King Oduduwa & The Buddha

"There were two Ethiopias, one to the east (i.e., Asia) of the Red Sea, and the other to the west (i.e., Africa) of it; and a very great nation of Blacks from India, did rule over almost all of Asia in a very remote era, in fact beyond the reach of history or any of our records."

- Historian Godfrey Higgins

King Oduduwa of the Ife Kingdom (Yorubaland, West Africa)

“So monumental was the role of this man (Oduduwa) that, popular traditions and legends elevated him to the awesome pedestal of father of the Yoruba race and founder of the monarchical system which thenceforth became their typical system of government.”

- Dr. Stephen Adebanji Akintoye

The Wonders of Yorubaland: A Civilization of Justice with Compassion

The country of the Yoruba people. Yorubaland consisted of present-day Southwest Nigeria, a much smaller part of Benin Republic, and still a smaller part of Togo Republic (West Africa)

All Hail the “Calm and Strong” Leaders of Ife

Calm and Striong Ife Kings sculpure image.png

“The political innovations of the Late Formative period (650-1050 AD) inspired the advent of representation of human figures in stone sculptures, executed in a ‘minimalist-realist’ style.

These granite sculptures are associated with the political leaders of the Late Formative period in Ilè Ifẹ̀, such as Ọbatálá, Orelúere, and Ìjùgbẹ̀.

The figures project the impression of leaders with calm and strong personalities who occupied specialized political offices that required the wearing of simple but recognizable badges of authority in the form of beaded necklaces, anklets, and waist/hip sashes.

The sculptures identify these individuals as the embodiment of power, wisdom, knowledge, honor, authority, and privilege in the society. In the oral traditions, they are celebrated for their mastery of the intricacies of governance and social order.”

– Dr. Akinwumi Ogundiran, author of The Yoruba: A New History

Figure 2.5. Formative Period minimalist naturalistic figures in Èsìẹ̀ (left, H. 82 cm) and Ilè-Ifẹ̀ (right, H. 103 cm)Light is an easy-to-read font, with tall and narrow letters, that works well on almost every site.

The Buddha of the Indus Valley Civilization (South Asia)

“Siddhartha Gautama (‘the Buddha’) is widely acknowledged as the founder of Buddhism in India more than 2,500 years ago.”

– Dr. Rufus O. Jimerson

The Wonders of The Indus Valley Civilization: A Civilization of Justice with Compassion

The country of the Harappan people. The Indus Valley Civilization consisted of present-day Pakistan and Western India (South Asia)

New Ife Means Love and 7 Rules of Buddha image 2025.jpg

“Gautama’s teachings place a premium on attainment over having a supreme god or deity. The priority is to reach a state of inner peace and wisdom while embracing the concepts of Karma (the law of cause and effect) and reincarnation (the continuous cycle of rebirth).”

– Dr. Rufus O. Jimerson

“But nobody had ever seen a king with the sort of stature and glory that Oduduwa had had as king of Ile-Ife (Ife Kingdom). Not only did the chiefs and priests take steps to deify him, the collective imagination of the masses began to represent him as larger than life. Long before then there had existed, no doubt, the myth about Olodumare (i.e., God) sending some heavenly beings (i.e., Orishas) to come and establish life on earth. That basic story would no longer do. Oduduwa had to be part of it – indeed, he had to be the leader of the heavenly beings that came to earth. Over the next centuries, the myth-making genius of the Yoruba nation amplified and embellished Oduduwa’s part in the story of creation.”

– Dr. Stephen Adebanji Akintoye

To find out more about King Oduduwa and the Medieval Ife Kingdom of West Africa, and The Buddha of the Ancient Indus Valley Civilization of South Asia, click here: The Enlightened Ones of the Medieval & Ancient World: King Oduduwa & The Buddha

"It is believed that the mysterious potentate was the Awni (i.e., Ooni) of Ife, the spiritual ruler of the great Yoruba nation. Ife, the sacred city, boasts a long and glorious past."

