Yorubaland Ilẹ̀ Káàárọ̀-Oòjíire Southwest & part of North Central Nigeria & Central Benin, East-Central Togo | |
|---|---|
Cultural region | |
| Nickname: Ilẹ̀ Oòduà | |
 Location of Yorubaland (green) inWest Africa (white) | |
| Part of |  Nigeria Benin Togo |
| Earliest datedIfẹ̀ artefact | 500 BC |
| -Ifẹ Empire | 11th century |
| - Oyo Empire | 1300 |
| - British Colony | 1862 |
| - German Protectorate (German Togoland, present-day Togo) | 1884 |
| - French Colony (Dahomey, present-day Benin) | 1904 |
| - Nigeria | 1914 |
| Founded by | Proto-Yoruba and Proto-Edekiri speaking peoples |
| Regional capital | •Ìbàdàn (Political) •Ilé-Ifẹ̀ (Cultural/Spiritual) •Èkó (Economic) |
| Former seat | •Ọ̀yọ́-Ilé (Old capital of the Oyo Empire) |
| Composed of | |
| Government | |
| • Type | Monarchies •Ọba (King) •Ògbóni (Legislature) •Olóye (Chiefs) •Balógun (Generalissimo) •Baálẹ̀ (Village/Regional heads in Western Yorubaland) •Ọlọ́jà (Village/Regional heads in Eastern Yorubaland) |
| Area | |
• Total | 181,300 km2 (70,000 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 1,055 m (3,461 ft) |
| Lowest elevation | −0.2 m (−0.66 ft) |
| Population (2015 estimate) | |
• Total | ~ 55 million |
| • Density | 387/km2 (1,000/sq mi) |
| In Nigeria, Benin and Togo | |
| Demographics | |
| • Language | Yoruba,Yoruboid languages |
| • Religion | Christianity,Islam,Ìṣẹ̀ṣè |
| Time zone | WAT (Nigeria, Benin),GMT (Togo) |
| People | Ọmọ Yorùbá |
|---|---|
| Language | Èdè Yorùbá |
| Country | Ilẹ̀ Káàárọ̀-Oòjíire (Ilẹ̀ Yorùbá / Ilẹ̀ Oòduà) |
| Part ofa series on |
| Yorùbá people |
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Geography |
Festivals / events
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Notable personalities |
Yorubaland (Yoruba:Ilẹ̀ Káàárọ̀-Oòjíire) is the homeland andcultural region of theYoruba people inWest Africa. It spans the modern-day countries ofNigeria,Togo andBenin, and covers a total land area of 142,114 km2 (54,871 sq mi). Of this land area, 106,016 km2 (74.6%) lies within Nigeria, 18.9% in Benin, and the remaining 6.5% is in Togo. Prior toEuropean colonization, a portion of this area was known as Yoruba country. The geo-cultural space contains an estimated 55 million people, the majority of this population being ethnicYoruba.
Geo-physically, Yorubaland spreads north from theGulf of Guinea and west from theNiger River intoBenin andTogo. In the northern section, Yorubaland begins in the suburbs just west ofLokoja and continues unbroken up to theOgooué River tributary of theMono River inTogo, a distance of around 610 km. In the south, it begins in an area just west of the Benin andOsse (Ovia) river occupied by theIlaje Yorubas and continues uninterrupted up toPorto Novo, a total distance of about 280 km as the crow flies. West of Porto NovoGbe speakers begin to predominate. The northern section is thus more expansive than the southern coastal section.
The land is characterized bymangrove forests,estuaries and coastal plains in the south, which rise steadily northwards into rolling hills and a jagged highland region in the interior, commonly known as theYorubaland plateau orWestern upland. The highlands are pronounced in theEkiti area of the region, especially around the Effon ridge and theOkemesi fold belt, which have heights in excess of 732 m (2,400 ft) and are characterized by numerous waterfalls and springs such asOlumirin waterfall, Arinta waterfall, and Effon waterfall.[1][2] The highest elevation is found at theIdanre Inselberg Hills, which have heights in excess of 1,050 metres (3,440 ft). In general, the landscape of the interior is made up of undulating terrain with occasionalinselbergs jutting out dramatically from the surrounding expanse. Some include:Okeagbe hills: 790m, Olosunta in Ikere Ekiti: 690m,Saki andIgbeti hills.
