The Ancient Yoruba Stone Writing of Igbara Oke – What were our ancestors trying to tell us ?

Ìgbàrà Òkè is an Ekiti dialect speaking town in Ondo State. Sometimes, in 1959, a man was clearing a piece of land for construction when he stumbled on a collection of rocks on a patch.

On a closer look, he noticed that one in particular bore strange marks and carvings on its surface. Astounded by what he had just discovered, he rushed to inform the then Oba who also promptly notified authorities at the Ife National Museum and the Ooni of Ife. By March 1963, the Federal government, through the Federal Antiquities Department, declared the site a national monument. It has since been known and referred to as igbara-oke Petroglyphs.

In simple terms, petroglyphs are ancient markings or drawings on a rock surface or in caves, and they are found around the world. As at the time of writing, information reaching us is that the site has been grossly neglected and is even overgrown with bushes. Note that the Igbara oke Petroglyphs and the ‘Iho Eleeru’ fossil site, location of oldest human fossil record in Western Africa, are not very far off from each other. In fact, both are sites in the same local government area, Ifedore.

What could the markings and depictions on these rocks mean? Were our ancestors trying to immortalise an idea, event, or information in stone? What information do the pictograms carry? There are a thousand and one questions that could be asked about the occurrence of these etchings in stone.

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