₦airaland Forum

Islam came to Oyo Empire in 14th century during the reign of Mansa Musa in Mali and subsequently conversion to Islam by some Yorubas. It was popularly called “Esin Imale” – religion brought by the Malian people...

However, some people erroneously translated “Esin Imale” as “hardened religion to practise”.

According to Akinjogbin (1971), Islam had come to the ancient Yoruba Kingdom of Oyo by the 14th century through trans-Saharan trade. The origin of the word ‘Yoruba’ has been traced to Arabic writers such as Ahmad Baba (1627 in his mi’raj al-su’ud)

And Muhammed Bello (1837 in his infaq al-maysur) both of whom were reported among the earliest to name the people in Oyo ‘Yoruba’, ‘yaruba’, ‘yarba’ at a time when they are still referring to themselves by their diverse ethnic identities (Ogunbiyi, 2003).

Yoruba people were earlier, before the advent of Islam, called “karo o ji re” while a lot of people were recognized by dialectal affiliation e.g Egba, Ijesa, Ife people etc.

The first mosque was built in Oyo-Ile in 1550. Islam was established in Iwo in 1655, spread to Iseyin in 1760, Saki in 1790, Osogbo in 1889 while Ibadan, Abeokuta, Ijebu-Ode, Ikirun and Ede knew about Islam before Fulani Jihad (Gbadamosi, 1978).

Islam came to Lagos in 18th century while the first mosque was built in 1774.

In Yoruba cultural analysis of Ifa divinity, every new born baby was taken to Ifa for future consultation popularly called “Ikosejaye”.

A new dimension to Ifa prediction was a strange corpus of Ifa called “Odu Imale” which was exclusively preserved for a new born baby that will later accepted and practised Islam (see Gbadamosi, 1978).

For instance, Oba Aliyu Oyewole (1795-1820), the seventh Akinrun of Ikirun was reported during “Ikosejaye” that he will practised Islam despite the fact that he was born into traditional belief.

Yet, the prediction came to pass and Islam became a well-known religion in Ikirun during his tenure so much so that he introduced Shariah Court in Ikirun just like Shariah was also practised in Ijebu-ode, Iwo, Iseyin among other places before colonial master cum missionary came in 1842 and abolished the Islamic judicial system.

The case of Ibadan during the reign of Iba Oluyole is also worth mentioning when Ifa predicted the coming of Muslim clerics and the warning that they should be honoured and accommodated.

It came to pass and the Ibadan Generalissimo, Aare Latoosa, during this time has problem of having a male child among his numerous wives.

Yet, Ifa directed him to seek divine intervention in the hands of Muslim clerics which he sought and his prayer was answered (Gbadamosi, 1978). He, therefore, became the first Muslim Oba in Ibadan. He compensated the clerics by building a Central Mosque beside his palace.

It is the replica of this “divine” assistance that led to the building of Central Mosques beside palaces in Yorubaland even within the premise of Ake palace in Egbaland.
Islam revolutionized Yoruba socio-cultural evolution so much so that...

Yoruba were taught how to read and write by the Malian Muslim traders in Arabic language. Yoruba history, for the first time, was documented in Arabic language while child-naming conventions were borrowed from Islamic tradition.

The modes of dressing in cultural Yoruba were largely inherited from Muslims traders. Islamic tradition standardized the excessive polygamous marriage in Yoruba and curtailed the culture of mal-treating women as mere slaves and appendages.

Societal culture, like “Ojude-Oba” among others in Ijebu-Ode, were established after the legendary warrior, Balogun Kuku accepted Islam and became Muhammed Bello Kuku.


- YorubaNation

Cool

ok

Well....

They have started......land grabbing propaganda

The origin of the word ‘Yoruba’ has been traced to Arabic writers such as Ahmad Baba (1627 in his mi’raj al-su’ud)

Not correct I think Tao11 Tao12 have clear the issue .Yoruba is gotten from oyo ri oba

kingbee90:
Oga Islam has no good legacy in Yoruba land. The Yorubas lost Ilorin to foreigners till date because of Afonja's alliance with Islam. The foreign Fulanis from Chad, Mali, Niger republic brought Islam to Yoruba land in order to conquer them & to use them to achieve their goals(influencing elections in Nigeria).
Through Islam, Foreigners are littered all over Yoruba land kidnapping, raping, killing & destroying the crops of Yoruba farmers.
I think the Yorubas are better off with their Traditional way of worship.

Hatred! Aba Omo nna jebure now. Everyone was ignorant in the olden days

The Yoruba invaded and imposed their religion on other tribes
The Christians use religion to invade and decieve Africans
The igala use religion to invade and colonize Igbos in Anambra and Enugu

Islam from Malian was peaceful and was a good example

kingbee90:
Oga Islam has no good legacy in Yoruba land. The Yorubas lost Ilorin to foreigners till date because of Afonja's alliance with Islam. The foreign Fulanis from Chad, Mali, Niger republic brought Islam to Yoruba land in order to conquer them & to use them to achieve their goals(influencing elections in Nigeria).
Through Islam, Foreigners are littered all over Yoruba land kidnapping, raping, killing & destroying the crops of Yoruba farmers.
I think the Yorubas are better off with their Traditional way of worship.

You don't know what you are talking about. Islam in Yorubaland preceded Uthman Dan Fodio.

Coming soon









The Emir of Ibadan.

Conquered and dusted.

Ihateniggov:
Islam came to Oyo Empire in 14th century during the reign of Mansa Musa in Mali and subsequently conversion to Islam by some Yorubas. It was popularly called “Esin Imale” – religion brought by the Malian people...

However, some people erroneously translated “Esin Imale” as “hardened religion to practise”.

According to Akinjogbin (1971), Islam had come to the ancient Yoruba Kingdom of Oyo by the 14th century through trans-Saharan trade. The origin of the word ‘Yoruba’ has been traced to Arabic writers such as Ahmad Baba (1627 in his mi’raj al-su’ud)

And Muhammed Bello (1837 in his infaq al-maysur) both of whom were reported among the earliest to name the people in Oyo ‘Yoruba’, ‘yaruba’, ‘yarba’ at a time when they are still referring to themselves by their diverse ethnic identities (Ogunbiyi, 2003).

Yoruba people were earlier, before the advent of Islam, called “karo o ji re” while a lot of people were recognized by dialectal affiliation e.g Egba, Ijesa, Ife people etc.

The first mosque was built in Oyo-Ile in 1550. Islam was established in Iwo in 1655, spread to Iseyin in 1760, Saki in 1790, Osogbo in 1889 while Ibadan, Abeokuta, Ijebu-Ode, Ikirun and Ede knew about Islam before Fulani Jihad (Gbadamosi, 1978).

Islam came to Lagos in 18th century while the first mosque was built in 1774.

In Yoruba cultural analysis of Ifa divinity, every new born baby was taken to Ifa for future consultation popularly called “Ikosejaye”.

A new dimension to Ifa prediction was a strange corpus of Ifa called “Odu Imale” which was exclusively preserved for a new born baby that will later accepted and practised Islam (see Gbadamosi, 1978).

For instance, Oba Aliyu Oyewole (1795-1820), the seventh Akinrun of Ikirun was reported during “Ikosejaye” that he will practised Islam despite the fact that he was born into traditional belief.

Yet, the prediction came to pass and Islam became a well-known religion in Ikirun during his tenure so much so that he introduced Shariah Court in Ikirun just like Shariah was also practised in Ijebu-ode, Iwo, Iseyin among other places before colonial master cum missionary came in 1842 and abolished the Islamic judicial system.

