Moremi
was a very brave and beautiful woman who, in order to deal with the problem
facing her people, offered anything she had to give in sacrifice to the Spirit
of the river Esimirin so that she could discover the strength of her nation's
enemies.
Moremi decided upon a strategy. She went to
the nearby river Esinmirin, and vowed to deity that she would make the greatest
sacrifice possible if they allowed her to discover the strength of her nation’s
enemies. She then went to a place that was raided frequently, and when the
raiders did come, she allowed herself to be captured. Being very beautiful she
was taken as booty to the Igbo King. She was very confident and skilful, and
soon won the trust and affection of the King and people in Igbo land. She
became familiar with their customs and tactics of warfare. She found that the
Igbo, in preparation for battle, would cover themselves from head to toe with
Ekan grass and bamboo fibers. She realized that if someone could pass amongst
the Igbo warriors with a torch that they could be defeated.
Feeling that she had adequate knowledge, she
escaped, to the great surprise of her Igbo captors. She returned to her first
husband, King Oramiyan of Ife (and later Oyo), who immediately had her
re-instated as his Princess Consort. Knowing the warfare secrets of the Igbo,
the people of Ife were forever freed from the terrors of these previously
invincible warriors.
In
order to fulfill the pledge, she made to Esimirin before embarking on her
mission, she made sacrifice of rams and lambs, but these were not accepted. The
priests told her that the only sacrifice the gods would accept was her only son
-Oluorogbo. Dejected she allowed her only son to be sacrificed in gratitude for
saving her people The Ife nation mourned with her and she was held in the
absolute highest esteem of any women in the Kingdom. They committed to forever
be her sons and daughters in memory of her sacrifice.
The Edi
Festival is said to have then been started as a means of celebrating the
sacrifice the princess made for the people of Yorubaland. Furthermore, a number
of public places are named after her in contemporary Nigeria, such as the
Female Halls of Residence in the University of Lagos and Obafemi Awolowo
University, Moremi High School, a government-run secondary school within the
campus of Obafemi Awolowo University in Nigeria.
