Princess Inikpi was the virgin princess of the Igala Kingdom, buried alive to save the kingdom from the doom of the Igala-Benin war in 1515-1516 during the reign of Ata Ayegba Oma-idoko.[1] Her statue is still standing at her burial spot at Ega market close to river Niger in Idah, Kogi State Nigeria. Many Igala have named their daughters after her.[2]
Princess Inikpi | |
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 The statue of Princess Inikpi at Ega Market in Idah |
Inikpi was the protagonist in the 2020 film The Legend of Inikpi, directed by Frank Rajah Arase.[3]
Histories
editThe Igala kingdom sovereignty, peace and existence was perpetually threatened by the then Benin kingdom.[4] To avert the impending doom of war and grant the kingdom victory, Princess inikpi the only daughter of the King became the sacrificial lamb requested by the oracle.[4][2] Princess Inikpi offers herself to be sacrificed despite resistance by the King Ayegba.[5]
References
edit- ^ Agbese, Aje-Ori (2021-02-17), "Preserving the memories of precolonial Nigeria", The Routledge Companion to Black Women’s Cultural Histories, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon; New York, NY: Routledge, 2021.: Routledge, pp. 89–99, ISBN 978-0-429-24357-8, retrieved 2022-08-29
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location (link) - ^ a b "Inikpi, self-sacrificing Igala Princess". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. 2019-07-28. Retrieved 2022-08-29.
- ^ "Mercy Johnson to release movie 'Legend of Inikpi' on Jan. 24". The Sun Nigeria. 2020-01-08. Retrieved 2020-05-06.
- ^ a b Jones, D.R. (1991-06-28), "Sacrifice and holiness", Sacrifice and Redemption, Cambridge University Press, pp. 9–21, retrieved 2022-08-29
- ^ Agbalajobi, Damilola Taiye (2021-09-29), "African Women in Politics: Past, Present and the Future", The Political Economy of Colonialism and Nation-Building in Nigeria, Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 171–188, ISBN 978-3-030-73874-7, retrieved 2022-08-29