Yoruba is one of many tribes located in Africa and is one of the largest ethno- linguistic groups. Majority of the native people of Yoruba are a part of Southwestern Nigeria and Benin. However, a great percentage of Yoruba is populated by modern day Nigeria. Moreover, the Yoruba culture was an oral tradition, and majority of the people were native speakers of the Yoruba language. The native name of the Yoruba language is ‘Ede Yoruba’. The language originated through the Yoruba people because they were believed to be descendants of Oduduwa. Oduduwa, was the son of a powerful God named Oludumare. And the Yoruba people referred to themselves as ‘Omo Oduduwa’ meaning Oduduwa’s children. The Yoruba language is the pride of the Yoruba people and over 22 million people speak it. The Yoruba language had been spoken within other languages in neighboring countries such as Benin and Togo. Other traces of the Yoruba language has been spoken in Sierra Leone, where it’s referred to as “Oku” and Cuba known as “Nago”.
Moreover, like many other African languages, the study of Yoruba language was conducted by missionaries. These missionaries were interested in translating the scriptures for evangelical purposes. As a result, of these studies this led to the emergence of writing and studying of the Yoruba language and culture. The development of written Yoruba language was led by Samuel Crowther, a fluent Yoruba speaker who published the first Yoruba grammar. In 1884, He translated the Holy Bible from the Standard English version into Yoruba dialect. Afterwards, his work was accepted as the standard for Yoruba language among a variety of dialects. His Yoruba-language Bible served as an example of the written Yoruba that was widely adopted by the ma...
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... legendary founder of an ancestral masquerade cult. Iwi illustrates the qualities of past ancestors and their achievements.
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The first step to understanding the response of the Benin people to this arrival is to look to their conception of their own identity. The Benin call themselves, their capital, and their language Edo, and some Edo can rightfully claim to have lived in the region for a thousand years. When speaking of Benin, the idea of a "traditional" culture is not wholly erroneous - their ancestry is older and on a more direct line than most Europeans can imagine. But the ancient kingdom of Benin did not encompass all Edo-speaking people and it was also not restricted to them, as it included ethnic groups such as the Yoruba, Igbo, Ijaw, and Itsekiri (Duchateau 9). The amount of racial cohesion in this "traditional culture" should no...
The story is set within the Ibo tribe of Umuofia, which is one of the nine villages that combine to make one large clan in Nigeria. These tribes are ones that hold courage, strength, tradition and customs extremely high. The theme of tradition is examined by
African Yoruba Orisa worship is said to be a widely practiced African religion. The Yoruba religion is prominent in regions such as Brazil, Costa Rica, Columbia, Trinidad, Haiti, Trinidad, and Cuba. This religious practice has a few differences from Christianity. One of the most obvious differences would be that Christianity is a monotheistic religion, and the Yoruba religion is assumed to be polytheistic.
middle of paper ... ... ’s depictions of both traditional and modern beliefs in varying degrees illustrate the importance of both in contemporary Nigerian culture, as well as the greater Africa as a whole, and how both are intertwined and cannot exist without the other. In effect, she skillfully subverts stereotypes or single perceptions of Africa as backward and traditional, proving instead, the multifaceted culture of Africa. She further illustrates that neither traditional African nor western culture is necessarily detrimental. It is the stark contrast of the fundamental cultures that inevitably leads to clashes and disagreements.
