Oral history recorded under the Oyo Empire derives the Yoruba as an ethnic group from the population of the older kingdom of Ile-Ife. The Yoruba were the dominant cultural force in southern Nigeria as far back as the 11th century. The Yoruba are among the most urbanized people in Africa. Yorubas originated from Ile-Ife, arose and became quite popular by their trading with the Portuguese, which gave them a large supply of guns.
However, they were unable to push back the Fulani who invaded them and pushed much of the Yoruba to the south.
In the late 1800s, the Yorubas formed a treaty with the Fulani and in 1901 they were colonised by the British. Because of their enmity with the Fulani who are the great Islamic evangelists, most of the Yoruba people do not hold to Islam but instead worship many of the gods and spirits that the Yoruba hold to.
Economically, Yoruba people primarily engage in agriculture, with about 15% of the people employed as merchants or artists and craftsman.
One of the features that make Yoruba people unique is their tendency to form into large city groups instead of small village groups. The Yorubas are today one of the three main ethnic groups that make up Nigeria. They can also be found in neighbouring countries.
MAJOR TOWN IN YORUBA LAND
Traditionally, the Yorubas organised themselves into networks of related villages, towns and kingdoms; with most of them headed by an Oba (King) or Baale (a nobleman or mayor). Major Yoruba cities and towns include Ile-Ife, Ibadan, Lagos, Ijebu Ode, Abeokuta, Akure, Ilorin, Ijebu-Igbo, Ogbomosho, Ondo, Badagry, Ado-Ekiti, Osogbo, Ilesa, Oyo, Owo, Kabba, Offa, Ilesa, Ilobu, Ede etc. There are other Yoruba cities and towns such as Ketu, Sabe, Dassa and others in Republic of Benin.
There are other towns and cities with historical affiliation with the Yoruba people because they share one or more similarities together. Some of these cities and towns are Benin city, Warri, Auchi, Okene etc.
CULTURE
The Yoruba people take their culture seriously; greetings form an important part of daily life. While greetings are exchanged, it is important for the people to smile; and when asked about the wellbeing of someone, time is given to respond as this is considered to be polite. The Yorubas greet their elders with a lot of respect, the boys prostrate to greet their elders, while their female counterparts greet by kneeling on one or two knees depending on the tribe.
These people also have a very rich cultural background; there are different forms of dance, arts, music, dressing and philosophy. Proverbs and adages form an important part of everyday language, and are used extensively in all forms of communication. Music is also very important, and can be used as a form of communication. The talking drum is often as a means of communicating in old times and is still used presently.
The Yoruba dressing is usually made up of brightly coloured dresses with hats and shoes matching in colour. The females dress up mainly with a head tie known as “Gele”, and a long wrapper with a short-armed top. The males normally wear a long-dress in the form of a shirt almost touching the knees or even the ankles; a matching trouser often accompanies this and a hat.
I hope you enjoy reading it? Am proudly Yoruba guy.
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