A History Of The Yoruba People

What up African world, it's Hometeam here and I'm back at it with another video of African history, culture, and worldview. And welcome back to my series, A Closer Look. Today, we're going to take a closer look at the Yoruba people. And as always, if you want to support the Hometeam, you can do so on patreon.com. You'll have access to live streams where I discuss various topics, talk about sources, and much more. And I have some new rewards for you guys. Also, go to Afrographics.com, a website where you can find unique illustrative infographics, summarizing African history. All links to Patreon, Afrographics, and Hometeam merchandise are in the description box below. The Yoruba people are one of the most popular ethnic groups in all of Africa. They're said to constitute about 44 million people, which makes them one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa. They're primarily located in southwestern Nigeria and parts of Benin. The legendary Yoruba city, Eleife, is regarded by an overwhelming majority to be the source and the heart of the Yoruba nation. This fact, coupled with its impressive culture, as demonstrated by its famous brass, stone, and clay sculptures, placed it in a position of preeminence among the Yoruba peoples. The belief that Odudua, or Odua, was the first king at Eleife, and that he was the father of the founding princes of other Yoruba kingdoms, has inspired the description of the Yoruba as the Omo-Odua, or offspring of Odua. This would partially explain why Yoruba history, culture, and religion have centered on Eleife. The origins of the Yoruba people are shrouded in mystery. However, three clear narratives are discernible from several versions. The first is from the Yoruba oral tradition and creation myth. The god Olorun, or Sky God, let down a chain at Eleife, by which Odudua, the progenitor of the Yoruba people, and indeed of all men, descended, carrying a rooster, some earth, and a palm kernel. Odudua threw the earth into the waters and the rooster scratched it to become land, out of which grew the palm tree with 16 branches, representing the 16 original kingdoms. Keep in mind that there are several versions of this myth. Also, every Yoruba town, lineage, and deity has its own myth of origin. Yet, in all of them, Eleife is regarded as the spiritual center. The second narrative of origin has it that the Yoruba are descended from the offspring of Lemurudu, or Nimrod, of the biblical and Near Eastern legend, who had been banished and finally settled in present-day Yorubaland. Thus, some trace the origins of the Yoruba all the way back to ancient Mesopotamia, Uruk, or Babylon. A final narrative of origin has the Yoruba present in their modern homeland from as early as 10,000 BC. According to Robert Smith in his work, Kingdoms of the Yoruba, archaeological digs have confirmed the existence of a human population in the Adenware area of Yorubaland since prehistoric times. The Yoruba are deeply religious people. Their pantheon of deities, called the Orishas, are rivaled only by now valley civilization. The Yoruba religion is centered around an all-powerful creator god, which predates Christianity, the religion of many Yorubas today. They believe in the existence of a universal god called Olodomer or Olorun. It is through him that life is possible. In addition to Olodomer, there are other gods known as the Orisha. Some of the most popular of these deities being Shango and Oshun. Shango is the god of thunder and lightning and the greatest Yoruba warrior. His weapon of choice is the double axe. Oshun, one of the wives of Shango, was the deity of the river, pleasure, sexuality, fertility, beauty, and love. Oshun is of great popularity and significance among Afro-descended women across the world. Even Beyonce portrayed Oshun in her music video Hold Up. In that video, she wears a flowing yellow dress emerging behind two large golden doors amid a wave of fresh flowing water. Today, half of the Yoruba population practices their traditional religion while the others practice either Christianity or Islam. One of the historical figures in Yoruba history was a female heroine called Moremi. Moremi was the wife of the then king of Elaife, Obolara, who volunteered to be captured by enemy forces so that she could reveal the secrets of the evil invaders who camouflaged themselves. Legend has it that the Ebo, the Yoruba's neighbors, routinely raided Elaife in desperation for food and women. The king, being helpless to stop these raids, was maligned by his subjects. This led Moremi to volunteer to be captured by the Ebo's and very soon, she became the favorite wife of the Ebo king. In the heat of passion, the Ebo king revealed the secrets of his attacks on Elaife to Moremi, after which she escaped and went back to Obolara, her husband, who then organized his men to ward off the annual Ebo attacks. Before Moremi left, she had promised the gods a sacrifice upon her successful return to Elaife, but unfortunately, the gods demanded her only child. Queen Moremi complied and threw her daughter into the Oshon River where she became the goddess Yemoja. In Yoruba religion, Yemoja is one of the goddesses worshipped today in Yorubaland and in Trinidad and Brazil. If Elaife is understandably regarded as the spiritual center of the Yoruba, then Oyo is recognized as the political focal point of the Yoruba. Oyo became the most powerful of all Yoruba kingdoms. Frequent attacks from the Nupe and the Bariba compelled Oyo to reorganize its army into cavalry and infantry. The ruler, Shango, is credited with transforming the small polity into a kingdom, widely acknowledged among the Yoruba as a magician and warrior. He built up officials who played a significant role in Oyo's administration. One basic feature of the Yoruba-speaking peoples is urbanism. Each Yoruba town was an entity in itself. Government in each town was based on an unwritten or oral constitution of the people in which spiritual matters were intrinsically tied with the physical world. At the head of the government was the Oba, or ruler, assisted by a council called differently in various towns. Known as Oyo Messi in Oyo, it was headed by the Bossorun, or prime minister, who was responsible to the Alafin, king of Oyo. In the African diaspora, Yoruba culture seems to have been better preserved than other African traditions. Unfortunately, a great number of enslaved Africans were of Yoruba stock. For example, a third of Africans enslaved in Cuba. Today, Brazil has the largest number of Yoruba and Yoruba-descended people outside of Africa. Cuba has about 1 million, and Puerto Rico, Trinidad, and the rest of the Caribbean have about half a million. One of the Yoruba who led the independence movement against the British was Chief Obafemi Owolowo, who together with other nationalists, leaders like Dr. Namidi Ezekwe, and Chief Anthony Anhoro, fought the British for early independence, and later became the first governor of Western Nigeria. He was probably the most respected leader of the Yoruba in living memory. Wellamola guys, if you like these videos and want to help out in this continued production, you can do so on Patreon.com. The link is in the description box below. Know thyself, Murmi Ancestors. Peace.