Int’l Yoruba Conference: UNESCO Laureate Prof Sir Bashiru Aremu Advocate for Preservation of Yoruba Heritage and Culture
Speech by His Excellency UNESCO Laureate Prof Sir Bashiru Aremu, The Head of Africa Climate Change Council as a Chairman of the Occasion 1st Yoruba Youth Global Conference at Osun State University, Osogbo, Osun State, Nigeria
Africa is the second largest continent in the world after Asia. It is an extremely diverse place with many different cultural groups and landscapes.
There are tropical forests, grasslands, plains, and deserts. There are 54 countries in Africa, over 800 million people, and over 1,000 different languages spoken
The Yoruba have one of the highest rates of twin births in the world. Twins (ibeji) are considered special children whose birth signifies good fortune.
The Yoruba people live on the west coast of Africa in Nigeria and can also be found in the eastern Republic of Benin and Togo.
Because the majority of the slaves brought to the Americas were from West Africa Yoruba descendants can also be found in Brazil, Cuba, the Caribbean, and the United States.
There are also many Yoruba currently living in Europe, particularly Britain, since Nigeria was once a British colony.
The Yoruba are one of the largest cultural groups in Africa. Currently, there are about over 40 million Yoruba world-wide.
The Yoruba have been living in advanced urban kingdoms for more than 1,500 years. They created a strong economy through farming, trading, and art production. Their outstanding and unique artistic traditions include woodcarving, sculpture, metal work, textiles, and beadwork.
West Africans, such as the Yoruba, have lived in urban societies and have produced extraordinary art work since the 5th century BC.
During this time, the Yoruba began to use iron to create metal tools and weapons such as machetes, axes, and hoes.
These tools made it easier for the Yoruba to farm the land. They planted crops including yams, their staple food.
They also harvested the seeds from the palm oil tree. The seeds from this tree produce a vegetable oil that is used for cooking. Kola nuts were also grown and harvested. Soon the Yoruba began trading with neighboring areas for rice and sorghum.
Due to increased agriculture, the Yoruba community began to grow in size and large towns were created. They arranged their communities by clan lines, or extended families. Families who had the same ancestors lived next door to each other in large compounds. An elder was put in charge as the head of the compound. Towns became organized by the type of work that people did
For example, farmers lived close by blacksmiths who made the tools they needed to farm their land. By 600 AD the Yoruba were ruled by kings and chiefs.
Yoruba Kingdoms There were about over 20 Yoruba kingdoms at one time with a different king ruling over each one. Ife was known as the center of cultural and religious life. Oyo was the strongest kingdom with the largest military and political system. The kingdom of Oyo was close to the Niger River. The rich soil in Oyo allowed the people to grow more crops than they needed. This helped the kingdom of Oyo to easily trade with neighboring groups.
They also created a strong military. Oyo was in control of over 6,600 towns and villages by the end of the 18th century. Internal wars and fighting with neighboring groups, along with the beginning of the slave trade eventually led to the decline of these great kingdoms.
Yams are the most important food for the Yoruba in their homeland of Nigeria. Grains, plantains, corn, beans, meat, and fish are also eaten. Poultry, goats, sheep, pigs, and cattle are raised as livestock. Large rivers, lagoons and the ocean provide fish and shrimp for the Yoruba.
Fisherman sell fresh and dried fish through traders at the local markets. The Yoruba make stews out of yams, plantains, corn, cassava, and taro. Palm oil from the nuts of the palm oil tree is often used to cook with. Every country has an economy.
People create economies through employment, trade, and the buying and selling of goods. Around 1900 cocoa became the most important crop that Nigeria sold to other countries in order to earn money. Cotton and indigo were also grown and sold.
Today natural resources like crude oil, coal, palm oil, peanuts, cotton, rubber, wood, corn, rice, millet, cassava, and yams are exported. Many men are employed as farmers. Women are responsible for selling goods at the markets. Potters, blacksmiths, carvers, and leather and bead workers are important to Yoruba society because they all contribute to the economy.
Sculpture The Yoruba began creating magnificent sculpture out of terra cotta clay in the 12th through 14th centuries. Bronze figures were made during the 14th and 15th centuries. To create bronze sculptures,
The Yoruba began to create more abstract wooden sculpture as their major art form later on. Many African cultures choose to create sculptures of humans in an abstract form rather than a realistic one.
Pottery Women are the potters in Yoruba society. They make many different types of pottery including pots for cooking, eating, and storage. Palm oil lamps are also crafted. Unique pots are made in honor of Yoruba deities. Pottery is only made in towns where clay is available. It is sold to neighboring towns that do not have access to clay.
Leather and Beadwork Men are responsible for leather and beadwork. Goat, sheep, and antelope skins are used to make things like bags, cushions, and sandals. Leather scraps in different colors are often pieced together to form designs. Beads are used to decorate crowns, hats, bags, and other items worn by kings and babalawo. Popular bead designs include, human faces, birds, and flowers.
Blacksmiths and Calabash Carvers are very important to local towns and are responsible for making tools that many other professions use, such as hoes, axes, knives, chains and hammers. Calabashes (dried gourds) are carved by men and are used to serve food or drink. Goods carried to markets are often carved from calabashes. They are also used as containers for storing medicines and food. Calabashes are also carved into musical rattles.
