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The Yoruba people (, , ) are a
West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali ...
n ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of
Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
,
Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the nort ...
, 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 ethnic groups in Africa. Most Yoruba people speak the Yoruba language, which is the Niger-Congo language with the largest number of native or L1 speakers. In Africa, the Yoruba are contiguous with the
Yoruboid Yoruboid is a 'megagroup' of 14 related language clades, composed of the Igala group of dialects spoken in south central Nigeria, and the Edekiri group spoken in a band across Togo, Ghana, Benin and southern Nigeria, including the Itsekiri of W ...
Itsekiri The Itsekiri (also called the Isekiri, ''iJekri'', ''Itsekri'', ''Ishekiri'', or Itsekhiri) are one of the Yoruboid subgroup of Nigeria's Niger Delta area, Delta State. The Itsekiris presently number 2.7 million people and live mainly in the W ...
to the south-east in the northwest
Niger Delta The Niger Delta is the delta of the Niger River sitting directly on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean in Nigeria. It is located within nine coastal southern Nigerian states, which include: all six states from the South South geopolitic ...
, Bariba to the northwest in Benin and Nigeria, the Nupe to the north, and the Ebira to the northeast in central Nigeria. To the east are the
Edo Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a ''jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...
, Ẹsan, and Afemai groups in mid-western Nigeria. To the northeast and adjacent to the Ebira and northern Edo, groups are the related Igala people on the left bank of the
Niger River The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through Mal ...
. To the south are the Gbe-speaking Mahi, Gun, Fon, and Ewe who border Yoruba communities in Benin and Togo, to the west they are bordered by the Kwa-speaking Akebu, Kposo of Togo, and to the northwest, by the Kwa-speaking Anii, and the Gur speaking Kabiye, Yom-Lokpa and Tem people of Togo. Significantly Yoruba populations in other West African countries can also be found in
Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and Tog ...
,
Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the nort ...
, Ivory Coast, and
Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...
. Outside Africa, the #The Yoruba diaspora, Yoruba diaspora consists of two main groupings; the first being that of the Yorubas taken as slaves to the New World between the 16th to 19th centuries, notably to the Caribbean (especially in Cuba) and Brazil, and the second consisting of a wave of relatively recent migrants, the majority of whom began to migrate to the United Kingdom and the United States following some of the major economic and political changes encountered in Africa in the 1960s to 1980s.


Etymology

The oldest known textual reference to the name Yoruba is found in an essay (titled – ''Mi‘rāj al-Ṣu‘ūd'') from a manuscript written by the Berber jurist, Ahmed Baba in the year 1614. The original manuscript is preserved in the Ahmed Baba Institute of the Mamma Haidara Library, while a digital copy is at the World Digital Library. ''Mi‘rāj al-Ṣu‘ūd'' provides one of the earliest known ideas about the ethnic composition of the West African interior. The relevant section of the essay which lists the Yoruba group alongside nine others in the region as translated by
John Hunwick John Owen Hunwick (born 1936, Chard, Somerset, England, died 1 April 2015 in Skokie, Illinois, United States) was a noted British professor, author, and Africanist. He has published several books, articles and journals in the African Studies fiel ...
and Fatima Harrak for the Institute of African Studies Rabat, reads:
We will add another rule for you, that is that whoever now comes to you from among the group called Mossi, or Gurma, or
Bussa Bussa's rebellion (14–16 April 1816) was the largest slave revolt in Barbadian history. The rebellion takes its name from the African-born slave, Bussa, who led the rebellion. The rebellion, which was eventually defeated by the colonial mil ...
, or Borgu, or Dagomba, or Kotokoli, or Yoruba, or Tombo, or Bobo, or K.rmu – all of these are unbelievers remaining in their unbelief until now. Similarly kumbe except for a few people of
Hombori Hombori is a small town and rural commune in the Cercle of Douentza in the Mopti Region of Mali. The commune contains 25 villages and in the 2009 census had a population of 23,099. The town lies just to the north of the Hombori Tondo mesa on the ...
This early 1600's reference implies that the name Yoruba was already in popular demotic use as far back as at least the 1500s. Regarding the source and derivation of this name, guesses were posited by various foreign sociologists of external sources. These include; Ya'rub (son of Canaanite, Joktan) by Mohammed Bello, ''Goru Ba'' by T.J Bowen, or ''Yolla Ba'' ( Mande word for the
Niger River The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through Mal ...
) etc. These guesses suffer a lack of support by many locals for being alien to (and unfounded in) the traditions of the Yorubas themselves. In his work, ''Abeokuta and the Camaroons Mountains'' c.1863, the English ethnologist
Richard F. Burton Sir Richard Francis Burton (; 19 March 1821 – 20 October 1890) was a British explorer, writer, orientalist scholar,and soldier. He was famed for his travels and explorations in Asia, Africa, and the Americas, as well as his extraordinary kn ...
reports of a Yoruba account in 1861, noting that the name "Yoruba" derives from ''Ori Obba'', i.e. -The ''Head King''. Based on oral and written sources, this name existed before the 1500s. It was applied ex-situ originally in reference to the Yoruba sociolinguistic group as a whole. Centuries later however, it evolved to be applied exclusively to the Ọ̀yọ́ subgroup when this subgroup rose to attain imperial status, particularly at its apogee (c.1650 — c.1750) until in the mid-1800s when this trend was reversed back to the original context.


Names

As an
ethnic An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established fo ...
description, the word "Yoruba" has roots in a term borrowed by Europeans in the earlier part of the 19th century and incorporated into usage in reference to the Oyo Empire of the time. In his book, Hugh Clapperton began to subject the word to early changes in its evolution from the existing Hausa
exonym An endonym (from Greek: , 'inner' + , 'name'; also known as autonym) is a common, ''native'' name for a geographical place, group of people, individual person, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside that particular place, group ...
Yaraba, to "Yourriba" as was his customary way of addressing the King of Oyo. Further evolution of the ethnic description to the larger ethnolinguistic group of which Oyo is a part is the subsequent work of 19th century missionaries who categorized all members of the ethnolinguistic group by "Yoruba" and helped incorporate it into the language of the Oyo people as their own self-definition. Competing terms such as Nago, Lucumi, and Aku, used in identifying Oyo's ethnolinguistic family, have not reached the same level of popular usage as the term "Yoruba" though widely used in areas where ethnic sub-populations themselves can be found. In comparison, The phrase of intraethnolinguistic origin used by the Yoruba people is "Ọmọ Káàárọ̀-oòjíire", literally meaning, "The People who ask ‘Good morning, did you wake up well?" This is in reference to the culture of greetings identifiable within the
Yoruba culture Distinctive cultural norms prevail in Yorubaland and among the Yoruba people.Kola Abimbola, Yoruba Culture: ''A Philosophical Account'', Iroko Academic Publishers, 2005. Art Sculpture The Yoruba are said to be prolific sculptors, famous for ...
. Through parts of coastal West Africa, where Yorubas have been found, they have carried their culture of lauding one another with greetings of different forms, applicable in different situations, along with them. Another term used is, "Ọmọ Oòduà", meaning "The Children of
Oduduwa Oduduwa was a Yoruba divine king. According to tradition, he was the holder of the title of the ''Olofin'' of Ile-Ife, the Yoruba holy city. He ruled briefly in Ife, and also served as the progenitor of a number of independent royal dynasties i ...
", referencing the semi-legendary king who is believed to be the founder and ancestor of the modern Yoruba people. The Yorubas are also called Alaata in some Akan-speaking communities.


History

As of the seventh century BCE the African peoples who lived in Yorubaland were not initially known as the Yoruba, although they shared a common ethnicity and language group. By the 8th century, a powerful kingdom already existed in Ile-Ife, one of the earliest in Africa. It is said to be ''Ile-gbo'' (capital of the realm of humanity, based on the oldest pre-dynastic traditions of its being associated with Oba Tala, Oro-gbo ( Sango) and Otete (
Oduduwa Oduduwa was a Yoruba divine king. According to tradition, he was the holder of the title of the ''Olofin'' of Ile-Ife, the Yoruba holy city. He ruled briefly in Ife, and also served as the progenitor of a number of independent royal dynasties i ...
) ). The historical Yoruba develop ''in ṣitu'', out of earlier Mesolithic Volta-Niger populations, by the 1st millennium BCE. Oral history recorded under the Oyo Empire derives the Yoruba as an ethnic group from the population of the older kingdom of Ile-Ife. The Yoruba were the dominant cultural force in southern and Northern, Eastern Nigeria as far back as the 11th century. The Yoruba are among the most urbanized people in Africa. For centuries before the arrival of the British colonial administration most Yoruba already lived in well structured urban centres organized around powerful city-states (''Ìlú'') centred around the residence of the Oba (king). In ancient times, most of these cities were fortresses, with high walls and gates. Yoruba cities have always been among the most populous in Africa. Archaeological findings indicate that Òyó-Ilé or Katunga, capital of the Yoruba empire of Oyo (fl. between the 11th and 19th centuries CE), had a population of over 100,000 people. For a long time also,
Ibadan Ibadan (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano, with a total population of 3,649,000 as of 2021, and over 6 million people within its ...
, one of the major Yoruba cities and founded in the 1800s, was the largest city in the whole of Sub Saharan Africa. Today,
Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...
(), another major Yoruba city, with a population of over twenty million, remains the largest on the African continent. Archaeologically, the settlement of Ile-Ife showed features of urbanism in the 12th–14th century era. In the period around 1300 CE the artists at Ile-Ife developed a refined and naturalistic sculptural tradition in
terracotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terra ...
, stone and copper alloy – copper, brass, and bronze many of which appear to have been created under the patronage of King Obalufon II, the man who today is identified as the Yoruba patron deity of brass casting, weaving and regalia. The dynasty of kings at Ile-Ife, which is regarded by the Yoruba as the place of origin of human civilization, remains intact to this day. The urban phase of Ile-Ife before the rise of Oyo, c. 1100–1600, a significant peak of political centralization in the 12th century, is commonly described as a "golden age" of Ile-Ife. The oba or ruler of Ile-Ife is referred to as the Ooni of Ife.


