Itapa Ekiti
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Itapa Ekiti | |
|---|---|
  Itapa Ekiti Location in Nigeria | |
| Coordinates: 7°48′47″N 5°23′4″E / 7.81306°N 5.38444°E | |
| Country |  Nigeria |
| State | Ekiti State |
| Elevation | 614[1] m (2,014 ft) |
| Population (2012) | |
• Total | 42,509[2] |
| Time zone | GMT+1 |
| Postal code | 370001 |
| Website | https://itapaekiti.wordpress.com/ |
Itapa Ekiti ⓘis a town in Ekiti State, Nigeria, of which the Owatapa is the ruler. Itapa is one of the goddesses worshipped at Ife. Her festival, known as Utaale, is held for a period of thirty days and she has been worshipped by Ooni and his people till today.
Amowa and Elepe, sons of Oduduwa, left Ile-ife (Ife) with their mother and two friends known as Elemo and Baaro. These people were hunters. At some stage Elepe took his leave and settled at one of Itapa's farms called Osin. Another brother of Amowa settled in a farm in Itapa called Ijelu, and he later became Elejelu. Amowa was the first Olosin of Osin. There are other gods called Elutapa and Orisa Itapa worshipped by Ooni and still worshipped today.[citation needed]
Owa attends these gods through his elected priests called Ayaya as the priest of Elutapa and Aworo Orisa Ilawe as the priest of Orisa Itapa or Ilawe. Elemo took his quarter and become the head of Remo while Baaro became head of Egetun. All of them were great hunters.[citation needed]
Many people came to settle with them and they became prosperous. These heads of quarters regarded Owatapa as their head and the people approached Owatapa through their heads, and Owatapa has the final say over all matters brought before him.[citation needed]