Woodcarving Men are responsible for woodcarving. Woodcarving is the most important art form in Yoruba culture. Men use knives and adzes to carve wood. Divination trays and many other sacred objects are carved out of wood.
Textiles Men and women both act as weavers and dyers. Weaving is done on different types of looms. Weavers create hundreds of different patterns on their looms. Wild silk and cotton are used to make cloth. Indigo, a native plant, is often used as a dye to color threads.
Religious Beliefs Traditional Yoruba beliefs see the world made up of two connected realms. The visible world of the living is called Aye, and the spiritual world of the Orisas, the ancestors and spiritus, is called Orun.
Ase is the life force that is given to everything by the Creator of the universe. Ase is in everything: plants, animals, people, prayers, songs, rocks, and rivers. Existence is dependent upon Ase because Ase is the power to make things happen and change.
The Yoruba believe in the Creator who rules over the entire universe along with many other gods that serve underneath him. The Creator of the universe is called Olorun. Olorun lives in the sky and is considered to be the father of all the other gods. Olorun is the only god that never lived on earth. Olorun is the supreme God and has no special group of worshippers or shrines, like the other gods do. The Yoruba people worship over four hundred
Islam came to Yorubaland, located in southwestern Nigeria and Benin, through Malian traders in the 14th century. The religion spread rapidly in the 18th and 19th centuries.
How Islam arrived in Yorubaland
Malian traders, also known as Wangara Traders, introduced Islam to the region.
The first mosque in Yorubaland was built in Ọyọ-Ile in 1550.
The first mosque in Iwo town was built in 1655.
The first mosque in Lagos was built in 1774.
The first mosque in Ṣaki was built in 1790.
The first mosque in Oṣogbo was built in 1889.
Christianity was introduced to Yorubaland by European missionaries in the 19th century. The religion spread rapidly, and by 1900 it was established in many towns.
How Christianity spread?
Methodist missionaries: T. B. Freeman, a Methodist missionary, visited Abeokuta in 1842.
Christian Missionary Society (CMS): The CMS established a station in Abeokuta in 1843.
Baptist missionaries: T. J. Bowen, the first Baptist missionary in Yorubaland, visited Ketu in 1851.
Catholic missionaries: The Catholic mission later joined the other missions in Yorubaland.
Music and Dance
Music and dance have always been an important part of Yoruba culture for those living in Nigeria as well as in the diaspora. Yoruba music and dance are used for many different occasions in life such as religious festivals, royal occasions, and entertainment. Yoruba traditional music focuses on Yoruba deities.
Drums and singing are the main elements of Yoruba music. Instruments such as metal bells and wind instruments are sometimes used. Yoruba is a tonal language. Words must be pronounced in the appropriate tone (pitch) in order to understand speech in its correct meaning.
The Yoruba Diaspora
The rich cultural heritage of the Yoruba slaves and their descendants has influenced and contributed a great deal to the Americas. Much of their traditional culture is still preserved in Brazil, Cuba, Haiti, and the United States.
How can you contribute to the preservation of the culture?
By embracing technology, engaging communities, preserving language, celebrating traditional practices, empowering museums, documenting intangible heritage, conserving cultural landscapes, recognizing culinary heritage, implementing legal frameworks, promoting education and awareness, considering economic aspects, …
What are the contributions of cultural heritage?
Cultural heritage means the lifestyle of individuals or groups of society expressed in language, art, artefacts, and their traits passed on from generation to generation.
Why Do We Need to Conserve Cultural Heritages?
Helps in promoting cultural tourism:
Historical sites like the Ikogunsi Spring warming water, Olumo Rock and so on significant tourist attractions for tourists.
They are a great way to promote cultural tourism in Yoruba. The Nigeria government is taking the proper steps to protect these Historical sites.
Helps in preserving identity:
Every ancient sites have some unique stories associated with it. These stories explain the history of the city’s evolution and predictions about where the city is going to head in the future. They add beauty to the town and remind us that history belongs to everyone. Celebrating festivals is going to bring people together. Ancestors have passed these Historical sites, which help know what heritage is. It is everyone’s responsibility to preserve them for upcoming generations.
Economic Growth:
The enhancement of the already built Historical sites will be significantly cheaper than building new ones. Not only this, but it also helps in employing the local population. The construction industry gets considerable benefits from heritage conservation. All these things lead to the country’s economic development, and the Ministry of Cultural and Tourism of Nigeria is taking steps in the right direction to make it happen.
Helps in increasing property value:
It is observed that the preservation of these historical sites will increase their value and increase the importance of their surrounding properties. Mostly, the places near historical landmarks have higher property value than those that do not have any historical landmarks.
It is a part of something bigger:
Just like the advancement of technology is transforming the world, heritage preservation will also help the people living in this world significantly. It will bring people from different parts of the world with different beliefs and skillsets to work for a noble cause. It is going to promote respect among people. Heritage preservation is going to help future generations understand about definition of heritage.
Conclusion:
Yoruba cultural heritage is vibrant and can astonish travelers from other countries as Yoruba is one of the ancient civilizations in the world. People belong to diverse communities having different beliefs and cultures and celebrate various festivals. It is the responsibility of every person to contribute to the conservation of heritage.