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With coastal plains, southern lowlands, and interior highlands, Yorubaland has several large rivers and streams that crisscross the terrain.[1] These rivers flow in two general directions within the Yoruba country; southwards into the lagoons, estuaries and creeks which empty into theAtlantic Ocean, and northwards into theNiger river. Some southward flowing rivers include; TheOsun andShasha rivers which empty into theLekki Lagoon, theOgun River and its major tributaries; theOyan and Ofiki which empties into theLagos Lagoon, the upperMono River,Oba River,Erinle River,Yewa River which discharges into the Badagry creek,Okpara River which forms part of the Nigeria-Benin border before fully re-entering Benin to join theOuémé River (Ofe in Yoruba) which drains intoLake Nokoué and the Porto-Novo creek. On the eastern flank, the Owena (Siluko), Ofosu andOsse rivers empty into the Benin river creek. Those which flow in a northerly direction into theNiger include the Moshi river, Oyun,Oshin, Awun, Asa, Ero, Lawiri, andOyi.[3]
The Nigerian part of Yorubaland comprises today'sỌyọ,Ọṣun,Ogun,Kwara,Ondo,Ekiti,Lagos and western part ofKogi.[1] TheBeninese portion consists ofOuémé Department,Plateau Department,Collines Department,Tchaourou commune ofBorgou Department,Bassila commune ofDonga Department,Ouinhi andZogbodomey commune ofZou Department, andKandi commune ofAlibori Department. TheTogolese portions are theOgou,Anié andEst-Mono prefectures inPlateaux Region, and theTchamba prefecture inCentrale Region.
The climate of Yorubaland varies from north to south. The southern, central and eastern portions of the territory is tropicalhigh forest, known as theYoruba lowland forests ecoregion.[4] The characteristic vegetation is verdant closed-canopy forests composed of many varieties of hardwood trees includingMilicia excelsa which is more commonly known locally asiroko,Antiaris africana,Terminalia superba which is known locally asafara,Entandrophragma orsapele,Lophira alata,Triplochiton scleroxylon (orobeche),Khaya grandifoliola (or African mahogany),Symphonia globulifera, and numerous other species. Some non-native species such asTectona grandis (teak) andGmelina arborea (pulp wood) have been introduced into the ecosystem and are being extensively grown in several large forest plantations.
The coastal section of this area features an area covered byswamp flats and dominated by such plants asmangroves and other stilt plants as well as palms, ferns and coconut trees on the beaches. This portion includes most of Ondo, Ekiti, Ogun, Osun, Lagos states and is characterised by generally high levels of precipitation defined by a double maxima (peak period); March–July and September–November. Annual rainfall inIjebu Ode in the middle of Ogun state, for example, averages 2,020 millimetres or 80 inches.[5] The area is the center of thrivingcocoa,natural rubber,kola nut andoil palm production industry, as well as lucrativelogging. Ondo, Ekiti and Osun states are the leading producers of cocoa in Nigeria,[6][7] while the southern portions of Ogun and Ondo states (Odigbo,Okitipupa andIrele) play host to large plantations of oil palm and rubber.
The northern and western portions of the region is characterized by tropical woodlandsavanna climate (Aw), with a single rainfall maxima. This area covers the northern two-thirds of Oyo, northwestern Ogun, Kwara, Kogi, Collines (Benin), northern half of Plateau department (Benin) and central Togo. It is part of theGuinean forest–savanna mosaic ecoregion, a transitional zone between West Africa's coastal forests and interiorsavannas.[8] Part of this region is derived savanna which was once covered in forest but has lost tree cover due to agricultural and other pressures on land. Annual rainfall here hovers between 1,100 and 1,500 millimetres (43 and 59 in). Annual precipitation in Ilorin for example is 1,220 millimetres or 48.03 inches.[9] Tree species here include theBlighia sapida more commonly known as ackee in English andishin in Yoruba, andParkia biglobosa which is the locust bean tree used in makingiru or ogiri, a local cooking condiment.
The monsoon (rainy period) in both climatic zones is followed by a drier season characterized by northwest trade winds that bring theharmattan (cold dust-laden windstorms) that blow from theSahara. They normally affect all areas except a small portion of the southern coast. Nonetheless, it has been reported that theharmattan has reached as far as Lagos in some years.
