Fsi yoruba basic course student text online language school. You are going to learn ancient traditional yoruba orikis prayers incantations to greet the shrine of an elder. It is also used widely as a second language in this area. Yoruba speakers and non speakers alike will be blessed. It is a pluricentric language spoken principally in nigeria and benin, with communities in sierra leone, liberia, other parts of africa, the. The ifa divination system, which makes use of an extensive corpus of texts and mathematical formulas, is practiced among yoruba communities and by the african diaspora in the americas. Yoruba, one of the three largest ethnic groups of nigeria, concentrated in the southwestern part of that country.
Media in category yoruba language the following 12 files are in this category, out of 12 total. Pauls college, monrovia, liberia a recent article on prayer in the traditional religion of the yoruba people of west africa quotes with approval the complaint made by shorter in 1975 that insufficient attention has been given to the prayers of african traditional religion generally. Orisa worship among the igbomina yoruba of ilaorangun. This healing does not, cannot, will not occur when a healer is in a normal state of consciousness. The yoruba numbered more than 20 million at the turn of the 21st century.
Yoruba is classified within the edekiri languages, which together with the isolate igala, form the yoruboid group of languages within what we now have as west africa. It promises to be an invaluable resource for ifa orisha practitioners in ritual, meditation, and general learning about the sacred tradition of ifa. Oriki is used during individual or communal ceremonies, for individuals or the community. Arinpe adejumo department of linguistics and african languages. Oriki of the egbas one of the tribes in nigeria duration. The ese reflect yoruba history, language, beliefs, cosmovision and contemporary social issues. A comparative study of ifa divination and computer science. See more ideas about nigerian culture, spiritual study, orisha.
Oriki is cultural thing associated with the yoruba culture. Yoruba is a member of the voltaniger branch of the nigercongo language family spoken in nigeria, benin, togo and a number of other countries by about 28 million people. Yoruba praise names of god, yoruba oriki for god, great for praise and worship, adoration, reflection. Pdf a comparative study of ifa divination and computer science. Before i share the oriki aje, heres a little about aje. Most online yoruba language websites also sell yoruba language courses which you can download as pdf yoruba language books. The question is frequently asked do we have to do oriki in the yoruba language. The igbo people of eastern nigeria refer to ifa as afain which case a dibia who is synonymous to babalawo divinity if you move outside our country nigeria, let us consider different names give by people of various culture to ifa from global perspective, this semantic differences arise as a result of wide spread of ifa practice over the year. Olumide lucas book religion of the yorubas15, marks another epoch in yoruba religion scholarship. Many ifaorisa communities in the diaspora have developed their own traditions associated with ancestor reverence and these should be honored and maintained. Apr 20, 2015 it promises to be an invaluable resource for ifa orisha practitioners in ritual, meditation, and general learning about the sacred tradition of ifa. Ede yoruba is a language spoken in west africa and most prominently south western nigeria. The yoruba people have very rich cultural oral literature, oriki is on of them. Yoruba is a tonal language and so it is important to acquire the tones in the language.
The earliest studies of yoruba religious traditions were carried out by mlssionarles, travellers and explorers who were concerned with writng about the. The paper undertakes a study of animal metaphors in the yoruba language. The names of god in yoruba language oruko ati oriki olorun. Their language, yoruba, although predominantly spoken in nigeria, is. The great blessing of ifaorisa spiritual discipline is the vast collection of oriki that open the portal to communication with a wide range of forces in nature. Once youre done with the yoruba phrases, you might want to check the rest of our yoruba lessons here. It is expressed through chanting or singing and is used by ifa orisha initiates as words of power in ritual and ceremony. It is a pluricentric language spoken principally in nigeria and benin, with communities in sierra leone, liberia, other parts of africa, the americas, and europe. An analysis of the yoruba language with english phonetics, phonology, morphology and syntax jolaade okanlawon. Prayer and ori in the ifa tradition cowrieshell divination. The ifa divination system, which makes use of an extensive corpus of texts and mathematical formulas, is practiced among yoruba communities and by the african diaspora in the americas and the caribbean. You are going to learn ancient traditional yoruba orikis prayers incantations to 10 orishas. For all yoruba in home and diasporal to know and understand their family lineage. Twice a year every october and march the main objective of this course is to develop elementary knowledge of the african language yoruba, appropriate for the introductory level.