Oyo, Ile-Ife and Lagos

Ife continues to be seen as the " Spiritual Homeland" of the Yoruba. The city was surpassed by the Oyo Empire as the dominant Yoruba military and political power in the 11th century. The Oyo Empire under its oba, known as the Alaafin of Oyo, was active in the African slave trade during the 18th century. The Yoruba often demanded slaves as a form of tribute of subject populations, who in turn sometimes made war on other peoples to capture the required slaves. Part of the slaves sold by the Oyo Empire entered the Atlantic slave trade. Most of the city states were controlled by Obas (or royal sovereigns with various individual titles) and councils made up of Oloye, recognized leaders of royal, noble and, often, even common descent, who joined them in ruling over the kingdoms through a series of guilds and cults. Different states saw differing ratios of power between the kingships and the chiefs' councils. 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 Ijebu land, was more limited. In more recent decades,
Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...
has risen to be the most prominent city of the Yoruba people and Yoruba cultural and economic influence. Noteworthy among the developments of Lagos were uniquely styled
architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings ...
introduced by returning Yoruba communities from Brazil and Cuba known as Amaros/Agudas. Yoruba settlements are often described as primarily one or more of the main social groupings called "generations": * The "first generation" includes towns and cities known as original capitals of founding Yoruba kingdoms or states. * The "second generation" consists of settlements created by conquest. * The "third generation" consists of villages and municipalities that emerged following the internecine wars of the 19th century.


Language

The Yoruba culture was originally an
oral tradition Oral tradition, or oral lore, is a form of human communication wherein knowledge, art, ideas and Culture, cultural material is received, preserved, and transmitted orally from one generation to another.Jan Vansina, Vansina, Jan: ''Oral Traditio ...
, and the majority of Yoruba people are native speakers of the Yoruba language. The number of speakers is estimated at 30 million in 2010. Yoruba is classified within the
Edekiri languages The Edekiri languages are spoken in a band across Togo, Benin and Nigeria. The group includes: *the Ede dialect cluster, including Ife; *Itsekiri The Itsekiri (also called the Isekiri, ''i Jekri'', ''Itsekri'', ''Ishekiri'', or Itsekhiri) a ...
, and together with the isolate Igala, form the
Yoruboid Yoruboid is a 'megagroup' of 14 related language clades, composed of the Igala group of dialects spoken in south central Nigeria, and the Edekiri group spoken in a band across Togo, Ghana, Benin and southern Nigeria, including the Itsekiri of W ...
group of languages within what we now have as
West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali ...
. Igala and Yoruba have important historical and cultural relationships. The languages of the two ethnic groups bear such a close resemblance that researchers such as Forde (1951) and Westermann and Bryan (1952) regarded Igala as a dialect of Yoruba. The Yoruboid languages are assumed to have developed out of an undifferentiated Volta-Niger group by the first millennium BCE. There are three major dialect areas: Northwest,
Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...
, and Southeast. As the North-West Yoruba dialects show more linguistic innovation, combined with the fact that Southeast and Central Yoruba areas generally have older settlements, suggests a later date of immigration into Northwestern Yoruba territory. The area where North-West Yoruba (NWY) is spoken corresponds to the historical Oyo Empire. South-East Yoruba (SEY) was closely associated with the expansion of the Benin Empire after c. 1450. Central Yoruba forms a transitional area in that the lexicon has much in common with NWY, whereas it shares many ethnographical features with SEY. Literary Yoruba is the standard variety taught in schools and spoken by newsreaders on the radio. It is mostly entirely based on northwestern Yoruba dialects of the Oyos and the Egbas, and has its origins in two sources; The work of Yoruba Christian missionaries based mostly in the Egba hinterland at Abeokuta, and the Yoruba grammar compiled in the 1850s by Bishop Crowther, who himself was a Sierra Leonean Recaptive of Oyo origin. This was exemplified by the following remark by Adetugbọ (1967), as cited in Fagborun (1994): "While the orthography agreed upon by the missionaries represented to a very large degree the phonemes of the Abẹokuta dialect, the morpho-syntax reflected the Ọyọ-Ibadan dialects"


Group identity

Yoruba people form their sense of group identity around a number of cultural references and practices recognizable by members of the group both within and outside their region of influence. Prominent among these references, is the tracing of the entire Yoruba body to roots formed in Ile-Ife, an ancient city near the left bank of the Niger River projecting upward from the Bight of Benin and linked to the Atlantic. Following from the Yoruba linkage to this ancient city of Ife, exists among most Yorubas, the acknowledgment of a crowned King Oduduwa, a traveler/king, nominally considered to be the father of the Yoruba people and who is said to have made his way into the region and established himself there according to oral traditions. Beyond the historical accounts surrounding Ife and its ancient rulership, more factors which serve the Yoruba people as practices contributing to a unique sense of self-belonging among its members include the almost global recognition of a number of chief gods. These once household characters, vast in their region of application, were once venerated as spirit mediators between the people and Olorun, the Ultimate and Sky God, and include now well-known personalities such as Shango, Ogun, Osun and Yemoja which are recognizable in the New World as deities brought over by people of Yoruba descent and, there, equally serve as a means of recreating group identity among people of Yoruba-speaking descent. Examples of such new world practices are Santeria, Candomble, and Lucumi, which are not only religious societies, but actual ethnic societies for those who sought to maintain their unique heritages over time. The Yoruboid languages, restricted to the Edekiri subgroup, form a closed group of intelligible language patterns which strongly tie the people who speak them together. These people include the Ife people from Togo, and Ghana to a smaller degree, up to the Itsekiri people in the Delta area of modern-day Nigeria, which along with geographically continuous groups between them, were divided by outrightly undiplomatic colonial measures during the Berlin Conference in 19th century Europe. Yorubas also notably developed common identity under and from the influence of Oyo, a regional empire branching off earlier rulership in Ife and establishing its own influence over Kingdoms stretching from Benin to neighboring Dahomey who itself called Yoruba-speakers Anagos. Between the 16th to 19th centuries, Oyo had numerous campaigns in the region and established its own reputation among neighboring kingdoms of Ashanti, Dahomey, Borgu, Nupe, Benin and others solidifying its place in the greater region as a powerhouse representative of a culture it powerfully defended and stood in association with. During the 18th century, in the days of Ajagbo, a King in Oyo, the kings of the Yoruba-speaking sub-kingdoms of Oyo, Egba, Ketu, and Jebu styled each other "brother" while jointly recognizing the leadership role that Oyo played among them. At the beginning of the 19th century, Yoruba community was made up of the following principal units; The British colony of Lagos, traditionally called Eko, Ketu, its western state bounded by the kingdom of Dahomey, Egba, with the capital of Abeokuta, Jebu, a southeastern kingdom in the area of a lagoon, a confederation of Ekiti subtribes, Ibadan and Oyo, Ijesha, the historical kingdom of Ife, Ondo, on the east, and several other small states or, rather, independent townships, consisting of a town and few outlying villages including Egbado, Okeodan, Ado, Awori, and Igbessa, all of which were called Egbados or Egba-odo meaning the Egbas of the coast. Various other cultural identifiers which bind the Yoruba people are the frequent usage of traditional and common-place Yoruba-language proverbs and poetic forms, farming, hunting, and crafting/blacksmithing as commonplace occupations, joint customs in greeting, birth, marriage, and death ceremonies, general love for celebration, festivities and community, facial scarification, respect for elders, and Yoruba formations of urban towns typically consisting of a powerful king existing as part of a complex political system, living near the center of an urban zone around which the rest of the city was planned and built.


Pre-colonial government of Yoruba society


Government

Monarchies were a common form of government in Yorubaland, but they were not the only approach to government and social organization. The numerous Ijebu kingdom city-states to the west of Oyo and the Egba people communities, found in the forests below Ọyọ's savanna region, were notable exceptions. These independent polities often elected a king though real political, legislative, and judicial powers resided with the '' Ogboni'', a council of notable elders. The notion of the divine king was so important to the Yoruba, however, that it has been part of their organization in its various forms from their antiquity to the contemporary era. 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. 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 elected their most capable members to join a federal civilian and military council that represented the city as a whole. Commander
Frederick Forbes Frederick Augustus Forbes (30 September 1818 – 9 July 1878) was a politician in colonial Queensland and Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Queensland. Early life Forbes was born on 30 September 1818 in Liverpool, Sydney, New South Wale ...
, a representative of the British Crown writing an account of his visit to the city in the ''Church Military Intelligencer'' (1853), 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." He described Abẹokuta and its system of government as "the most extraordinary republic in the world."


Leadership

Gerontocratic leadership councils that guarded against the monopolization of power by a monarch were a trait of the Ẹgba, according to the eminent Ọyọ historian Reverend Samuel Johnson. 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 the prime minister and principal kingmaker (the ''Basọrun'') and the rest of the council of leading nobles known as the '' Ọyọ Mesi''. Traditionally kingship and chieftainship were not determined by simple primogeniture, as in most monarchic systems of government. An electoral college of lineage heads was and still is usually charged with selecting a member of one of the royal families from any given realm, and the selection is then confirmed by an Ifá oracular request. The Ọbas live in palaces that are usually in the center of the town. Opposite the king's palace is the ''Ọja Ọba'', or the king's market. These markets form an inherent part of Yoruba life. Traditionally their traders are well organized, have various guilds, officers, and an elected speaker. They also often have at least one '' Iyaloja'', or Lady of the Market, who is expected to represent their interests in the aristocratic council of oloyes at the palace.


City-states

The monarchy of any
city-state A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world since the dawn of history, including cities such as ...
was usually limited to a number of royal lineages. A family could be excluded from kingship and chieftaincy 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. In Ilesa, Ondo,
Akure Akure is a city in south-western Nigeria. It is the capital and largest city of Ondo State. The city had a population of 403,000 as at the 2006 population census. History Pre 1914 Rock engravings dating back to the Mesolithic period, ...
and other Yoruba communities, there were several, but comparatively rare, traditions of female ''Ọbas''. The kings were traditionally almost always
polygamous Crimes Polygamy (from Late Greek (') "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, sociologists call this polygyny. When a woman is marri ...
and often married royal family members from other domains, thereby creating useful alliances with other rulers. Ibadan, a city-state and proto-empire that was founded in the 1800s by a polyglot group of refugees, soldiers, and itinerant traders after the fall of Ọyọ, 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 power through their election by popular acclaim and the respect of their peers. Similar practices were adopted by the '' Ijẹsa'' and other groups, which saw a corresponding rise in the social influence of military adventurers and successful entrepreneurs. The Ìgbómìnà were renowned for their agricultural and hunting prowess, as well as their woodcarving, leather art, and the famous Elewe masquerade.


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 and successfully managed to overthrow Ọyọ's ''Ajeles'' (appointed administrators) in the late 18th century. 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.


Society and culture

In the city-states and many of their neighbours, a reserved way of life remains, with the school of thought of their people serving as a major influence in West Africa and elsewhere. Today, most contemporary Yoruba are
Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
or Christians. Be that as it may, many of the principles of the traditional faith of their ancestors are either knowingly or unknowingly upheld by a significant proportion of the populations of Nigeria,
Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the nort ...
and Togo.


