Yoruba

[Tukuler al~Takruri]

I have it that Yoruba is a term the Hausa gave to Oyo or Kwara when they
incorporated it into their Bakwai Banza. The related dominant ethny of the
kingdoms labeled "Yoruba" actually refer to themselves as the children of
Oduduwa. Oduduwa had 16 children. [The mythology varies as the Yoruba
are a diverse people. In some kingdom's mythology Odudua is female.]
They called their language Anago.


Yoruba (and other closely related) spiritual systems was transported to the
western hemisphere during the transAtlantic slave trade. In Cuba they became
known as Lacumi or Lucumi practicing Santeria. In northeast and southern
Brazil they are Nago, a term first bestowed to them in Africa by the Fon. In
Trinidad they profess the Chango religion. In South Carolina USA there is
the Oyotunji.

[Tukuler al~Takruri]

A partial Yoruba pantheon
Oludamare (supreme being)
Olurun alias

Eshu (go between)
Elegba alias
Elegua alias

Obatala (secondary creator)
Orinshala (sky)
Odudua (earth)

Ogun (metals, war - deified ancestor)

Shango (thunder - deified ancestor)
Oya (storm as in hurricane, river Niger - Shango's wifey)
Oshun (freshwater, sex)

Yemanya (freshwater, love)

Shokpona (plague, disease)

[Tukuler al~Takruri]

Some words and names in the Yoruba language
aja ile ceiling
dudu black
funfun white
ile house
ilekun door
ilenle floor
oba king
obo vagina
oku penis
omi water
oni king
ori head
ounje food
pupa red
sha owner
tala whiteness

Babatunde father returns
Obaluaé (an orisha) king of the earth
Yemanya (an orisha) mother of the fishes
Yetunde mother returns



Numerals from one to ten
ení
èjì
è.ta
è.rin
àrún
è.fà
èje
è.jo.
è.sán
è.wá



Body parts
irun hair
ori head
oju eyes
imu nose
enu mouth
eyin teeth
ahon tongue
eti ears
apa arm
owo hand
ika owo finger
ekanna nail
ikun stomach
ese leg
ese foot
omo-ese toe



Yoruba is a tonal language meaning that a word's sense depends on pitch.
For instance the word igba has meanings varying from dependence on a
rise or fall of voice;
* time, period (both syllables low
* two hundred
* calabash cut in half (last syllable high
* locust tree (first syllable low last syllable high
* system of pawning (last syllable low
All this made for the possibility of the invention of the talking drum (an
hourglass shaped double membraned drum with the membranes linked
by torsion cords allowing a range of tones corresponding to speech to
be reproduced).

[Tukuler al~Takruri]

The two most common origin stories

Oduduwa is the legendary progenitor of the Yoruba. There are two variants of the story of how he achieved this feat. The first is cosmogonic, the second, political. The cosmogonic version also has two variants.

According to the first variant of the cosmogonic myth, Orisanla (Obatala) was the arch-divinity who was chosen by Olodumare, the supreme deity to create a solid land out of the primordial water that constituted the earth and of populating the land with human beings. He descended from heaven on a chain, carrying a small snail shell full of earth, palm kernels and a five-toed chicken. He was to empty the content of the snail shell on the water after placing some pieces of iron on it, and then to place the chicken on the earth to spread it over the promirdial water. According to the first version of the story, Obatala completed this task to the satisfaction of Olodumare. He was then given the task of making the physical body of human beings after which Olodumare will give them the breath of life. He also completed this task and this is why he has the title of "obarisa" the king of orisas.

The other variant of the cosmogonic myth does not credit Obatala with the completion of the task. While it concedes that Obatala was given the task, it avers that Obatala got drunk even before he got to the earth and he was unable to do the job. Olodumare got worried when he did not return on time, and he had to send Oduduwa to find out what was going on. When Oduduwa found Obatala drunk, he simply took over the task and completed it. He created land. The spot on which he landed from heaven and which he redeemed from water to become land is called Ile-Ife and is now considered the sacred and spiritual home of the Yoruba. Obatala was embarrased when he woke up and, due to this experience, he made it a taboo for any of his devotees to drink palm wine. Olodumare forgave him and gave him the responsibility of moulding the physical bodies of human beings. The making of land is a symbolic reference to the founding of the Yoruba kingdoms and this is why Oduduwa is credited with that achievement.

based on
Bolaji Idowu
Olodumare: God In Yoruba Belief
Longman: Nigeria 1962

According to the second version of the myth, however, there was a pre-existing civilization at Ile-Ife prior to its invasion by a group led by Oduduwa. This group came from the east, where Oduduwa and his group had been persecuted on the basis of religious differences. They came to Ile-Ife and fought and conquered the pre-existing Igbo (unrelated to the present Igbo) inhabitants led by Oreluere. Obviously, there is a connection between the two versions of the story. The political one may be the authentic story of the founding of Ife kingdom through conquest. However, the myth of creation lends it a legitimacy that is denied by the conquest story; just as it appears that it is lent some credence by the fact that, as a result of the embarrassment it caused their deity, the followers of Obatala are forbidden from taking palm wine. Indeed the second version of the cosmogonic myth also appears to foreshadow the political variant. The claim that Obatala got drunk and the task of creation had to be performed by Oduduwa already has some political coloration which is now explicit in the political version of the tradition.

Segun Gbadegesin, Ph.D
ASPECTS OF YORUBA ORAL TRADITION
Isokan Yoruba Magazine V3 n3 1997

[truthteacher2007]

Well this is a coincidence. I just got home from an Ocha clebration. Actually the Ocha was made yeterday, today was the drumming. It was really intense. I'll take a look at all the information you posted in a few hours, my feet are killing me!

[tweet]

Here is Celia Cruz singing in Yoruba. The second half of this song:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4pyJ9Df27E

I will try to find the translation

[imhotep06]

Aug 22, 2010 11:33:06 GMT -5 Tukuler al~Takruri said:

I have it that Yoruba is a term the Hausa gave to Oyo or Kwara when they
incorporated it into their Bakwai Banza. The related dominant ethny of the
kingdoms labeled "Yoruba" actually refer to themselves as the children of
Oduduwa. Oduduwa had 16 children. [The mythology varies as the Yoruba
are a diverse people. In some kingdom's mythology Odudua is female.]
They called their language Anago.


Yoruba (and other closely related) spiritual systems was transported to the
western hemisphere during the transAtlantic slave trade. In Cuba they became
known as Lacumi or Lucumi practicing Santeria. In northeast and southern
Brazil they are Nago, a term first bestowed to them in Africa by the Fon. In
Trinidad they profess the Chango religion. In South Carolina USA there is
the Oyotunji.

I've heard so many stories as to the origins of the word Yoruba that they all seem like folk etymology. One has to understand that the "Yoruba" are a confederation of smaller ethnic groups. An elder from Ile Ife told me (and I've seen this in a couple of books as well) that their name was Igbo. The name Yoruba allegedly coming from OYO + RUBA.

Modupe Oduyoye posits that the Yoruba are indeed Kushites. The placename of KOSO could indeed by Kush (k3s in ciKam). He posits that the word Yoruba is a variation of the following:

Hebrew = 'ereb
Greek = Ereb-os, Europa
Arabic = ma-gereb

This explanation pinpoints three lands toward the ma-'erab
the regions of sunset and dark night" westward from the land of Canaan. It is the Kushites who migrated westward who established their kingdom in Koso.