Tones occur on the syllable in yoruba but in the orthography, tones are marked on vowels and syllabic nasals. Learn simple yoruba for getting around and making friends. Apr 27, 2016 the ability to enhance and focus this communication in ifa orisa ritual is supported by the use of oriki. One of the beauties of the yoruba language is that several words would have the same exact spelling but would be pronounced differently and have different meanings. The other yoruboid languages include igala and itsekiri. Yoruba is spoken by more than 20 million people in southwestern nigeria and parts of benin and togo. The yoruba animal metaphors nordic journal of african studies. In yoruba this connection is called oogun literally meaning the spirit of medicine which is a reference to the ability to use altered states of consciousness to heal others and the world around us. The study of yoruba religious tradition in historical perspective this essay presents an overview of past and recent scholarship in yoruba religion. In order to find the prospect of the new place, ifa oracle was consulted and the. With this reality in the thoughts of the yoruba, the man that enters in the cult of ifa is to protect mankind and society. To the yoruba it is the ruler god who creates and governs the universe while the responsibility of managing and controlling mans individual. The study of yoruba religious tradition in historical.
The ifa literary corpus, called odu, consists of 256 parts subdivided into. Traditional yoruba personal names of ifa origin are on the decline as more. Names of god in yoruba language, praise names, gods names in yoruba oruko ati oriki olorun see also. Just as you know that the yoruba nation is a civilized nation and has varieties in every part of its culture and tradition,so is the oriki. Iwe fun odu ifa is an assorted collection of odu verses from 256 of the odu ifa as taught in the isese ifa orisha tradition of the yoruba and collected by hrm dahosu agbovi i. Yoruba language lessons online for beginners there are several free yoruba language lesson for beginners, with basic yoruba phrases and video clips to help you pronounce yoruba words easily.
The system of divination of ifa signifies, for the traditional yorubas, the center of. Topics yoruba language collection opensource language english. Praise poetry for the goddess of wealth and prosperity. The ability to enhance and focus this communication in ifaorisa ritual is supported by the use of oriki. Euptologists and ifa school the publication of venerable j. If a male, it is always expressive of something heroic, brave or strong. Yoruba language, one of a small group of languages that comprise the yoruboid cluster of the defoid subbranch of the benuecongo branch of the nigercongo language family. Bi aji ni kutukutuka di eleda mu when one wakes up early in the morning, one should hold on to his eleda. A concise introduction to the yoruba language yoruba kasahorow kasahorow on. The yoruba of southwestern nigeria, dahomey, and togoland number 1012 million people. Yoruba language dvd courses it is one of the many ways to learn yoruba quickly. The ifa divination system is a set of divination acts done by a professional that has been granted authority a babalawo to create and make use of set of rules to communicate with the gods so as. According to the yoruba historian samuel johnson, the oriki is an attributive descriptive, one that expresses what a child is or what he or she is hoped to become.
Pdf body size in indigenous oral knowledge among the yoruba. To achieve the set objective, the animals domestic and. Most yoruba people speak the yoruba language, which is the nigercongo language with the largest number of native, l1 or first language speakers. You are going to learn about the 16 odu ifa markings. The knowledge of ifa has been preserved within yoruba communities and transmitted among ifa. Ifa in yoruba thought system carolina academic press. Compare this to the orthographies of nigerian languages. Oriki varies and it is based on each family lineage and ancestral clan,which talks about the bravery act and the pedigree of their ancestors. The concept of ori in the traditional yoruba visual. The ese reflect yoruba history, language, beliefs, cosmovision and. Awo falokun fatunmbi has compiled over 140 oriki in this comprehensive volume it promises to be an invaluable resource for ifa orisha practitioners in ritual, meditation, and general. The iwaju are portals to the invisible realm called olorun in the yoruba language. If a female, it is a term of endearment or of praise.
The ifa divination system is a set of divination acts done by a. Yoruba is spoken by more than 20 million people in southwestern. If you are buying from, then you can download your yoruba language books on kindle easily. No wonder then one of the ondo praise names oriki refers to their. Much smaller, scattered groups live in benin and northern togo. Each household within a tribe or settlement has it own oriki. Scholars have documented the existence of habitation in yoruba land dating back to 350. Enjoy, be blessed, and praise our oluwa oba, olorun olodumare. The names of god in yoruba language oruko ati oriki olorun heres a list of yoruba praise names for god aka oriki as well as their meanings in english. The number of speakers is roughly estimated at about 30 million in 2010. Published by the national language centre, edited by ayo bamgbose, federal ministry of education, lagos. Yoruba language and culture is quite enduring and deep, evidence by the fact that close to two hundred years after slavery the culture and language survives in some parts of the americas.
However, since different scholars on yoruba studies have used the term yoruba in different ways, it is illuminating that we. One of the beauties of the yoruba language is that several words would have the same exact spelling but would be. Awo falokun fatunmbi has compiled over 140 oriki in this comprehensive volume. Yoruba language simple english wikipedia, the free. Analysis and interpretation ades ola o late ju university of ibadan, nigeria abstract the paper undertakes a study of animal metaphors in the yoruba language with a view to highlighting the stylistic and communicative potentials of these metaphors. The study of chakra called iwaju in ifa is i believe fundamental to our understanding of ifa. Ifa divination trays from isaleoyo openedition journals.
