The city of Ilé-Ifẹ̀ (often simply called Ife), which is considered the cradle and spiritual homeland of the Yoruba people, is traditionally referred to as the city of 401 deities (Òrìṣà).

This number, 401 (or in Yoruba, Mọkànlénírínwó), is not usually meant to be taken as a literal census of deities, but rather as a symbolic or sacred number that conveys the idea of an innumerable or countless host of divinities. It represents the vast, limitless, and ever-expanding nature of the spiritual world in Yoruba cosmology.

The key deities (Òrìṣà) often cited as being central to the Ife pantheon include:

• Olódùmarè/Ọlọ́run: The Supreme God (distant creator).
• Odùduwà: The progenitor and founder of the Yoruba race.
• Ọbàtálá: The creator of human forms.
• Ọ̀rúnmìlà: The god of wisdom and divination (Ifá).
• Ògún: The god of iron and war.
• Olókun: The deity of the sea.

In summary, while the figure 401 is the traditional and most common answer, it symbolizes that the number of deities is infinite or “as many as you can think of, plus one more.”