Yoruba Serect (Thoughts and ORI)

Thoughts and ORI

We must first have an open mind to see clearly the truth in this Universe (Ile Aye). The second we shut down knowledge no matter where it comes from we get disconnected to this Universe (Ile Aye).

Let’s take a look at Thoughts, In the Secret it says that a thought is the most powerful tool we have, and it’s where everything fist start. Ok let’s see what Yoruba say about that. The energy of Thoughts and Knowledge is the representation of ORI, and ORI is the most important ORISA we have. And of course we have other ORISA that that represent not only the elements of the Earth, but it also represents elements and functions within our body.

After you have in your mind the thoughts that you want to manifest in a physical form, we must then generate the feelings of that thought for it to work. Now how do we put that element in Yoruba? (FEELINGS) The most powerful ORISA we have for this element is no other then OSUN (OCHUN) for the practitioners of Lukumi. The energy of OSUN when it is our bodies, it represents Love, Anger, Mad, Happy, Sad, Lust, Faith etc……. So if we tap into that OSUN’S energy with EBO, ORIKI ect…. We actually speed up the process of getting what we want because the feeling is much stronger and direct to the source of thought.

Now in the Secret it’s said that we have our Conscious mind, and our Subconscious mind, and we must have them both vibrating in the same frequencies to actually start the process of THE LAW OF ATTRACTION. In Yoruba the Conscious mind is ORI and the Subconscious mind is IPORI. Now I have come to know that there’s not too many people who have herd of IPORI? Well IPORI is that little voice in your head that some times you caught yourself speaking too. No that does not mean your crazy, that is your other self. Now you must have ORI and IPORI thinking in the same frequencies to activate the beginning of the process of the ATTRATION. If for any reason they are not both aligned the thought gets canceled out, and that is why THE SECRET does not work for a lot of people. In other blogs to come I will explain different ORIKI that will help as well as EBO’S for alignment of ORI and IPORI.

I will continue more on this topic next week. ASE, ASE, ASE.

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Digital Bibliography

Related Websites

African Music Profiles. (n. d.). Retrieved January 26 from http://www.africanmusiciansprofiles.com/lagbaja.htm

Bongo Central. (n.d.) Retrieved January 26, 2004 from http://www.bongocentral.com.

Campus Program.com. (n.d.) Yoruba Mythology. Retrieved April 12, 2004 from http://www.campusprogram.com/reference/en/wikipedia/y/yo/yoruba_mythology.html

Hamill Gallery of African Art. (n.d.). Retrieved January 26, 2004 from http://www.hamillgallery.com/EXHIBITIONS/AfricanDrums.html

The World of the Yoruba. (n.d.). Retrieved April 13, 2004 from http://www.fandm.edu/departments/Anthropology/Bastian/ANT269/yoru.html

Print Resources

Agawu, K. (2001). Review essay: An African understanding of African music. Research in African Literature, 32, 187-194.

Alaja-Browne, A. (1989). A diachronic study of change in juju music. Popular Music, 8, 231-242.

Bascom, W. R. (1984). The Yoruba of southwestern Nigeria. Prospect Heights, Illinois, Waveland Press.

Chinyowa, K. C. (2001). The context, performance and meaning of Shona ritual drama. In L. Losambe & D. Sarinjeive (Eds.), Pre-Colonial and Post-

Colonial Oramonnd Theatre in Africa (pp. 343-348). Trenton, NJ, Africa World Press.

DeFrantz, T. F. (2002). Dancing many drums: Excavations in African American dance. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press.

Eades, J. S. (1980). The Yoruba today. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.

Euba, A. (1970). New idioms of music-drama among the Yoruba: An introductory study. Yearbook of the International Folk Music Council, 2, 92-107.

Gray, J. (1999). Soul Force 101: Yoruba sacred music, old world and new. Retrieved March 2, 2004 from www.descarga.com/cgi- bin/db/archives/Article17

Harper, P. (1969). Dance in Nigeria. Ethnomusicology, 13, 280-295.

Nesbitt, N. (2001). African music, ideology and utopia. Research in African Literature, 32, 175-186.

