile-Ife as a memorial of her votive sacrifice to save her people from annihilation. The paper focuses primarily on the importance of Moremi on Ife people, which led to her been immortalized. It is also an attempt to analyse the aesthetic qualities of Moremi statue in relation to Yoruba cosmology, which emphasizes and promotes the attributes of Yoruba philosophy of beauty which is more of an inward rather than an outward issue. The study makes use of two statues of Moremi in Ile-Ife. The symbolism of the dress items is discussed so as to drive home the inherent Yoruba aesthetic terms portrayed in the statues visà- vis its relevance in the society. The paper also compares the two statues so as to draw attention to the different aesthetic portrayals. The Moremi statue in the Ooni of Ife palace is actually the object of interest of this study; however the other statue at Moremi hall, Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife is also studied for comparative analysis. The findings among others revealed that, though Moremi is still well revered in Ile-Ife, yet, the statues are not well maintained.