What Is The Significance Of The Yoruba Tribal Marks

i guess that's the only thing you could comprehend in my post. fools laugh when they don't understand or when they find themselves incompetent. keep laughing, i would too if i was in your situation.  
well, thanks for taking the break and making an escape. you have saved me precious time. I hate to go back and forth with incompetent folks anyways. to think that i actually was about to have a debate or discussion with someone competent enough in doing so.

@ nurse007


Thank you for the picture wow

are this marks from the yoruba tribe or hausa? 

This is what I'm getting at. Pathetic display of foolishness. Needst I say more?
I'm done addressing you.

yes. and your still an asshole!! take it or leave it stupid ass fucker!!!! come back and i'll give your punk ass some more. you don't know who da fxck i am so don't you ever come up in here and try to talk shit about me when i aint even seen your ass before. mudda fucca. **rolling eyes**


thank you!!!

freewilly,
birds of the same feather, flock together.  If you didn't give a rat's butt about the so-called stupid marks, why ask to see them.
spoilt,
perhaps the cultures or tribes that practice this still hold the same beliefs, irrespective of what year it is?
have you thought of that.
ghettochyk,
continue foaming at the mouth like a ghettogirl, I'm getting a kick out of your lack of self-inflicted moral training.

Teenagers of nowadays worry me with their level of idiocy.

@proverbial
don't confuse me for your harlot sister that's foaming at the mouth.

wtf are u getting so defensive? leave Freewilly alone. it's not here fault that your in the condition your in.

fucking wanker. go wash your damn hands bitch.

All that from u? lol

 

hell yeah. that stupid bagga. hisssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

lmao!! if laughing makes you feel better, then keep laughing. i thot you were done with me? don't cry yourself to sleep boo. i'd save that education for you. at least so you can learn the definition of coward of something.

i wouldn't dare say that to your face. i don't want no damn nightmares. fucking bamma.

Its done for recognition. So if the kid is lost he/she could be easily found. And I bet u it works. lol

olden day GPS system huh?

haha!!! u aint goin nowhere!!! 

blah blah blah please just be quiet. apparently "competent" is your word of the day. such a boring sermon from someone with "no precious time to waste"

Freaking hypocrites. when non Igbos were going on about osu stuff, you were all crying like bush babies saying that we don't know what it's about and that they don't even do it anymore, yet we are saying the same about tribal marks and now you have the audacity to run your mouths.

You wanted the significance, I gave it to you along with laudate's post and obviously it wasnt not good enough for you people because the true intention wasnt to learn but to ridicule. ara yin len ton je. nonsense.

Ila is the word for traditional Yoruba cicatrization ("scarification"). They were made for a variety of different reasons, but mainly to differentiate between the different sub-groups of Yoruba-speaking people during wars. This became important during the slave-trading era of the 18th and 19th century, because people from different city-states like Ibadan, Ijebu, Ilesa etc. used cicatrizations to quickly distinguish between allies and members of their own group and their 'enemies' who could be sold. Some families elected to continue the custom, but it is far from a common practice these days. I think it was actually banned in Ekiti State last year. Bishop Samuel Johnson, a clergyman from present-day Oyo state who wrote a comprehensive book called "The History of the Yorubas", describes the shapes and meanings of the various types of cicatrizations. Illustrations are also provided in the book, for those who are interested.

There were/are also forms of ila done as traditional tattooing, i.e. purely for aesthetic reasons. These are called kolo and are not generally put on children (or on faces, for that matter). Adults chose them and they can depict a variety of things, from representations of animals and scenic places to abstract designs. Both types of cicatrizations are fairly rare these days.

Cicatrization is common to many ethnic groups in West Africa, and to most ethnic groups in Nigeria. It seems that many Nigerians commenting in this thread are not familiar with their own cultures, so it's funny to read some of the comments about Yoruba practices. Those who wish to spend a little less time studying ghetto culture and familiarizing themselves with their own should read about ichi/ichie, which is the Igbo term for extensive facial cicatrization. Ozo titleholders in southeastern Nigeria traditionally had their entire faces covered with lines to signify their titled place in society. It is very rare to see a traditionally tattooed ozo titleholder these days, as the practice is dying out, but it was formerly an extremely high honor in places like Nri and Awka, which are considered to be ancestral homes of Igbo culture.

Threads like this is why Nairaland bores many people these days--as TOH says, it's plain to see that the thread starter wasn't interested in posting an 'innocent' question and that many of the derogatory remarks are left by people who feel compelled to comment on anything regarding their 'rival' ethnic groups. Read a book, or go outdoors and talk to fellow Nigerians every once in a while.

Shouldn't the thread topic say "What is the significance of Nigerian Tribal Marks" ? The yorubas are not the only ones with tribal marks in Nigeria, so why single them out ?