The Yoruba are the heirs of the ancient Nok culture. Nago (Yoruba) - polite people who sacredly revere both the living and the dead Yoruba language

Yoruba is a widely spoken language belonging to the Benue-Congo family, the self-name is Nago. According to legend, the father of the Yoruba people is Oduduwa, the son of Olodumare, the supreme deity of the Yoruba. A people whose history is rooted in ancient times, received its name "children of Oduduwa" only in the second half of the 19th century. Prior to the prohibition of the slave trade, the Yoruba were known to Europeans among the freed slaves of Freetown as aku, a name derived from the first word in the greeting in the Yoruba language. Later, the name "Yoruba" came into use, but at first it referred only to the kingdom of Oyo. The name was in use in the Hausa language, its origin is unknown. Thanks to the Yoruba representative Samuel Ajayi Crowther, and later missionaries, and as a result of the development of the Yoruba script, the name "Yoruba" spread to all speakers of Yoruba dialects.

Nowadays, the concept of "Yoruba" (or ede Yorùbá - Yoruba language) denotes a dialect continuum in West Africa with over 30 million speakers. Yoruba is the language of the Yoruba people, it is spoken mainly in southwestern Nigeria and partly in Benin and Togo.

In addition, there are also native speakers in Brazil and Cuba, where it is known by its self-name - Nago. In Nigeria, Yoruba is spoken by 18.85 million people - more than 20% of the population in the states of Kwara, Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Ondo and Osun, as well as in the western districts of Kogi state. This ancestral territory of the Yoruba language in Nigeria is commonly referred to as the "land of the Yoruba". It is located on a plateau, at an altitude of 366 meters, and borders on the north and east with the Republic of Niger. This territory is mainly covered with forests, and in the north (including Oyo) there is a savannah.

The Yoruba language is also spoken in the border regions of Benin, Cameroon, Sierra Leone, Togo, and here it is called aku. In Benin alone, it is spoken by 465,000 people in Porto Novo and other parts of the country. The Yoruba language is believed to originate from the region between Lake Chad and the upper Nile. It is divided into 20 very different dialects. Standard Yoruba is based on the Oyo dialect.

Yoruba is one of the most important languages ​​in West Africa. It is an isolated tonal language that has three semantic-distinctive degrees of tone.

The first printed edition in one of the Yoruba dialects did not appear until 1819. It was the thin dictionary of Bowdich, the English diplomat in the Ashanti state. For a language as widespread as Yoruba, this is rather late compared to other West African languages. Thus, publications in the Akan language date back to the 12th century. Perhaps this is due to the fact that until the 19th century, on the coast, where the Yoruba people lived, there was practically no trade with Europe.

Thanks to the methods of comparative linguistics, glottochronology, dialectology and other disciplines and traditional oral historical sources linguistic studies have been able to shed light on the history of the Yoruba people and language before the indicated time. Northwestern Yoruba dialects, for example, show more linguistic innovation. This fact, as well as the fact that the oldest settlements are located in the southeast and in the central part, allowed some scientists to conclude that the northwestern regions were settled later.

The standard Yoruba language, a variation of one of the groups of dialects, has its own script, is studied at school, and is used on the radio. The beginning of the standardization of the Yoruba language was laid in mid-nineteenth century, when Samuel Ajay Crowther, a Yoruba representative and the first African bishop, published a Yoruba grammar and began translating the Bible, which became a powerful factor in the formation of ethnic identity. At the core standard language Yoruba contains the Oyo and Ibadan dialects, but it also shows signs of many other dialects.

In addition, it has features that do not belong to any of the dialects, such as a simplified system of vowel harmonism, as well as structures from foreign languages- calques from English, dating back to early translations of religious works. Since the use of the standard Yoruba language is not the result of a deliberate language policy, there are many conflicting versions of what constitutes an authentic Yoruba language. A number of researchers believe that the Oyo dialect is its purest form, others that there is no authentic form of Yoruba at all.

The material was prepared in Prima Vista, Moscow.

