About Yoruba

The Yoruba (Yor�b� in Yoruba orthography) are a large ethno-linguistic group or ethnic

nation in West Africa. The Yoruba constitute approximately 30 percent of Nigeria's total

population, and around 40 million individuals throughout the region of West Africa. They share

borders with the Borgu (variously called Bariba and Borgawa) in the northwest, the Nupe and

Ebira in the north, the ?san and ?do to the southeast, the Igala and other related groups to the

northeast, and the Egun, Fon, and other Gbe-speaking peoples in the southwest. While the

majority of the Yoruba live in southwestern Nigeria, there are also substantial indigenous Yoruba

communities in Benin and Togo, as well as large diasporic Yoruba communities in Sierra Leone,

Brazil, Cuba, Puerto Rico and Trinidad, the Caribbean, and the United States.

The Yoruba are the main ethnic group in the states of Ekiti, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, and Oyo,

which are political subdivisions of Nigeria; they also constitute a sizable proportion of Kwara

and Kogi states as well as of the Republic of Benin.

Many people of African descent in the Americas have claim to Yoruba ancestry (along with

several other ethnic groups) to some degree. A significant percentage of Africans enslaved in the

Americas originated from this region.

Contents

1 History

o 1.1 Origin Myth

o 1.2 General History

2 Precolonial social organization

3 Culture

4 Yoruba religion and mythology

5 Yoruba cities

6 Sports

7 See also

8 Language links

9 External links

History

Origin Myth

Several versions of the Yoruba origin exist, the most popular of which revolves around a figure

named Oduduwa. As recorded by one of the earliest Yoruba historians, Reverend Samuel

Johnson (an ?y? convert to Christianity), Oduduwa was the head of an invading army from the

East (a locale often identified with Mecca, Egypt, the Sudan, or northeastern Nigeria) who

established the constitutional monarchic system of government amongst the indigenous

population he found.

Other versions of the myth posit that Oduduwa was sent down by ?l?run Olodumare, the Creator,

to fashion the first human beings out of the clay soil of Il?-If?. Odudua is also the name of an

important Earth goddess, the wife of ?batala, and some scholars postulate a connection between

the semi-mythical founder of the If?, ?y?, and Benin monarchic traditions and the ancient female

deity. The name Oduduwa has been translated to mean "the one ("O/Ohun") who created the

knowledge ("odu") of character ("iwa")" or "o dudu, o l'ewa/o n'iwa": he's black and

beautiful/well-mannered, signifying the figure's paramount role in establishing Yoruba

philosophy and blackness, whether mythical or historical. Yoruba people are always referred to

as "Yoruba, Omo Oduduwa(O'odua)", sons of Oduduwa. The name is also linked to the literature

of the Yoruba geomantic divination system, Ifa. The poetic chapters memorized and chanted by

divination consultants (babalawo) during an Ifa session are called "odu".

Oduduwa was the founder of Ile-Ife. He was sent from the heavens by Olodumare to establish

the earth and create its inhabitants after another minister of Olodumare, Obatala, failed to do this.

To this effect, Oduduwa was given a cock and a sack of sand since the earth was covered with

water at that time. While climbing down from the heavens, he lost grip of the cock that started

flying down and in his bid to catch the cock let loose the sack of sand. Sand started slipping

down onto the water down below. Getting down, Oduduwa realised that the sand had formed a

small "land hill" protruding from the water and that the cock had perched on it spreading the

sand with its legs. The land started spreading forming the soil of the earth. He named that spot

Ile n'fe, the earth was extending, and hence the name of Ile-Ife, the ancestral town of humanity

and the Yoruba. Obatala later came down with the others and created the humans.

General History

By 900 AD the Yoruba city-state of Ile Ife established itself as the dominate power in the land of

the Yoruba (central and southwest Nigeria, Benin, and Togo)though complex states existed

throughout the region. The city of Ile Ife, inhabitated by Yoruba in the 4th Century BCE, became

the culture center of the people. In theory, Yoruba city-states largely acknowledged the primacy

of the ancient city of Ile Ife. The southeastern Benin Empire, ruled by a dynasty that traced its

ancestry to If? and Oduduwa but largely populated by the ?do and other related ethnicities, also

held considerable sway in the election of nobles and kings in eastern Yorubaland.

Most of the city states were controlled by monarchs (Obas) and councils made up of nobles,

guild leaders, and merchants. Different states saw differing ratios of power between the two.

Some had powerful, semi-autocratic monarchs with almost total control, while in others the

senatorial councils were supreme and the ?ba served as a figurehead. In all cases, Yoruba

monarchs were always subject to the continuing approval of their constituents, and could be

easily compelled to abdicate for demonstrating dictatorial tendencies or incompetence. The order

to vacate the throne was usually communicated through a symbolic message, or aroko, of

parrots' eggs delivered by the senators.

