Odùduwà (Ooduwa, Odudua or Oòdua) was a Yoruba divine king, a creator deity (orisha) in the Yoruba religion, and the legendary figure who ushered in the classical period that later led to the foundation of the Ife Empire. His earthly origins are from the village of Oke Ora. According to tradition, he was the holder of the title of the Olofin of Ile-Ife, the Yoruba holy city. He ruled there briefly and also served as the progenitor of a number of independent royal dynasties in Yorubaland, with the praise names Olofin Adimula and Olofin Aye.

Archaeologists and historians estimate Oduduwa's kingly existence to the Late Formative Period of Ife (800-1000CE), which aligns with indigenous Yoruba oral chronology. However, Yoruba religious adherents take it one step further explaining spiritually Oduduwa, together with Ọbatala, are even seen to be aligned with creator divinities cloaked in human-form as old as the earth itself, though the spiritual figure 'Oduduwa' is often said to be distinct from the figure who reigned as Olofin.

The etymological derivation of the Yoruba name "Oduduwa" is: Odu-ti-o-da-uwa (i.e. Odu-ti-o-da-iwa). This translates literally to: The great repository which brings forth existence.

Ife tradition, which modern historians accord precedence, relates that Oduduwa was a personage who migrated from the community of Oke Ora, a hilltop abode to the east of the original Ife confederacy of thirteen communities known as the Elu. The leadership of these communities structured themselves to be rotational, with the Oba of each community taking turns at chairmanship. The communities are remembered to be; Iloromu, Imojubi, Ideta (Idita), Oke-Oja, Parakin, Ido, Iwinrin, Odin, Ijugbe, Iraye, Oke-Awo, Iloran and Omologun.

Oduduwa and his group are believed to have disrupted the political structure of the 13 communities being lead by Obatala, a conflict said to be responsible for some early migrations from Ife. Between war and diplomacy lasting several generations, the groups were at a stalemate, until a large smallpox outbreak brought about a truce from the Obatala camp, eventually forming these communities into a single Ife state under the Oduduwa group. The reconciliation and reintegration of the Obatala group into the political and civil structure of Ife is commemorated annually in the Itapa festival.

There were elements of the Ugbo, members of the former Obatala faction, who strongly opposed the new alliance. Some, seeking more fertile land, are said to have left Ife of their own accord to resettle and form their own Yoruba communities near the coast, while others relocated elsewhere in Ife to continue the conflict.

Long after the era of Oduduwa and Obatala, the next major progression of events were captured in the figure of Ọranyan (Ọ̀rànmíyàn). In tradition, Oranyan was a son of Ogun, and the youngest of Oduduwa's grandsons. He is said to have been the most war-like Yoruba prince out of all his contemporaries, and certainly one of the most adventurous of the historical princes. Ife was under constant raids by disassociated factions of the previous Ugbo groups, but upon learning their secrets from Mọremí, Oranyan is said to have brought an end to their brigandry, and along with Moremi, brought a long period of peace to Ife.

Ife enjoyed remarkable royal and technological developments throughout its classical period. It became the largest emporium for religious, economic, and political advancement in the region, and attracted traders from all over West Africa who sought its exclusive offerings. As Ife's renown increased, the eminence of the Oduduwa dynasty grew to the extent that the possession of a "crown of Oduduwa" projected the ability to guarantee security through cultural, military, and political power for migrating groups.