IN THE HEADING "NEW NAME" once a week we talk about promising newcomers - musicians, directors, artists and others creative people. That is, everyone whose name is increasingly appearing on the pages of magazines, in social media feeds and in our conversations and who is clearly on the verge of great success. Today's article focuses on the French twins Ibeyi, drawing inspiration from the half-forgotten Afro-Cuban religion.

daria tatarkova

Liza-Kainde
and Naomi Diaz

19 years old, released the EP "Oya"

In Yoruba, "ibeyi" literally means "twins". The name for the group in the language of West Africa (it is spoken mainly in Benin and Nigeria) was chosen by the French sisters not for the sake of a red word, but because they originate from Cuba, where the Yoruba came along with speakers during the slave trade in the 18th century. The titles of the songs on their debut EP "Oya" refer to the mythology of the Yoruba people, where the Ibeys are not just twins, but the children of the deity Oshun, accused of witchcraft. They were sheltered by another heroine of folklore - Oya, after whom the title track of the record is named. The Yoruba peoples have the highest twin birth rate in the world, so for them, such children have become part of the sacred.

The sisters' father is the famous Cuban musician Miguel "Anga" Diaz, who received a Grammy as part of the Buena Vista Social Club. Diaz is perhaps the most famous percussionist in Latin American jazz, having taught his daughters before his death to play his favorite cajon instrument, which looks like a big box. It is now played by Naomi, who has also mastered bata drums. Liza, on the other hand, composes music on the piano, forms the basis for future songs, sketches out texts, weaving in key Yoruba folklore motifs. In turn, Naomi is engaged in producing and comes up with the rhythm and percussion of the songs. The sisters are signed to Richard Russell's XL Recordings label, where The xx, Vampire Weekend, Radiohead, Sigur Rós and Adele have recorded among others.

Family values ​​and the culture from which Naomi and Lisa originate have become the main theme of their music. The girls admit that their father was a model for them in everything, thanks to him they fell in love with the Yoruba, learned religious songs and learned to play instruments. And although they were only eleven when their father died, he managed to teach them how important relatives are. The sisters recall that such a strong and hardworking man only cried when the twins cursed among themselves. Ibeyi say that, except for their looks, they are completely different and argue all the time, but music has become a secret activity for them, which allowed them to find mutual language. So, the main motives in their texts were the ideas of the family and prayers in their father's native language, which is now remembered only by Cuban priests of African origin.

The otherworldly tones of their tracks are achieved not only through deft percussion and drums, but also thanks to the twitchy melody and low, soulful voices of the girls who deftly manipulate them, creating a ghostly atmosphere. Gloomy, beautiful and mesmerizing tracks are imbued with ancient pagan motifs both in music and in lyrics, but a completely modern groove, which they learned while listening to Frank Ocean, King Krule or James Black, also plays an important role. Among other musicians who have influenced the sisters the most, they name Nina Simone, Michelle Ndegeosello and all reggaeton. The Ibeyi sing in four languages, but they sound most impressive when they completely switch to Yoruba prayers: the feeling is the same as when they sing Sigur Rós - nothing is clear, but behind all this lies such quiet power that the hair stands on end. While the twins are preparing a full-length album, we recommend listening to their EP "Oya" and a brand new song "Mama Says".

yoruba, the language of the people yoruba. Belongs to a subgroup of the Qua Guinea group of languages. Distributed mainly in the western and southwestern regions of Nigeria, as well as in some areas of Dahomey, in the eastern regions of Togo. The number of Y. speakers is about 10–12 million people (1972, estimate). It breaks up into a number of dialects. Y. has 7 pure and 7 nasal vowels. Common elision and vowel harmony. Monosyllabic and two-syllable words predominate. High, low and medium tones are clearly distinguished, but there are also moving ones (ascending and descending). The tone has semantic meaning(for example, fó - "break", fó - "wash", fo - "speak"). Y.'s language is insulating. There are no grammatical gender and declension of nouns. The verb does not have indicators of person, number, voice. Syntactic relations expressed firm order words and function words. Y.'s writing system was created on the basis of the Latin alphabet.

Lit .: Yakovleva V.K., Yoruba language, M., 1963; Gaye J. A. and Beecroft W. S., Yoruba grammar, 3 ed., L., 1951; Abraham R. C., Dictionary of modern Yoruba, L., 1958.