Traditional Yoruba religion

The Yoruba religion comprises the traditional religious and spiritual concepts and practices of the Yoruba people. Its homeland is in Southwestern Nigeria and the adjoining parts of Benin and Togo, a region that has come to be known as Yorubaland. Yoruba religion is formed of diverse traditions and has no single founder. Yoruba religious beliefs are part of itan, the total complex of songs, histories, stories and other cultural concepts that make up the Yoruba society. One of the most common Yoruba traditional religious concepts has been the concept of Orisa. Orisa (also spelled Orisha) are various godly forms that reflect one of the various manifestations or avatars of God in the Yoruba religious system. Some widely known Orisa are Ogun, (a god of metal, war and victory), Shango or Jakuta (a god of thunder, lightning, fire and justice who manifests as a king and who always wields a double-edged axe that conveys his divine authority and power), Esu Elegbara (a trickster who serves as the sole messenger of the
pantheon Pantheon may refer to: * Pantheon (religion), a set of gods belonging to a particular religion or tradition, and a temple or sacred building Arts and entertainment Comics *Pantheon (Marvel Comics), a fictional organization * ''Pantheon'' (Lone St ...
, and who conveys the wish of men to the gods. He understands every language spoken by humankind, and is also the guardian of the crossroads, ''Oríta méta'' in Yoruba) and Orunmila (a god of the Oracle). Eshu has two avatar forms, which are manifestations of his dual nature – positive and negative energies; Eshu Laroye, a teacher instructor and leader, and Eshu Ebita, a jester, deceitful, suggestive and cunning. Orunmila, for his part, reveals the past, gives solutions to problems in the present, and influences the future through the Ifa divination system, which is practised by oracle priests called Babalawos. Olorun is one of the principal manifestations of the Supreme God of the Yoruba pantheon, the owner of the heavens, and is associated with the Sun known as Oòrùn in the Yoruba language. The two other principal forms of the supreme God are Olodumare—the supreme creator—and Olofin, who is the conduit between Òrunn (Heaven) and Ayé (Earth). Oshumare is a god that manifests in the form of a rainbow, also known as Òsùmàrè in Yoruba, while Obatala is the god of clarity and creativity.These gods feature in the Yoruba religion, as well as in some aspects of Umbanda, Winti,
Obeah Obeah, or Obayi, is an ancestrally inherited tradition of Akan witches of Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Togo and their descendants in the African diaspora of the Caribbean. Inheritors of the tradition are referred to as "obayifo" (Akan/Ghana-region ...
, Vodun and a host of others. These varieties, or spiritual lineages as they are called, are practiced throughout areas of Nigeria, among others. As interest in African indigenous religions grows, Orisa communities and lineages can be found in parts of Europe and Asia as well. While estimates may vary, some scholars believe that there could be more than 100 million adherents of this spiritual tradition worldwide.


Mythology

Oral history of the Oyo-Yoruba recounts Odùduwà to be the progenitor of the Yoruba and the reigning ancestor of their crowned kings.


Philosophy

Yoruba culture consists of cultural philosophy, religion and folktales. They are embodied in Ifa divination, and are known as the tripartite Book of Enlightenment in Yorubaland and in its diaspora. Yoruba cultural thought is a witness of two epochs. The first epoch is a history of cosmogony and cosmology. This is also an epoch-making history in the oral culture during which time Oduduwa was the king, the Bringer of Light, pioneer of Yoruba folk philosophy, and a prominent diviner. He pondered the visible and invisible worlds, reminiscing about cosmogony, cosmology, and the mythological creatures in the visible and invisible worlds. His time favored the artist-philosophers who produced magnificent naturalistic artworks of civilization during the pre-dynastic period in Yorubaland. The second epoch is the epoch of metaphysical discourse, and the birth of modern artist-philosophy. This commenced in the 19th century in terms of the academic prowess of Bishop
Samuel Ajayi Crowther Samuel Ajayi Crowther ( – 31 December 1891), was a Yoruba linguist, clergyman, and the first African Anglican bishop of West Africa. Born in Osogun (in what is now Ado-Awaye, Oyo State, Nigeria), he and his family were captured by slave raid ...
(1807–1891). Although religion is often first in Yoruba culture, nonetheless, it is the philosophy – the thought of man – that actually leads spiritual consciousness (ori) to the creation and the practice of religion. Thus, it is believed that thought (philosophy) is an antecedent to religion. Values such as respect, peaceful co-existence, loyalty and freedom of speech are both upheld and highly valued in Yoruba culture. Societies that are considered secret societies often strictly guard and encourage the observance of moral values. Today, the academic and nonacademic communities are becoming more interested in Yoruba culture. More research is being carried out on Yoruba cultural thought as more books are being written on the subject.


Christianity and Islam

The Yoruba are traditionally very religious people, and are today pluralistic in their religious convictions. The Yoruba are one of the more religiously diverse ethnic groups in Africa. Many Yoruba people practice Christianity under various denominations while others are Muslims practicing mostly under Sunni Islam of the Maliki school of law. In addition to Christianity and Islam, a large number of Yoruba people continue to practice their traditional religion. Yoruba religious practices such as the Eyo and Osun-Osogbo festivals are witnessing a resurgence in popularity in contemporary Yorubaland. They are largely seen by the adherents of the modern faiths as cultural, rather than religious, events. They participate in them as a means to celebrate their people's history, and boost tourism in their local economies.


Christianity

The Yorubas were one of the first groups in West Africa to be introduced to Christianity on a very large scale. Christianity (along with western civilization) came into Yorubaland in the mid-19th century through the Europeans, whose original mission was commerce. The first European visitors were the Portuguese, they visited the neighboring Bini kingdom in the late 16th century. As time progressed, other Europeans – such as the French, the British, the Dutch, and the Germans, followed suit. British and French people were the most successful in their quest for colonies (These Europeans actually split Yorubaland, with the larger part being in British Nigeria, and the minor parts in French Dahomey, now Benin, and German
Togoland Togoland was a German Empire protectorate in West Africa from 1884 to 1914, encompassing what is now the nation of Togo and most of what is now the Volta Region of Ghana, approximately 90,400 km2 (29,867 sq mi) in size. During the period ...
). Home governments encouraged religious organizations to come. Roman Catholics (known to the Yorubas as Ijo Aguda, so named after returning former Yoruba slaves from Latin America, who were mostly Catholic, and were also known as the Agudas or Amaros) started the race, followed by Protestants, whose prominent member –
Church Mission Society The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British mission society working with the Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as mission ...
(CMS) based in England made the most significant in-roads into the hinterland regions for evangelism and became the largest of the Christian missions. Methodists (known as Ijo-Eleto, so named after the Yoruba word for "method or process") started missions in Agbadarigi / Gbegle by
Thomas Birch Freeman Thomas Birch Freeman (6 December 1809 in Twyford, Hampshire – 12 August 1890 in Accra) was an Anglo-African Wesleyan minister, missionary, botanist and colonial official in West Africa. He is widely regarded as a pioneer of the Methodist C ...
in 1842. Agbadarigi was further served by E. C. Van Cooten, E. G. Irving, and A. A. Harrison. Henry Townsend, C. C.Gollmer, and Ajayi Crowther of the CMS worked in Abeokuta, then under the Egba division of Southern Nigeria in 1846. Hinderer and Mann of CMS started missions in Ibadan / Ibarapa and Ijaye divisions of the present Oyo state in 1853.
Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul c ...
missionaries – Bowen and Clarke – concentrated on the northern Yoruba axis – (Ogbomoso and environs). With their success, other religious groups – the Salvation Army and the Evangelists Commission of West Africa – became popular among the
Igbomina The Ìgbómìnà (also colloquially Igboona or Ogboona) are a subgroup of the Yoruba ethnic group, which originates from the north central and southwest Nigeria. They speak a dialect also called Ìgbómìnà or Igbonna, classified among the Cent ...
, and other non-denominational Christian groups joined. The increased tempo of Christianity led to the appointment of Saros (returning slaves from Sierra Leone) and indigenes as missionaries. This move was initiated by Venn, the CMS Secretary. Nevertheless, the impact of Christianity in Yorubaland was not felt until the fourth decade of the 19th century, when a Yoruba slave boy, Samuel Ajayi Crowther, became a Christian convert, linguist and minister whose knowledge in languages would become a major tool and instrument to propagate Christianity in Yorubaland and beyond.


Islam

Islam came into Yorubaland around the 14th century, as a result of trade with Wangara (also Wankore) merchants, a mobile caste of the Soninkes from the then Mali Empire who entered Yorubaland (Oyo) from the northwestern flank through the Bariba or Borgu corridor, during the reign of Mansa Kankan Musa. Due to this, Islam is traditionally known to the Yoruba as Esin Male or simply Imale i.e. religion of the Malians. The adherents of the Islamic faith are called Musulumi in Yoruba to correspond to Muslim, the Arabic word for an adherent of Islam having as the active participle of the same verb form, and means "submitter (to Allah)" or a nominal and active participle of Islam derivative of "Salaam" i.e. (Religion of) Peace. Islam was practiced in Yorubaland so early on in history, that a sizable proportion of Yoruba slaves taken to the Americas were already Muslim. The Mosque served the spiritual needs of Muslims living in Ọyọ. Progressively, Islam started to gain a foothold in Yorubaland, and Muslims started building mosques.
Iwo Iwo or IWO may refer to: People * Iwo Byczewski (born 1948), Polish diplomat * Iwo Dölling (1923–2019), Swedish diplomat * Iwo Gall (1890–1959), Polish theater director, stage designer, and pedagogue * Iwo Kaczmarski (born 2004), Polish fo ...
led, its first mosque built in 1655, followed by Iseyin in 1760, Eko/Lagos in 1774, Shaki in 1790, and
Osogbo Osogbo (also ''Oṣogbo'', rarely ''Oshogbo'') is a city in Nigeria. It became the capital city of Osun State in 1991. Osogbo city seats the Headquarters of both Osogbo Local Government Area (situated at Oke Baale Area of the city) and Oloru ...
in 1889. In time, Islam spread to other towns like Oyo (the first Oyo convert was Solagberu), Ibadan, Abẹokuta, Ijebu Ode, Ikirun, and
Ede Ede may refer to: Places * Ede, Netherlands * Ede, Osun, Nigeria People * E De people of Vietnam Given name * Ede Dunai (born 1949), Hungarian footballer * Ede Kallós (1866–1950), Hungarian sculptor * Ede Komáromi (1928–2006), ...
. All of these cities already had sizable Muslim communities before the 19th century Sokoto jihad.


