The Living Tradition
“Bí ọmọdé ò bá ìtàn, á bá àbọ́bá àbọ́bá dẹ̀ ni baba ìtàn”.(If a child was not privy to original history, he could still meet up with recounted history, which is the father of histories).That there is a long historical connection between Benin and Ifẹ̀ has not been in dispute.What appears to be disputed is who is superior among their monarchs.
The Daily Independent newspaper of Nigeria, in an interview published on the 19th of September 2015, reported that a Yorùbá monarch claimed to have defeated Ifá with the Christian Bible. On reading the interview, there was no indication of a contest between Ifá and, indeed, any religion. In another vein, the Olú Ìwó of Ìwó
Through the womb of women, all humanity passes” Okyeame (an Akan)
Part 1… The word Ọba is said to be an Edo (Bini/Benin) word. The kingdom of Benin in South-west Nigeria was a very powerful kingdom which wielded considerable influence in much of what constitutes the West African coastline. In Yoruba land, the original descriptive term for a monarch was Ọlọ́fin. This referred to a
The origin of humanity has been the subject of much speculation and scientific postulations, but the mist around these uncertainties has been cleared by recent scientific findings. Learn more..
‘As above, so below‘ is a popular phrase in metaphysics. In Yorùbá, igbá aiyé (world’s calabash, symbolic of the cylindrical shape of our globe) – see diagram above – represented by the circle as a symbol of universality. Igbá aiyé suggests that the Yorùbá worldview comprehends a spherical globe long before the Galileos and Copernicuses of this world refuted the early position of Christendom, that the
Did you know that the formal use of the word Yoruba was initiated by Bishop #AjayiCrowther in an effort to creating a Yoruba dictionary?
A popular Yoruba saying goes thus: “Ẹni t’ó sọ àṣà nù, ó s’àpò ìyà kọ.” (One who abandons his/her culture, has hung a bag of suffering).
Is Cultural Renaissance necessary for development, especially with regards to the Black (African) race?
