The Yoruba and the Oyo Empire

Builders of Ile-Ife's celebrated terracotta and bronze art and of Oyo, the largest Yoruba state.

Region
Nigeria, Benin and Togo
Period
c. 1000 CE – present

Overview

The Yoruba, with Ile-Ife as their sacred homeland, built one of Africa's most culturally rich civilisations. The Oyo Empire (16th to early 19th century) was the largest Yoruba political unit. The Ife terracotta and bronze tradition (12th to 15th century) is one of the world's great sculptural achievements. After Oyo collapsed in the early 19th century, new city-states emerged, and Ibadan became sub-Saharan Africa's largest city by the 1870s. Osifekunde of Ijebu, profiled in GHA Vol. X, gave one of the earliest first-person accounts of Yoruba life.

Key facts

  • Ile-Ife: sacred homeland and artistic capital
  • Ife terracotta tradition, 12th–15th century
  • Oyo Empire, 16th–19th century
  • Ifá divination system, on UNESCO's Intangible Heritage list
  • Yoruba diaspora traditions: Candomblé, Santería, Trinidad Orisha

References

  1. UNESCO General History of Africa, Vol. IV
  2. UNESCO General History of Africa, Vol. VII
  3. University of Kansas, Yoruba Research Guide
  4. EBSCO Research Starters, Yoruba Culture
  5. British Library, African Studies

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