Oduduwa was the first divine king of the yoruba people, and obatala fashioned the first human beings out of clay. The yoruba people, of which there is at the present time more than 25 million, occupies the western south corner of nigeria, by all the edge of dahomey and it extends until he himself dahomey. Chiwude to be unbiased, the word yoruba has its etymology in the hausa language. We would attempt to examine the influences on the language, dressing, food and cultural practices and norm of the yoruba people, in an attempt to reach a befitting conclusion as to the history of the yoruba, we would also include some folk lore and stories, to enable you the readers reach a strong conclusion.
Several controversial articles and books have been written about the origins of this mighty tribe, with several kingdoms even in yoruba land contesting for the rights to be pronounced as the source of the yoruba nation. Why are some people so quick to associate the yoruba with egypt, arabia and the mediterranean without a shred of aut. Oduduwa, the ancestor of the yorubas, the kings of gogobiri and of the kukawa. Ife was the principal yoruba city, and the yoruba people considered it to be sacred. Rethinking yoruba culture in the light of yoruba origins 431 and not arabians or muslims from mecca.
The history of the yorubas from the earliest times to the beginning of the british protectorate by samuel johnson. Ife origin influence in the history of ijebu people of. This brief analysis of the traditional account of the history of the yoruba has revealed not only the roots, but also the depth, of their culture. Extant ijebu traditions claim that the town of ijebu0de is said to have been vol.
The history of the yorubas dates back to an era that existed before the ancient oyo empire of the 17th century. In addition, the precise reason why johnson associated yoruba origin with ancient. The study of yoruba religious tradition in historical. The yorubas are said to have sprung from lamurudu, one of the kings of mecca, whose offspring were. Johnson believes that mohammed belo6 influenced the yorubas to begin to think that their ancestors were muslims johnson 1921. History of the yoruba people the yoruba tribe is one of the greatest tribes in africa, although very sketchy evidence exists as to the true origin of this mighty tribe. They are one of the largest ethnic groups in one of africas most populous nations nigeria.
This paper examines the myths of origin peculiar to the yoruba race, opening up several seams into the culture and politics of the modern yoruba nation in south west nigeria. The history of the yorubas 1921 edition open library. History of the yoruba people the history of the yorubas is not yet well established. Most yoruba people speak the yoruba language, which is. Learn the basics of the yoruba religion ifa in this exciting article. This kingdom was founded by the deities oduduwa and obatala, who are believed to have created the world. A short history of yorubaland with pictures culture nairaland.
Born in freetown in sierra leone and educated by the church missionary society, johnson was sent with his family to idaban in nigeria in 1857. In this article i explore how these arts both inform and are enriched by early ife history and the leaders who shaped it. It is illuminating and engaging and strangely funny in its quaint often sententious tone. It is a very ancient religion of the mysteries and messages of olodumare revealed to man by orunmila. For clarity reason, we shall therefore consider the following traditions in chronological order as our record of ijebu origin history. Much smaller, scattered groups live in benin and northern togo. Within nigeria, the yoruba dominate the western part of the country. But few people know of the history of the kingdom itself. Oduduwa, whom yoruba historians claim to have created the world, is said to have undergone this work of creation at ileife.
The history and traditions of the yoruba people panorama. Translation of the bible in 1884 by bishop samuel ajayi crowther, a yoruba speaker, in resulted in the development of a standard written form of yoruba that has been widely adopted across the dialects. The yoruba are close kin of the hausa at some remote age, so the name yoruba was not hausa invention but a yoruba memorable word that has fell to disuse long ago among the yorubas as the peoples population increases and cities were built. This article aims to shed more light on the origin and history of the yoruba people. His findings certainly put a lie to the controversial assertion made by sir hugh trevorroper, one of the bestknown and most respected historians that ever lived, who once said that the history of africa is. Reading of an excerpt from a history of the yoruba people. One of the traditional practices of the yoruba people is ifa worship. The yoruba tribe is one of the three largest and most powerful ethnic groups in nigeria. According to legend, the civilization currently known as yoruba started in ancient ileife. A brief history of the yoruba people provides a short of account of a yoruba origin tradition, and a list of yoruba kings. Saburi biobaku director of the yoruba historical research schzme, nigeria. The yoruba history begins with the migration of an east african population across the transafrican route leading from midnile river area to the midniger.
Yoruba gods are human in form, and they experience imperfect human emotions, such as love and anger. Samuel johnson 18461901 was an anglican minister and historian renowned for his magisterial history of the yoruba people. A study of relationship between arabic and yoruba languages. According to yoruba religion, oduduwa became the ancestor of the first divine king of the yoruba. It is a practice which originated thousands of years ago. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. Standard yoruba is the literary form of the language learned at school and heard on radio and television. Yoruba and ancient near eastern history, the present article argues that yoruba traditions of provenance, claiming immigration from the near east, are basically correct. Olokun presides over this watery abyss, an aquatic realm populated by sea spirits.