Traditional art and architecture

Medieval Yoruba settlements were surrounded with massive mud walls. Yoruba buildings had similar plans to the Ashanti shrines, but with verandahs around the court. The wall materials comprised puddled mud and palm oil while roofing materials ranged from thatches to corrugated iron sheets. A famous Yoruba fortification, the Sungbo's Eredo, was the second largest wall edifice in Africa. The structure was built in the 9th, 10th and 11th centuries in honour of a traditional aristocrat, the Oloye Bilikisu Sungbo. It was made up of sprawling mud walls and the valleys that surrounded the town of Ijebu-Ode in
Ogun State Ogun State is a state in southwestern Nigeria. Created on 3 February 1976 from the former Western State. Ogun State borders Lagos State to the south, Oyo State and Osun State to the north, Ondo State to the east, and the Republic of Benin to th ...
. Sungbo's Eredo is the largest pre-colonial monument in Africa, larger than the Great Pyramid or Great Zimbabwe. The Yorubas worked with a wide array of materials in their art including; bronze, leather, terracotta, ivory, textiles, copper, stone, carved wood, brass, ceramics and glass. A unique feature of Yoruba art is its striking realism that, unlike most African art, chose to create human sculptures in vividly realistic and life sized forms. The art history of the nearby Benin empire shows that there was a cross–fertilization of ideas between the neighboring Yoruba and Edo. The Benin court's brass casters learned their art from an Ife master named Iguegha, who had been sent from Ife around 1400 at the request of Benin's oba Oguola. Indeed, the earliest dated cast-brass memorial heads from Benin replicate the refined naturalism of the earlier Yoruba sculptures from Ife. A lot of Yoruba artwork, including staffs, court dress, and beadwork for crowns, are associated with palaces and the royal courts. The courts also commissioned numerous architectural objects such as veranda posts, gates, and doors that are embellished with carvings. Yoruba palaces are usually built with thicker walls, are dedicated to the gods and play significant spiritual roles. Yoruba art is also manifested in shrines and masking traditions. The shrines dedicated to the said gods are adorned with carvings and house an array of altar figures and other ritual paraphernalia. Masking traditions vary by region, and diverse mask types are used in various festivals and celebrations. Aspects of Yoruba traditional architecture has also found its way into the New World in the form of shotgun houses. Today, however, Yoruba traditional architecture has been greatly influenced by modern trends. Masquerades are an important feature of Yoruba traditional artistry. They are generally known as ''Egúngún'', singularly as ''Egún''. The term refers to the Yoruba masquerades connected with ancestor reverence, or to the ancestors themselves as a collective force. There are different types of which one of the most prominent is the Gelede. An Ese Ifa (oral literature of Orunmila divination) explains the origins of Gelede as beginning with Yemoja, the Mother of all the orisa and all living things. Yemoja could not have children and consulted an Ifa oracle, and the priest advised her to offer sacrifices and to dance with wooden images on her head and metal anklets on her feet. After performing this ritual, she became pregnant. Her first child was a boy, nicknamed "Efe" (the humorist/joker); the Efe mask emphasizes song and jests because of the personality of its namesake. Yemoja's second child was a girl, nicknamed "Gelede" because she was obese like her mother. Also like her mother, Gelede loved dancing. After getting married themselves, neither Gelede or Efe's partner could have children. The Ifa oracle suggested they try the same ritual that had worked for their mother. No sooner than Efe and Gelede performed these rituals – dancing with wooden images on their heads and metal anklets on their feet – they started having children. These rituals developed into the Gelede masked dance and were perpetuated by the descendants of Efe and Gelede. This narrative is one of many stories that explains the origin of Gelede. An old theory stated that the beginning of Gelede might be associated with the change from a matriarchal to a patriarchal society among the Yoruba people. The Gelede spectacle and the Ifa divination system represent two of Nigeria's only three pieces on the United Nations Oral and Intangible Heritages of Humanity list, as well as the only such cultural heritage from Benin and Togo.


Festivals

One of the first observations of first time visitors to Yorubaland is the rich, exuberant and ceremonial nature of their culture, which is made even more visible by the urbanized structures of Yoruba settlements. These occasions are avenues to experience the richness of the Yoruba culture. Traditional musicians are always on hand to grace the occasions with heavy rhythms and extremely advanced
percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...
, which the Yorubas are well known for all over the world. Praise singers and griots are there to add their historical insight to the meaning and significance of the ceremony, and of course the varieties of colorful dresses and attires worn by the people, attest to the aesthetic sense of the average Yoruba. The Yoruba are a very expressive people who celebrate major events with colorful festivals and celebrations (Ayeye). Some of these festivals (about thirteen principal ones) are secular and only mark achievements and milestones in the achievement of mankind. These include wedding ceremonies (''Ìgbéyàwó''), naming ceremonies (''Ìsomolórúko''), funerals (''Ìsìnkú''), housewarming (''Ìsílé''), New-Yam festival (''Ìjesu''), Odon itsu in Atakpame, Harvest ceremonies (''Ìkórè''), birth (''Ìbí''), chieftaincy (''Ìjòyè'') and so on. Others have a more spiritual connotation, such as the various days and celebrations dedicated to specific ''Orisha'' like the Ogun day (''Ojó Ògún'') or the ''Osun'' festival, which is usually done at the Osun-Osogbo sacred grove located on the banks of the Osun river and around the ancient town of
Osogbo Osogbo (also ''Oṣogbo'', rarely ''Oshogbo'') is a city in Nigeria. It became the capital city of Osun State in 1991. Osogbo city seats the Headquarters of both Osogbo Local Government Area (situated at Oke Baale Area of the city) and Oloru ...
. The festival is dedicated to the river goddess ''Osun'', which is usually celebrated in the month of August (''Osù Ògùn'') yearly. The festival attracts thousands of Osun worshippers from all over Yorubaland and the Yoruba diaspora in the Americas, spectators and tourists from all walks of life. The Osun-Osogbo Festival is a two-week-long programme. It starts with the traditional cleansing of the town called 'Iwopopo', which is then followed in three days by the lighting of the 500-year-old sixteen-point lamp called ''Ina Olojumerindinlogun'', which literally means ''The sixteen eyed fire''. The lighting of this sacred lamp heralds the beginning of the Osun festival. Then comes the 'Ibroriade', an assemblage of the crowns of the past ruler, the Ataoja of Osogbo, for blessings. This event is led by the sitting ''Ataoja'' of Osogbo and the Arugba Yeye Osun (who is usually a young virgin from the royal family dressed in white), who carries a sacred white calabash that contains propitiation materials meant for the goddess Osun. She is also accompanied by a committee of priestesses. A similar event holds in the New World as
Odunde Festival The Odunde Festival is a one-day festival and mostly a street market catered to African-American interests and the African diaspora. It is derived from the tradition of the Yoruba people of Nigeria in celebration of the new year. It is centered ...
. Another very popular festival with spiritual connotations is the Eyo Olokun festival or ''Adamu Orisha'' play, celebrated by the people of
Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...
. The Eyo festival is a dedication to the god of the Sea Olokun, who is an Orisha, and whose name literally mean ''Owner of the Seas''. Generally, there is no customarily defined time for the staging of the Eyo Festival. This leads to a building anticipation as to what date would be decided upon. Once a date for its performance is selected and announced, the festival preparations begin. It encompasses a week-long series of activities, and culminates in a striking procession of thousands of men clothed in white and wearing a variety of coloured hats, called ''Aga''. The procession moves through Lagos Island ''Isale Eko'', which is the historical centre of the Lagos metropolis. On the streets, they move through various crucial locations and landmarks in the city, including the palace of the traditional ruler of Lagos, the Oba, known as the Iga Idunganran. The festival starts from dusk to dawn, and has been held on Saturdays (Ojó Àbáméta) from time immemorial. A full week before the festival (always a Sunday), the 'senior' Eyo group, the Adimu (identified by a black, broad-rimmed hat), goes public with a staff. When this happens, it means the event will take place on the following Saturday. Each of the four other 'important' groups – Laba (Red), Oniko (yellow), Ologede (Green) and Agere (Purple) — take their turns in that order from Monday to Thursday. The Eyo masquerade essentially admits tall people, which is why it is described as ''Agogoro Eyo'' (literally meaning the tall Eyo masquerade). In the manner of a spirit (An Orisha) visiting the earth on a purpose, the Eyo masquerade speaks in a ventriloquial voice, suggestive of its otherworldliness; and when greeted, it replies: ''Mo yo fun e, mo yo fun ara mi'', which in Yoruba means: ''I rejoice for you, and I rejoice for myself''. This response connotes the masquerades as rejoicing with the person greeting it for the witnessing of the day, and its own joy at taking the hallowed responsibility of cleansing. During the festival, Sandals and foot wear, as well as ''Suku'', a hairstyle that is popular among the Yorubas – one that has the hair converge at the middle, then shoot upward, before tipping downward – are prohibited. The festival has also taken a more touristic dimension in recent times, which like the Osun Osogbo festival, attracts visitors from all across Nigeria, as well as Yoruba diaspora populations. In fact, it is widely believed that the play is one of the manifestations of the customary African revelry that serves as the forerunner of the modern carnival in Brazil and other parts of the New World, which may have been started by the Yoruba slaves transplanted in that part of the world due to the Atlantic slave trade.