The case of Ibadan during the reign of Iba Oluyole is also worth mentioning when Ifa predicted the coming of Muslim clerics and the warning that they should be honoured and accommodated.

It came to pass and the Ibadan Generalissimo, Aare Latoosa, during this time has problem of having a male child among his numerous wives.

Yet, Ifa directed him to seek divine intervention in the hands of Muslim clerics which he sought and his prayer was answered (Gbadamosi, 1978). He, therefore, became the first Muslim Oba in Ibadan. He compensated the clerics by building a Central Mosque beside his palace.

It is the replica of this “divine” assistance that led to the building of Central Mosques beside palaces in Yorubaland even within the premise of Ake palace in Egbaland.
Islam revolutionized Yoruba socio-cultural evolution so much so that...

Yoruba were taught how to read and write by the Malian Muslim traders in Arabic language. Yoruba history, for the first time, was documented in Arabic language while child-naming conventions were borrowed from Islamic tradition.

The modes of dressing in cultural Yoruba were largely inherited from Muslims traders. Islamic tradition standardized the excessive polygamous marriage in Yoruba and curtailed the culture of mal-treating women as mere slaves and appendages.

Societal culture, like “Ojude-Oba” among others in Ijebu-Ode, were established after the legendary warrior, Balogun Kuku accepted Islam and became Muhammed Bello Kuku.


- YorubaNation

Thanks for this piece.
We are wiser now and rewriting history.

Islam has two types. The one practised in UAE. That one is progressive. I don't mind being a Muslim if that is all it takes.
Another type is the one practised in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Yemen and Northern Nigeria. That one has no place in contemporary society.
It has no good tidings save destruction's and annihilation.
That one is an anathema and anachronistic.

Ihateniggov:
•••The origin of the word ‘Yoruba’ has been traced to Arabic writers such as Ahmad Baba (1627 in his mi’raj al-su’ud)•••

Good write-up! In any case, I’d like to correct some ‘mistakes’ in this write up:

(1) The word “Yoruba” did not originate in Ahmad Baba’s “Mi’raj al-Su’ud”, or in any of his essays.

To originate a word is to coin such word.

The Timbuktu writer, Ahmad Baba (in that essay) simply made reference to different groups of people using their well-known pre-existing names.

The embedded screenshot right below shows a scan of the manuscript folio in question from his original Arabic essay written in the early 1600s.

www.nairaland.com/attachments/12934148_5117c6d550154217817d7c66b5fa0fe6_jpeg_jpeg2a73d5172c14cf7a7da91ff200688e3e

The embedded screenshot which follows below shows a translation of the relevant section of the above Arabic original.

This translation below was prepared by John Hunwick and Fatima Harrak for The Institute of African Studies Rabat, Morocco in the year 2000.

www.nairaland.com/attachments/12934147_3336ed29985b499e82c4e140b455b9fa_jpeg_jpeg62ecafabb59c692d4ba471597fdf16bb

Clearly, the text shows from its phrasing [viz. “... the group called ... Yoruba ...”] that this is a well-known pre-existing name.

Ahmad Baba didn’t name us, neither did he name any of the ten groups in that listing.
•
•
•
(2) Yes Ahmad Baba wrote “Mi’raj al-Su’ud”, but not in the year 1627 (in case that was assumed).

Rather, this specific essay was written in the year 1615 in response to some inquiries on enslaving black people.

The Arabic text of “Mi’raj al Su’ud” contains the precise year [and month] of its writing (in the Islamic/Hijri calendar obviously) as highlighted in the embedded folio below.

www.nairaland.com/attachments/13082305_6e49d8d129844a578af9272699e1586a_jpeg_jpeg2d5891d724a6428e2c0f4e6898bd60cc

The highlight in this folio (which is simply the “verso” of the earlier attached folio) basically shows the wording (in translation): “[The year] one thousand and twenty four [of the Hijrah]”.

When converted from this Hijri “AH” calendar into the Gregorian “CE” calendar; the year 1024AH falls into the year 1615CE.

The well-known formula “G = 0.9692*H + 622” proves sufficiently useful for this conversion.

•••And Muhammed Bello (1837 in his infaq al-maysur) both of whom were reported among the earliest to name the people in Oyo ‘Yoruba’, ‘yaruba’, ‘yarba’ at a time when they are still referring to themselves by their diverse ethnic identities•••

In the light of my above expositions from Ahmad Baba’s essay of the year 1615, the anachronism and contradiction of the Sultan Bello Coinage myth thus becomes very obvious.

For emphasis, the year 1615 (Ahmad Baba) comes before the year 1837 (Sultan Bello). Lol.

And the word “Yoruba” (as the group name for Yoruba-speaking peoples) has been in existence prior to Baba himself as has been observed in that essay.

What then is the word “Yarriba”, or “Yarba”, etc., and what is its connection with Sultan Bello??

Captain Hugh Clapperton who was an acquaintance of Sultan Bello of Sokoto informs us in his 1829 publication on this.

He noted that “Yarriba” is simply the Arab’s and the Hausa’s articulation of the evidently pre-existing name “Yoruba”. To quote Clapperton’s precise words, he writes:

“Having seen the whole of the baggage off, we started in the evening, and proceeded on our journey. We learned in fact that we were not now in the king of Badagry's territory, but in a district of Eyeo [Ọ̀yọ́], which is called Yarriba by the Arabs and people of Houssa, and that the name of the capital is called Katunga, and that it is thirty days' journey.”

~ Captain Hugh Clapperton; “Journal of a Second Expedition Into the Interior of Africa”; (1829), p. 4.


Furthermore, Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther also writing in the 1800s makes a note to this same foregoing effect when he writes as follows:

“European Travellers obtained the name Katanga from Hausa People. Yarriba, or Yaruba, is likewise the Hausa pronunciation: Yoruba would be more correct”.

~ Reverend Ajayi Crowther; “A Grammar of The Yoruba Language”; (1852), p. i.
•
•
•
In summary, the name “Yoruba” did not originate in the writings of Ahmad Baba in the 1600s. Neither, obviously, did it originate in the writings of Arabs and Hausa-Fulanis in the 1800s.

As has been seen in Ahmad Baba’s essay from the year 1615, the name “Yoruba” (in reference to the Yoruba-speaking group) predates the 1600s.

It is evidently our endonym from a long time ago. Don’t be fooled by modern day propaganda, people.


Cheers!

Cc: LegendHero, SuperBold, chrisxxx, PoliteActivist, kingbee90, illicit, FortifiedCity, Guestlander, SouthNigerian, dvdwed, Ideadoctor, SaintBeehot, gomojam, DenreleDave, reallest, TimeManager, RuggedSniper

TAO11:
Good write-up! In any case, I’d like to correct some ‘mistakes’ in this write up:

(1) The word “Yoruba” did not originate in Ahmad Baba’s “Mi’raj al-Su’ud”, or in any of his essays.

To originate a word is to coin such word.

Ahmad Baba (in that essay) simply made reference to different pre-existing groups of people using their well-known pre-existing names.

The embedded screenshot right below shows a scan of the manuscript folio in question from his original Arabic essay written in the early 1600s.

www.nairaland.com/attachments/12934148_5117c6d550154217817d7c66b5fa0fe6_jpeg_jpeg2a73d5172c14cf7a7da91ff200688e3e

The embedded screenshot which follows below shows a translation of the relevant section of the above Arabic original.

