Yorubaland
Yorubaland
Ilẹ̀ Káàárọ̀-Oòjíire Southwest & part of North Central Nigeria, Southeast & Central Benin, East-Central Togo | |
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Cultural region | |
Yorubaland (Yoruba Nation) | |
Nickname: Ilẹ̀ Oòduà | |
Ọ̀yọ́-Ilé (Old capital of the Oyo Empire) | |
Composed of | |
Government | |
• Type | Monarchies • Ọba (King) • Ògbóni (Legislature) • Olóye (Chiefs) • Balógun (Generalissimo) • Baálẹ̀ (Village/Regional heads in Western Yorubaland) • Ọlọ́jà (Village/Regional heads in Eastern Yorubaland) |
Area | |
• Total | 181,300 km2 (70,000 sq mi) |
Highest elevation | 1,055 m (3,461 ft) |
Lowest elevation | −0.2 m (−0.7 ft) |
Population (2015 estimate) | |
• Total | ~ 55 million |
• Density | 387/km2 (1,000/sq mi) |
In Nigeria, Benin and Togo | |
Demographics | |
• Language | GMT (Togo) |
People | Ọmọ Yorùbá |
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Language | Èdè Yorùbá |
Country | Ilẹ̀ Yorùbá |
Yorubaland (
Geography
The land is characterized by mangrove forests, estuaries and coastal plains in the south, which rise steadily northwards into rolling hills and a jagged highland region in the interior, commonly known as the Yorubaland plateau or Western upland. The highlands are pronounced in the Ekiti area of the region, especially around the Effon ridge and the Okemesi fold belt, which have heights in excess of 732 m (2,400 ft) and are characterized by numerous waterfalls and springs such as Olumirin waterfall, Arinta waterfall, and Effon waterfall.[1][2] The highest elevation is found at the Idanre Inselberg Hills, which have heights in excess of 1,050 metres (3,440 ft). In general, the landscape of the interior is made up of undulating terrain with occasional inselbergs jutting out dramatically from the surrounding expanse. Some include: Okeagbe hills: 790m, Olosunta in Ikere Ekiti: 690m, Saki and Igbeti hills.
Rivers
Subnational divisions
The Nigerian part of Yorubaland comprises today's
.Vegetation and climate
The climate of Yorubaland varies from north to south. The southern, central and eastern portions of the territory is tropical
The coastal section of this area features an area covered by
The northern and western portions of the region is characterized by tropical woodland
The monsoon (rainy period) in both climatic zones is followed by a drier season characterized by northwest trade winds that bring the harmattan (cold dust-laden windstorms) that blow from the Sahara. They normally affect all areas except a small portion of the southern coast. Nonetheless, it has been reported that the harmattan has reached as far as Lagos in some years.
Major cities/towns
Rank | Region | Pop. | Rank | Region | Pop. | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Èkó (Metropolis) Ìbàdàn |
1 | Èkó (Metropolis) | Lagos State | 23,437,435[a] | 11 | Ọ̀yọ́ |
Oyo State | 602,000[b] | Ìlọrin Ìkòròdú |
2 | Ìbàdàn | Oyo State | 3,675,000[c] | 12 | Gbágli | Lagos State | 555,162[d] | ||
3 | Ìlọrin | Kwara State | 1,120,000[e] | 13 | Adó Èkìtì | Ekiti State | 465,000[f] | ||
4 | Ìkòròdú | Lagos State | 1,005,551[g] | 14 | Ògbómọ̀ṣọ́ | Oyo State | 420,400[h] | ||
5 | Òṣogbo (Conurbation) | Osun State | 820,000[i] | 15 | Òde Oǹdó |
Ondo State | 390,000[j] | ||
6 | Abẹ́òkúta | Ogun State | 777,000[k] | 16 | Ìkirè-Apọ̀mù | Osun State | 337,200[l] | ||
7 | Ifọ̀-Àkútè-Ìjòkó (Conurbation) | Ogun State | 750,000[m] | 17 | Ìṣàgámù |
Ogun State | 325,000[n] | ||
8 | Ọ̀tà | Ogun State | 733,400 [o] | 18 | Ìkìrun-Ìrágbìjí | Osun State | 323,900[p] | ||
9 | Ilé-Ifẹ̀ |
Osun State | 701,100[q] | 19 | Ọ̀ghọ̀ | Ondo State | 300,000[r] | ||
10 | Àkúrẹ́ | Ondo State | 662,800[s] | 20 | Iléṣà | Osun State | 292,300 [t] |
Administrative divisions
Yorubaland | |||||||
Country | Nigeria | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
State | Area (km2) | Regional capital | Largest city | 2nd largest city | |||
Ekiti State | 6,353 | Ado Ekiti | Ado Ekiti | Ikere-Ekiti | |||
Kogi State | 9,351 | Lokoja | Kabba | Isanlu, Egbe | |||
Kwara State | 17,000 | Ilorin | Ilorin | Offa
| |||
Lagos State | 3,345 | Ikeja | Alimosho | Ikorodu | |||
Ogun State | 16,762 | Abeokuta | Otta-Ijoko-Ifo | Abeokuta | |||
Ondo State | 15,500 | Akure | Akure | Ondo, okitipupa
| |||
Osun State | 9,251 | Osogbo | Osogbo | Ile-Ife, Ilesha
| |||
Oyo State | 28,454 | Ibadan | Ibadan | Ogbomoso
| |||
Area = 106,016 km2 | |||||||
Country | Benin | |||||||