Music

The music of the Yoruba people is perhaps best known for an extremely advanced drumming tradition, especially using the dundunTurino, pp. 181–182; Bensignor, François with Eric Audra, and Ronnie Graham, "Afro-Funksters" and "From Hausa Music to Highlife" in the ''Rough Guide to World Music'', pp. 432–436 and pp. 588–600; Karolyi, pg. 43 hourglass tension drums. The representation of musical instruments on sculptural works from Ile-Ife, indicates, in general terms a substantial accord with oral traditions. A lot of these musical instruments date back to the classical period of Ile-Ife, which began at around the tenth century A.D. Some were already present prior to this period, while others were created later. The hourglass tension drum (Dùndún) for example, may have been introduced around the 15th century (1400s), the Benin bronze plaques of the middle period depicts them. Others like the double and single iron clapper-less bells are examples of instruments that preceded classical Ife. Yoruba
folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has ...
became perhaps the most prominent kind of West African music in Afro-Latin and Caribbean musical styles. Yoruba music left an especially important influence on the music of Trinidad, the Lukumi religious traditions, Capoeira practice in Brazil and the music of Cuba. Yoruba drums typically belong to four major families, which are used depending on the context or genre where they are played. The Dùndún / Gángan family, is the class of hourglass shaped talking drums, which imitate the sound of Yoruba speech. This is possible because the Yoruba language is tonal in nature. It is the most common and is present in many Yoruba traditions, such as
Apala Apala (or akpala) is a music genre originally developed by the Yoruba people of Nigeria, during the country's history as a colony of the British Empire. It is a percussion-based style that originated in the late 1930s. The rhythms of apala grew ...
, Jùjú, Sekere and Afrobeat. The second is the Sakara family. Typically, they played a ceremonial role in royal settings, weddings and
Oríkì Oríkì, or praise poetry, is a cultural phenomenon amongst Yoruba-speakers of West Africa. Characteristics Oríkì includes both single praise names and long strings of “attributive epithets” that may be chanted in poetic form. Acco ...
recitation; it is predominantly found in traditions such as Sakara music, Were and Fuji music. The Gbedu family (literally, "large drum") is used by secret fraternities such as the Ogboni and royal courts. Historically, only the Oba might dance to the music of the drum. If anyone else used the drum they were arrested for sedition of royal authority. The Gbèdu are conga shaped drums played while they sit on the ground. ''Akuba'' drums (a trio of smaller conga-like drums related to the gbèdu) are typically used in afrobeat. The ''Ogido'' is a cousin of the gbedu. It is also shaped like a conga but with a wider array of sounds and a bigger body. It also has a much deeper sound than the conga. It is sometimes referred to as the "bass drum". Both hands play directly on the Ogido drum. Today, the word ''Gbedu'' has also come to be used to describe forms of Nigerian Afrobeat and Hip Hop music. The fourth major family of Yoruba drums is the Bàtá family, which are well-decorated double-faced drums, with various tones. They were historically played in sacred rituals. They are believed to have been introduced by Shango, an Orisha, during his earthly incarnation as a warrior king. Traditional Yoruba drummers are known as ''Àyán''. The Yoruba believe that ''Àyángalú'' was the first drummer. He is also believed to be the spirit or muse that inspires drummers during renditions. This is why some Yoruba family names contain the prefix 'Ayan-' such as Ayangbade, Ayantunde, Ayanwande. Ensembles using the dundun play a type of music that is also called ''dundun''. The
Ashiko The ashiko is a drum, shaped like a tapered cylinder (or truncated cone) with the head on the wide end, and the narrow end open. It is made of hardwood and generally has a calfskin hide. Nowadays, goatskin is sometimes used, in imitation of th ...
(Cone shaped drums), ''Igbin'', Gudugudu (Kettledrums in the Dùndún family),
Agidigbo The ''agidigbo'' or ‘’’molo’’’ is a large traditional plucked lamellophone thumb piano used by the Yoruba people of Nigeria to play apala music. It is a box, big enough to sit on the musician’s lap, with 4 to 5 strips of metal set ...
and Bèmbé are other drums of importance. The leader of a dundun ensemble is the ''oniyalu'' meaning; ' ''Owner of the mother drum'' ', who uses the drum to "talk" by imitating the tonality of Yoruba. Much of this music is spiritual in nature, and is often devoted to the Orisas. Within each drum family there are different sizes and roles; the lead drum in each family is called ''Ìyá'' or ''Ìyá Ìlù'', which means "Mother drum", while the supporting drums are termed ''Omele''. Yoruba drumming exemplifies West-African cross-rhythms and is considered to be one of the most advanced drumming traditions in the world. Generally, improvisation is restricted to master drummers. Some other instruments found in Yoruba music include, but are not limited to; The Gòjé (
violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...
), Shèkèrè (gourd rattle), Agidigbo (thumb piano that takes the shape of a plucked Lamellophone), ''Saworo'' (metal rattles for the arm and ankles, also used on the rim of the bata drum), ''Fèrè'' ( whistles), ''Aro'' ( Cymbal)s,
Agogô An agogô ( Yoruba: ''agogo'', meaning bell) is a single or a multiple bell now used throughout the world but with origins in traditional Yoruba and Edo music and also in the samba '' baterias'' (percussion ensembles). The agogô may be the olde ...
( bell), different types of flutes include the ''Ekutu'', ''Okinkin'' and ''Igba''. Oriki (or praise singing), a genre of sung poetry that contains a series of proverbial phrases, praising or characterizing the respective person is of Egba and Ekiti origin, is often considered the oldest Yoruba musical tradition. Yoruba music is typically Polyrhythmic, which can be described as interlocking sets of rhythms that fit together somewhat like the pieces in a jigsaw puzzle. There is a basic timeline and each instrument plays a pattern in relation to that timeline. The resulting ensemble provides the typical sound of West African Yoruba drumming. Yoruba music is a component of the modern Nigerian popular music scene. Although traditional Yoruba music was not influenced by foreign music, the same cannot be said of modern-day Yoruba music, which has evolved and adapted itself through contact with foreign instruments, talent, and creativity.


Twins in Yoruba society

The Yoruba present the highest dizygotic twinning rate in the world (4.4% of all maternities). They manifest at 45–50 twin sets (or 90–100 twins) per 1,000 live births, possibly because of high consumption of a specific type of yam containing a natural
phytoestrogen A phytoestrogen is a plant-derived xenoestrogen (see estrogen) not generated within the endocrine system, but consumed by eating plants or manufactured foods. Also called a "dietary estrogen", it is a diverse group of naturally occurring nonster ...
that may stimulate the
ovaries The ovary is an organ in the female reproductive system that produces an ovum. When released, this travels down the fallopian tube into the uterus, where it may become fertilized by a sperm. There is an ovary () found on each side of the body. T ...
to release an egg from each side. Twins are very important for the Yoruba and they usually tend to give special names to each twin. The first of the twins to be born is traditionally named '' Taiyewo'' or ''Tayewo'', which means 'the first to taste the world', or the 'slave to the second twin', this is often shortened to '' Taiwo'', ''Taiye'' or ''Taye''. '' Kehinde'' is the name of the last born twin. ''Kehinde'' is sometimes also referred to as ''Kehindegbegbon'', which is short for; ''Omo kehin de gba egbon'' and means, 'the child that came behind gets the rights of the elder'. Twins are perceived as having spiritual advantages or as possessing magical powers. This is different from some other cultures, which interpret twins as dangerous or unwanted.


Calendar

Time is measured in "ọgán" or "ìṣẹ́jú-àáyá" (seconds), ''ìṣẹ́jú'' (minutes), ''wákàtí'' (hours), ''ọjọ́'' (days), ''ọ̀sẹ̀'' (weeks), ''oṣù'' (months) and ''ọdún'' (years). There are 60 (ọgọta) ''ìṣẹ́jú'' in 1 (okan) ''wákàtí''; 24 (merinleogun) ''wákàtí'' in 1 (okan) ''ọjọ́''; 7 (meje) ''ọjọ́'' in 1 (okan) ''ọ̀sẹ̀''; 4 (merin) ''ọ̀sẹ̀'' in 1 (okan) ''oṣù'' and 52 (mejilelaadota) ''ọ̀sẹ̀'' in 1 (okan)''ọdún''. There are 12 (mejila) ''oṣù'' in 1 ''ọdún''. The Yoruba week consists of four days. Traditionally, the Yoruba count their week starting from the Ojó Ògún, this day is dedicated to Ògún. The second day is Ojó Jákúta the day is dedicated to Sàngó. The third day is known as the Ojó Òsè- this day is dedicated to Òrìshà ńlá (Obàtálá), while the fourth day is the Ojó Awo, in honour of Òrúnmìlà. The Yoruba calendar (Kojoda) year starts from 3 to 2 June of the following year. According to this calendar, the Gregorian year 2021 is the 10,063th year of Yoruba culture, which starts with the creation of Ìfẹ̀ in 8042 B.C. To reconcile with the Gregorian calendar, Yoruba people also often measure time in seven days a week and four weeks a month:


Cuisine

Solid food, mostly cooked, pounded or prepared with hot water are basic staple foods of the Yoruba. These foods are all by-products of crops like
cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively cultivated ...
, yams,
cocoyam Cocoyam is a common name for more than one tropical root crop and vegetable crop belonging to the Arum family (also known as Aroids and by the family name ''Araceae'') and may refer to: * Taro (''Colocasia esculenta'') - old cocoyam * Malanga ( ...
and forms a huge chunk of it all. Others like Plantain, corn, beans, meat, and fish are also chief choices. Some common Yoruba foods are iyan (pounded yam),
amala Amala may refer to: People * Amala Akkineni, South Indian actress * Amala Chebolu, playback singer in the Telugu film industry, also known as Tollywood * Amala Paul (born 1991), South Indian actress * Amala Shankar (1919–2020), Indian dancer * ...
, eba, semo,
fufu Fufu (or fufuo, foofoo, foufou ) is a dough-like food found in West African cuisine. In addition to Ghana, it is also found in Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia, Cote D'Ivoire, Benin, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the ...
, moin moin (bean cake) and akara. Soups include egusi, ewedu, okra, vegetables are also very common as part of diet. Items like rice and beans (locally called ewa) are part of the regular diet. Some dishes are also prepared for festivities and ceremonies such as jollof rice and fried rice. Other popular dishes are
ekuru Ekuru is a very common native cuisine of the Yoruba people in Nigeria. It is usually prepared with peeled beans. It is similar to moin-moin as both are made from peeled black-eyed peas or, occasionally, cowpeas. However, unlike moi-moi which is m ...
, stews, corn, cassava and flours – e.g. maize, yam, plantain and beans, eggs, chicken, beef and assorted forms of meat (ponmo is made from cow skin). Some less well known meals and many miscellaneous staples are arrowroot gruel, sweetmeats, fritters and coconut concoctions; and some breads – yeast bread, rock buns, and palm wine bread to name a few. Yoruba cultural dishes"> File:Amala ati Ewedu and Ogunfe.png,
Amala Amala may refer to: People * Amala Akkineni, South Indian actress * Amala Chebolu, playback singer in the Telugu film industry, also known as Tollywood * Amala Paul (born 1991), South Indian actress * Amala Shankar (1919–2020), Indian dancer * ...
is a Yoruba food. File:Beans Ball-Akara.jpg, Akara is a Yoruba bean fritter. File:Nigeria ofada.jpg,
Ofada rice Ofada rice is a Yoruba dish. It is the name for an indigenous rice from a small community called Ofada in Obafemi Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State. It is not exclusively grown in the community, but it is an indigenous rice grown in sou ...
is a Yoruba dish. File:OfadaRice with assorted meat and egg.png,
Ofada rice Ofada rice is a Yoruba dish. It is the name for an indigenous rice from a small community called Ofada in Obafemi Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State. It is not exclusively grown in the community, but it is an indigenous rice grown in sou ...
is traditionally in a leaf. File:Moin Moin.jpg, Moin Moin is a Yoruba steamed bean pudding. File:Delicacies in Yoruba land, Nigeria.jpg, A collection of foods eaten by Yorubas in general


