Hear our dying ancestors.
Aiye nyi lo, a nti. The world slips us by.
The last time you called your village, did you hear the groans and moans of our dying ancestors?
What you heard is the dying of a generation of people who hold the oral history of the African tribe: the elders who are now aged in their 80s and 80s (Generation E/elder). The elders hold in their memory much of Africa's oral technology, history, culture, medicine, religion, etc. Only very few of these elders can speak, read or write English/French. Only very very few of them are literate to the point of writing down their knowledge in the ancestral languages. Gen E had the misfortune of birthing a generation in the 1920s to 1940s (Gen D/displaced) who endured the effects of reintensified struggle for Africa.
The business of empire became intensely exploitative in the era of the two European world wars. The need to retrieve mineral and labour resources from African soil as efficiently as possible caused the imposition of direct attacks on indigenous culture. When Europe's young men died enmasse in the wars, the colonisers had to train up locals to administer the colonies. Many of Gen D became the first ever in their villages to go through 'formal' education. They were taught to love the colonial culture and obey the imperial religion taught in the formal schools. Many studied 'overseas' where the colomentality was firmly rooted then returned home to 'develop' the newly independent colonial-era African states.
Gen D learned to internalise rejection, even hatred, of the culture they were born with. It was been difficult for many to reconcile love for the "developed" culture with "backward" traditions represented by their Gen E parents. Many turned their back on the villages and made their way into the city or overseas. Gen D are fully literate in English/French. Gen D is the lost generation who only speak the ancestral languages to their parents because they have to, but are mentally programmed to reject reading, writing or living their ancestry.
In the 1950s and 1960s, Gen D became parents to Gen C/colomental in the era of 'independence'. The people now aged in their 40s and 50s were taught that to be modern and to live in the "new world" means having an European world view. As adults, more than a few of this colomental generation live or would like to live "in the diaspora" where they can have 'normal' ie European lives in which to bring up their households. English/French is the lingua cultura of these households. But on the street, many Gen C still need to communicate with friends in ancestral language, even if only to avoid been labelled 'fake oyinbo'. Some colomentals manage to shed the negative self-image of their generation and return to the villages where they rediscover the knowledge locked in the heads of the elders through conversations. But Gen C tend to lack the intellectual tool-kits to record that knowledge. They were not taught to read or write ancestral languages although they are usually fluent in English/French.
The colomentals are now attaining power and influence across Africa. Yet at home or abroad, they are having children (Gen B/baby) in households that is almost completely ignorant of ancestral norms. Gen B will be too young to interact with Gen E. In a world where culture is the predominant currency, the infants and teenagers are in grave danger of becoming the cultural worthless.
What is dying every night is connection to what is truly African tradition. All tradition and history is oral until it is written down. The dying elders know our history but cannot read or write it. The displaced Gen D should be the bridge but is too intellectually traumatised to reconcile with tradition. The author Wole Soyinka was only half correct when he described this generation as the "lost generation". It is not only lost, it is also the loser, the wastrel, and the akotileta generation. Gen D is becoming old and infirm. The colomental Gen C has mostly inherited the world view of its parents. Rather than reconnect to the elders, this generation has increased its ignorance of African tradition and folklore. The baby Gen B is yet young but may never age in the wisdom of our tribe. It faces the danger of presenting a blank slate on which any historian who bothers to WRITE will write the new interpretation of African history for Gen A.
Our experience disagrees with those who say 'the beautiful ones are not yet born'. The oncoming Gen A in Africa is very likely to be as culturally rootless and emotionally vulnerable as any descendant of slavery into the 'New World'
Africa faces a danger so deep, so grave, so final that it eclipses all the troubles we have known so far. Our collective memory is unrecorded and its keepers are dying. Once the elders are gone, that is it for African tradition and history. The next time you visit your village, please take along a recorder and some paper, Talk to the elders and write down all you hear. You will be the historian that we seek
Remi-Niyi Alaran writes on enterprise and social capital.
Showing posts with label Yoruba. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Yoruba. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Ajodun Yoruba 2005
Yoruba Religion: Year 2005 Schedule* of Festivals
--------------------------------------------------------------
Yoruba religion (Irunmole) is a monotheistic religion with one almighty god. It is based on reverence of African ancestors who are celebrated as a heirarchy of about 401 chief and minor dieties. OLORUN or OLODUMARE, the only Supreme Diety, is not worshipped directly. Irunmole is an instrumental set of rituals by which critical individuals may resolve existential dilemnas in consultation with a distant God. It does not define a specific moralising code or have any sacred texts. Individuals can converse directly with their orisha and can effect changes in their own destiny. Irunmole is not concerned about a compiled and interpreted system of beliefs for group worship of an omnipresent God, as are other world religions such as Islam, Christianity or Buddhism.
February 26 – 27
OLOKUN festival: Orisha of the deep sea [Nature] and protector of the African soul
March 21
ODUDUWA festival. Celebrations of the Orisha of the Earth. Onset of the Yoruba NEW YEAR (2005 is the 10,047th year of Yoruba culture?)
March 26 – 27
OSHOSI festival. Veneration of the Orisha of Adventure, patron of hunters
Also annual rites of passage for men
April 4
OGUN festival. Veneration of the Orisha of War, patron of metal crafts [Engineering / Military]
Last Saturday of April, for 5 days (April 30 – May 4)
OSHUN festival. Celebrations of the Orisha of love [Biology]. Onset of Spring and the wet season.
Last Saturday of May, for seven days (May 28 – June 4)
EGUNGUN festivals. Celebrations of the Ancestral Spirits (Life forces), including royal sacrifices
June 21
SHOPONA and OSANHIN festivals. Veneration of the Orishas of Disease and Medicine respecitvely.
June 25 – 26
YEMOJA festival. Celebrations and fertility paegents of the Matron Orisha of the Yorubas
Also annual rites of passage for woman.
July 2 – 3
ORUNMILA / IFA festival. Celebrations and recitations of the Orisha of Destiny / Divination [Science]. Also mass gathering of the Yorubas
First weekend in July, for three weeks (July 4 – 24)
OKO and ELEGBA / ESHU festivals. Celeberations of the Orisha of Farming [Agriculture] and Sex [Power / Communications], respecitvely. Also feasting on new harvests of the Yam tuber crop.
July 24 – 25
SHANGO festival. Veneration and celebrations of the 8th century Alaafin of ancient Oyo nation, who became diefied as the Orisha of Thunder and Lightening [Energy]
August 27 – 28
OBATALA festival. Celebrations of the Orisha of Heaven [Creation / Culture]
October 22 – 23
OYA festival. Celebrations of the Orisha of the Wind. Patron of flooding of the Oya river and guardian of the gateway between life and death. Onset of Autumn and the dry season.
October 31
SHIGIDI festival. Veneration of the Orisha of Nightmares and the unknown dead of the AFRICAN people. Solemn parade by candlelight for unsettled spirits and ghosts. World Slavery Day?
December 17
OBALUAIYE festival. Celebrations of the Orisha of Work [Business] and of the winter solstice.
Information adapted from various sources including: www.sacred-texts.com/afr/yor and www.oyotunjivillage.net . A current discourse of Yoruba perspectives on religions may be found at http://lucy.ukc.ac.uk/YorubaT/yt6.html .
*This information is subject to change. Actual dates of celebrations may differ from indicated in accordance with religious practises in location and family.
Remi-Niyi Alaran writes on enterprise and social capital.
Copyright (c) ALARAN DEVELOPMENT ENTERPRISES, 2005
You may copy, transmit, or otherwise use this document provided the copyright notice is attached
--------------------------------------------------------------
Yoruba religion (Irunmole) is a monotheistic religion with one almighty god. It is based on reverence of African ancestors who are celebrated as a heirarchy of about 401 chief and minor dieties. OLORUN or OLODUMARE, the only Supreme Diety, is not worshipped directly. Irunmole is an instrumental set of rituals by which critical individuals may resolve existential dilemnas in consultation with a distant God. It does not define a specific moralising code or have any sacred texts. Individuals can converse directly with their orisha and can effect changes in their own destiny. Irunmole is not concerned about a compiled and interpreted system of beliefs for group worship of an omnipresent God, as are other world religions such as Islam, Christianity or Buddhism.
February 26 – 27
OLOKUN festival: Orisha of the deep sea [Nature] and protector of the African soul
March 21
ODUDUWA festival. Celebrations of the Orisha of the Earth. Onset of the Yoruba NEW YEAR (2005 is the 10,047th year of Yoruba culture?)
March 26 – 27
OSHOSI festival. Veneration of the Orisha of Adventure, patron of hunters
Also annual rites of passage for men
April 4
OGUN festival. Veneration of the Orisha of War, patron of metal crafts [Engineering / Military]
Last Saturday of April, for 5 days (April 30 – May 4)
OSHUN festival. Celebrations of the Orisha of love [Biology]. Onset of Spring and the wet season.
Last Saturday of May, for seven days (May 28 – June 4)
EGUNGUN festivals. Celebrations of the Ancestral Spirits (Life forces), including royal sacrifices
June 21
SHOPONA and OSANHIN festivals. Veneration of the Orishas of Disease and Medicine respecitvely.
June 25 – 26
YEMOJA festival. Celebrations and fertility paegents of the Matron Orisha of the Yorubas
Also annual rites of passage for woman.
July 2 – 3
ORUNMILA / IFA festival. Celebrations and recitations of the Orisha of Destiny / Divination [Science]. Also mass gathering of the Yorubas
First weekend in July, for three weeks (July 4 – 24)
OKO and ELEGBA / ESHU festivals. Celeberations of the Orisha of Farming [Agriculture] and Sex [Power / Communications], respecitvely. Also feasting on new harvests of the Yam tuber crop.
July 24 – 25
SHANGO festival. Veneration and celebrations of the 8th century Alaafin of ancient Oyo nation, who became diefied as the Orisha of Thunder and Lightening [Energy]
August 27 – 28
OBATALA festival. Celebrations of the Orisha of Heaven [Creation / Culture]
October 22 – 23
OYA festival. Celebrations of the Orisha of the Wind. Patron of flooding of the Oya river and guardian of the gateway between life and death. Onset of Autumn and the dry season.
October 31
SHIGIDI festival. Veneration of the Orisha of Nightmares and the unknown dead of the AFRICAN people. Solemn parade by candlelight for unsettled spirits and ghosts. World Slavery Day?
December 17
OBALUAIYE festival. Celebrations of the Orisha of Work [Business] and of the winter solstice.
Information adapted from various sources including: www.sacred-texts.com/afr/yor and www.oyotunjivillage.net . A current discourse of Yoruba perspectives on religions may be found at http://lucy.ukc.ac.uk/YorubaT/yt6.html .
*This information is subject to change. Actual dates of celebrations may differ from indicated in accordance with religious practises in location and family.
Remi-Niyi Alaran writes on enterprise and social capital.
Copyright (c) ALARAN DEVELOPMENT ENTERPRISES, 2005
You may copy, transmit, or otherwise use this document provided the copyright notice is attached
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Up Mefi
Mayflower School
Up Mefi! May 31st soon come.
1956 - 2008.
Knowledge is Light. And so the sages say,
together we'll be the light, to guide humanity...
We re lo ja! Snap, it broke away quietly!
Okun ko ran. The rope was not strong enough.
Eran sa re wo igbo. Our meat has escaped into the bush.
Mayflower ho!
Igbo dona. The bush has now become the highway.
Eje ka wa malu. Let us go and look for our cattle.
Lai lai, egba wa. For ever and ever, save us (from meat-less-ness)!
Lai lai, egba wa a a a a, lai lai.
Malu wa lo sa lo!. Our cattle was what ran away!!
Taiwo Solarin, Sun re o. Ase
(the founder of Mayflower school, proprietor of Molusi College, and one of Afrika's foremost teachers of humanitarianism, self-sufficiency, and critical thinking, May you forever rest in peace)
*dries eyes*
Till today, I still dey love to chop meat, ride meat, and put meat into meat.
Up Mefi! May 31st soon come.
1956 - 2008.
Knowledge is Light. And so the sages say,
together we'll be the light, to guide humanity...
We re lo ja! Snap, it broke away quietly!
Okun ko ran. The rope was not strong enough.
Eran sa re wo igbo. Our meat has escaped into the bush.
Mayflower ho!
Igbo dona. The bush has now become the highway.
Eje ka wa malu. Let us go and look for our cattle.
Lai lai, egba wa. For ever and ever, save us (from meat-less-ness)!
Lai lai, egba wa a a a a, lai lai.
Malu wa lo sa lo!. Our cattle was what ran away!!
Taiwo Solarin, Sun re o. Ase
(the founder of Mayflower school, proprietor of Molusi College, and one of Afrika's foremost teachers of humanitarianism, self-sufficiency, and critical thinking, May you forever rest in peace)
*dries eyes*
Till today, I still dey love to chop meat, ride meat, and put meat into meat.
Tani O Nse Omo Yoruba
Tani O Nse Omo Yoruba
Ethnic Mutability and Yoruba Identity
Idi oro 'Yoruba'
Bi emi she mo to, oro 'Yoruba' wa lati siso "Yo ru bo" itunmo ni wi pe eni ti o ma ru ebo'. O le je pe ipap awon elesin Ifa/Orisha ni o fa a ki awon eni to won ngbe ni arin-otun Africa bere si nni lo ede kanna ati oluku kanna (eyi ko iti di ilu ti e). Awon eni Hausa bere si npe ni 'Yariba', oro ti o fi we npe ara won ko bale si eto irubo ti awon oniesin Islam ni na kuro ni ara won.
Origin of the word 'Yoruba'
As far I can research it, the word "Yoruba" was derived from the phrase "Yo ru bo" meaning 'will make sacrifices'. It may have been the commonality of Ifa/Orisha spiritual belief that caused the diverse inhabitants of the mid-west African continent to share the same core language and ethnic nationality (as yet manifest in a controlling country). The Hausa people call this word 'Yariba' which implies that their discomfort with form or content of the sacrificial rituals they had been forced to forgo under the influence of Islam.
Tani Yoruba?
Eni ti abi si oko ofurufu kii ndi aralu ile eni ti oni oko na!
Nkan meji ni o nso eni di Yoruba. Ikini ni esin 'Orisha'. Ikeji ni amulewa lati idile Orisha. Eni Yoruba ni eni ti mu idile ni esin Yoruba, ko le jabo nitori ibi ti a bi si abi esin ti ebi re bo si.
Who is Yoruba?
One who is born on an aeroplane is not a citizen of the airline's nationality!
A Yoruba person is so because of a confluence of spiritual heritage in Ifa/Orisha belief and parental-genetic heritage from a believer. One is born as Yoruba who is descendant from a Yoruba, irrespective of the place of birth or the religion of either parent.
Eniyan le wa ni idile Yoruba. Kakabe, o le farasi idile imi bi Nigeria, Togo abi Jamaica, bbl [be be lo]. Be e ni, o le wani esin Yoruba. Kakabe, o le forisi esin imi bi Hinduism, Rastafarian abi Judaism, bbl. Pelu pe eniyan farasi abi forisi ibomi, awon ati awon omo-omo won a shi je Yoruba ni idile ati idiesin, won a shi le she aralu Yoruba (nigbati ilu ba de)
In time, the person may remain within Yoruba nationality. Alternatively, the parson may register and become a citizen of another nationality such as Nigeria, Togo, or Jamaica etc. Similarly, they may remain Yoruba in spirituality or may convert to another faith such as Hindu, Rastafarian or Judaism etc. Even if they convert their nationality or faith, they and any of their descendants will be Yoruba in spiritual and genetic heritage, and so entitled to Yoruba nationality (if and when manifest).
Iparo idi-omo
Eniti 'Yo Ru Bo' ni eni Yoruba. Igbakamu ni wi pe ori eni le di orisha. Igbagbo ni ati ilahun wi pe enikeni ni o le di ori sha. Igbagbo ti o pe fun ishora ori ati afi ara sho ni. Ni ojotokoja, awon elesin Yoruba nikan ni a le pe ni Yoruba. Sugbon ni ojoisiyin, enikeni oni idile Yoruba ni a npe ni Yoruba, paapa wi pe won ti mu esin abi abule araita. Ayekan Yoruba (nigbati o de) ma pesiwaju eni elesin Yoruba.
Ethnic mutability
To be Yoruba is to 'Yo Ru Bo'. It is an acknowledgement of spiritual potential to be part of Olodumare (or God in pagan belief). A faith and assertion that by their deeds the person - any person - can become "ori sha", meaning 'of chosen spirit'. It is a faith that calls for spiritual vigilance and mortal defence. In the old days, only people of active Yoruba spirituality were deemed Yoruba. In current times, persons of Yoruba genetic heritage are called Yoruba even when they are converts to foreign religions or nationality. The active spiritual adherents are termed aborisha or Yorubo or irunmole etc to designate them separate from non-practising Yoruba. The Yoruba nation (when manifest) will likely extend preferential citizenship to persons of Yoruba spirituality.
Maafa
Nkan pataki ni omo Maafa (oja eru ni eniyan Afrika). Ogede won ni ebi ti ye kuro ni Africa. Pupo ni aimoye ebi won ti po pelu omo aralu imiran. Pupo ni aimoye ebi won ti pelu esin imiran. Won shi le di Yoruba ti won ba she 'Yo Ru Bo'. Ayekan Yoruba (nigbati o de) ma pedandan eni omo Maafa ti onshe esin Yoruba.
The Maafa.
Of importance are the Maafa (African slave trade) descendants, Most are now several generations removed from direct parentage in Africa. Many now have genetic exchange with other ethnic nationalities. Many have been through several generations of indoctrination in other faiths. They can be Yoruba if they are 'Yo Ru Bo'. The Yoruba nation (when manifest) will extend automatic citizenship to Maafa descendants who are of Yoruba spirituality
Ni ojoisiyin, she Yoruba je ki kosheishe ki eni nse esin imi?
Question: today, does being Yoruba mean it is impossible to be Christian/Muslim/agnostic/atheist?
Ijuwon yi she yewo ni ona meta
The contention may arise from distinctions in 3 dimensions:
1) between Yoruba Orisha spirituality vs another religion/non-religion.
Spirituality is primary in determining Yoruba heritage and it is inviolable. However, one can choose whether to be active as Yoruba Orisha or not. To not be "Yo Ru B[U]o[/U]" is to be of suspended spiritual state in which one is not consciously trying to evolve towards Olodumare. Yoruba who are christians/muslims/atheists/agnostics abbl are by definition not "Yo Ru B[U]o[/U]".
2) between Yoruba genetic heritage (ethnicity) vs Arabic/European ethnicity.
a) Any non-genetic Yoruba person including an Ibo, Efik, Chinese, German or Sunni Arab, abbl, may convert to Yoruba Orisha spirituality. If they initiate their children also into Orisha spirituality, then the descendants of the child have established Yoruba spiritual heritage. Even if a Yoruba marries someone of another ethnicity or baptises their child into whatever foreign religion, they, their child, and its children remain Yoruba in spirit.
b) Genetic heritage is one vehicle for transmitting the Yoruba spiritual heritage. It is considered that any person born of a Yoruba is born into Yoruba Orisha by default, even if the parents are many generation practising Christians or Confucians, abbl. The Yoruba child is born to actualise as Orisha.
Of course, it is possible to be of multiple ethnicity. In fact, this seems to be the new path to socio-economic globalisation of European culture and to world peace. Even the NVS board actively encourages it with its Afro introductions banner adverts.
3) between Yoruba/Scottish/African-American (not manifest) vs Egypt/Nigeria/France/UK/ nationality/citizenship.
Nationality or citizenship are matters subject to geo-politics. It is for the countries concerned whether there is "either" or "or" in what nationality / citizenship a person may be subject to.
Ethnic Mutability and Yoruba Identity
Idi oro 'Yoruba'
Bi emi she mo to, oro 'Yoruba' wa lati siso "Yo ru bo" itunmo ni wi pe eni ti o ma ru ebo'. O le je pe ipap awon elesin Ifa/Orisha ni o fa a ki awon eni to won ngbe ni arin-otun Africa bere si nni lo ede kanna ati oluku kanna (eyi ko iti di ilu ti e). Awon eni Hausa bere si npe ni 'Yariba', oro ti o fi we npe ara won ko bale si eto irubo ti awon oniesin Islam ni na kuro ni ara won.
Origin of the word 'Yoruba'
As far I can research it, the word "Yoruba" was derived from the phrase "Yo ru bo" meaning 'will make sacrifices'. It may have been the commonality of Ifa/Orisha spiritual belief that caused the diverse inhabitants of the mid-west African continent to share the same core language and ethnic nationality (as yet manifest in a controlling country). The Hausa people call this word 'Yariba' which implies that their discomfort with form or content of the sacrificial rituals they had been forced to forgo under the influence of Islam.
Tani Yoruba?
Eni ti abi si oko ofurufu kii ndi aralu ile eni ti oni oko na!
Nkan meji ni o nso eni di Yoruba. Ikini ni esin 'Orisha'. Ikeji ni amulewa lati idile Orisha. Eni Yoruba ni eni ti mu idile ni esin Yoruba, ko le jabo nitori ibi ti a bi si abi esin ti ebi re bo si.
Who is Yoruba?
One who is born on an aeroplane is not a citizen of the airline's nationality!
A Yoruba person is so because of a confluence of spiritual heritage in Ifa/Orisha belief and parental-genetic heritage from a believer. One is born as Yoruba who is descendant from a Yoruba, irrespective of the place of birth or the religion of either parent.
Eniyan le wa ni idile Yoruba. Kakabe, o le farasi idile imi bi Nigeria, Togo abi Jamaica, bbl [be be lo]. Be e ni, o le wani esin Yoruba. Kakabe, o le forisi esin imi bi Hinduism, Rastafarian abi Judaism, bbl. Pelu pe eniyan farasi abi forisi ibomi, awon ati awon omo-omo won a shi je Yoruba ni idile ati idiesin, won a shi le she aralu Yoruba (nigbati ilu ba de)
In time, the person may remain within Yoruba nationality. Alternatively, the parson may register and become a citizen of another nationality such as Nigeria, Togo, or Jamaica etc. Similarly, they may remain Yoruba in spirituality or may convert to another faith such as Hindu, Rastafarian or Judaism etc. Even if they convert their nationality or faith, they and any of their descendants will be Yoruba in spiritual and genetic heritage, and so entitled to Yoruba nationality (if and when manifest).
Iparo idi-omo
Eniti 'Yo Ru Bo' ni eni Yoruba. Igbakamu ni wi pe ori eni le di orisha. Igbagbo ni ati ilahun wi pe enikeni ni o le di ori sha. Igbagbo ti o pe fun ishora ori ati afi ara sho ni. Ni ojotokoja, awon elesin Yoruba nikan ni a le pe ni Yoruba. Sugbon ni ojoisiyin, enikeni oni idile Yoruba ni a npe ni Yoruba, paapa wi pe won ti mu esin abi abule araita. Ayekan Yoruba (nigbati o de) ma pesiwaju eni elesin Yoruba.
Ethnic mutability
To be Yoruba is to 'Yo Ru Bo'. It is an acknowledgement of spiritual potential to be part of Olodumare (or God in pagan belief). A faith and assertion that by their deeds the person - any person - can become "ori sha", meaning 'of chosen spirit'. It is a faith that calls for spiritual vigilance and mortal defence. In the old days, only people of active Yoruba spirituality were deemed Yoruba. In current times, persons of Yoruba genetic heritage are called Yoruba even when they are converts to foreign religions or nationality. The active spiritual adherents are termed aborisha or Yorubo or irunmole etc to designate them separate from non-practising Yoruba. The Yoruba nation (when manifest) will likely extend preferential citizenship to persons of Yoruba spirituality.
Maafa
Nkan pataki ni omo Maafa (oja eru ni eniyan Afrika). Ogede won ni ebi ti ye kuro ni Africa. Pupo ni aimoye ebi won ti po pelu omo aralu imiran. Pupo ni aimoye ebi won ti pelu esin imiran. Won shi le di Yoruba ti won ba she 'Yo Ru Bo'. Ayekan Yoruba (nigbati o de) ma pedandan eni omo Maafa ti onshe esin Yoruba.
The Maafa.
Of importance are the Maafa (African slave trade) descendants, Most are now several generations removed from direct parentage in Africa. Many now have genetic exchange with other ethnic nationalities. Many have been through several generations of indoctrination in other faiths. They can be Yoruba if they are 'Yo Ru Bo'. The Yoruba nation (when manifest) will extend automatic citizenship to Maafa descendants who are of Yoruba spirituality
Ni ojoisiyin, she Yoruba je ki kosheishe ki eni nse esin imi?
Question: today, does being Yoruba mean it is impossible to be Christian/Muslim/agnostic/atheist?
Ijuwon yi she yewo ni ona meta
The contention may arise from distinctions in 3 dimensions:
1) between Yoruba Orisha spirituality vs another religion/non-religion.
Spirituality is primary in determining Yoruba heritage and it is inviolable. However, one can choose whether to be active as Yoruba Orisha or not. To not be "Yo Ru B[U]o[/U]" is to be of suspended spiritual state in which one is not consciously trying to evolve towards Olodumare. Yoruba who are christians/muslims/atheists/agnostics abbl are by definition not "Yo Ru B[U]o[/U]".
2) between Yoruba genetic heritage (ethnicity) vs Arabic/European ethnicity.
a) Any non-genetic Yoruba person including an Ibo, Efik, Chinese, German or Sunni Arab, abbl, may convert to Yoruba Orisha spirituality. If they initiate their children also into Orisha spirituality, then the descendants of the child have established Yoruba spiritual heritage. Even if a Yoruba marries someone of another ethnicity or baptises their child into whatever foreign religion, they, their child, and its children remain Yoruba in spirit.
b) Genetic heritage is one vehicle for transmitting the Yoruba spiritual heritage. It is considered that any person born of a Yoruba is born into Yoruba Orisha by default, even if the parents are many generation practising Christians or Confucians, abbl. The Yoruba child is born to actualise as Orisha.
Of course, it is possible to be of multiple ethnicity. In fact, this seems to be the new path to socio-economic globalisation of European culture and to world peace. Even the NVS board actively encourages it with its Afro introductions banner adverts.
3) between Yoruba/Scottish/African-American (not manifest) vs Egypt/Nigeria/France/UK/ nationality/citizenship.
Nationality or citizenship are matters subject to geo-politics. It is for the countries concerned whether there is "either" or "or" in what nationality / citizenship a person may be subject to.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Yoruba ati Japanese
Ijiyan nla nlo ni agbala Egyptsearch.com ni pa bawo ni ede abi esin Yoruba ati Japanese se parapo.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Yoruba Orisha Spirituality as Egyptian Ancient Mystery Religion
Found this "History of the Yoruba 1" at a Black History section of a website that may not keep it for long, so I have stored here while I research it.
The probable site of Atlantis, a legendary site in the Atlantic Ocean were exact location of Ile-Ife, a powerful kingdom 9000 years before the birth of BOLON. Its powerful army over run the Mediterranean land. The people of Atlantis are the founder of the ancient civilization of Atlantis from which the Atlantic ocean derived its name; Yorubas called it "Okun" with "Olokun" as the Orisa that presided over that aspect of Nature. It is the teaching of occultists that the first race of Atlanteans was called Rmoahals.
The race was Mahogany Black in color about 10ft. to 12 ft.
