ABSTRACT
The traditions of the creation of the world and of the origins of the peoples and their states centre on Ife, the source whence all the major rulers derive the sanctions of their kingship and which, burdened with gods and their shrines and festivals, is the centre of religion. The Ife accounts agree in describing the descent of Oduduwa from heaven upon the Ora hill with sixteen companions to share in his task of colonizing the earth. Difficulties in establishing a coherent account of the past of Ife have led to the suggestion that the present town does not stand upon its original site. Perhaps the most intractable problem presented by the art of Ife as by the art of much of West Africa, is that of the origin of the lost-wax technique used in the metal casting.