Before the abolition of the slave trade, some Yoruba groups were known among Europeans as

Ak�, a name derived from the first words of Yoruba greetings such as ? k� ��r?? ?good

morning? and ? k� al?? ?good evening?. The terms "Nago", "Anago", and "Ana", derived from

the name of a coastal Yoruba sub-group in the present-day Republic of Benin, were also widely

used in Spanish and Portuguese documents to describe all speakers of the language. Yoruba in

francophone West Africa are still sometimes known by this ethnonym today. In Cuba and

Spanish-speaking America, the Yoruba were called "Lucumi", after the phrase "O luku mi",

meaning "my friend" in some dialects. During the 19th century, the term Yariba or Yoruba came

into wider use, first confined to the ?y?. 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 first appeared in a treatise written by the Songhai

scholar Ahmed Baba (1500s) and is likely to derive from the indigenous ethnonyms ?y? (Oyo) or

Yagba, two Yoruba-speaking groups along the northern borders of their terrority. 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 Yoruba clergyman, subsequent

missionaries extended the term to include all speakers of related dialects.

The pre-colonial Yoruba living in the savannah region between the forest and the Niger river

were pressed further south by conflicts with the Sokoto Caliphate, a militant Muslim empire

founded by the Fulani Quranic scholar Uthman Dan Fodio. After usurping power in the Hausa

city-states of northern Nigeria, the Sokoto Caliphate also seized power in Ilorin, one of the

northernmost Yoruba towns, and ravaged ?y?-Ile, the capital city of the ?y? Empire. After losing

the northern portion of their region to the cavalry-dependent Sokoto Caliphate, the ?y? for the

most part retreated to the latitudes where tsetse flies made horses unable to survive. The

Caliphate attempted to expand further into the southern region of modern-day Nigeria, but was

decisively defeated by the armies of Ibadan, a newly-founded Yoruba city, in 1840.

Precolonial social organization

Though monarchies were fairly common throughout the Yoruba-speaking region, they were not

the only approach to government and social organization. The numerous ?gba communities,

found in the forests below ?y?'s savannah region, were a notable example. These independent

polities often elected an ?ba, though real political, legislative, and judicial powers resided with

the Ogboni, a council of notable elders.

When citizens of more than 150 ?gba and Owu communities migrated to the fortified city-state

of Abeokuta during the internecine wars of the 19th century, 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, described Ab?okuta

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." He described Ab?okuta and its system of government as "the most

extraordinary republic in the world."

Gerontocratic leadership councils that guarded against the monopolization of power by a

monarch were a proverbial trait of the ?gba, according to the eminent ?y? 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. Even in ?y?, the

most centralized of the precolonial kingdoms, the Alaafin consulted on all political decisions

with a prime minister (the Bas?run) and the council of leading nobles known as the ?y? Mesi.

Ibadan, a city-state and proto-empire founded in the 19th century by a polyglot group of

refugees, soldiers, and itinerant traders from ?y? 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 Ij?sa and other groups, which saw a corresponding rise in

the social influence of military adventurers and successful entrepreneurs.

Occupational guilds, social clubs, secret or initatory societies, and religious units, commonly

known as ?gb? in Yoruba, included the Parakoyi (or league of traders) and ?gb? ?d? (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 ?gba resisted the

imperial domination of the ?y? Empire, a figure named Lisabi is credited with either creating or

reviving a covert traditional organization named ?gb? Aro. This group, originally a farmers'

union, was converted to a network of secret militias throughout the ?gba forests, and each lodge

plotted to overthrow ?y?'s Ajeles (appointed administrators) in the late 1700s.

Similarly, covert military resistance leagues like the Ekitiparap? and the Ogidi alliance were

organized during the 19th century wars by often-decentralized communities of the Ekiti, Ij??a,

�gb�m�n� and Okun Yoruba in order to resist various imperial expansionist plans of

Ibadan, Nupe, and the Sokoto Caliphate.

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 Ile?a, Ondo,

and other Yoruba communities, several traditions of female ?bas, though these were

comparatively rare.

The kings were almost always polygamous and many had as many as 20 wives and often married

royal family members from other towns/city states.

Culture

The Yoruba are one of the ethnic groups in Africa whose cultural heritage and legacy are

recognizable in the Americas, despite the debilitating effects of slavery. Ori?a religion, often

called "?ango" worship and various musical artforms popularized in Latin America, especially

Cuba, and Puerto Rico are rooted in Yoruba music. Perhaps their best known material artist is

Olowe of Ise. Their religious beliefs are complex, and recognize a wide variety of deities. ?l?run

or Olodumare is venerated as the creator, with the other Ori?as serving as emissaries or

intermediaries that help with human concerns. As previously mentioned, the Yoruba have

converted to Christianity and to a lesser extent Islam in large numbers since the 19th century. In

the United States, they are recognizeable, along with other Nigerian immigrants, as very strict

Christians, observing many of the conservative biblical views. They are also prominent in some

urban Muslim congregations and continue to participate in various forms of Ifa/Ori?a religious

worship.

