Oduduwa was a Yoruba divine king. According to tradition he was the holder of the title of the Ooni of Ile-Ife, the Yoruba holy city. He was not only the first ruler of a unified Ife, but also the progenitor of various independent royal dynasties in Yorubaland and ancestor of their numerous crowned kings. His name, phonetically written by Yoruba language-speakers as Odùduwà and sometimes contracted as Ooduwa, Odudua or Oòdua is today venerated as "the hero, the warrior, the leader and father of the Yoruba race".
Through a war lasting many years, Oduduwa was able to defeat opposing forces of the 13 indigenous communities of Ife to become King of Ife and formed these communities into a single Ife unit.
Oduduwa held the praise names Olofin Adimula, Olofin Aye and Olufe. Following his posthumous deification, he was admitted to the Yoruba pantheon as an aspect of a primordial divinity of the same name.