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.