Motsa, Z. (2001). The missing link in siSwati modern drama. In L. Losambe & D. Sarinjeive (Eds.), Pre-Colonial and Post-Colonial Oramonnd Theatre in

Africa (pp. 364-374). Trenton, NJ, Africa World Press.

Nzewi, M., Anyahuru, I., & Ohiaraumunna, T. (2001). Beyond song texts—The lingual fundamental of African drum music. Research in African

Literatures, 32, 2, 90-104.

Salamone, F. A. (1998). Nigerian and Ghanaian popular music: Two varieties of creolization. Journal of Popular Culture, 32, 11-25.

Sirayi, M. (2001). Indigenous African Theatre in South Africa. In L. Losambe & D. Sarinjeive (Eds.), Pre-Colonial and Post-Colonial Oramonnd Theatre in

Africa (pp. 349-362). Trenton, NJ, Africa World Press.

Smith, P. O. (2001). Making words sing and dance: Sense, style and sound in Yoruba prose translation. Meta, 46. Online Journal retrieved March 2,

2004 from www.erudit.org/revue/meta/2001/v46/n4/004197ar.pdf

Waterman, C. A. (1982). “I’m a leader, not a boss”: Social identity and popular music in Ibadan, Nigeria. Ethnomusicology, 26, 59-71.

Waterman, C. A. (1990). “Our tradition is a very modern tradition”: Popular music and the construction of Pan-Yoruba identity. Ethnomusicology, 34,

367-379.

Chronology of Yoruba History

Chronology of Yoruba History

Dates	Yoruba History	Arts and Literature	Politics	Science and Philosophy
1820	Christian Missionaries and linguists visiting Nigeria (during the 1820s & 1830s) use the name Yoruba to describe the group of people they encounter who share the same religious identity.	The Venus de Milo is discovered.	March 6th - "The Missouri Compromise" is decided by Congress, whereby Missouri enters the Union as a slave state, but slavery is to be abolished by the remainder of the Louisiana Purchase.	The first iron steamship is launched.
1842	Samuel Crowther writes and publishes the first Yoruba language book called, Yoruba Vocabulary and Yoruba Grammar, based on his native Oyo language.	Lord Tennyson writes Morte d'Arthur and other Idylls.	Webster-Ashburton Treaty between Britain and US defines frontier between Canada and US.	Ether is used for the first time as an anaesthetic for a minor operation in the US.
1850	Traditional Yoruba music changes in structure due to the influence of European missionary church hymns (between 1850s & 1890s)	Herman Melville writes Moby Dick. Hawthorne write The Scarlet Letter.	California is admitted to the Union as a free state.	Robert Wilhelm von Bunsen invents the burner that bears his name.
1930	Druing the 1930s and 1940s Tunde King "creates" the juju style of music. He performs in the urban areas of Lagos.	Dutch painter, van Doesburg, first uses the term "Concrete Art"	April 22nd - US, Britain, France, Italy, and Japan end the 4 month long London Conference with a signing of a treaty on naval disarmament, regulating submarine warfare & limiting aircraft carriers.	March 18th - Tombaugh at the Lowell Observatory in Arizona, discovers the planet Pluto.
1938	D.O. Fagunwa publishes his first book, which serves as a model for writing the Yoruba language (a difficult feat due to the tonality of the Yoruba language).	Frank Lloyd Wright builds the Taliesin West in Phoenix, Arizona, USA.	November 9th - The "Crystal Night", when Jewish houses, synagogues, and schools in Germany are burnt down and shops looted; attacks continue until the 14th.	German physicist Otto Hahn and F. Strassman discover nuclear fission.
1960	In the early 1960s juju music adds to its ensemble a variety of Yoruba instruments (such as the talking drum) and Western instruments (such as the electric guitar).	First public performance of the Beatles in Hamburg, West Germany.	Nigeria gains its independence.	Surgeons in Birmingham, England, develop a pacemaker for the heart.
1966	Sunny Ade (arguably the most popular juju musician of all times) forms his band, the Green Spots, which has 20 to 30 band members.	November 20th - Cabaret is first performed at the Broadhurst Theater in New York.	The Nigerian War breaks out and many musicians are forced back to their homes or sent abroad. June 13th - The Supreme Court rules on the Miranda v. Arizona case that evidence obtained by confession is only valid when the police can show the suspect was aware of her/his right to silence.	February 3rd - Soviet spacecraft, Luna 9, makes the first soft landing on the Moon. June 2nd - The US, Surveyor, lands on the moon.
1996	Lagbaja's recording, C'est Une African Thing tops Nigeria's charts with hits like 'Coolu Temper' and 'Bad Leadership'. His songs emphasize the Yoruba value of community over individuality.	Boy band group, the Backstreet Boys release their first, self titled, album.	Appeals court upholds District decision for Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy in the military.	The Running Kilt was invented in 1996 after hearing a myriad of complaints from Scottish runners about leg chafing. The Palm Pilot is invented.

