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Home , Babalawo, Egungun, Oduduwa, Trinidad Orisha, Yorubaland

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Open Educational Resources Borough of Manhattan Community College

2021

AFN 121 Yoruba Tradition and Culture

Remi Alapo CUNY Borough of Manhattan Community College

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This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] Presented as part of the discussion on West about the instructor’s Heritage in the AFN 121 course History of African Civilizations on April 20, 2021.

Yoruba Tradition and Culture

Prof. Remi Alapo Department of Ethnic and Race Studies Borough of Manhattan Community College [BMCC]. Questions / Comments: [email protected] AFN 121 - History of African Civilizations (Same as HIS 121) Description This course examines African "civilizations" from early antiquity to the decline of the West African Empire of Songhay. Through readings, lectures, discussions and videos, students will be introduced to the major themes and patterns that characterize the various African settlements, states, and empires of antiquity to the close of the seventeenth century. The course explores the wide range of social and cultural as well as technological and economic change in Africa, and interweaves African agricultural, social, political, cultural, technological, and economic history in relation to developments in the rest of the world, in addition to analyzing factors that influenced daily life such as the lens of ecology, food production, disease, social organization and relationships, culture and spiritual practice. This course will help to build a well-rounded knowledge base and understanding of the roles of Africa's peoples in human history.

Enrollment Requirements: Prerequisite: ENG 88/ESL 94 or higher AND ACR 94 or higher. Requirement Designation: Flexible Core - World Cultures & Global Issues. Credits 3

• AFN 121 - History of African Civilizations (Same as HIS 121) at Borough of Manhattan Community College (CUNY) | Coursicle BMCC • Oluremi Alapo at Borough of Manhattan Community College (CUNY) | Coursicle BMCC WHO ARE THE YORUBAS? INTRODUCTION

• The Yorubas are one of the largest African ethnic groups south of the Desert.

• They are, in fact, not a single group, but rather a collection of diverse people bound together by a common language, history, and culture.

• Within , the Yorubas dominate the western part of the country.

• Yoruba mythology holds that all descended from a hero called “Odua” or “”.

• Today there are over fifty individuals who claim kingship as descendants of Oduduwa. ODUDUWA (ODU’A) The father of • Image 1: Bronze head of Ooni of . Ooni – King / custodian of traditions.

• Image 2: Ooni of Ile Ife – current King (custodian).

• The Yoruba language belongs to the Congo-Kordofanian language family. Yoruba has many dialects, but its speakers can all understand each other.

• Yoruba is a tonal language. The same combination of vowels and consonants has different meanings depending on the pitch of the vowels (whether they are pronounced with a high voice or a low voice).

• For example, the same word, aro, can mean cymbal, indigo dye, lamentation, and granary, depending on intonation.

• Pele o is "Hello"; • Bawo ni? is "How are you?"; • Dada ni is "Fine, thank you." Tribal Marks = Cultural Identity Examples of Yoruba Traditional Clothes

Masquerade Festival from my hometown:

Ogbomosho City https://www.britannica.com/place/Ogbomosho

(69) OGBOMOSO YORUBA MASQUERADE FESTIVAL ( OLUKOTUN) – YouTube The Yoruba “IFA ASORO DAYO” [Ifa the sayer of all good things] Influence on Modern Traditions

• Although it's most commonly found in the western part of Africa, in countries like Nigeria, , and , for the past several decades, has also been making its way to the United States, where it is resonating with many Black Americans.

• Many people find themselves drawn to Yoruba because it offers them a chance to connect to a spiritual heritage that predates colonization and the Transatlantic slave trade.

• In addition, Yoruba has had significant influence on other systems that are considered a part of the African diaspora. African traditional like Santeria, Candomble, and all can trace many of their roots back to the beliefs and practices of Yorubaland.

• In , enslaved Yoruba brought their traditions with them, syncretized them with the Catholicism of their owners, and formed the religion, which blends African and beings with Catholic and indigenous concepts of ancestral spirits.

[Wiggington, 2019] The Yoruba religion [and The Science of Ifa] IFA: Astronomy IFA: Anatomy IFA: / Consciousness Women Empowerment / Respect • During the four centuries of the slave trade, Yoruba territory was known as the Slave Coast.

• Uncounted numbers of Yoruba were carried to the . Their descendants preserved Yoruba traditions.