• - a complex of mythological representations of the Yoruba people living in Western Sudan - in the west and south-west of Nigeria, in Benin and in a small number in Togo. The Yoruba developed a polytheistic pantheon of gods...

  Encyclopedia of mythology

• - people living in the West. Nigeria, where there are approx. 6 million hours ...

  Soviet historical encyclopedia

• - or Yarriba - a significant state in the center. Africa, borders on S. - Gand, with V. - r. Niger and Gand, to the west - Dahomey. Ch. Cities: Katunga, Abbeokuta and Ibodan...

  encyclopedic Dictionary Brockhaus and Euphron

• - Bagirmi, the language of the Bagirmi people. It belongs to the Bongo-Bagirmi subgroup of the Central Sudanese branch of the Kongo-Kordofanian languages. Analytical, weakly agglutinative language with one- and two-syllable roots, phonological tones...
• - Ibo, Igbo, the language of the Ibo people, belonging to the Kwa group of the Kongo-Kordofanian family of languages. The number of I. speakers is about 10.7 million people. ...

  Great Soviet Encyclopedia

• - I Yoruba people living in the west and south-west. Nigeria, in Dahomey, where they are called naga or anaga, and a small number in Togo. Ethnic groups of Y.: oyo, ife, idjesha, egba, etc. They all consider themselves to be one...

  Great Soviet Encyclopedia

• - Yoruba, a people living in the west and south-west. Nigeria, in Dahomey, where they are called naga or anaga, and a small number in Togo. Ethnic groups of Y.: oyo, ife, idjesha, egba, etc. All of them consider themselves a single people and ...

  Great Soviet Encyclopedia

• - the city-states of Western Sudan, inhabited by the Yoruba people ...

  Great Soviet Encyclopedia

• - people with a total number of 26200 thousand people. The main countries of resettlement: Nigeria - 25500 thousand people. Other settlement countries: Benin - 380 thousand people, Ghana - 200 thousand people, Togo - 100 thousand people, Cameroon - 10 thousand people, ...

  Modern Encyclopedia

• the people of Nigeria. They also live in Benin, Ghana, Togo and other African countries. The total number of 26.2 million people. Yoruba. By religion, Christians, there are Sunni Muslims and adherents of traditional beliefs ...
• - the language of the Yoruba people, refers to the Kwa languages. Writing based on the Latin alphabet...

  Big encyclopedic dictionary

• - From the autobiography of the French poet Pierre Jean Beranger: “Language! Language! He is the soul of nations: their destinies are read in him...

  Dictionary winged words and expressions

• - unchanged; non-slope, m; several...

  Spelling Dictionary of the Russian Language

• - th "oruba, unchanging and non-sloping, masculine and non-sloping ...

  Russian orthographic dictionary

• - ...

  Word forms

• - noun, number of synonyms: 2 people language ...

  Synonym dictionary

"Yoruba (language of the Yoruba people)" in books

Chapter 6 Yoruba Religions: The Path of Communication

author Stephen Prothero

Chapter 6 Yoruba Religions: The Path of Communication Orisha (p. 219) Olodumare (p. 224) Eshu (p. 225) Orunmila (p. 226) Oshun (p. 227) Obatala (p. 228) Ogun (p. 229) Shango , Oya, Shopona, Yemoya and Osan-in (p. 230) Ashe (p. 231) Global Religion (p. 232) 100 million? (p. 236) Mai Stella, Oyotunji and Africanization (p. 239)

Chapter 6. Yoruba Religion: The Way of Communication

From the book Eight religions that rule the world. All about their rivalry, similarities and differences author Stephen Prothero

Chapter 6. Yoruba Religion: A Path of Communication 1 I am grateful to my colleague David Eckel, who helped me with the foundational concepts for this course, and to my assistant, Kevin Taylor, who helped me present these concepts to the audience.2 Key Words in Yoruba Religion

1.3 The word as the language of the people

From the book On the Word and the Word in Hermeneutics by G.G. Gadamer the author Bilotas Victor

1.3 The Word as the language of the people How does the specific language of a certain people differ from the Language in the broad sense and from the "language of the New Testament", the single Word? Perhaps, ethnic language is only a mode, one of the ways of the existence of Language? Could be "common to everything"

