Queen Moremi was a renowned Yoruba queen from the Yorubaland region of modern-day southwestern Nigeria. She is famed to have contributed to the emancipation of the Yoruba tribe of Ifẹ̀ from the igbò kingdom.
Moremi Ajasoro (Yoruba: Mọremí Àjàṣorò) was a legendary Yoruba queen and folk heroine in the Yorubaland region of present-day southwestern Nigeria who assisted in the liberation of the Yoruba kingdom of Ife from the neighbouring Kingdom.
Moremi ,The Ayaba (Queen Consort) lived in the 12th century, hailed from the area of Offa in now called ‘Nigeria’ and was married to Oramiyan, the heir to the king of Ife and son of the founding father of the Yoruba people, Oduduwa. Ile-Ife was a kingdom that was said to have been at war with an adjoining group who were known to them as the Forest people, igbò in the Yoruba language.
Moremi has been the subject of little scholarly attention; in fact, we know less about the history of ancient and Medieval Africa than any other region in the world. As such, we do not know when Moremi was born or indeed when she died.
Much of what we know derives from the folklore surrounding her. Moremi was a princess from the town of Offa and lived in the 12th century. Her beauty was famous throughout the town, and she remains revered as one of the most beautiful Yoruba women that ever lived.
There is a gap in the history between Moremi’s childhood and her marriage to Ọranmiyan, King of the Yoruba. We therefore know little of her early life. However, we do know that she was extremely patriotic, loved her husband and cared deeply for her people.
During her queenship, the Kingdom of Ifẹ̀ was subject to erratic attacks from neighbouring tribesmen called ‘Igbo’, meaning forest. These raiders abducted citizens and forced them into slavery. All attempts to stop the atrocities of the invaders failed.
The attackers were thought to be demi-gods who could only be stopped by rituals. Consequently, sacrifices were made by the Yoruba tribe to appease the gods.
Moremi believed in the power of ritual and vowed to make the ultimate sacrifice if her plans succeeded in confronting the igbò people. Her strategy was to be captured and infiltrate the igbò’s leadership to learn their tactics.
As planned, Moremi positioned herself to be captured and was taken to the enemy king. Owing to Moremi’s beauty, she was not treated like a prisoner but was instead taken by the king as his wife.
After having learned their strategies, Moremi staged a successful escape back to Ifẹ̀ and relayed all that she had discovered. The Yorubas were then able to subsequently defeat them in battle using the intelligence she provided. This led to the total defeat of the Igbo.
However, in keeping with her promise of sacrifice, she offered her only son to the Esimirin gods. Moremi’s sacrifice is still remembered today.
Queen Moremi was a courageous, brave and beautiful woman who, in order to deal with the problem facing her people, pledged a great sacrifice to the Spirit of the Esimirin river so that she could discover the strength of her nation’s enemies.
Following the war she returned to her first husband, King Oramiyan of Ife (and later Oyo), who immediately had her re-instated as his queen. Moremi returned to the Esimirin river to fulfill her pledge. The river demanded she sacrifice her only son, Oluorogbo. The demand was inconceivable and Moremi pleaded with the god for a less terrible offering to be accepted. In the end, however, she kept her promise and paid the price. The offering of Oluorogbo to the river god grieved not only Moremi but the whole kingdom of Ifẹ. The people of Ifẹ consoled Queen Moremi by offering to be her eternal children as a replacement for the child she lost – a promise kept by them until today.
Scores of Ife citizens were being enslaved by these people, and because of this they were generally regarded with disdain by the denizens of early Ife. Although the people of Ile-Ife were furious about their raids, they did not have the means to defend themselves. This is because the invaders were seen as spirits (Ará Ọ̀rùn) by the people of Ife, appearing as masquerades completely covered in raffia palm fronds.
The Edi Festival was started shortly after Moremi’s death to celebrate the sacrifice she made for the Yoruba people. More recently, Queen Moremi: The Musical – a theatrical story of love, faith, honour and the ultimate sacrifice – has also been produced.
Stay tuned for the continuation of this story about one of Africa’s Great Sheroes the great ‘Queen Moremi’.