Department | Area (km2) | Regional capital | Largest city | 2nd largest city | |||
Borgu (Shaworo) | 5,000 | ____ | Shaworo | Kpakpanin | |||
Collines | 12,440 | Igbo Idaasha | Shabe
|
Idaasha | |||
Donga (Bassila) | 5,661 | ____ | Bassila | Manigri | |||
Plateau | 3,264 | Sakete
|
Pobe
|
Sakete
| |||
Weme
|
500 | Porto Novo
|
Porto Novo
|
Adjarra | |||
Area ≈ 26,865 km2 | |||||||
Country | Togo | |||||||
Region | Area (km2) | Regional capital | Largest city | 2nd largest city | |||
Central (Chamba) | 2,900 | ____ | Kaboli | Alejo, Goubi | |||
Plateaux | 6,482 | Atakpame
|
Atakpame
|
Anié, Morita | |||
Area ≈ 9,233 km2 | |||||||
Yorubaland Area ≈ 142,114 km2 |
Prehistory and oral tradition
Part of a series on |
Yorùbá people |
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Settlement
Pre-Civil War
Between 1100 and 1400, the Yoruba Kingdom of Ife experienced a golden age, part of which was a sort of artistic and ideological renaissance.[citation needed] It was then surpassed by the Oyo Empire as the dominant Yoruba military and political power between 1700 and 1900. Yoruba people generally feel a deep sense of culture and tradition that unifies and helps identify them.[citation needed] There are sixteen established kingdoms, states that are said to have been descendants of Oduduwa himself. The other sub-kingdoms and chiefdoms that exist are second order branches of the original sixteen kingdoms.[citation needed]
There are various groups and subgroups in Yorubaland based on the many distinct dialects of the Yoruba language, which although all mutually intelligible, have peculiar differences. The governments of these diverse people are quite intricate and each group and subgroup varies in their pattern of governance. In general, government begins at home with the immediate family. The next level is the extended family with its own head, an Olori-Ebi. A collection of distantly related extended families makes up a town. The individual chiefs that serve the towns as corporate entities, called Olóyès, are subject to the Baálès that rule over them. A collection of distantly related towns makes up a clan. A separate group of Oloyes are subject to the Oba that rules over an individual clan, and this Oba may himself be subject to another Oba, depending on the grade of the Obaship.[citation needed]
In this, government begins at home. The father of the family is considered the "head" and his first wife is the mother of the house. If her husband chooses to marry another wife, that wife must show proper respect to the first wife even if the first wife is chronologically younger. Children are taught to have respect for all those who are older than they are. This includes their parents, aunts, uncles, elder siblings, and cousins who they deal with every day. ... Any adult presumably has as much authority over a child as the child's parents do. All members of a particular clan live in the same compound and share family resources, rights, and possessions such as land
— Bascum 1969[13]
History
Government
Ife was surpassed by the Oyo Empire as the dominant Yoruba military and political power between the year 1600 and 1800. The nearby kingdom of Benin was also a powerful force between 1300 and 1850. Most of the city states were controlled by Obas, priestly monarchs, and councils made up of Oloyes, recognised leaders of royal, noble and, often, even common descent, who joined them in ruling over the kingdoms through a series of guilds and sects. Different states saw differing ratios of power between the kingship and the chiefs' council. Some, such as Oyo, had powerful, autocratic monarchs with almost total control, while in others such as the Ijebu city-states, the senatorial councils were supreme and the Ọba served as something of a figurehead. In all cases, however, Yoruba monarchs were subject to the continuing approval of their constituents as a matter of policy, and could be easily compelled to abdicate for demonstrating dictatorial tendencies or incompetence. The order to vacate the throne was usually communicated through an aroko or symbolic message, which usually took the form of parrot eggs delivered in a covered calabash bowl by the Basorun the head of Oyomesi (the lawmakers) after Judgements from the Ogbonis which were in the judiciary wing. In most cases, the message would compel the Oba to take his own life, which he was bound by oath to do.