"Ile- Ife ase n taye nibi ojumo ti n mo wa" (Ile-Ife the primordial place where the day light comes forth) is the original home of the Yorubas, civilization and culture. Did you know that Ife (Yoruba) gave the world the civilization as we know it today? For instance, "Britons received their civilization from Rome: Rome from Greece: Greece from Persia: Persia from Ghaldea: Ghaldea from Babylon: Babylonians and Hebrews from Egypt: Egypt from the Tyrrhenians and the Tyrrhenians from the ancient Ile-Ife.
Yorubas refered to themselves as "Eniyan" or Eni ti Aayan" (the Chosen Ones to bring blessing to the world). "Ifa ni dandan, eniyan ni a yan lati mu ire wa si aye."
Lamurudu or Nemrod was never mentioned in any of the Odu Ifa therefore he could not be any of the Yorubas' ancestors. Yorubas are known for paying close attention to their ancestors.
References:
* "From Invincible World", by Justice Adewale Thomson and Lieutenant Colonel Arthur E. Powell
* "Voices of Africa" by Leo Frobenius
Author: The Curator
Ile Asa Abalaye
(A Yoruba-World Museum of Science & Culture)
Found this "History of the Yoruba 2" at a Black History website that may not keep it for long, so I have stored it here.
Decoding the History of Yoruba within the meanings of language and the symbols
One of the things that is very consistent in the History of Yoruba people and family nations has been that King Lamurudu was a powerful hunter who had several children and one of them, Odua or Oduduwa the last child, became the founding ancestor of the Yoruba people and family nations.
Our prehistory is based on oral traditions and, like all oral stories, subject to change by omission and commission -- after some thousands years of told and retold. When groups and family nations have found their niche and security within the land, independent of one another, different stories about groups' origins become more fashionable.
And the advent of colonialists did not help our history. It was like the 'sermon on the mount' -- "Give ye not that which is sacred to the dog, neither cast your pearl before the swine, for the swine would trample them under their feet and the dog would turn and rend you." For some thousands of years we have given our history to alien powers; as we use their expertise and their language to interpret and write about who we were and are.
The situation was made more complicated as colonialists (another alien powers) moved in and assigned different alphabets to the spoken words of similar groups within group.
For example: Some groups were assigned the letter C, some got Z and another got S -- for similar sounds. In one similar sound, some groups were assigned Ch, or Sh, or, even S. Some group received the K and others received the Q for similar sound, and so on and so on. Each group accepted its alien alphabets without reexamination and change. Furthermore, isolation of groups from each other led to different pronunciations of words and their uses took new, but related, meanings.
Please allow me to digress a moment. I went to see a Ghanian colleague in Richardson by Dallas in Texas. He and I went out for a couple of hours and, upon return, his wife welcomed us back home with the word that sounded like Yoruba "eku aabo,"which means "welcome" in Yoruba. But I was wrong. She was speaking her Ghana language when she said "akwaaba," which means "welcome." Another group in Ghana spells the same word "aquaaba."Our languages and symbols, highly codified by our ancestors in order to promote survival, could be very useful in determining our true history.
We must look at prehistory and other available references from ancient times related to oral prehistory and our cultural symbols to correct the mistakes in written history.
Last year I wrote: "The Yoruba language is excellent in what is called "euphony." Euphony is a method by which one makes a phonetic change to make a word or phrase more pleasant to hear or pronounce. For example, in Yoruba, "li" or "ni" can interchange. Some Yoruba ethnic can say "ni ana" or "li ana" which means "as of yesterday." "Ni oni" or "li oni" which means "as of today." For the sake of euphony, both phrases become "lana" and "loni" respectively. Now, let us apply the same to Nimrod, Nam'Ur-ud and the father of O'dua -- Lamurudu.
First, take out all vowels in each name. Nimrod will become NMRD, Nam'Ur-ud will become NMRD. For the sake of euphony, replace the "L" in Lamurudu with N and you have NMRD. Lamurudu was the beginning of ena; the inversion or change of letters, words, syllables or sentences in order that the sense is disguised. Lamurudu is thus concealed.
It has now become an instinctual response for the Yoruba to trigger the "u" sense upon contact with Arabic names, which have their root in Aramaic, the language of the Canaanites. Ask yourself this question: How did the Greek come to have the "Staff of Orion" and the Yoruba also have the "Opa Oranyan?" Orion and Oranyan are the same but utter confusion.
But our elders would exaggerate some words. Oranyan (Orion) became Oranmiyan -- the same utter confusion. The Greek and the Hebrew borrowed a lot from their Canaanite masters from prehistory. The art of writing came from the Canaanites. The Hebrew, the Arabic and the Greek borrowed from the Canaanite. Some older dictionaries would let you know that.
But modern dictionaries have begun to omit the Canaanite as first in writing. And that is purposeful. For example, the letter "O" is used by the Canaanite to mean "end or completion." It is "omega" in Greek which means "end." The word "dua" is Aramaic/Arabic for "prayer" or "supplicate before God." In Arabic "Ya" is "O." Therefore if you named your child "Ya'dua" and I named my child "O'dua," we are both thanking God for answering our prayers for giving us the child we want.
The name is usually given to the expected last born son. In modern Yoruba, a'dua has acquired the letter "r" to become "adura. "Following the deluge, after a few thousand years with the kingdom under water and under deserts, other people, including the Hebrew, invaded with confidence to take over the land gradually because the great king was gone. The Canaanites scattered under different names to hide because of persecution, genocide, splinter groups and within group fighting. One group became Yoruba, which was 'Yerubbaal' -- the 'People of Baal'. Baal was a monotheistic God.
With new names for the one and only God, the word 'Baal' was absorbed from the Canaanite into Hebrew to mean 'lord or master of the house' and it is the same as 'baale' in Yoruba. The people further changed the identity of Baal to Shango.
Please make the effort to go to a good museum where you can find the drawing of the Canaanite God Baal and compare it with any statue of Shango. And for that matter, we should compare the sculptures and arts of the Canaanites (Phoenicians) with that of the Yoruba, Benin, Asante and others for similarities. And we should not allow any stolen history found in the Old Testament cause us to shy away from our prehistory. The Canaanite word "ilu" gave us Olu, Eli and Ala. The same people gave us "ob" from which Obd, Abd and Oba came. For example in the Bible, we have OBADIAH which is "servant of God." It is oxymoron when our Yoruba ministers call God "Olorun-oba." the Owner of the Heaven cannot also be called the servant. Olorun by itself is a great attribute for God. Oba in prehistory was the servant of the people appointed by the King to administer his territories -- conquered or acquired. At that time, Obas were like Governor Generals under the British rule in our present day. They were not meant to equal the status of the king.
In the same line of conversation, the deity "Obatala" in Yoruba was the 'servant of God' and God is 'Ala Ta Ala' in Islam. The time is now for our linguists, lexicologists, educators and simply ordinary persons to help update the Yoruba Dictionary to include the roots and origins of words. Our alphabets, developed by a European anthropologist, only put us further away from our origin, especially those letters that carry a dot along with them.
Take for an example, the letter 'O' as in 'imo' and 'ino'. Both words mean 'light'. But in Aramaic and Arabic, the words 'light' will be 'ur' and 'nur'. Let us declare our own Age of Enlightenment with the new millennium.
Author: M. Kayode Oladale Molake
PS: The myth was that the Opa Oranyan was the walking cane of Oranyan. No. From the vantage view of our ancestors, it was the structure of the Staff of Oranyan (Orion) in the Orion Nebulae. Opa Oranyan (Orion) contains messages that must be deciphered by you, you, you and me.
Do you know that King Nam'Ur-ud (the Light that Shines, hence Orion) was degraded by the writers of the Old Testament with the name Nimrod which has no meaning? It was like deliberately saying your name wrongly to put you down. You are told in the Bible that Nimrod (King Nam'Ur-ud -- codified LAMURUDU by our ancestors) was the greatest king-hunter, built the Tower of Babel, and the meanest human.
Do you know he vanished about 9,000 years ago and our ancestors erected a colossus statue with his face on the body of lion the king and the hunter to represent him on earth until his return?
Do you know the Sphinx was a tribute to the great King and not Pharaohs? This is the statue's ninth millennia. Don't let the "experts" mislead you.
Do you know that he word "Yoruba" is a spiritual name? Do you know that some Yoruba member-nations took political names of the Canaanite groups -- Edomites, Jebusites and so on?
Do you know you MUST develop your Third Eye in order to come into the Past, which is more tedious than entering Present and the Future? This is beyond your general science validity.
May the Spirits of our Ancestors continue to bestow upon you great favors. Ashe o.
Wish you peace and alafia
M. Kayode Oladale Molake
(email: omoodua9-at-aol-dot-com)
The probable site of Atlantis, a legendary site in the Atlantic Ocean were exact location of Ile-Ife, a powerful kingdom 9000 years before the birth of BOLON. Its powerful army over run the Mediterranean land. The people of Atlantis are the founder of the ancient civilization of Atlantis from which the Atlantic ocean derived its name; Yorubas called it "Okun" with "Olokun" as the Orisa that presided over that aspect of Nature. It is the teaching of occultists that the first race of Atlanteans was called Rmoahals.
The race was Mahogany Black in color about 10ft. to 12 ft.
"Ile- Ife ase n taye nibi ojumo ti n mo wa" (Ile-Ife the primordial place where the day light comes forth) is the original home of the Yorubas, civilization and culture. Did you know that Ife (Yoruba) gave the world the civilization as we know it today? For instance, "Britons received their civilization from Rome: Rome from Greece: Greece from Persia: Persia from Ghaldea: Ghaldea from Babylon: Babylonians and Hebrews from Egypt: Egypt from the Tyrrhenians and the Tyrrhenians from the ancient Ile-Ife.
Yorubas refered to themselves as "Eniyan" or Eni ti Aayan" (the Chosen Ones to bring blessing to the world). "Ifa ni dandan, eniyan ni a yan lati mu ire wa si aye."
Lamurudu or Nemrod was never mentioned in any of the Odu Ifa therefore he could not be any of the Yorubas' ancestors. Yorubas are known for paying close attention to their ancestors.
References:
* "From Invincible World", by Justice Adewale Thomson and Lieutenant Colonel Arthur E. Powell
* "Voices of Africa" by Leo Frobenius
Author: The Curator
Ile Asa Abalaye
(A Yoruba-World Museum of Science & Culture)
Found this "History of the Yoruba 2" at a Black History website that may not keep it for long, so I have stored it here.
Decoding the History of Yoruba within the meanings of language and the symbols
One of the things that is very consistent in the History of Yoruba people and family nations has been that King Lamurudu was a powerful hunter who had several children and one of them, Odua or Oduduwa the last child, became the founding ancestor of the Yoruba people and family nations.
Our prehistory is based on oral traditions and, like all oral stories, subject to change by omission and commission -- after some thousands years of told and retold. When groups and family nations have found their niche and security within the land, independent of one another, different stories about groups' origins become more fashionable.
And the advent of colonialists did not help our history. It was like the 'sermon on the mount' -- "Give ye not that which is sacred to the dog, neither cast your pearl before the swine, for the swine would trample them under their feet and the dog would turn and rend you." For some thousands of years we have given our history to alien powers; as we use their expertise and their language to interpret and write about who we were and are.
The situation was made more complicated as colonialists (another alien powers) moved in and assigned different alphabets to the spoken words of similar groups within group.
For example: Some groups were assigned the letter C, some got Z and another got S -- for similar sounds. In one similar sound, some groups were assigned Ch, or Sh, or, even S. Some group received the K and others received the Q for similar sound, and so on and so on. Each group accepted its alien alphabets without reexamination and change. Furthermore, isolation of groups from each other led to different pronunciations of words and their uses took new, but related, meanings.
Please allow me to digress a moment. I went to see a Ghanian colleague in Richardson by Dallas in Texas. He and I went out for a couple of hours and, upon return, his wife welcomed us back home with the word that sounded like Yoruba "eku aabo,"which means "welcome" in Yoruba. But I was wrong. She was speaking her Ghana language when she said "akwaaba," which means "welcome." Another group in Ghana spells the same word "aquaaba."Our languages and symbols, highly codified by our ancestors in order to promote survival, could be very useful in determining our true history.
We must look at prehistory and other available references from ancient times related to oral prehistory and our cultural symbols to correct the mistakes in written history.
Last year I wrote: "The Yoruba language is excellent in what is called "euphony." Euphony is a method by which one makes a phonetic change to make a word or phrase more pleasant to hear or pronounce. For example, in Yoruba, "li" or "ni" can interchange. Some Yoruba ethnic can say "ni ana" or "li ana" which means "as of yesterday." "Ni oni" or "li oni" which means "as of today." For the sake of euphony, both phrases become "lana" and "loni" respectively. Now, let us apply the same to Nimrod, Nam'Ur-ud and the father of O'dua -- Lamurudu.
First, take out all vowels in each name. Nimrod will become NMRD, Nam'Ur-ud will become NMRD. For the sake of euphony, replace the "L" in Lamurudu with N and you have NMRD. Lamurudu was the beginning of ena; the inversion or change of letters, words, syllables or sentences in order that the sense is disguised. Lamurudu is thus concealed.
It has now become an instinctual response for the Yoruba to trigger the "u" sense upon contact with Arabic names, which have their root in Aramaic, the language of the Canaanites. Ask yourself this question: How did the Greek come to have the "Staff of Orion" and the Yoruba also have the "Opa Oranyan?" Orion and Oranyan are the same but utter confusion.
But our elders would exaggerate some words. Oranyan (Orion) became Oranmiyan -- the same utter confusion. The Greek and the Hebrew borrowed a lot from their Canaanite masters from prehistory. The art of writing came from the Canaanites. The Hebrew, the Arabic and the Greek borrowed from the Canaanite. Some older dictionaries would let you know that.
But modern dictionaries have begun to omit the Canaanite as first in writing. And that is purposeful. For example, the letter "O" is used by the Canaanite to mean "end or completion." It is "omega" in Greek which means "end." The word "dua" is Aramaic/Arabic for "prayer" or "supplicate before God." In Arabic "Ya" is "O." Therefore if you named your child "Ya'dua" and I named my child "O'dua," we are both thanking God for answering our prayers for giving us the child we want.
The name is usually given to the expected last born son. In modern Yoruba, a'dua has acquired the letter "r" to become "adura. "Following the deluge, after a few thousand years with the kingdom under water and under deserts, other people, including the Hebrew, invaded with confidence to take over the land gradually because the great king was gone. The Canaanites scattered under different names to hide because of persecution, genocide, splinter groups and within group fighting. One group became Yoruba, which was 'Yerubbaal' -- the 'People of Baal'. Baal was a monotheistic God.
With new names for the one and only God, the word 'Baal' was absorbed from the Canaanite into Hebrew to mean 'lord or master of the house' and it is the same as 'baale' in Yoruba. The people further changed the identity of Baal to Shango.
Please make the effort to go to a good museum where you can find the drawing of the Canaanite God Baal and compare it with any statue of Shango. And for that matter, we should compare the sculptures and arts of the Canaanites (Phoenicians) with that of the Yoruba, Benin, Asante and others for similarities. And we should not allow any stolen history found in the Old Testament cause us to shy away from our prehistory. The Canaanite word "ilu" gave us Olu, Eli and Ala. The same people gave us "ob" from which Obd, Abd and Oba came. For example in the Bible, we have OBADIAH which is "servant of God." It is oxymoron when our Yoruba ministers call God "Olorun-oba." the Owner of the Heaven cannot also be called the servant. Olorun by itself is a great attribute for God. Oba in prehistory was the servant of the people appointed by the King to administer his territories -- conquered or acquired. At that time, Obas were like Governor Generals under the British rule in our present day. They were not meant to equal the status of the king.
In the same line of conversation, the deity "Obatala" in Yoruba was the 'servant of God' and God is 'Ala Ta Ala' in Islam. The time is now for our linguists, lexicologists, educators and simply ordinary persons to help update the Yoruba Dictionary to include the roots and origins of words. Our alphabets, developed by a European anthropologist, only put us further away from our origin, especially those letters that carry a dot along with them.
Take for an example, the letter 'O' as in 'imo' and 'ino'. Both words mean 'light'. But in Aramaic and Arabic, the words 'light' will be 'ur' and 'nur'. Let us declare our own Age of Enlightenment with the new millennium.
Author: M. Kayode Oladale Molake
PS: The myth was that the Opa Oranyan was the walking cane of Oranyan. No. From the vantage view of our ancestors, it was the structure of the Staff of Oranyan (Orion) in the Orion Nebulae. Opa Oranyan (Orion) contains messages that must be deciphered by you, you, you and me.
Do you know that King Nam'Ur-ud (the Light that Shines, hence Orion) was degraded by the writers of the Old Testament with the name Nimrod which has no meaning? It was like deliberately saying your name wrongly to put you down. You are told in the Bible that Nimrod (King Nam'Ur-ud -- codified LAMURUDU by our ancestors) was the greatest king-hunter, built the Tower of Babel, and the meanest human.
Do you know he vanished about 9,000 years ago and our ancestors erected a colossus statue with his face on the body of lion the king and the hunter to represent him on earth until his return?
Do you know the Sphinx was a tribute to the great King and not Pharaohs? This is the statue's ninth millennia. Don't let the "experts" mislead you.
Do you know that he word "Yoruba" is a spiritual name? Do you know that some Yoruba member-nations took political names of the Canaanite groups -- Edomites, Jebusites and so on?
Do you know you MUST develop your Third Eye in order to come into the Past, which is more tedious than entering Present and the Future? This is beyond your general science validity.
May the Spirits of our Ancestors continue to bestow upon you great favors. Ashe o.
Wish you peace and alafia
M. Kayode Oladale Molake
(email: omoodua9-at-aol-dot-com)
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Kojoda 2008 Yoruba Calendar and Festivals.
To Whom It May Concern.
Please download and forward the attached:
2008 Kojoda ati Ajodun Irunmole (2008 Yoruba Calendar and Festivals)
the missiing links == àáeèéẹèéìíoòóọòóùúsṣ ==
Olódùmarè, jè ka morí de ilé, àṣẹ.
Introduction
The philosophy of Yòrúbo is that all humans have Ayanmo (manifest destiny) to become one in spirit with Olódùmarè (Olòrún, the divine creator and source of all energy). Each person in Ayé (the physical realm) uses thought or action energies to impact the community of all other living things including the Earth, and so to move towards destiny. As such, one's destiny is in one's hands. To attain transcedence and destiny in Òrún-Réré (spiritual realm of those who do good and beneficial things), one's Orí-Inu (spiritual consciousness in the physical realm) must be elevated to unify with one's Iponri (Orí Òrún). Those who stop improving are destined for Òrún-Apadi (spiritual realm of the forsaken). Life and death are cycles of habitation in physical body and spiritual realms while one's spirit evolves toward transcendence. This evolution is most advanced in Irùnmolẹ (oní irun, of the unique hair that distincts humans from beasts; imo, enlightened of destiny, ilẹ on the land)
For most people, iwapẹlẹ (balanced culture), meditation and sincere veneration sufficiently strengthen one's Orí-Inu. One is able to gbadúra (pray) for support of the Egungun (one's elevated ancestors) or the Orí-Òrún for application of the Odu (knowledge of all ages) to one's benefit. Those with strong motivation to manipulate destiny may consult the Odu through Ifá (divination sciences) and ẹbò (offering). In invoking the Odu so directly, care is required to ensure alignment of thought and action. The Odu brings into motion either Oríṣà (benevolent or angelic forces) or Ajẹ (malevolent or demonic forces). All communication with the Òrún is energised by invoking Àṣẹ (the essence of Olódùmarè that gives life to all). Àṣẹ is delivered by Ẹlégbara (Eṣu, the divine messenger) who, without distortion or partiality for good or for bad, negotiates communication to the Òrún and navigates Òrún forces to the Ayé.
AJODUN / FESTIVALS
Sere / January
Erele / February
Olokún (Oríṣà of Okún, the deep seas or oceans, patron of sailors, and guardian of souls lost at sea)
Erele 21-25
[U]Erena / March[/U]
Annual rites of passage for men
Erena 12 – 28:
Oduduwa (odudu, the dark pigment; ni ewa, is the beauty) / Iyaagbe (iya, mother; agbe, who receives) = Oríṣà of Earth and matron of the Ayé. The ebony dark skin pigmentation endows the greatest gifts of spirituality, beauty and intellect. Oduduwa as the essence of procreative love, accords sexual potency to the bearer.
Erena 15 – 19:
Oshosi = Oríṣà of Adventure and the hunt
Erena 21 – 24:
April / Igbe
Ogun = Oríṣà of the metal and war crafts, and engineering. The custodian of truth and executioner of justice, as such patron of the legal and counselling professions who must swear to uphold truth while biting on a piece of metal.
Igbe
Oshun (Oríṣà of Fertility and custodian of the female essence. who guides pregnancies to term.
onset of wet season (Spring)
starts last Saturday of April, for 5 days
Ebibi / May
Egungun (Commemoration of the Ancestors, including community founders and illustrious dead.
starts last Saturday of May, for 7 days
Okudu / June
Yoruba New Year
Shopona (Oríṣà of Disease, shopona, small pox is a virual disease) and Osanyin (Oríṣà of Medicine and patron of the healing professions: osan, afternoon; yin, healing)
annual rites of passage for women
Yemoja = matriarch of the Òrún-Rere). Oduduwa gave birth to a boy Aganju (Land) and Yemoja (Water) from marriage to Ọbàtala. Yemoja in turn birthed many other Oríṣà. The old Ile-Ife kingdom arose on her burial site.
Agemo / July
Ọrúnmilà / Ifá = Oríṣà of Divination and founder of the Ifá sciences, whose divination is with 16 palm nuts.
Agemo: first or second weekend in July
Oko (Agriculture) Harvesting of the new Yam crop. Mass gathering of the yoruba
Ẹlégba-Bara (Ẹlégba, one who has power to seize) / Eṣu (shu, to release eject from; ara, the body) = Oríṣà of male essence and Power, who is the great Communicator and messenger of the will of Olódùmarè. No woman should bara (ba ra, to rub with, have intercourse with) a man who has not done Ikola (circumcision: ike, cutting; ola, that saves) in sacrifice to Ẹlégba.
First weekend of July for 3 weeks
Ṣàngo (shan, to strike:/ Jakuta:ja, fight; pelu okuta, with stones. The Oríṣà of Energy – Ara (Thunder) and Manamana, make fire (Lightening) whose divination is with 16 cowries and whose messenger and water-bearer is Oshumare (the Rainbow).
July third week
Ogun / August
Ọbàtálá = (Obà,to possess; ti ala, of visions or Oríṣà-nla, the principal Oríṣà). Patriarch of Òrún-Rere, the heaven of goodly spirits and beneficial ancestors. As Olódùmarè is too powerful and busy to be pre-occupied by the affairs of any one living being. Ọbàtálá functions as the principal emissary of Olódùmarè on Aye, and is the custodian of Yoruba culture. The aso ala (white cloth) worn by Ọbàtálá initiates is to signify need to be pure in intent and action: A recurring punishment for social misfits was to try to keep white cloth clean in Africa's tropical and dusty climate. The misappropriation of aso-ala connection to Ọbàtálá was/is a major weapon against the Yoruba in their psychological resistance of foreign invasion, as Christian and Islamic converts were/are indoctrinated that anything considered 'white' is pure: a notion that has also become a key tenet of racialist supremacy
August last weekend
Owere / September
Owaro / October
Oya (Oríṣà of the odo Oya (river Niger) whose messenger is Afefe (the Wind), and guardian of gateway between the physical realm (Aye) and the spiritual realm (Òrún).
Oṣun (Oríṣà of the odo Oṣun and patron of the (sovereign) Ijebu nation
October third weekend
Onset of the dry season (Autumn)
Shigidi (Oríṣà of Òrún-Apadi, the realm of the unsettled spirits and the ghosts of the dead that have left Aye and are forsaken of Òrún-Rere. Custodian of nightmares and patron of assassins.
Solemn candlelight to guide the unsettled away from your residence, else they settle in your dolls or other toys.
October 30 World Slavery Day?
Belu / November
Ope / December
Obajulaiye (Oríṣà of Ṣòwò (Commerce) and owo (wealth).
Ope 15
Onset of the second dry season (winter solstice)
Please download and forward the attached:
2008 Kojoda ati Ajodun Irunmole (2008 Yoruba Calendar and Festivals)
the missiing links == àáeèéẹèéìíoòóọòóùúsṣ ==
Olódùmarè, jè ka morí de ilé, àṣẹ.
Introduction
The philosophy of Yòrúbo is that all humans have Ayanmo (manifest destiny) to become one in spirit with Olódùmarè (Olòrún, the divine creator and source of all energy). Each person in Ayé (the physical realm) uses thought or action energies to impact the community of all other living things including the Earth, and so to move towards destiny. As such, one's destiny is in one's hands. To attain transcedence and destiny in Òrún-Réré (spiritual realm of those who do good and beneficial things), one's Orí-Inu (spiritual consciousness in the physical realm) must be elevated to unify with one's Iponri (Orí Òrún). Those who stop improving are destined for Òrún-Apadi (spiritual realm of the forsaken). Life and death are cycles of habitation in physical body and spiritual realms while one's spirit evolves toward transcendence. This evolution is most advanced in Irùnmolẹ (oní irun, of the unique hair that distincts humans from beasts; imo, enlightened of destiny, ilẹ on the land)
For most people, iwapẹlẹ (balanced culture), meditation and sincere veneration sufficiently strengthen one's Orí-Inu. One is able to gbadúra (pray) for support of the Egungun (one's elevated ancestors) or the Orí-Òrún for application of the Odu (knowledge of all ages) to one's benefit. Those with strong motivation to manipulate destiny may consult the Odu through Ifá (divination sciences) and ẹbò (offering). In invoking the Odu so directly, care is required to ensure alignment of thought and action. The Odu brings into motion either Oríṣà (benevolent or angelic forces) or Ajẹ (malevolent or demonic forces). All communication with the Òrún is energised by invoking Àṣẹ (the essence of Olódùmarè that gives life to all). Àṣẹ is delivered by Ẹlégbara (Eṣu, the divine messenger) who, without distortion or partiality for good or for bad, negotiates communication to the Òrún and navigates Òrún forces to the Ayé.
AJODUN / FESTIVALS
Sere / January
Erele / February
Olokún (Oríṣà of Okún, the deep seas or oceans, patron of sailors, and guardian of souls lost at sea)
Erele 21-25
[U]Erena / March[/U]
Annual rites of passage for men
Erena 12 – 28:
Oduduwa (odudu, the dark pigment; ni ewa, is the beauty) / Iyaagbe (iya, mother; agbe, who receives) = Oríṣà of Earth and matron of the Ayé. The ebony dark skin pigmentation endows the greatest gifts of spirituality, beauty and intellect. Oduduwa as the essence of procreative love, accords sexual potency to the bearer.
Erena 15 – 19:
Oshosi = Oríṣà of Adventure and the hunt
Erena 21 – 24:
April / Igbe
Ogun = Oríṣà of the metal and war crafts, and engineering. The custodian of truth and executioner of justice, as such patron of the legal and counselling professions who must swear to uphold truth while biting on a piece of metal.
Igbe
Oshun (Oríṣà of Fertility and custodian of the female essence. who guides pregnancies to term.
onset of wet season (Spring)
starts last Saturday of April, for 5 days
Ebibi / May
Egungun (Commemoration of the Ancestors, including community founders and illustrious dead.
starts last Saturday of May, for 7 days
Okudu / June
Yoruba New Year
Shopona (Oríṣà of Disease, shopona, small pox is a virual disease) and Osanyin (Oríṣà of Medicine and patron of the healing professions: osan, afternoon; yin, healing)
annual rites of passage for women
Yemoja = matriarch of the Òrún-Rere). Oduduwa gave birth to a boy Aganju (Land) and Yemoja (Water) from marriage to Ọbàtala. Yemoja in turn birthed many other Oríṣà. The old Ile-Ife kingdom arose on her burial site.