- Dr. John G. Jackson, author of Introduction to African Civilizations

The first modern humans (Homo Sapiens Sapiens) in Asia were of African birth. Based on scientific studies of DNA, modern humanity originated from Africa, and African people are the world’s original people, and all modern humans can ultimately trace their ancestral roots back to Africa. Were it not for primordial migrations of early African people, humanity would have remained physically Africoid, and the rest of the world outside of the African continent would be absent of human life. The history of the African presence in ancient Asia spans more than 90,000 years and encompasses the largest single land mass on Earth, yet it remains one of the least documented aspects of the global African experience.

“The original inhabitants of India were dark-skinned and closely resembled the Africans in physical features. They founded the Indus Valley Civilization which, according to historians, was one of the world’s first and most glorious.”

- Journalist V.T. Rajshekar, The Black Untouchables of India: Reclaiming Our Cultural Heritage, from African Presence in Early Asia, by Dr. Runoko Rashidi and Dr. Ivan Van Sertima

Still interested in the medieval and ancient civilizations of Yorubaland (West Africa) and the Indus Valley Civilization (South Asia)?

According to scholars, they believe Yorubaland and the Indus Valley Civilization are older than previously thought, from all evidence from archaeological and allied research in Africa and Asia. There was reason to believe that Yorubaland and the Indus Valley Civilization may be at least 8,000 years old. To learn more about the wise and righteous civilizations in Africa (Yorubaland) and Asia (the Indus Valley Civilization), click here: Yorubaland and The Indus Valley Civilization: The Cradle of Civilization?

Excerpt from Dark Princess: A Romance by Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois

African American race-man Matthew Towns: “They that do the world’s work must do it thinking. The thinkers, dreamers, poets of the world must be its workers. Work is God.”

Revolutionary Leader and “princess of the wide, wide world,” Princess Kautilya, of Bwodpur, India: “And, Matthew, Work is not God— Love is God and Work is His Prophet.”

Yoruba (Ife): Lost & Found in America

“Remembering your ancestors and their legacy is another way to honor them. When you speak well of your ancestors in your day-to-day conversations or make mention of their accomplishments, this is pleasing to them.” – Dr. Asanee Brogan, author of Connecting with Your Ancestors: A Practical Guide for Living a Destiny-Driven Life (The African Spirit Collection)

“It is well known, of course, that ‘Ethiopian’ (i.e., African) is the Greek rendering of Black or the ‘sun-burnt people.”

– Dr. Chancellor Williams, author of The Destruction of Black Civilization: Great Issues of a Race from 4500 B.C. to 2000 A.D.

Ori-Olokun sculpture which sits at the entrance of the ancestral city of Ile-Ife (Ife (Yoruba) Kingdom, Southwest Nigeria, West Africa). The ancestral city is home to beautifully preserved artworks in bronze and terracotta which holds the potential for authentic ethnological studies of Yoruba culture, these are on show in its museum of Ife antiquities located in the Kings palace at Enuwa Square Ile-Ife.

“Schlesinger (German-American Historian Arthur Schlesinger Jr.) questioned the logic of connecting African Americans with an African heritage after three hundred years of disconnection.”

– Dr. Jacob H. Carruthers, author of Intellectual Warfare

“The Yoruba also pride themselves on being very good-looking people and believe that beauty is important in life.”

– Evelyn Marie Fournette, author of Orishas: The Ultimate Guide to Yoruba Tradition, Sacred Rituals, the Divine Feminine, and Spiritual Enlightenment of African Culture and Wisdom- The Ancient Orishas

African American Philosopher Poet Darryl C. Richie

The Ife (i.e., Love) people are the first Yoruba people who are ancient, highly advanced artistically and creatively, originally, and highly spiritual, and master agriculturalists. The Ife Kingdom is “the source of the spreading,” “the place where all nations of the earth have sprung from,” and “The Ifes… were the fathers of all and all people came from Ife.” The Yoruba people believe they are the first race of humans, and that all human life and civilization originated from Yorubaland. The Yoruba people have been living in their West African homeland as far back as 8,000 years ago. It was generally believed that the kingdom of Ife was so close to heaven that one could meet their departed ancestors in its streets; and a hidden shrine in Ife could be found to the gates of heaven.

The Seriki of the Ijebu, Chief Ogunsigun, said, “Even the English king can be shown the spot at Ile-Ife (i.e., the Ife Kingdom) from where his ancestors went out.”