For (language of the people for)

From the book Great Soviet Encyclopedia (IB) of the author TSB

Yoruba state

TSB

Yoruba (a people in Nigeria)

From the book Great Soviet Encyclopedia (YO) of the author TSB

Yoruba (language of the Yoruba people)

From the book Great Soviet Encyclopedia (YO) of the author TSB

Language is the soul of the people

From the book Encyclopedic Dictionary of winged words and expressions author Serov Vadim Vasilievich

Language is the soul of the people From the autobiography (1858) of the French poet Pierre Jean Beranger (1780-1857): “Language! Language! He is the soul of peoples: they are read in him

I. The language of the Yon people

author

I. The language of the Yon people Of all the peoples who built the Tower of Babel, the Yon people were the most careless. The Yonzi didn't do anything in the construction. Only songs were sung - they say, the song helps to build and live. When the Almighty, stopping the idea of ​​the builders, created many languages

II. Zibur language

From the book of Gogolian and other stories author Otroshenko Vladislav Olegovich

II. The language of the Zibur people The Zibur language is huge. It has eight hundred million words. The same number of bricks were in the tower of Babel. The Zibur people burned them - that was their job. Everything is named in Zibur. There is a word that means "the pointed part of a cherry

III. The language of the Yugurund people

From the book of Gogolian and other stories author Otroshenko Vladislav Olegovich

III. The language of the Yugurund people The Yugurunds did not speak the common language of Adam, which was spoken by all the builders of the Tower of Babel. If a person was not a Yugurund from birth, then he did not understand a word of what the representatives of this nation said. Even King Nimrod

IV. The language of the Tsoog people

From the book of Gogolian and other stories author Otroshenko Vladislav Olegovich

IV. The language of the Tsoog people The Tsoogs were a very vigorous and industrious people. As soon as they woke up (all the builders were sleeping right at the construction site, on different tiers of the Tower of Babel), the Tsoog men, women, old people and children set to work. Zoogi lifted loads with cranes and winches. AT

V. Orzak language

From the book of Gogolian and other stories author Otroshenko Vladislav Olegovich

V. The language of the Orzak people What exactly the Orzaks were doing at the construction of the Tower of Babel, none of the rulers who participated in Nimrod's venture knew. Neither did King Nimrod himself, who followed all the work, know this. It happened that he came across orzaks, which

VI. The language of the Kachivikesnakbuydovir people

From the book of Gogolian and other stories author Otroshenko Vladislav Olegovich

VI. The language of the Kachivikesnakbuydovir people Most of the words of the Kachivikesnakbuydovir language are so long that its speakers try not to speak too much. Even the pronoun biyochkhilmosavirbaabasha - "I" - is bypassed. They don't like to yak. Prefer to talk about themselves

VII. The language of the Kivoz people

From the book of Gogolian and other stories author Otroshenko Vladislav Olegovich

VII. The language of the Kivoz people During the Babylonian pandemonium, the Kivoz did not utter a word in the language of Adam, only mumbled - "muym-muym" - when they were angry at those who, for fun, urinated or threw sand into the fires that they burned around the tower, constantly supporting in them

This African people lives in many parts of the continent. On the southwestern side, the Yoruba is found in the area or Ketu. On the southeastern side, this people lives in Togo, in the Atakpame region.

Their total number is not many, not few - almost 27 million people. Of these, 25 million are located directly in Nigeria.

Yoruba has various divisions, for example:

• ekiti,
• ondo,
• egba,

Their language is the Yoruba language of the Kwa group of the Niger-Kordofan family, and literary language underlies oyo.

Most of the people of this nation consider themselves Christians. They include Baptists, Protestants and even Anglicans. A small part of them are Sunni Muslims. But there are also adherents of local traditional beliefs.

On the this moment it cannot be said that the ethnogenesis of this people has been studied to the end. The Yoruba have several ethnogenetic traditions. But presumably, this one is either Asian, or it appeared in the 12th century. It has already been proven that the Yoruba culture, even in the Middle Ages, had high level cultural development.