This translation below was prepared by John Hunwick and Fatima Harrak for The Institute of African Studies Rabat, Morocco in the year 2000.

www.nairaland.com/attachments/12934147_3336ed29985b499e82c4e140b455b9fa_jpeg_jpeg62ecafabb59c692d4ba471597fdf16bb

Clearly, the text shows from its phrasing [viz. “... the group called ... Yoruba ...”] that this is a well-known pre-existing name.

Ahmad Baba didn’t name us, neither did he name any of the group in that listing.
•
•
•
(2) Ahmad Baba wrote “Mi’raj al-Su’ud”, but not in the year 1627 (in case that was assumed).

Rather, this specific essay was written in the year 1615 in response to some inquiries on enslaving black people.

The Arabic text of “Mi’raj al Su’ud” contains the precise year [and month] of its writing (in the Islamic/Hijri calendar obviously) as highlighted in the embedded folio below.

www.nairaland.com/attachments/13082305_6e49d8d129844a578af9272699e1586a_jpeg_jpeg2d5891d724a6428e2c0f4e6898bd60cc

The highlight in this folio (which is simply the “verso” of the earlier attached folio) basically shows the wording (in translation): “[The year] one thousand and twenty four [of the Hijrah]”.

When converted from this Hijri “AH” calendar into the Gregorian “CE” calendar; the year 1024AH falls into the year 1615CE.

The well-known formula “G = 0.9692*H + 622” proves sufficiently useful for this conversion.

In the light of my above expositions from Ahmad Baba’s essay of the year 1615, the anachronism and contradiction of the “Sultan Bello Coinage” myth thus becomes very obvious.

For emphasis, the year 1615 (Ahmad Baba) comes before the year 1837 (Sultan Bello). Lol.

And the word “Yoruba” (as a group name of Yoruba speaking peoples) has been in existence prior to Ahmad Baba (1600s) himself as has been observed in his writing.

What then is the word “Yarriba”, or “Yarba”, etc., and what is its connection with Sultan Bello??

Captain Hugh Clapperton who was an acquaintance of Sultan Bello of Sokoto informs us in his 1829 publication on this.

He noted that “Yarriba” is simply the Arab’s and the Hausa’s articulation of the evidently pre-existing name “Yoruba”. To quote Clapperton’s precise words, he writes:

“Having seen the whole of the baggage off, we started in the evening, and proceeded on our journey. We learned in fact that we were not now in the king of Badagry's territory, but in a district of Eyeo [Ọ̀yọ́], which is called Yarriba by the Arabs and people of Houssa, and that the name of the capital is called Katunga, and that it is thirty days' journey.”

~ Captain Hugh Clapperton; “Journal of a Second Expedition Into the Interior of Africa”; p. 4.


Furthermore, Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther also writing in the 1800s makes a note to this same foregoing effect when he writes as follows:

“European Travellers obtained the name Katanga from Hausa People. Yarriba, or Yaruba, is likewise the Hausa pronunciation: Yoruba would be more correct”.

~ Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther; “A Brief History of The Yoruba People”; pp. 1-2.
•
•
•
In summary, the name “Yoruba” did not originate in the writings of Ahmad Baba in the 1600s. Neither, obviously, did it originate in the writings of Arabs and Hausa-Fulanis in the 1800s.

As has been seen in Ahmad Baba’s essay from the year 1615, the name “Yoruba” (in reference to the Yoruba-speaking group) predates the 1600s.

It is evidently our endonym from a long time ago. Don’t be fooled by modern day propaganda, people.


Cheers!

Cc: LegendHero, SuperBold, chrisxxx, PoliteActivist, kingbee90, illicit, FortifiedCity, Guestlander, SouthNigerian, dvdwed, Ideadoctor, SaintBeehot, gomojam, DenreleDave, reallest, TimeManager, RuggedSniper

Thanks for this.

TAO11:
Good write-up! In any case, I’d like to correct some ‘mistakes’ in this write up:

(1) The word “Yoruba” did not originate in Ahmad Baba’s “Mi’raj al-Su’ud”, or in any of his essays.

To originate a word is to coin such word.

Ahmad Baba (in that essay) simply made reference to different pre-existing groups of people using their well-known pre-existing names.

The embedded screenshot right below shows a scan of the manuscript folio in question from his original Arabic essay written in the early 1600s.

www.nairaland.com/attachments/12934148_5117c6d550154217817d7c66b5fa0fe6_jpeg_jpeg2a73d5172c14cf7a7da91ff200688e3e

The embedded screenshot which follows below shows a translation of the relevant section of the above Arabic original.

This translation below was prepared by John Hunwick and Fatima Harrak for The Institute of African Studies Rabat, Morocco in the year 2000.

www.nairaland.com/attachments/12934147_3336ed29985b499e82c4e140b455b9fa_jpeg_jpeg62ecafabb59c692d4ba471597fdf16bb

Clearly, the text shows from its phrasing [viz. “... the group called ... Yoruba ...”] that this is a well-known pre-existing name.

Ahmad Baba didn’t name us, neither did he name any of the group in that listing.
•
•
•
(2) Ahmad Baba wrote “Mi’raj al-Su’ud”, but not in the year 1627 (in case that was assumed).

Rather, this specific essay was written in the year 1615 in response to some inquiries on enslaving black people.

The Arabic text of “Mi’raj al Su’ud” contains the precise year [and month] of its writing (in the Islamic/Hijri calendar obviously) as highlighted in the embedded folio below.

www.nairaland.com/attachments/13082305_6e49d8d129844a578af9272699e1586a_jpeg_jpeg2d5891d724a6428e2c0f4e6898bd60cc

The highlight in this folio (which is simply the “verso” of the earlier attached folio) basically shows the wording (in translation): “[The year] one thousand and twenty four [of the Hijrah]”.

When converted from this Hijri “AH” calendar into the Gregorian “CE” calendar; the year 1024AH falls into the year 1615CE.

The well-known formula “G = 0.9692*H + 622” proves sufficiently useful for this conversion.

In the light of my above expositions from Ahmad Baba’s essay of the year 1615, the anachronism and contradiction of the “Sultan Bello Coinage” myth thus becomes very obvious.

For emphasis, the year 1615 (Ahmad Baba) comes before the year 1837 (Sultan Bello). Lol.

And the word “Yoruba” (as a group name of Yoruba speaking peoples) has been in existence prior to Ahmad Baba (1600s) himself as has been observed in his writing.

What then is the word “Yarriba”, or “Yarba”, etc., and what is its connection with Sultan Bello??

Captain Hugh Clapperton who was an acquaintance of Sultan Bello of Sokoto informs us in his 1829 publication on this.

He noted that “Yarriba” is simply the Arab’s and the Hausa’s articulation of the evidently pre-existing name “Yoruba”. To quote Clapperton’s precise words, he writes:

“Having seen the whole of the baggage off, we started in the evening, and proceeded on our journey. We learned in fact that we were not now in the king of Badagry's territory, but in a district of Eyeo [Ọ̀yọ́], which is called Yarriba by the Arabs and people of Houssa, and that the name of the capital is called Katunga, and that it is thirty days' journey.”

~ Captain Hugh Clapperton; “Journal of a Second Expedition Into the Interior of Africa”; p. 4.