| Rank | Region | Pop. | Rank | Region | Pop. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Èkó (Metropolis) | Lagos State | 23,437,435[a] | 11 | Ọ̀yọ́ | Oyo State | 602,000[b] | ||
| 2 | Ìbàdàn | Oyo State | 3,675,000[c] | 12 | Gbágli | Lagos State | 555,162[d] | ||
| 3 | Ìlọrin | Kwara State | 1,120,000[e] | 13 | Adó Èkìtì | Ekiti State | 465,000[f] | ||
| 4 | Ìkòròdú | Lagos State | 1,005,551[g] | 14 | Ògbómọ̀ṣọ́ | Oyo State | 420,400[h] | ||
| 5 | Òṣogbo (Conurbation) | Osun State | 820,000[i] | 15 | Òde Oǹdó | Ondo State | 390,000[j] | ||
| 6 | Abẹ́òkúta | Ogun State | 777,000[k] | 16 | Ìkirè-Apọ̀mù | Osun State | 337,200[l] | ||
| 7 | Ifọ̀-Àkútè-Ìjòkó (Conurbation) | Ogun State | 750,000[m] | 17 | Ìṣàgámù | Ogun State | 325,000[n] | ||
| 8 | Ọ̀tà | Ogun State | 733,400[o] | 18 | Ìkìrun-Ìrágbìjí | Osun State | 323,900[p] | ||
| 9 | Ilé-Ifẹ̀ | Osun State | 701,100[q] | 19 | Ọ̀ghọ̀ | Ondo State | 300,000[r] | ||
| 10 | Àkúrẹ́ | Ondo State | 662,800[s] | 20 | Iléṣà | Osun State | 292,300[t] | ||
| Yorubaland | |||||||
| Country | Nigeria | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Area (km2) | Regional capital | Largest city | 2nd largest city | |||
| Ekiti State | 6,353 | Ado Ekiti | Ado Ekiti | Ikere-Ekiti | |||
| Kogi State | 9,351 | Lokoja | Kabba | Isanlu,Egbe | |||
| Kwara State | 17,000 | Ilorin | Ilorin | Offa | |||
| Lagos State | 3,345 | Ikeja | Alimosho | Ikorodu | |||
| Ogun State | 16,762 | Abeokuta | Otta-Ijoko-Ifo | Abeokuta | |||
| Ondo State | 15,500 | Akure | Akure | Ondo,okitipupa | |||
| Osun State | 9,251 | Osogbo | Osogbo | Ile-Ife,Ilesha | |||
| Oyo State | 28,454 | Ibadan | Ibadan | Oyo,Ogbomoso | |||
| Area = 106,016 km2 | |||||||
| Country | Benin | |||||||
| Department | Area (km2) | Regional capital | Largest city | 2nd largest city | |||
| Borgu (Shaworo) | 5,000 | ____ | Shaworo | Kpakpanin | |||
| Collines | 12,440 | Igbo Idaasha | Shabe | Idaasha | |||
| Donga (Bassila) | 5,661 | ____ | Bassila | Manigri | |||
| Plateau | 3,264 | Sakete | Pobe | Ketu,Sakete | |||
| Weme | 500 | Porto Novo | Porto Novo | Adjarra | |||
| Area ≈ 26,865 km2 | |||||||
| Country | Togo | |||||||
| Region | Area (km2) | Regional capital | Largest city | 2nd largest city | |||
| Central (Chamba) | 2,900 | ____ | Kaboli | Alejo, Goubi | |||
| Plateaux | 6,482 | Atakpame | Atakpame | Anié, Morita | |||
| Area ≈ 9,233 km2 | |||||||
| Yorubaland Area ≈ 142,114 km2 | |||||||
Oduduwa is regarded as the legendaryprogenitor of the Yoruba, and almost every Yoruba settlement traces its origin to princes ofIle-Ife in Osun State, Nigeria. As such, Ife can be regarded as the cultural and spiritual homeland of the Yoruba nation, both within and outside Nigeria. According to an Oyo account,Oduduwa was a Yoruba emissary; said to have come from the east, sometimes understood by some sources as the "vicinity" true east on the cardinal points, but more likely signifying the region of theEkiti and Okun sub-communities in Yorubaland, Nigeria.[12]On the other hand, linguistic evidence seems to corroborate the fact that the eastern half of Yorubaland was settled at an earlier time in history than the western regions, as the Northwest and Southwest Yoruba dialects show more linguistic innovations than their central and eastern counterparts.[citation needed]
Between 1100 and 1400, the Yoruba Kingdom of Ife experienced agolden age, part of which was a sort of artistic and ideological renaissance.[citation needed] It was then surpassed by theOyo Empire as the dominant Yoruba military and political power between 1700 and 1900.Yoruba people generally feel a deep sense of culture and tradition that unifies and helps identify them.[citation needed] There are sixteen established kingdoms, states that are said to have been descendants ofOduduwa himself. The other sub-kingdoms and chiefdoms that exist are second order branches of the original sixteen kingdoms.[citation needed]
There are various groups and subgroups in Yorubaland based on the many distinct dialects of the Yoruba language, which although allmutually intelligible, have peculiar differences. The governments of these diverse people are quite intricate and each group and subgroup varies in their pattern of governance. In general, government begins at home with the immediate family. The next level is the extended family with its own head, anOlori-Ebi. A collection of distantly related extended families makes up a town. The individual chiefs that serve the towns as corporate entities, calledOlóyès, are subject to theBaálẹ̀s that rule over them. A collection of distantly related towns makes up aclan. A separate group ofOloyes are subject to theOba that rules over an individual clan, and thisOba may himself be subject to anotherOba, depending on the grade of the Obaship.[citation needed]