Previously, the main occupation of this people was hunting. Whole groups of hunters were created. Moreover, each group had its own specifics. For example, a hunting squad for or a hunting squad for . At the same time, the development of other occupations began: blacksmithing, weaving, pottery and even weaving. Over time, little has changed, but still some innovations have come here. Despite the fact that the main occupation of the Yoruba is agriculture and fishing, the people have already begun to master new specialties. Thus, the inhabitants successfully export cocoa, peanuts and bananas. The development of the working class began, the bourgeoisie and the intelligentsia appeared. And in the city of Ibadan, where the Yoruba live, the largest university in Africa now operates.

If we talk about cattle breeding, then, unfortunately, this people have a big problem. The reason is all in the lack of the required amount of pastures and in, which literally flooded all the territories inhabited by Africans.

Most of the Yoruba live in villages. But it should be noted that this people at all times had large fortress cities that performed their administrative and commercial functions. In our time, they also continue to play their role.

Buildings in villages and cities built linear type settlements. All houses are stretched in one, and sometimes in two lanes along the entire street. Sometimes there are 20 people living in villages, and sometimes more than 4 thousand people. The dwelling is one-story, covered with palm leaves or iron. Most have their own outbuildings.

Here, clothing made of fabric, which is not made using machine technology, but handmade, is highly valued. As well as various headdresses and bright spacious clothes.

Speaking of culinary passions, the Yoruba are very fond of various spices. Their food is often spicy and oily. Local beer is brewed from corn, cane and bananas.

Like most nations, the inhabitants are very fond of celebrating various masquerades and rituals. By the way, just like hundreds of years ago, people sincerely believe in the existence of several gods at the same time.

I learned a lot of new things for myself. For example, from the right bank of the Niger, people from the Yoruba people came to Benin Akpasi and its environs several centuries ago. At first, the Yoruba moved to the west, but the Abomeans rebuffed them and then these people settled in the vicinity of Bante, Savalu, Save. Until now, the Yoruba have retained their traditions, customs and language, have not fully assimilated with the local population.

The locals called them nago. This name stuck with the Yoruba people in Benin. But the name of the language remained the same - the Yoruba language. Different dialects of this language are also spoken by the Yoruba, who remained in Nigeria (10-12 million people) and Nago in Benin (200 thousand people) and a few Yoruba, who later made their way to Togo.

The features of greetings in the Yoruba language are interestingly described in the book by N. Baratov.

"Nago is probably one of the most polite peoples in the world - only they have several hundred greeting formulas. The words of greetings are modified depending on the occupation, age, mood, state of health, profession of the person to whom they are addressed, time of year and day, weather, and so on and so forth. There are cheers for cold, hot, rainy and sunny weather, for the time when the harmattan blows; a sitting person is greeted differently than a walking person or, for example, washing his face.

They range from simple "ku aro" - "good afternoon" to "ku ishegun" - this is how they say hello to someone who has fought for a long time to achieve his goal and achieved victory. A merchant whose business is not going well will be told “ku inanzhu”, a talker - “ku iregbe”, an old friend who has not been seen for a long time - “ku atizho”. Finally, there are even more complex formulas.

In a word, on that morning, when Bruno and I went for a walk along Akpasi, my companion, it seems, never repeated, greeting his fellow villagers. But even he sometimes found it difficult what to say after all. For example, during a visit to an old weaver who worked in the next block. Judge for yourself what these tasks are: it’s morning, the weather is hot, but it rained at night and the earth is wet, the weaver is old, besides, she is a neighbor and a distant relative, and Bruno recently arrived and came not alone, but with a guest - and all this requires special words. But Bruno quickly found a way out, he simply said: “Ku ovo e” - and he explained to me - this is how they greet those who are busy with work."

An interesting fact is that in the Caribbean, including Cuba, black people, regardless of their real ethnic origin, are called "Kongo" or "Yoruba". The reason is clear - in the days of the slave trade, most of the "goods" were brought to the American continent from the West coast of Africa. There are also Yoruba communities in Brazil and England (Nigeria was under the auspices of the British Empire for a long time).