Agemo / July
Ọrúnmilà / Ifá = Oríṣà of Divination and founder of the Ifá sciences, whose divination is with 16 palm nuts.
Agemo: first or second weekend in July
Oko (Agriculture) Harvesting of the new Yam crop. Mass gathering of the yoruba
Ẹlégba-Bara (Ẹlégba, one who has power to seize) / Eṣu (shu, to release eject from; ara, the body) = Oríṣà of male essence and Power, who is the great Communicator and messenger of the will of Olódùmarè. No woman should bara (ba ra, to rub with, have intercourse with) a man who has not done Ikola (circumcision: ike, cutting; ola, that saves) in sacrifice to Ẹlégba.
First weekend of July for 3 weeks
Ṣàngo (shan, to strike:/ Jakuta:ja, fight; pelu okuta, with stones. The Oríṣà of Energy – Ara (Thunder) and Manamana, make fire (Lightening) whose divination is with 16 cowries and whose messenger and water-bearer is Oshumare (the Rainbow).
July third week
Ogun / August
Ọbàtálá = (Obà,to possess; ti ala, of visions or Oríṣà-nla, the principal Oríṣà). Patriarch of Òrún-Rere, the heaven of goodly spirits and beneficial ancestors. As Olódùmarè is too powerful and busy to be pre-occupied by the affairs of any one living being. Ọbàtálá functions as the principal emissary of Olódùmarè on Aye, and is the custodian of Yoruba culture. The aso ala (white cloth) worn by Ọbàtálá initiates is to signify need to be pure in intent and action: A recurring punishment for social misfits was to try to keep white cloth clean in Africa's tropical and dusty climate. The misappropriation of aso-ala connection to Ọbàtálá was/is a major weapon against the Yoruba in their psychological resistance of foreign invasion, as Christian and Islamic converts were/are indoctrinated that anything considered 'white' is pure: a notion that has also become a key tenet of racialist supremacy
August last weekend
Owere / September
Owaro / October
Oya (Oríṣà of the odo Oya (river Niger) whose messenger is Afefe (the Wind), and guardian of gateway between the physical realm (Aye) and the spiritual realm (Òrún).
Oṣun (Oríṣà of the odo Oṣun and patron of the (sovereign) Ijebu nation
October third weekend
Onset of the dry season (Autumn)
Shigidi (Oríṣà of Òrún-Apadi, the realm of the unsettled spirits and the ghosts of the dead that have left Aye and are forsaken of Òrún-Rere. Custodian of nightmares and patron of assassins.
Solemn candlelight to guide the unsettled away from your residence, else they settle in your dolls or other toys.
October 30 World Slavery Day?
Belu / November
Ope / December
Obajulaiye (Oríṣà of Ṣòwò (Commerce) and owo (wealth).
Ope 15
Onset of the second dry season (winter solstice)
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Relocating to Ile Yoruba and other Africa 3: Top 10 Tips
Relocation Tips
1.Culture – Try to find a cultural society for the area that you are considering relocation to. Regular attendance at meetings and events should give you a flavour of foods, fashions, etc. Read widely from the local and national newspapers. Be prepared to be treated as a 'foreigner'. You are advised to keep negative opinions on culture, religion, or language to yourself.
2.Accommodation – You should visit the country for a stay of at least six months in order to explore the community and experience potential property in reas of interest. In short visits, stay in self – contained rental property in order to assess the dynamics of the property markets.
3.Property – Generally, buying may be better than renting. Property markets are dynamic and many transactions are settled in cash, although mortgages are becoming more available. Estate agents will be able to advise on local markets, schools, amenities and business opportunities. Have a lawyer secure and register your certificate of ownership (equivalent to UK freehold) or review rental agreemenrs. Expect to pay 1 year rental deposit and 1 year rent in advance. Negotiate payments in local currency, so as to reduce your foreign exchange risk.
4.Transport – You should plan for a budget car, preferably of Asian make as they tend to be more durable and less expensive to run in spare parts and servicing costs than European models. American models do not generally do well. 4x4 vehicles suffer very heavy consumption of fuel and spare parts on Africa's uneven roads. Diesel fuel may be scarcer than petrol, but can be used with your diesel generator. Some markets, e.g Nigeria, ban importation of cars that are older than 10 years. It may be less troublesome to buy imported cars locally. Original spare parts are often available from authorised dealers at European price levels.
5.Utilities – You should plan for a small diesel generator, unless you are technically able to install renewable energy sources (a strong business opportunity). Plan to install electric water pump and storage tanks. It is safer and less obstrusive to install tanks underground. You will need electric surge stabilisers and uninterruptible power supply units on your electronic equipment.
6.Freight – Try to avoid freight costs on shipping heavy, disposable or fragile personal effects halfway across the world. Rental properties will usually be unfurnished, but it may be worthwhile to patiently visit local craft shops to source for original items in furniture, crockery, toiletries, and art. Do bring your books, medication supplies, computers and and audio-visual equipment. Retail shops stock the usual global brand products, at European price levels. For warranties, buy from authorised dealers.
7.Bureaucracy – You will need to register for taxation and residency. You may need to register car ownership or to vote, procure insurance or medical cover. Local residents are generally helpful to 'foreigners', although you may have to pay price premiums for your elevated status.
8.Employment – When you relocate to Africa, we expect you to create jobs and investments. Recruitment agencies may have employment positions with multinationals and big local firms. There are opportunities to create businesses in almost every economic or social sector. You will generate strong goodwill from efforts to train and support suppliers, customers and employees. When fairly rewarded, Africans generally have a strong work ethic. They are also sensitive to historical injusticies and contemporary trade inequalities.
9.Family – Africans have retained strong family values. Much leisure time is spent visiting with friends and family. Urban residents may travel long distances over weekends and holidays. Informal netwoeks and extended family provide much of the 'safety net' benefits that have been institutionalied and privately capitalised in other countries.
10.Prepare yourself and your family well in advance. In particular, make arrangements for private education, medical care, and independent essential services (transport, water and electricity). Once these are expensed by your private (and hopefully, profitable) business, you may enjoy well, well.
1.Culture – Try to find a cultural society for the area that you are considering relocation to. Regular attendance at meetings and events should give you a flavour of foods, fashions, etc. Read widely from the local and national newspapers. Be prepared to be treated as a 'foreigner'. You are advised to keep negative opinions on culture, religion, or language to yourself.
2.Accommodation – You should visit the country for a stay of at least six months in order to explore the community and experience potential property in reas of interest. In short visits, stay in self – contained rental property in order to assess the dynamics of the property markets.
3.Property – Generally, buying may be better than renting. Property markets are dynamic and many transactions are settled in cash, although mortgages are becoming more available. Estate agents will be able to advise on local markets, schools, amenities and business opportunities. Have a lawyer secure and register your certificate of ownership (equivalent to UK freehold) or review rental agreemenrs. Expect to pay 1 year rental deposit and 1 year rent in advance. Negotiate payments in local currency, so as to reduce your foreign exchange risk.
4.Transport – You should plan for a budget car, preferably of Asian make as they tend to be more durable and less expensive to run in spare parts and servicing costs than European models. American models do not generally do well. 4x4 vehicles suffer very heavy consumption of fuel and spare parts on Africa's uneven roads. Diesel fuel may be scarcer than petrol, but can be used with your diesel generator. Some markets, e.g Nigeria, ban importation of cars that are older than 10 years. It may be less troublesome to buy imported cars locally. Original spare parts are often available from authorised dealers at European price levels.
5.Utilities – You should plan for a small diesel generator, unless you are technically able to install renewable energy sources (a strong business opportunity). Plan to install electric water pump and storage tanks. It is safer and less obstrusive to install tanks underground. You will need electric surge stabilisers and uninterruptible power supply units on your electronic equipment.
6.Freight – Try to avoid freight costs on shipping heavy, disposable or fragile personal effects halfway across the world. Rental properties will usually be unfurnished, but it may be worthwhile to patiently visit local craft shops to source for original items in furniture, crockery, toiletries, and art. Do bring your books, medication supplies, computers and and audio-visual equipment. Retail shops stock the usual global brand products, at European price levels. For warranties, buy from authorised dealers.
7.Bureaucracy – You will need to register for taxation and residency. You may need to register car ownership or to vote, procure insurance or medical cover. Local residents are generally helpful to 'foreigners', although you may have to pay price premiums for your elevated status.
8.Employment – When you relocate to Africa, we expect you to create jobs and investments. Recruitment agencies may have employment positions with multinationals and big local firms. There are opportunities to create businesses in almost every economic or social sector. You will generate strong goodwill from efforts to train and support suppliers, customers and employees. When fairly rewarded, Africans generally have a strong work ethic. They are also sensitive to historical injusticies and contemporary trade inequalities.
9.Family – Africans have retained strong family values. Much leisure time is spent visiting with friends and family. Urban residents may travel long distances over weekends and holidays. Informal netwoeks and extended family provide much of the 'safety net' benefits that have been institutionalied and privately capitalised in other countries.
10.Prepare yourself and your family well in advance. In particular, make arrangements for private education, medical care, and independent essential services (transport, water and electricity). Once these are expensed by your private (and hopefully, profitable) business, you may enjoy well, well.
Relocating to Ile Yoruba and other Africa 2
This is part of efforts to help people who want to remigrate to African countries. It is essential to arrange property financing and management support.
Property Investment: UK
We plan to offer a UK property investment service, whereby you sell ownership in UK property to a private single-property investment company in which you and us hold equity shares. You may have the option to rent back the property at market rates from the investment company.
The property is either let and managed to provide income or sold to release remaining capital. The net proceeds are shared as per equity holding.
This service is planned to help reduce uncertainty on your source of resettlement income, and cut dependence on foreign mortgages which tend to be attract higher interest rates than UK.
Property Investment: African country
We plan to offer African country property investment service, whereby you purchase equity share in a private single-property investment company. With your agreement, the company invests in purchase of an owner – occupied residential property. You may have the option to rent the property at market rates from the company.
The company may also let and manage the property so as to provide income. When the property is sold, the net capital proceeds are shared as per equity holding.
This service is planned to assist you in obtaining property for accommodation or investment in the country of destination. The company ensures that the property is built and fitted to standards, and is amenable to sufficient potential of rental income or capital gain. The company will also expense the cost of paying your income or capital into your account.
Property Investment: UK
We plan to offer a UK property investment service, whereby you sell ownership in UK property to a private single-property investment company in which you and us hold equity shares. You may have the option to rent back the property at market rates from the investment company.
The property is either let and managed to provide income or sold to release remaining capital. The net proceeds are shared as per equity holding.
This service is planned to help reduce uncertainty on your source of resettlement income, and cut dependence on foreign mortgages which tend to be attract higher interest rates than UK.
Property Investment: African country
We plan to offer African country property investment service, whereby you purchase equity share in a private single-property investment company. With your agreement, the company invests in purchase of an owner – occupied residential property. You may have the option to rent the property at market rates from the company.
The company may also let and manage the property so as to provide income. When the property is sold, the net capital proceeds are shared as per equity holding.
This service is planned to assist you in obtaining property for accommodation or investment in the country of destination. The company ensures that the property is built and fitted to standards, and is amenable to sufficient potential of rental income or capital gain. The company will also expense the cost of paying your income or capital into your account.
Remigrating to Ile-Yoruba, and other Africa
Relocation, Repatriation, Remigration...
Once you have decided to relocate, you will need all the help you can get with the physical logistics of establishing your new homeland. I am thinking to offer a comprehensive Tokunbo (the foreign traveller returns) Relocation package from UKP 250. Here are the services.
Before you go, we will
Provide you a printed checklist of things that need doing
Introduce you to a Tokunbo Relocation contact in whose state of origin you have chosen to relocate to within the country. State of origin is of strong cultural importance in African countries.
Help with opening an African country bank account, and advice on funds transfer.
Help to book your flight
Help to arrange temporary storage, freight & forwarding of your personal effects.
Help to find a rental or purchase property in the African country, and negotiate with the owner
Help to find a car to purchase, and negotiate with the seller.
Help with health and safety actions for travellers to your country of destination
When you arrive, we will
Arrange a pick-up car and personal guide to meet at the port and take you to hotel accommodation.
Provide a welcome pack, including light refreshment, bottled water, a SIM card (ensure you unlock and bring a mobile phone), telephone top-up for calling family and friends back in the UK about your safe arrival, and a welcome message from your Tokunbo Relocation contact person.
Your Tokunbo contact may help you with:
Transfer from hotel to your next residence
Information or guided tour on local essential services (schools, places of worship, food and fuel, police, fire, hospitals, banks and commercial offices, markets, and internet / post offices).
Help with transport of your personal effects to your own self – contained residence.
After you have settled in your new home, we and yiur Tokunbo contact will
Maintain contact with you to answer questions and help you resettle in your new home.
Help with obtaining your national tax registration.
(Optional) Arrange visits and meetings with other Tokunbo resettlers.
(Optional) Personal introductions to local traditional rulers; schools; bank account opening; medical, fire and police support; and membership of social associations.
(Optional) Help with supply of water and cooking fuel, electricity and internet to your home.
(Optional) Help with obtaining your property registration, tax and insurance.
(Optional) Help with obtaining your driving licence; car registration, licence, insurance, and tax.
(Optional) Help with replenishments of essential medication.
The Tokunbo Relocation Service aims to assist with the physical aspects of moving to your new home. You may also appreciate support with financial, property, employment or bereavement aspects.
Once you have decided to relocate, you will need all the help you can get with the physical logistics of establishing your new homeland. I am thinking to offer a comprehensive Tokunbo (the foreign traveller returns) Relocation package from UKP 250. Here are the services.
Before you go, we will
Provide you a printed checklist of things that need doing
Introduce you to a Tokunbo Relocation contact in whose state of origin you have chosen to relocate to within the country. State of origin is of strong cultural importance in African countries.
Help with opening an African country bank account, and advice on funds transfer.
Help to book your flight
Help to arrange temporary storage, freight & forwarding of your personal effects.
Help to find a rental or purchase property in the African country, and negotiate with the owner
Help to find a car to purchase, and negotiate with the seller.
Help with health and safety actions for travellers to your country of destination
When you arrive, we will
Arrange a pick-up car and personal guide to meet at the port and take you to hotel accommodation.
Provide a welcome pack, including light refreshment, bottled water, a SIM card (ensure you unlock and bring a mobile phone), telephone top-up for calling family and friends back in the UK about your safe arrival, and a welcome message from your Tokunbo Relocation contact person.
Your Tokunbo contact may help you with:
Transfer from hotel to your next residence
Information or guided tour on local essential services (schools, places of worship, food and fuel, police, fire, hospitals, banks and commercial offices, markets, and internet / post offices).
Help with transport of your personal effects to your own self – contained residence.
After you have settled in your new home, we and yiur Tokunbo contact will
Maintain contact with you to answer questions and help you resettle in your new home.
Help with obtaining your national tax registration.
(Optional) Arrange visits and meetings with other Tokunbo resettlers.
(Optional) Personal introductions to local traditional rulers; schools; bank account opening; medical, fire and police support; and membership of social associations.
(Optional) Help with supply of water and cooking fuel, electricity and internet to your home.
(Optional) Help with obtaining your property registration, tax and insurance.
(Optional) Help with obtaining your driving licence; car registration, licence, insurance, and tax.
(Optional) Help with replenishments of essential medication.
The Tokunbo Relocation Service aims to assist with the physical aspects of moving to your new home. You may also appreciate support with financial, property, employment or bereavement aspects.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Orisha have attained destiny
Shango, Ogun, and the other Orisha are not ''idols'' to be worshipped. They are veritable ancestors of Yoruba-African people. Their beneficial deeds to the community have caused them to be elevated to spiritual life-forces in the service of Olodumare.
'Ori sha' means my destiny is chosen. That destiny is to become one with Olodumare through beneficial deeds and continuous effort towards spiritual consciousness. It is a destiny open to all.
ibere
'Ori sha' means my destiny is chosen. That destiny is to become one with Olodumare through beneficial deeds and continuous effort towards spiritual consciousness. It is a destiny open to all.
ibere
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Yoruba people on wikipedia
This article is a dump of revisions made to the Yoruba page on Wikipedia 25-Sept-2007.
{{Cleanup|date=December 2006}}
{{ethnic group
|group=Yoruba
|image=[[Image:Olusegun Obasanjo (Brasilia 6 September 2005).jpg|80px]] [[Image:KingSunnyAde.jpg|118px]] [[Image:Akinola2.jpg|42px]]
|poptime=Upwards of 30 million (CIA Estimate, 2005 )
|popplace= [[Nigeria]], [[Benin]], [[Ghana]], [[Togo]],[[Brazil]],[[The Caribean]],[[UK]]
|rels= [[Orisha]], [[Christianity]], [[Islam]]
|langs= [[Yoruba language|Yoruba]]
|related= Nago, [[Itsekiri]], [[Igala]], [[Nupe]]
}}
The '''Yoruba''' (''Yorùbá'' in Yoruba orthography) are a large ethno-linguistic group or ethnic nation in Africa; the majority of them speak the [[Yoruba language]] (èdèe Yorùbá; èdè = language). The Yoruba constitute approximately 21 percent of [[Nigeria]]'s total population,[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ni.html CIA World Factbook] and around 30 million individuals throughout the region of [[West Africa]].Joshua Project,. (2007) They share borders with the [[Borgu]] (variously called Bariba and Borgawa) in the northwest, the [[Nupe]] and [[Ebira]] in the north, the [[Ẹsan]] [[Afemai ]] and [[Edo State|Edo]] to the southeast, the [[Igala]] and other related groups to the northeast, and the [[Egun]], [[Fon]], and other [[Gbe languages|Gbe]]-speaking peoples in the southwest. While the majority of the Yoruba live in western Nigeria, there are also substantial indigenous Yoruba communities in [[Benin]], [[Ghana]] and [[Togo]].
The Yoruba are the main ethnic group in the states of [[Ekiti State, Nigeria|Ekiti]], [[Lagos State, Nigeria|Lagos]], [[Ogun State, Nigeria|Ogun]], [[Ondo State, Nigeria|Ondo]], [[Osun State, Nigeria|Osun]], and [[Oyo State, Nigeria|Oyo]], which are subdivisions of Nigeria; they also constitute a sizable proportion of [[Kwara]] and [[Kogi]] states as well as of the [[Benin]].
A significant percentage of Africans enslaved during the Trans Atlantic [[Slave Trade]] in the Americas managed to maintain the Yoruba spiritual religion known as Aborisha. Indeed, the initiation and practise of Aborisha spiritual religion offers a route to all people of African descent, who were victims of slave trade in the Americas or the Carribean, to make claim to Yoruba heritage.
==History==
===General history===
The African peoples who lived in Yorubaland, at least by the 4th Century BCE, were not initially known as the Yoruba, although they shared a common ethnicity and language group. Both archeology and traditional Yoruba oral historians confirm the existence of people in this region for several millennia.
Yoruba spiritual heritage maintain that the Yoruba ethnic groups are a unique people who were originally created at Ile-Ife. Legend holds that the creation was delegated by the supreme spiritual force, Olodumare. The task was to orisha-nla Obatala, may have actually been conducted by orisha Oduduwa, who was assisted by orisha Eshu, the divine messenger. The name "Yoruba" is most likely an adaptation of 'Yo ru ebo', meaning "will venerate (make offerings to the) [[Orisha|Orisha]]". This refers to the Aborisha spiritual religion of the Yoruba prior to invasion and indoctrination by Islamic and Christian influences. Yoruba civilization remains one of the most technologically and artistically advanced people in West Africa to this time.
Some contemporary historians contend that some Yoruba are not indigenous to Yorubaland, but are descendants of immigrants to the region. This version of history contends that Oduduwa was a mortal king, probably from northeast Africa, under whose leadership the Oyo region of Yorubaland was conquered sometime in the 11th century CE and the kingdom of Ife was established. Oduduwa's relatives established kingdoms in the rest of Yorubaland. One of Oduduwa's sons, Oranmiyan, took the throne of Benin and expanded the Oduduwa Dynasty east-wards. Further expansion led to the establishment of the Yoruba in what are now Southwest Nigeria, [[Benin]], and [[Togo]], with Yoruba city-states acknowledging the spiritual heritage primacy of the ancient city of Ile Ife. The southeastern [[Benin Empire]], ruled by a dynasty that traced its ancestry to Ifẹ and Oduduwa but largely populated by the Edo and other related ethnicities, also held considerable sway in the election of nobles and kings in eastern Yorubaland.
Between [[1100]] CE and [[1700]] CE, the Yoruba Kingdom of Ife experienced a [[golden age]]. It was then surpassed by [[the kingdom of Oyo]] as the dominant Yoruba military and political power between [[1700]] CE and [[1900]] CE, The nearby splinter Yoruba kingdom of Benin was also a powerful force between 1300 and 1850 CE. Yoruba civilization also has strong historical exchanges with Nok civilization, which may date to 900 BCE, as with other neighbouring African settlements. The exchanges have been both genetic and cultural.
Most of the city states were controlled by ''[[Oba]]s'' (elected monarchs) and councils made up of Oloye, [[guild]] of noble leaders or chiefs, and [[merchant]]s. Different states saw differing ratios of power between the kingship and the chiefs' council. Some such as Oyo had powerful, autocratic monarchs with almost total control, while in others such as the Ijebu city-states, the senatorial councils were supreme and the ''Ọba'' served as a figurehead.
In all cases, Yoruba monarchs were subject to the continuing approval of their constituents, and could be easily compelled to abdicate for demonstrating dictatorial tendencies or incompetence. The order to vacate the throne was usually communicated through a symbolic message or ''aroko'', of [[parrot]]s' eggs delivered by the senators.
The Yoruba eventually established a federation of city-states under the political ascendancy of the city state of Oyo located on the Northern fringes of [[Yorubaland]] in the [[savanna]] plains between the forests of present Southwest Nigeria and the [[Niger]] River. Following a [[Jihad]] led by [[Uthman Dan Fodio]] and a rapid consolidation of the Hausa city states of present northern Nigeria, the [[Fulani]] [[Sokoto Caliphate]] annexed the buffer [[Nupe]] Kingdom and began to press southwards towards the [[Oyo Empire]]. Shortly after, they overran the Yoruba city of [[Ilorin]] and then sacked [[Ọyọ-Ile]], the capital city of the Ọyọ Empire.
Following this, Ọyọ-Ile was abandoned and the Ọyọ retreated south to the present city of Oyo (Oyo Atiba) in a forested region where the calvary of the [[Sokoto Caliphate]] was less effective. Further attempts by the [[Sokoto Caliphate]] to expand southwards were checked by the Yoruba who had rallied to resist under the military leadership of the City State of [[Ibadan]] which rose from the old Oyo empire, and of the Ijebu city-states.
However, the Oyo hegemony had been dealt a mortal blow. The other Yoruba city-states broke free of Oyo dominance, and subsequently became embroiled in a series of internecine wars, from which prisoners feed the slave trade conducted by Arab and European traders. These wars weakened the Yoruba in their opposition to British colonial and military invasions. Military defeat at [[Imagbon]] of Ijebu forces by the British ensured a tentative European settlement in [[Eko||Lagos]] which was gradually expanded by protectorate treaties. Defeat of Yoruba forces at the Battle of Imagbon, by the British military and the protectorate of Lagos, proved decisive in eventual annexation of the rest of Yorubaland and eventually of southern Nigeria and the Cameroons. In 1960, greater Yorubaland became subsumed into the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
===Different names===
Aside from "Yoruba" and its variant "Yariba", this ethnic group was in different times and places known by a variety of other names, including "Yorubo", "Akú", "Okun", "Nago", "Anago" and "Ana" and "Lucumi".
Before the abolition of the slave trade, some Yoruba groups were known among Europeans as ''[[Akú]]'', a name derived from the first words of Yoruba greetings such as ''Ẹ kú àárọ?'' ‘good morning’ and ''Ẹ kú alẹ?'' ‘good evening.’ A variant of this group is also known as the "[[Okun]]", Okun being also a form of "A ku". These are Yorubas found in parts of the states of [[Kogi]] - the "[[Yagba]]", [[Ekiti]] and [[Kabba]].
The terms "[[Nago]]", "[[Anago]]" and "[[Ana]]" derived from the name of a coastal Yoruba sub-group in the present-day Republic of Benin, were also widely used in Spanish and Portuguese documents to describe all speakers of the language. Yoruba in Francophone West Africa are still sometimes known by this ethnonym today.
In [[Cuba]] and Spanish-speaking America, the Yoruba were called "[[Lucumi]]" after the phrase "O luku mi", meaning "my friend" in some dialects. This term is at present used mainly to refer to an Afro-Caribbean religion derived from the traditional [[Yoruba religion]], more often known as [[Santería]]. During the 19th century, the term ''[[Yariba]]'' or ''Yoruba '' came into wider use, first confined to the Ọyọ. The term is often believed to be derived from a [[Hausa]] ethnonym for the populous people to their south, but this has not been substantiated by historians.
As an ethnic description, the word first appeared in a treatise written by the [[Songhai]] scholar [[Ahmed Baba]] (1500s) and is likely to derive from the indigenous ethnonyms [[Oyo|Ọyọ (Oyo)]] or Yagba, two Yoruba-speaking groups along the northern borders of their terrority. However, it is likely that the ethnonym was popularized by [[Hausa]] usage and ethnography written in [[Arabic]] and [[Ajami]]. Under the influence of Bishop [[Samuel Ajayi Crowther]], a Yoruba clergyman, subsequent missionaries extended the term to include all speakers of related dialects.
===Yoruba origin mythology===
The mythology of the origin of the Yoruba, who refer to themselves as "Omo O'odua" (Children of [[Oduduwa]]), revolves around the mythical figure of [[Oduduwa]] or [[Odudua]] . The meaning of the name may be translated as "the spiritual one ("O/Ohun") who created the knowledge ("odu") of character ("iwa")."
There are two variants of the myth of how [[Oduduwa]] became the legendary progenitor of the Yoruba.
====Cosmogonic Origin Mythology====
"Orisa'nla" (The Great Divinity) also known as [[Obatala|Ọbatala]] was the arch-divinity chosen by [[Olodumare]], the supreme deity, to create solid land out of the primordial water that constituted the earth and populating the land with human beings. [[Obatala|Ọbatala]] descended from heaven on a chain, carrying a small snail shell full of earth, palm kernels and a five-toed chicken. He was to empty the content of the snail shell on the water after placing some pieces of iron on it, and then to place the chicken on the earth to spread it over the primordial water.
According to the first variant of the cosmogonist myth, [[Obatala|Ọbatala]] completed this task to the satisfaction of Olodumare and he was then given the task of making the physical body of human beings after which [[Olodumare]] would give them the breath of life. He also completed this task and this is why he has the title of "Obarisa" (King of all Deities).
The other variant of the cosmogonic myth does not credit [[Obatala|Ọbatala]] with the completion of the task. While it concedes he was given the task, it claims that he got drunk before he got to the earth and was thus unable to do the job. [[Olodumare]] got worried when he did not return on time and sent [[Oduduwa]] to investigate. When [[Oduduwa]] found [[Obatala|Ọbatala]] in a drunken state, he took over the task and completed it.