In this, government begins at home. The father of the family is considered the "head" and his first wife is the mother of the house. If her husband chooses to marry another wife, that wife must show proper respect to the first wife even if the first wife is chronologically younger. Children are taught to have respect for all those who are older than they are. This includes their parents, aunts, uncles, elder siblings, and cousins who they deal with every day. ... Any adult presumably has as much authority over a child as the child's parents do. All members of a particular clan live in the same compound and share family resources, rights, and possessions such as land
— Bascum 1969[13]
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Ife was surpassed by the Oyo Empire as the dominant Yoruba military and political power between the year 1600 and 1800. The nearby kingdom of Benin was also a powerful force between 1300 and 1850. Most of the city states were controlled by Obas, priestly monarchs, and councils made up of Oloyes, recognised leaders of royal, noble and, often, even common descent, who joined them in ruling over the kingdoms through a series of guilds and sects. Different states saw differing ratios of power between the kingship and the chiefs' council. Some, such as Oyo, had powerful, autocratic monarchs with almost total control, while in others the senatorial councils were supreme and the Ọba served as something of a figurehead. In all cases, however, Yoruba monarchs were subject to the continuing approval of their constituents as a matter of policy, and could be easily compelled to abdicate for demonstrating dictatorial tendencies or incompetence. The order to vacate the throne was usually communicated through anaroko or symbolic message, which usually took the form of parrot eggs delivered in a covered calabash bowl by the Basorun the head of Oyomesi (the lawmakers) after Judgements from the Ogbonis which were in the judiciary wing. In most cases, the message would compel the Oba to take his own life, which he was bound by oath to do.
Following ajihad (known as theFulani War) led byUthman Dan Fodio (1754–1817) and a rapid consolidation of theHausacity-states of contemporary northern Nigeria, theFulaniSokoto Caliphate annexed the bufferNupe Kingdom and began to press southwards towards theOyo Empire. Shortly after, they overran the Yoruba city ofIlorin and then sackedỌyọ-Ile, the capital city of the Oyo Empire. Further attempts by theSokoto Caliphate to expand southwards were checked by theYoruba who had rallied to resist under the military leadership of the city-state ofIbadan, which rose from the old Oyo Empire, and of theIjebu kingdom.
However, the Oyo hegemony had been dealt a mortal blow. The other Yoruba city-states broke free of Oyo dominance, and subsequently became embroiled in a series of internecine wars, a period when millions of Yoruba people were forcibly transported to theAmericas and theCaribbean, eventually ending up in such countries asthe Bahamas,Cuba, theDominican Republic,Puerto Rico,Brazil,Haiti andVenezuela, the United States, among others.
During the 19th century, theBritish Empire gradually colonized Yorubaland. In 1892, the British declared war on theIjebu Kingdom in response to its barriers on trade. The British emerged victorious in the conflict and occupied the Ijebu capital.[14] After British colonization, the capital served as an administrative center for colonial officials as the kingdom was annexed to the colony ofSouthern Nigeria. The colony was gradually expanded by protectorate treaties. These treaties proved decisive in the eventual annexation of the rest of Yorubaland and, eventually, of southernNigeria and theCameroons.[citation needed]
In 1960, greater Yorubaland was subsumed into theFederal Republic of Nigeria.[15]
According to Yoruba historians, by the time the British came to colonize and subjugate Yorubaland first to itself and later to the Fulani of Northern Nigeria, the Yoruba were getting ready to recover from what is popularly known as the Yoruba Civil War. One of the lessons of the internecine Yoruba wars was the opening of Yorubaland toFulani hegemony whose major interest was the imposition ofsultanistic despotism on Old Oyo Ile and present-day Ilorin. The most visible consequence of this was the adding of almost one-fifth of Yorubaland fromOffaref name="DLI">Defence Language Institute, Curriculum Development Division:Yoruba Culture Orientation, 2008 to Old Oyo toKabba to the then-Northern Nigeria of LordFrederick Lugard and the subsequent subjugation of this portion of Yorubaland under the control of Fulanifeudalism.[16]
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