Dress

Yoruba cultural wear"> File:African Lace VLM 31.jpg, Simple ''Iro'' and ''Buba'' with Gele File:A Yoruba man garbed in traditional clothing (2).png, ''Agbádá àti Fìlà'' File:A Yoruba woman garbed in traditional clothing.png, ''Iro and Bùbá'', with '' Gele'' and ''Ipele''. Blouse, wrapper and headgear File:A Yoruba man garbed in traditional clothing.png, ''Bùbá àti Kèmbè''. Agbada top with short baggy pants File:A Yoruba woman garbed in traditional clothing (2).png, ''Iro and Bùbá'', with '' Gele'' and ''Ipele'' made from Òfì File:African Lace VLM 74.jpg, ''Agbádá àti Sóró'',
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 l ...
and long slim pants File:A Yoruba woman garbed in traditional clothing.jpg, ''Ìró'' and ''Bùbá'' with gele
The Yoruba take immense pride in their attire, for which they are well known. Clothing materials traditionally come from processed cotton by traditional weavers. They also believe that the type of clothes worn by a man depicts his personality and social status, and that different occasions require different clothing outfits. Typically, the Yoruba have a very wide range of materials used to make clothing, the most basic being the ''Aṣo-Oke'', which is a hand loomed cloth of different patterns and colors sewn into various styles. and which comes in very many different colors and patterns. Aso Oke comes in three major styles based on pattern and coloration; * ''Alaari'' – a rich red Aṣọ-Oke, * ''Sanyan'' – a brown and usual light brown Aṣọ-Oke, and * ''Ẹtu'' – a dark blue Aṣọ-Oke. Other clothing materials include but are not limited to: * ''Ofi'' – pure white yarned cloths, used as cover cloth, it can be sewn and worn. * ''Aran'' – a velvet clothing material of silky texture sewn into Danṣiki and Kẹmbẹ, worn by the rich. * ''Adirẹ'' – cloth with various patterns and designs, dye in indigo ink (Ẹlu or Aro). Clothing in Yoruba culture is gender sensitive, despite a tradition of non-gender conforming families. For menswear, they have ''Bùbá, Esiki'' and ''Sapara'', which are regarded as ''Èwù Àwòtélè'' or underwear, while they also have ''Dandogo, Agbádá, Gbariye, Sulia'' and ''Oyala'', which are also known as ''Èwù Àwòlékè'' / ''Àwòsókè'' or overwear. Some fashionable men may add an accessory to the Agbádá outfit in the form of a wraparound (Ìbora). They also have various types of ''Sòkòtò'' or native trousers that are sewn alongside the above-mentioned dresses. Some of these are ''Kèmbè'' (Three-Quarter baggy pants), ''Gbáanu'', ''Sóóró'' (Long slim / streamlined pants), ''Káamu'' and ''Sòkòtò Elemu''. A man's dressing is considered incomplete without a cap (''Fìlà''). Some of these caps include, but are not limited to, ''Gobi'' (Cylindrical, which when worn may be compressed and shaped forward, sideways, or backward), ''Tinko'', ''Abetí-ajá'' (Crest-like shape that derives its name from its hanging flaps that resembles a dog's hanging ears. The flaps can be lowered to cover the ears in cold weather, otherwise, they are upwardly turned in normal weather), ''Alagbaa, Oribi, Bentigoo, Onide'', and ''Labankada'' (a bigger version of the Abetí-ajá, and is worn in such a way as to reveal the contrasting color of the cloth used as underlay for the flaps). Women also have different types of dresses. The most commonly worn are ''Ìró'' (wrapper) and ''Bùbá'' (blouse-like loose top). Women also have matching ''Gèlè'' (headgear) that must be put on whenever the Ìró and Bùbá is on. Just as the cap (Fìlà) is important to men, women's dressing is considered incomplete without Gèlè. It may be of plain cloth or costly as the women can afford. Apart from this, they also have ''ìborùn'' ( Shawl) and ''Ìpèlé'' (which are long pieces of fabric that usually hang on the left shoulder and stretch from the hind of the body to the fore). At times, it is tied round their waists over the original one piece wrapper. Unlike men, women have two types of underwear (Èwù Àwòtélè), called; ''Tòbi'' and ''Sinmí''. Tòbi is like the modern day apron with strings and spaces in which women can keep their valuables. They tie the tòbi around the waists before putting on the Ìró (wrapper). Sinmí is like a sleeveless T-shirt that is worn under before wearing any other dress on the upper body. There are many types of beads (''Ìlèkè''), hand laces, necklaces (Egba orùn), anklets (Egba esè) and bangles (Egba owó) that are used in Yorubaland. These are used by both males and females, and are put on for bodily adornment. Chiefs, priests, kings or people of royal descent, especially use some of these beads as a signifier of rank. Some of these beads include ''Iyun, Lagidigba, Àkún'' etc. An accessory especially popular among royalty and titled Babalawos / Babalorishas is the ''Ìrùkèrè'', which is an artistically processed animal tail, a type of Fly-whisk. The horsetail whiskers are symbols of authority and stateliness. It can be used in a shrine for decoration but most often is used by chief priests and priestesses as a symbol of their authority or Ashe. As most men go about with their hair lowly cut or neatly shaven, the reverse is the case for women. Hair is considered the ' ''Glory of the woman'' '. They usually take care of their hair in two major ways; They plait and they weave. There are many types of plaiting styles, and women readily pick any type they want. Some of these include ''kòlésè, Ìpàkó-elédè, Sùkú, Kojúsóko, Alágogo, Konkoso'', Etc. Traditionally, The Yoruba consider tribal marks ways of adding beauty to the face of individuals. This is apart from the fact that they show clearly from which part of Yorubaland an individual comes from, since different areas are associated with different marks. Different types of tribal marks are made with local blades or knives on the cheeks. These are usually done at infancy, when children are not pain conscious. Some of these tribal marks include ''Pélé, Abàjà-Ègbá, Abàjà-Òwu, Abàjà-mérin, Kéké, Gòmbò, Ture, Pélé Ifè, Kéké Òwu, Pélé Ìjèbú'' etc. This practice is near extinct today. The Yoruba believe that development of a nation is akin to the development of a man or woman. Therefore, the personality of an individual has to be developed in order to fulfil his or her responsibilities. Clothing among the Yoruba people is a crucial factor upon which the personality of an individual is anchored. This belief is anchored in Yoruba proverbs. Different occasions also require different outfits among the Yoruba.


Demographics


Benin

Estimates of the Yoruba in Benin vary from around 1.1 to 1.5 million people. The Yoruba are the main group in the
Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the nort ...
department of Ouémé, all Subprefectures including
Porto Novo Porto-Novo (Portuguese: "New Port", , ; yo, Àjàṣẹ́, ), also known as Hogbonu and Ajashe, is the capital of Benin. The commune covers an area of and as of 2002 had a population of 223,552 people. Situated on an inlet of the Gulf of G ...
(Ajasè), Adjara; Collines Province, all subprefectures including
Savè Savè is a city in Benin, lying on the Cotonou-Parakou railway and the main north–south road. It is known for its local boulders, popular with climbers. "Savè" is from the historical Yoruba name Ṣábẹ̀ẹ́. The commune covers an area ...
, Dassa-Zoume, Bante, Tchetti, Gouka; Plateau Province, all Subprefectures including Kétou, Sakété,
Pobè Pobè is a city and arrondissement located in the Plateau Department of Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It ...
; Borgou Province, Tchaourou Subprefecture including
Tchaourou Tchaourou (Saworo in Yoruba etymology, meaning ''rattle'') is a commune, arrondissement, and city located in the Borgou Department of Benin, a country in Western Africa, formerly known as Dahomey (until 1975). It is the birthplace of former Benine ...
; Donga Province,
Bassila Bassila is a town, arrondissement, and commune located in the Donga Department of Benin. The commune covers an area of 120 square kilometres and as of 2013 had a population of 130,770 people. The RNIE 3 highway of Benin passes through the town o ...
Subprefecture. ;Places The chief Yoruba cities or towns in Benin are:
Porto-Novo Porto-Novo (Portuguese: "New Port", , ; yo, Àjàṣẹ́, ), also known as Hogbonu and Ajashe, is the capital of Benin. The commune covers an area of and as of 2002 had a population of 223,552 people. Situated on an inlet of the Gulf of G ...
(Ajase), Ouèssè (Wese), Ketu, Savé (Tchabe),
Tchaourou Tchaourou (Saworo in Yoruba etymology, meaning ''rattle'') is a commune, arrondissement, and city located in the Borgou Department of Benin, a country in Western Africa, formerly known as Dahomey (until 1975). It is the birthplace of former Benine ...
(Shaworo),
Bantè Bantè is a town, arrondissement, and commune in western Benin. It is located in the former Zou Province of which since 1999 is part of the Collines Department. The commune covers an area of 2695 square kilometres and as of 2013 had a population of ...
-
Akpassi Akpassi is a town and arrondissement in the Collines Department of Benin. It is an administrative division under the jurisdiction of the commune of Bantè. According to the population census conducted by the Institut National de la Statistique B ...
,
Bassila Bassila is a town, arrondissement, and commune located in the Donga Department of Benin. The commune covers an area of 120 square kilometres and as of 2013 had a population of 130,770 people. The RNIE 3 highway of Benin passes through the town o ...
, Adjarra,
Adja-Ouèrè Adja-Ouèrè is a town, arrondissement, and commune in the Plateau Department of south-eastern Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a c ...
(Aja Were), Sakété (Itakete), Ifangni (Ifonyi),
Pobè Pobè is a city and arrondissement located in the Plateau Department of Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It ...
, Dassa (Idasha), Glazoue (Gbomina), Ipinle,
Aledjo-Koura Aledjo-Koura is a village and arrondissement in the commune of Bassila in the Donga Department of western Benin. It is located near the border with Togo, close to Mont Sokbaro Mont Sokbaro (also spelled as SagbaraoTchaboue, B.I. (2015) ''Tourism ...
,
Aworo Aworo is a village in the commune of Bassila in the Donga Department of western Benin Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West A ...
etc.


