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Aso Ebi
Aso ebi (Yoruba), sometimes spelled as asoebi in Nigeria and ashobie in Sierra Leone and the Gambia, is a uniform dress or dressing code/style that is traditionally worn by Yorubas and acculturized by some other African cultures as an indicator of cooperation, camaraderie and solidarity during ceremonies, events and festive periods.Olukoju, A. (1992). Maritime Trade in Lagos in the Aftermath of the First World War. African Economic History, (20), 119–135. The purpose of wearing the dress can be to serve as self-identification with age mates, relatives or friends during social occasions or funerals. Origins The word ''aso'' in Yoruba means cloth and ''ebi'' denotes family, so ''aso ebi'' can be described as a family cloth usually worn during funerals or family ceremonies. However, the practice has now spread beyond family dressing because strangers of a celebrant can wear the aso ebi. Ayodele Olukoju, a Nigerian economic historian, believes aso ebi became a novelty in 1920 duri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
FUNERAL MRS
A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect the dead, from interment, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honor. Customs vary between cultures and religious groups. Funerals have both normative and legal components. Common secular motivations for funerals include mourning the deceased, celebrating their life, and offering support and sympathy to the bereaved; additionally, funerals may have religious aspects that are intended to help the soul of the deceased reach the afterlife, resurrection or reincarnation. The funeral usually includes a ritual through which the corpse receives a final disposition. Depending on culture and religion, these can involve either the destruction of the body (for example, by cremation or sky burial) or its preservation (for ex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yoruba People
The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitute more than 42 million people in Africa, are a few hundred thousand outside the continent, and bear further representation among members of the African diaspora. The vast majority of the Yoruba population is today within the country of Nigeria, where they make up 21% of the country's population according to CIA estimations, making them one of the largest List of ethnic groups of Africa, ethnic groups in Africa. Most Yoruba people speak the Yoruba language, which is the Niger–Congo languages, Niger-Congo language with the largest number of native or L1 speakers. In Africa, the Yoruba are contiguous with the Yoruboid languages, Yoruboid Itsekiri to the south-east in the northwest Niger Delta, Bariba people, Bariba to the northwest in Benin a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Uniform
A uniform is a variety of clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organization's activity. Modern uniforms are most often worn by armed forces and paramilitary organizations such as police, emergency services, security guards, in some workplaces and schools and by inmates in prisons. In some countries, some other officials also wear uniforms in their duties; such is the case of the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, Commissioned Corps of the United States Public Health Service or the France, French préfet, prefects. For some organizations, such as police, it may be illegal for non members to wear the uniform. Etymology From the Latin ''unus'', one, and ''forma'', form. Corporate and work uniforms Workers sometimes wear uniforms or corporate clothing of one nature or another. Workers dress code, required to wear a uniform may include retail workers, bank and post-office workers, public security, public-security and health-care workers, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yoruba Language
Yoruba (, ; Yor. '; Ajami script, Ajami: ) is a language spoken in West Africa, primarily in South West (Nigeria), Southwestern Middle Belt, and Central Nigeria. It is spoken by the Ethnic group, ethnic Yoruba people. The number of Yoruba speakers is roughly 50 million, plus about 2 million second-language speakers. As a pluricentric language, it is primarily spoken in a dialectal area spanning Nigeria and Benin with smaller migrated communities in Côte d'Ivoire, Sierra Leone and The Gambia. Yoruba vocabulary is also used in the Afro-Brazilian religion known as Candomblé, in the Caribbean religion of Santería in the form of the liturgical Lucumí language and various Afro-American religions of North America. Practitioners of these religions in the Americas no longer speak or understand the Yorùbá language, rather they use remnants of Yorùbá language for singing songs that for them are shrouded in mystery. Usage of a lexicon of Yorùbá words and short phrases during ritua ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fighting occurring throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Pacific, and parts of Asia. An estimated 9 million soldiers were killed in combat, plus another 23 million wounded, while 5 million civilians died as a result of military action, hunger, and disease. Millions more died in genocides within the Ottoman Empire and in the 1918 influenza pandemic, which was exacerbated by the movement of combatants during the war. Prior to 1914, the European great powers were divided between the Triple Entente (comprising France, Russia, and Britain) and the Triple Alliance (containing Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy). Tensions in the Balkans came to a head on 28 June 1914, following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oil Palm
