Who Are The Yorubas?

 

 

By Reno Omokri

Yoruba is neither a tribe nor a language. Olukumi Omoluabi people are an ethnic nationality within Nigeria. They have a language known as Lukumi, which is an Edekiri language. Dialects of this language are Egba, Owu, Oyo, Ekiti, Ijesha, Awori, Jekri (Itsekiri), Ilaje, Igala, Igbomina, Akoko, etc.

The Olukumi had a robust precolonial governmental structure under an Ooni Alayeluwa, a god-king and a Sovereign of the Olukumi people, with the authority now known as Kabiyesi.

He could command a standing army of over a hundred thousand men subdivided into groups under Kakanfo, Aare, Bashorun, Balogun, and Ologun.

Their precolonial society was well organised under secret societies, like the Ogboni Confraternity, which were charged with maintaining the moral fabric of society.

Trade unions existed from pre-historic times, and guilds of hunters, traders, priests/diviners/herbalists (Babalawo), and circumcisers operated under a royal charter from the Alayeluwa.

Your ancestors were primarily barefooted, except for the elite, who wore sandals and rode on beasts of burdens and sometimes people. However, unlike others, who, for the sake of insults and arguments I would not mention, because they know themselves and their state of precolonial nudity is a heavily documented fact, your forebears were not naked, as evidenced by the one thousand-year-old Ife Bronzes of fully clothed Olukumi people.

Here, I will write something that will annoy many people who self-identify as Yoruba: The word Oba is recent and likely (but not verifiably) of Bini (Edo) origin.

So, be mindful and aware. Do not let anybody reduce your ethnicity to a tribe. Tribes are found in remote places like Papua New Guinea, the Amazon Rainforest, and the outbacks of Australia.

Stop answering to tribe. You are not a member of a tribe. You are part of a distinct ethnic nationality.

Your past is not a mystery. Your ancestors carved it in wood, stone and metal. You have a history. Therefore, you must have mastery over who you are!

Would you like me to write about the history of your people? If yes, please say so in the comment section. I am willing to write about the origins of any ethnic nationality, except one.

Reno Omokri

Gospeller. Deep Thinker. #TableShaker. Ruffler of the Feathers of Obidents. #1 Bestselling author of Facts Versus Fiction: The True Story of the Jonathan Years. Hodophile. Hollywood Magazine Humanitarian of the Year, 2019. Business Insider Influencer of the Year 2022.

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