Ife

Ife, town in the Oyo province in southwestern Nigeria. Ife is the oldest town of the Yoruba tribe. Beginning about A.D. 1000, Ife was an important center of black African culture. The Yoruba people created sculptures of terra cotta and bronze. Never having achieved great political or military power, Ife declined in the early 1800s. The current city of Ife is a major collecting point for cacao and cotton, palm oil and kernels, yams, cassava, maize, pumpkins, and kola nuts. Most of its inhabitants are town-dwelling farmers.

See also: Nigeria.