''Elaeis'' () is a genus of palms containing two species, called oil palms. They are used in commercial agriculture in the production of palm oil. The African oil palm ''Elaeis guineensis'' (the species name ''guineensis'' referring to its country of origin) is the principal source of palm oil. It is native to west and southwest Africa, occurring between Angola and Gambia. The American oil palm ''Elaeis oleifera'' () is native to tropical Central and South America, and is used locally for oil production. Description Mature palms are single-stemmed, and can grow well over tall. The leaves are pinnate, and reach between long. The flowers are produced in dense clusters; each individual flower is small, with three sepals and three petals. The palm fruit is reddish, about the size of a large plum, and grows in large bunches. Each fruit is made up of an oily, fleshy outer layer (the pericarp), with a single seed (the palm kernel), also rich in oil. Species The two species, '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Bascom
__NOTOC__ William R. Bascom (May 23, 1912 – September 11, 1981) was an award-winning American folklorist, anthropologist, and museum director. He was a specialist in the art and culture of West Africa and the African Diaspora, especially the Yoruba of Nigeria. Biography Bascom completed his B.A. at the University of Wisconsin, and earned his Ph.D. in anthropology at Northwestern University under Melville J. Herskovits in 1939, which was based on research carried out amongst the Yoruba. Bascom was the first American anthropologist to carry out fieldwork among the Yoruba. Bascom taught at Northwestern, Cambridge University. During World War II, he joined the O.S.S. and together with Ralph Bunche co-authored an unsigned volume, ''A Pocket Guide to West Africa'' in 1943. Post-war, Bascom and his Cuban-born wife, Berta began research into practices of Yoruba origin - such as the Shango cult and Santeria - in Cuba and elsewhere. Berta was a lifelong co-worker with Bascom. In 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Age Grade
In sociology and anthropology, an age grade or age class is a form of social organization based on age, within a series of such categories, through which individuals pass over the course of their lives. This is in contrast to an age set, to which individuals remain permanently attached as the set itself becomes progressively more senior. The number of age classes, the determining ages and the terminology vary significantly between traditions. Even within a single society, a person may belong to several overlapping grades in different spheres of life, e.g. per year a different school class and yet for several years on end a child, then an adolescent, finally an adult. In tribal societies entry into an age grade – generally gender-separated – is often marked by an initiation rite, which may be the crowning of a long and complex preparation, sometimes in retreat. After a period of some years, during which they often perform certain common activities, alone or under senior guid ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wrapper (clothing)
The wrapper, lappa, or pagne is a colorful garment widely worn in West Africa by both men and women. It has formal and informal versions and varies from simple draped clothing to fully tailored ensembles. The formality of the wrapper depends on the fabric used to create or design it. West African kaftan/boubou In West Africa, a kaftan or ''caftan'' is a pull-over woman's robe. In French, this robe is called a boubou, pronounced ''boo-boo''. The boubou is the traditional female attire in many West African countries including Senegal, Mali and other African countries. The boubou can be formal or informal attire. The formality of the kaftan depends upon the fabric used to create or design it. Yoruba iro In Yorubaland, Nigeria, the wrapper is commonly, called an ''iro'' in the Yoruba language, pronounced ''i-roh''. The literal translation is "the act of wrapping." The wrapper is usually worn with a matching headscarf or head tie that is called a ''gele'' in Yoruba, pronounced ''ge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lace
Lace is a delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open weblike pattern, made by machine or by hand. Generally, lace is divided into two main categories, needlelace and bobbin lace, although there are other types of lace, such as knitted or crocheted lace. Other laces such as these are considered as a category of their specific craft. Knitted lace, therefore, is an example of knitting. This article considers both needle lace and bobbin lace. While some experts say both needle lace and bobbin lace began in Italy in the late 1500s, there are some questions regarding its origins. Originally linen, silk, gold, or silver threads were used. Now lace is often made with cotton thread, although linen and silk threads are still available. Manufactured lace may be made of synthetic fiber. A few modern artists make lace with a fine copper or silver wire instead of thread. Etymology The word lace is from Middle English, from Old French ''las'', noose, string, from Vulgar Latin *' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Agbada
The boubou or grand boubou is a flowing wide-sleeved robe worn across West Africa, and to a lesser extent in North Africa, related to the dashiki suit. The garments and its variations are known by various names in different ethnic groups and languages. It is called agbádá in Yoruba, babban Riga in Hausa, boubou or mbubb in Wolof, k'sa or gandora in Tuareg, Kwayi Bèri in Zarma-Songhai, darra'a in Maghrebi Arabic, grand boubou in various French-speaking West African countries and the English term gown. The Senegalese boubou, a variation on the ''grand boubou'' described below, is also known as the Senegalese kaftan. The female version worn in some communities is also known as a m'boubou or kaftan. History Its origin lies with the clothing style of the Tuareg, Songhai- Zarma, Hausa, Kanuri, Toubou, and other trans-Saharan and Sahelian trading groups who used the robe as a practical means of protection from both elements (the harsh sun of the day and sub-freezing temperatu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
