Yoruba Diaspora - History

History

The African peoples who lived in Yorubaland, at least by the seventh century B.C.E, were not initially known as the Yoruba, although they shared a common ethnicity and language group. The historical Yoruba develop in situ, out of earlier (Mesolithic) Volta-Niger populations, by the 1st millennium B.C.E.

Oral history recorded under the Oyo Empire derives the Yoruba as an ethnic group from the population of the older kingdom of Ile-Ife (see also Yoruba mythology). Archaeologically, the settlement at Ife can be dated to the 4th century B.C.E, with urban structures appearing in the 12th century (the urban phase of Ife before the rise of Oyo, ca. 1100-1600, is sometimes described as a "golden age" of Ife).

Oyo and Ile-Ife

The settlement at Ife appears to have entered a "golden age" with the appearance of urban structures by the 12th century. This seems to be the formative period of the Yoruba people as reflected in oral tradition and continues to be seen as the "spiritual homeland" of the Yoruba. Ife was surpassed by the Oyo Empire as the dominant Yoruba military and political power in the 17th century. The oba or ruler of Ife is referred to as the Ooni of Ife.

The Oyo Empire was active in the African slave trade during the 18th century. The Yoruba often demanded slaves as a form of tribute of subject populations, who in turn sometimes made war on other peoples to capture the required slaves. Part of the slaves sold by the Oyo Empire entered the Atlantic slave trade. The oba or ruler of Oyo is referred to as the Alaafin of Oyo.

Most of the city states were controlled by Obas (or royal sovereigns with various individual titles) 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 cults. Different states saw differing ratios of power between the kingships and the chiefs' councils. Some such as Oyo had powerful, autocratic monarchs with almost total control, while in others such as the Ijebu city-states, the senatorial councils held more influence and the power of the ruler or Ọba, referred to as the Awujale of Ijebuland, was more limited.

Yoruba settlements are often described as primarily one or more of the main social groupings called "generations":

• The "first generation" includes towns and cities known as original capitals of founding Yoruba states/kingdoms.
• The "second generation" consists of settlements created by conquest.
• The "third generation" consists of villages and municipalities that emerged following the internecine wars of the 19th century.