Current Time in Owo, Nigeria

Owo is an ancient Yoruba town in Ondo State, in the south-western part of Nigeria, set in hilly country where the rainforest of the south begins to give way to the wooded savanna of the middle belt. Granite ridges rise around the town, streams run down through the valleys, and the surrounding land is exceptionally fertile. Its position between the Yoruba heartland to the west and the old kingdom of Benin to the east has shaped its history and its art for centuries.

Roughly two hundred and fifty thousand people live in Owo and its surrounding villages. Farming is the foundation of the local economy, with cocoa as the leading cash crop alongside kola nut, oil palm, rubber, yam, cassava, plantain and timber from the forest reserves. Trading in the large markets, transport, teaching, health services, small-scale manufacturing and traditional crafts such as weaving, dyeing and carving employ many others.

Owo was founded, according to tradition, by a son or descendant of Oduduwa, the mythical founder of the Yoruba people at Ile-Ife, and it grew into a powerful kingdom ruled by the Olowo. Between the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries it stood at the meeting point of Yoruba and Edo influence, sometimes independent and sometimes tributary to Benin, and its court art absorbed elements of both traditions. Excavations at Igbo Laja in the town uncovered terracotta heads and figures of extraordinary quality, closely related to the classical sculpture of Ife and Benin, which transformed understanding of West African art history. British colonial rule brought cocoa, schools and roads in the twentieth century, and Owo became a local government headquarters and a centre of education.

The palace of the Olowo is the great landmark, a vast complex that historically contained more than a hundred courtyards and was said to be the largest royal residence in Africa, with carved posts, shrines and ceremonial spaces. The National Museum in Owo displays the terracottas and bronzes recovered locally and is one of the most rewarding small museums in Nigeria. The town also has handsome nineteenth and twentieth century buildings, busy markets and hilltop viewpoints, and the surrounding countryside offers waterfalls, caves and forest reserves.

Cultural life is famous for the Igogo festival, held each year over several weeks, during which the Olowo and his chiefs dress in coral beads and plaited hair in honour of a legendary queen, and drumming, dancing and processions fill the streets. Masquerade performances, praise singing and elaborate chieftaincy ceremonies continue alongside strong Christian and Muslim communities. Local food includes pounded yam with egusi and vegetable soups, bushmeat and palm wine.

Roads connect Owo with Akure, Benin City and the Abuja highway, and buses and shared taxis run frequently. The town hosts a polytechnic, a private university and a federal medical centre, making it a notable centre of education and health care for the region.

Owo is important for its ancient kingship, its remarkable sculptural heritage and its role as a cultural bridge between the Yoruba and Edo worlds.