₦airaland Forum

CabbieAC:
Onreflection that Zeynab song is the best song I've heard this year.NO CONTEST!

For those who haven't heard it, oun re


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHftxPi5BP4

The Global Yoruba Lexical Database v. 1.0 is a set of related dictionaries providing definitions and translations for over 450,000 words from the Yoruba language and its variants: Standard Yoruba (over 368,000 words), Gullah (over 3,600 words), Lucumí (over 8,000 words) and Trinidadian (over 1,000 words).

Yoruba is a Niger-Congo language (sub classification: Kwa > Yoruboid) spoken natively by nearly 20 million people, the vast majority of them in southwestern Nigeria. There are also approximately a half million Yoruba speakers in Benin, as well as speakers in Togo and Ghana and among the emigrant populations in the United States and the United Kingdom. In addition, roughly two million people in Nigeria speak Yoruba as a second language.

The Yoruba language diaspora is wide, stretching from southwestern Nigeria and Benin westward to the Caribbean and islands along the southeastern United States coast. Yoruba and other African dialects arrived in the Americas and the Caribbean as a consequence of the Atlantic slave trade. Throughout the region, Yoruba dialects blended with each other and with languages like Spanish and French to form a variety of creoles such as Gullah in the United States and Nagô in Brazil. Many of those creoles have become the language of liturgy and music in Cuba, Brazil, Argentina, Trinidad, Jamaica and parts of the United States and Canada. The ultimate goal of this dictionary is to provide coverage for all Yoruba dialects across the globe. For that reason, it will continue to be a work in progress.


This release encompasses the following languages and dialects:

Languages Description Number of words
Yoruba->English

This dictionary of Standard Yoruba contains detailed lexicographic entries which include the part of speech, the English definition of the Yoruba headword, cross references, examples in English and the morphemic decomposition of the Yoruba headword. 142,389
English->Yoruba

This dictionary maps the English headword back to Standard Yoruba and includes the part of speech, Yoruba definition, and morphemic decomposition of the Yoruba word. 226,585
Gullah->English and Yoruba

Gullah is a creole spoken in the coastal Low Country of South Carolina and Georgia in the United States. Although the language is no longer spoken to a great extent, its words are still commonly used for personal names and nicknames. The dictionary translates from Gullah headwords to English and to Standard Yoruba. 3,636
Lucumí->Spanish, English and Yoruba

Lucumí is the ritual language of the Santeria religion practiced in Cuba. The Lucumí dictionary translates from a Lucumí headword to Cuban Spanish to English to Standard Yoruba. At the time of this publication in 2008, some entries do not have complete translations and only map from Lucumí to Cuban Spanish. 8,075
Trinidadian->English and Yoruba

Trinidadian is a creole which blends English, French, Spanish and African languages. The Trinidadian dictionary presents those words that have Yoruban roots and maps from the Trinidadian headword to English and Standard Yoruba. 1,187

A spotlight on Yoruba culture

Long ago having embraced the culture and native faith of the ancient Yoruba people, Chief Nathaniel Styles has traveled to West Africa dozens of times over the decades.

His latest trip will feature a national audience.

Styles, of Pompano Beach, is a focal point 9 p.m. Tuesday on the finale of PBS’s Sacred Journeys, a six-part documentary that follows religious pilgrims from the United States to world holy sites, including Mecca and Jerusalem.

Author Bruce Feiler followed Styles and several priestesses in training to Nigeria for the annual Osun Festival, which draws thousands from around the world to celebrate the river goddess of the ancient faith.

“PBS has such a respected audience, and the program will let people know this is much bigger than any cult or any type of religious sect,” Styles said of the program. “This is a comprehensive spiritual culture.”

For Styles, who was raised in South Florida, the documentary is the product of decades of promoting the Yoruba culture in the United States.

He runs the Miami non-profit group Osun Village — also the name of the Nigerian state in which the festival is held — which sponsors cultural exchange and hosts artists from Africa.

In 2006, Florida lawmakers named a portion of Northwest Seventh Avenue in Miami after the organization, which hopes to establish a permanent Yoruba cultural center here.

Elements of the culture are familiar to many in Miami, particularly to Cubans — hundreds of years ago, the island became home to Yoruba slaves brought from West Africa. They practiced their faith in secret, incorporating Catholic traditions into a faith that today is popularly known as Santeria or Lukumi.

In Nigeria today, the Yoruba religion is generally known as Ifá, who is the messenger of a supreme being known as Oludumare, or Olòrún. Followers seeking predictions or help with problems in their lives can turn to dozens of deities known as orishas. To do so, they consult with a priest known as a babalawo, who uses a chain and palm nuts in a process known as divination.

Today in Nigeria, where Muslim and booming Christian Evangelical faiths often clash, the native faith is often derided as pagan idolatry, something practitioners have fought hard to dispel. In the heart of Yorubaland, forests used by ancient practitioners have all but disappeared, but in 2005, the United Nations designated the venerated “Sacred Grove” a world heritage site.

Styles, 52, has long traced his family lineage to the region. He made his first visit to Nigeria in 1984 and has since been initiated as a chief in several communities in West Africa.