Contemporary Yoruba Music

Lagbaja






















Scholars cre dit composer Hubert Ogunde as the father of the new Yoruba m usic drama, which started around 1944. Ogunde derived his sense of rhythm from the nonorthodox churches of Lagos, the island state of the south coast of Nigeria. The style of Ogunde reflects the influence of neo-traditional church music (Euba, 1970, p. 98). Ogunde’s new music drama maintains the Yoruba tradition while accommodating for socio-political changes. These performances retain the traditional elements of Yoruba drama, such as the concern with efficacy and tonal variation. Euba (1970) applauds the efforts at a new style of music that adheres to traditional elements, but does not try to recapture an identical or “absolute” traditional performance. However, Euba also critiques of the lack of audience participation and collective creativity evident in Ugunde’s performances (a result of European influences). In contrast to traditional performance roles, the composer controls the artistic direction and production of the music dramas and their band. Rather than the open-ended style between the drummer and the dancers, the composer of new music drama discourages spontaneity by the other musicians. Ugunde’s efforts as a composer are frequently overshadowed by the more popular Yoruba music of today

Yoruba Dance

It is difficult to discuss dancing separate from drumming since the two function interdependently. As Harper (1969) succinctly states, “the fundamental formal element in all forms of dance in Nigeria is based on the close relationship between the rhythmic movement patterns of the dancer and the percussive rhythms of the accompanying music or song” (p. 290). In Nigerian traditional dance, the drummer leads the dancer in their movements and tempos, controlling the speed and style in which they dance. The dancer follows the beats of the drummer, but is not fully constrained by the drummer. The drummer may alter her or his beats to compliment the movements of the dancer. Both performers feed off the energy of their counterpart to produce the most emotional and dynamic presentation. However, scholars point out disparity between the two performances. "The essential difference is that while dance discourse is a process of metaphoric display of body and costume in space-time dimensions, drum-speaking relies on the phonic articulation of the phonemes of the spoken language in tone-time dimensions" (Nzewi, Anyahuru, & Ohiaraumunna, 2001, pp. 100-101). Each performance satisfies a separate element of the performance, but, like actors in a Western play, they rely on one another for the most effective presentation. In Yoruba traditional societies, dance is central to religious rituals. Harper (1969) explains the functions of traditional dance in Nigeria. “In Nigerian traditional societies dance is the vortex of religious ritual and ceremony: a priest or priestess is the leading dancer, using dance and symbolic gestures to lead initiates in dances designed to appease the supernatural powers, solicit divine protection, or give thanks to the guardian spirits of the community” (Harper, 1969, p. 280). These dancing and drumming celebrations are known as tambors. As this paper discusses, these religious practices are no longer as common in contemporary times. However, neo-traditional and contemporary Yoruba dancing continues to exhibit the traditional function and style of dancing. Dance is appreciated for its artistic manner, including the use of dance space, the tempo of movements, and the muscular energy of the movements. The form of the dance is important because it is directly related to its function in the ceremony (i.e. to demonstrate natural occurrences such as thunder, to beckon a deity, to praise another person through imitation, etc…). Different professional communities of Nigeria perform distinct dances to celebrate seasons and to reenact their respective work duties. For example, the farmers of the Arokogo sometimes dance during the day and imitating their work duties to pass the time. The Arokogo dance and music spurs farmers to work with more vigor. Dance also serves an important educational purpose, especially in regards to sex roles and proper behavior between sexes. The form of dance by the elder women of the tribe entertains the younger generations while simultaneously functioning to edify community values. At a Nigerian funeral, the men perform a dance called the Igogo. During the Igogo the men jump and stomp on the deceased’s grave to pack in the dirt. Its practical function does not take away from its symbolic meaning or intense emotional affect on those in attendance. During times of war, festivals and ceremonies use dancing to promote patriotism (by developing a sense of community and cultural pride) and discipline (by emphasizing dance movements reminiscent of earlier war maneuvers) (Harper, 1969, p. 281). These performances vary from region to region and between the sexes. The environments in which the people live heavily influence the different styles of dance. For example, the posture of dancers typically reflects the posture assumed during labor. People, who frequently squat to pick vegetables and other harvests, sit on low stool to build crafts, or frequently bend at the waist adopt a different posture than those who work primarily standing up. The posture of the dancer also reflects the people’s connection to the earth. Typically, dancers keep their feet grounded and their posture titled towards the earth. The dancer directs their body weight towards the ground. Men and women dance differently. Men's dance styles tend to show more mobility in the shoulders and arms and they stomp the ground with more energy. Women typically demonstrate more mobility in the lower body, quickly shifting their weight to create a “quivering” movement in the hips and buttocks (Harper, 1969). Dance and drumming function together to show collective creativity. Rather than emphasizing individual talent, the dancer and drummer express communal desires and values. The drumming represent an underlying linguistic text that guides the dancing performance, however, the majority of meaning comes from the nonverbal cues and metalanguage of the performers. The spontaneity of these performances creates the impression of an extemporaneous speech, which increases the feelings of empathy between the audience and performer. However, this characteristic should not be confused with improvisation, which emphasizes the individual and bolsters her or his ego. In contrast, the drummer's primary duty is to preserve the community. S/he mediates the audience and the performer interaction.

