Yoruba people
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| Kwara State drummers. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Total population | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Over 30 million (est.)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Regions with significant populations | ||||||||||||||||||
 Nigeria 29,039,480 [2] | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Languages | ||||||||||||||||||
| Yoruba, Yoruboid languages | ||||||||||||||||||
| Religion | ||||||||||||||||||
| Christianity 60%, Islam 30%, Orisha veneration and Ifá 10%. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Related ethnic groups | ||||||||||||||||||
| Bini, Nupe, Igala, Itsekiri, Ebira | ||||||||||||||||||
Yoruba settlements are often composed of three main generations:
- The first generation is made up of founding towns and cities of the origin or capitals of Yoruba states/kingdoms.
- The second generation is those created by conquest, Diaspora or/and resettlement.
- The third generation is those that emerged after the Yoruba wars
Contents |
History
General history
Contemporary historians as well as Yoruba legend contend that the Yorubas are not indigenous to Yorubaland, but are descendants of immigrants to the region. It is believed that the forefather of all the Yoruba people was an important man called Oduduwa, (also known as Odudua, Odua or Eleduwa). It is also known that he was a Prince from the royal family in Mecca. At the time when he was a young prince in Mecca, the people of Mecca including the royal family were worshipers of different idols and deities. When the Islam religion was adopted by the royal family and introduced to the kingdom of Mecca, Oduduwa rebelled refusing to convert to Islam. This caused a split in the royal family and amongst the noblemen loyal to the prince. As a result, Oduduwa was expelled and forced into exile. According to legend, he gathered all the men and women loyal to him numbering thousands and began a journey. He headed southwest from mecca and came to settle in Sub-saharan africa. He established his kingdom in a place called 'Ile Ife' (also known as Ife)and thus became the first 'oba' (meaning 'king' or 'ruler' in the Yoruba language). This settlement flourished and developed into what is now Yorubaland in modern day Nigeria.
Between 1100 AD and 1700 AD, the Yoruba Kingdom of Ife experienced a Golden age, the Oba or ruler of Ife is referred to as the Ooni of Ife.[10] It was then surpassed by the Yoruba Oyo Empire as the dominant Yoruba military and political power between 1700 AD and 1900 AD,[11] the (Oba) or ruler of Oyo is referred to as the Alaafin of Oyo. Ife, however, remained and continues to be viewed as the spiritual homeland of the Yoruba. The nearby Benin Empire, with its capital in the modern day Benin City in modern day Nigeria was also a powerful force between 1300 and 1850 AD, the ruler of Benin City is referred to as the Oba of Benin.[12]
Most of the city states were controlled by Obas (rulers) with various titles and councils made up of Oloye, Guild of noble leaders or chiefs, and Merchants. Different states saw differing ratios of power between the kingship and the chiefs' council. Some such as Oyo had powerful, autocratic monarchs with almost total control, while in others such as the Ijebu city-states, the senatorial councils held more influence and the power of the ruler or Ọba, referred to as the Awujale of Ijebuland was more limited.
Cosmogonic origin mythology
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Recently, historians have attributed this cosmological mythology to a pre-existing civilization at Ilė-Ifę which was invaded by a militant immigrants from the east, led by a king named Oduduwa. Oduduwa and his group had been persecuted on the basis of religious differences and forced out of their homeland. They came to Ilė-Ifę where they subjugated the pre-existing Ugbo inhabitants (Ugbo-Ilaje) though often erroneously rendered as Igbo but unrelated to the present Igbo people), under the leadership of Oreluere (Ọbatala).
After Oduduwa
Upon the death of Oduduwa, there was a dispersal of his children from Ilė-Ifę to found other kingdoms (Owu, Ketu, Benin, Ila, Sabe, Popo, and Oyo). Each made a mark in the subsequent urbanization and consolidation of Yoruba confederacy of kingdoms, with each kingdom tracing its origin to Ile-Ife.Pre-colonial Yoruba society
Government
During the internecine wars of the 19th century, the Ijebu forced citizens of more than 150 Ẹgba and Owu communities to migrate to the fortified city of Abeokuta, where each quarter retained its own Ogboni council of civilian leaders, along with an Olorogun, or council of military leaders, and in some cases its own elected Obas or Baales. These independent councils then elected their most capable members to join a federal civilian and military council that represented the city as a whole.
