Yoruba
Description
The Yoruba-speaking peoples live primarily in southwestern Nigeria, the Republic of Benin, Togo, and even as far west as Ghana, Sierra Leone, Upper Volta, and Ivory Coast. Historically, the trans-Atlantic Diaspora took Yoruba and their descendants to Sierra Leone, Brazil, Cuba, Trinidad, Haiti, and other parts of the Americas. Today there are 60 million Yoruba on the African continent and in the New World. Yoruba is a name which encompasses numerous pre-colonial groups, all of whom spoke various dialects (some almost unintelligible to one another) of the same language, and shared common cultural and social practices. The pre-colonial practice for which they are most famous, according to the Encyclopedia Brittanica (1978), was that they were the most urbanized Africans of pre-colonial times. Yoruba are also famous for their sculpturesome prized bronze and terracotta figures dating back 1,000 years.
Many African-Americans re-connect with their African ancestry through Yoruba culture. That explains the presence of the Oyotunji Yoruba village in South Carolina or the annual Odunde Festival in Philadelphia. American popular culture also looks to Yoruba aesthetics for inspiration. For instance, Arrested Development, a hip-hop group, always features Baba Oje, a Yoruba-derived grandfather figure who sits on a rocking chair during live stage performances.
The resiliency of Yoruba culture is found in religious expression, as in the Santeria in Cuba (and North American cities where Cuban Migrants have established homes), in the Candomble of Brazil and in Shango of Trinidad. It is found in the music of Felo Anikulapo Kuti of Nigeria, Gilberto Gil of Brazil, and Merceditas Valdez of Cuba. It is found in the pacific nature of basketball NBA star Akeem Olajuwon and the richness of the writings of Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka.
(Source: African Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania)
Instructor
Dr. Yiwola Awoyale
Email
awoyale@ldc.upenn.edu