Yoruba Talking Drum

The unique function and sound of Yoruba drumming make it an essential element to study. The tonal nature of the Yoruba language contributes to the tonal emphasis of Yoruba drumming. While sound variation in many Western cultures serves primarily an aesthetic purpose, the sound and rhythm of the Yoruba language work with the language and are essential in the creation of meaning (Smith, 2001). The importance of tonality in the Yoruba language opens the possibilities for rhetorical and semantic word play. The father of the Yoruba novel, D.O. Fagunwa exemplifies the arbitrary differences between oral and written works. His prose compositions rely on tonal variations as equally as an oral presentation of a story. Fagunwa’s prose writing has inspired a “Fagunwa tradition” and style that many Yoruba authors attempt to reproduce. Smith (2001) suggests that Fagunwa’s prose is so dependent on the auditory senses that it can be classified as an oral performance (Smith, 2001). Emphasis on entertainment and edification, arousing emotions, and melodious structure constitute some of the elements required for performance.

The necessity of tone variation to create meaning extends to the musical instruments of the culture. Yoruba drums such as the bata and dundun drum imitate the tonal nature of the Yoruba language and function as a type of metaspeech in Yoruba rituals. The drumming can mimic the sounds of speech and indicate certain emotions through its rhythm and tonal variations. In religious ceremonies, the metaspeech function of the “talking drum” serves to excite the audience and increase the intensity of spiritual enlightenment (Nzewi, Anyahuru, & Ohiaraumunna, 2001).

Originally, African warriors used the “talking drum” to communicate during battle and warn fellow soldiers of approaching attacks. However, in the religious setting, the sounds of the drum connect the humans to the spiritual world. The beats operate on a higher and more spiritual level than capable by the human voice. Human linguistics fail to command the attention needed to contact the supernatural world. Outside of religious ceremonies, the Yoruba continue to value the drum for its melorhythm. Melorhythm is a term that brings attention to the melodic and rhythmic characteristics of the “talking drum” and stands in contrast to the western view of drums as percussion and non-tonal (Agawu, 2001). The poetic nature of drumming is useful for name-calling ceremonies, narration, and dramatic dialogue (Nzewi, Anyahuru, & Ohiaraumunna, 2001). The drums encode a lingual text in their beats and the meaning and rely on the cognitive awareness of the audience to interpret its message. The meaning of the drums change in each context, as the audience determines not only the length of the performance but also much of its content. There are no standard performances or a set duration of performance. There are, however, specific tunes or statements in each performance specific to certain drums. The master musician directs the performance, but does not control it autonomously (Nzewi, Anyahuru, & Ohiaraumunna, 2001).

The two main types of Yoruba “talking drums” are the dundun and the bata. The Yoruba name for the “talking drum” is dundun, which means "sweet sound." It is called the “talking drum” because its sound imitates the tonal quality of the Yoruba language. The dundun drum is a large double-ended, hourglass-shaped, bass drum that can be played either standing up or on its side. Its deeper, more powerful sound makes it useful for inciting an audience to higher state. The drumming performance at a Yoruba funeral serves as a good example of the tonal variation of the dundun. The drum speaks, "Le lu lu lu; le lu lu lu!” which simulates the sounds of a person weeping ( Nzewi, Anyahuru, & Ohiaraumunna, 2001).

Another type of drum, the bata, traces back 500-800 years and remains popular in Nigeria today. The Yoruba use the bata drum to worship Shango, an actual king in Yoruba history and the orisha thunder god. Its double membrane top cannot be tightened like the dundun membrane, which makes it difficult for the drummer to glide from one tone to another. It is therefore more difficult for the audience to understand. The bata drums are used to speak the Yoruba language, recite prayers, religious poetry, greetings, announcements, praises for leaders, and making jokes. The bata retains its popularity in Nigeria and is widely used in Cuba. Bata drums are still played today and are used almost strictly for religious or semi-religious events in Nigeria. The sacred drumming of the bata ensemble is comprised of five different drums. Gray (1999) describes a popular bata ensemble in Yoruba culture, “The bata ensemble here is made up of an Iya (mother), Ako (middle), Omele Abo (small female drum), Omele Ako (male small drum), and Eki (a double-headed drum similar in size to the Ako which is held vertically with the large heard up)” (p. 4).

Yoruba Dominate in Brazil,Cuba,Bahamas,Barbados

The Yoruba of West Africa

www.church-of-the-lukumi.org

The Yoruba of southwestern Nigeria are a prominent and highly influential cultural group in West Africa. Despite numerous political and social changes, the Yoruba continues to practice and perform a distinct cultural identity through music and dance.

Scholars frequently discuss the Western ethnocentric view of drama in relation to African ritualistic drama and dance (Agawu, 2001; Chinyowa, 2001; Harper, 1969; Motsa, 2001; Nesbitt, 2001; Sirayi, 2001). The circulation of Western theater affects not only an outsider view of African drama, but also permeates the study and perspective of African drama by its native people. Agawu (2001) summarizes this concern succinctly. “There is no greater threat to the life and vitality of African music scholarship than the universalizing of North American concerns and habits of thought” (p. 188). This website attempts to present a less biased perspective of Yoruba performance.

Like all cultures, the Yoruba culture has undergone many changes and influxes throughout its history. Waterman (1990) entreats contemporary scholars to stop critiquing contemporary Yoruba performances through a traditional lens and to eschew “the temptation to read contemporary categories into the past” (p. 368). Waterman asserts that contemporary Yoruba performance is not a replica of traditional Yoruba rituals, nor should it be, but that they still adhere to many of the traditional practices. He claims there are repercussions of scholars adopting this view and wish to distinguish between the “invented traditions” and “stereotypic reproduction” in which scholars look for themes of tradition that may or may not have truly existed, but effect our perception of contemporary practices (Waterman, 1990, p. 377).

Therefore, this website investigates two elements of Yoruba performance, dancing and drumming. The website compares traditional and contemporary styles to better understand these techniques that have been considered essential to the Yoruba people across time.