The yoruba are one of the largest african ethnic groups south of the sahara desert. The yoruba people occupy the states lagos, ondo, oyo, ogun, osun, ekiti, and some parts of kwara and edo states respectively. Ileife, the ancient yoruba city, which lies in presentday osun state, southwestern nigeria, is considered one of the largest and oldest. The bayajidda legend is a tradition of origin which is chiefly kept by. Based to a large extent on the dynastic tradition of the formerly dominant oyo clan, it is presently in the process of reevaluation. It demonstrates the strong influence of yoruba religion and culture on world religions among african diaspora. Omoleya, inform us that the nigerian region was inhabited more than forty. Brief history of yoruba people, culture, religion and.
Search the history of over 431 billion web pages on the internet. It is one of the largest ethnic groups in africa, and they speak the yoruba language. The book has a vivid picture of a generation of yoruba nationhood within nigerian nationality, prior to the british invation and colonalization of nigeria, yoruba had been a nation with an institutionalized government and there is no better place to understand and assess this form of government except in this book, the book is a bag of history. They are, in fact, not a single group, but rather a collection of diverse people bound together by a common language, history, and culture. Yoruba and kwararrafa jukun12the legend is generally unknown. The story in question revolves around oduduwa, who is said by the yoruba to be the founder of the monarchy at ileife, the town which is widely regarded as the cradle of their civilization. Myth of origin page 4 6 dr kemi atanda ilori samuel johnson, the revered yoruba scholar and historian wrote.
The yoruba people live mainly in what is now southwestern nigeria, as well as in the neighboring republic of benin. The history of ileife, the ancient yoruba kingdom with. On the basis of comparative studies between the dynastic tradition of the. Origin of yoruba and their language folorunso 2009. They have a general language called yoruba yooba which is the form that is taught in schools in the southwestern zone of nigeria. I would recommend it as mustread text for all yorubas and indeed all interested nigerians, beninois and brazilians.
The yoruba constitute approximately 21 percent of nigerias total population, and around 40 million individuals throughout the region of west. At the east and the north, the yoruba culture arrives at its limits in the niger river. At the beginning of yoruba mythology, the universe was composed of two elements, the ethereal sky above and a watery chaos below. Yoruba people are a large ethnolinguistic group or ethnic nation in africa, and the majority of them speak the yoruba language. This information is not intended to be a substitute for a true history book on ewes. He explains that the general trend of theories on it are based on yoruba oral traditions. The creation of the universe and ife mythology of africa.
The origins and brief history of the ewe people narrated by dr. Its premodern history is based largely on oral traditions and legends. The longrunning dispute between the yoruba and the bini about certain aspects of the myth purportedly accounting for the existence of the yoruba is well known. The yoruba are an ethnic group who live in west africa. Origin of the yoruba and the lost tribes of israel dierk lange abstract. Click download or read online button to get history of yoruba land book now. Nonetheless, ileife remained as the historical origin of the yoruba people, and indeed the entire world. It reminds us of the beauty, pain, violence and resounding relevance of yoruba culture easily mirrored in other african ethnicities. The orisha and the 12 gods of yoruba mythology ancient code.
The bayajidda legend and hausa history most important. Kobla dotse published in 2011 xxxx publications disclaimer the material we present here is provided to you mainly for educational and information purposes only. This particular creation myth attempts to explain the origins of humanity, as well as the sacred city of ife. Nevertheless, ancestral cultures directly related to the yorubas bloomed to the north of niger. The yoruba numbered more than 20 million at the turn of the 21st century. The vast majority of this population is from nigeria, where the yoruba make up 16% of the countrys population, making them one of the largest ethnic groups in africa. In the past ten years, significant works on the phenomenology and history. Adegbola is absolutely right and his research into the history of the yoruba and the various yoruba kingdoms is simply outstanding. The yoruba constitute about 44 million people in total.
Origin, nature, problems and prospects article pdf available december 2004 with 1,771 reads how we measure reads. Joel adedeji university of ibadan the origin and form of the yoruba masque theatre the rst accounts of the yoruba masque theatre1 are contained the journals of hugh clapperton and richard lander. The yoruba constitute approximately 35 percent of nigerias total population, and around 40 million individuals throughout the region of west africa. By the 8th century, ileife was already a powerful yoruba kingdom, one of the earliest in africa south of the saharasahel. Yoruba religion ifa history and interesting facts in 2019. Yoruba, one of the three largest ethnic groups of nigeria, concentrated in the southwestern part of that country. A short history of yorubaland with pictures culture. This puts ileife as the site for the creation of the world. Ife arts and the history of this important southwestern nigerian center, key aspects of this code can now be discerned. The handbook of yoruba religious concepts by baba ifa karade, olodumare. They are currently estimated to be about 44 million people, the majority of whom live in nigeria where they account for about 21% of the countrys population. History of yoruba land download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi.