Orisa House, Political Power

Town shrines as ritual “houses” are internally organized both as palaces (ààfin) and kingdoms (ìlú), mirroring the actual palace of the kingdom with its expansive courtyard, verandah, parlor, and inner chambers, while protecting within its walls the ritual crowns, calabashes, and deities of the orisha’s town of origin. In principle, all kings, crowns, and orisha come from Ile-Ife as the sacred locus of original kingship, and in this sense all shrines manifest Ile-Ife within their cores. Historically, however, they represent the towns and quarters from which they migrated, as strangers.*


*Apter, Andrew. Yoruba Ethnogenesis