The spot on which he landed and which he redeemed from water to become land is called [[Ile-Ife|Ilė-Ifę]] and is considered the sacred and spiritual home of the Yoruba. [[Olodumare]] later forgave [[Obatala|Ọbatala]] and gave him the responsibility of molding the physical bodies of human beings.
According to [[Idowu]], 1962, the making of land is a symbolic reference to the founding
of the Yoruba kingdoms and this is why Oduduwa is credited with that achievement.
Recently, there have been revisions to the uniqueness of the Yoruba as a divine people in the image of Olodumare, by historians tied to the Islamic and Christian faiths. They detract from the unique creation of Yoruba peoples by the Orisha, and argue that there was a pre-existing civilization at [[Ile-Ife|Ilė-Ifę]] which was invaded by a group from the east. They attribute this invasion to militant immigrants led by [[Oduduwa]]. [[Oduduwa]] and his group had been persecuted on the basis of religious differences and forced out of their homeland. They came to Ilė-Ifę where they subjugated the pre-existing Igbo inhabitants (unrelated to the present [[Igbo]] of Eastern Nigeria) led by Oreluere ([[Obatala|Ọbatala]]).
====After Oduduwa====
Upon the death of Oduduwa, there was a dispersal of his children from [[Ile-Ife|Ilė-Ifę]] to found other kingdoms (Owu, Ketu, Benin, Ila, Sabe, Popo, and Oyo). Each making a mark in the subsequent urbanization and consolidation of Yoruba confederacy of kingdoms, with each kingdom tracing its origin to Ile-Ife.
==Precolonial social organization==
See also [[Oyo Empire#Political structures]]
Though monarchies were fairly common throughout the Yoruba-speaking region, they were not the only approach to government and social organization. The numerous [[Ijebu|Ijebu]] city-states to the west of Oyo and the [[Egba|Ẹgba]] communities, found in the forests below Ọyọ's savannah region, were a notable example. These independent polities often elected an ''Ọba'', though real political, legislative, and judicial powers resided with the ''[[Ogboni]]'', a council of notable elders.
During the internecine wars of the 19th century, the Ijebu forced citizens of more than 150 Ẹgba and Owu communities to migrate to the fortified city of [[Abeokuta]], where each quarter retained its own ''Ogboni'' council of civilian leaders, along with an ''Olorogun'', or council of military leaders, and in some cases its own elected ''Obas'' or ''Baales''. These independent councils then elected their most capable members to join a federal civilian and military council that represented the city as a whole.
Commander [[Frederick Forbes]], a representative of the British Crown writing an account of his visit to the city in an [[1853]] edition of the ''[[Church Military Intelligencer]]'', described Abẹokuta as having "four presidents", and the system of government as having "840 principal rulers or 'House of Lords,' 2800 secondary chiefs or 'House of Commons,' 140 principal military ones and 280 secondary ones." He described Abẹokuta and its system of government as "the most extraordinary [[republic]] in the world."
Gerontocratic leadership councils that guarded against the monopolization of power by a monarch were a proverbial trait of the Ẹgba, according to the eminent Ọyọ historian Reverend [[Samuel Johnson]], but such councils were also well-developed among the northern Okun groups, the eastern [[Ekiti]], and other groups falling under the Yoruba ethnic umbrella.
Even in Ọyọ, the most centralized of the precolonial kingdoms, the ''Alaafin'' consulted on all political decisions with a prime minister (the ''Basọrun'') and the council of leading nobles known as the ''Ọyọ Mesi''.
[[Ibadan]], a city-state and proto-empire founded in the 18th century by a polyglot group of refugees, soldiers, and itinerant traders from Ọyọ and the other Yoruba sub-groups, largely dispensed with the concept of monarchism, preferring to elect both military and civil councils from a pool of eminent citizens. The city became a military republic, with distinguished soldiers wielding political powers through their election by popular acclaim and the respect of their peers. Similar practices were adopted by the [[Ijẹsa]] and other groups, which saw a corresponding rise in the social influence of military adventurers and successful entrepreneurs.
Occupational guilds, social clubs, secret or initiatory societies, and religious units, commonly known as Ẹgbẹ in Yoruba, included the ''[[Parakoyi]]'' (or league of traders) and ''Ẹgbẹ Ọdẹ'' (hunter's guild), and maintained an important role in commerce, social control, and vocational education in Yoruba polities.
There are also examples of other peer organizations in the region. When the Ẹgba resisted the imperial domination of the [[Ọyọ Empire]], a figure named Lisabi is credited with either creating or reviving a covert traditional organization named ''Ẹgbẹ Aro''. This group, originally a farmers' union, was converted to a network of secret militias throughout the Ẹgba forests, and each lodge plotted to overthrow Ọyọ's ''Ajeles'' (appointed administrators) in the late 1700s.
Similarly, covert military resistance leagues like the ''Ekiti Parapọ'' and the ''Ogidi'' alliance were organized during the 19th century wars by often-decentralized communities of the Ekiti, Ijẹṣa, Ìgbómìnà and Okun Yoruba in order to resist various imperial expansionist plans of Ibadan, Nupe, and the Sokoto Caliphate.
The monarchy of any city state was usually limited to a number of royal lineages. A family could be excluded from [[monarch|king]]ship and chieftancy if any family member, servant, or slave belonging to the family committed a crime such as theft, fraud, murder or rape.
In other city-states, the monarchy was open to the election of any free-born male citizen. There are also, in Ileṣa, Ondo, and other Yoruba communities, several traditions of female ''Ọbas'', though these were comparatively rare.
The kings were almost always [[Polygamy|polygamous]] and many had as many as 20 wives and often married royal family members from other towns/city states.
==Yoruba religion and mythology==
[[Image:Eshu-statue.jpg|thumb|100px|right|A statue of the orisha Eshu, Nigeria, c1920.]]
{{main|Yoruba mythology}}
Yoruba religion and mythology is a major influence in [[West Africa]], chiefly in [[Nigeria]], and it has given origin to several [[New World]] religions such as [[Santería]] in [[Cuba]], [[Puerto Rico]] and [[Candomblé]] in [[Brazil]].
[[Itan]] is the term for the sum total of all [[Yoruba mythology|Yoruba myths]], [[song]]s, histories, and other [[Culture|cultural]] components.
After the [[Oyo empire|Ọyọ empire]] collapsed and the region plunged into [[Yoruba Civil War|civil war]]), ethnic Yoruba were among the African people who were enslaved and taken by Jewish/European traders to [[Haiti]],[[Cuba]], [[Puerto Rico]], [[Brazil]], [[Trinidad]] and the rest of the New World (chiefly in the [[19th century]]. The slaves carried their [[Orisha|Orisha]] [[religion|religious beliefs]] with them. These concepts were combined with preexisting [[African]]-based religions, [[Christianity]], [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]] mythology, and [[Kardecist Spiritism]] into various New World lineages:
*[[Santería]] ([[Cuba]]) ([[Puerto Rico]])
*[[Oyotunji]] ([[USA]])
*[[Idigene]] ([[Nigeria]])
*Anago ([[Nigeria]])
*[[Candomblé]] ([[Brazil]])
*[[Umbanda]] ([[Brazil]])
*[[Batuque (religion)|Batuque]] ([[Brazil]])
The popularly known [[Vodun]] religion of [[Haiti]] combines the religious beliefs of the many different African ethnic nationalities taken to the island with the structure and liturgy from the Fon-Ewe of present-day [[Benin]] and the Congo-Angolan culture area, but Yoruba-derived religious ideology and deities also play an important role.
Yoruba deities include "[[Oya|Ọya]]" ([[Goddess|wind goddess]]), "[[Ifá]]" ([[divination]] or [[destiny|fate]]), "[[Eleda|Ẹlẹda]]" ([[destiny]]), "[[Ibeji]]" ([[twins]]), "[[Osanyin|Ọsanyin]]" ([[medicine]]s and [[healing]]) and "[[Osun|Ọsun]]" ([[Mother goddess|goddess of fertility]], protector of [[children]] and [[mother]]s), [[Shango|Ṣango]] (God of thunder)
Human beings and other sentient creatures are also assumed to have their own individual deity of destiny, called "[[Ori (Yoruba)|Ori]]", who is venerated through a sculpture symbolically decorated with cowrie shells. Traditionally, dead parents and other ancestors are also believed to possess powers of protection over their descendants. This belief is expressed in worship and sacrifice on the grave or symbol of the ancestor, or as a community in the observance of the Egungun festival where the ancestors are represented as colorfully masquerade of costumed and masked men who represent the ancestral spirits. Dead parents and ancestors are also commonly venerated by pouring libations to the earth and the breaking of kolanuts in their honor at special occasions.
Today, many contemporary Yoruba proclaim to be active [[Christian]]s and [[Muslim]]s, yet retain many of the moral and cultural concepts of the Aborisha.
==Yoruba towns==
The chief Yoruba cities are [[Ibadan]], [[Lagos]], [[Ijebu Ode]] (Ijẹbu Ode), [[Abeokuta]] (Abẹokuta), [[Akure]] (Akurẹ), [[Ilorin]] (Ilọrin), [[Ijebu-Igbo]] (Ijẹbu-Igbo), [[Ogbomoso]] (Ogbomọṣọ), [[Ondo City|Ondo]], [[Ota, Nigeria|Ota]] (Ọta),Ìlá Ọràngún, [[Ado-Ekiti]], [[Shagamu]] (Sagamu), [[Ikenne]] (Ikẹnnẹ), [[Osogbo]] (Osogbo), [[Ilesa]] (Ilesa), [[Oyo]] (Ọyọ), [[Ife]] (Ilé-Ifẹ), Saki,and [[Ago-Iwoye]]
Traditionally the Yoruba organized themselves into networks of related villages, towns, and kingdoms, with most of them headed by an ''Ọba'' [King] or ''Baale'' [a nobleman or mayor]. Kingship is not determined by simple primogeniture, as in most monarchic systems of government. An electoral college of lineage heads is usually charged with selecting a member of one of the royal families, and the selection is usually confirmed by an Ifa divination request. The Ọbas live in palaces usually in the center of the town. Opposite to the king's palace is the ''Ọja Ọba'', the king's market. These markets form an inherent part of Yoruba life. Traditionally the market traders are well organized, have various guilds, and an elected speaker.
==Yoruba Diaspora==
{{see also|Nigerian American}}
There are large Yoruba communities around the world including [[Nigerian American|the United States]]. Of such Diasporic communities include the "[[Egbe Omo Yoruba]]" society. [http://www.yorubanation.org/ "Egbe Omo Yoruba, National Association Of Yoruba descendants in North America"], ''yorubanation.org'', [[19 May]] [[2007]].
==See also==
* [[Yoruba language]]
* [[Yoruba mythology]]
* [[Oyo Empire]]
* [[Samuel Johnson (Nigerian historian)]]
* Dr. [[Obadiah Johnson]]
* Bishop [[Samuel Ajayi Crowther]]
* [[Egba]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
* [http://yoruba.org Egbe Isokan Yoruba] - promotes the cultural, social, economic and political welfare of Yoruba.
* [http://abeokuta.org Radio Abeokuta] - promoting the Yoruba culture of Togo, Republic of Benin, and Nigeria, West Africa
* [http://omoyorubany.org Egbe Omo Yoruba, Greater New York] - Egbe Omo Yoruba Association of Yoruba Descendants, Greater New York Chapter
* [http://www.uiowa.edu/~africart/toc/people/Yoruba.html Yoruba Information] - includes brief summary of language, religion, history, and art
* [http://server1.fandm.edu/departments/Anthropology/Bastian/ANT269/yoru.html World of the Yoruba] - ritual and performance in Yorubaland
* [http://www.africaaction.org/bp/ethall.htm Talking About "Tribe"] - looks at Yoruba identity
* [http://www.postcolonialweb.org/nigeria/yorubaov.html Yoruba Overview] - includes information on colonialism, religion, and myth
* [http://www.molli.org.uk/yoruba/welcome.html Yoruba: Exploring an African Culture] - interactive exhibit about the art and culture of the Yoruba
* [http://oho.org Oduduwa Heritage Organization]- preserve and promote Yoruba culture among the Yorubas who live in the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Area.
* [http://oroede.sourceforge.net/ Oro ede Yorùbá] - a searchable English to Yorùbá dictionary
[[Category:Yoruba|People]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Nigeria]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Benin]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Togo]]
[[Category:Yoruba people| ]]
[[ar:يوروبا]]
[[de:Yoruba (Volk)]]
[[es:Yoruba]]
[[fa:یوروبا]]
[[ig:Ndi Yoruba]]
[[it:Yoruba (popolo)]]
[[nl:Yoruba (volk)]]
[[pl:Jorubowie]]
[[pt:Iorubás]]
[[ru:Йоруба (народ)]]
[[sr:Јоруба]]
[[fi:Jorubat]]
[[sv:Yoruba (folk)]]
[[tr:Yoruba]]
{{Cleanup|date=December 2006}}
{{ethnic group
|group=Yoruba
|image=[[Image:Olusegun Obasanjo (Brasilia 6 September 2005).jpg|80px]] [[Image:KingSunnyAde.jpg|118px]] [[Image:Akinola2.jpg|42px]]
|poptime=Upwards of 30 million (CIA Estimate, 2005 )
|popplace= [[Nigeria]], [[Benin]], [[Ghana]], [[Togo]],[[Brazil]],[[The Caribean]],[[UK]]
|rels= [[Orisha]], [[Christianity]], [[Islam]]
|langs= [[Yoruba language|Yoruba]]
|related= Nago, [[Itsekiri]], [[Igala]], [[Nupe]]
}}
The '''Yoruba''' (''Yorùbá'' in Yoruba orthography) are a large ethno-linguistic group or ethnic nation in Africa; the majority of them speak the [[Yoruba language]] (èdèe Yorùbá; èdè = language). The Yoruba constitute approximately 21 percent of [[Nigeria]]'s total population,[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ni.html CIA World Factbook] and around 30 million individuals throughout the region of [[West Africa]].Joshua Project,. (2007) They share borders with the [[Borgu]] (variously called Bariba and Borgawa) in the northwest, the [[Nupe]] and [[Ebira]] in the north, the [[Ẹsan]] [[Afemai ]] and [[Edo State|Edo]] to the southeast, the [[Igala]] and other related groups to the northeast, and the [[Egun]], [[Fon]], and other [[Gbe languages|Gbe]]-speaking peoples in the southwest. While the majority of the Yoruba live in western Nigeria, there are also substantial indigenous Yoruba communities in [[Benin]], [[Ghana]] and [[Togo]].
The Yoruba are the main ethnic group in the states of [[Ekiti State, Nigeria|Ekiti]], [[Lagos State, Nigeria|Lagos]], [[Ogun State, Nigeria|Ogun]], [[Ondo State, Nigeria|Ondo]], [[Osun State, Nigeria|Osun]], and [[Oyo State, Nigeria|Oyo]], which are subdivisions of Nigeria; they also constitute a sizable proportion of [[Kwara]] and [[Kogi]] states as well as of the [[Benin]].
A significant percentage of Africans enslaved during the Trans Atlantic [[Slave Trade]] in the Americas managed to maintain the Yoruba spiritual religion known as Aborisha. Indeed, the initiation and practise of Aborisha spiritual religion offers a route to all people of African descent, who were victims of slave trade in the Americas or the Carribean, to make claim to Yoruba heritage.
==History==
===General history===
The African peoples who lived in Yorubaland, at least by the 4th Century BCE, were not initially known as the Yoruba, although they shared a common ethnicity and language group. Both archeology and traditional Yoruba oral historians confirm the existence of people in this region for several millennia.
Yoruba spiritual heritage maintain that the Yoruba ethnic groups are a unique people who were originally created at Ile-Ife. Legend holds that the creation was delegated by the supreme spiritual force, Olodumare. The task was to orisha-nla Obatala, may have actually been conducted by orisha Oduduwa, who was assisted by orisha Eshu, the divine messenger. The name "Yoruba" is most likely an adaptation of 'Yo ru ebo', meaning "will venerate (make offerings to the) [[Orisha|Orisha]]". This refers to the Aborisha spiritual religion of the Yoruba prior to invasion and indoctrination by Islamic and Christian influences. Yoruba civilization remains one of the most technologically and artistically advanced people in West Africa to this time.
Some contemporary historians contend that some Yoruba are not indigenous to Yorubaland, but are descendants of immigrants to the region. This version of history contends that Oduduwa was a mortal king, probably from northeast Africa, under whose leadership the Oyo region of Yorubaland was conquered sometime in the 11th century CE and the kingdom of Ife was established. Oduduwa's relatives established kingdoms in the rest of Yorubaland. One of Oduduwa's sons, Oranmiyan, took the throne of Benin and expanded the Oduduwa Dynasty east-wards. Further expansion led to the establishment of the Yoruba in what are now Southwest Nigeria, [[Benin]], and [[Togo]], with Yoruba city-states acknowledging the spiritual heritage primacy of the ancient city of Ile Ife. The southeastern [[Benin Empire]], ruled by a dynasty that traced its ancestry to Ifẹ and Oduduwa but largely populated by the Edo and other related ethnicities, also held considerable sway in the election of nobles and kings in eastern Yorubaland.
Between [[1100]] CE and [[1700]] CE, the Yoruba Kingdom of Ife experienced a [[golden age]]. It was then surpassed by [[the kingdom of Oyo]] as the dominant Yoruba military and political power between [[1700]] CE and [[1900]] CE, The nearby splinter Yoruba kingdom of Benin was also a powerful force between 1300 and 1850 CE. Yoruba civilization also has strong historical exchanges with Nok civilization, which may date to 900 BCE, as with other neighbouring African settlements. The exchanges have been both genetic and cultural.
Most of the city states were controlled by ''[[Oba]]s'' (elected monarchs) and councils made up of Oloye, [[guild]] of noble leaders or chiefs, and [[merchant]]s. Different states saw differing ratios of power between the kingship and the chiefs' council. Some such as Oyo had powerful, autocratic monarchs with almost total control, while in others such as the Ijebu city-states, the senatorial councils were supreme and the ''Ọba'' served as a figurehead.
In all cases, Yoruba monarchs were subject to the continuing approval of their constituents, and could be easily compelled to abdicate for demonstrating dictatorial tendencies or incompetence. The order to vacate the throne was usually communicated through a symbolic message or ''aroko'', of [[parrot]]s' eggs delivered by the senators.
The Yoruba eventually established a federation of city-states under the political ascendancy of the city state of Oyo located on the Northern fringes of [[Yorubaland]] in the [[savanna]] plains between the forests of present Southwest Nigeria and the [[Niger]] River. Following a [[Jihad]] led by [[Uthman Dan Fodio]] and a rapid consolidation of the Hausa city states of present northern Nigeria, the [[Fulani]] [[Sokoto Caliphate]] annexed the buffer [[Nupe]] Kingdom and began to press southwards towards the [[Oyo Empire]]. Shortly after, they overran the Yoruba city of [[Ilorin]] and then sacked [[Ọyọ-Ile]], the capital city of the Ọyọ Empire.
Following this, Ọyọ-Ile was abandoned and the Ọyọ retreated south to the present city of Oyo (Oyo Atiba) in a forested region where the calvary of the [[Sokoto Caliphate]] was less effective. Further attempts by the [[Sokoto Caliphate]] to expand southwards were checked by the Yoruba who had rallied to resist under the military leadership of the City State of [[Ibadan]] which rose from the old Oyo empire, and of the Ijebu city-states.
However, the Oyo hegemony had been dealt a mortal blow. The other Yoruba city-states broke free of Oyo dominance, and subsequently became embroiled in a series of internecine wars, from which prisoners feed the slave trade conducted by Arab and European traders. These wars weakened the Yoruba in their opposition to British colonial and military invasions. Military defeat at [[Imagbon]] of Ijebu forces by the British ensured a tentative European settlement in [[Eko||Lagos]] which was gradually expanded by protectorate treaties. Defeat of Yoruba forces at the Battle of Imagbon, by the British military and the protectorate of Lagos, proved decisive in eventual annexation of the rest of Yorubaland and eventually of southern Nigeria and the Cameroons. In 1960, greater Yorubaland became subsumed into the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
===Different names===
Aside from "Yoruba" and its variant "Yariba", this ethnic group was in different times and places known by a variety of other names, including "Yorubo", "Akú", "Okun", "Nago", "Anago" and "Ana" and "Lucumi".
Before the abolition of the slave trade, some Yoruba groups were known among Europeans as ''[[Akú]]'', a name derived from the first words of Yoruba greetings such as ''Ẹ kú àárọ?'' ‘good morning’ and ''Ẹ kú alẹ?'' ‘good evening.’ A variant of this group is also known as the "[[Okun]]", Okun being also a form of "A ku". These are Yorubas found in parts of the states of [[Kogi]] - the "[[Yagba]]", [[Ekiti]] and [[Kabba]].
The terms "[[Nago]]", "[[Anago]]" and "[[Ana]]" derived from the name of a coastal Yoruba sub-group in the present-day Republic of Benin, were also widely used in Spanish and Portuguese documents to describe all speakers of the language. Yoruba in Francophone West Africa are still sometimes known by this ethnonym today.
In [[Cuba]] and Spanish-speaking America, the Yoruba were called "[[Lucumi]]" after the phrase "O luku mi", meaning "my friend" in some dialects. This term is at present used mainly to refer to an Afro-Caribbean religion derived from the traditional [[Yoruba religion]], more often known as [[Santería]]. During the 19th century, the term ''[[Yariba]]'' or ''Yoruba '' came into wider use, first confined to the Ọyọ. The term is often believed to be derived from a [[Hausa]] ethnonym for the populous people to their south, but this has not been substantiated by historians.
As an ethnic description, the word first appeared in a treatise written by the [[Songhai]] scholar [[Ahmed Baba]] (1500s) and is likely to derive from the indigenous ethnonyms [[Oyo|Ọyọ (Oyo)]] or Yagba, two Yoruba-speaking groups along the northern borders of their terrority. However, it is likely that the ethnonym was popularized by [[Hausa]] usage and ethnography written in [[Arabic]] and [[Ajami]]. Under the influence of Bishop [[Samuel Ajayi Crowther]], a Yoruba clergyman, subsequent missionaries extended the term to include all speakers of related dialects.
===Yoruba origin mythology===
The mythology of the origin of the Yoruba, who refer to themselves as "Omo O'odua" (Children of [[Oduduwa]]), revolves around the mythical figure of [[Oduduwa]] or [[Odudua]] . The meaning of the name may be translated as "the spiritual one ("O/Ohun") who created the knowledge ("odu") of character ("iwa")."
There are two variants of the myth of how [[Oduduwa]] became the legendary progenitor of the Yoruba.
====Cosmogonic Origin Mythology====
"Orisa'nla" (The Great Divinity) also known as [[Obatala|Ọbatala]] was the arch-divinity chosen by [[Olodumare]], the supreme deity, to create solid land out of the primordial water that constituted the earth and populating the land with human beings. [[Obatala|Ọbatala]] descended from heaven on a chain, carrying a small snail shell full of earth, palm kernels and a five-toed chicken. He was to empty the content of the snail shell on the water after placing some pieces of iron on it, and then to place the chicken on the earth to spread it over the primordial water.
According to the first variant of the cosmogonist myth, [[Obatala|Ọbatala]] completed this task to the satisfaction of Olodumare and he was then given the task of making the physical body of human beings after which [[Olodumare]] would give them the breath of life. He also completed this task and this is why he has the title of "Obarisa" (King of all Deities).
The other variant of the cosmogonic myth does not credit [[Obatala|Ọbatala]] with the completion of the task. While it concedes he was given the task, it claims that he got drunk before he got to the earth and was thus unable to do the job. [[Olodumare]] got worried when he did not return on time and sent [[Oduduwa]] to investigate. When [[Oduduwa]] found [[Obatala|Ọbatala]] in a drunken state, he took over the task and completed it.
The spot on which he landed and which he redeemed from water to become land is called [[Ile-Ife|Ilė-Ifę]] and is considered the sacred and spiritual home of the Yoruba. [[Olodumare]] later forgave [[Obatala|Ọbatala]] and gave him the responsibility of molding the physical bodies of human beings.
According to [[Idowu]], 1962, the making of land is a symbolic reference to the founding
of the Yoruba kingdoms and this is why Oduduwa is credited with that achievement.
Recently, there have been revisions to the uniqueness of the Yoruba as a divine people in the image of Olodumare, by historians tied to the Islamic and Christian faiths. They detract from the unique creation of Yoruba peoples by the Orisha, and argue that there was a pre-existing civilization at [[Ile-Ife|Ilė-Ifę]] which was invaded by a group from the east. They attribute this invasion to militant immigrants led by [[Oduduwa]]. [[Oduduwa]] and his group had been persecuted on the basis of religious differences and forced out of their homeland. They came to Ilė-Ifę where they subjugated the pre-existing Igbo inhabitants (unrelated to the present [[Igbo]] of Eastern Nigeria) led by Oreluere ([[Obatala|Ọbatala]]).
====After Oduduwa====
Upon the death of Oduduwa, there was a dispersal of his children from [[Ile-Ife|Ilė-Ifę]] to found other kingdoms (Owu, Ketu, Benin, Ila, Sabe, Popo, and Oyo). Each making a mark in the subsequent urbanization and consolidation of Yoruba confederacy of kingdoms, with each kingdom tracing its origin to Ile-Ife.
==Precolonial social organization==
See also [[Oyo Empire#Political structures]]
Though monarchies were fairly common throughout the Yoruba-speaking region, they were not the only approach to government and social organization. The numerous [[Ijebu|Ijebu]] city-states to the west of Oyo and the [[Egba|Ẹgba]] communities, found in the forests below Ọyọ's savannah region, were a notable example. These independent polities often elected an ''Ọba'', though real political, legislative, and judicial powers resided with the ''[[Ogboni]]'', a council of notable elders.
During the internecine wars of the 19th century, the Ijebu forced citizens of more than 150 Ẹgba and Owu communities to migrate to the fortified city of [[Abeokuta]], where each quarter retained its own ''Ogboni'' council of civilian leaders, along with an ''Olorogun'', or council of military leaders, and in some cases its own elected ''Obas'' or ''Baales''. These independent councils then elected their most capable members to join a federal civilian and military council that represented the city as a whole.
Commander [[Frederick Forbes]], a representative of the British Crown writing an account of his visit to the city in an [[1853]] edition of the ''[[Church Military Intelligencer]]'', described Abẹokuta as having "four presidents", and the system of government as having "840 principal rulers or 'House of Lords,' 2800 secondary chiefs or 'House of Commons,' 140 principal military ones and 280 secondary ones." He described Abẹokuta and its system of government as "the most extraordinary [[republic]] in the world."
Gerontocratic leadership councils that guarded against the monopolization of power by a monarch were a proverbial trait of the Ẹgba, according to the eminent Ọyọ historian Reverend [[Samuel Johnson]], but such councils were also well-developed among the northern Okun groups, the eastern [[Ekiti]], and other groups falling under the Yoruba ethnic umbrella.
Even in Ọyọ, the most centralized of the precolonial kingdoms, the ''Alaafin'' consulted on all political decisions with a prime minister (the ''Basọrun'') and the council of leading nobles known as the ''Ọyọ Mesi''.
[[Ibadan]], a city-state and proto-empire founded in the 18th century by a polyglot group of refugees, soldiers, and itinerant traders from Ọyọ and the other Yoruba sub-groups, largely dispensed with the concept of monarchism, preferring to elect both military and civil councils from a pool of eminent citizens. The city became a military republic, with distinguished soldiers wielding political powers through their election by popular acclaim and the respect of their peers. Similar practices were adopted by the [[Ijẹsa]] and other groups, which saw a corresponding rise in the social influence of military adventurers and successful entrepreneurs.
