Yoruba Identity and Power Politics (Rochester Studies in African History and the Diaspora)

382 Pages·2006·2.47 MB·English

by  Ann Genova

YORUÁ,BA, IDENTITY AND POWER POLITICS
Toyin Falola, Senior Editor
The Frances Higginbotham Nalle Centennial Professor in History
University of Texas at Austin
(ISSN: 1092-5228)
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YORUÁ, BA, IDENTITY AND
POWER POLITICS
Edited by
Toyin Falola and Ann Genova
UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER PRESS
Copyright © 2006 by the Editors and Contributors
All rights reserved.Except as permitted under current legislation, no part of this work may
be photocopied, stored in a retrieval system, published, performed in public, adapted,
broadcast, transmitted, recorded, or reproduced in any form or by any means, without
the prior permission of the copyright owner.
First published 2006
University of Rochester Press
668 Mt. Hope Avenue, Rochester, NY 14620, USA
www.urpress.com
and Boydell & Brewer Limited
PO Box 9, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 3DF, UK
www.boydellandbrewer.com
ISBN: 1–58046–219–7
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Yoruba identity and power politics / edited by Toyin Falola and Ann
Genova.
p. cm. – (Rochester studies in African history and the
diaspora, ISSN 1092-5228 ; v. 22)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-58046-219-7 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Yoruba (African
people)–Ethnic identity. 2. Yoruba (African people)–Politics and
government. 3. Yoruba (African people)–History. I. Falola, Toyin. II.
Genova, Ann. III. Series.
DT515.45.Y67Y74 2006
305.896(cid:1)333–dc22
2006002451
A catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.
This publication is printed on acid-free paper.
Printed in the United States of America.
IN MEMORIAM
To Gbenga Adeboye (alias Funwontan),
cultural creator

CONTENTS
List of Illustrations ix
Introduction 1
Toyin Falola and Ann Genova
Part I: Writing Yorùbá
1 The Yorùbá Nation 29
Toyin Falola
2 Oral Tradition and the Reconstruction of Yorùbá Dress 49
Tunde M. Akinwumi
3 Diaries as Cultural and Intellectual Histories 74
Olufunk.eA. Adeboye
4 Historiography of Western Yorùbá Borderlands 96
R. T. Akinyele
5 The History of the Okun Yorùbá: Research Directions 111
Ann O’Hear
6 Ìlá Kingdom Revisited: Recent Archaeological Research at Ìlá-Yàrà 127
Aribidesi Usman
7 Early Ìjè.bú History: An Analysis on Demographic Evolution and
State Formation 145
Tunde Oduwo.bi
Part II: Chiefs and Tradition
8 Power, Status, and Influence of Yorùbá Chiefs in Historical Perspective 161
Toyin Falola
9 Chieftaincy Structures, Communal Identity, and
Decolonization in Yorùbáland 177
Oluf.emi Vaughan
vii
viii Contents
10 Odogbolu Chieftaincy Dispute in Historical Perspective 192
Abo.lade Adeniji
11 Yorùbá Nationalism and the Reshaping of O.baship 205
Jean-Luc Martineau
Part III: Identity and Modern Politics
12 Approaching the Study of the Yorùbá Diaspora in Northern Nigeria 231
Rasheed Olaniyi
13 Yorùbá-Nigerians in Toronto: Transnational Practices and Experiences 251
Charles Temito.p.eAdeyanju
14 Yorùbá Factor in Nigerian Politics 273
Julius O. Adekunle
15 Politics, Ethnicity, and the Struggle for Autonomy and Democracy 297
Fun.so. Afo.layan
16 Petroleum and Ethno-Politics 316
Ann Genova
17 Chief M. K. O. Abio.la’s Presidential Ambitions and Yorùbá
Democratic Rights 334
O.layiwo.la Abegunrin
Notes on the Contributors 353
Index 357
ILLUSTRATIONS
Figures
2.1 Yorùbá women’s dress before the twelfth century 51
2.2 Yorùbá women’s dress after the twelfth century 52
2.3 Yorùbá women’s dress I 53
2.4 Yorùbá women’s dress II 54
2.5 Select styles from the twentieth century 55
2.6 Select Arab-style trousers 56
2.7 Select Arab-style robes 59
2.8 Arab-Yorùbá dress I 60
2.9 Arab-Yorùbá dress II 61
2.10 Arab-Yorùbá dress III 62
2.11 Sapara 63
2.12 O.bàtálá’s dress 65
2.13 Dress of O.bàtálá’s votaries 67
2.14 O..sun’s dress 69
6.4 Bedrock hollows 135
6.5 Decorated pottery pieces from Ìlá-Yàrà 137
7.1 Yorùbá dialect groups 147
12.1 Women herbalists at Yankura market, Kano 233
12.2 Akoko Descendants Union 239
12.3 Yorùbá community, Kano 245
12.4 Turban ceremony, Kano 246
12.5 Yorùbá community, Gumel 247
Tables and Charts
10.1 Odogbolu homesteads 194
10.2 Salaries of the Native Administration 199
17.1 Results of June 12, 1993, presidential election 338
ix