Ghana

There exists an old and thriving Yoruba community in Ghana tracing back to more than three centuries of establishment. The presence of Yoruba people in Ghana traces back to before the concept of the modern Ghanaian nation and are therefore Ghanaian citizens by law. The Yoruba communities became established through various waves and layers for centuries before the colonial era. The earliest wave were long distance merchants, artisans, labourers and explorers who settled in both southern and northern Ghanaian locales such as Salaga, Sekondi-Takoradi, Kumasi, Accra ( Jamestown, Ngleshie Alata, Tudu), Yendi, Tamale, Kintampo, Nandom. In Ngleshie Alata (A corruption of English ' ''Alata'' ', the Fante and Ga word for Yoruba people based on the region where the majority came from) and the area around the James Fort, the Yoruba presence dates back to 1673 when they were employed to build the fort and settled in large numbers on the eastern coastal region. It is on record that the first Alata Akutso Mantse'' ' or Alata division head, a Yoruba speaker named ''Ojo'' employed by the Royal African Company ascended an Accra royal stool becoming head of the Alata quarter of James Town in 1748. - A position his descendants continue to hold to this very day. In the popular 18th century Gonja
Salaga Slave Market Salaga Slave Market is an 18th-century slave market located in the East Gonja District of northern Ghana. During the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, Salaga served as an important market where slaves were transported to the coast for export. The mark ...
, the Yoruba residents of the town would not allow their fellow countrymen captured and brought to the markets to be sold to the Ashantis who would march them to the coast. Rather, they would barter for the release of the Yoruba captives who would in turn work for their benefactors as tradesmen until they earned their release. This earliest wave was followed by an intermediate wave of slave returnees who were predominantly of Yoruba descent like the Taboms/Agudas who settled along the Ghanaian coast. Then came the third wave who came during the Gold Coast colonial period. By this period, they had firmly entrenched themselves in the country's commerce and distribution systems and constituted a substantial percentage of merchants and traders in the country's large markets as proprietors of wholesale enterprises. They were the largest group of immigrants established in the pre-independence Gold Coast. In 1950 they constituted 15% of traders in Accra, 23% in Kumasi, and over a third in Tamale. They were usually referred to in southern Ghana as; Yoruba, ''Lagosian'', ''Alata,'' or ''Anago''. It was the early stream of this wave in the 1830s that established places like Accra New Town which was previously known as Lagos town and before then as Araromi. There is no codification for the Yoruba ethnicity in the most recent Ghanaian censuses but in previous ones, they were considered an indigenous Ghanaian group with origins outside modern Ghana. In the 1960 Ghanaian population census, there were 109,090 Yorubas. Of this figure; 100,560 were Yoruba proper'' ' while 8,530 were Atakpame (Ana). This represented 1.6% of the Ghanaian population.


Nigeria

The Yorubas are the main ethnic groups in the Nigerian states of Ekiti, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Kwara Oyo,
Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until December 1991 fo ...
, and the Western Third of Kogi State, and can be found as a minority population to varying proportions in; Delta State, and
Edo Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a ''jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...
. ;Places The chief Yoruba cities or towns in Nigeria are: Abẹokuta, Abigi, Ado-Awaye,
Ado-Ekiti Ado Ekiti is the capital city of Ekiti State, Nigeria. It is the headquarter of the Ekiti central senatorial district, southwest, Nigeria. History Ado Ewi is an ancient city, founded by Ewi Awamaro the son of Biritikolu. Awamaro (the restle ...
, Ado-Odo, Agbaja,
Ago iwoye Ago-Iwoye is a city in Ogun, Nigeria and formerly of the now-defunct Ijebu Kingdom. It is located in the Ijebu North Local Governmental Area and the main town comprises seven contiguous districts: Ibipe (considered the leading settlement), Isam ...
, Ajase ipo, Akungba-akoko, Akurẹ, Atan-otta, Aawe, Oyo, Ayetoro Yewa,
Ayetoro gbede Ayetoro Gbede (Ayetoro-Gbede) is a town along the Ilorin – Kabba federal highway in Ijumu, a kingdom and local government area in Kogi state, Nigeria. Ayetoro Gbede is located in central Nigeria, approximately 420 kilometers northeast of La ...
, Ayete,
Badagry Badagry (traditionally Gbagli) also spelled Badagri, is a coastal town and Local Government Area (LGA) in Lagos State, Nigeria. It is quite close to the city of Lagos, and located on the north bank of Porto Novo Creek, an inland waterway that con ...
,
Ede Ede may refer to: Places * Ede, Netherlands * Ede, Osun, Nigeria People * E De people of Vietnam Given name * Ede Dunai (born 1949), Hungarian footballer * Ede Kallós (1866–1950), Hungarian sculptor * Ede Komáromi (1928–2006), ...
, Efon-alaaye, Egbe, Ejigbo, Emure-ekiti, Epe, Erin-ile,
Eruwa Eruwa ( or fully () meaning 'pieces of yam are available here' is a town and the headquarters of Ibarapa East Local Government Area in south-western Nigeria located in Oyo state. Eruwa is 72 km south west of Ibadan and 60 km north e ...
,
Esa-oke Esa-Oke is a Yoruba town located at the Obokun Local Government Area of the Ijesa North Federal Constituency of Ife/Ijesa Senatorial District of Osun State, South-West of Nigeria. It is a native Ijesa (Ijesha) community and shares boundaries w ...
, Esie, Fiditi,
Igbaja Igbaja is a community in Ifelodun Local Government Area, Kwara State, Nigeria, at an elevation of 349 m. It is about 40 km southeast of Ilorin, and is in Igbomina country. The Ilorin Provincial Gazetteer (1918) dates the settlement of ...
, Gbongan,
Ibadan Ibadan (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Oyo State, in Nigeria. It is the third-largest city by population in Nigeria after Lagos and Kano, with a total population of 3,649,000 as of 2021, and over 6 million people within its ...
, Ibokun, Idanre,
Idere Idere is an Ibibio-Efik language of Nigeria. References Ibibio-Efik languages Languages of Nigeria {{CrossRiver-lang-stub ...
, Idi-iroko, Ido-ani, Ido-ekiti, Ifetedo,
Ifo Ifo is a Local Government Area in Ogun State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Ifo at .It has an area of and a population of 698,837 at the 2006 census "Adebami-Tella". The postal code of the area is 112. Transportation Ifo is conn ...
, Ifon (Ondo), Ifon Osun, Igangan, Iganna, Igbeti, Igboho,
Igbo-ora Igbo-Ora is a city and the headquarters of Ibarapa Central, Oyo State, south-western Nigeria, situated north of Lagos. In 2006 the population of the town was approximately 72,207 people. In 2017 the population is estimated to be around 278,514 p ...
, Igbara-Oke, Ijare, Ijẹbu-igbo, Ijebu-Ijesha, Ijebu Ode, Ijede, Ijero-ekiti, Ijoko, Ikare-akoko, Ikenne,
Ikere-ekiti Ikere-Ekiti, also known as Ikere or Ikerre, is a city in Ekiti State of Nigeria.In Ikere Local Government. It is an agricultural and mine centre. According to the 1963 and 1991 census, the population was 114,780 and 60,257 respectively, but the ...
,
Ikire Ikire is a town in Osun State, Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between ...
, Ikirun, Ikole-ekiti,
Ikorodu Ikorodu is a large city in Lagos State, Nigeria. It is located to the north-east of Lagos, along the Lagos Lagoon and shares boundary with Ogun State. With a population of over 1million inhabitant, Ikorodu is currently the 12 largest city in N ...
, Ila-orangun,
Ilaje Ìlàje is a Local Government Area in Ondo State, South-West Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Igbokoda. The Ilajes are a distinct migratory coastal linguistic group of Yoruba peoples spread along the coastal belts of Ondo, Ogun, ...
, Ilaro, Ilawe-ekiti, Ilé-Ifẹ, Ile-oluji, Ilesa, Illah Bunu, Ilishan,
Ilobu Ilobu is a town and the administrative headquarters of Irepodun Local Government Area of Osun State, Nigeria. It is located in a sparsely forested area and is bounded on the north by Ifon-Osun, on the south by Osogbo, on the east by Oba and on ...
, Ilọrin, Imeko,
Imesi-ile Imesi-ile is an ancient town in the northeastern part of the Obokun Local Government in Osun State, Nigeria. In the 19th century, this town was the epicenter of the Jalumi and the Kiriji wars among the Yoruba nations, and the foundation of peac ...
, Imota, Inisa, Iperu, Ipetu-Ijesha,
Ipetumodu Ipetumodu ()is a city in Osun State, in the southwestern part of Nigeria. It is the headquarters of the Ife North local government. The city is under the leadership of traditional ruler with the title of Apetumodu, which means "one who killed an ...
,
Iragbiji Iragbiji (also Ira-gba-iji) is a town and capital of Boripe Local Government Area, Osun State, Nigeria, sharing borders with many towns especially Ikirun and is inhabited by the Yoruba people. The population of Iragbiji people is about 164,17 ...
,
Iree Iree (also Ire or Iree Alalubosa) is a Yoruba town in the north-eastern part of Osun State, Nigeria, West Africa. Its geographical coordinates are 7.55 North and East. Iree is one of the major towns in the Boripe Local Government Area of Osun Sta ...
, Isharun, Isanlu, Ise-ekiti, Iseyin, Itaogbolu,
Iwo Iwo or IWO may refer to: People * Iwo Byczewski (born 1948), Polish diplomat * Iwo Dölling (1923–2019), Swedish diplomat * Iwo Gall (1890–1959), Polish theater director, stage designer, and pedagogue * Iwo Kaczmarski (born 2004), Polish fo ...
, Iyara, Jebba, Kabba, Kishi, Lagos (Eko),
Lalupon Lalupon is a town on the outskirt of Ibadan, in the Lagelu Local Government of Oyo State. Lalupon was founded by Iragberi royal warlords, headed by Gudugba Isioye, as a gateway town between Ibadan and Iwo. Etymology Lalupon was coined from t ...
, Lanlate, Lokoja,
Modakeke Modakeke is a town in Osun State, South West Nigeria, with a population of close to 500,000 people. The Modakekes are also known as the "Akoraye" and have a history of valor at war and are prosperous farmers. History The founding of Modakeke i ...
, Mopa, Obajana,
Obokun Obokun is a Local Government Area in Osun State. Its headquarters is at Ibokun. It has an area of 527 km. The population is 116,511 at the 2006 census and it is 144,980 on 2019. The postal code of the area is 233. It is known for its diverge ...
,
Ode-Irele Ode-Irele (Irele) is a town in Ondo State of Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is si ...
, Ode-omu, Ore,
Odogbolu Odogbolu is a Local Government Area in Ogun State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Odogbolu at in the north-west of the Area. It has an area of 541 km and a population of 127,123 at the 2006 census. The postal code of the a ...
, Offa, Ogbomoso, Ogere-remo, Ogidi-ijumu, Ojo, Oka-akoko, Okeho, Oke-Igbo,
Okemesi Okemesi-Ekiti is the local Government Headquarters of Okemesi/Idoile Local Government of Ekiti State, Nigeria, who's headquarts is the Ekiti town of Okemesi. Its population according to 2006 population census is 56,000 residents. Geography Ok ...
, Okitipupa, Okuku, Omu Aran, Omuo, Ondo City (Ode Ondo),
Osogbo Osogbo (also ''Oṣogbo'', rarely ''Oshogbo'') is a city in Nigeria. It became the capital city of Osun State in 1991. Osogbo city seats the Headquarters of both Osogbo Local Government Area (situated at Oke Baale Area of the city) and Oloru ...
, Osu,
Otan Ayegbaju Otan Ayegbaju (Otan for short) is an historic town in Yorubaland founded about 500 years ago by descendants of Oduduwa, who migrated from Ifẹ. It is the headquarters of Boluwaduro Local Government Area. Nearby towns are Eripa, Iresi, Igbajo ...
,
Ota OTA or ota may stand for: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Off the Air'', an Adult Swim television series * Otakon, an annual anime convention in Baltimore, Maryland Electronics, science, and technology * Ochratoxin A (also termed OTA), a mycoto ...
, Otun-ekiti, Owo, Owode, Oyan, Ọyọ, Shagamu, Shaki, Share, Tede, Upele, Usi-ekiti.