Furthermore, Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther also writing in the 1800s makes a note to this same foregoing effect when he writes as follows:

“European Travellers obtained the name Katanga from Hausa People. Yarriba, or Yaruba, is likewise the Hausa pronunciation: Yoruba would be more correct”.

~ Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther; “A Brief History of The Yoruba People”; pp. 1-2.
•
•
•
In summary, the name “Yoruba” did not originate in the writings of Ahmad Baba in the 1600s. Neither, obviously, did it originate in the writings of Arabs and Hausa-Fulanis in the 1800s.

As has been seen in Ahmad Baba’s essay from the year 1615, the name “Yoruba” (in reference to the Yoruba-speaking group) predates the 1600s.

It is evidently our endonym from a long time ago. Don’t be fooled by modern day propaganda, people.


Cheers!

Cc: LegendHero, SuperBold, chrisxxx, PoliteActivist, kingbee90, illicit, FortifiedCity, Guestlander, SouthNigerian, dvdwed, Ideadoctor, SaintBeehot, gomojam, DenreleDave, reallest, TimeManager, RuggedSniper

I so much appreciate this new revelation. Keep up the good work.

chrisxxx:
Islam has two types. The one practised in UAE. That one is progressive. I don't mind being a Muslim if that is all it takes.
Another type is the one practised in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Yemen and Northern Nigeria. That one has no place in contemporary society.
It has no good tidings save destruction's and annihilation.
That one is an anathema and anachronistic.

Islam is one, with one prophet.

The same one practice in Afghanistan is a reincarnation of the one practised by Mohammed in the desert.

The one is UAE is a watered down artificial Islam for economic benefits

TAO11:
Good write-up! In any case, I’d like to correct some ‘mistakes’ in this write up:

(1) The word “Yoruba” did not originate in Ahmad Baba’s “Mi’raj al-Su’ud”, or in any of his essays.

To originate a word is to coin such word.

The Timbuktu writer, Ahmad Baba (in that essay) simply made reference to different groups of people using their well-known pre-existing names.

The embedded screenshot right below shows a scan of the manuscript folio in question from his original Arabic essay written in the early 1600s.

www.nairaland.com/attachments/12934148_5117c6d550154217817d7c66b5fa0fe6_jpeg_jpeg2a73d5172c14cf7a7da91ff200688e3e

The embedded screenshot which follows below shows a translation of the relevant section of the above Arabic original.

This translation below was prepared by John Hunwick and Fatima Harrak for The Institute of African Studies Rabat, Morocco in the year 2000.

www.nairaland.com/attachments/12934147_3336ed29985b499e82c4e140b455b9fa_jpeg_jpeg62ecafabb59c692d4ba471597fdf16bb

Clearly, the text shows from its phrasing [viz. “... the group called ... Yoruba ...”] that this is a well-known pre-existing name.

Ahmad Baba didn’t name us, neither did he name any of the ten groups in that listing.
•
•
•
(2) Yes Ahmad Baba wrote “Mi’raj al-Su’ud”, but not in the year 1627 (in case that was assumed).

Rather, this specific essay was written in the year 1615 in response to some inquiries on enslaving black people.

The Arabic text of “Mi’raj al Su’ud” contains the precise year [and month] of its writing (in the Islamic/Hijri calendar obviously) as highlighted in the embedded folio below.

www.nairaland.com/attachments/13082305_6e49d8d129844a578af9272699e1586a_jpeg_jpeg2d5891d724a6428e2c0f4e6898bd60cc

The highlight in this folio (which is simply the “verso” of the earlier attached folio) basically shows the wording (in translation): “[The year] one thousand and twenty four [of the Hijrah]”.

When converted from this Hijri “AH” calendar into the Gregorian “CE” calendar; the year 1024AH falls into the year 1615CE.

The well-known formula “G = 0.9692*H + 622” proves sufficiently useful for this conversion.

In the light of my above expositions from Ahmad Baba’s essay of the year 1615, the anachronism and contradiction of the Sultan Bello Coinage myth thus becomes very obvious.

For emphasis, the year 1615 (Ahmad Baba) comes before the year 1837 (Sultan Bello). Lol.

And the word “Yoruba” (as the group name for Yoruba-speaking peoples) has been in existence prior to Baba himself as has been observed in that essay.

What then is the word “Yarriba”, or “Yarba”, etc., and what is its connection with Sultan Bello??

Captain Hugh Clapperton who was an acquaintance of Sultan Bello of Sokoto informs us in his 1829 publication on this.

He noted that “Yarriba” is simply the Arab’s and the Hausa’s articulation of the evidently pre-existing name “Yoruba”. To quote Clapperton’s precise words, he writes:

“Having seen the whole of the baggage off, we started in the evening, and proceeded on our journey. We learned in fact that we were not now in the king of Badagry's territory, but in a district of Eyeo [Ọ̀yọ́], which is called Yarriba by the Arabs and people of Houssa, and that the name of the capital is called Katunga, and that it is thirty days' journey.”

~ Captain Hugh Clapperton; “Journal of a Second Expedition Into the Interior of Africa”; p. 4.


Furthermore, Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther also writing in the 1800s makes a note to this same foregoing effect when he writes as follows:

“European Travellers obtained the name Katanga from Hausa People. Yarriba, or Yaruba, is likewise the Hausa pronunciation: Yoruba would be more correct”.

~ Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther; “A Brief History of The Yoruba People”; pp. 1-2.
•
•
•
In summary, the name “Yoruba” did not originate in the writings of Ahmad Baba in the 1600s. Neither, obviously, did it originate in the writings of Arabs and Hausa-Fulanis in the 1800s.

As has been seen in Ahmad Baba’s essay from the year 1615, the name “Yoruba” (in reference to the Yoruba-speaking group) predates the 1600s.

It is evidently our endonym from a long time ago. Don’t be fooled by modern day propaganda, people.


Cheers!

Cc: LegendHero, SuperBold, chrisxxx, PoliteActivist, kingbee90, illicit, FortifiedCity, Guestlander, SouthNigerian, dvdwed, Ideadoctor, SaintBeehot, gomojam, DenreleDave, reallest, TimeManager, RuggedSniper

Nice one sister may God continue to grease your brain

TAO11:
Good write-up! In any case, I’d like to correct some ‘mistakes’ in this write up:

(1) The word “Yoruba” did not originate in Ahmad Baba’s “Mi’raj al-Su’ud”, or in any of his essays.

To originate a word is to coin such word.

The Timbuktu writer, Ahmad Baba (in that essay) simply made reference to different groups of people using their well-known pre-existing names.

The embedded screenshot right below shows a scan of the manuscript folio in question from his original Arabic essay written in the early 1600s.

www.nairaland.com/attachments/12934148_5117c6d550154217817d7c66b5fa0fe6_jpeg_jpeg2a73d5172c14cf7a7da91ff200688e3e

The embedded screenshot which follows below shows a translation of the relevant section of the above Arabic original.

This translation below was prepared by John Hunwick and Fatima Harrak for The Institute of African Studies Rabat, Morocco in the year 2000.

www.nairaland.com/attachments/12934147_3336ed29985b499e82c4e140b455b9fa_jpeg_jpeg62ecafabb59c692d4ba471597fdf16bb

Clearly, the text shows from its phrasing [viz. “... the group called ... Yoruba ...”] that this is a well-known pre-existing name.

Ahmad Baba didn’t name us, neither did he name any of the ten groups in that listing.
•
•
•
(2) Yes Ahmad Baba wrote “Mi’raj al-Su’ud”, but not in the year 1627 (in case that was assumed).

