Yoruba People - History

History

The Yoruba group are assumed to have developed out of undifferentiated Volta–Niger populations by at least the 1st millennium BC. Settlements of early Yoruba speakers are assumed to correspond to those found in the wider Niger area from about the 4th century BC, especially at Ife.

The prehistoric 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.