The Yoruba are a large group of people.
They live in West Africa. Many of them live in Nigeria. They have their own way to talk.
They have many beautiful cities. Can you learn about them?
The Yoruba are a large group of people.
They live in West Africa. Most live in Nigeria.
They have their own way to talk. This is called the Yoruba language. Many people use it every day.
Long ago, they built great cities. One place was called Ile-Ife. It was a very important center.
They also made beautiful art. Artists made things from stone and metal. Some made pretty glass beads.
Today, many Yoruba live in big cities. Lagos is a very large city. It is a busy place to live.
The Yoruba are a large group of people in West Africa.
Most live in Nigeria. Many others live in Benin and Togo. Over 50 million Yoruba live in Africa.
They speak the Yoruba language. It is a very large language group. Most Yoruba people use it every day. They also have a special way of greeting. They call themselves people who ask if you woke up well.
Long ago, the Yoruba built great cities. One was Ile-Ife. It was the heart of the Ife Empire.
Artists there made art from stone and bronze. They also made many glass beads. Later, the Oyo Empire became very strong. It had a capital city called Oyo-Ile. This city had walls over 20 feet high.
Today, many Yoruba live in big cities. Lagos is the largest Yoruba city. It is a very busy place. Some Yoruba people also live far away in places like Brazil and Cuba.
The Yoruba are a large group of people in West Africa.
They live in a region called Yorubaland. This area includes parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. More than 50 million Yoruba people live in Africa today.
Over one million Yoruba people live outside of Africa too. Most Yoruba people live in Nigeria. They make up about 20.7% of the people there. This makes them one of the largest groups in Africa. Most Yoruba people speak the Yoruba language. It is a very large language group in the Niger-Congo family.
Greeting others is a very important part of Yoruba culture. They have a special name for themselves. They call themselves "Ọmọ Káàárọ̀-oòjíire." This means "The People who ask 'Good morning, did you wake up well?'"
This shows how much they value kind words. They also use the name "Ọmọ Oòduà." This means "The Children of Oduduwa." Oduduwa is a semi-legendary king from their history. People also use other names like Nago or Lucumi. These names help identify the group in different places. The Yoruba have carried these traditions to many lands.
Long ago, the Yoruba built very organized cities.
These cities often had a central palace for a king. The king is called an Oba. The cities also had big markets and many temples. Some cities had huge defense structures to keep people safe. For example, the Ijebu Kingdom had large moats and trenches. The capital of the Oyo empire had very tall walls. These walls were over 20 feet high. They even had 10 large gates.
These cities were some of the most populated places in Africa.
One of the most important places is Ile-Ife.
It was the heart of the Ife Empire. This empire flourished between the years 1200 and 1420. Artists in Ile-Ife were very skilled. They made beautiful things out of stone, brass, and bronze.
They also made glass beads on a large scale. Around the year 1300, the city was very large. Many people believe Ile-Ife is the place where human civilization began. The ruler of Ile-Ife is still called the Ooni of Ife today.
History shows that different empires rose and fell over time. The Oyo Empire became a major power in the 15th century. It was a strong military and political force.
In the 18th century, the Oyo Empire was involved in the slave trade. This was a very difficult and sad time in history. Today, the Yoruba live in many different ways. Lagos is now the largest Yoruba city. It has over 20 million people living there.
Many Yoruba people also live in Brazil and Cuba. They brought their unique architecture and culture with them.
The Yoruba people are a large West African ethnic group.
They inhabit a region known as Yorubaland. This area covers parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. Today, more than 50 million Yoruba people live in Africa. Over one million people of Yoruba descent live outside the continent. This includes the African diaspora. Most Yoruba live in Nigeria. They make up 20.7% of the Nigerian population. This makes them one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa.
Most Yoruba people speak the Yoruba language. It is part of the Niger–Congo language family. It is the largest language in that family by number of native speakers. The oldest written mention of the name "Yoruba" is from 1614. It appears in a manuscript by the Berber jurist Ahmed Baba. This essay is titled Mi'rāj al-Ṣu'ūd. The original text is kept in Timbuktu. A digital copy is available at the World Digital Library. This early reference lists the Yoruba alongside nine other regional groups. This suggests the name was used in common speech by at least the 1500s. Some researchers have guessed at the name's origin. They suggested names like Ya'rub or Yolla Ba. However, many local people do not support these external theories.
The Yoruba have many names. They are often called by the ethnonym Yoruba. Other names like Nago, Lucumi, or Aku have been used in history. They also have special titles for themselves. One is "Ọmọ Káàárọ̀-oòjíire." This means "The People who ask 'Good morning, did you wake up well?'" This refers to their important culture of greetings. Another name is "Ọmọ Oòduà." This means "The Children of Oduduwa." This refers to a semi-legendary Yoruba king. In other parts of West Africa, they are known by names like Alata or Eyagi. These names show how the group is recognized by neighbors.
Historically, the Yoruba were very urban. They lived in organized city-states.
These cities had a central core called the Olú Ìlú. This core contained the palace of the Oba, or king. It also held the premier market, known as the Ọjà Ọba, and several temples. Many cities had strong defenses. The Ijebu Kingdom had large moats and trenches called Iyàrà. The capital of the Oyo empire had massive walls. These walls were over 20 feet high and had 10 gates.
Some cities were very large. The capital of the Oyo empire, Òyó-Ilé, had over 100,000 people. Today, Lagos is the largest Yoruba city. It has a population of over 20 million people.
Ile-Ife is a central place in Yoruba history. It was the heart of the Ife Empire. This empire flourished between 1200 and 1420 CE.
During this time, Ile-Ife became one of West Africa's largest cities. Artists there created beautiful works in terracotta, stone, brass, and bronze. Many of these works were made under King Obalufon II. He is seen as a patron deity of brass casting and weaving. Around 1300 CE, the city even produced glass beads on an industrial scale. The Yoruba regard Ile-Ife as the origin of human civilization. It is still their spiritual homeland. The ruler there is called the Ooni of Ife.
Power shifted between different empires over time. The Oyo Empire became a dominant military power in the 15th century.
It was ruled by the Alaafin. The kings were often checked by councils. One powerful council was the Bashorun. In the 18th century, the Oyo Empire participated in the African slave trade. They sometimes demanded slaves as tribute from subject populations. Some of these people were sold into the Atlantic slave trade. This was a difficult period in their history. Later, the political landscape changed through wars and new settlements. These settlements are grouped into three generations based on when they were founded.
Today, Yoruba culture is spread far and wide. Many people live in the diaspora. Some arrived in the New World between the 16th and 19th centuries. This includes large communities in Brazil and Cuba. These groups brought unique architecture back to West Africa. Others moved to the United Kingdom and the United States more recently. This happened after economic and political changes in Africa in the 1960s. The Yoruba language remains a strong link. It is classified within the Yoruboid group of languages. This group includes the related Igala language. The Yoruba continue to influence the culture and economy of West Africa.
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