Civil War
Following a
However, the Oyo hegemony had been dealt a mortal blow. The other Yoruba city-states broke free of Oyo dominance, and subsequently became embroiled in a series of internecine wars, a period when millions of individuals were forcibly transported to the Americas and the Caribbean, eventually ending up in such countries as the Bahamas, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Haiti and Venezuela, the United States, among others.
British colonization of Yorubaland
During the 19th century, the British Empire gradually colonized Yorubaland. In 1892, the British declared war on the Ijebu Kingdom in response to its barriers on trade. The British emerged victorious in the conflict and occupied the Ijebu capital.[14] After British colonization, the capital served as an administrative center for colonial officials as the kingdom was annexed to the colony of Southern Nigeria. The colony was gradually expanded by protectorate treaties. These treaties proved decisive in the eventual annexation of the rest of Yorubaland and, eventually, of southern Nigeria and the Cameroons.[citation needed]
In 1960, greater Yorubaland was subsumed into the
According to Yoruba historians, by the time the British came to colonize and subjugate Yorubaland first to itself and later to the Fulani of Northern Nigeria, the Yoruba were getting ready to recover from what is popularly known as the Yoruba Civil War. One of the lessons of the internecine Yoruba wars was the opening of Yorubaland to
See also
Notes
- ^ Metropolitan Lagos comprises 16 of Lagos State's 20 LGA, which excludes: Badagry, Epe, Ibeju-Lekki and Ikorodu
- ^ Comprising Oyo East, Oyo West and Atiba LGAs
- ^ Summing the 11 LGAs of Ibadan Metro
- ^ The Badagry Local Government Area
- Asa
- ^ Population based on the Ado Local Government Area of Ekiti State
- ^ Ikorodu Local Government Area, 2018 LASG Estimate
- ^ Comprises Ogbomosho North and Ogbomosho South LGAs
- ^ The Osogbo conurbation comprises Osogbo, Irepodun, Olorunda, Orolu and Egbedore LGAs
- ^ Ondo township is based on Ondo West Local Government Urban Area
- ^ Summateion of Abeokuta North, Abeokuta South and Odeda
- ^ This is the summation of Irewole, and Isokan LGAs
- ^ Large urban sprawl based on Ifo, including Akute, Ijoko and Ajuwon townships
- ^ A large township whose population Center is based on Sagamu township but also urban sprawl spilling over from Ikorodu
- ^ A large and growing exurb of Lagos metropolis based chiefly on the city of Ota
- ^ Summation of Boripe and Ifelodun LGAs
- ^ Summation of Ife North, Ife East and Ife Central but excluding Ife South which is not within the Ife metropolitan area
- ^ Based on the Owo, Local Government Area
- ^ Summation of The Akure North and Akure South LGAs
- ^ Encompassing Ilesa West, and Ilesa East LGAs
References
- ^ a b c Defence Language Institute, Curriculum Development Division: Yoruba Culture Orientation, 2008
- ^ "Taking a short road trip through Oke-Mesi Fold Belt (Part 1)". olokuta.blogspot.ca. 5 October 2012. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
- ^ Delineation of Groundwater Potential Zones in Awun Basin and Its Environs Using Remote_Sensing_and_GIS_ Techniques Ayanniyi, Jimoh, Bilewu and Kolade, University of Ilorin, 2017
- ^ "Yoruba lowland forests". World Wildlife Federation. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
- ^ "Ijebu Ode climate: Average Temperature, weather by month, Ijebu Ode weather averages – Climate-Data.org". en.climate-data.org. Retrieved 2021-08-16.
- ^ "ANALYSIS OF INCENTIVES AND DISINCENTIVES FOR COCOA IN NIGERIA" (PDF). Fao.org. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- ^ "Ondo State of Nigeria:: Nigeria Information & Guide". Nigeriagalleria.com. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
- ^ "Guinean forest-savanna mosaic". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund.
- ^ "Climate Ilorin: Temperature, Climograph, Climate table for Ilorin - Climate-Data.org". en.climate-data.org. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
- ^ Lagos Bureau of Statistics. "2018 Abstract of Local Government Statistics" (PDF). Retrieved September 23, 2021.
- ^ "Nigeria: States, Local Government Areas, Cities and Agglomerations - Population Statistics in Maps and Charts". Citypopulation.de. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- ^ "Article: Oduduwa, The Ancestor Of The Crowned Yoruba Kings". Archived from the original on 5 February 2011. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- ISBN 0-03-081249-6
- ^ "Ijebu History". LitCaf Encyclopedia. 17 January 2016.
- ^ Gat, Azar. "War in human civilization", Oxford University Press, 2006, p. 275
- ^ Ishokan Yoruba Magazine, Volume III No. I, Page 7, 1996/1997
External links
- Media related to Yorubaland at Wikimedia Commons
- ^ "8 Interesting Facts About The Yoruba People - Mp3xclusive". 2024-03-18. Retrieved 2024-03-18.