“I really felt an overwhelming connection,” Styles said of his first trip. “The love, the bonding I experienced there was something I’d never experienced before from complete strangers.”

Feiler, a New York Times columnist and bestselling author, accompanied Styles in August 2013 to the Osun Festival in the town of Osogbo for 16 days of colorful festivities and rituals that drew followers from around the world. Feiler called it “electrifying and intense.”

“Chief Styles is like this celebrity there. He’s big, he’s charismatic. He knows all the artisans,” Feiler said. “He’s such a great spokesman for the community.”

OnReflection:
Montage of some Yoruba icons

CabbieAC:
[size=16pt]Igbos having ‘Eze, Igwe, Obi’ in Yorubaland is an affront – Ondo Obas[/size]

CabbieAC:
Onreflection that Zeynab song is the best song I've heard this year.NO CONTEST!
For those who haven't heard it, oun re

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHftxPi5BP4

Sh0llypopz:
Did this happen in all Yoruba states or just Ondo and Lagos? Why do the Igbos in Ondo believe they need a recognized Igbo leader? Are they refusing to be subjects of a Yoruba king??

Who gave the orders that Igbos were allowed to have traditional positions in Western states? Do you think the Obas must have collected money from these Igbos and in turn, sold their birth rights??

Pheeew! Madam this topic again?

It happened only in Ondo.Ezes are everywhere in Yorubaland not just Lagos and Ondo

I guess its just part of their culture.

This is the first time we're experiencing the Eze issue in Yorubaland so I believe they've always been respectful

As per the emboldened,It has always been like that right from time.I mean this is Nigeria,there are no rules.

Speaking of Obas taking bribe and what not, I don't know but I really doubt it

superduperjay:
Any update on faleke issue?? Ordinarily that guy is the governor of kogi except he allows them wrestle him out of his right.

IFELEKE:
Indeed he has a good case but I doubt his chances, the igalas are highly tribalistic with tendencies to get violent if things don't go their way. They also have the numbers which they always use to their advantage / detriment of others.
But then, if I were him, I'll convince audu's son to align with me, get the best lawyers and fight to finish.

IlekeHD:
Isn't this Yoruba song from Benin Republic?

We even dress/dance the same!

Love the video......shared on FB.

IlekeHD:
Isn't this Yoruba song from Benin Republic?

We even dress/dance the same!

Love the video......shared on FB.

Kastonkastroll:
lol

Mehn I can't believe my eyes. I think is high time we start paying some serious homage to our Benin brother and sisters.

shymm8x:
Where is Alaafin Shango, the only man with fire balls like Chun Li? Lol

CabbieAC:
Maaaaan not only Benin.we need to carry out extensive research on our brothers/sisters in Brazil,Cuba,Togo,Ivory coast and every other country with significant Yoruba population

OnReflection:
Fambul from Sierra Leone is missing from this list Aare.

Oooh that's true!

Unfortunately,its quite difficult to find any Info about these guys but I'm still digging as usual

Shymm8x we need to discuss about that option B

I see you dodging from the question since yesterday

CabbieAC:
Oooh that's true!

Unfortunately,its quite difficult to find any Info about these guys but I'm still digging as usual

Shymm8x we need to discuss about that option B

I see you dodging from the question since yesterday

OLA LADE BACK WITH "ALIMA"

He composes and sings in Yoruba (a language spoken in Togo, Benin, Nigeria ...), English, Ewe ... He has to his credit two albums "Adire" released in 1999 and "Ola" released in 2001. In 2003, he released a single "Aye" and for nothing. Ola Lade is back with another single "Alima" released Monday, March 12, and the clip will be on the Web from Friday, March 16, 2012. I let you discover this talented artist who drew a full house for its first concert 19 December 1999 at the French Institute of Lomé "Ex French Cultural Center."

Ola Lade, thank you for granting us this interview. Can you introduce yourself briefly?

I am author Ola Lade singer songwriter, of Nigerian Togolese origin.

How and when was your first click music?

Wow !!! My first click if I remember correctly it was at the age of 12 when I wrote my first song I appointed Caroline a love song.

What made you retire from the music scene since 2004?

Uh! I can not say that a particular thing pushed me to leave the music scene but rather for personal reasons which were in some kind behind my premature withdrawal.

What questions you ask yourself after the long wait of nine years without a single or album?

Yes, the first thing that is important to me is whether my fans remained faithful to me after all these years, moreover I had the confirmation that they are. And also how do they expect the output of the first Single "Alima" the upcoming new Album.

Do you think it was a good thing to make your fans wait so long?

Yes and no. Yes in one direction especially when I have to present something new to my fans it must be perfect and professional and obviously it takes time. And not the other way my fans have my much awaited comeback with anticipation.

Now, are you ready for the return or is it just a nod to your fans?

Obviously I am ready for the return and also be careful because it will be heated. Laughs ...

Let's talk about the colors of your music?

Uh! I always stayed in my style that I named Afro-Pop that is my mix of African rhythms and pop music but more refined.

What are your projects ?

