The Yoruba are one of the biggest ethnic groups in Nigeria. Their main inhabitants are in Nigeria but they can be found in several parts of West Africa including countries like Benin and Togo......See Full Story>>.....See Full Story>>
Yoruba are found in the southwest region of Nigeria and constitute more than 20 million at the turn of the 21st century.
The Yoruba have traditionally been among the most skilled and productive craftsmen in Africa. They worked as traders, blacksmiths, weavers, leatherworkers, glassmakers, and ivory and wood carvers. In the 13th and 14th centuries, Yoruba bronze casting using the lost-wax (cire perdue) method reached a peak of technical excellence never subsequently equaled in Western Africa. Yoruba women engage in cotton spinning and basketry.
Below are a few facts about the Yoruba
1. The Yorubas are said to have sprung from Lamurudu, one of the kings of Mecca, whose offspring were Oduduwa, the ancestor of the Yorubas, the Kings of Gogobiri, and the Kukawa, two tribes in the Hausa country.
2. This kingdom was founded by the deity Oduduwa, who is believed to have created the world. Oduduwa was the first divine king of the Yoruba people. The Yoruba people believe that their civilization began at Ile-Ife, where the gods descended to earth.
3. The Yoruba migration tradition regarding Oduduwa is a view according to which Oduduwa originated from Mecca through his biological father Lamurudu, who was a king in Mecca (Folorunso 2003:87). Oduduwa, then a prince, came to Nigeria together with his two children.
4. They formed numerous kingdoms of various sizes, each of which was centered on a capital city or town and ruled by a hereditary king, or oba. Their towns became densely populated and eventually grew into the present-day cities of Oyo, Ile-Ife, Ilesha, Ibadan, Ilorin, Ijebu-Ode, Ikere-Ekiti, and others.
5. Ile Ife, also known as Ife, is an ancient Yoruba city in the southwestern part of Nigeria. Ile Ife is said to be dated back around 500 B.C. when it was founded and is the oldest Yoruba city.
6. Oduduwa was not only the first ruler of a unified Ife, but also the progenitor of various independent royal dynasties in Yorubaland, and is today venerated as “the hero, the warrior, the leader, and father of the Yoruba race”.
7. Olorun (Yoruba alphabet: Ọlọrun) is the ruler of (or in) the Heavens in the Yoruba religion. The Supreme God or Supreme Being in the Yoruba pantheon, Olorun is also called Olodumare (Yoruba alphabet: Olódùmarè). In Yoruba culture, Ọlọrun is credited with creating the universe and all living things.
8. Shango, the deity of thunder and lightning, is the most powerful Yoruba god after Obatala; he was the second to emerge from Yemaja’s corpse.
9. The British Empire gradually colonized Yorubaland during the 19th century. In 1892, the British declared war on the Ijebu Kingdom in response to its barriers on trade.
10. Some modern historians of Yoruba descent insist that the Yoruba originated from Egypt.
11. Yemonja, also spelled Yemoja or Yemaja, is a Yoruban deity celebrated as the giver of life and as the metaphysical mother of all orisha (deities) within the Yoruba spiritual pantheon.
12. Ohere Gbe of Ilesa (1822-July 29, 1910; born Òrìṣàráyíbí Ògúndàmọ́lá), also known as Sàráíbí Agbógungbọ́rọ̀, Ògèdèngbé Agbógungbọ́rọ̀, or Ògèdèngbé Agbógun Gbórò, was a Yoruba chief and warrior in Yorubaland, part of present-day Nigeria, who served as the Seriki (commander-in-chief) during the Kiriji War (1877-1893) …
13. Egún is the Yoruba word for “ancestors.” Egún in a slightly different Yoruba tone also means “bones.” This Yoruba word and its double meaning connect ancestors to the bones of the human body, emphasizing the interconnectedness between ancestors and living descendants.
14. Is there a female king in Yoruba land?
The first and only female to reign as a king in Ife is known as Ooni Luwoo Gbagidi. She reigned as the 21st Ooni of Ife and also the most predominant supreme ruler of Yoruba land.
15. Yorubas are known as the most hospitable people in Africa.