PeopleWest Africa

Yoruba (Yorùbá)

One of Africa’s great civilisations; oríkì praise poetry and ìkómọjáde naming.

Nigeria

Benin

TogoYorùbá

Customs they practice

3 recorded rites, each with its steps and its WHY.

Birth & namingmachine draft

Ìkómọjáde · the Yoruba naming day

On the seventh (girls), ninth (boys), or eighth day by family practice, the Yoruba child is carried out and named before family, with symbolic foods placed on the tongue and the oríkì declared.

Yoruba

Courtship & marriagemachine draft

The Yoruba introduction and engagement

The Yoruba two-act path to marriage: a formal introduction of the families, then the engagement day run by the alaga ijoko, with letters read aloud, prostration, and the gift list.

Yoruba

Community & hospitalitymachine draft

Iwa oji · the breaking of kola

Across West Africa no serious gathering begins without kola: the nut is presented, blessed by the eldest, broken, and shared: "he who brings kola brings life."

Igbo · Yoruba · Hausa

What they eat

4 dishes, what they mean and when they appear.

Celebrationmachine draft

Jollof rice

Rice slow-cooked in a rich tomato-and-pepper base until every grain turns deep red-orange: West Africa’s great shared party dish, claimed proudly (and loudly) by several nations at once.

Yoruba · Akan · Wolof +2

Staplemachine draft

Egusi soup

A thick soup thickened with ground melon seeds, rich with leafy greens, meat, and fish, eaten with a pounded starch: a Sunday-table regular across southern Nigeria.

Igbo · Yoruba

Staplemachine draft

Pounded yam

Boiled yam pounded by hand (traditionally with a mortar and pestle) into a smooth, stretchy, dough-like mound: the most prestigious of the West African swallow starches.

Yoruba · Igbo

Celebrationmachine draft

Moin moin

A steamed savoury pudding of blended black-eyed peas, pepper, and onion, traditionally wrapped in leaves, dense and satisfying enough to stand as a dish on its own.

Yoruba

What they wear

5 pieces, what it says and who may wear it.

Clothmachine draft

Adire

Indigo-dyed cotton cloth, resist-patterned by hand using stitching, tying, or starch-painting before dyeing, an Egba Yoruba craft tradition centred in Abeokuta.

Yoruba

Clothmachine draft

Aso oke

A heavier, hand-woven Yoruba cloth in rich colour and texture, tailored into agbada, gele, and other formal wear specifically for weddings, chieftaincy, and major ceremony.

Yoruba

Headwearmachine draft

Gele

An elaborately tied, structured head-tie worn by Yoruba women, folded and sculpted into striking architectural shapes: a genuine skill, often paid for as a service in its own right.

Yoruba

Garmentmachine draft

Agbada

A voluminous, wide-sleeved flowing robe worn over a matching tunic and trousers, the formal dress of Yoruba and Hausa men for the most significant occasions.

Yoruba · Hausa

Clothmachine draft

Aso ebi

A single fabric chosen for one specific event, bought and tailored by the hosting family and their guests so everyone appears in coordinated, sometimes identical, dress.

machine draft

come and meet us

Given nameYoruba (Nigeria)

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Kin & neighbours

Ewe (Eʋeawó)Igbo (Ndi Igbo)Hausa Fulani (Fulɓe)Muslim communities of Africa Akan (Asante, Fante and kin)