The number of speakers of yoruba is estimated between 30 and 40 million, primarily by the ethnic yoruba people. The third eye in the center of the forehead is our initial access to olorun. The concept of ori in the traditional yoruba visual representation 215 ori lo da mi the deity is my creator eniyan ko o it is not man olorun ni it is god ori lo da mi the deity is my creator ori here refers to the deity the creator himself, whereas in another of the yoruba sayings. The great blessing of ifa orisa spiritual discipline is the vast collection of oriki that open the portal to communication with a wide range of forces in nature. By the end of the course, the student should have basic conversational skills. Ifa divination system intangible heritage culture sector. The names of god and their meanings in english thanks for reading, dear friends have a wonderfully blessed, stressfree, productive, and joyful day. Oriki is an important and cultural, but unwritten oral genre of yoruba literature that is usually used in praise singing. The holy odu is a collection of odus from the ifa literary corpus. The ifa priests are also consulted by communities plagued with. The number of speakers of yoruba was thought to be 20 million in the 1990s. Should you interested in learning the yoruba language to a skilled stage, youll find we have named useful methods below. The nonvernacular remains of the language in the caribbean, lucumi, is the liturgical language. The yoruba language is a nigercongo language spoken in west africa.
Akinyemi drew my attention to recent studies on oriki and oyo oral tradi. Given the complex nature of africa and its diaspora, and the constantly shifting perspectives prompted by. Oriki is the praise poetry and invocations of the yoruba people. You are going to learn about the 16 odu ifa code names. We made using the fsi yoruba basic course material easier to use and more effective. It is one of the languages in nigeria, benin, and togo and in communities in other parts of africa, europe and the americas. The number of speakers of yoruba was estimated at around 20 million in the 1990s.
Oriki varies in length depending on lineage and the clan of the individual and the past ancestors. Lucas, the first indigene to write about yoruba religion was an. Iwe fun odu ifa is an assorted collection of odu verses from 256 of the odu ifa as taught in the isese ifaorisha tradition of the yoruba and collected by hrm dahosu agbovi i. This 735 page book with over verses, which includes yoruba and english languages, is aimed at assisting afrikans with a good and reliable source of ifa and is a.
The number of speakers of yoruba is around 40 million. Ondo is one of the largest ethnic groups in yoruba land and shares a good number of the. In the yoruba culture, each settlement or minor tribe has its own oriki. For followers of ifa, known as elesin ibile, prayer is a daily practice. This basic grammar book of yoruba will teach you simple grammar. Many ifa orisa communities in the diaspora have developed their own traditions associated with ancestor reverence and these should be honored and maintained.
Oct 22, 2014 oriki is the praise poetry and invocations of the yoruba people. When one understands their place in the universe along with all the irunmole, it is only natural or with a little practice, to give thanks for everything one has, no matter how small. This kasahorow language guide includes a basic grammar of yoruba for readers and writers. Phrases and daily expressions have a very important role in yoruba. For whom everything is found the profound foundation of the system of divination of ifa, for the yoruba s it is the center core of the ideas from the beginning of time. The divination of ifa the following study is the beginning of a analysis about the thoughts of religiousand philosophical aspects of the yoruba s.
The yoruba culture was originally an oral tradition, and the majority of yoruba people are native speakers of the yoruba language. Register for ifa training course class one egbe iwapele. There are three basic tones of different pitch levels in yoruba. Free shipping oriki oriki is the praise poetry and invocations of the yoruba people. There is no doubt that in any culture or civilization, language is basic, and wherever you find a similar language being spoken, there is no doubt that there must be some historical connection. Babalawo training, iyanifa training, ifa training, orisha. The word ifa refers to the mystical figure ifa or orunmila, regarded by the yoruba as the deity of wisdom and intellectual development. You can now read the ebook in the pane on the left, listen to the audio pane to the right and practice your pronunciation use on the pronunciation tool tab on right all at the same time. The word oriki can be translated as panegyric which is a form of praise poetry. Jan 06, 2012 oriki is an important and cultural, but unwritten oral genre of yoruba literature that is usually used in praise singing.
Theoriki in this book are tradi tional invocations that may be used in supplement lineage traditions or to reclaim forms of ancestor reverence commonly found in traditional yoruba communities. Ori is an orisa, and a very powerful and important one. Department of sociology, university of ibadan, nigeria. Bascoms book ifa divination first published in 1969.
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