Great Houses of Ile-Ife Nigeria

Abstract

The concept of great houses varies from culture to culture. While there might not be a precise definition for great houses, it can generally be accepted that great houses are associated with the rich and influential members of a society or those who have inherited them. Buildings, like any other cultural artifact, form a part of human heritage. Their importance transcends the provision of shelter. In Nigeria and Ile-Ife, in particular, a town believed to be the ancestral home of the Yoruba speaking people, such great houses have been generally associated with royal families and the elite and their descendants who have inherited those houses.