Occupational guilds, social clubs, secret or initiatory societies, and religious units, commonly known as Ẹgbẹ in Yoruba, included the ''[[Parakoyi]]'' (or league of traders) and ''Ẹgbẹ Ọdẹ'' (hunter's guild), and maintained an important role in commerce, social control, and vocational education in Yoruba polities.
There are also examples of other peer organizations in the region. When the Ẹgba resisted the imperial domination of the [[Ọyọ Empire]], a figure named Lisabi is credited with either creating or reviving a covert traditional organization named ''Ẹgbẹ Aro''. This group, originally a farmers' union, was converted to a network of secret militias throughout the Ẹgba forests, and each lodge plotted to overthrow Ọyọ's ''Ajeles'' (appointed administrators) in the late 1700s.
Similarly, covert military resistance leagues like the ''Ekiti Parapọ'' and the ''Ogidi'' alliance were organized during the 19th century wars by often-decentralized communities of the Ekiti, Ijẹṣa, Ìgbómìnà and Okun Yoruba in order to resist various imperial expansionist plans of Ibadan, Nupe, and the Sokoto Caliphate.
The monarchy of any city state was usually limited to a number of royal lineages. A family could be excluded from [[monarch|king]]ship and chieftancy if any family member, servant, or slave belonging to the family committed a crime such as theft, fraud, murder or rape.
In other city-states, the monarchy was open to the election of any free-born male citizen. There are also, in Ileṣa, Ondo, and other Yoruba communities, several traditions of female ''Ọbas'', though these were comparatively rare.
The kings were almost always [[Polygamy|polygamous]] and many had as many as 20 wives and often married royal family members from other towns/city states.
==Yoruba religion and mythology==
[[Image:Eshu-statue.jpg|thumb|100px|right|A statue of the orisha Eshu, Nigeria, c1920.]]
{{main|Yoruba mythology}}
Yoruba religion and mythology is a major influence in [[West Africa]], chiefly in [[Nigeria]], and it has given origin to several [[New World]] religions such as [[Santería]] in [[Cuba]], [[Puerto Rico]] and [[Candomblé]] in [[Brazil]].
[[Itan]] is the term for the sum total of all [[Yoruba mythology|Yoruba myths]], [[song]]s, histories, and other [[Culture|cultural]] components.
After the [[Oyo empire|Ọyọ empire]] collapsed and the region plunged into [[Yoruba Civil War|civil war]]), ethnic Yoruba were among the African people who were enslaved and taken by Jewish/European traders to [[Haiti]],[[Cuba]], [[Puerto Rico]], [[Brazil]], [[Trinidad]] and the rest of the New World (chiefly in the [[19th century]]. The slaves carried their [[Orisha|Orisha]] [[religion|religious beliefs]] with them. These concepts were combined with preexisting [[African]]-based religions, [[Christianity]], [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]] mythology, and [[Kardecist Spiritism]] into various New World lineages:
*[[Santería]] ([[Cuba]]) ([[Puerto Rico]])
*[[Oyotunji]] ([[USA]])
*[[Idigene]] ([[Nigeria]])
*Anago ([[Nigeria]])
*[[Candomblé]] ([[Brazil]])
*[[Umbanda]] ([[Brazil]])
*[[Batuque (religion)|Batuque]] ([[Brazil]])
The popularly known [[Vodun]] religion of [[Haiti]] combines the religious beliefs of the many different African ethnic nationalities taken to the island with the structure and liturgy from the Fon-Ewe of present-day [[Benin]] and the Congo-Angolan culture area, but Yoruba-derived religious ideology and deities also play an important role.
Yoruba deities include "[[Oya|Ọya]]" ([[Goddess|wind goddess]]), "[[Ifá]]" ([[divination]] or [[destiny|fate]]), "[[Eleda|Ẹlẹda]]" ([[destiny]]), "[[Ibeji]]" ([[twins]]), "[[Osanyin|Ọsanyin]]" ([[medicine]]s and [[healing]]) and "[[Osun|Ọsun]]" ([[Mother goddess|goddess of fertility]], protector of [[children]] and [[mother]]s), [[Shango|Ṣango]] (God of thunder)
Human beings and other sentient creatures are also assumed to have their own individual deity of destiny, called "[[Ori (Yoruba)|Ori]]", who is venerated through a sculpture symbolically decorated with cowrie shells. Traditionally, dead parents and other ancestors are also believed to possess powers of protection over their descendants. This belief is expressed in worship and sacrifice on the grave or symbol of the ancestor, or as a community in the observance of the Egungun festival where the ancestors are represented as colorfully masquerade of costumed and masked men who represent the ancestral spirits. Dead parents and ancestors are also commonly venerated by pouring libations to the earth and the breaking of kolanuts in their honor at special occasions.
Today, many contemporary Yoruba proclaim to be active [[Christian]]s and [[Muslim]]s, yet retain many of the moral and cultural concepts of the Aborisha.
==Yoruba towns==
The chief Yoruba cities are [[Ibadan]], [[Lagos]], [[Ijebu Ode]] (Ijẹbu Ode), [[Abeokuta]] (Abẹokuta), [[Akure]] (Akurẹ), [[Ilorin]] (Ilọrin), [[Ijebu-Igbo]] (Ijẹbu-Igbo), [[Ogbomoso]] (Ogbomọṣọ), [[Ondo City|Ondo]], [[Ota, Nigeria|Ota]] (Ọta),Ìlá Ọràngún, [[Ado-Ekiti]], [[Shagamu]] (Sagamu), [[Ikenne]] (Ikẹnnẹ), [[Osogbo]] (Osogbo), [[Ilesa]] (Ilesa), [[Oyo]] (Ọyọ), [[Ife]] (Ilé-Ifẹ), Saki,and [[Ago-Iwoye]]
Traditionally the Yoruba organized themselves into networks of related villages, towns, and kingdoms, with most of them headed by an ''Ọba'' [King] or ''Baale'' [a nobleman or mayor]. Kingship is not determined by simple primogeniture, as in most monarchic systems of government. An electoral college of lineage heads is usually charged with selecting a member of one of the royal families, and the selection is usually confirmed by an Ifa divination request. The Ọbas live in palaces usually in the center of the town. Opposite to the king's palace is the ''Ọja Ọba'', the king's market. These markets form an inherent part of Yoruba life. Traditionally the market traders are well organized, have various guilds, and an elected speaker.
==Yoruba Diaspora==
{{see also|Nigerian American}}
There are large Yoruba communities around the world including [[Nigerian American|the United States]]. Of such Diasporic communities include the "[[Egbe Omo Yoruba]]" society. [http://www.yorubanation.org/ "Egbe Omo Yoruba, National Association Of Yoruba descendants in North America"], ''yorubanation.org'', [[19 May]] [[2007]].
==See also==
* [[Yoruba language]]
* [[Yoruba mythology]]
* [[Oyo Empire]]
* [[Samuel Johnson (Nigerian historian)]]
* Dr. [[Obadiah Johnson]]
* Bishop [[Samuel Ajayi Crowther]]
* [[Egba]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
* [http://yoruba.org Egbe Isokan Yoruba] - promotes the cultural, social, economic and political welfare of Yoruba.
* [http://abeokuta.org Radio Abeokuta] - promoting the Yoruba culture of Togo, Republic of Benin, and Nigeria, West Africa
* [http://omoyorubany.org Egbe Omo Yoruba, Greater New York] - Egbe Omo Yoruba Association of Yoruba Descendants, Greater New York Chapter
* [http://www.uiowa.edu/~africart/toc/people/Yoruba.html Yoruba Information] - includes brief summary of language, religion, history, and art
* [http://server1.fandm.edu/departments/Anthropology/Bastian/ANT269/yoru.html World of the Yoruba] - ritual and performance in Yorubaland
* [http://www.africaaction.org/bp/ethall.htm Talking About "Tribe"] - looks at Yoruba identity
* [http://www.postcolonialweb.org/nigeria/yorubaov.html Yoruba Overview] - includes information on colonialism, religion, and myth
* [http://www.molli.org.uk/yoruba/welcome.html Yoruba: Exploring an African Culture] - interactive exhibit about the art and culture of the Yoruba
* [http://oho.org Oduduwa Heritage Organization]- preserve and promote Yoruba culture among the Yorubas who live in the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Area.
* [http://oroede.sourceforge.net/ Oro ede Yorùbá] - a searchable English to Yorùbá dictionary
[[Category:Yoruba|People]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Nigeria]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Benin]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in Togo]]
[[Category:Yoruba people| ]]
[[ar:يوروبا]]
[[de:Yoruba (Volk)]]
[[es:Yoruba]]
[[fa:یوروبا]]
[[ig:Ndi Yoruba]]
[[it:Yoruba (popolo)]]
[[nl:Yoruba (volk)]]
[[pl:Jorubowie]]
[[pt:Iorubás]]
[[ru:Йоруба (народ)]]
[[sr:Јоруба]]
[[fi:Jorubat]]
[[sv:Yoruba (folk)]]
[[tr:Yoruba]]
Fela Anikulapo Kuti, Lyrics
Oruko: Olufela Olusegun Oludotun Anikulapo-Kuti
Ojo-ebi 15 October 1938
Ojo-eku: 2 August 1997
This is a backup of source
Fela Kuti Lyrics
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. BEASTS OF NO NATION
2. COFFIN FOR HEAD OF STATE
3. COLOMENTALITY
4. FEAR NOT FOR MAN
5. J�EHIN J�EHIN
6. INTERNATIONAL THIEF THIEF
7. KALAKUTA SHOW
8. LADY
9. MR. FOLLOW FOLLOW
10. MR. GRAMMARTICALOGYLISATIONALISM IS THE BOSS
11. ORIGINAL SUFFERHEAD
12. NO AGREEMENT
13. POWER SHOW
14. QUESTION JAM ANSWER
15. SORROW, TEARS, AND BLOOD
16. TEACHER DON'T TEACH ME NONSENSE
17. TROUBLE SLEEP, YANGA WAKE AM
18. WATER NO GET ENEMY
19. ZOMBIE
LYRICS (by Fela Kuti)
BEASTS OF NO NATION
Ah- Let's get now into another, underground spiritual game
Just go to help me the answer, go to say, 'Aiya-kata'- Oh ya
O feshe-Lu
[CHORUS] AIYA-KATA *(after each line)
O feshe- Ba
*(2x)
O feshe-Won
[CHORUS] AIYA-KATA *(after each line)
O feshe-Weng
Aiya kata
Aiya Koto
Aiya Kiti
Aiya Kutu
O feshe-Lu
[CHORUS] AIYA-KATA *(after each line)
O feshe- Ba
*(2x)
Oh-----.......
Basket mouth wan start to leak again, oh-
[CHORUS] BASKET MOUTH WAN OPEN MOUTH AGAIN, OH
Abi** you don forget I say I sing, ee-oh **(is it not)
[CHORUS] BASKET MOUTH WAN OPEN MOUTH AGAIN, OH
Oh, I sing, I say, I go my mouth like basket, ee-oh, Malan Bia-gbe-re
(stanza 2x)
Basket mouth wan start to leak again, oh-
[CHORUS] BASKET MOUTH WAN OPEN MOUTH AGAIN, OH
Fela, wetin you go sing about?
[CHORUS] DEM GO WORRY ME *(after each line)
(3x)
Dem go worry me, worry me-- worry, worry, worry, worry
[CHORUS] DEM GO WORRY ME *(After each line)
Dey wan to make us sing about prison
Dem go worry me, worry me-- worry, worry all over da town
Dey wan to know about prison life
Dem go worry me, worry me-- worry, worry all over da town
*(repeat stanza)
Fela, wetin you go sing about?
[CHORUS] DEM GO WORRY ME
Dem go worry me, worry me-- worry, worry, worry, worry
The time weh I dey, for prison, I call am 'inside world'
The time weh I dey outside prison, I call am 'outside world'
Na craze world, na be outside world
[CHORUS] CRAZE** WORLD *(after each line) / **(crazy)
Na be outside- da police-i dey
Na be outside- da soldier dey
Na be outside- da court dem dey
Na be outside- da magistrate dey
Na be outside- da judge dem dey
Na craze world be dat
Na be outside- Buhari dey
Na craze man be dat
Animal in craze-man skin-i
Na craze world be dat
Na be outside- Idia-gbon dey
Na craze man be dat- oh
Animal in craze-man skin-i
Na craze world be dat
Na be outside- dem find me guilty
Na be outside- dem jail me five years
------------------I no do nothing
Na be outside-dem judge dey beg ee-o
Na craze world be dat, Na craze world be dat
Na be outside- dem kill dem students
Soweto, Zaria, and Ife
Na craze world be dat, ee-oh
Na craze world be dat,
Na be outside- all dis dey happen
Na craze world be dat, ee-oh
Na craze world be dat, ee-oh
Na craze world be dat, ee-oh
Na craze world be dat, ee-oh
Na craze world be dat, ee-oh..
Make you hear this one [sax responses]
War against indiscipline, ee-oh
Na Nigerian government, ee-oh
Dem dey talk ee-oh
"My people are us-e-less, My people are sens-i-less, My people are indiscipline"
Na Nigerian government, ee-oh
Dem dey talk be dat
"My people are us-e-less, My people are sens-i-less, My people are indiscipline"
I never hear dat before- oh
Make Government talk, ee-oh
"My people are us-e-less, My people are sens-i-less, My people are indiscipline"
Na Nigerian government, ee-oh
Dem dey talk be dat
Which kind talk be dat- oh?
Craze talk be dat ee-oh
Na animal talk be dat oh
Na animal talk be dat oh
[CHORUS] MANY LEADERS AS YOU SEE DEM
[CHORUS] NA DIFFERENT DISGUISE DEM DEY-OH
[CHORUS] ANIMALS IN HUMAN SKIN
[CHORUS] ANIMAL-I PUT-U TIE-OH
[CHORUS] ANIMAL-I WEAR AGBADA
[CHORUS] ANIMAL-I PUT-U SUIT-U
*(2x- 2nd time with lead voc)
These disguising leaders ee-oh, na wah for dem [sax responses after each]
Dem-o hold meeting everywhere, dem reach America (2x stanza)
Dem call the place, the "United Nations" [sax responses after each]
Hear-oh another animal talk
Wetin united inside "United Nations"?
Who & who unite, for "United Nations"?
No be there Thatcher & Argentina dey
No be there Reagan & Libya dey
Is-i-rael versus Lebanon
Iran-i-oh versus Iraq-i
East West Block versus West Block East
No be there dem dey oh- United Nations
Dis "united" United Nations
One veto vote is equal to 92 [OR MORE, OR MORE]
What kind sense be dat, na animal sense (2x)
[CHORUS] MANY LEADERS AS YOU SEE DEM
[CHORUS] NA DIFFERENT DISGUISE DEM DEY-OH
[CHORUS] ANIMALS IN HUMAN SKIN
[CHORUS] ANIMAL-I PUT-U TIE-OH
[CHORUS] ANIMAL-I WEAR AGBADA
[CHORUS] ANIMAL-I PUT-U SUIT-U
*(2x- 2nd time with lead voc)
Dem go hold meeting, oh, Dem go start yab human beings
Animal talk don start again
Dash dem, human rights
Dem go hold meeting, oh, Dem go start yab human beings
Animal talk don start again
Dash dem human rights
*(repeat stanza)
How animal go know-say dem no born me as slave?
How animal go know say slave trade don pass?
And, dey wan dash us human rights
Animal must talk to human beings
Give dem human rights
I beg-I, oh , make you hear me well-u well
I beg-I, oh, make you hear me very well
Human rights na my property
So therefore, you can't dash me my property
Human rights na my property
Dey wan dash us human rights
Some people say, "Why I dey talk like dis,
No be talk like dis, dem take to carry me go prision ee-oh"
No be me dey talk, na Prime Minister Botha dey talk, ee-oh (2x)
Him say, "this uprising will bring out the beast in us"
[CHORUS] THIS UPRISING WILL BRING OUT THE BEAST IN US
(repeat stanza 3x)
Eh Ji Keke- my argument
Botha na friend to Thatcher & Reagan
Botha na friend to some other leaders too
And together dem wan dash us human rights
Animals wan dash us human rights
Animal can't dash me human rights
Animal can't dash us human rights
[CHORUS] MANY LEADERS AS YOU SEE DEM
[CHORUS] NA DIFFERENT DISGUISE DEM DEY-OH
[CHORUS] ANIMALS IN HUMAN SKIN
[CHORUS] ANIMAL-I PUT-U TIE-OH
[CHORUS] ANIMAL-I WEAR AGBADA
[CHORUS] ANIMAL-I PUT-U SUIT-U
*(2x- 2nd time with lead voc)
Beasts of no nation- Egbe Ke Gbe na bad society
[CHORUS] BEASTS OF NO NATION, EGBE KE GBE
[CHORUS] BEASTS OF NO NATION, OTURU GBE KE
(repeat stanza many x, lead vamp)
Easy easy
[solos]
**Do chorus & end again
___________________________________
COFFIN FOR HEAD OF STATE
Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen
Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen
Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen
Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen
Woh! Ahhhhh Ch! Ahhhh! Ch! Ch!
Through Jesus Christ, our Lord
*[CHORUS] AMEN, AMEN, AMEN [AFTER EACH LINE]
By the Grace of Allmighty Lord
Through Jesus Christ, our Lord
By the Grace of Allmighty Lord
Inspiritus Christus, Mass Christus, Mass Christus, Mass Christus,
Alla-hu, Waku-baru, Salem Elekum, Alla-hu
Through Jesus Christ, our Lord
By the Grace of Allmighty Lord
So I waka waka waka** **(walk)
*[CHORUS] WAKA WAKA WAKA- [AFTER EACH LINE]
I go many places
I see my people
Dem dey cry, cry cry
Amen-i, Amen-i, Amen
Amen-i, Amen-i, Amen
Amen-i, Amen-i, Amen
Amen-i, Amen-i, Amen
I say I waka waka waka
I go many places
I see my people
Dem dey cry, cry, cry
Amen-i, Amen-i, Amen
Amen-i, Amen-i, Amen
Amen-i, Amen-i, Amen
Amen-i, Amen-i, Amen
I say I waka-waka-waka-waka-waka-waka-waka
(HORNS response)
I waka any village anywhere in Africa
I waka any village anywhere in Africa
Pastor's house na 'im dey fine pass
My people dem dey stay for poor surroundings
Pastor's dress na 'im dey clean pass
Be it hard for my people for dem to buy soap
Pastor na 'im dem give respect pass
And dem dey do bad-bad-bad-bad-bad-bad-bad-bad-bad-bad-bad things
Through Jesus Christ our Lord
*[CHORUS] AMEN, AMEN, AMEN - [AFTER EACH LINE]
By the Grace of Allmighty Lord
Inspiritus Christus, Mass Christus, Mass Christus, Mass Christus,
Alla-hu, Waku-baru, Salem Elekum, Alla-hu
So I waka waka waka
*[CHORUS] WAKA WAKA WAKA- [AFTER EACH LINE]
I go many places
I go business places
And I see, see, see
All the bad, bad, bad things
Dem dey do, do, do
Call corruption
And dey call "nepotism"
Inside promotions
And inside all business
I say I waka waka waka
I see, see, see
*[CHORUS] WAKA WAKA WAKA
So I waka-waka-waka-waka-waka-waka-waka
(HORNS Short response)
I waka any business anywhere in Africa
I waka any business anywhere in Africa
North and South dem get dem policies
One Christian and the other one, Muslim
Anywhere the Muslims dem dey reign
Na senior Allaha-ji na 'im be director
Anywhere the Christians dem dey reign
Na the best friend to Bishop na 'im be director
It is a known fact that for many thousand years
We Africans, we had our own traditions
These money making organizations
Them come put we Africans in total confusion
Through Jesus Christ, our Lord
*[CHORUS] AMEN, AMEN, AMEN- [AFTER EACH LINE]
By the Grace of Allmighty Lord
Inspiritus Christus, Mass Christus, Mass Christus, Mass Christus,
Alla-hu, Waku-baru, Salem Elekum, Alla-hu
So I waka waka waka
*[CHORUS] WAKA WAKA WAKA [AFTER EACH LINE]
I go many places
I go government places
I see, see, see
All the bad, bad, bad things
Dem dey do, do, do
Look Obasanjo,
Before anything you know at all,
And for dey shout
Oh Lord, Oh Lord, Oh Lord, Oh mighty Lord, Oh Lord, Oh God
And den dey do bad-bad-bad-bad-bad-bad-bad-bad-bad-bad-bad things
Through Jesus Christ our Lord
*[CHORUS] AMEN, AMEN, AMEN
By the Grace of Allmighty Lord
*[CHORUS] AMEN, AMEN, AMEN
I say look-a Y'aradua
I say look-a Y'aradua
Before anything you know at all
It would dey shout
Aba Allah- Aba Allah- Aba Allah- Aba Allah -
Aba Allah
And den dey do yes, yes
And den dey do bad-bad-bad-bad-bad-bad-bad-bad-bad-bad-bad things
Through Mohhmmed our Lord
*[CHORUS] AMEN, AMEN, AMEN
By the Grace of Allmighty Allah
*[CHORUS] AMEN, AMEN, AMEN
So I waka waka waka
*[CHORUS] WAKA WAKA WAKA- [AFTER EACH LINE]
I go many places
I go government places
I see, see, see
All the bad, bad, bad things
Den dey do, do, do
Den steal all the money
Dem kill many students
Dem burn many houses
Dem burn my house too
And killed my mama
So I carry the coffin
I Waka waka waka
Movement of the People
Dey Waka waka waka
Young African Pioneers
Waka waka waka
We go Obalende,
We go Dodan barracks
Reach dem gatee-o
And put the coffin down
Obasanjo dey there,
With him big fat stomach
Y'aradua dey there,
With him neck like ostrich
We put the coffin down.
Dem no wan take am
*[CHORUS] BUT DEM TAKE AM - [AFTER EACH LINE]
Dem no wan take am
Who go wan take coffin?
Dem must take am
For the bad bad bad things
Wey dem don do
Dem no wan take am
Obasanjo grab am
Y'aradua carry am
Yes, dem no wan take am
Obasanjo carry am
Y'aradua tow am
Dem no wan take am
Dem no wan take am
It der for dem office
Dem no wan take am
It der dey now now now now
It der dey now, now, now, now
It der dey now, now, now, now
It der dey now, now, now, now
It der dey now, now, now, now
It der dey now, now, now, now
* Repeat as desired
Coffin for Head of State- Explanation
A criticism of arbitrary/artificial religious & ethnic boundaries, and of religious hypocrisy- people who invoke god, but then commit atrocities, including Obasanjo (General) & Y�aradua (Leiutentent Colonel), two of Fela's attackers.
The poor live in squalor while the pastor lives in luxury. Fela walks (waka), & sees the unhappiness of his people,and the corruption & greed of the colonial-influenced Nigerian government. Colonial culture confuses the African people.
In 1979, when Fela's mother (a government official & activist) dies from injuries inflicted by the Army during an attack on Fela's compound, Fela and his Movement of the People Carry an effigy of his mother's coffin to the barracks of two noted Fela enemies, Gen. Obasanjo & Lt.Crnl. Y'aradua. As a protest, Fela & MOP put the coffin down, and force the army to take it (Obasanjo & Yaradua eventually help to carry it). 'It remains there.
***********************************************************************
COLOMENTALITY
Colomentality
E be say you be colonial man
You don be slave from before
Dem don release you now
but you never release yourself
Colomentality
E be so , E be so dem dey do,
dem dey overdo all the things wey dem dey do
e be so dem dey do, dem think say dem better pass dem brother.
No be so?
E be so
The thing wey black no good
na foreign things dem dey like.
No be so?
*[CHORUS] EE BE SO/ I BE SO
Dem go turn air condition and close dem country away.
Na be so?
E be so
Dem judge him go put white wig and jail him brothers away
No be so?
E be so
Dem go proud of dem name and put dem slave name for head
No be so?
E be so
Colomentality now make you hear me now
*[CHORUS] COLO MENTALITY
Mr. Ransome you make you hear
Mr. Williams you make you hear
Mr. Ali -a you make you hear
Mr. Mohammed you make you hear
Mr. Anglican you make you hear
Mr. Bishop you make you hear
Mr. Catholic you make you hear
Mr. Musulim you make you hear
Na Africa we dey O make you hear
Na Africa we dey O make you hear
Colomentality hear
Colomentality! listen!
Mr. Ransome you make you hear
Na Africa we dey o make you hear this
*[CHORUS] COLOMENTALITY [REPEATED]
***********************************************************************
FEAR NOT FOR MAN
Doctor Kwame Nkrumah
The Father of Pan-Africanism
Says to all black people
All over the world:
`The secret of life is to have no fear`.
Now we all have to understand that
I`m a man
I`m a man
Run run run I no go run
Run run I no go run
Brothers and sisters
Na GOAT dey run, n MAN dey stand
I`m a man I`m a man
***********************************************************************
J'EHIN J'EHIN
J'Ehin J'Ehin-o** **(fool)
Wa ma ba tire lo
Wa ma ba osi e lo- o
Mo fun e ni obirin
Ekini oni o fe o
Mo fun e ni obirin
E keji oni o gba
Mo fun e l'eke ta
O wa oro so o
Mo fun e l'ekerin
O ni o Ko gba
Ma lo o ona wa
Lo pa po
Now I'm gonna
Change the rhythm of this song
It's still the same groove
J'EHIN J'EHIN: Translation
Fool, Fool (chopteeth: teeth-eater, one who eats his own teeth)
Go away
Get your useless self out of here
I offer you a woman
You say you don't want her
I give you a second
You refuse
I give you a third woman
You find an excuse
I offer a fourth time
You refuse to accept
Go away
Our ways are different
***********************************************************************
INTERNATIONAL THIEF THIEF
*[CHORUS] INTERNATIONAL THIEF THIEF (x3)
I.T.T
*[CHORUS] INTERNATIONAL THIEF THIEF [AFTER EACH LINE]
International Thief
Oh
*(CHORUS) INTERNATIONAL THIEF THIEF (x2) Guitar enters]
I.T.T.
