maclatunji:

It is funny how time bleaks-out history. I have read some of the OP's links and they contain useful information. However, it is incorrect to say that Yoruba's descended from Mecca, as the popular myth says. If black people descended from that region at all it would have been far back from the time of Noah.

From the available literature and authorities, historians have broadly divided Arabs into three classes according to their different great ancestors. They are:

The original Black Arabs who were supposedly punished by destruction and deluge because, as legend has it in the book of Quran, they disobeyed their Prophets and flouted God’s instructions; they were: Ad, Thamud, Tasam, Jadeis, Imru.

The classical Black Arabs, who are believed to have descended from Yaarub ibn Yashjub ibn Ghatan and thus called Ghataniyun. They had lived in the Yemen; they included a number of tribes and sub-tribes, two of which became historically prominent viz., Himyar and Kahlan (al’arab al’ariba).

The Arabized Arabs: These tribes immigrated into Arabia from different sections of central Asia. Many of them intermarried with the desert dwelling nomadic blemmyes – the Bejas (original Bedouin Arabs) and the Somali, Kenyan and Ethiopian tribes of Africa. Their mix -blood children who adopted a mingled form of their parents cultures are known as the Arabized Arabs (al ‘arab al musta ‘riba).

1872 – “Mr. Baldwin draws a marked distinction between the modern Mahomedan Semitic population of Arabia and their great Cushite, Hamite, or Ethiopian predecessors. The former, he says, ‘are comparatively modern in Arabia,’ they have ‘appropriated the reputation of the old race,’ and have unduly occupied the chief attention of modern scholars.” Traditions Superstitions and Folklore, Charles Hardwick , Manchester A. Ireland and Company, 1872

tpia@:
on the mecca legend, one has to find out what the composition or structure of ancient mecca was, in order to accept or disbelieve the account.

IG: This is from a book "The Unknown Arabs: Clear And Definitive Proof Of The Dark Complexion Of The Original Arabs And The Arab Origin Of The So-Called African Americans" by Tariq Berry pages 122-123



If you are still wondering why the Yorubas are black and the Arabs light skinned, then you need to learn of the skin color of the original Arabs.
Start from http://realhistoryww.com/world_history/ancient/Misc/True_Negros/Assorted/Paintings.htm

DISCLAIMER: I am neither a historian nor a Yoruba but has a keen interest on true history that is often hidden away from us (the public)

Jenifa_: There is no such thing as Yorubas having an Arabic origin.
we just had a leader (oduduwa) who probably migrated from Arabia that's all. besides that, Yoruba are indigenous although there is some mixing with fulani and hausa and such as you go further up north.

even the Fulani are supposedly also indigenous to Africa.

even the Fulani are supposedly also indigenous to Africa

eku_bear:

Interesting:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fula_people

They don't look like Africans to me. . . they look kind of weird.  But I guess they legitimately natives of this continent.

tothemax86: Eku bear and all the others saying there is no connection between yoruba and arabs, you make some valid points, however maybe we did not descend from the arabs but there is definitely links. My name is Ajala, and I have always wondered why Ajala is in the middle of Saudi Arabia, search on google for Ajala, Saudi Arabia

Eku bear and all the others saying there is no connection between yoruba and arabs, you make some valid points

however maybe we did not descend from the arabs but there is definitely links. My name is Ajala, and I have always wondered why Ajala is in the middle of Saudi Arabia, search on google for Ajala, Saudi Arabia

Rgp92: Yoruba's are 100% Africans. Ile ife is the cradle of West Africa civilization. Fvck you all.

Ybutterfly: ^^^^^^^^^^^the yoruba's did not come from arab's but there has been a mix with yoruba's & hausa'a of the north of Nigeria, especially the muslims but still a minority though^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

^^^^^^^^^^^^you should check this out: https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-774700.0.html

the yoruba's did not come from arab's

tpia@:
yorubas are not arabs, however, there is definitely some ancient middle eastern input, same as with other west african tribes.

its too far back to be considered recent though.

yorubas are not arabs, however, there is definitely some ancient middle eastern input, same as with other west african tribes.

its too far back to be considered recent though.

Blyss:

Humm, this is total crap, but going along with the issue at hand; the topic should read the Yoruba origins of the Arabs and not the other way around.

tpia@:
on the mecca legend, one has to find out what the composition or structure of ancient mecca was, in order to accept or disbelieve the account.

tpia@:
i think the origins of the yorubas has been done time and time again, its a topic that remains interesting everytime and everywhere its discussed, as are all such matters regardless of location.

what i would like to know now is are there any records of migration of some of the ancient yorubas inwards from the coast.

fake and concocted history stay out plz, the question is not for you.

PhysicsMHD: “An early example of such traditions of migration is given by the Sokoto scholar Muhammad Bello, according to whom the Yoruba were 'remnants of the Banu Kan'an, which is the tribe of Nimrud' who had been expelled from Iraq.” - The Oyo Empire: c.1600-c.1836 (1977) by Robin Law. Law's source for this is E.J. Arnett's translation of Rise of the Sokoto Fulani, p.16, which can be found on Thomas Hodgkin's Nigerian Perspectives, p.78

I should point out that the “Yoruba” referred to here are specifically the Oyo, who were known as the Yoruba at that time to others.