Togo

Estimates of the Yoruba in Togo vary from around 500,000 to 600,000 people. There are both immigrant Yoruba communities from Nigeria, and indigenous ancestral Yoruba communities living in Togo. Footballer Emmanuel Adebayor is an example of a Togolese from an immigrant Yoruba background. Indigenous Yoruba communities in Togo, however can be found in the Togolese departments of Plateaux Region, Anie, Ogou and
Est-Mono Est-Mono is a prefecture located in the Plateaux Region of Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso ...
prefectures; Centrale Region ( Tchamba Prefecture). The chief Yoruba cities or towns in Togo are: Atakpame, Anié, Morita (Moretan), Ofe, Elavagnon, Goubi, Kambole, Akpare, Kamina.


West Africa (other)

The Yoruba in
Burkina Faso Burkina Faso (, ; , ff, 𞤄𞤵𞤪𞤳𞤭𞤲𞤢 𞤊𞤢𞤧𞤮, italic=no) is a landlocked country in West Africa with an area of , bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana t ...
are numbered around 77,000 people, and around 80,000 in
Niger ) , official_languages = , languages_type = National languagesIvory Coast, they are concentrated in the cities of
Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N’ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the economic capital of the Ivory Coast. As of the 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of overall population of the country, making it the sixth most populous city p ...
(Treichville, Adjamé), Bouake, Korhogo, Grand Bassam and Gagnoa where they are mostly employed in retail at major markets. Otherwise known as "Anago traders", they dominate certain sectors of the retail economy and number at least 135,000 people.


The Yoruba diaspora

Yoruba people or descendants can be found all over the world especially in the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, Brazil, Latin America, and the
Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean ...
(especially in Cuba). Significant Yoruba communities can be found in South America and Australia. In the United States, the Yoruba language is the most spoken home language of African origin in; Texas, Florida, Mississippi, Illinois, New Jersey, Indiana, Wyoming and Pennsylvania. They constitute the second largest African linguistic community in; Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Maryland, Michigan, New Mexico, New York, South Carolina, Oklahoma and Rhode Island with over 153,000 speakers in 2020. The migration of Yoruba people all over the world has led to a spread of the Yoruba culture across the globe. Yoruba people have historically been spread around the globe by the combined forces of the Atlantic slave trade and voluntary self migration. Their exact population outside Africa is unknown. Yorubas are overrepresented in the genetic studies of African Americans and are not the largest contributors of African American DNA by any means. In their Atlantic world domains, the Yorubas were known by the designations: "
Nagos The word Nagos refers to all Brazilian Yoruba people, their African descendants, Yoruba myth, ritual, and cosmological patterns. ''Nagos'' derives from the word ''anago'', a term Fon-speaking people used to describe Yoruba-speaking people from ...
/Anago", "Terranova", " Lucumi" and " Aku", or by the names of their various clans. The Yoruba left an important presence in Cuba and Brazil, particularly in
Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.
and
Bahia Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro) and the 5th-larges ...
. According to a 19th-century report, "the Yoruba are, still today, the most numerous and influential in this state of
Bahia Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro) and the 5th-larges ...
. The most numerous are those from Oyo, capital of the Yoruba kingdom". Others included Ijexa (
Ijesha The Ijesha (written as Ìjẹ̀ṣà in Yoruba orthography) are a sub- ethnicity of the Yorubas of West Africa. Ilesha is the largest town and historic cultural capital of the Ijesha people, and is home to a kingdom of the same name, ruled by a ...
), Lucumi, Ota ( Aworis), Ketus, Ekitis, Jebus ( Ijebu), Egba, Lucumi Ecumacho ( Ogbomosho), and Anagos. In the documents dating from 1816 to 1850, Yorubas constituted 69.1% of all slaves whose ethnic origins were known, constituting 82.3% of all slaves from the Bight of Benin. The proportion of slaves from West-Central Africa (Angola – Congo) dropped drastically to just 14.7%. Between 1831 and 1852 the African-born slave and free population of Salvador, Bahia surpassed that of free Brazil born Creoles. Meanwhile, between 1808 and 1842 an average of 31.3% of African-born freed persons had been
Nagos The word Nagos refers to all Brazilian Yoruba people, their African descendants, Yoruba myth, ritual, and cosmological patterns. ''Nagos'' derives from the word ''anago'', a term Fon-speaking people used to describe Yoruba-speaking people from ...
(Yoruba). Between 1851 and 1884, the number had risen to a dramatic 73.9%. Other areas that received a significant number of Yoruba people and are sites of Yoruba influence are:
The Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the a ...
, Puerto Rico, the
Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...
, Saint Lucia, Grenada,
Santa Margarita, Trinidad and Tobago Santa Margarita in St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago is a residential community that consists of single family homes and gated communities consisting of townhouses and condominiums. It is in close proximity to the Hugh Wooding Law School, the Un ...
,
Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wa ...
, Guyana, Haiti,
Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...
(where they settled and established such places as Abeokuta, Naggo head in Portmore, and by their hundreds in other parishes like
Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
and Westmoreland, both in western Jamaica- leaving behind practices such as Ettu from ''Etutu'', the Yoruba ceremony of atonement among other customs of people bearing the same name, and certain aspects of Kumina such as Sango veneration),
Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estima ...
, Montserrat, etc. On 31 July 2020, the
Yoruba World Congress 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 ...
joined the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO).


Genetics

Genetic studies have shown the Yoruba to cluster most closely with other West African peoples. Yoruba people are largely found within the E1b1a1 subclade of the E-M2 haplogroup along with the Ewe, Ga, and
Bamileke The Bamileke are a Central African people who inhabit the Western High Plateau of Cameroon. Languages The Bamileke languages belong to the Grassfields branch of the Niger-Congo language family, which is sometimes labeled as a " Bantuoid lan ...
peoples of West Africa and Cameroon. Some genetic studies have also found evidence of West-Eurasian admixture in Yoruba populations, with up to 8.6% West-Eurasian DNA being found in modern Yoruba samples. This admixture may have been introduced 7,500–10,500 years ago from North Africa during the Green Saharan period. A full genome study on African populations found that the Yoruba (Yoruba/Esen cluster of West Africa) harbor on average about 12,5% West-Eurasian ancestry mediated through North Africans. A similar to slightly higher amount is found amongst other West Africans, such as
Gambians The demographic characteristics of the population of The Gambia are known through national censuses, conducted in ten-year intervals and analyzed by The Gambian Bureau of Statistics (GBOS) since 1963. The latest census was conducted in 2013. The ...
,
Mandinka Mandinka, Mandika, Mandinkha, Mandinko, or Mandingo may refer to: Media * ''Mandingo'' (novel), a bestselling novel published in 1957 * ''Mandingo'' (film), a 1975 film based on the eponymous 1957 novel * ''Mandingo (play)'', a play by Jack Kir ...
, and
Mende people The Mende are one of the two largest ethnic groups in Sierra Leone; their neighbours, the Temne people, constitute the largest ethnic group at 35.5% of the total population, which is slightly larger than the Mende at 31.2%. The Mende are pre ...
.


Notable people of Yoruba origin


Yoruba organizations

*
Afenifere Afenifere was formed as a socio-cultural organization for the Yoruba people of Nigeria, with Chief Abraham Adesanya as its leader and Chief Bola Ige as deputy leader. Other founding members were Pa Onasanya, Chief Reuben Fasoranti, Adegbonmire, Oku ...
* Amotekun *
Oodua Peoples Congress The Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) is a Yoruba nationalist, regionalist, and vigilante organization in Nigeria. It is also known as the Oodua Liberation Movement (OLM) or the Revolutionary Council of Nigeria. It is based in southwestern Nigeria ...


Issues

Along with people of other regions that are largely representative of ethnic enclaves within the country, Yorubas have faced growing concerns over increased insecurity and instability within the country. On 9 January 2020, the governors of 6 of the country's western states became associated with the formation of state security networks which would operate in each state. This security network is called Amotekun and is managed by the office of each state governor with full co-operation of the legal protocols of Nigeria.


Prominent chiefs

* Aare Baasofin * Aare Ona Kakanfo * Akoni Oodua *
Alaafin Alaafin, or ''The Owner of the Palace'' in the Yoruba language, is the title of the emperor of the medieval Oyo empire and present-day Oyo town of West Africa. He ruled the old Oyo Empire which extended from the present day Benin republic to ...
* Alake * Alaketu *
Awujale Awujale is the royal title of the king of the Ijebu Kingdom. The holder is addressed as the Awujale of Ijebuland. The present Awujale is Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona Ogbagba II. He is from the House of Anikinaiya. By the declaration made under sect ...
* Eleko *
Olubadan Olubadan ( Yoruba: ''Lord of Ibadan'') is the royal title of the king of Ibadanland in Nigeria. Ibadan was founded in the 16th century, but the present Yoruba people only took control around 1820. By 1850 they had established their unusual ...
* Ooni * Chief Adeolu Ajibade


See also

*
Itsekiri people The Itsekiri (also called the Isekiri, ''iJekri'', ''Itsekri'', ''Ishekiri'', or Itsekhiri) are one of the Yoruboid subgroup of Nigeria's Niger Delta area, Delta State. The Itsekiris presently number 2.7 million people and live mainly in the W ...
* Igala people * Nupe * Ebira


Notes


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * Olumola, Isola; et al. ''Prominent Traditional Rulers of Yorubaland'', Ibadan 2003.


External links


Books and Research


Oshielle, Or, Village Life in the Yoruba Country book

Seventeen Years in the Yoruba Country book

The Yoruba-speaking Peoples book

Yoruba Research

The Yoruba City


Discussion


Yoruba priest Baba John Mason talks about the Yoruba diaspora and culture and the Orisha religion (2017)

Yoruba Blog


Representation


Ilana Omo Oodua UK

Yoruba World Congress
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yoruba People West African people Indigenous peoples of West Africa Ethnic groups in Africa Ethnic groups in Nigeria Ethnic groups in Benin Ethnic groups in Togo Ethnic groups in Ghana Ethnic groups in Ivory Coast Sub-Saharan people Members of the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization