Yoruba Tradition

It is interesting that those who claim to be Yoruba do not, strictly speaking, have a generally accepted meaning for the name. The Yoruba country lies roughly between latitudes 6° and 9° north and longitudes 2°30′ and 6°30′ east, with a total land area of about 181,300 square kilometers in what is now southwestern Nigeria. The Yoruba culture area, however, is not coterminous with this geographical delimitation, as it spreads from the present Edo State in Nigeria, over the whole of the southwest and across, to the Republics of Benin and Togo on the West African coast.

Significant aspects of Yoruba culture are also found in such places as Sierra Leone, the Gambia, Brazil, Cuba, Trinidad, Puerto Rico, and the United States of America. It is precisely this open expression of Yoruba culture in the Americas that has generated great interest in the Yoruba tradition, especially its religious and spiritual dimension, among Black Studies scholars. Indeed, large segments of the Yoruba religious pantheon have been preserved, with Yoruba deities called orishas—like Shango, Yemoja, Ogun, and others—still guiding the lives of many diasporic Africans. Worldwide, it is estimated that the Yorubas number over 40 million. The major subethnic groups include the Oyo, Ibarapa, Ife, Ijesa, Igbomina, Egba, Egbado, Owu, Awori, Egun, Ijebu, Ekiti, Ilaje, Ikale, Owo, Akoko, Ondo, Yagba, Owe, Bunu, Idaisa, Ajase, Ketu, and Sabe. In Brazil and Cuba the major Yoruba subgroups are known as Nago and Lucumi, respectively.

The Yoruba speak a standard Yoruba language that is intelligible to all in spite of the dialectal variations noticeable among the subgroups. The historical consciousness of the Yoruba started at Ile Ife, the cradle of the Yoruba race and civilization. The Yoruba claim descent from Oduduwa, who according to traditions is the eponymous father and cultural hero of all Yoruba. Two major factors are important in the crystallization of the salient aspects of Yoruba civilization. The first is the language, in that virtually all the indigenous inhabitants of Yorubaland belonged to the same linguistic stock. It is generally agreed that language is the first basic element of Yoruba civilization. The second factor is the environment, which, to a large extent, influenced the historical development of Yoruba civilization. The geographical features of the Yoruba country made it well suited for agriculture, metal technology, industry, and commerce. Each of these factors is essential for urbanization and, unsurprisingly, the Yoruba became one of the most urbanized ethnic groups in Africa.

The emergence of Oduduwa as prime cultural hero and the process of state formation in Yorubaland constitute the central themes of Yoruba tradition, and two major explanations have historically tried to account for these traditional themes. The first one speaks of Ile Ife as the original birthplace of the prehistoric human and the center of all creation. According to this explanation, Oludamare appeared with the first 16 human elders and their followers. One major conclusion from this is the claim that Ile Ife was not just the source for the Yoruba people but also the cradle of all humankind through the process of creation. Indeed, in [Page 482]a common fashion, the Yoruba people believe that they were the first human beings created on earth.

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