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Praise Poems as Historical Data: the Example of the Yoruba Oríkí

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 January 2012

Bolanle Awe
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Extract

The importance of oral traditions in the reconstruction of the history of non-literate peoples has virtually ceased to be a matter for debate and is now generally acknowledged. Indeed, within the last few years, historical research, based on such traditions has made possible histories of many societies in Africa. But in spite of this general acceptance, the diversity of oral traditions has not been so fully recognized as to make possible the analysis of each type as historical data. In this regard, the history of the Yoruba provides a good example. Their culture has accumulated around it a rich variety of oral traditions whose study has made significant contributions towards the understanding of their past. For the earlier period of their history, their historians have had to rely mainly on oral traditions; even for the latter period, in spite of the existence of written documents, oral traditions have still proved very useful in giving a balanced view of events. The tendency, however, has been for the historians of the Yoruba people to regard oral traditions as no more than personal recollections and generalized historical knowledge. In the main, they have failed to give cognizance to oral literature; experience elsewhere, however, has shown that a meaningful utilization of oral traditions in historical reconstruction cannot afford to neglect this third category, which is for historians of non-literate societies what literature is for the cultural and social historians of literate societies. Moreover, the Yoruba themselves treat some forms of oral literature as quasi-historical records.

Résumé

POÈMES DE LOUANGE EN TANT QUE DONNÉES HISTORIQUES: L'EXEMPLE DES ORIKI YORUBA

Les Yoruba possèdent une littérature orale étendue, mais la forme littéraire la plus importante pour marquer les événements tels que mariages, naissances, funérailles, cérémonies d'attribution de noms, fêtes, etc., dans la vie yoruba, est la poésie. La majorité de cette poésie est constituée par I'oriki, traduit généralement comme poème de louange, salutation poétique, ou citation poétique récitée en public pour un but spécifique. N'importe quoi peut fournir le sujet d'un oriki, qui peut se présenter comme un poème isolé, ou faire partie du contenu des différents types de la poésie yoruba, tels que chants de chasseurs, poèmes de divination, etc. Pour l'historien, les oriki traitant des réalisations humaines sont manifestement les plus pertinents et c'est cette catégorie d' oriki qui est étudiée dans le présent article. De tels oriki sont divisés en trois groupes, traitant de villes, de lignages et d'individus.

Type
Research Article
Information
Africa , Volume 44 , Issue 4 , October 1974 , pp. 331 - 349
Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 1974

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References

1 Abraham, D. P., ‘The Early Political History of the Kingdom of Mwene Mutapa’, 850–1589, inGoogle ScholarHistorians in Tropical Africa (Salisbury, 1962).Google ScholarAlagoa, E. J., A History of the Niger Delta—an historical interpretation of the Ijo oral tradition (Ibadan, 1972)Google Scholar.

2 SeeFinnegan, Ruth, ‘A Note on Oral Tradition and Historical Evidence’, History and Theory, vol. ix, no. 2 (1970), pp. 195–201. AlsoCrossRefGoogle ScholarAlagoa, E. J., ‘Songs as Historical Data. Examples from the Niger Delta’, in Research Review (Institute of African Studies, University of Ghana), vol. 5, No. 1 (1968), pp. 1–16Google Scholar.

3 One notable exception isAbímbolá's, Wándé ‘Ifá Divination Poems as Sources for Historical Evidence’, Lagos Notes and Records, Vol. 1, No. 1 (June 1967), pp. 17–26.Google ScholarThe very recent publication—Sources of Yoruba History, edited by Biobaku, S. O. (O.U.P., 1973),Google Scholarhas also shown an awareness of the importance of oral literature but has done very little to examine the value of the different types for the historian.

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5 e.g.Babalolá, S. A. O., The Content and Form of Yorùbá Ìjálá (Oxford University Press, 1966), p. ivGoogle Scholar;Gbadamosi, Bakare and Beier, Ulli, Yorùbá Poetry (Ibadan, 1959), p. 6Google Scholar.

6 It has been suggested in some quarters that Orikì is derived from orí (head or origin) and kì (cite), but this explanation has not received wide acceptance from Yoruba linguists and others.

7 Johnson, S., The History of the Yorùbás (1921), p. 85.Google Scholar

8 Babalolá, S. A. O., op. cit., p. 24.Google Scholar

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11 S. A. O. Babalolá, op. cit.,Google ScholarandÒgúnbowálé, P. O., Akójopo oro Egè (Lagos, 1967),Google Scholargive detailed information about the training of a professional bard.

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13 e.g. S. A. O. Babalolá, op. cit., p. 18:‘Though the wording of the oríkì varies slightly from artist to artist, the kernel of the subject matter of the orikì is the same in the repertoire of all expert Ijálá hunters.’

14 Vidal, Túnjf, ‘Oríki in Traditional Music’ in African Arts, 3 (1), pp. 56–9CrossRefGoogle Scholar(Autumn, 1969).

15 Akínyẹlé, I. B., Iwe Item Ibadan (The History of Ibadan) (Exeter, 1946).Google Scholar

16 I am grateful to Pa Adeniji of Iwo who made text available to me.

17 e.g.Schapera, I., Praise Poems of Tswana Chiefs (Oxford University Press, 1965).Google ScholarCope, Trevor, Izibongo, Zulu Praise Poems (Oxford University Press, 1968)Google Scholar.

18 Seeolátúnjí, O. O., op. cit., esp. pp. 21–102,Google Scholarthe various stylistic devices in Yorúbá poetry.

19 ‘Wándé Abímbolá, op. cit.

20 SeeAwé, B., The Rise of Ibadan as a Yorùbá Power, D.Phil., Oxford, for the settlement of Ibadan in the nineteenth century.Google Scholar

21 Johnson, S., op. cit. pp. 373–4.Google Scholar

22 This extract from oríkì Oníkòyí is taken along with its translation fromBabalolá, S. A. O., op. cit., pp. 124–6Google Scholar.

23 Beier, H. U., ‘Before Odùduwa’, Odù, Journal of Yoruba and Related Studies, No. 3, 1956, pp. 25–32.Google Scholar

24 This orikí is taken fromAkinyẹlé, I. B., op. cit., pp. 57–62.Google ScholarIndeed, it is almost impossible to get a fuller rendition of the oríkì from presentday informants. I am grateful to Mr. Isolá, School of African and Asian Studies, University of Lagos, for its translation.