YORUBA - ISOKAN!
The World of the Yoruba Yoruba is the second largest language group in Africa , consisting of over 20 million people. The term "Yoruba" encompasses about twenty-five separate groups, each one culturally different from the next. Islam, Christianity, and the "traditional" Yoruba pantheon, the orisa, are all embraced in Yorubaland. The bond shared by all Yoruba peoples is the centrality of ritual to special occasions, as well as to everyday life. Who are the Yoruba? The first obvious answer to this question is the Yoruba are a nationality, numbering about 40 million, the majority of whom live in the South Western part of the state of Nigeria in West Africa . Obvious as this answer is, it is not wholly explanatory, and certainly, it is not without its own controversy. First, regarding its explanatory status. One has to add, that the Yoruba are a black people, of Negro stock; that they speak a common language, Yoruba, which belongs to the Kwa group of the Niger-Congo linguistic family, and it has about 12 dialects; that they are a well urbanized group with genius in arts as symbolized in the famous "Ife Bronzes"; that Yoruba people are also found in Togo , Benin Republic and in other parts of the world, including Brazil , Cuba , Trinidad, and the United States . Second, regarding its controversial status, one has to confront the question what makes the Yoruba a nationality, or a nation, not a tribe or clan, and how does one then mark a distinction between Yorubaland and Nigeria . To this last question, there is no better answer than the one provided by Obafemi Awolowo in 1947, to which a later section of this presentation will return. For now, it is necessary to answer the question: "Who are the Yoruba?" by focusing on some critical moments in Yoruba history and thought. Address these and other issues by focusing on some critical moments in Yoruba History.
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