Yoruba Greeting and Custom

In the world today Yoruba is among the first Tribe that has respect and good characters and attitude
Yoruba ladies are the one of best for home material


Yoruba has the highest chracters fellow by India and other Asia Continents

Eg
If someone use at least 1 day to senior you in Age in yoruba tribe you must call Him or She Uncle or Aunty

Eg Uncle Sam correct
Eg Sam Not correct

If a Yoruba man wanted to greet his Father or Mother or any elderly person in the family you must remove your cap and Positrate on the floor

If a Yoruba lady wanted to greet his Father or Mother or any elderly person in the family she must Knee Down on the floor

And if Yoruba woman want to give his husband something she much blend down or knee down

As a Yorubas if you notice someone senior you,you must not be the first to ask for hand shake

Yoruba are one of the first who has meaning for everything of nature and names and translation of Oracle,

Yoruba believe much in proverb and they are like camelon,genius sometimes they play a game like green snake under the grass..

Yoruba believe much in ORACLE words...that is the reason Yoruba Tribe cannot just give someone a name without reason...the name must have a reason

Learn Yoruba

To learn Yoruba best link ever http://www.learnyoruba.com/

Yoruba Alphabet

The Yorùbá Alphabet

A B D E E̩ F G GB H I J K L M N O O̩ P R S S̩ T U W Y

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An Example of the Yorùbá Language

Ò̩nà tí o ro̩rùn latifi kó̩ pípe ò̩rò̩ pè̩lú àwo̩n àmì yìí ni tí a báfí wé dídún-un mé̩ta nínú àwo̩n ohún tí a ńfi dùrù tàbí pianó tè̩. Àwo̩n ohùn nàá ni

dò rē mí.

Akì í sábà fi àmi àárín (-) sori ò̩rò̩ àfi lé̩è̩kò̩ò̩kan lórí i n̄ tabi m̄.

---

Translation: The easy way to learn how to pronounce words with these accent marks is to compare them with three of the tones played on the organ or piano. These are:

do re mi

The middle tone mark is rarely placed on letters of the alphabet except occasionally on n and m.

Yoruba Name and meaning

Common Yoruba Names
damilola
yinka
bose
bosede

gbenga
kolawole
kolade
kole
bimbo
muyiwa
Kola
Seun
tosin
fadeke
folake
sewa
Tola
Bunmi
Segun
Tope
Ola
Tunji
Kemi
Biola
Bola
Bimbo
Toyin
Akin
Ade
tunde
Ikudasi
Sango
Oya
Ibijola
Mayokun
Funmilayo
Funmilola
Babatunde
Idowu
taiye
kehide
Alaba
Idowu
Idogbe
Abeni
Akande
Akani
Adebayo
Adekola
Kolade
Kole
owolabi
lolade
eluwole
Ogun
Obafemi
Wole
soyinka
Dele
Ayo
Wale
Tobi
keke
bolale

http://www.20000-names.com/male_african_names.htm

http://www.20000-names.com/female_african_names.htm

Yoruba Dictionary

Yoruba Dictionary is the first Dictionary in Africa get translated from English to Yoruba and others Yoruba words and meaning

Yoruba Bible

Yoruba Bible happen to be this first bible in Africa to get translated from English to Yoruba by Samuel Ajayi

Yoruba Foods

Yoruba are the right owner of those food below
AKARA,
AMALA,
EGUSI,
EWEDU
EFO
ERU
OLE
MoinMoin
Eba,
ikokore
Eko
Iyan
Gari
ओगी
कोकोरो
अदलु
http://www.motherlandnigeria.com/food.हटमल
चेक मोरे online

Most of this food are well know Gambia,FreeTown,Benin,Barbados,Bahamas

Yoruba Tribe in Ghana,Freetown,Liberia

Some tribe speak little of Yoruba in Ghana,Freetown,Liberia

Yoruba in Gambia

Some of Gambia tribe speak little of Yoruba and bears some of Yoruba names,Yoruba Love Gambia so much,the tribe that speak Yoruba in Gambia called Aku...


Yoruba didnt only cant themselves as a tribe in Gambia,Yoruba believe we all Africa are from one source..


Yoruba in Gambia make sure to abide with Gambia Rules,Yoruba in Gambia make sure they look forward to Gambia Industrial,School,Law,Business,and religious Activities..