Yes, of course we have concerts planned in Africa in the sub-region including Togo, Nigeria and Benin as well as in Europe and the United States.

Do you have a last word to say?

I would like to say thank you particularly enjoy my fans who remained faithful to me and to you. Thank you and be the RDV Friday, March 16, 2012 for my new single "Alima".

OnReflection:
Watch out for release 1.2 of the same montage.

Oyotunji Village, South Carolina, USA
More info: http://www.oyotunji.org/


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkF2TDouGpE

Bekuta Jamaica

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUX-2NplE7A

"To find myself again in Kingston on a lecture engagement in 1990, for the first time in nearly fifteen years, just as the entire city was emptying itself out for Mandela, was already more than sufficient. It was a symbolic gift that I regarded as personal, not shared with the millions of ecstatic hordes that has laboured for, and now celebrated his freedom. To discover a portion of my own homeland in that far-off place at the same time - now, as that was a miracle that could only be wrought by a Mandelan Avatar.

For it was only on this visit, my second over to that island, that I was made aware of a slave settlement called Bekuta, a name that immediately resonated in my head as none other than the name of my hometown, Abeokuta. This centuries-wide reunion with my own history sent a tingle down my vertebrae - an encounter with descendants from my own hometown, Abeokuta, on a far-flung Caribbean Island, in the hills of a once slave settlement called Jamaica?" -- (source: Wole Soyinka - http://www.amazon.com/You-Must-Set-Forth-Dawn/dp/0375755144)

CabbieAC:
Oooh that's true!

Unfortunately,its quite difficult to find any Info about these guys but I'm still digging as usual

Shymm8x we need to discuss about that option B

I see you dodging from the question since yesterday

OnReflection:
Yoruba 'enclaves' in the diaspora

Yoruba Village, Ile Ife, Trinidad & Tobago

shymm8x:
Loool.

I just don't want problems with folks talking about people sniffing their info/details especially with what just happened on the forum. I'm free and loose on here - but out there in the real world, my image is something I protect very tightly and I try to stay away from trouble as far as I can.

If someone else can create it, I will definitely lock in. But I think I'll pass on creating/managing it.

Anyway, I saw some guy pleading for help with his Uni fees on the thread. How legit is the guy and is there a way to vet if he's real? Or maybe he should go to TeHn and let them vet him. What do you think?

Na wa! Eeerm Ilekehd you nko.you suppose fit do am na

Where are the programmers

As per the guy pleading for help, I didn't know what response to give him but I think he has gotten some help.I've seen folks tell him to drop his number but I don't know how far with that

I think MayorofLagos also wanted to render some help as well.Its difficult to tell whether he's real or fake but let's just assume he's real since that's a better option

I don't know about TeHn

Modified:I don't think he has gotten any help

CabbieAC:
Onreflection, looking at the population of Yorubas in these countries,that's a potentially hhhuge market for our movie industry
Yoruba movie makers need to think outside the box

What have we been doing all these while

davidhume1:
The arrival of home videos spelt doom for good Yoruba movies.
Back in the day, you had to go to the national theatre or at LTV8 and also at nta cinemas to watch any new movie. It was always a family thing back then, the cinema culture was alive among yorubas. Movie producers were guaranteed profit from their work. I'm sure the quality will have steadily improved.
Nollywood destroyed EVERYTHING!
SMH

CabbieAC:
Na wa! Eeerm Ilekehd you nko.you suppose fit do am na

Where are the programmers

As per the guy pleading for help, I didn't know what response to give him but I think he has gotten some help.I've seen folks tell him to drop his number but I don't know how far with that

I think MayorofLagos also wanted to render some help as well.Its difficult to tell whether he's real or fake but let's just assume he's real since that's a better option

I don't know about TeHn

Modified:I don't think he has gotten any help

CabbieAC:
Na wa! Eeerm Ilekehd you nko.you suppose fit do am na

Where are the programmers

As per the guy pleading for help, I didn't know what response to give him but I think he has gotten some help.I've seen folks tell him to drop his number but I don't know how far with that

I think MayorofLagos also wanted to render some help as well.Its difficult to tell whether he's real or fake but let's just assume he's real since that's a better option

I don't know about TeHn

Modified:I don't think he has gotten any help

angiography:
I'm glad this thread is up and running back....sometimes we may think this' a waste of precious time, but not to be discouraged, we would be judged by posterity ...now (coz I've got pieces of info which has brought a light to my desire- development of the Yoruba land and by extension, Nigeria).... and future coz years after years, people can come back here to find hope, information, direction- not to forget that a search on Google can be directed to Nairaland....


yea we shouldn't be tired. lol, if we are sooo deflated by such a minute opposition, then it's sad to say we ain't strong yet to fight for change and development in the real world of actualizing our dreams for the motherland.


CabbieAC, shymexx, ilekehd, modath, one reflection, all of us, let's throw last night behind us..
lol, tomorrow is a better day...and it looks promising....


oya...who knows bout the submission of the last confab report on regionalism??... I just need a concise opinion., coz the one being peddled by the Yoruba so-called elders seems too ambiguous