The Yoruba performance repertoire includes various masquerade plays, folk operas, and a

vibrant video cinema. One Yoruba masquerade, G?l?d? from the Ketu region of the modern

Republic of Benin, has been recognized as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of

Humanity by UNESCO. Other aspects of Yoruba culture that have been recognized as

masterpieces of human cultural ingenuity include the Ifa corpus, a collection of hundreds of

poems used in divination ceremonies; and the ??un-O?ogbo Sacred Grove, one of the few

remaining functional sites for traditional religious ceremonies in Nigeria and a magnet for

visitors from all over the world. Countless scholarly articles have also examined the

performances of Egungun (representative of ancestral spirits visiting the living); Epa (symbolic

performances variously promoting valor and fertility); and ?y?, a procession of masked dancers.

Yoruba religion and mythology

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 Santer�a in Cuba, Puerto Rico and

Candombl� in Brazil.

Itan is the term for the sum total of all Yoruba myths, songs, histories, and other cultural

components.

Many ethnic Yoruba were enslaved and taken to Cuba, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Trinidad and the rest

of the New World (chiefly in the 19th century, after the ?y? empire collapsed and the region

plunged into civil war), and carried their 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:

Santer�a (Cuba) (Puerto Rico)

Oyotunji (USA)

Idigene (Nigeria)

Anago (Nigeria)

Candombl� (Brazil)

Umbanda (Brazil)

Batuque (Brazil)

The popularly known Vodun 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 "?ya" (wind goddess), "Ifa" (divination or fate), "?l?da" (destiny), "Ibeji"

(twins), "?sanyin" (medicines and healing) and "?sun" (goddess of fertility, protector of children

and mothers), ?ango (God of thunder).

Human beings and other sentient creatures are also assumed to have their own individual deity of

destiny, called "Ori (Yoruba)", 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 worship 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 colorfully 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.

A significant portion of the population either follows the traditional religion called Ifa or consult

with the clergy of traditional diviners known as babalawo, or "Father of secrets."

The majority of contemporary Yoruba are Christians and Muslims, with indigenous

congregations having the largest memberships among Christians.

Yoruba cities

The chief Yoruba cities are Ibadan, Lagos, Abeokuta (Ab?okuta), Akure (Akur?), Ilorin (Il?rin),

Ijebu Ode (Ij?bu Ode), Ijebu-Igbo (Ij?bu-Igbo), Ogbomoso (Ogbom???), Ondo, Ota (?ta),�l�

?r�ng�n, Ado-Ekiti, Shagamu (Sagamu), Ikenne (Ik?nn?), Osogbo (Osogbo), Ilesa (Ilesa),

Oyo (?y?), and Ife (Il�-If?)

Traditionally the Yoruba organized themselves into networks of related villages, towns, and

kingdoms, with most of them headed by an ?ba [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 Ifa divination request. The

?bas live in palaces usually in the center of the town. Opposite to the king's palace is the ?ja ?ba,

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.

Sports

Yorubaland stadia include the National Stadium, Lagos (55,000 capacity), Teslim Balogun

stadium (35,000 capacity), Liberty Stadium, Ibadan (the first stadium in Africa) (40,000

capacity), M??hood Ka?himawo Abi?la Stadium Ab?okuta (28,000 capacity), Lekan Salami

Stadium, Ibadan (25,000 capacity)

Yoruba people play board games like Ay�.

See also

Yoruba language

Yoruba mythology

Yoruba Wedding Traditions

Language links

Akoyege Ede Yoruba Lori Ero (AKOYE) - Site for learning Yoruba

Ede Yoruba-Yunifasiti ti Jojia (University of Georgia-Athens)

Yoruba Program - University of Wisconsin - Madison

Yoruba Language Task Force - goal is to inject a new and unified spirit into the teaching

of the Yoruba language at the post-elementary level in the U.S.

Institute of Yoruba Language and Culture - language instruction

Yoruba - University of Pennsylvania

Orita.YORUBA

External links

Egbe Isokan Yoruba - promotes the cultural, social, economic and political welfare of

Yoruba

Radio Abeokuta - promoting the Yoruba culture of Togo, Republic of Benin, and Nigeria,

West Africa

National Association of Yoruba Descendants in the United States - mission is to cherish,

uphold and project the honor and dignity of Yoruba culture, language and tradition

worldwide

Yoruba Information - includes brief summary of language, religion, history, and art

World of the Yoruba - ritual and performance in Yorubaland

Talking About "Tribe" - looks at Yoruba identity

Yoruba Overview - includes information on colonialism, religion, and myth

Yoruba: Exploring an African Culture - interactive exhibit about the art and culture of the

Yoruba

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