Rather, this specific essay was written in the year 1615 in response to some inquiries on enslaving black people.

The Arabic text of “Mi’raj al Su’ud” contains the precise year [and month] of its writing (in the Islamic/Hijri calendar obviously) as highlighted in the embedded folio below.

www.nairaland.com/attachments/13082305_6e49d8d129844a578af9272699e1586a_jpeg_jpeg2d5891d724a6428e2c0f4e6898bd60cc

The highlight in this folio (which is simply the “verso” of the earlier attached folio) basically shows the wording (in translation): “[The year] one thousand and twenty four [of the Hijrah]”.

When converted from this Hijri “AH” calendar into the Gregorian “CE” calendar; the year 1024AH falls into the year 1615CE.

The well-known formula “G = 0.9692*H + 622” proves sufficiently useful for this conversion.

In the light of my above expositions from Ahmad Baba’s essay of the year 1615, the anachronism and contradiction of the Sultan Bello Coinage myth thus becomes very obvious.

For emphasis, the year 1615 (Ahmad Baba) comes before the year 1837 (Sultan Bello). Lol.

And the word “Yoruba” (as the group name for Yoruba-speaking peoples) has been in existence prior to Baba himself as has been observed in that essay.

What then is the word “Yarriba”, or “Yarba”, etc., and what is its connection with Sultan Bello??

Captain Hugh Clapperton who was an acquaintance of Sultan Bello of Sokoto informs us in his 1829 publication on this.

He noted that “Yarriba” is simply the Arab’s and the Hausa’s articulation of the evidently pre-existing name “Yoruba”. To quote Clapperton’s precise words, he writes:

“Having seen the whole of the baggage off, we started in the evening, and proceeded on our journey. We learned in fact that we were not now in the king of Badagry's territory, but in a district of Eyeo [Ọ̀yọ́], which is called Yarriba by the Arabs and people of Houssa, and that the name of the capital is called Katunga, and that it is thirty days' journey.”

~ Captain Hugh Clapperton; “Journal of a Second Expedition Into the Interior of Africa”; p. 4.


Furthermore, Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther also writing in the 1800s makes a note to this same foregoing effect when he writes as follows:

“European Travellers obtained the name Katanga from Hausa People. Yarriba, or Yaruba, is likewise the Hausa pronunciation: Yoruba would be more correct”.

~ Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther; “A Brief History of The Yoruba People”; pp. 1-2.
•
•
•
In summary, the name “Yoruba” did not originate in the writings of Ahmad Baba in the 1600s. Neither, obviously, did it originate in the writings of Arabs and Hausa-Fulanis in the 1800s.

As has been seen in Ahmad Baba’s essay from the year 1615, the name “Yoruba” (in reference to the Yoruba-speaking group) predates the 1600s.

It is evidently our endonym from a long time ago. Don’t be fooled by modern day propaganda, people.


Cheers!

Cc: LegendHero, SuperBold, chrisxxx, PoliteActivist, kingbee90, illicit, FortifiedCity, Guestlander, SouthNigerian, dvdwed, Ideadoctor, SaintBeehot, gomojam, DenreleDave, reallest, TimeManager, RuggedSniper

Thanks for this piece, i learnt something from this.

TAO11:
Good write-up! In any case, I’d like to correct some ‘mistakes’ in this write up:

(1) The word “Yoruba” did not originate in Ahmad Baba’s “Mi’raj al-Su’ud”, or in any of his essays.

To originate a word is to coin such word.

The Timbuktu writer, Ahmad Baba (in that essay) simply made reference to different groups of people using their well-known pre-existing names.

The embedded screenshot right below shows a scan of the manuscript folio in question from his original Arabic essay written in the early 1600s.

www.nairaland.com/attachments/12934148_5117c6d550154217817d7c66b5fa0fe6_jpeg_jpeg2a73d5172c14cf7a7da91ff200688e3e

The embedded screenshot which follows below shows a translation of the relevant section of the above Arabic original.

This translation below was prepared by John Hunwick and Fatima Harrak for The Institute of African Studies Rabat, Morocco in the year 2000.

www.nairaland.com/attachments/12934147_3336ed29985b499e82c4e140b455b9fa_jpeg_jpeg62ecafabb59c692d4ba471597fdf16bb

Clearly, the text shows from its phrasing [viz. “... the group called ... Yoruba ...”] that this is a well-known pre-existing name.

Ahmad Baba didn’t name us, neither did he name any of the ten groups in that listing.
•
•
•
(2) Yes Ahmad Baba wrote “Mi’raj al-Su’ud”, but not in the year 1627 (in case that was assumed).

Rather, this specific essay was written in the year 1615 in response to some inquiries on enslaving black people.

The Arabic text of “Mi’raj al Su’ud” contains the precise year [and month] of its writing (in the Islamic/Hijri calendar obviously) as highlighted in the embedded folio below.

www.nairaland.com/attachments/13082305_6e49d8d129844a578af9272699e1586a_jpeg_jpeg2d5891d724a6428e2c0f4e6898bd60cc

The highlight in this folio (which is simply the “verso” of the earlier attached folio) basically shows the wording (in translation): “[The year] one thousand and twenty four [of the Hijrah]”.

When converted from this Hijri “AH” calendar into the Gregorian “CE” calendar; the year 1024AH falls into the year 1615CE.

The well-known formula “G = 0.9692*H + 622” proves sufficiently useful for this conversion.

In the light of my above expositions from Ahmad Baba’s essay of the year 1615, the anachronism and contradiction of the Sultan Bello Coinage myth thus becomes very obvious.

For emphasis, the year 1615 (Ahmad Baba) comes before the year 1837 (Sultan Bello). Lol.

And the word “Yoruba” (as the group name for Yoruba-speaking peoples) has been in existence prior to Baba himself as has been observed in that essay.

What then is the word “Yarriba”, or “Yarba”, etc., and what is its connection with Sultan Bello??

Captain Hugh Clapperton who was an acquaintance of Sultan Bello of Sokoto informs us in his 1829 publication on this.

He noted that “Yarriba” is simply the Arab’s and the Hausa’s articulation of the evidently pre-existing name “Yoruba”. To quote Clapperton’s precise words, he writes:

“Having seen the whole of the baggage off, we started in the evening, and proceeded on our journey. We learned in fact that we were not now in the king of Badagry's territory, but in a district of Eyeo [Ọ̀yọ́], which is called Yarriba by the Arabs and people of Houssa, and that the name of the capital is called Katunga, and that it is thirty days' journey.”

~ Captain Hugh Clapperton; “Journal of a Second Expedition Into the Interior of Africa”; p. 4.


Furthermore, Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther also writing in the 1800s makes a note to this same foregoing effect when he writes as follows:

“European Travellers obtained the name Katanga from Hausa People. Yarriba, or Yaruba, is likewise the Hausa pronunciation: Yoruba would be more correct”.

~ Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther; “A Brief History of The Yoruba People”; pp. 1-2.
•
•
•
In summary, the name “Yoruba” did not originate in the writings of Ahmad Baba in the 1600s. Neither, obviously, did it originate in the writings of Arabs and Hausa-Fulanis in the 1800s.

As has been seen in Ahmad Baba’s essay from the year 1615, the name “Yoruba” (in reference to the Yoruba-speaking group) predates the 1600s.

It is evidently our endonym from a long time ago. Don’t be fooled by modern day propaganda, people.


Cheers!