The Yoruba Religion believes in a kind of reincarnation provided by their Gods. These Gods are very sacred to the Yoruba people. They are viewed as representations of the natural forces present in life. In addition, they have strong reverence of their ancestors. These ancestors at times will return in spiritual form in order to aid their descendants. The main problem religion recognizes is the losing of one’s self or in other words not following one’s destiny. The belief of the Yoruba is that this problem arises due to one forgetting themselves and they struggle remember their goals in life and to find themselves once again. The Yoruba are not alone however when trying to find their identities once again they have the aid of their family heads, priests and diviners. The people who fill these roles go through much hard work in order to aid their fellows to find themselves and to once again follow their paths in life. The Yoruba also strongly believe in the idea of three levels of life one devoted to Heaven, another to a habitat for humans and animals, and finally one as the home for the dead. I personally find the most important aspect of this religion to be the idea of the family structure. Many of the occurrences in this religion
The Hausa Kingdoms were a grouping of west African states that were located between Lake Chad to the west and the Niger River to the east. The African ethnic group which populated these kingdoms and the area in general from 700 AD are known as the Hausa people with one of the oldest kingdom being Daura located in modern-day northern Nigeria. The Hausa Kingdoms included Kano, Katsina, Zazzau, Gobir, Rano, Daura and Biram and were founded in 1000 AD. The kingdoms are also known as ‘Hausa Bakwai’ which means ‘Seven True Hausa States’. The language utilized by these Africans is also called Hausa. The written record of the Hausa people is contained in a document called the Kano Chronicle which focuses primarily on the Kano Kingdom. In addition to the seven primary Hausa Kingdoms there were a further seven satellite states named Kebbi, Yauri, Gwari, Nupe, Kororofa, Yoruba and Zamfara. The
African Postcolonial Literature in English on the Postcolonial Web Page. 30 June 2001. http://landow.stg.brown.edu/ post/nigeria/precolwon.html.
Religion is meant to be recognized, heard and understood and Yoruba is of that religion. Yoruba is a religion of understanding, growing and seeking. In this paper, the religion Yoruba will be dissected to better understand it. Yoruba originated in West Africa, Nigeria and from there it was well known and practiced by many. Currently, there are 25 million members of this religion in West Africa alone.
http://moodle.oakland.k12.mi.us/internationalacademy/pluginfile.php?file=%2F68302%2Fmod _ folder%2Fcontent%2F0%2FAfrica%20Essay%2FAchebe%20Interview%20An%20African%2 20Voice.docx&forcedownload=1>. Arinze, Francis A., and Kalu Ogbu. The "Igbo Religion" www.ic.galegroup.com.
...school to teach young Christians to read and write. Their interpreters who the people of Umuofia know as weak people and not very strong, come from the village were they fear the warriors of Umuofia. Those are the people that are now interpreting words to them. "The white spoke through an interpreter who was an Ibo man though his dialect was different and harsh to the ears of Mbanta" (102). The white man humiliated the leaders of Umuodia. When they put them in prison, their hair was shaved and their hands were handcuffed. "At night the messenger came in to taunt them and to knock their shaved heads together" (138).
This chapter is about Yoruba religion. Originating in West Africa, it was transported to the Americas by the slave trade. Yoruba religion teaches that before a person is reincarnated, one of his or her souls goes to Olodumare, the High God, to “receive new breath.” There, the soul chooses its destiny, which includes occupation, personality, measures of good and bad luck, and when the person will die. However, when that person is born the destiny is forgotten. Forgetfulness and disconnection from destiny make up the problem, and the solution is to remember and reconnect. One technique to reach the solution is Ifa divination. Orishas (superhuman beings) help people to live in harmony with their destinies.
The syllables of the syllables. Okeke, Phil E. "Reconfiguring Tradition: Women's Rights and Social Status in Contemporary Nigeria." Africa Today 47.1 (2000): 49-63.
The Yoruba people live mostly in Southwestern Nigeria. Traditionally, the Yoruba organized themselves into networks of related villages, towns and kingdoms; with most of them headed by a king or mayor. (2013) Music and dance have always been an important part of Yoruba culture for those living in Nigeria as well as in the diaspora. Yoruba music and dance are used for many different occasions in life such as religious festivals, royal occasions, and entertainment. Yoruba traditional music focuses on Yoruba deities. Drums and singing are the main elements of Yoruba music. (2013)
Salm, S., & Falola, T. (2002). Culture and Customs of Ghana. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press
A brief description of the country of Nigeria mainly focused on its population and linguistic indicators follows demonstrating its relevance to the bilingual education issue. Nigeria is a country in West Africa with population of 166.6 million (World Bank, 2012). Being under British dominance since 1800 till 1960, Nigeria adopted English as an official language and Yoruba, Ibo and Hausa remained as major languages.