Commander Frederick Forbes, a representative of the British Crown writing an account of his visit to the city in an 1853 edition of the Church Military Intelligencer[14], described Abẹokuta as having "four presidents", and the system of government as having "840 principal rulers or 'House of Lords,' 2800 secondary chiefs or 'House of Commons,' 140 principal military ones and 280 secondary ones."[citation needed] He described Abẹokuta and its system of government as "the most extraordinary Republic in the world."[citation needed]
Leadership
Gerontocratic leadership councils that guarded against the monopolization of power by a monarch were a proverbial trait of the Ẹgba, according to the eminent Ọyọ historian Reverend Samuel Johnson, but such councils were also well-developed among the northern Okun groups, the eastern Ekiti, and other groups falling under the Yoruba ethnic umbrella. In Ọyọ, the most centralized of the precolonial kingdoms, the Alaafin consulted on all political decisions with a prime minister (the Basọrun) and the council of leading nobles known as the Ọyọ Mesi.City states
The monarchy of any city state was usually limited to a number of royal lineages. A family could be excluded from kingship and chieftancy if any family member, servant, or Slave belonging to the family committed a crime such as theft, fraud, murder or rape.In other city-states, the monarchy was open to the election of any free-born male citizen. There are also, in Ilesa, Ondo, and other Yoruba communities, several traditions of female Ọbas, though these were comparatively rare.
The kings were traditionally almost always polygamous and often married royal family members from other domains.[15]
Ibadan, a City-state and Proto-empire founded in the 18th century by a Polyglot group of Refugees, soldiers, and Itinerant traders from Ọyọ and the other Yoruba sub-groups, largely dispensed with the concept of monarchism, preferring to elect both military and civil councils from a pool of eminent citizens. The city became a military republic, with distinguished soldiers wielding political powers through their election by popular acclaim and the respect of their peers. Similar practices were adopted by the jẹsa and other groups, which saw a corresponding rise in the social influence of military adventurers and successful entrepreneurs.
Groups organizations and leagues in Yorubaland
Occupational guilds, social clubs, secret or initiatory societies, and religious units, commonly known as Ẹgbẹ in Yoruba, included the Parakoyi (or league of traders) and Ẹgbẹ Ọdẹ (hunter's guild), and maintained an important role in commerce, social control, and vocational education in Yoruba polities.There are also examples of other peer organizations in the region. When the Ẹgba resisted the imperial domination of the Ọyọ Empire, a figure named Lisabi is credited with either creating or reviving a covert traditional organization named Ẹgbẹ Aro. This group, originally a farmers' union, was converted to a network of secret militias throughout the Ẹgba forests, and each lodge plotted to overthrow Ọyọ's Ajeles (appointed administrators) in the late 1700s.
Similarly, covert military resistance leagues like the Ekiti Parapọ and the Ogidi alliance were organized during the 19th century wars by often-decentralized communities of the Ekiti, Ijẹsa, Ìgbómìnà and Okun Yoruba in order to resist various imperial expansionist plans of Ibadan, Nupe, and the Sokoto Caliphate.
Culture
Traditional Yoruba Religion
Yoruba religion and mythology is a major influence in West Africa, chiefly in Nigeria, and it has given origin to several New World religions such as Santería in Cuba and Puerto Rico, Voudoun in Haiti, and Candomblé in Brazil.
Itan is the term for the sum total of all Yoruba myths, songs, histories, and other cultural components. These mostly originate from the ese (verses) of the Odu Ifa.
After the Ọyọ empire collapsed and the region plunged into civil war, ethnic Yoruba were among the largest in number of African peoples who were enslaved and taken by European traders to Cuba,[16] Puerto Rico,[17] Brazil, Haiti, Trinidad[16] and the rest of the New World (chiefly in the 19th century). The enslaved Africans carried their Orisha religious beliefs with them. These concepts were combined with preexisting African-based religions, Christianity, Native American mythology, and Kardecist Spiritism into various New World lineages which are Lucumí (Cuba, Puerto Rico), Oyotunji (U.S.), Anago (Nigeria), Candomblé (Brazil), Umbanda (Brazil), Batuque (Brazil) and Kaaro oojire (Nigeria).