The first Europeans entered Yorubaland in the 19th century, and the first Christian missionary named David Hinderer preached the Christian gospel (Western Christianity) to a large crowd at the Ife palace. When Hinderer finished, the Ife’s told him all religion originated from Ife, and what he preached was no more than one of the other versions that evolved later in a distant part of the world.

"It is impossible to describe here all the riches of the civilization of Ife." - Dr. Cheikh Anta Diop

Yoruba: “Ifẹ̀ oòyè, If̀ẹ̀ oòdáyè, ibi tí ojúmọ tí n mọ́ wá, Ifẹ̀ olórí ayè gbogbo.”

English Translation: “Ilé-Ifẹ̀, the place of survivors, the birthplace of the world, the source of daybreak, the leader of the entire world.”

Figure 3.2. Map of the Ife Empire, mid-14th century

The Ife Kingdom came into existence during the 9th century, but the kingdom transformed into a powerful and influential empire from the 10th-14th centuries. The Ife Kingdom, the capital of the Ife Empire was not just the spiritual and intellectual center of Yorubaland, because this Yoruba kingdom served as one of the beating hearts that greatly contributed to “West Africa’s Golden Age” during medieval times. The Ife Empire’s commercial prowess and fame ranged far into the world of the Mali Empire in the Western Sudan, and both its political ideology and hegemonic ritual field united an unprecedented number of polities and peoples in the history of West Africa. At the height of Ife’s power during the 14th century, the Ife Empire extended across around 186 miles (300 kilometers), and encompassed the kingdoms of Owu, Jebba, Tada, and Oyo in the north to the Niger River, the Ovia River in Great Benin and Ijebu in the south to the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, and to the Mono River in present-day Togo Republic, which is where Ife’s cultural influence had spread far westward.

The Ife Kingdom was universally regarded as a Yoruba community of practice as the ultimate place of origin, located between heaven and Earth. It was believed across the Yoruba-Edo world that the souls of the deceased returned to Ife-Ife, where they reincarnated in preparation for a new life. This universe created by the Yoruba (Ife) people revolved around the Ife Empire as its point of reference, and the (Edo) Great Benin Kingdom and the (Yoruba) Oyo Kingdom were its two anchors. The Ife Kingdom, Empire and the Ooni (i.e., King) of Ife were regarded as sacred, and all Ife people were considered “untouchables.” The Ife people considered themselves to be very brave and warlike, although they are not a warlike people. The Ife’s saw themselves as “Peaceful Warriors.” The Ife royal crown symbolizes “divine wrath” presented by the king to “evil-doers,” and the Ife royal crown also represents the “protector of the innocent.”

“Closely identified with this is the belief that individuals are especially selected (‘chosen’) by deities and often given special challenges and eventually support allowing them to better sustain related harm or pain. Associated deity support provides individuals with the confidence necessary to take risks. Interestingly the very process of devotee selection frequently also includes a ‘trial by fire’ (illness, difficulty, like being diagnosed with cancer, etc.), events addressed through Ifá divination, situations that furnish core insight into one’s deity mentor (i.e., like Yorubaland’s Orishas: Oduduwa, Yemoja, etc.), the reasons for one’s unique situation, and the necessary actions that need to be taken to address the attendant problem, as well as distancing or dissipating future ones. Risk, in short, is critical to both life and art.”

- Suzanne Preston Blier, author of Art and Risk in Ancient Yoruba: Ife History, Power and Identity, c. 1300

Sources:

Ademakinwa, J. Ife, Cradle of the Yoruba: A Handbook on the History of the origin of the Yorubas. AMV Publishing Services; 1st edition. (July 17, 2023). April 26, 2026. p. 30.

Akintoye, S. A History of the Yoruba People. Amalion Publishing. (Jan 1, 2010). July 3, 2023. p. 16-18, 86-87, 98, 120-121, 528.

Akintoye, B. The Good News: Paths to Prosperity in Our Orilede Yoruba. TAC PUBLISHERS. (May 22, 2023). April 26, 2026. p. 9.