Cc: LegendHero, SuperBold, chrisxxx, PoliteActivist, kingbee90, illicit, FortifiedCity, Guestlander, SouthNigerian, dvdwed, Ideadoctor, SaintBeehot, gomojam, DenreleDave, reallest, TimeManager, RuggedSniper

Thank you for this.

I have been finding this actual manuscript where Ahmad Baba made mention of Yoruba for quite some time now but I haven’t been able to lay my hands on them.

Now you just gave it on a platter of Gold.

Keep the good work up

kingbee90:
Oga Islam has no good legacy in Yoruba land. The Yorubas lost Ilorin to foreigners till date because of Afonja's alliance with Islam. The foreign Fulanis from Chad, Mali, Niger republic brought Islam to Yoruba land in order to conquer them & to use them to achieve their goals(influencing elections in Nigeria).
Through Islam, Foreigners are littered all over Yoruba land kidnapping, raping, killing & destroying the crops of Yoruba farmers.
I think the Yorubas are better off with their Traditional way of worship.

Shut up!
This is not a thread for imbecilic diatribes.

Tao11 has consistently enriched our knowledge here.

As some of you may be aware, I noted here sometimes ago through the lecture of Professor Peter Ekeh the quote of Amed Baba.

But TAO11 as usual dug up the Actual, not just the reference. She has continued unlike most of us, kept up with and corrected their mischievous misappellation and innuendos.

Great job TAO11.

LegendHero:
Thank you for this.

I have been finding this actual manuscript where Ahmad Baba made mention of Yoruba for quite some time now but I haven’t been able to lay my hands on them.

Now you just gave it on a platter of Gold.

Keep the good work up

LegendHero:
Thank you for this.

I have been finding this actual manuscript where Ahmad Baba made mention of Yoruba for quite some time now but I haven’t been able to lay my hands on them.

Now you just gave it on a platter of Gold.

Keep the good work up

googi:
Tao11 has consistently enriched our knowledge here.

As some of you may be aware, I noted here sometimes ago through the lecture of Professor Peter Ekeh the quote of Amed Baba.

But TAO11 as usual dug up the Actual, not just the reference. She has continued unlike most of us, kept up with and corrected their mischievous misappellation and innuendos.

Great job TAO11.

Thank you LegendHero and googi.

Like googi, I also remember once quoting Toyin Falola & Matt Childs’s reference to Baba’s usage of the name in response to a certain Bini knuckle head.

He was hell-bent that historians are colluding in some conspiracy of “falsely” referring to Ahmad Baba.

He insists on seeing the manuscript itself even though he admitted to knowing nothing of even widespread Arabic — let alone the Maghrebi script of Arabic.

Another Bini knuckle head whom I engaged recently jumped on the same insecure attitude even though he was already provided with the English translation which I had pooled from a University of Alberta’s webpage.

So, I thought to myself that The World Digital Library should have the originals of at least this popular essay of his, namely — “Mi’raj al-Su’ud”.

Lo and behold I found this particular essay on the WDL webpage in full. I was lucky. I was very excited.

I may drop the WDL’s link to the complete originals of this particular essay if you guys care for it.

As well as the the University of Alberta’s link to its translation (and of other essays of his) prepared John Hunwick & Fatima Harrack for the Morocco institute.

Cheers!

TAO11:
Thank you LegendHero and googi.

Like googi, I also remember once quoting Toyin Falola & Matt Childs’s reference to Baba’s usage of the name in response to a certain Bini knuckle head.

He was hell-bent that historians are colluding in some conspiracy of “falsely” referring to Ahmad Baba.

He insists on seeing the manuscript itself even though he admitted to knowing nothing of even widespread Arabic — let alone the Maghrebi script of Arabic.

Another Bini knuckle head whom I engaged recently jumped on the same insecure attitude even though he was already provided with the English translation which I had pooled from a University of Alberta’s webpage.

So, I thought to myself that The World Digital Library should have the originals of at least this popular essay of his, namely — “Mi’raj al-Su’ud”.

Lo and behold I found this particular essay on the WDL webpage in full. I was lucky. I was very excited.

I may drop the WDL’s link to the complete originals of this particular essay if you guys care for it.

As well as the the University of Alberta’s link to its translation (and of other essays of his) prepared John Hunwick & Fatima Harrack for the Morocco institute.

Cheers!

If you’re willing I will like to see the WDL link too and it will aid knowledge.

Thanks

LegendHero:
If you’re willing I will like to see the WDL link too and it will aid knowledge.

Thanks

No problem! Give me a moment.

Modified:
(1) https://www.wdl.org/en/item/9661/view/1/1/

That’s the World Digital Library link to the complete manuscript of Baba’s “Mi’raj al-Su’ud”. Please note that the 15th folio is the specific folio in question.

(2) http://www.artsrn.ualberta.ca/amcdouga/Hist347/autumn%202012/additional%20readings/ahmad_baba.pdf

That’s the University of Albert link to the translation. Please note that this translation features not only his “Mi’raj al-Su’ud”.

The translation of “Mi’raj al-Su’ud” ends on page 40 of this material. Another essay of his begins from page 41.

Cc: googi

TAO11:
Good write-up! In any case, I’d like to correct some ‘mistakes’ in this write up:

(1) The word “Yoruba” did not originate in Ahmad Baba’s “Mi’raj al-Su’ud”, or in any of his essays.

To originate a word is to coin such word.

The Timbuktu writer, Ahmad Baba (in that essay) simply made reference to different groups of people using their well-known pre-existing names.

The embedded screenshot right below shows a scan of the manuscript folio in question from his original Arabic essay written in the early 1600s.

www.nairaland.com/attachments/12934148_5117c6d550154217817d7c66b5fa0fe6_jpeg_jpeg2a73d5172c14cf7a7da91ff200688e3e

The embedded screenshot which follows below shows a translation of the relevant section of the above Arabic original.

This translation below was prepared by John Hunwick and Fatima Harrak for The Institute of African Studies Rabat, Morocco in the year 2000.

www.nairaland.com/attachments/12934147_3336ed29985b499e82c4e140b455b9fa_jpeg_jpeg62ecafabb59c692d4ba471597fdf16bb

Clearly, the text shows from its phrasing [viz. “... the group called ... Yoruba ...”] that this is a well-known pre-existing name.

Ahmad Baba didn’t name us, neither did he name any of the ten groups in that listing.
•
•
•
(2) Yes Ahmad Baba wrote “Mi’raj al-Su’ud”, but not in the year 1627 (in case that was assumed).

Rather, this specific essay was written in the year 1615 in response to some inquiries on enslaving black people.

The Arabic text of “Mi’raj al Su’ud” contains the precise year [and month] of its writing (in the Islamic/Hijri calendar obviously) as highlighted in the embedded folio below.

www.nairaland.com/attachments/13082305_6e49d8d129844a578af9272699e1586a_jpeg_jpeg2d5891d724a6428e2c0f4e6898bd60cc

The highlight in this folio (which is simply the “verso” of the earlier attached folio) basically shows the wording (in translation): “[The year] one thousand and twenty four [of the Hijrah]”.

When converted from this Hijri “AH” calendar into the Gregorian “CE” calendar; the year 1024AH falls into the year 1615CE.

The well-known formula “G = 0.9692*H + 622” proves sufficiently useful for this conversion.

In the light of my above expositions from Ahmad Baba’s essay of the year 1615, the anachronism and contradiction of the Sultan Bello Coinage myth thus becomes very obvious.

