Ire-Ekiti is Ogun's sacred city, where his worship is most fervent. It was at Ire that Ogun, intoxicated on palm wine during a festival in his honor, massacred his own celebrants before sinking into the earth in grief.
Ogun settled at Ire after Oduduwa dispatched him from Ile-Ife to clear paths through the primordial forest. Ire became Ogun's sacred city as part of the dispersal of orishas from Oduduwa's seat at Ile-Ife.
Ire-Ekiti's position within the Ekiti region placed it in historical tension with Shango's Oyo Empire. The relationship between Ogun's sacred city and Shango's kingdom reflects the broader mythological rivalry between the two warrior orishas.
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