*[CHORUS] INTERNATIONAL THIEF THIEF [AFTER EACH LINE International rogue
Oh, eh
*(CHORUS) INTERNATIONAL THIEF THIEF (x2)
<<[Drums change]>>
Wella, wella, wella, wella, wella, wella, wella, wella, wella, wella, wella, wella, wella,
wella, wella, wella-- Ha (x2)
Wella**, **(this is true)
wella, wella, wella,
Wella, wella, wella, wella, wella
Wella, wella, wella, wella, wella, wella
Wella, wella * [Rhythmic- improvise]
Wella, wella, wella, wella, wella
Wella, wella, wella, wella, wella, wella, wella, wella, wella, wella, wella, wella, wella,
wella, wella, wella---Ha - Yeh- Ch Ch Ch -Ch
Mother fuckers, Bastard Mother fuckers
*(CHORUS) YEAH [AFTER EACH LINE]
We yab** dem **(make fun of/abuse)
Hurry up der
Say, "yeah"
Wella well, na true I want talk again o
*(CHORUS) WELL WELL [AFTER EACH LINE]
Na true I want talk again o
If I dey lie o
Make Osiri punish me
Make Ifa dey punish me o
Make Edumare punish me o
Make the land dey punish me o
Make Edumare punish me o
I read 'em for book ee-o
I see so myself ee-o (2x on the 3rd repetition)
Well-ee well-ee o
*(CHORUS/LEAD) WELL WELL-EH-EH-EH-EH-EH-EH-ELL- WELL WELL
Well-ee well-ee o
*(CHORUS/LEAD) WELL WELL-EH-EH-EH-EH-EH-EH-ELL- WELL WELL [REPEAT STANZA 3X]
Long time ago
Long, long time ago
*(CHORUS) LONG TIME AGO [AFTER EACH LINE]
Long, long, long, long time ago
African man we no dey carry shit
We dey shit in-side big big hole
For Yourba-land na "Shalanga"
For Igbo-land na "Onunu-insi"
For Hausa-land na "Salunga"
For Ga-land na "Tiafi"
For Ashanti-land na �Yarni"
For Ethiopia-land na "Sagara-bet"
For Voodoo-land na "Cho-Cho"
For Bemba-land na "Chimbuzi"
For Tunga-land na "Echibuzi"
Long, long, long, long time ago
African man we no dey carry shit
We dey shit inside big big hole
Long, long, long, long time ago
Long, long, long, long time ago
Before them come for suss us away as slaves
During the time them come for suss us away as slaves
Na European man, na him dey carry shit
Na for them culture to carry shit
During the time dem come colonize us
Dem come teach us to carry shit
Long, long, long, long time ago
African man weh no dey carry shit
Na European man teach us to carry shit
Many foreign companies dey Africa carry all our money go
*(CHORUS) SAY AM, SAY AM [AFTER EACH LINE]
Many foreign companies dey Africa carry all our money go
Dem go write big English for newspaper, Dabaru we Africans
Dem go write big English for newspaper, Dabaru we Africans
I read about one of them inside book like that- Them call him name na I.T.T
I read about one of them inside book like that- Them call him name na I.T.T
Them go dey cause confusion
*(CHORUS) CONFUSION
Cause corruption
*(CHORUS) CORRUPTION
Cause oppression
* (CHORUS) OPPRESSION
Cause inflation
*(CHORUS) INFLATION
Dem go dey,
Cause oppression
*(CHORUS) OPPRESSION
Cause confusion
*(CHORUS) CONFUSION
Cause corruption
*(CHORUS) CORRUPTION
Cause inflation
*(CHORUS) INFLATION
Cause oppression
* (CHORUS) OPPRESSION
Cause confusion
*(CHORUS) CONFUSION
Cause inflation
*(CHORUS) INFLATION
Cause oppression
*(CHORUS) OPPRESSION
Oppression, Opression, Inflation, Corruption, Opression, Inflation----
Dem get one style wey dem dey use
Dem go pick one African-i man
A man with low mentality
Them go give am million naira breads
To become of high position here
Him go bribe some thousand naira bread
To become one useless-i chief
Like rat dey do, dem go,
Dey do from
Corner corner pass-ee, pass-ee
Under, under pass-ee, pass-ee
Inside-ee, Inside-ee pass-ee, pass-ee
In-ee, in-ee, pass-ee, pass-ee
Out-ee, out-ee, pass-ee, pass-ee
Peep-peep, peep-peep, pass-ee pass-ee
In-ee, in-ee, pass-ee, pass-ee
Corner corner, pass-ee, pass-ee
Under, under, pass-ee, pass-ee
Inside-ee, Inside-ee, pass-ee, pass-ee
Over world, pass-ee, pass-ee
Corner corner, pass-ee, pass-ee
Under, under, pass-ee, pass-ee
Inside- inside
Then he gradually, gradually, gradually, gradually (2x)
Them go be:
Friend friend to journalist
Friend to friend to Commissioner
Friend friend to Permanent Secretary
Friend to friend to Minister
Friend to friend to Head of State
Then start start to steal money
Start start them corruption
Start start them inflation
Start start them oppression
Start start them confusion
Start start them oppression
Start start to steal money
Start start to steal money
Like Obasanjo and Abiola
*(CHORUS) INTERNATIONAL THIEF THIEF [AFTER EACH LINE]
I.T.T
International rogue
International thief
We fight them,
Well well
*(CHORUS) WELL WELL - [AFTER EACH LINE]
Wella wella
We don tire
to carry
anymore of
them shit
**[repeat indefinitely, add next stanza occasionally]
INTERNATIONAL THIEF THIEF (explanation)
* Uses abbreviation of "International Telephone & Telegraph" to attack all foreign companies for stealing from Africa, and for turning Africans into human-waste carriers [agbepo]. Derides stupid Africans who are put into power as puppets of the companies. Tricked & used by these companies, they become equally greedy & ruthless.
I still want to speak the truth. If I lie, may I be punished by Edumare (the Yoruba supreme spirit, g-o-d), Osisa (the Yoruba spirits), the Ifa (the spirit-god of divination), & the land itself. I have read about it read it in books, I have seen it personally.
Europeans came & forced their ways on Africa. Long ago, Africans didn't carry shit, we shat in a big hole (as evidenced by words for this hole in many African tribal languages-Yoruba, Igbo, Haussa, Ashanti). When the Europeans came to colonialise us, it was part of their culture to carry shit & taught us Africans to do it, too. They have turned us into agbepo, waste carriers (the lowest members of society).
Foreign companies confuse & trick Africans by manipulating (English) words in the newpaper. They subvert & control Africa using the same method: they find a stupid, greedy, & dishonest African, pay him a thousand Naira (Nigerian money), he bribes others to become a chief, but who acts in European interests. Like a rat, creeps here and there, gaining power by befriending journalists, religious leaders, & government officials.
Once in power, he begins embezzling, inflation, confusion, oppression...
Two examples of this are Obasanjo (Head of the military) and Abiola (CEO of International Telephone & Telegraph) . We must fight them. We refuse to carry their shit any longer.
***********************************************************************
KALAKUTA SHOW
Make we talk something
We never talk before and
We dey see am everyday
(Ahh, Ohhh.Sh-sh-sh-sh-sh)
*repeat 2x
Look de man he dey waka
*[CHORUS] GAGA GUGU GAGA GUGU
*repeat
Hungry dey run for him face
*[CHORUS] WOKO WOKO WOKO WOKO
*repeat
Him pepeye* cap for him head
*[CHORUS] PEPE PEPE PEPE PEPE
*repeat
Him khaki woolen shirt for him body
*[CHORUS] WULU WULU WULU WULU
*repeat
Him trouser dey fly above him knee
*[CHORUS] YAYA YAYA YAYA YAYA
*repeat
The people wey employ da man
Give him permit to carry the thing
Weh bad
Dem give him permit to carry baton
Dem give him permit to carry tear-gas
Dem give him permit to carry bullet
Him fit carry basket for protection too
Na so we dey see am every day
No so he dey happen every day
One day
*[CHORUS] SATURDAY
One day
*[CHORUS] SATURDAY MORNING
The whole thing change
One day
*[CHORUS] 5 A.M.
One day
*[CHORUS] NOVEMBER 23
The whole thing change
One day
*[CHORUS] 1974
One day- Kalakuta Show
One day
*[CHORUS] SATURDAY
One day
*[CHORUS] SATURDAY MORNING
Kalakuta Show
*[CHORUS] 1979
Kalakuta Show
Dem make sure dem
Use tear-gas, baton & bullet
*repeat
Dem use them basket
For protection too
*repeat
Dem do one thing
Dem never do before
*repeat 3x
Dem-o hire axe-o dem-o bring cutlass
*[CHORUS] DEM-O HIRE� AXE-O DEM BU-RING CUTLASS
*repeat under verses:
Kalakuta show-o-o
Kalakuta show (una na na na na na na na na)
Kalakuta Show (2x)
Babu wire dem-o cut
Look fence dem break
Look gate dem fall
Everybody dey run
Look head dem break
Look blood him dey flow
Kalakuta show o-o
Kalakuta show
Na na na na na na na
Look loya** him dey come **(lawyer)
Him he loya him dey come
Look loya dem beat
Look loya him dey run
Look loya him dey run
Kalakuta show o-o
Kalakuta show
*Etc.
>Organ solo
>Sax solo
>End with bass/percussion under solo sax
***********************************************************************
LADY
If you call woman
African woman no go 'gree
She go say I be Lady o
If you call woman
African woman no go 'gree
She go say I be Lady o
She go say:
*(CHORUS) SHE GO SAY I BE LADY O [AFTER EACH LINE]
She go say I no be woman
She go say market woman na woman
She go say I be Lady
I want tell you about Lady: (3x)
She go say him equal to man
She go say him get power like man
She go say anything man do
Him self fit do
I never tell you finish (3x)
I never tell you
She go want take cigar before anybody
She go want make you open door for am
She go want make man wash plate for her for kitchen
She want salute man she go sit down for chair (2x)
She want sit down for table before anybody (2x)
She want piece of meat before anybody (2x)
Call am for dance, she go dance Lady dance (2x)
African woman go dance she go dance the fire dance (2x)
She know him manna Masster
She go cook for am
She go do anything he say
But Lady no be so (4x)
Lady na Masster (3x)
Call am for dance, she go dance Lady dance (2x)
African woman go dance she go dance the fire dance (2x)
She know him manna Masster
She go cook for am
She go do anything he say
But Lady no be so (4x)
Lady na Masster (4x)
If you call am woman
African woman no go 'gree
She go say I be Lady
She go say:
*(CHORUS- AFTER EACH LINE) SHE GO SAY I BE LADY O O
She go say I be Lady
She go say I no be woman
She go say market woman na woman
She go say I be Lady
*(repeat indefinitely)
***********************************************************************
MR. FOLLOW FOLLOW
Mr. Follow Follow
*[CHORUS] FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW,- FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW (2X)
Some dey follow follow, dem close dem eye
*[CHORUS] DEM CLOSE EYE, PIN- PIN- PIN
Some dey follow follow, dem close dem mouth
*[CHORUS] DEM CLOSE MOUTH, PAM- PAM- PAM
Some dey follow follow, dem close dem ear
*[CHORUS] DEM CLOSE EAR, G'BOING- BOING- BOING
Some dey follow follow, dem close dem sense
*[CHORUS] DEM CLOSE SENSE, BIRI- BIRI
I say dem close sense,
Dem close sense
If you dey follow follow
Make you open eye, open ear, open mouth, open sense (2x)
Na dat time
Na dat time you no go fall (2x)
If you dey follow follow dem book
*[CHORUS] NA INSIDE CUPBOARD YOU GO QUENCH (2x)
Coakroach dey, ee-rat dey, Ikan dey, darkness dey- ee
*[CHORUS] NA INSIDE CUPBOARD YOU GO QUENCH** **(destroy)
My brothers, make you no follow book-o
Look am and go your way
*[CHORUS] FOLLOW, FOLLOW (on 3,4- continues until end)
Make you open eye, open ear, open mouth, open sense
(riff/repeat as desired)
My brothers, make you no follow book-o
Look am and use your sense
***********************************************************************
MR. GRAMMARTICALOGYLISATIONALISM IS THE BOSS
Now listen to me now
My brothers & sisters- I beg you
Now listen to me now!
Oh- now listen to me now
My brothers & sisters I beg you
Now listen to me now!
Dey na be man
*[CHORUS] WHICH MAN?
Weh talk Oyinbo** well well to rule our land-o **(foreigner/white)
*[CHORUS] THAT MAN!
Oh yes
*[CHORUS] HE TALK OYINBO PASS-EE ENGLISH MAN [AFTER EACH LINE]
He talk Oyinbo past American man
He talk Oyinbo past French man
Me, I say he talk Oyinbo past Germany man
The better Oyinbo you talk
The more bread you go get
School starts (cest?)- na grade four bread
BA- na gradee three bread
MA- na gradee two bread
PhD- a gradee one bread
The better Oyinbo you talk
The more bread you go get
Dey na be man
*[CHORUS] WHICH MAN?
Weh talk Oyinbo well well to rule our land-o
*[CHORUS] THAT MAN!
Oh yes
*[CHORUS] HE TALK OYINBO PASS-EE ENGLISH MAN
He talk Oyinbo past American man
*[CHORUS] HE TALK OYINBO PASS-EE ENGLISH MAN
Hear it! (Horn responses)
One more time
First thing for early morning
Na newspaper dem give us read
First thing for early morning
Na newspaper dem give us read
The Oyinbo weh dey inside
Petty trader no fit to know
The Oyinbo weh dey inside
Market woman- na fit to read
The Oyinbo weh dey inside
Na riddle for- laborer man
Inside dey paper
Lambastical dey
Inside dey paper
Ipso facto- dey dat one na Latin
Inside dey paper,
Jar-gonism dey
Inside dey paper,
Youth delinquency dey
Who be deliquent?
Na dem be deliquent
Who be delinquent?
The Oyinbo talker delinquent
Who be delinquent?
Na be me-o
Na be man
*[CHORUS] WHICH MAN?
Weh talk Oyinbo well well to rule our land-o
*[CHORUS] THAT MAN!
Oh yes
*[CHORUS] HE TALK OYINBO PASS-EE ENGLISH MAN - [AFTER EACH LINE]
He talk Oyinbo past American man
*He talk Oyinbo past French-e man* [Fill]
He talk Oyinbo past Germany man
Me, I say , he talk Oyinbo past French man
*REPEAT CHORUS INDEFINITELY
*Organ solo
MR. GRAMMARTICALOGYLISATIONALISM : Explanation
A criticism of African Educational system as a "poor imitation" of the Western Education system. The man who speaks better English gets paid more. The school's grades are rated (better bread as climb). The English use words against us-- first thing in the morning we are given newspapers, they brainwash us with big words. It's all jargon/nonsense-- irrelevant issues that have no bearing on common men. Then the leaders blame the poor's problems on ignorance & delinquency, but its the (English speaking) leaders who are delinquent.
***********************************************************************
NO AGREEMENT
*(CHORUS) NO AGREEMENT TODAY, NO AGREEMENT
TOMORROW - 2X
I no go agree make my brother hungry, make I no talk
*(CHORUS) LA LA LA LA ! LA LA ! - [AFTER EACH LINE]
I no go agree make my brother jobless, make I no talk
I no go agree make my brother homeless, make I no talk
My grandpapa talk, your grandpapa talk
My grandmama talk, your grandmama talk
Your papa talk, my papa talk
My mama talk, your mama talk
Those wey no talk them they agree
I no go agree make my brother hungry, make I no talk
*(CHORUS) LA LA LA LA ! LA LA !
No agreement today, no agreement tomorrow
*(CHORUS) NO AGREEMENT TODAY, NO AGREEMENT TOMORROW [AFTER EACH LINE]
No agreement now, later, never and ever
***********************************************************************
ORIGINAL SUFFERHEAD
Water Light
Food House
Ye paripa O** **(exclaimation of despair)
Wetin** do them **(what)
You mean you don`t know
Wetin do them
I go tell you
Wetin do them
You go hear am
Wetin do them
That means to say you no dey
For Nigeria be that
You see yourself
You no dey for Africa at all
You must dey come from London
New York, from Germany, from Italy...
That means to say you no
dey Nigeria be that
You see yourself you no de for
Afrika at all
If you dey for Africa where we dey
you go know
I go know wetin
Plenty, about water, light, food, house
I go know wetin
Plenty plenty water for Africa
Na so-so water in Africa
Water underground, water in the air
Na so-so water in Africa
Water for man to drink nko O** **(so what)
*(CHORUS) E-NO DEY
E-no dey e dey
*(CHORUS) E-NO DEY
Water for town
*(CHORUS) E-NO DEY
Government sef e dey?
*(CHORUS) E-NO DEY
Plenty, plenty light for Afrika
Na so-so energy for Africa
Na the big-big men dey get electrica
If them no get electric dem go
If they don`t get electricity
Get plant O
Ordinary light for man nko O
*(CHORUS) E-NO DEY
E-no dey e dey?
*(CHORUS) E-NO DEY
Plenty, plenty food for Africa
Food under-ground,
Food on the ground
Na so-so plenty food for Africa
Ordinary food for man for chop* nko O **(eat)
E-no dey
Government sef e dey?
E no dey
Dodo nko?
Ten kobo for one
Akara nko? twenty kobo for one (2x)
Bread nko? fourty kobo for one
E no dey
Government sef e dey?
E no dey
House matter na different matter
Those wey dey for London dem
Those wey dey New York dem
They leave dey like kings
We wey ele for Afrika
We dey leave like servants
United Nations dem come
Get name for us
Dem go call us under develope nation
We must be underdeveloped
To dey stay ten-ten in one room O
First and second dey
Dem go call us Third World
We must dey craze for head
To dey sleep inside dustbin
Dem go call us none-aligned nations
We must dey craze for head
To dey sleep under bridge O
Ordinary house for man
To leave nko O?
*(CHORUS) E NO DEY
Trouble
E yen dey** **(it is there)
Water?
E no dey** **(it is not there)
Wahala** **(affliction/trouble)
E yen dey
Food
E no dey
Trouble
E yen dey
House
E no dey
Wahala
E yen dey
Dem come turn-us to suffer-head to
Original Suffer-head
It' s time for Jefa**-Head O **(to enjoy good fortune)
Original Jefa-Head O
Dem turn us to Suffer-head O
*(CHORUS) ORIGINAL SUFFERHEAD
It' s time for Jefa-Head O
I want to tell you my brother
One bitter truth
Before we all are to Jefa-head O
We must be ready to fight for am now
Me I say sufferhead must go O O
Original Sufferhead
Jefa-Head must come
***********************************************************************
POWER SHOW
I open my eye I see for my land
*(CHORUS) NA WRONG SHOW O
Everywhere you dey
Everywhere you go
Everybody want do power show
*(CHORUS) NA WRONG SHOW O
You reach boarder immigration
officer dey immigration
Him go bluff you
*(CHORUS) YES [AFTER EACH LINE]
Waste your time
Change him pen him pants
Some dey comb dem hair
Den tidy dem table
Den him/dem pull dem chair
Before him go know say you dey there
If you no talk quick
Him go go for shit
Him go shit come-back
And you talk to am
Then you suprise when him
Shack for you
Him go say you no go cross
You no go cross today
Na that time dem go start
Dem Power Show O O
Na wrong show
Go post office na the same
Dem go bluff you
Waste your time
Run you up
And then run you down
Dem go tire your body
And then tire your mind
And them tire your whole mind
Dem go say no change for fifty Kobo
Na that time dem go start them
Power Show O O
Na wrong show O
Motor car owner sef him go take
him car push him car push laborer
Down for road
Then him start to yab
Foolish labourer
Nonentity, him no get money
Look him sandals e don tear finish
Look him trouser e don tear for yansh** **(ass)
Look him singlet e don dirty finish
Look him body e no bath this morning
Look him pocket e don dry finish
You go suffer for nothing
You go suffer for nothing
You no know me sha?
I be General for Army Office I
I be Officer for Police Station
I be secretary for government office
You foolish laborer, you go suffer for nothing
Nonentity, you go suffer
for nothing
Na that time dem go start dem
Power Show
Na wrong show O
Power Show na wrong thing
*(CHORUS) YES
Na sad thing
Na sad thing
Na wrong show O
Power na to help your land
Na to help your mates
Na wrong show O
***********************************************************************
QUESTION JAM ANSWER
When question drop for mouth,
Question go start to run,
When answer drop for mouth,
Answer run after am,
When answer jam question for road
Another thing go shale-o
Another thing go shale-o
Another thing go shale-o
When question drop for mouth,
Question go start to run,
When answer drop for mouth,
Answer run after am,
When answer jam** question for road **(crashes into)
Another thing go shale-o
Why you mash my leg for ground?
You no see my leg for road?
Why you mash my leg for ground?
You no see my leg for road?
Question dem drop for mouth,
Question go start to run,
Question dem drop for mouth,
Question go start to run,
Why you put your leg for road?
You no see say I dey come?
Why you put your leg for road?
You no see say I dey come?
Answer dem drop for mouth,
Answer dem start to run,
Answer dem drop for mouth,
Answer dem start to run,
When question drop for mouth,
Question go start to run,
When answer drop for mouth,
Answer run after am,
When answer jam question for road
Another thing go shale-o
Dem e na na na na
**(CHORUS) ANOTHER THING GO SHALE-O - [AFTER EACH LINE]
Dem e na na na na
I now leave things to your imagination
When answer jam question for road
Dem e na na na na
SAX CALLS--- Another thing go shale-o
*(CHORUS) RESPONSE
Question Jam Answer: Explanation
People are different & unpredictable:
Mr. Question stops (jams) Mr. Answer on the road, an unexpected thing will happen.
When you ask someone a question, be prepared- you may receive an unexpected response
For example:
As you sit, someone steps on your leg,
You inquire- "why did you step on me, didn't you see my leg?"
You expect an apology & sympathy
Instead, he responds, "Why did you put your leg in my way,
Didn't you see me coming?"
***********************************************************************
SORROW, TEARS, AND BLOOD
Everybody run run run
Everybody scatter scatter
Some people lost some bread
Some one nearly die
Some one just die
Police dey come, Army dey come
Confusion everywhere
Seven minutes later
All done cool down, brother
Police don go away
Army don disappear
Dem leave Sorrow, Tears, and Blood (2x)
Dem regular trade mark
*(CHORUS) DEM REGULAR TRADE MARK
Dem regular trade mark
*(CHORUS) DEM REGULAR TRADE MARK
Everybody run run run
Everybody scatter scatter
Some people lost some bread
Some one nearly die
Some one just die
Police dey come, Army dey come
Confusion everywhere
Seven minutes later
All done cool down, brother
Police don go away
Army don disappear
Dem leave Sorrow, Tears, and Blood (2x)
Dem regular trade mark
*(CHORUS) DEM REGULAR TRADE MARK
Dem regular trade mark
*(CHORUS) DEM REGULAR TRADE MARK
La, la, la, la
My people self dey fear too much
Dem fear for the thing we no see
Dem fear for the air around us
We fear to fight for freedom
We fear to fight for liberty
We fear to fight for justice
We fear to fight for happiness
We always get reason to fear
We no want die
We no want quench** **(destroy)
Mama dey for house
Papa dey for house
I get one wife
I get one car
I get one house
I just build house
I wan enjoy
So policeman go slap your face
You no go talk
Army man go whip your yansh** **(ass)
You go dey look like donkey
Rhodesia dey do dem own
Our leaders dey yab for nothing
South Africa dey do dem own
Dem leave Sorrow, Tears, and Blood
*(CHORUS) DEM REGULAR TRADE MARK
Dem regular trade mark
*(CHORUS) DEM REGULAR TRADE MARK
Dem leave Sorrow, Tears, and Blood
*(CHORUS) DEM REGULAR TRADE MARK
Dem regular trade mark
*(CHORUS) DEM REGULAR TRADE MARK
That is why-y-y
Everybody run run run
Everybody scatter scatter
Some people lost some bread
Some one nearly die
Some one just die
Police dey come, Army dey come
Confusion everywhere
Time dey go
Time no wait for nobody
Police dey come
Like this
**[make siren noise with voice]
Everybody run run run
Everybody scatter scatter
Some people lost some bread
Some one nearly die
Some one just die
Police dey come, Army dey come
Confusion everywhere
Seven minutes later
All done cool down, brother
Police don go away
Army don disappear
Dem leave Sorrow, Tears, and Blood (2x)
Dem regular trade mark
*(CHORUS) DEM REGULAR TRADE MARK
Dem regular trade mark
*(CHORUS) DEM REGULAR TRADE MARK
***********************************************************************
TEACHER DON'T TEACH ME NONSENSE
A kujuba, A kujuba,
*[CHORUS]- EH____
(repeat 7x)
Yehhhh- eh!
Ke-re-KE, Ke-re-KE, Ke-re-KE, Ke-re-KE, Ke-re-KE, Ke-re-JI-KE-KE
*[CHORUS]- YAH
Ke-re-ke- JI- Ke-ke
CHORUS)- YAH
---------ke- JI- Ke-ke
*[CHORUS]- YAH
Ke-re-ke-KE- JI- Ke-ke
(repeat 3x)
Ke-RE-ke
All the wahala**, all the problems, **(affliction/trouble)
All the things, all the things they go do,
For this world go start,
When the teacher, schoolboy & schoolgirl jam** together **(collide)
Who be teacher?
I go let you know...
(repeat 3x)
When we be pikin,
*[CHORUS] FATHER, MAMA BE TEACHER
When we dey first school
*[CHORUS] TEACHER BE TEACHER
When we dey University
*[CHORUS] LECTURER BE TEACHER
When we start to work
*[CHORUS] GOVERNMENT BE TEACHER
Who be government teacher?
*[CHORUS] KULTURE TRADITION
Who be government teacher?
*[CHORUS] KULTURE AND TRADITION
Kolu-showan tradition
*[CHORUS] KULTURE AND TRADITION
Kolu-showan tradition
*[CHORUS] KULTURE AND TRADITION
Now the problem side, of a teaching student-ee
I go sing about
I don pass pikin, I don pass school, university, se-fa pass
As I don start to work, na government I must se-fa pass
Da go for France
*[CHORUS] YES SIR (*after each line) [occassionally "YES MAAM"]
Engi-land
Italy
Germany
Na dem culture
For there
Be teacher
For dem
Go China
Russia
Korea
Viet Nam
Na dem culture
For there
Be teacher
For dem
Go Syria
Jordan
Iran
Iraq
Na dem culture
For there
Be teacher
For dem
Let us face ourselves for Afrika
Na de matter of Afrika
This part-ee of my song
Na all the problems of this world
In we dey carry, for Afrika
Wey no go ask-ee me
*[CHORUS] WHICH ONE?
(repeat 4x)
Problems of inflation
*[CHORUS] WHICH ONE? (after each line)
Problems of corruption
Of mismanagement
Stealing by government
Nothing dey we carry
All over Afrika
Na de latest one
Na him dey make me laugh
Posteri-
*[CHORUS] AUSTERITY *(after each line)
Austeri-
Na him dey latest one
Na him dey make me laugh
Why I dey laugh?
Man no fit cry?
Ubi ya watisha na Oyinbo
Ubi ya watisha na Oyinbo
A na false, the first election
And the second election held in Nigeria
Na the second election na it was na pass
Boba la nonsense
*[CHORUS] BOBA** LA NONSENSE (*repeat after each line) **(misinform,)
Boba la nonsense
He pass "redeem" em
He pass corruption
Which kind election be dis?
People na go vote
Dem come get big big numbers
Fellows to thousands
Millions to billions
Which kind election be dis?
Boba la nonsense
Na dem-o-cr-azy be the deal(?)
Na dem-o-cr-azy be the deal
Who don teach us ee dem-o-cr-azy?
(bo-ptch) Oyinbo** teach-ee us **(foreigner/white)
(yuh-ngh) Oyinbo for Europe -oh
Oyinbo teach us many many things-ee
Many of dem things I don sing about-ee
Me I no gin copy Oyinbo style
Let us think say, Oyinbo no pass me
When Shagari finish him elections
Wey dem no tell am, say him make mistake
Say this yo, no be democracy
Oyinbo dem no tell army self
Na for England-ee, I me no fit take over
I come think about this demo-crazy
Democrazy
*[CHORUS] DEMO-CRAZY (*after each line)
Crazy demo
Demonstration of craze
Crazy demonstration
If it no be craze
Why for Afrika?