For emphasis, the year 1615 (Ahmad Baba) comes before the year 1837 (Sultan Bello). Lol.

And the word “Yoruba” (as the group name for Yoruba-speaking peoples) has been in existence prior to Baba himself as has been observed in that essay.

What then is the word “Yarriba”, or “Yarba”, etc., and what is its connection with Sultan Bello??

Captain Hugh Clapperton who was an acquaintance of Sultan Bello of Sokoto informs us in his 1829 publication on this.

He noted that “Yarriba” is simply the Arab’s and the Hausa’s articulation of the evidently pre-existing name “Yoruba”. To quote Clapperton’s precise words, he writes:

“Having seen the whole of the baggage off, we started in the evening, and proceeded on our journey. We learned in fact that we were not now in the king of Badagry's territory, but in a district of Eyeo [Ọ̀yọ́], which is called Yarriba by the Arabs and people of Houssa, and that the name of the capital is called Katunga, and that it is thirty days' journey.”

~ Captain Hugh Clapperton; “Journal of a Second Expedition Into the Interior of Africa”; (1829), p. 4.


Furthermore, Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther also writing in the 1800s makes a note to this same foregoing effect when he writes as follows:

“European Travellers obtained the name Katanga from Hausa People. Yarriba, or Yaruba, is likewise the Hausa pronunciation: Yoruba would be more correct”.

~ Reverend Ajayi Crowther; “A Grammar of The Yoruba Language”; (1852), p. i.
•
•
•
In summary, the name “Yoruba” did not originate in the writings of Ahmad Baba in the 1600s. Neither, obviously, did it originate in the writings of Arabs and Hausa-Fulanis in the 1800s.

As has been seen in Ahmad Baba’s essay from the year 1615, the name “Yoruba” (in reference to the Yoruba-speaking group) predates the 1600s.

It is evidently our endonym from a long time ago. Don’t be fooled by modern day propaganda, people.


Cheers!

Cc: LegendHero, SuperBold, chrisxxx, PoliteActivist, kingbee90, illicit, FortifiedCity, Guestlander, SouthNigerian, dvdwed, Ideadoctor, SaintBeehot, gomojam, DenreleDave, reallest, TimeManager, RuggedSniper

Nice right up.

However, can you please shed light on the origin on of the word Yoruba?

TAO11:
No problem! Give me a moment.

Modified:
(1) https://www.wdl.org/en/item/9661/view/1/1/

That’s the World Digital Library link to the complete manuscript of Baba’s “Mi’raj al-Su’ud”. Please note that the 15th folio is the specific folio in question.

(2) http://www.artsrn.ualberta.ca/amcdouga/Hist347/autumn%202012/additional%20readings/ahmad_baba.pdf

That’s the University of Albert link to the translation. Please note that this translation features not only his “Mi’raj al-Su’ud”.

The translation of “Mi’raj al-Su’ud” ends on page 40 of this material. Another essay of his begins from page 41.

Cc: googi

Thanks for this.

It’s very helpful.

forgiveness:
Nice right up.

However, can you please shed light on the origin of the word Yoruba?

I’d try.

This would get technical, but I trust that you would be able to follow through.


In the light of my earlier comment, the popular idea that the name “Yoruba” originated from some alleged derogatory remark by Sultan Bello - blah-blah - actually has no leg to stand on.

The name “Yoruba” (in reference to Yoruba-speaking peoples) is evidently more antique than the first Fulani emirate in our region. This is evident from the 1600s Timbuktu writings which makes reference to this name.

As has been shown, the name “Yoruba” (in reference to the Yoruba-speaking peoples) predates the 1600s — to have been a well-known pre-existing name in as far as Mali since the early 1600s.

Now, given these two backgrounds, namely: 1) the false-exogeneity of this name, and 2) its considerable antiquity; it logically follows then that any attempt at its etymological components need not be a 100% certainty — and that is okay for an antique name from a pre-literate society.

In fact, many literate cultures do not have a 100% certainty whatsoever as per the etymological components of their “groups’ names”, and that’s okay too. These names are also antique — e.g. “London”, “Japan”, amongst innumerable others.

The fairest possible original one may then arrive at for the present-day indigenous name, “Yoruba”, is via one or both of the following approaches:

1) A careful consideration of the syllabic-components of the present-day name in the light of the relevant historical and linguistic realities.

2) An examination of what the received traditions have to say regarding the etymology of the name — if any such received traditions on its etymology exist.

Starting with the second:
Actually, some received traditions exist regarding the etymological components of the name “Yoruba”.

***

Cc: LegendHero, SuperBold, illicit, SouthNigerian, SaintBeehot, gomojam, DenreleDave, reallest, TimeManager, RuggedSniper, Ihateniggov, HedwigesMaduro, haffaze777, googi

kingbee90:
Oga Islam has no good legacy in Yoruba land. The Yorubas lost Ilorin to foreigners till date because of Afonja's alliance with Islam. The foreign Fulanis from Chad, Mali, Niger republic brought Islam to Yoruba land in order to conquer them & to use them to achieve their goals(influencing elections in Nigeria).
Through Islam, Foreigners are littered all over Yoruba land kidnapping, raping, killing & destroying the crops of Yoruba farmers.
I think the Yorubas are better off with their Traditional way of worship.

I guess Igbo lands are free of killing and kidnapping, baby factory, ritualism, drug trafficking, PROSTITUTION, human trafficking, wickedness, bitterness, evil because there isn't Islam there

I have to register my presence on this well expatiated thread.

TAO11:
I’d try.

This would get technical, but I trust that you would be able to follow through.


In the light of my earlier comment, the popular idea that the name “Yoruba” originated from some alleged derogatory remark by Sultan Bello - blah-blah - actually has no leg to stand on.

The name “Yoruba” (in reference to Yoruba-speaking peoples) is evidently more antique than the first Fulani emirate in our region. This is evident from the 1600s Timbuktu writings which makes reference to this name.

As has been shown, the name “Yoruba” (in reference to the Yoruba-speaking peoples) predates the 1600s — to have been a well-known pre-existing name in as far as Mali since the early 1600s.

Now, given these two backgrounds, namely: 1) the false-exogeneity of this name, and 2) its considerable antiquity; it logically follows then that any attempt at its etymological components need not be a 100% certainty — and that is okay for an antique name from a pre-literate society.

In fact, many literate cultures do not have a 100% certainty whatsoever as per the etymological components of their “groups’ names”, and that’s okay too. These names are also antique — e.g. “London”, “Japan”, amongst innumerable others.

The fairest possible original one may then arrive at for the present-day indigenous name, “Yoruba”, is via one or both of the following approaches:

1) A careful consideration of the syllabic-components of the present-day name in the light of the relevant historical and linguistic realities.

2) An examination of what the received traditions have to say regarding the etymology of the name — if any such received traditions on its etymology exist.

Starting with the second:
Actually, some received traditions exist regarding the etymological components of the name “Yoruba”.

The Reverend Samuel Ajayi Crowther, in the 1800s, collected a tradition from among the Egbas which says that an earlier phrase from which this name arises is the phrase: “Ori Obba”.

I am yet to lay my hands on the material itself. I got this from a secondary source which has proven to me to be 100% trustworthy.

I am thus not yet able to access any further remark he may have passed regarding this account which he got from the Egbas.


Regarding the first:
I have to begin with a disclaimer. I do not claim to have originally come up with this observation.

