Luwo (Ooni)

Ooni Lúwo Gbàgìdá (Listen^ⓘ; sometimes spelled as Luwoo) was the 21st Ooni of Ife, a paramount traditional ruler of Ile Ife, the ancestral home of the Yorubas in the 10th century.

She was the first and the only female paramount ruler of Ile-Ife believed to be the origin of Yoruba ethnic group in West Africa, succeeding Ooni Giesi and succeeded by Ooni Lumobi. Ooni Luwoo's reign remains the only one by a female in Ife to date. Her son Adekola Telu was the founder of the Iwo Kingdom. She was portrayed in Dimeji Sodeke's 2022 play Ooni Luwo: One Queen, Two Kings.

References

↑ Toyin Falola; Aribidesi Adisa Usman (2009). Movements, Borders, and Identities in Africa. University of Rochester Press. p. 85. ISBN 9781580462969. ISSN 1092-5228.
↑ M. A. Fabunmi (1985). An Anthology of Historical Notes on Ifẹ City. J. West Publications. p. 271. ISBN 9789781630170.
↑ Dayo, Ologundudu (2008). The cradle of Yoruba culture. Nigeria: Centre for spoken words. p. 206. ISBN 978-0615220635. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
↑ "Queen Lúwo Gbàgìdá, the first and only female Ooni of Ife". 27 September 2019.
↑ Yunusa, Alimat (1 July 2022). "Dimeji Sodeke's Ooni Luwo: Where Radical Sovereignty Meets Defiance". P.M. News. Lagos, Nigeria. Retrieved 25 April 2026.

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[1] Toyin Falola; Aribidesi Adisa Usman (2009). Movements, Borders, and Identities in Africa. University of Rochester Press. p. 85. ISBN 9781580462969. ISSN 1092-5228.

[2] M. A. Fabunmi (1985). An Anthology of Historical Notes on Ifẹ City. J. West Publications. p. 271. ISBN 9789781630170.

[3] Dayo, Ologundudu (2008). The cradle of Yoruba culture. Nigeria: Centre for spoken words. p. 206. ISBN 978-0615220635. Retrieved July 30, 2015.

[4] "Queen Lúwo Gbàgìdá, the first and only female Ooni of Ife". 27 September 2019.

[5] Yunusa, Alimat (1 July 2022). "Dimeji Sodeke's Ooni Luwo: Where Radical Sovereignty Meets Defiance". P.M. News. Lagos, Nigeria. Retrieved 25 April 2026.