As time dey go
Things just dey bad
They bad more and more
Poor man dey cry
Rich man dey mess
Demo-crazy
Democrazy
Crazy demo
Demonstration of craze
Crazy demonstration
If good-u teacher teach-ee something
And he student make mistake
Teacher must talk-ee so
But Oyinbo no talk-ee so
I suffer dem, Dey suffer dem
Dem dey say da teaching get meaning
Different different meaning
Different different kinds of meaning
That is why I say
That is the reason of my song
That is the conclude
The conclud-ee of my song
I say, I sing, I beg everyone to join my song (3x)
*[CHORUS] TEACHER, TEACHER-O NA THE LECTURER BE YOUR NAME
TEACHER, TEACHER-O, NA THE LECTURE BE THE SAME
MAKE-EE NO TEACH-EE ME AGAIN OH
AS SOON TEACHING FINISH YES, DA THING-EE IT GON DIE IT DEY OH
AS SOON TEACHING FINISH YES, DA THING-EE IT GON DIE
ME & YOU NO DEY FOR THE SAME-EE CATEGORY (4X)
*[CHORUS] NOT THE SAME CATEGORY OH
Category *(repeat/Lead fills vocally)
Not the same category oh
(KEY SOLO, etc)
Ke-re-KE, Ke-re-KE, Ke-re-KE, Ke-re-KE, Ke-re-KE, Ke-re-JI-KE-KE
*[CHORUS]- YAH
Ke-re-ke- JI- Ke-ke
CHORUS)- YAH
---------ke- JI- Ke-ke
*[CHORUS]- YAH
Ke-re-ke-KE- JI- Ke-ke
(repeat 3x)
*[CHORUS] TEACHER, TEACHER-O NA THE LECTURER BE YOUR NAME
TEACHER, TEACHER-O, NA THE LECTURE BE THE SAME
MAKE-EE NO TEACH-EE ME AGAIN OH
AS SOON TEACHING FINISH YES, DA THING-EE IT GON DIE IT DEY OH
AS SOON TEACHING FINISH YES, DA THING-EE IT GON DIE
ME & YOU NO DEY FOR THE SAME-EE CATEGORY (4X)
*[CHORUS] NOT THE SAME CATEGORY OH
Category *(repeat/Lead fills vocally)
Not the same category oh
***********************************************************************
TROUBLE SLEEP, YANGA WAKE AM
(lead vocal scats melody), sax solo, organ intro
*[CHORUS]
RA RA-RA RA, RA-RA-RA-RA-RA
RA RA-RA RA, RA-RA-RA-RA-RA
RA RA-RA RA
When Trouble sleep,
Yanga go wake am,
Waking him dey find
*[CHORUS] PALAVER, HE DEY FIND
Palaver**, he go get-e o **(trouble)
*[CHORUS] PALAVER, HE GO GET
Palaver
When cat sleep,
Rat go bite him tail,
Waking him dey find,
*[CHORUS] PALAVER, HE DEY FIND
Palaver, he go get-e o
*[CHORUS] PALAVER, HE GO GET
Palaver
Tenant lost him job,
Him sit down for house,
Him dey think of job,
Mr. Landord come wake am up,
He say, "Mister, pay me your rent"
Waking him dey find
*[CHORUS] PALAVER, HE DEY FIND
Palaver, he go get-e o
*[CHORUS] PALAVER, HE GO GET
Palaver
My friend just come from prison,
Him dey look for work,
Waka* waka day and night, *(walk)
Police man come stop am for road,
He say, "Mister, I charge you for wandering"
Waking him dey find
*[CHORUS] PALAVER, HE DEY FIND
Palaver, he go get-e o
*[CHORUS] PALAVER, HE GO GET
Palaver
Mr. Husband marry for church,
He make big party,
Then he start to spray**, **(excessive tipping by placing money on forehead of people, usually the celebrants or musicians)
Because him love him wife,
Him say, "wife come run away"
Bank manager run come,
He say, "Mister, pay me your debt"
Waking him dey find, for Lagos e-o
*[CHORUS] PALAVER, HE DEY FIND
Palaver, he go get-e o
*[CHORUS] PALAVER, HE GO GET
Palaver
When Trouble sleep,
Yanga go wake am,
Waking him dey find
*[CHORUS] PALAVER, HE DEY FIND
Palaver, he go get-e o
*[CHORUS] PALAVER, HE GO GET
Palaver, he go get-e o
When cat sleep,
Rat go bite him tail,
Waking him dey find,
*[CHORUS] PALAVER, HE DEY FIND
Palaver, he go get-e o
*[CHORUS] PALAVER, HE GO GET
Palaver, he go get e-o
*[CHORUS]
RA RA-RA RA, RA-RA-RA-RA-RA
RA RA-RA RA, RA-RA-RA-RA-RA
RA RA-RA RA
RA RA-RA RA, RA-RA-RA-RA-RA
RA RA-RA RA, RA-RA-RA-RA-RA
RA RA-RA RA
Explanation:
Don't kick people when they are down,
Nor bother them at inappropriate times:
There is a limit to patience.
When things are calm,
Don't start trouble by bothering people who are struggling to get by.
***********************************************************************
WATER NO GET ENEMY
To ba fe lo weh omi lo- malo <>
If you wan go wash- water you go use
Toba fe sobeh omi lo- malo
If you wan cook soup- water you go use
To ri ba ngbona omi lero lero
If your head be hot- water it cool am
Tomo ba ngagda omi lo- malo
If your child dey grow- water you go use
If water kill your child- water you go use
Tobi ba bwi nao homi lo- malo
Ko sohun tole se ko ma lomi- o
Nothing without water (repeat this couplet)
****
*[CHORUS] WATER, IT NO GET ENEMY - [AFTER EACH LINE]
Oh me a water-o
No go fight am, unless you wan die
I say water No get enemy
No go fight am, unless you wan die
O me a water-o
O they talk of Black-man power
O they talk of Black power, I say
I say water No get enemy
No go fight am, unless you wan die
I say water No get enemy
I say water No get enemy
O me a water-o
O me a water-o
_____________________________________
WATER NO GET ENEMY: EXPLANATION
The "water" is the Nigerian common people. The Government/Military must not make enemies of the populous, nor disturb their "flow" (endevours & routines)- as it is dangerous to make an enemy of the country's most essential resource. The people make everything happen.
Nothing exists without water
Water does not gain enemies
because if you fight (renounce)water, you will die
Power cannot exist without the people
***********************************************************************
ZOMBIE
Zombie-o, zombie** **(police/army-unthinking followers)
*[CHORUS] ZOMBIE-O, ZOMBIE (2X)
Zombie no go go, unless you tell am to go
*[CHORUS] ZOMBIE *(after each line)
Zombie no go stop, unless you tell am to stop
Zombie no go turn, unless you tell am to turn
Zombie no go think, unless you tell am to think
Zombie-o, zombie
*[CHORUS] ZOMBIE-O, ZOMBIE (2X) *(repeat last 2 stanzas)
Tell am to go straight-- Joro, Jara, Joro
No break, no job, no sense-- Joro, Jara, Joro
Tell am to go kill-- Joro, Jara, Joro
No break, no job, no sense-- Joro, Jara, Joro
Tell am to go quench-- Joro, Jara, Joro
No break, no job, no sense-- Joro, Jara, Joro
Go and kill
*[CHORUS] JORO, JARA, JORO *(after each line)
Go and die
Go and quench** **(destroy)
Put am for reverse
Go and kill
Go and die
Go and quench *(3x)
Joro, Jara, Joro- O Zombie way na one way (3x)
Joro, Jara, Joro- Ooooh
Attention
*[CHORUS] ZOMBIE *(in time- average every 2-3 words)
Quick march
Slow march
Left turn
Right turn
About turn
Double time
Sa-lute
Open your hat
Stand at ease
Fall in
Fall out
Fall down
Get ready *(2x)
Ha-lt
Or-der *(Repeat 3x from "Attention")
*[CHORUS] ZOMBIE (repeat on "1" of each measure as desired)
Dis-miss
ADDITIONS & CORRECTIONS
Please contact me with any additions or corrections to Fela Kuti Lyrics.
Please check out the CHOPTEETH AFROBEAT BAND from the Washington D.C. area.
Ifa bless Antibalas, pioneers of the Afrobeat Renaissance.
Cheers!
-David (Disciple of Fela Anikulapo Kuti & Tony Oladipo Allen, proponent of Afrobeat, afro-batteur)
Ijebudrums COMMENT
Thank you, David and Tony Oladipo Allen, for this work. It appears here for educational purposes.
Ojo-ebi 15 October 1938
Ojo-eku: 2 August 1997
This is a backup of source
Fela Kuti Lyrics
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. BEASTS OF NO NATION
2. COFFIN FOR HEAD OF STATE
3. COLOMENTALITY
4. FEAR NOT FOR MAN
5. J�EHIN J�EHIN
6. INTERNATIONAL THIEF THIEF
7. KALAKUTA SHOW
8. LADY
9. MR. FOLLOW FOLLOW
10. MR. GRAMMARTICALOGYLISATIONALISM IS THE BOSS
11. ORIGINAL SUFFERHEAD
12. NO AGREEMENT
13. POWER SHOW
14. QUESTION JAM ANSWER
15. SORROW, TEARS, AND BLOOD
16. TEACHER DON'T TEACH ME NONSENSE
17. TROUBLE SLEEP, YANGA WAKE AM
18. WATER NO GET ENEMY
19. ZOMBIE
LYRICS (by Fela Kuti)
BEASTS OF NO NATION
Ah- Let's get now into another, underground spiritual game
Just go to help me the answer, go to say, 'Aiya-kata'- Oh ya
O feshe-Lu
[CHORUS] AIYA-KATA *(after each line)
O feshe- Ba
*(2x)
O feshe-Won
[CHORUS] AIYA-KATA *(after each line)
O feshe-Weng
Aiya kata
Aiya Koto
Aiya Kiti
Aiya Kutu
O feshe-Lu
[CHORUS] AIYA-KATA *(after each line)
O feshe- Ba
*(2x)
Oh-----.......
Basket mouth wan start to leak again, oh-
[CHORUS] BASKET MOUTH WAN OPEN MOUTH AGAIN, OH
Abi** you don forget I say I sing, ee-oh **(is it not)
[CHORUS] BASKET MOUTH WAN OPEN MOUTH AGAIN, OH
Oh, I sing, I say, I go my mouth like basket, ee-oh, Malan Bia-gbe-re
(stanza 2x)
Basket mouth wan start to leak again, oh-
[CHORUS] BASKET MOUTH WAN OPEN MOUTH AGAIN, OH
Fela, wetin you go sing about?
[CHORUS] DEM GO WORRY ME *(after each line)
(3x)
Dem go worry me, worry me-- worry, worry, worry, worry
[CHORUS] DEM GO WORRY ME *(After each line)
Dey wan to make us sing about prison
Dem go worry me, worry me-- worry, worry all over da town
Dey wan to know about prison life
Dem go worry me, worry me-- worry, worry all over da town
*(repeat stanza)
Fela, wetin you go sing about?
[CHORUS] DEM GO WORRY ME
Dem go worry me, worry me-- worry, worry, worry, worry
The time weh I dey, for prison, I call am 'inside world'
The time weh I dey outside prison, I call am 'outside world'
Na craze world, na be outside world
[CHORUS] CRAZE** WORLD *(after each line) / **(crazy)
Na be outside- da police-i dey
Na be outside- da soldier dey
Na be outside- da court dem dey
Na be outside- da magistrate dey
Na be outside- da judge dem dey
Na craze world be dat
Na be outside- Buhari dey
Na craze man be dat
Animal in craze-man skin-i
Na craze world be dat
Na be outside- Idia-gbon dey
Na craze man be dat- oh
Animal in craze-man skin-i
Na craze world be dat
Na be outside- dem find me guilty
Na be outside- dem jail me five years
------------------I no do nothing
Na be outside-dem judge dey beg ee-o
Na craze world be dat, Na craze world be dat
Na be outside- dem kill dem students
Soweto, Zaria, and Ife
Na craze world be dat, ee-oh
Na craze world be dat,
Na be outside- all dis dey happen
Na craze world be dat, ee-oh
Na craze world be dat, ee-oh
Na craze world be dat, ee-oh
Na craze world be dat, ee-oh
Na craze world be dat, ee-oh..
Make you hear this one [sax responses]
War against indiscipline, ee-oh
Na Nigerian government, ee-oh
Dem dey talk ee-oh
"My people are us-e-less, My people are sens-i-less, My people are indiscipline"
Na Nigerian government, ee-oh
Dem dey talk be dat
"My people are us-e-less, My people are sens-i-less, My people are indiscipline"
I never hear dat before- oh
Make Government talk, ee-oh
"My people are us-e-less, My people are sens-i-less, My people are indiscipline"
Na Nigerian government, ee-oh
Dem dey talk be dat
Which kind talk be dat- oh?
Craze talk be dat ee-oh
Na animal talk be dat oh
Na animal talk be dat oh
[CHORUS] MANY LEADERS AS YOU SEE DEM
[CHORUS] NA DIFFERENT DISGUISE DEM DEY-OH
[CHORUS] ANIMALS IN HUMAN SKIN
[CHORUS] ANIMAL-I PUT-U TIE-OH
[CHORUS] ANIMAL-I WEAR AGBADA
[CHORUS] ANIMAL-I PUT-U SUIT-U
*(2x- 2nd time with lead voc)
These disguising leaders ee-oh, na wah for dem [sax responses after each]
Dem-o hold meeting everywhere, dem reach America (2x stanza)
Dem call the place, the "United Nations" [sax responses after each]
Hear-oh another animal talk
Wetin united inside "United Nations"?
Who & who unite, for "United Nations"?
No be there Thatcher & Argentina dey
No be there Reagan & Libya dey
Is-i-rael versus Lebanon
Iran-i-oh versus Iraq-i
East West Block versus West Block East
No be there dem dey oh- United Nations
Dis "united" United Nations
One veto vote is equal to 92 [OR MORE, OR MORE]
What kind sense be dat, na animal sense (2x)
[CHORUS] MANY LEADERS AS YOU SEE DEM
[CHORUS] NA DIFFERENT DISGUISE DEM DEY-OH
[CHORUS] ANIMALS IN HUMAN SKIN
[CHORUS] ANIMAL-I PUT-U TIE-OH
[CHORUS] ANIMAL-I WEAR AGBADA
[CHORUS] ANIMAL-I PUT-U SUIT-U
*(2x- 2nd time with lead voc)
Dem go hold meeting, oh, Dem go start yab human beings
Animal talk don start again
Dash dem, human rights
Dem go hold meeting, oh, Dem go start yab human beings
Animal talk don start again
Dash dem human rights
*(repeat stanza)
How animal go know-say dem no born me as slave?
How animal go know say slave trade don pass?
And, dey wan dash us human rights
Animal must talk to human beings
Give dem human rights
I beg-I, oh , make you hear me well-u well
I beg-I, oh, make you hear me very well
Human rights na my property
So therefore, you can't dash me my property
Human rights na my property
Dey wan dash us human rights
Some people say, "Why I dey talk like dis,
No be talk like dis, dem take to carry me go prision ee-oh"
No be me dey talk, na Prime Minister Botha dey talk, ee-oh (2x)
Him say, "this uprising will bring out the beast in us"
[CHORUS] THIS UPRISING WILL BRING OUT THE BEAST IN US
(repeat stanza 3x)
Eh Ji Keke- my argument
Botha na friend to Thatcher & Reagan
Botha na friend to some other leaders too
And together dem wan dash us human rights
Animals wan dash us human rights
Animal can't dash me human rights
Animal can't dash us human rights
[CHORUS] MANY LEADERS AS YOU SEE DEM
[CHORUS] NA DIFFERENT DISGUISE DEM DEY-OH
[CHORUS] ANIMALS IN HUMAN SKIN
[CHORUS] ANIMAL-I PUT-U TIE-OH
[CHORUS] ANIMAL-I WEAR AGBADA
[CHORUS] ANIMAL-I PUT-U SUIT-U
*(2x- 2nd time with lead voc)
Beasts of no nation- Egbe Ke Gbe na bad society
[CHORUS] BEASTS OF NO NATION, EGBE KE GBE
[CHORUS] BEASTS OF NO NATION, OTURU GBE KE
(repeat stanza many x, lead vamp)
Easy easy
[solos]
**Do chorus & end again
___________________________________
COFFIN FOR HEAD OF STATE
Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen
Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen
Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen
Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen
Woh! Ahhhhh Ch! Ahhhh! Ch! Ch!
Through Jesus Christ, our Lord
*[CHORUS] AMEN, AMEN, AMEN [AFTER EACH LINE]
By the Grace of Allmighty Lord
Through Jesus Christ, our Lord
By the Grace of Allmighty Lord
Inspiritus Christus, Mass Christus, Mass Christus, Mass Christus,
Alla-hu, Waku-baru, Salem Elekum, Alla-hu
Through Jesus Christ, our Lord
By the Grace of Allmighty Lord
So I waka waka waka** **(walk)
*[CHORUS] WAKA WAKA WAKA- [AFTER EACH LINE]
I go many places
I see my people
Dem dey cry, cry cry
Amen-i, Amen-i, Amen
Amen-i, Amen-i, Amen
Amen-i, Amen-i, Amen
Amen-i, Amen-i, Amen
I say I waka waka waka
I go many places
I see my people
Dem dey cry, cry, cry
Amen-i, Amen-i, Amen
Amen-i, Amen-i, Amen
Amen-i, Amen-i, Amen
Amen-i, Amen-i, Amen
I say I waka-waka-waka-waka-waka-waka-waka
(HORNS response)
I waka any village anywhere in Africa
I waka any village anywhere in Africa
Pastor's house na 'im dey fine pass
My people dem dey stay for poor surroundings
Pastor's dress na 'im dey clean pass
Be it hard for my people for dem to buy soap
Pastor na 'im dem give respect pass
And dem dey do bad-bad-bad-bad-bad-bad-bad-bad-bad-bad-bad things
Through Jesus Christ our Lord
*[CHORUS] AMEN, AMEN, AMEN - [AFTER EACH LINE]
By the Grace of Allmighty Lord
Inspiritus Christus, Mass Christus, Mass Christus, Mass Christus,
Alla-hu, Waku-baru, Salem Elekum, Alla-hu
So I waka waka waka
*[CHORUS] WAKA WAKA WAKA- [AFTER EACH LINE]
I go many places
I go business places
And I see, see, see
All the bad, bad, bad things
Dem dey do, do, do
Call corruption
And dey call "nepotism"
Inside promotions
And inside all business
I say I waka waka waka
I see, see, see
*[CHORUS] WAKA WAKA WAKA
So I waka-waka-waka-waka-waka-waka-waka
(HORNS Short response)
I waka any business anywhere in Africa
I waka any business anywhere in Africa
North and South dem get dem policies
One Christian and the other one, Muslim
Anywhere the Muslims dem dey reign
Na senior Allaha-ji na 'im be director
Anywhere the Christians dem dey reign
Na the best friend to Bishop na 'im be director
It is a known fact that for many thousand years
We Africans, we had our own traditions
These money making organizations
Them come put we Africans in total confusion
Through Jesus Christ, our Lord
*[CHORUS] AMEN, AMEN, AMEN- [AFTER EACH LINE]
By the Grace of Allmighty Lord
Inspiritus Christus, Mass Christus, Mass Christus, Mass Christus,
Alla-hu, Waku-baru, Salem Elekum, Alla-hu
So I waka waka waka
*[CHORUS] WAKA WAKA WAKA [AFTER EACH LINE]
I go many places
I go government places
I see, see, see
All the bad, bad, bad things
Dem dey do, do, do
Look Obasanjo,
Before anything you know at all,
And for dey shout
Oh Lord, Oh Lord, Oh Lord, Oh mighty Lord, Oh Lord, Oh God
And den dey do bad-bad-bad-bad-bad-bad-bad-bad-bad-bad-bad things
Through Jesus Christ our Lord
*[CHORUS] AMEN, AMEN, AMEN
By the Grace of Allmighty Lord
*[CHORUS] AMEN, AMEN, AMEN
I say look-a Y'aradua
I say look-a Y'aradua
Before anything you know at all
It would dey shout
Aba Allah- Aba Allah- Aba Allah- Aba Allah -
Aba Allah
And den dey do yes, yes
And den dey do bad-bad-bad-bad-bad-bad-bad-bad-bad-bad-bad things
Through Mohhmmed our Lord
*[CHORUS] AMEN, AMEN, AMEN
By the Grace of Allmighty Allah
*[CHORUS] AMEN, AMEN, AMEN
So I waka waka waka
*[CHORUS] WAKA WAKA WAKA- [AFTER EACH LINE]
I go many places
I go government places
I see, see, see
All the bad, bad, bad things
Den dey do, do, do
Den steal all the money
Dem kill many students
Dem burn many houses
Dem burn my house too
And killed my mama
So I carry the coffin
I Waka waka waka
Movement of the People
Dey Waka waka waka
Young African Pioneers
Waka waka waka
We go Obalende,
We go Dodan barracks
Reach dem gatee-o
And put the coffin down
Obasanjo dey there,
With him big fat stomach
Y'aradua dey there,
With him neck like ostrich
We put the coffin down.
Dem no wan take am
*[CHORUS] BUT DEM TAKE AM - [AFTER EACH LINE]
Dem no wan take am
Who go wan take coffin?
Dem must take am
For the bad bad bad things
Wey dem don do
Dem no wan take am
Obasanjo grab am
Y'aradua carry am
Yes, dem no wan take am
Obasanjo carry am
Y'aradua tow am
Dem no wan take am
Dem no wan take am
It der for dem office
Dem no wan take am
It der dey now now now now
It der dey now, now, now, now
It der dey now, now, now, now
It der dey now, now, now, now
It der dey now, now, now, now
It der dey now, now, now, now
* Repeat as desired
Coffin for Head of State- Explanation
A criticism of arbitrary/artificial religious & ethnic boundaries, and of religious hypocrisy- people who invoke god, but then commit atrocities, including Obasanjo (General) & Y�aradua (Leiutentent Colonel), two of Fela's attackers.
The poor live in squalor while the pastor lives in luxury. Fela walks (waka), & sees the unhappiness of his people,and the corruption & greed of the colonial-influenced Nigerian government. Colonial culture confuses the African people.
In 1979, when Fela's mother (a government official & activist) dies from injuries inflicted by the Army during an attack on Fela's compound, Fela and his Movement of the People Carry an effigy of his mother's coffin to the barracks of two noted Fela enemies, Gen. Obasanjo & Lt.Crnl. Y'aradua. As a protest, Fela & MOP put the coffin down, and force the army to take it (Obasanjo & Yaradua eventually help to carry it). 'It remains there.
***********************************************************************
COLOMENTALITY
Colomentality
E be say you be colonial man
You don be slave from before
Dem don release you now
but you never release yourself
Colomentality
E be so , E be so dem dey do,
dem dey overdo all the things wey dem dey do
e be so dem dey do, dem think say dem better pass dem brother.
No be so?
E be so
The thing wey black no good
na foreign things dem dey like.
No be so?
*[CHORUS] EE BE SO/ I BE SO
Dem go turn air condition and close dem country away.
Na be so?
E be so
Dem judge him go put white wig and jail him brothers away
No be so?
E be so
Dem go proud of dem name and put dem slave name for head
No be so?
E be so
Colomentality now make you hear me now
*[CHORUS] COLO MENTALITY
Mr. Ransome you make you hear
Mr. Williams you make you hear
Mr. Ali -a you make you hear
Mr. Mohammed you make you hear
Mr. Anglican you make you hear
Mr. Bishop you make you hear
Mr. Catholic you make you hear
Mr. Musulim you make you hear
Na Africa we dey O make you hear
Na Africa we dey O make you hear
Colomentality hear
Colomentality! listen!
Mr. Ransome you make you hear
Na Africa we dey o make you hear this
*[CHORUS] COLOMENTALITY [REPEATED]
***********************************************************************
FEAR NOT FOR MAN
Doctor Kwame Nkrumah
The Father of Pan-Africanism
Says to all black people
All over the world:
`The secret of life is to have no fear`.
Now we all have to understand that
I`m a man
I`m a man
Run run run I no go run
Run run I no go run
Brothers and sisters
Na GOAT dey run, n MAN dey stand
I`m a man I`m a man
***********************************************************************
J'EHIN J'EHIN
J'Ehin J'Ehin-o** **(fool)
Wa ma ba tire lo
Wa ma ba osi e lo- o
Mo fun e ni obirin
Ekini oni o fe o
Mo fun e ni obirin
E keji oni o gba
Mo fun e l'eke ta
O wa oro so o
Mo fun e l'ekerin
O ni o Ko gba
Ma lo o ona wa
Lo pa po
Now I'm gonna
Change the rhythm of this song
It's still the same groove
J'EHIN J'EHIN: Translation
Fool, Fool (chopteeth: teeth-eater, one who eats his own teeth)
Go away
Get your useless self out of here
I offer you a woman
You say you don't want her
I give you a second
You refuse
I give you a third woman
You find an excuse
I offer a fourth time
You refuse to accept
Go away
Our ways are different
***********************************************************************
INTERNATIONAL THIEF THIEF
*[CHORUS] INTERNATIONAL THIEF THIEF (x3)
I.T.T
*[CHORUS] INTERNATIONAL THIEF THIEF [AFTER EACH LINE]
International Thief
Oh
*(CHORUS) INTERNATIONAL THIEF THIEF (x2) Guitar enters]
I.T.T.
