Yoruba Cultural Group of Nigeria

By: Iqmat Adediran

Have been reading different types of blogs on culture and I can’t help but give kudos to what people have written on it. It has made me think deeply on what to write even though I still come up short compared to others. Culture is a way of life; it describes people and gives us a hint on who they’re.

"This video describes an American woman studying journalism in University of Wisconsin who came to Nigeria to study Yoruba Language."

For this culture blog, I have decided to enlighten people about my culture. I am a native of Nigeria and I belong to the Yoruba cultural group. Africans in the diaspora are beginning to teach their children their culture and traditions which has helped to promote the spread and growth of culture in the universe.

The Yoruba people live in Southwest Nigeria. The Yoruba cultural group has so many tribes like the Edos, Oyos, Egbas, etc. I belong to the Oyo tribe. The Yorubas have developed a variety of different artistic forms including pottery, weaving, bead work, metalwork, and mask making. Most artwork is made to honor the gods and ancestors and since there are more than 401 known gods to the Yoruba there is much sculpture and artwork made. Because of the vastness in the number of gods, the Yoruba have been compared to the ancient Greeks in the amount of gods and in the similarities between the structures of the gods. The Yoruba have started to become quite popular among Africans all over the world that claim the Yoruba as their family roots and follow the religion and culture of the Yoruba.

Yoruba people speak Yoruba pronounced YO-RU-BA.

Dressing

Yoruba people wear a form of cloth called 'Aso-oke'

"a man at his traditional wedding in aso oke"

"husband and wife in aso oke"

Cuisine

Yoruba people eat a variety of foods, but the most common are Eba, (made from cassava grits), Amala (made of yam powder), Iyan (pounded yam), Egusi (melon seeds), Egusi Soup, Efo (Spinach), Fufu, Ogi (Corn or millet pap).

Economy

Historically, the Yoruba were primarily farmers, growing cocoa and yams as cash crops. These are planted in a three-year rotational system, alternating with cassava and a year of diverse crops including maize, peanuts, cotton, and beans. At the end of this three-year cycle the land is left fallow, sometimes for seven years. It is estimated that at one time nearly 70 percent of people participated in agriculture and ten percent each working as crafts people and traders within the towns. Yoruba land is characterized by numerous densely populated urban centers with surrounding fields for farming. The centralization of wealth within cities allowed for the development of a complex market economy which encouraged extensive patronage of the arts.

And this is for everyone's enjoyment. Straight from Nigeria. ENJOY :)!

Quotes - "The world is a classroom and everyone in it is your teacher, from the smallest baby to the oldest man, we all hold a lesson to teach. So pay attention!" ~Anonymous~