The popularly known Vodou religion of Haiti combines the religious beliefs of the many different African ethnic nationalities taken to the island with the structure and liturgy from the Fon-Ewe of present-day Benin and the Congo-Angolan culture area, but Yoruba-derived religious ideology and deities also play an important role.
Yoruba deities include one creator God and approximately 400 supernatural Spirits. Some of the most prominent spiritss are "Olorun" (God of Heaven), "Eshu" (The Devil), "Ogun" (god of Iron), "Obatala" (Spirit of justice), "Yemonja" (Spirit of fertility and waters| Mermaid), "Ọya" (Spirit of wind and storm), "Orunmila" (Spirit of divination or fate), "Ibeji" (Spirit of twins), "Ọsanyin" (Spirit of medicines and healing), "Ọsun" (Spirit of love, protector of children and mothers), Sango (Spirit of thunder and lightning), and "Ochosi" (Spirit of the hunt). Some of these dieties, actually lived amongst the people, often as warriors with fearsome reputations. These reputations often leads to them becoming deitified in death, with people naturally trying to harness their abilities. For instance Shango (Spirit of thunder and lightning)was known to emit fire from his mouth when he talks, and was able to initiate and control thunder and lightning.
Human beings and other sentient creatures are also assumed to have their own individual deity of destiny, called "Ori", who is venerated through a sculpture symbolically decorated with cowrie shells. Traditionally, dead parents and other ancestors are also believed to possess powers of protection over their descendants. This belief is expressed in veneration and sacrifice on the grave or symbol of the ancestor, or as a community in the observance of the Egungun festival where the ancestors are represented as a colorful masquerade of costumed and masked men who represent the ancestral spirits. Dead parents and ancestors are also commonly venerated by pouring libations to the earth and the breaking of kolanuts in their honor at special occasions.
Today, many contemporary Yoruba are Muslims and Christians evenly population wise. A small number of Yoruba, especially in the remote or rural areas, retain many of the cultural concepts of Yoruba pagan traditions, yet they are likely to be (by name or by birth) Muslims or Christians.
Twins in Yoruba society
Calendar
Sheikh Dr. Abu-Abdullah Adelabu, the London-baesd Muslim scholar claimed in his Arabic-English dictionary that Islam plays a major role in enriching African languages through the Arab traders whose communication skills helped the people in the continent to develope technical and cultural augmentations in their Languages, poinitn at Ki-Swahili and Af-Somaali in East Africa and Turanci Hausa and Fula-Nyami in West Africa as the most evident[20]. Nigeria-born Sheikh Adelabu, a Ph D graduate from Damascus cited among commonly Arabic words used in Yoruba Language names of the days such as Atalata (Ar. Ath-Thulatha الثلاثاء) for Tuesday, Alaruba (Ar. Al-Arbi'a الأربعاء) for Wednesday, Alamisi (Ar. Al-Khamis الخميس) for Thursday, and Jimoh (Ar. Al-Jum'ah الجمعة) for Friday. By far Ojo Jimoh is the most favourably used. It's usually prefered to Yoruba unpleasant word for Friday Eti, which means Failure, Laziness or Abandonment.[21].| Months in Yoruba calendar: | Months in Gregorian calendar: |
|---|---|
| Sere | January |
| Erele | February |
| Erena | March |
| Igbe | April |
| Ebibi | May |
| Okudu | June |
| Agemo | July |
| Ogun | August |
| Owere (Owewe) | September |
| Owara (Owawa) | October |
| Belu | November |
| Ope | December |
| Yoruba calendar traditional days |
|---|
| Days: |
| Ojo-Orunmila/Ifá |
| Ojo-Shango/Jakuta |