• In several parts of the and , Yoruba religion has been combined with . Key Takeaways: Yoruba Religion: “ASHE”

• The Yoruba religion includes the concept of ”Ashe”, a powerful life force possessed by humans and divine beings alike; Ashe is the energy found in all natural things.

• Much like the Catholic saints, the Yoruba orishas work as the intermediaries between man and the supreme creator, and the rest of the divine world.

• Yoruba religious celebrations have a social purpose; they promote cultural values and help to preserve the rich heritage of the people who follow them.

[Wiggington, 2019] Oyotunji Village, Sheldon, South Carolina Kingdom of the Yoruba People in Founded in 1970

HRM. ADEGBOLU ADEFUNMI II http://www.oyotunji.org/ References: selected reading

• A : J D Fage - KEVIN SHILLINGTON - Google Books • “A” History of 1000-1800 - Volume 2. • Basil Davidson, Jacob F. Ade Ajayi · 1977 • Bascom, William. The Yoruba of Southwestern Nigeria . Prospect Heights, Ill.: Waveland Press, 1984. • Blog: Teaching - Orisha (babalawoweb.com) • Blog: (99) Understanding Ifa and Yoruba Tradition by Oluwo Jogbodo Orunmila - YouTube • Blog: Yoruba Religion: History and Beliefs by Patti Wigington November 29, 2019. • Fage, John D. and McCaskie, T.C.. "Western Africa". Encyclopedia Britannica, 6 Oct. 2020, https://www.britannica.com/place/western-Africa. Accessed 30 April 2021. • Hetfield, Jamie. The Yoruba of West Africa. New York: Rosen Publishing Group, 1996. • History of Africa by Kevin Shillington (2018, Trade Paperback) • J. F. Ade Ajayi, Michael Crowder · 1976 · • Koslow, Philip. Yorubaland: The Flowering of Genius. Kingdoms of Africa. New York: Chelsea House, 1996. • The History of West Africa at a Glance | Cultures of West Africa • West Africa before the Colonial Era: A History to 1850. Basil Davidson · 2014 • West African Civilizations ch15_2.pdf (sps186.org) References: Selected Videos

• African Empires - (97) African Empires – YouTube

• African Pantheons and the Orishas: Crash Course World Mythology #11: (99) African Pantheons and the Orishas: Crash Course World Mythology #11 - YouTube • Cheikh Anta Diop: THE AFRICAN ORGIN - (97) Cheikh Anta Diop: THE AFRICAN ORGIN – YouTube • (69) Ifa: Mystery or Science? Yoruba documentary by Tunde Kelani - 1 – YouTube • (69) Ifa: Mystery or Science? Yoruba documentary by Tunde Kelani - 2 – YouTube • Lost kingdoms of West Africa: • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QW_kaUuUg8Y&t=14s • Ilẹ Oduduwa by Laji Abass host: Itan Yoruba - (99) Ilẹ Oduduwa - YouTube • Orisun Yoruba - Latest Yoruba 2018 History By Amb. Olayinka J. Adesina (99) Orisun Yoruba - Latest Yoruba 2018 History By Amb. Olayinka J. Adesina - YouTube • The Yoruba from Prehistory to the Present: (99) FULL Yoruba History & Culture Photo Documentary - YouTube • The Yorubas - History of Yoruba I Yorubas, Bigger than Africa: (99) The Yorubas - History of Yoruba I Yorubas, Bigger than Africa - YouTube • The Songhai Empire - Africa's Age of Gold - (97) 7. The Songhai Empire - Africa's Age of Gold - YouTube • Video: (97) AFRICA Episode 1 Different but Equal Written & Presented by Basil Davidson Executive Producer – YouTube • Yoruba civilization: Ile-Ife through Centuries: (99) Yoruba civilisation: Ile-Ife through Centuries - YouTube Select Resources on Yoruba Arts and Musical Expressions

• Art in Ancient Ife, Birthplace of the Yoruba by Suzanne Preston Blier https://scholar.harvard.edu/files/blier/files/blier.pdf

• N. Babátúndé Yussuf & O. Oladipo Olúbòmęhìn (2018) Traditional Music and the Expression of Yoruba Socio-cultural Values: A Historical Analysis, Muziki, 15:2, 61-74, DOI: 10.1080/18125980.2018.1554980

• (69) OGBOMOSO YORUBA MASQUERADE FESTIVAL (EGUNGUN OLUKOTUN) – YouTube

• Yoruba - Art & Life in Africa - The University of Iowa Stanley Museum of Art (uiowa.edu)