As for the meaning of the statement itself, my interpretation is:

Banu Kan'an = Brothers Canaanite = the Canaanites, who are related to or ancestral to the Phoenicians, so he might have been referring to the later remnants of the Phoenicians
Nimrud = Nimrod, the famous early Mesopotamian king, could possibly be related to or the ancestor of the Canaanites/Phoenicians
Iraq = Mesopotamia


But what Mesopotamian characteristics did Oyo have? Is there anything Mesopotamian about Oyo culture and religion? I don’t see anything related there.


For the direct quote:

Bello – The Origins of the Yoruba³

“The country of Yoruba is extensive and has streams and forest and rocks and hills. There are many curious and beautiful things in it. The ships of Christians come there. The people of Yoruba are descended from the Bani Kan'an and the kindred of Nimrud. Now the reason for their having settled in the west according to what we are told is that Ya'rub ibn Qahtan drove them out of 'Iraq to the westwards and they traveled between Misr⁴ and Habash⁵  until they reached Yoruba. It happened that they left a portion of their people in every country they passed. It is said that the Sudanese who live up on the hills are all kindred; so also the people of Yauri are their kindred. The people of Yauri resemble those of Nufe[Nupe] in appearance. In the land of Yoruba are found the birds green in colour which are called 'babgha'' in Arabic and which we call 'Aku'.¹  It is a bird which talks and is beautiful.” - Muhammad Bello, Infaq al-maisur (1812), p. 16. taken from Nigerian Perspectives, 2nd ed. (1975) by Thomas Hodgkin.

Thomas Hodgkin's notes:

3. 'Yoruba' in this context refers specifically to Oyo, not (as in current usage) to the Yoruba-speaking peoples in general.
4. Egypt
5. Ethiopia
1. Parrots.


So this is a journey from Mesopotamia, through Egypt and east Africa all the way to Oyo, Nigeria?

Not all that plausible, really.  


On an unrelated note, the book The Oyo Empire c.1600-c.1836: A West African Imperialism in the Era of the Atlantic Slave Trade by Robin Law is possibly one of the best books ever written on any single African state. It's extremely well researched, masterfully presented, very well-reasoned, balanced, objective, and just a damn good read, overall. It also corrects numerous errors and pieces of political propaganda found in Samuel Johnson's classic History of the Yorubas. A very interesting read on one of the most ambitious West African Empires. I highly recommend the book to anyone interested in African history. I'm not even Yoruba and I read the book and came away thoroughly impressed with the organization and ambition of the empire, and got a better understanding of how and why it ended.



[Edit: After rechecking my source, I see that the Muhammad Bello referenced above is in fact, the same as Sultan Bello. Sorry for the error.]

9jacrip:



Most logical and reasonable argument put forward thus far (and ever on the Yoruba and Arab/Mecca connection)
The key thing to note is - migration from Mecca was in relation to OYO which was the only place/people referred as Yoruba originally.
The above clearly throws the Mecca/Oduduwa/Ile-Ife overboard.

Thank you PhysicsQED - A very obvious and in-your-face point that has been evasive to me. I wonder why I have never connected the dots to arrive at this beautiful proposition.

MetaPhysical:

Who qualifies as an Egyptian in 1300?
Who qualifies as an Egyptian in 1700?
Who qualifies to be called an Egyptian in 2000?

Sometimes I get a mixed feeling about the depth of sincerity on the issue of Yoruba study.

On the subject of who he is, there is no one who can act as authority and tell from the leaves of a book a different version than what the Yoruba believes in his own spirit and being. Yoruba oral historians, labeled illiterates and untutored, are reciting names of places that only exist in ancient maps no longer in circulation and yet we question the authencity of their recollect. There is only one way they could have known of these far away lands and that is 1. to have the capacity to read and understand maps and to have access to the out of circulation maps; 2. to have been tutored in oral record keeping and reproduction - and in whicj case they serve as involuntary vaults for the records.

Now which is it, if they are illiterate and cant read maps were they then tutored the art of record retention? Where did they hear about mondyana (midyan) considering their physical separation by thousands of miles from a land which has been wiped off the face of earth?

We should give credit where due.

A non Yoruba tells you he read a book which he considers the "authority" on Yoruba history, written by another non-Yoruba, who collected the materials in his book from local orators..should you be agreeing "totally" with such input that puts emphasis of "authority" on foreign writer than local historians?

Have you read the entire and unabridged copy of this narration from Bello? An English copy exist but its not free, a free copy exist in Arabic language. It opens with " We are told.."

Told by who? Bello's narration has earned him many credits and he is often cited as another authority on the origin of Yorubas, but if he heard this origin story from Oyo or Kanuri or Arabs (the only people he had contact with) then it will firmly put away the doubt on Yoruba origin, whether that Yoruba is Oyo or not.

Somehow people are wont to say only foreigners can tell Yoruba who he is. That has always being Physics position. Im surprised you took his bs wholeheartedly and agreed with him as "most logical and reasonable".., most biased and untruthful is more fitting.

MetaPhysical: Thanks for the clarification bro.

There are many angles from which I can draw a link but let's start from this easy one.

What is Arab?

Hint: what is Araba of Ife? What is Rabbi? What is Yoruba?

MetaPhysical:
Somehow people are wont to say only foreigners can tell Yoruba who he is. That has always being Physics position. Im surprised you took his bs wholeheartedly and agreed with him as "most logical and reasonable".., most biased and untruthful is more fitting.