| Ojo-Ogun |
| Ojo-Obatala[citation needed] |
The Yoruba calendar (Kojoda) year starts from 3 June to 2 June of the following year.[citation needed] According to this calendar, the Gregorian year 2008 A. D. is the 10050th year of Yoruba culture.[citation needed] To reconcile with the Gregorian calendar, Yoruba people also measure time in seven days a week and four weeks a month:
| Modified days in Yoruba calendar | Days in Gregorian calendar |
|---|---|
| Ojo-Aiku | Sunday |
| Ojo-Aje | Monday |
| Ojo-Ishegun/Atalata | Tuesday |
| Ojo-'Ru/Alaruba | Wednesday |
| Ojo-Bo/Alamisi | Thursday |
| Ojo-Eti/Jimoh | Friday |
| Ojo-Abameta | Saturday[22] |
Demographics
Location in Nigeria
Location in Benin
The Yoruba/Ife are the main group in the Benin department of Ouémé, all Subprefecture; Collines Province, all subprefectures; Plateau Province, all Subprefectures; Borgou Province, Tchaourou Subprefecture; Zou Province, Ouihni and Zogbodome Subprefecture; Donga Province, Bassila Subprefecture; Alibori, Kandi SubprefectureLocation in Togo
The Yoruba/Ife are the main group in the Togo department of Plateau Region, Ogou and Est-Mono prefectures; Centrale Region, Tchamba PrefectureYoruba towns
The chief Yoruba cities/towns are Ibadan, Fiditi, Eko (Lagos), Ejigbo, Modakeke/Akoraye, Ijẹbu Ode, Abẹokuta, Akurẹ, Ilọrin, Ijẹbu-Igbo, Ogbomọṣọ, Ondo, Ọta, Ado-Ekiti, Ikare, Sagamu, Ikẹnnẹ, Ilisan, Osogbo, Offa, Iwo, Ilesa, Ọyọ, Ilé-Ifẹ, Odeomu, Ilaro and Ago-Iwoye.Traditionally the Yoruba organized themselves into networks of related villages, towns, and kingdoms, with most of them headed by an Ọba King or Baale a Nobleman or Mayor. Kingship is not determined by simple Primogeniture, as in most monarchic systems of government. An electoral college of lineage heads is usually charged with selecting a member of one of the royal families, and the selection is usually confirmed by an Ifá divination request. The Ọbas live in palaces usually in the center of the town. Opposite to the king's palace is the Ọja Ọba, the king's market. These markets form an inherent part of Yoruba life. Traditionally the market traders are well organized, have various guilds, and an elected speaker.
Yoruba Diaspora
Atlantic slave trade
Different names and slavery-era diaspora
During the 19th century, the term 'Yoruba ' or 'Yariba' came into wider use, first confined to the Ọyọ. The term is often believed to be derived from a Hausa ethnonym for the populous people to their south, but this has not been substantiated by historians.As an ethnic description, the word 'Yoruba' first appeared in a treatise written by the Songhai scholar Ahmed Baba (1500s) and is likely to derive from the indigenous ethnonyms Ọyọ (Oyo) or Yagba, two Yoruba-speaking groups along the northern borders of their territory. However, it is likely that the ethnonym was popularized by Hausa usage and ethnography written in Arabic and Ajami. Under the influence of Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther, a Creole (of Aku origin) clergyman, subsequent missionaries extended the term to include all speakers of related dialects.
Aside from "Yoruba" and its variant "Yariba", this ethnic group was in different times and places known by a variety of other names, including "Yorubo", "Akú", "Okun", "Nago", "Anago" and "Ana" and "Lucumi".
Before the abolition of the slave trade, some Yoruba groups were known among Europeans as Akú, a name derived from the first words of Yoruba greetings such as Ẹ kú àárọ? ‘good morning’ and Ẹ kú alẹ? ‘good evening.’ A variant of this group is also known as the "Okun", Okun being also a form of "A ku". These are Yorubas found in parts of the states of Kogi - the "Yagba", Ekiti and Kabba.