Yoruba Count Gambia, Togo, Bahamas,Barbados,Freetown,..
Yoruba spread Good names to all country name Above

Most Yoruba are very careful when its comes to protect their name
Most Yoruba dont like looking for money from any source without reason the result
Most Yoruba like studying
Most Yoruba like womanizing
Most Yoruba are kind,Honest,
Most Yoruba mind their business
Most Yoruba are too proud
Most Yoruba find it difficult to help their fellows Yoruba in others nations
Yoruba brought brightness to All African nation

Yoruba Information

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,The Gambia, freetown,Kotonu. 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 people that speak a common language, Yoruba, which belongs to the Kwa group of the Niger-Congo linguistic family, and it has about 12 dialects

Yoruba Information

Location:	Southwestern Nigeria, Bénin
Population:	10 million
Language:	Yoruba (Kwa)
Neighboring Peoples:	Fon, Igbo, Igala, Idoma
Types of Art:	The arts of the Yoruba are as numerous as their deities, and many objects are placed on shrines to honor the gods and the ancestors. Beautiful sculpture abounds in wood and brass and the occasional terracotta. Varied masking traditions have resulted in a great diversity of mask forms. Additional important arts include pottery, weaving, beadworking and metalsmithing.
History:	The oral history of the Yoruba describes an origin myth, which tells of God lowering a chain at Ile-Ife, down which came Oduduwa, the ancestor of all people, bringing with him a cock, some earth, and a palm kernel. The earth was thrown into the water, the cocked scratched it to become land, and the kernel grew into a tree with sixteen limbs, representing the original sixteen kingdoms. The empire of Oyo arose at the end of the 15th century aided by Portuguese guns. Expansion of the kingdom is associated with the acquisition of the horse. At the end of the 18th century civil war broke out at Oyo, the rebels called for assistance to the Fulani, but the latter ended up conquering all of Oyo by the 1830s. The Fulani invasion pushed many Yoruba to the south where the towns of Ibadan and Abeokuta were founded. In the late 1880s, with the help of a British mediator, a treaty was signed between the various warring factions. Yorubaland was officially colonized by the British in 1901, but a system of indirect rule was established that mimicked the structure of Yoruba governance.
Economy:	Historically, the Yoruba were primarily farmers, growing cocoa and yams as cash crops. These are planted in a three-year rotational system, alternating with cassava and a year of diverse crops including maize, peanuts, cotton, and beans. At the end of this three-year cycle the land is left fallow, sometimes for seven years. It is estimated that at one time nearly 70 percent of people participated in agriculture and ten percent each working as crafts people and traders within the towns. Yorubaland is characterized by numerous densely populated urban centers with surrounding fields for farming. The centralization of wealth within cities allowed for the development of a complex market economy which encouraged extensive patronage of the arts.
Political Systems:	The political and social systems vary greatly in different regions, and allegiance is uniformly paid to the large urban center in the area, rather than to a singular centralized authority. Each town has a leader (Oba), who may achieve his position in several different ways including inheritance, gaining the position through participation in title associations, or being personally selected by an Oba already in power. Every Oba, however, is considered to be a direct descendant of the founding Oba in each city. A council of chiefs usually assists the Oba in his decisions. Title associations, such as the ogboni, play an important role in assigning and balancing power within the cities.
Religion:	The Yoruba claim that they have 401 deities; in truth, there are more than these. The complexity of their cosmology has led Western scholars to compare them to the Ancient Greeks and their impressive pantheon. Yoruba deities are known as orisha, and the high god is Olorun. No organized priesthoods or shrines exist in honor of Olorun, but his spirit is invoked to ask for blessings and to confer thanks. The Yoruba believe that when they die they enter the realm of the ancestors where they still have influence on earth. Annual homage is paid to the grave sites of ones' forbears, and lineage heads are responsible for honoring all deceased members of the lineage through a yearly sacrifice. Maskers (egungun) appear at funerals and are believed to embody the spirit of the deceased person. Other important orishas include Eshu, the trickster; Shango, the god of thunder; and Ogun, the god of iron and modern technology.