Nago in Benin, they are Yoruba, have in their beliefs an incredibly huge pantheon of deities (Orisha). According to their worldviews, there are 401 deities. So, most importantly, the supreme deity - Olorun - "master of the sky", "Oduduva" - the deity of the earth, he is the first ancestor and ruler of the Yoruba, Ogun - the god of iron and war, has long patronized hunters, blacksmiths, warriors. Currently, its "functions" are becoming wider. Now Ogun and patron of drivers. There is a deity Ifa - this is a fortune teller. Etc.

Adherents of the Yoruba religion believe that it is necessary to communicate with the ancestors in order to maintain an inseparable family connection between parents and children. The Yoruba are sure good people can be incarnated in the new birth. And those who have sinned a lot in earthly life will be able to incarnate only in birds or reptiles. If a person dies young in some kind of accident, then his spirit is transferred to another area on Earth, where he continues to live, but not his own life. This is what the Yoruba believe.

The death of a young person is considered premature and may be a cause of pity or pain, while the death of an older person is considered joyful, as the person has "returned to his home". Death counts as going on a journey, and therefore the deceased must be equipped with items they might need during the journey. Through the deceased, a message can be conveyed to those who have gone before. Only after death, when the burial rites have been performed, will the deceased receive his place in the company of his ancestors. On the Day of Judgment, it will be decided whether he will live in the company of his ancestors or, conversely, away.

In the religion and religious practices of voodoo, many beliefs and beliefs of the Yoruba are taken as a basis.

If we talk about the origin of the Yoruba people, then in addition to the prevailing version that the Yoruba always lived in Nigeria (and then Benin, and a little Togo), there is always a curious version about their origin, at least the ancestors of the ruling elite (odudua), from ... Egypt . The fact is that in the ancient city-states of the Yoruba, sculptures and other artifacts were found that are very similar to the material culture of Ancient Egypt.

Many Yoruba people can still be identified by the traditional three deep incisions in the skin of their cheeks made during childhood.

Alas, the traditions and religious rites of the African peoples are increasingly turning into entertainment masquerades for tourists these days. Pagan beliefs are receding under the onslaught of hordes of tourists, Christianity and Islam... Trouble does not bypass the Yorubis, the voice of their ancestors subsides. But I so want to believe that the cultural core of this people will be able to resist the time, preserve their traditions and customs. Wait and see.

In the tourist shops of African countries (not only Nigeria and Benin) you can find souvenir replicas of Gelede masks. Gelede masks are inextricably linked with the Yoruba religion, with rituals, dances and songs. It is an indispensable attribute of their Everyday life. The mask is a symbolic reflection of the beliefs, traditions and experience of this ancient people. With the help of a mask, they address a message, teach young people, warn against a wrong step, and even punish. But most importantly, the mask, through numerous rites, helps the Yoruba maintain a balance between people and their ancestors, good and evil spirits, gods and mortals.

The Gelede is one of the powerful Yoruba secret societies. The Yoruba also have other secret unions - closed organizations of a cult nature - Ogboni, Egungun, Oro and others. Members of the Gelede are men, and a woman is usually at the head - Iyyalashe, who has great power and takes part in the ceremony of enthronement of a new ruler.

"In the distant past, the purpose of Gelede ritual ceremonies were propitiatory rites dedicated to women - "Great Mothers", or aje, who were seen as potential sorceresses. The goal of the Gelede dances is to "appease the sorceresses", as every Gelede dancer says. Women are at the head of society, however, all dancers are men. They call Gelede "the secret of women". “We men,” they say, “are simply their slaves. We dance to appease our "mothers", witches.

Witches can kill in the dark, and there is no defense against their power, because God has given them permission to kill. God does not object to killing, because for every man who dies, he can create a new one.” Here are two more characteristic sayings of the Gelede dancers.

One of them said: “I already have three children, and I see no reason why I should not give up my life. Nothing prevents me from dying even tomorrow. But since I am a member of the Gelede society, the sorceresses will spare me."

Another dancer tried to explain the emergence of Gelede as follows: “God gave the world to sorceresses. They were allowed to kill. In the old days they did a lot of harm to our fathers. Our fathers thought for a long time, until they managed to find a way to appease them and win their favor - this is how the Gelede dances began. The fear of death forced us to join this society. Because sorceresses cannot harm someone who is in society.

And he dances these ritual dances... In ritual masks.