![The language spread of Kru, Igbo and Yoruba in the United States according to [23] U. S. Census 2000.](/wak/File:Kru,_Ibo,_Yoruba_USC2000_PHS.svg)
In Cuba and Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking America, the Yoruba were called "Lucumi" after the phrase "O luku mi", meaning "my friend" in some dialects. This term is at present used mainly to refer to an Afro-Caribbean religion derived from the traditional Yoruba religion, more often known as Santería now becoming popular in the USA.
The origin of the Yoruba, who often refer to themselves as "Omo O'odua" (Children of Oduduwa), revolves around a man called Oduduwa who became the first Oba (meaning 'king' or 'leader' in the Yoruba language) at the Yoruba kingdom of Ile-Ife (also known as Ife), under the title of the Ooni of Ife. It was from Ile-Ife that the descendants of Oduduwa went on to find other Yoruba kingdoms such as Oyo and Ketou. One of them even managed to rule over a famous non-Yoruba-speaking kingdom towards the east of Ife as the Oba of Ile-Ibinu, which later became known as Ubini, the Edo, and finally Benin (not to be confused with the country called the Republic of Benin which was previously known as Dahomey.
See also
- Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther
- Egba
- Ijebu
- Oyo Empire
- Samuel Johnson (Nigerian historian)
- Professor Robert Sidney Smith (historian, University of Ibadan)
- Yoruba language
- Yoruba Medicine
- Yoruba mythology
References
- ^ http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/653789/Yoruba [not in citation given]
- ^ https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ni.html
- ^ https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/bn.html
- ^ http://www.joshuaproject.net/peopctry.php?rop3=111095&rog3=GH
- ^ http://www.joshuaproject.net/peopctry.php?rop3=111095&rog3=TO
- ^ http://www.usp.nus.edu.sg/post/nigeria/yorubaFH.html
- ^ Joshua Project,. (2007)
- ^ CIA World Factbook
- ^ http://yorubaorganization.com/articles/ifa_eng.htm Second paragraph
- ^ http://au.encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_781536070/Ife_(kingdom).html
- ^ http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/437048/Oyo-empire
- ^ http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/60871/Benin
- ^ James Gibbs, Bernth Lindfors (1993). Research on Wole Soyinka. Africa World Press . pp. 103. ISBN 0865432198. http://books.google.com/books?id=CoeBNzqlLT0C&pg=PA103&lpg=PA103&dq=Orisa'nla&source=web&ots=KDXUZedAJZ&sig=UdrF2k3F-ue8wf56VhYJ0S8JCjA&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=10&ct=result.
- ^ http://www.jstor.org/pss/180299
- ^ http://www.royaldiadem.co.uk/yoruba.php Under Culture
- ^ a b http://www.cultural-expressions.com/ifa/ifahistory.htm 7th paragraph
- ^ http://seeingblack.com/2004/x021304/puertorico.shtml
- ^ http://www.randafricanart.com/Yoruba_Customs_and_Beliefs_Pertaining_to_Twins.html
- ^ http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/119755283/abstract
- ^ [1]
- ^ A lecture by Sheikh Dr. Abu-Abdullah Adelabu of Awqaf Africa London titled: The History Of Islam in 'The Black History' > at esinislam.com
- ^ http://yourtemple.net/spirit/2008.03/yoruba_calendar.jsp
- ^ http://www.census.gov/main/www/cen2000.html
External links
- Association of Yoruba Descendant in Cincinnati supplying basic needs such as books, shoes, eye glasses, Well Water in Nigeria to the under-privileged citizens.
- Egbe Isokan Yoruba promotes the cultural, social, economic and political welfare of Yoruba.
- oroede.org Ọrọ èdè Yorùbá (Words of the Yoruba Language) promotes the digital presentation of Yorùbá orthography through the creation and modification of Opensource software.
- Talking About "Tribe" looks at Yoruba identity.
- World of the Yoruba ritual and performance in Yorubaland.
- Yoruba Information - includes brief summary of language, religion, history, and art.
- Reality Sandwich" Art and Ashe in the Yoruba Tradition" by Brian George.
- The Yoruba Ibedji Twin Cult
- Yoruba Carvers (part I)
- Yoruba Carvers (part II)
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