However, I did expound it beyond the very cursory highlight which was noted by its author; the columnist, Farouk Martins Omo Aresa.

Within the name “Yoruba”, Omo Aresa spotted the key components: Oyo & Oba — “OYO-OBA, OYO-ROBA”.

He remarked briefly on how this flows from Yoruba orikis, and he expressed a subtle regret on how this has gone unnoticed by many.

Now, I find this view to be highly explanatory not merely because of those two components.

Rather, those two components fit very nicely with the relevant historical and linguistic facts.

Firstly, the phrase: “Oyo is the King” (in the sense of Oyo as the new sheriff in town) fits perfectly with the fact that “Oyo” was the core Yoruba polity which succeeded Ife after Ife’s military and commercial decline in the early/mid-1400s.

~ Robin Horton, (1979), p. 141.

Secondly, this phrase: “Oyo is the King” (which by all available indications is rooted in an endogenous Oyo attitude) apparently continued as Oyo gradually transformed into an empire whose territories began to include other Yoruba kingdoms from the late-1500s after the return of Oyo’s capital back to Oyo-Ile following the departure from Oyo-Igboho.

Thirdly, having began to dominate other Yoruba kingdoms from the late-1500s; the phrase “Oyo is the king” must therefore have taken the shape of a proper appellation which is no longer restricted only to the Oyo-subgroup of the Yorubas.

This explains Ahmad Baba’s reference to the name “Yoruba” (as a group’s name — rather than a fraction of a group) in the year 1615. His reference indicates a well-known pre-existing group name.

This also explains why (in the early 1800s) many former Oyo tributaries (after their independence from Oyo) initially refused to re-adopt this apparently ‘hegemonic’ group name.

Fourthly, turning to the linguistic angle; it may seem unrealistic that a Yoruba translation of the phrase, “Oyo is the King”, would come any close to the name “Yoruba”.

Yes, without a careful and deep consideration, the translation “Oyo ni Oba” is all one would get from the phrase: “Oyo is the King”.

And that doesn't seem anywhere close to the name “Yoruba” — especially considering the fact that “ni” is the Yoruba equivalent of the English word “is”.

So, while the historical side appears consistent all along so far; the linguistic angle seems to suggest a grave hole which demolishes this explanation.

But as will soon be seen, there is actually no linguistic hole at all in this explanation.

Fifthly, the translation of the word “is” (in the phrase: “Oyo is the king” ) as “ni” (in Yoruba language) actually ignores a key fact.

This translation ignores the fact that the present-day Yoruba equivalent of “is” (which is “ni“ ) was not unchanging over the centuries up till present-day.

For example, the (1800s) writings of Rev. Samuel Crowther shows the word “li” to be a Yoruba equivalent of the English word “is” in the 1800s.

In the light of this 1800s fact, the phrase: “Oyo is the King” would have been translated as “Oyo li Oba” using the 1800s’ realities.

If this was the evolving reality between the 1800s and now; what then would have been the Yoruba equivalent of “is” in the actual period of our interest — i.e. the 1400s and the 1500s??

To delve into this distant past of our language, recourse has to be made to an established fact in linguistic analysis, which is that:

(1) The present differentiated dialects of a language were actually more undifferentiated and more uniform the farther back in time you go.

In specific terms, all the present-day dialectal differentiations of the Yoruba language were actually more undifferentiated 100 years ago. And they are even more undifferentiated 200 years ago, and so forth into the past.

This linguistic fact would soon prove to be very useful for our deconstruction and regress.

(2) In addition to the foregoing linguistic fact, another observation among present-day Yoruba dialects which would also prove very useful is the fact that some Yoruba dialects have proven very, very stable over time.

These relatively stable dialects are those which must be resorted to in order to reasonably unravel what the Yoruba language must have uniformly sounded like many centuries ago.

These ‘stable’ dialects are found along the southern, eastern and south-eastern Yoruba frontiers. To be very precise, some of them are the Ijebu and the Itsekiri dialects of the Yoruba language, among others in the region.

This is well-known to linguists, but to spotlight some instances of this fact; some Yoruba words are alive till date among all Yorubas, but only in usage — their meanings have generally been lost to time.

However, these words are preserved intact till date in both usage and meaning in the Ijebu dialect for example.

The Yoruba word ”Ùwà”, as in “Alaiyeluwa”, is an example in this regard. It is a considerably antique Yoruba word.

Another category are Yoruba words whose usage are generally lost and even replaced by other words — but only remembered to have once been in use.

The Yoruba word “Olùkù” which has been completely replaced by another word (though remembered to have once been in use) is an example in this regard.

This word is still alive in meaning and in everyday usage in the Ijebu dialect of the Yoruba language.

These among some more technical reasons explains the resort to the Ijebu dialect in an attempt to establish what a more uniform and undifferentiated Yoruba language would have sounded like many centuries ago.

In the light of this approach, the phrase “Oyo is the King” in the Ijebu dialect (which is our dialectal yardstick for a uniform Yoruba language of the 1400s) translates simply as:

“Oyo ri Oba” (in writing) and “Oyo r’Oba” (orally).

Cheers!

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Very insightful and educative piece.

I almost believed that Fulanis'account of Yoruba being corruption of the Hausa word Yoruba but after I learnt about Ogunde oriki of Yoruba, I began to doubt that account. But here you are debunking revisionist account with facts. Kudos.

Thanks for the enlightenment.

Their mistake, the biggest mistake they ever made is having and accepting Islam. If they had not accepted Islam they wouldn't have been issues of Yoruba Muslim.
We await the making of Emir of Ibadan just like Ilorin, Imagine a religion brought by Malians. Check that country Mali and compare it , if it is a sane country.

forgiveness:
Very insightful and educative piece.

I almost believed that Fulanis'account of Yoruba being corruption of the Hausa word Yarriba but after I learnt about Ogunde oriki of Yoruba, I began to doubt that account. But here you are debunking revisionist account with facts. Kudos.

Thanks for the enlightenment.

(1) Lol. ”Yarriba” actually have no meaning in Hausa or Arabic languages.

It’s simply the easiest pronunciation of “Yoruba” for not only the Hausa-Fulanis’ tongue but also the Arabs’.

The independent references to Captain Clapperton and Rev. Crowther have demonstrated this.

Many cultures have their convenient way of pronouncing words which are foreign to their tongue.

These local pronunciations sometimes alter the said foreign words completely.

Growing up, I recall the following as the general Yoruba pronunciation of the corresponding ‘foreign’ words:

(1) “Awúsá” represents “Hausa”

(2) “Yíbò” represents “Igbo”.

(3) “Tápà” represents “Nupe”; etc.

The Igbos (at least those in my precincts at the time) generally pronounce the name “Yoruba” as “Yo.ro.ba”.

All these have absolutely nothing to do with being the one responsible for giving these peoples their names.

It’s simply a matter of the easiest pronunciation for a ‘foreign’ tongue.

(2) And on the reference to Hubert Ogunde’s “oriki” of the name “Yoruba”.

It’s actually not an oriki per se (if I’m recalling the same thing you’re referring to). Neither was he attempting an etymology of the name.

He was simply making an onomatopoeic rhythm (that practically gels with the reality of the time and even of today) out of the syllables of the name “Yoruba”.

The line from that song goes as follows:

“ Yoruba yo-yo-yo bi ina ale; Yoruba ru-ru-ru bi omi okun; Yoruba ba-ba ni baba nṣe; yooo ooo, Yoruba rooo nu ooo ”.

Cheers!