How A Kingdom Was Saved After Sacrificing A Virgin Princess
The Story of Princess Inikpi
The photograph above shows a statue of a princess, who was called Princess Inikpi. This statue stands at her burial spot at Ega market, close to the River Niger, in Idah, Kogi State, Nigeria. Princess Inikpi was known to be the only daughter of the king, a kind and intelligent young woman whose selfless sacrifice saved her people from extinction.
Long ago (15th and 16th century), the Igala kingdom was at war with one of their strongest enemies, the Benin Kingdom. The warriors of Benin had the upper hand and persistently kept attacking Igala land to the point of wanting to annihilate them by laying siege to their farmlands and poisoning their rivers.
One day, the Chiefs of Igala decided that enough was enough and that it was time to regain their freedom. Because of the might of their enemy, they decided to seek the help of their deity. The deity of their land proclaimed that the only way to escape the clutches of their enemy was for the king to sacrifice his only daughter by burying her alive.
The king was troubled by this, for he loved his daughter very much. He didn’t let anyone come near his daughter and pleaded with the deity to accept anyone else but his daughter. However, the deity demanded royal blood.
