Chapter V · People · Hero H121
Queen Moremi Ajasoro
Yoruba Queen Who Sacrificed Her Only Son to Free Ile-Ife
Summary
A legendary queen of Ile-Ife, consort of the Ooni Oranmiyan. According to oral tradition she allowed herself to be captured by the marauding Igbo (Forest People) who terrorised early Ife, learned their secret — that they were not spirits but men in raffia — and on her return revealed it to her people, who then defeated the raiders. To fulfil the vow she made to the spirit of the Esinmirin river she sacrificed her only son, Oluorogbo. She remains the foundational female figure of the Yoruba political imagination; the 42-metre Queen Moremi Statue of Liberty at Ile-Ife (2016) is the tallest statue in Nigeria.
Record
Born
Died
State / origin
Category
Era
Documented contributions
- 01Founded the cultural tradition of Edi festival at Ile-Ife — observed annually for ~800 years
- 02Set the foundational template for Yoruba female political leadership
- 03Honoured by the tallest statue in Nigeria — the 42-metre Queen Moremi Statue of Liberty, Ile-Ife (2016)
SourcesTertiary
Samuel Johnson, History of the Yorubas (1921); Ulli Beier, Yoruba Myths (1980); Ooni of Ife archives
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moremi_AjasoroWikipedia is retained here as a tertiary reference only — primary or secondary sources are still being verified for this entry.
Tier 1 · primary
Courts. Gazettes. National archives.
Tier 2 · corroborating
OCCRP. HRW. BudgIT. TheCable.
Tier 4 · tertiary, flagged
Wikipedia only where primary is pending. Always labelled.