Princess Inikpi was the

virgin Virginity is a social construct that denotes the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. As it is not an objective term with an operational definition, social definitions of what constitutes virginity, or the lack thereof ...

princess of the

Igala Kingdom Anẹ Igáláà (Igala Land), also known as the Igala Kingdom, is a Traditional pre-colonial West African state, located at the eastern region of the confluence of River Niger and River Benue in the Middle Belt or North-central of Nigeria. T ...

, 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. Her statue is still standing at her burial spot at Ega market close to

river Niger The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through Mali, Nige ...

Idah Idah is a town in Kogi State, Nigeria, on the eastern bank of the Niger River in the middle belt region of Nigeria. It is the headquarter of the Igala Kingdom, and also a Local Government Area with an area of 36 km. Idah had a population ...

, Kogi State Nigeria. Many

Igala Igala or IGALA may refer to: * IGALA, the International Gender and Language Association, an interdisciplinary academic organization * Igala Kingdom, a pre-colonial West African state * Igala language, a Volta–Niger language * Igala people ...

have named their daughters after her. In the early 16th century, the Igala Kingdom was at war with the Bini Kingdom. The war had devastating effects on the Igala people, with their farmlands seized and streams poisoned by the enemy. The king consulted the oracle, seeking a solution to save his kingdom. The oracle decreed that the only way to defeat the Bini Kingdom was to sacrifice Princess Inikpi by burying her alive.² The king was heartbroken but couldn't find an alternative solution. Princess Inikpi, noticing her father's sorrow, asked about the reason behind his sadness. When she learned of the oracle's decree, she voluntarily agreed to sacrifice herself for the sake of her people.³ Princess Inikpi was buried alive at the bank of the River Niger, and her sacrifice was believed to have saved the Igala Kingdom from destruction. The Bini warriors, seeing the town in flames (which was actually the result of Princess Inikpi's blood), retreated, thinking the town was already destroyed.⁴ Today, Princess Inikpi is remembered as a heroine who gave her life for her people. A statue of Princess Inikpi stands at her burial site in Idah, Kogi State, and her legacy continues to inspire generations. Inikpi was the protagonist in the 2020 film '' The Legend of Inikpi'', directed by

Frank Rajah Arase Frank Rajah Efosa Arase is a Nigerian film director. Arase is a native of Edo State, Nigeria. He was nominated for ''Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Director, Best Director'' at the 4th Africa Movie Academy Awards. Early life Arase was born ...

Histories

The Igala kingdom

sovereignty Sovereignty can generally be defined as supreme authority. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within a state as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the person, body or institution that has the ultimate au ...

, peace and existence was perpetually threatened by the then

Benin kingdom The Kingdom of Benin, also known as Great Benin, is a traditional kingdom in southern Nigeria. It has no historical relation to the modern republic of Benin, which was known as Dahomey from the 17th century until 1975. The Kingdom of Benin's c ...

. To avert the impending doom of

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

and grant the kingdom victory, Princess inikpi the only daughter of the King became the sacrificial lamb requested by the oracle. Princess Inikpi offers herself to be sacrificed despite resistance by the King Ayegba.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Inikpi, Princess 16th-century Nigerian women 16th-century Nigerian people Princesses Deaths by live burial