Asanee44 (Dr. Asanee Brogan). The ancestors say transformation doesn't show up because you're ready. It shows up because it's time. And when it does, you need the courage to move forward and the patience to move in the right direction. Sometimes we think transformation means speed. Like you have to grab everything fast, make all the changes at once, or prove you can handle it by doing things immediately. But that's not how it works. That's panic dressed up as progress. The ancestors say that real transformation is built with purpose and poise. You don't have to let urgency make you sloppy or burn yourself out trying to force things to happen. @asanee44 (Dr. Asanee Brogan). Instagram. April 10, 2026. April 28, 2026. https://www.instagram.com/reel/DW9rvdXlbRa/?igsh=MTc4MmM1YmI2Ng%3D%3D

Blier, S. Art and Risk in Ancient Yoruba: Ife History, Power, and Identity, c. 1300. Cambridge University Press; reprint edition. (November 2, 2017). April 26, 2026. p. 22, 448.

Brogan, A. Connecting with Your Ancestors: A Practical Guide for Living a Destiny-Driven Life (The African Spirit Collection). Dr. Asanee Brogan. (November 7, 2022). April 26, 2026. p. 57.

Captivating History. The Yoruba People: A Captivating Guide to the History of the Yorubas and Yoruba Mythology (Western Africa). Captivating History. Dec. 31, 2021. April 26, 2026. p. 71.

Carruthers, J. Intellectual Warfare. Third World Press. (May 1, 1999). April 26, 2026. p. 141.

DailyAfrika. Brief History of Oduduwa. Medium. June 19, 2020. July 3, 2023. https://medium.com/@abebaebrima/brief-history-of-oduduwa-ccfefafd3495

Du Bois. Dark Princess: A Romance. Open Road Media. (January 1, 2024). April 26, 2026. p. xxv. Location: 4535, 4745.

FESTAYA. Inspirational Quotes Wall Art Modern Buddha Canvas Prints Motivational Wall Art Affirmation Positive Paintings Success Mindset"7 Rules Of Life"in Office Living room Bedroom Zen Decor - 12"x18"(White). Amazon. July 3, 2023. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B52J9K9M?ref_=cm_sw_r_mwn_dp_0MHCSHVBQVAE73ZW2CC2&th=1

Fournette, E. Orishas: The Ultimate Guide to Yoruba Tradition, Sacred Rituals, the Divine Feminine, and Spiritual Enlightenment of African Culture and Wisdom- The Ancient Orishas. OrangePen Publications. March 1, 2022. April 26, 2026. p. 7.

Jackson, J. Huggins, W. Introduction to African Civilizations. Black Classic Books. (Aug. 16, 2013). Sept. 22, 2025. p. 153.

Jimerson, R. The Greatness of Black India: Out of Nubia/Kemet to Overcoming White Supremacy. Dr. Rufus O. Jimerson. Aug. 6, 2021. July 3, 2023. Location: 310.

Kwekudee. Ife People: Ancient Artistic, Highly Spiritual and First Yoruba People. Trip Down Memory Lane. Blogspot. Sept. 14, 2014. April 26, 2026. https://kwekudee-tripdownmemorylane.blogspot.com/2014/09/ife-people-ancient-artistic-highly_14.html?m=1

Ogundiran, A. The Yoruba: A New History. Indiana University Press. Nov. 3, 2020. Sept. 22, 2025. p. 7, 55-56, 93, 95-96, 113, 125, 138.

Rajshekar, V.T. Dalit: The Black Untouchables of India. Clarity Press, Inc.; 3rd edition. (November 19, 2009). Sept. 22, 2025. p. 92.

Rashidi, R., Sertima, I. African Presence in Early Asia. Transaction Publishers. (June 15, 1986). July 3, 2023. p. 10, 82, 113, 118-119, 235.

Ronnyswork. Ife Means Love, Yoruba Language, African Word Art, Printable Download, Love Affirmations, Positive Word Art, Simple Unique Afrocentric Quote. Ronnyswork. Etsy. July 3, 2023. https://www.etsy.com/Ronnyswork/listing/555905118/ife-means-love-yoruba-language-african?utm_campaign=Share&utm_term=so.smt&share_time=1509855792000

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Williams, C. The Destruction of Black Civilization: Great Issues of a Race from 4500 B.C. to 2000 A.D. Third World Press; 3rd Revised ed. edition. (Feb. 1, 1992). July 3, 2023. p. 32, 111.