*[CHORUS] INTERNATIONAL THIEF THIEF [AFTER EACH LINE International rogue
Oh, eh
*(CHORUS) INTERNATIONAL THIEF THIEF (x2)
<<[Drums change]>>
Wella, wella, wella, wella, wella, wella, wella, wella, wella, wella, wella, wella, wella,
wella, wella, wella-- Ha (x2)
Wella**, **(this is true)
wella, wella, wella,
Wella, wella, wella, wella, wella
Wella, wella, wella, wella, wella, wella
Wella, wella * [Rhythmic- improvise]
Wella, wella, wella, wella, wella
Wella, wella, wella, wella, wella, wella, wella, wella, wella, wella, wella, wella, wella,
wella, wella, wella---Ha - Yeh- Ch Ch Ch -Ch
Mother fuckers, Bastard Mother fuckers
*(CHORUS) YEAH [AFTER EACH LINE]
We yab** dem **(make fun of/abuse)
Hurry up der
Say, "yeah"
Wella well, na true I want talk again o
*(CHORUS) WELL WELL [AFTER EACH LINE]
Na true I want talk again o
If I dey lie o
Make Osiri punish me
Make Ifa dey punish me o
Make Edumare punish me o
Make the land dey punish me o
Make Edumare punish me o
I read 'em for book ee-o
I see so myself ee-o (2x on the 3rd repetition)
Well-ee well-ee o
*(CHORUS/LEAD) WELL WELL-EH-EH-EH-EH-EH-EH-ELL- WELL WELL
Well-ee well-ee o
*(CHORUS/LEAD) WELL WELL-EH-EH-EH-EH-EH-EH-ELL- WELL WELL [REPEAT STANZA 3X]
Long time ago
Long, long time ago
*(CHORUS) LONG TIME AGO [AFTER EACH LINE]
Long, long, long, long time ago
African man we no dey carry shit
We dey shit in-side big big hole
For Yourba-land na "Shalanga"
For Igbo-land na "Onunu-insi"
For Hausa-land na "Salunga"
For Ga-land na "Tiafi"
For Ashanti-land na �Yarni"
For Ethiopia-land na "Sagara-bet"
For Voodoo-land na "Cho-Cho"
For Bemba-land na "Chimbuzi"
For Tunga-land na "Echibuzi"
Long, long, long, long time ago
African man we no dey carry shit
We dey shit inside big big hole
Long, long, long, long time ago
Long, long, long, long time ago
Before them come for suss us away as slaves
During the time them come for suss us away as slaves
Na European man, na him dey carry shit
Na for them culture to carry shit
During the time dem come colonize us
Dem come teach us to carry shit
Long, long, long, long time ago
African man weh no dey carry shit
Na European man teach us to carry shit
Many foreign companies dey Africa carry all our money go
*(CHORUS) SAY AM, SAY AM [AFTER EACH LINE]
Many foreign companies dey Africa carry all our money go
Dem go write big English for newspaper, Dabaru we Africans
Dem go write big English for newspaper, Dabaru we Africans
I read about one of them inside book like that- Them call him name na I.T.T
I read about one of them inside book like that- Them call him name na I.T.T
Them go dey cause confusion
*(CHORUS) CONFUSION
Cause corruption
*(CHORUS) CORRUPTION
Cause oppression
* (CHORUS) OPPRESSION
Cause inflation
*(CHORUS) INFLATION
Dem go dey,
Cause oppression
*(CHORUS) OPPRESSION
Cause confusion
*(CHORUS) CONFUSION
Cause corruption
*(CHORUS) CORRUPTION
Cause inflation
*(CHORUS) INFLATION
Cause oppression
* (CHORUS) OPPRESSION
Cause confusion
*(CHORUS) CONFUSION
Cause inflation
*(CHORUS) INFLATION
Cause oppression
*(CHORUS) OPPRESSION
Oppression, Opression, Inflation, Corruption, Opression, Inflation----
Dem get one style wey dem dey use
Dem go pick one African-i man
A man with low mentality
Them go give am million naira breads
To become of high position here
Him go bribe some thousand naira bread
To become one useless-i chief
Like rat dey do, dem go,
Dey do from
Corner corner pass-ee, pass-ee
Under, under pass-ee, pass-ee
Inside-ee, Inside-ee pass-ee, pass-ee
In-ee, in-ee, pass-ee, pass-ee
Out-ee, out-ee, pass-ee, pass-ee
Peep-peep, peep-peep, pass-ee pass-ee
In-ee, in-ee, pass-ee, pass-ee
Corner corner, pass-ee, pass-ee
Under, under, pass-ee, pass-ee
Inside-ee, Inside-ee, pass-ee, pass-ee
Over world, pass-ee, pass-ee
Corner corner, pass-ee, pass-ee
Under, under, pass-ee, pass-ee
Inside- inside
Then he gradually, gradually, gradually, gradually (2x)
Them go be:
Friend friend to journalist
Friend to friend to Commissioner
Friend friend to Permanent Secretary
Friend to friend to Minister
Friend to friend to Head of State
Then start start to steal money
Start start them corruption
Start start them inflation
Start start them oppression
Start start them confusion
Start start them oppression
Start start to steal money
Start start to steal money
Like Obasanjo and Abiola
*(CHORUS) INTERNATIONAL THIEF THIEF [AFTER EACH LINE]
I.T.T
International rogue
International thief
We fight them,
Well well
*(CHORUS) WELL WELL - [AFTER EACH LINE]
Wella wella
We don tire
to carry
anymore of
them shit
**[repeat indefinitely, add next stanza occasionally]
INTERNATIONAL THIEF THIEF (explanation)
* Uses abbreviation of "International Telephone & Telegraph" to attack all foreign companies for stealing from Africa, and for turning Africans into human-waste carriers [agbepo]. Derides stupid Africans who are put into power as puppets of the companies. Tricked & used by these companies, they become equally greedy & ruthless.
I still want to speak the truth. If I lie, may I be punished by Edumare (the Yoruba supreme spirit, g-o-d), Osisa (the Yoruba spirits), the Ifa (the spirit-god of divination), & the land itself. I have read about it read it in books, I have seen it personally.
Europeans came & forced their ways on Africa. Long ago, Africans didn't carry shit, we shat in a big hole (as evidenced by words for this hole in many African tribal languages-Yoruba, Igbo, Haussa, Ashanti). When the Europeans came to colonialise us, it was part of their culture to carry shit & taught us Africans to do it, too. They have turned us into agbepo, waste carriers (the lowest members of society).
Foreign companies confuse & trick Africans by manipulating (English) words in the newpaper. They subvert & control Africa using the same method: they find a stupid, greedy, & dishonest African, pay him a thousand Naira (Nigerian money), he bribes others to become a chief, but who acts in European interests. Like a rat, creeps here and there, gaining power by befriending journalists, religious leaders, & government officials.
Once in power, he begins embezzling, inflation, confusion, oppression...
Two examples of this are Obasanjo (Head of the military) and Abiola (CEO of International Telephone & Telegraph) . We must fight them. We refuse to carry their shit any longer.
***********************************************************************
KALAKUTA SHOW
Make we talk something
We never talk before and
We dey see am everyday
(Ahh, Ohhh.Sh-sh-sh-sh-sh)
*repeat 2x
Look de man he dey waka
*[CHORUS] GAGA GUGU GAGA GUGU
*repeat
Hungry dey run for him face
*[CHORUS] WOKO WOKO WOKO WOKO
*repeat
Him pepeye* cap for him head
*[CHORUS] PEPE PEPE PEPE PEPE
*repeat
Him khaki woolen shirt for him body
*[CHORUS] WULU WULU WULU WULU
*repeat
Him trouser dey fly above him knee
*[CHORUS] YAYA YAYA YAYA YAYA
*repeat
The people wey employ da man
Give him permit to carry the thing
Weh bad
Dem give him permit to carry baton
Dem give him permit to carry tear-gas
Dem give him permit to carry bullet
Him fit carry basket for protection too
Na so we dey see am every day
No so he dey happen every day
One day
*[CHORUS] SATURDAY
One day
*[CHORUS] SATURDAY MORNING
The whole thing change
One day
*[CHORUS] 5 A.M.
One day
*[CHORUS] NOVEMBER 23
The whole thing change
One day
*[CHORUS] 1974
One day- Kalakuta Show
One day
*[CHORUS] SATURDAY
One day
*[CHORUS] SATURDAY MORNING
Kalakuta Show
*[CHORUS] 1979
Kalakuta Show
Dem make sure dem
Use tear-gas, baton & bullet
*repeat
Dem use them basket
For protection too
*repeat
Dem do one thing
Dem never do before
*repeat 3x
Dem-o hire axe-o dem-o bring cutlass
*[CHORUS] DEM-O HIRE� AXE-O DEM BU-RING CUTLASS
*repeat under verses:
Kalakuta show-o-o
Kalakuta show (una na na na na na na na na)
Kalakuta Show (2x)
Babu wire dem-o cut
Look fence dem break
Look gate dem fall
Everybody dey run
Look head dem break
Look blood him dey flow
Kalakuta show o-o
Kalakuta show
Na na na na na na na
Look loya** him dey come **(lawyer)
Him he loya him dey come
Look loya dem beat
Look loya him dey run
Look loya him dey run
Kalakuta show o-o
Kalakuta show
*Etc.
>Organ solo
>Sax solo
>End with bass/percussion under solo sax
***********************************************************************
LADY
If you call woman
African woman no go 'gree
She go say I be Lady o
If you call woman
African woman no go 'gree
She go say I be Lady o
She go say:
*(CHORUS) SHE GO SAY I BE LADY O [AFTER EACH LINE]
She go say I no be woman
She go say market woman na woman
She go say I be Lady
I want tell you about Lady: (3x)
She go say him equal to man
She go say him get power like man
She go say anything man do
Him self fit do
I never tell you finish (3x)
I never tell you
She go want take cigar before anybody
She go want make you open door for am
She go want make man wash plate for her for kitchen
She want salute man she go sit down for chair (2x)
She want sit down for table before anybody (2x)
She want piece of meat before anybody (2x)
Call am for dance, she go dance Lady dance (2x)
African woman go dance she go dance the fire dance (2x)
She know him manna Masster
She go cook for am
She go do anything he say
But Lady no be so (4x)
Lady na Masster (3x)
Call am for dance, she go dance Lady dance (2x)
African woman go dance she go dance the fire dance (2x)
She know him manna Masster
She go cook for am
She go do anything he say
But Lady no be so (4x)
Lady na Masster (4x)
If you call am woman
African woman no go 'gree
She go say I be Lady
She go say:
*(CHORUS- AFTER EACH LINE) SHE GO SAY I BE LADY O O
She go say I be Lady
She go say I no be woman
She go say market woman na woman
She go say I be Lady
*(repeat indefinitely)
***********************************************************************
MR. FOLLOW FOLLOW
Mr. Follow Follow
*[CHORUS] FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW,- FOLLOW, FOLLOW, FOLLOW (2X)
Some dey follow follow, dem close dem eye
*[CHORUS] DEM CLOSE EYE, PIN- PIN- PIN
Some dey follow follow, dem close dem mouth
*[CHORUS] DEM CLOSE MOUTH, PAM- PAM- PAM
Some dey follow follow, dem close dem ear
*[CHORUS] DEM CLOSE EAR, G'BOING- BOING- BOING
Some dey follow follow, dem close dem sense
*[CHORUS] DEM CLOSE SENSE, BIRI- BIRI
I say dem close sense,
Dem close sense
If you dey follow follow
Make you open eye, open ear, open mouth, open sense (2x)
Na dat time
Na dat time you no go fall (2x)
If you dey follow follow dem book
*[CHORUS] NA INSIDE CUPBOARD YOU GO QUENCH (2x)
Coakroach dey, ee-rat dey, Ikan dey, darkness dey- ee
*[CHORUS] NA INSIDE CUPBOARD YOU GO QUENCH** **(destroy)
My brothers, make you no follow book-o
Look am and go your way
*[CHORUS] FOLLOW, FOLLOW (on 3,4- continues until end)
Make you open eye, open ear, open mouth, open sense
(riff/repeat as desired)
My brothers, make you no follow book-o
Look am and use your sense
***********************************************************************
MR. GRAMMARTICALOGYLISATIONALISM IS THE BOSS
Now listen to me now
My brothers & sisters- I beg you
Now listen to me now!
Oh- now listen to me now
My brothers & sisters I beg you
Now listen to me now!
Dey na be man
*[CHORUS] WHICH MAN?
Weh talk Oyinbo** well well to rule our land-o **(foreigner/white)
*[CHORUS] THAT MAN!
Oh yes
*[CHORUS] HE TALK OYINBO PASS-EE ENGLISH MAN [AFTER EACH LINE]
He talk Oyinbo past American man
He talk Oyinbo past French man
Me, I say he talk Oyinbo past Germany man
The better Oyinbo you talk
The more bread you go get
School starts (cest?)- na grade four bread
BA- na gradee three bread
MA- na gradee two bread
PhD- a gradee one bread
The better Oyinbo you talk
The more bread you go get
Dey na be man
*[CHORUS] WHICH MAN?
Weh talk Oyinbo well well to rule our land-o
*[CHORUS] THAT MAN!
Oh yes
*[CHORUS] HE TALK OYINBO PASS-EE ENGLISH MAN
He talk Oyinbo past American man
*[CHORUS] HE TALK OYINBO PASS-EE ENGLISH MAN
Hear it! (Horn responses)
One more time
First thing for early morning
Na newspaper dem give us read
First thing for early morning
Na newspaper dem give us read
The Oyinbo weh dey inside
Petty trader no fit to know
The Oyinbo weh dey inside
Market woman- na fit to read
The Oyinbo weh dey inside
Na riddle for- laborer man
Inside dey paper
Lambastical dey
Inside dey paper
Ipso facto- dey dat one na Latin
Inside dey paper,
Jar-gonism dey
Inside dey paper,
Youth delinquency dey
Who be deliquent?
Na dem be deliquent
Who be delinquent?
The Oyinbo talker delinquent
Who be delinquent?
Na be me-o
Na be man
*[CHORUS] WHICH MAN?
Weh talk Oyinbo well well to rule our land-o
*[CHORUS] THAT MAN!
Oh yes
*[CHORUS] HE TALK OYINBO PASS-EE ENGLISH MAN - [AFTER EACH LINE]
He talk Oyinbo past American man
*He talk Oyinbo past French-e man* [Fill]
He talk Oyinbo past Germany man
Me, I say , he talk Oyinbo past French man
*REPEAT CHORUS INDEFINITELY
*Organ solo
MR. GRAMMARTICALOGYLISATIONALISM : Explanation
A criticism of African Educational system as a "poor imitation" of the Western Education system. The man who speaks better English gets paid more. The school's grades are rated (better bread as climb). The English use words against us-- first thing in the morning we are given newspapers, they brainwash us with big words. It's all jargon/nonsense-- irrelevant issues that have no bearing on common men. Then the leaders blame the poor's problems on ignorance & delinquency, but its the (English speaking) leaders who are delinquent.
***********************************************************************
NO AGREEMENT
*(CHORUS) NO AGREEMENT TODAY, NO AGREEMENT
TOMORROW - 2X
I no go agree make my brother hungry, make I no talk
*(CHORUS) LA LA LA LA ! LA LA ! - [AFTER EACH LINE]
I no go agree make my brother jobless, make I no talk
I no go agree make my brother homeless, make I no talk
My grandpapa talk, your grandpapa talk
My grandmama talk, your grandmama talk
Your papa talk, my papa talk
My mama talk, your mama talk
Those wey no talk them they agree
I no go agree make my brother hungry, make I no talk
*(CHORUS) LA LA LA LA ! LA LA !
No agreement today, no agreement tomorrow
*(CHORUS) NO AGREEMENT TODAY, NO AGREEMENT TOMORROW [AFTER EACH LINE]
No agreement now, later, never and ever
***********************************************************************
ORIGINAL SUFFERHEAD
Water Light
Food House
Ye paripa O** **(exclaimation of despair)
Wetin** do them **(what)
You mean you don`t know
Wetin do them
I go tell you
Wetin do them
You go hear am
Wetin do them
That means to say you no dey
For Nigeria be that
You see yourself
You no dey for Africa at all
You must dey come from London
New York, from Germany, from Italy...
That means to say you no
dey Nigeria be that
You see yourself you no de for
Afrika at all
If you dey for Africa where we dey
you go know
I go know wetin
Plenty, about water, light, food, house
I go know wetin
Plenty plenty water for Africa
Na so-so water in Africa
Water underground, water in the air
Na so-so water in Africa
Water for man to drink nko O** **(so what)
*(CHORUS) E-NO DEY
E-no dey e dey
*(CHORUS) E-NO DEY
Water for town
*(CHORUS) E-NO DEY
Government sef e dey?
*(CHORUS) E-NO DEY
Plenty, plenty light for Afrika
Na so-so energy for Africa
Na the big-big men dey get electrica
If them no get electric dem go
If they don`t get electricity
Get plant O
Ordinary light for man nko O
*(CHORUS) E-NO DEY
E-no dey e dey?
*(CHORUS) E-NO DEY
Plenty, plenty food for Africa
Food under-ground,
Food on the ground
Na so-so plenty food for Africa
Ordinary food for man for chop* nko O **(eat)
E-no dey
Government sef e dey?
E no dey
Dodo nko?
Ten kobo for one
Akara nko? twenty kobo for one (2x)
Bread nko? fourty kobo for one
E no dey
Government sef e dey?
E no dey
House matter na different matter
Those wey dey for London dem
Those wey dey New York dem
They leave dey like kings
We wey ele for Afrika
We dey leave like servants
United Nations dem come
Get name for us
Dem go call us under develope nation
We must be underdeveloped
To dey stay ten-ten in one room O
First and second dey
Dem go call us Third World
We must dey craze for head
To dey sleep inside dustbin
Dem go call us none-aligned nations
We must dey craze for head
To dey sleep under bridge O
Ordinary house for man
To leave nko O?
*(CHORUS) E NO DEY
Trouble
E yen dey** **(it is there)
Water?
E no dey** **(it is not there)
Wahala** **(affliction/trouble)
E yen dey
Food
E no dey
Trouble
E yen dey
House
E no dey
Wahala
E yen dey
Dem come turn-us to suffer-head to
Original Suffer-head
It' s time for Jefa**-Head O **(to enjoy good fortune)
Original Jefa-Head O
Dem turn us to Suffer-head O
*(CHORUS) ORIGINAL SUFFERHEAD
It' s time for Jefa-Head O
I want to tell you my brother
One bitter truth
Before we all are to Jefa-head O
We must be ready to fight for am now
Me I say sufferhead must go O O
Original Sufferhead
Jefa-Head must come
***********************************************************************
POWER SHOW
I open my eye I see for my land
*(CHORUS) NA WRONG SHOW O
Everywhere you dey
Everywhere you go
Everybody want do power show
*(CHORUS) NA WRONG SHOW O
You reach boarder immigration
officer dey immigration
Him go bluff you
*(CHORUS) YES [AFTER EACH LINE]
Waste your time
Change him pen him pants
Some dey comb dem hair
Den tidy dem table
Den him/dem pull dem chair
Before him go know say you dey there
If you no talk quick
Him go go for shit
Him go shit come-back
And you talk to am
Then you suprise when him
Shack for you
Him go say you no go cross
You no go cross today
Na that time dem go start
Dem Power Show O O
Na wrong show
Go post office na the same
Dem go bluff you
Waste your time
Run you up
And then run you down
Dem go tire your body
And then tire your mind
And them tire your whole mind
Dem go say no change for fifty Kobo
Na that time dem go start them
Power Show O O
Na wrong show O
Motor car owner sef him go take
him car push him car push laborer
Down for road
Then him start to yab
Foolish labourer
Nonentity, him no get money
Look him sandals e don tear finish
Look him trouser e don tear for yansh** **(ass)
Look him singlet e don dirty finish
Look him body e no bath this morning
Look him pocket e don dry finish
You go suffer for nothing
You go suffer for nothing
You no know me sha?
I be General for Army Office I
I be Officer for Police Station
I be secretary for government office
You foolish laborer, you go suffer for nothing
Nonentity, you go suffer
for nothing
Na that time dem go start dem
Power Show
Na wrong show O
Power Show na wrong thing
*(CHORUS) YES
Na sad thing
Na sad thing
Na wrong show O
Power na to help your land
Na to help your mates
Na wrong show O
***********************************************************************
QUESTION JAM ANSWER
When question drop for mouth,
Question go start to run,
When answer drop for mouth,
Answer run after am,
When answer jam question for road
Another thing go shale-o
Another thing go shale-o
Another thing go shale-o
When question drop for mouth,
Question go start to run,
When answer drop for mouth,
Answer run after am,
When answer jam** question for road **(crashes into)
Another thing go shale-o
Why you mash my leg for ground?
You no see my leg for road?
Why you mash my leg for ground?
You no see my leg for road?
Question dem drop for mouth,
Question go start to run,
Question dem drop for mouth,
Question go start to run,
Why you put your leg for road?
You no see say I dey come?
Why you put your leg for road?
You no see say I dey come?
Answer dem drop for mouth,
Answer dem start to run,
Answer dem drop for mouth,
Answer dem start to run,
When question drop for mouth,
Question go start to run,
When answer drop for mouth,
Answer run after am,
When answer jam question for road
Another thing go shale-o
Dem e na na na na
**(CHORUS) ANOTHER THING GO SHALE-O - [AFTER EACH LINE]
Dem e na na na na
I now leave things to your imagination
When answer jam question for road
Dem e na na na na
SAX CALLS--- Another thing go shale-o
*(CHORUS) RESPONSE
Question Jam Answer: Explanation
People are different & unpredictable:
Mr. Question stops (jams) Mr. Answer on the road, an unexpected thing will happen.
When you ask someone a question, be prepared- you may receive an unexpected response
For example:
As you sit, someone steps on your leg,
You inquire- "why did you step on me, didn't you see my leg?"
You expect an apology & sympathy
Instead, he responds, "Why did you put your leg in my way,
Didn't you see me coming?"
***********************************************************************
SORROW, TEARS, AND BLOOD
Everybody run run run
Everybody scatter scatter
Some people lost some bread
Some one nearly die
Some one just die
Police dey come, Army dey come
Confusion everywhere
Seven minutes later
All done cool down, brother
Police don go away
Army don disappear
Dem leave Sorrow, Tears, and Blood (2x)
Dem regular trade mark
*(CHORUS) DEM REGULAR TRADE MARK
Dem regular trade mark
*(CHORUS) DEM REGULAR TRADE MARK
Everybody run run run
Everybody scatter scatter
Some people lost some bread
Some one nearly die
Some one just die
Police dey come, Army dey come
Confusion everywhere
Seven minutes later
All done cool down, brother
Police don go away
Army don disappear
Dem leave Sorrow, Tears, and Blood (2x)
Dem regular trade mark
*(CHORUS) DEM REGULAR TRADE MARK
Dem regular trade mark
*(CHORUS) DEM REGULAR TRADE MARK
La, la, la, la
My people self dey fear too much
Dem fear for the thing we no see
Dem fear for the air around us
We fear to fight for freedom
We fear to fight for liberty
We fear to fight for justice
We fear to fight for happiness
We always get reason to fear
We no want die
We no want quench** **(destroy)
Mama dey for house
Papa dey for house
I get one wife
I get one car
I get one house
I just build house
I wan enjoy
So policeman go slap your face
You no go talk
Army man go whip your yansh** **(ass)
You go dey look like donkey
Rhodesia dey do dem own
Our leaders dey yab for nothing
South Africa dey do dem own
Dem leave Sorrow, Tears, and Blood
*(CHORUS) DEM REGULAR TRADE MARK
Dem regular trade mark
*(CHORUS) DEM REGULAR TRADE MARK
Dem leave Sorrow, Tears, and Blood
*(CHORUS) DEM REGULAR TRADE MARK
Dem regular trade mark
*(CHORUS) DEM REGULAR TRADE MARK
That is why-y-y
Everybody run run run
Everybody scatter scatter
Some people lost some bread
Some one nearly die
Some one just die
Police dey come, Army dey come
Confusion everywhere
Time dey go
Time no wait for nobody
Police dey come
Like this
**[make siren noise with voice]
Everybody run run run
Everybody scatter scatter
Some people lost some bread
Some one nearly die
Some one just die
Police dey come, Army dey come
Confusion everywhere
Seven minutes later
All done cool down, brother
Police don go away
Army don disappear
Dem leave Sorrow, Tears, and Blood (2x)
Dem regular trade mark
*(CHORUS) DEM REGULAR TRADE MARK
Dem regular trade mark
*(CHORUS) DEM REGULAR TRADE MARK
***********************************************************************
TEACHER DON'T TEACH ME NONSENSE
A kujuba, A kujuba,
*[CHORUS]- EH____
(repeat 7x)
Yehhhh- eh!
Ke-re-KE, Ke-re-KE, Ke-re-KE, Ke-re-KE, Ke-re-KE, Ke-re-JI-KE-KE
*[CHORUS]- YAH
Ke-re-ke- JI- Ke-ke
CHORUS)- YAH
---------ke- JI- Ke-ke
*[CHORUS]- YAH
Ke-re-ke-KE- JI- Ke-ke
(repeat 3x)
Ke-RE-ke
All the wahala**, all the problems, **(affliction/trouble)
All the things, all the things they go do,
For this world go start,
When the teacher, schoolboy & schoolgirl jam** together **(collide)
Who be teacher?
I go let you know...
(repeat 3x)
When we be pikin,
*[CHORUS] FATHER, MAMA BE TEACHER
When we dey first school
*[CHORUS] TEACHER BE TEACHER
When we dey University
*[CHORUS] LECTURER BE TEACHER
When we start to work
*[CHORUS] GOVERNMENT BE TEACHER
Who be government teacher?
*[CHORUS] KULTURE TRADITION
Who be government teacher?
*[CHORUS] KULTURE AND TRADITION
Kolu-showan tradition
*[CHORUS] KULTURE AND TRADITION
Kolu-showan tradition
*[CHORUS] KULTURE AND TRADITION
Now the problem side, of a teaching student-ee
I go sing about
I don pass pikin, I don pass school, university, se-fa pass
As I don start to work, na government I must se-fa pass
Da go for France
*[CHORUS] YES SIR (*after each line) [occassionally "YES MAAM"]
Engi-land
Italy
Germany
Na dem culture
For there
Be teacher
For dem
Go China
Russia
Korea
Viet Nam
Na dem culture
For there
Be teacher
For dem
Go Syria
Jordan
Iran
Iraq
Na dem culture
For there
Be teacher
For dem
Let us face ourselves for Afrika
Na de matter of Afrika
This part-ee of my song
Na all the problems of this world
In we dey carry, for Afrika
Wey no go ask-ee me
*[CHORUS] WHICH ONE?
(repeat 4x)
Problems of inflation
*[CHORUS] WHICH ONE? (after each line)
Problems of corruption
Of mismanagement
Stealing by government
Nothing dey we carry
All over Afrika
Na de latest one
Na him dey make me laugh
Posteri-
*[CHORUS] AUSTERITY *(after each line)
Austeri-
Na him dey latest one
Na him dey make me laugh
Why I dey laugh?
Man no fit cry?
Ubi ya watisha na Oyinbo
Ubi ya watisha na Oyinbo
A na false, the first election
And the second election held in Nigeria
Na the second election na it was na pass
Boba la nonsense
*[CHORUS] BOBA** LA NONSENSE (*repeat after each line) **(misinform,)
Boba la nonsense
He pass "redeem" em
He pass corruption
Which kind election be dis?
People na go vote
Dem come get big big numbers
Fellows to thousands
Millions to billions
Which kind election be dis?
Boba la nonsense
Na dem-o-cr-azy be the deal(?)
Na dem-o-cr-azy be the deal
Who don teach us ee dem-o-cr-azy?
(bo-ptch) Oyinbo** teach-ee us **(foreigner/white)
(yuh-ngh) Oyinbo for Europe -oh
Oyinbo teach us many many things-ee
Many of dem things I don sing about-ee
Me I no gin copy Oyinbo style
Let us think say, Oyinbo no pass me
When Shagari finish him elections
Wey dem no tell am, say him make mistake
Say this yo, no be democracy
Oyinbo dem no tell army self
Na for England-ee, I me no fit take over
I come think about this demo-crazy
Democrazy
*[CHORUS] DEMO-CRAZY (*after each line)
Crazy demo
Demonstration of craze
Crazy demonstration
If it no be craze
Why for Afrika?
As time dey go
Things just dey bad
They bad more and more
Poor man dey cry
Rich man dey mess
Demo-crazy
Democrazy
Crazy demo
Demonstration of craze
Crazy demonstration
If good-u teacher teach-ee something
And he student make mistake
Teacher must talk-ee so
But Oyinbo no talk-ee so
I suffer dem, Dey suffer dem
Dem dey say da teaching get meaning
Different different meaning
Different different kinds of meaning
That is why I say
That is the reason of my song
That is the conclude
The conclud-ee of my song
I say, I sing, I beg everyone to join my song (3x)
*[CHORUS] TEACHER, TEACHER-O NA THE LECTURER BE YOUR NAME
TEACHER, TEACHER-O, NA THE LECTURE BE THE SAME
MAKE-EE NO TEACH-EE ME AGAIN OH
AS SOON TEACHING FINISH YES, DA THING-EE IT GON DIE IT DEY OH
AS SOON TEACHING FINISH YES, DA THING-EE IT GON DIE
ME & YOU NO DEY FOR THE SAME-EE CATEGORY (4X)
*[CHORUS] NOT THE SAME CATEGORY OH
Category *(repeat/Lead fills vocally)
Not the same category oh
(KEY SOLO, etc)
Ke-re-KE, Ke-re-KE, Ke-re-KE, Ke-re-KE, Ke-re-KE, Ke-re-JI-KE-KE
*[CHORUS]- YAH
Ke-re-ke- JI- Ke-ke
CHORUS)- YAH
---------ke- JI- Ke-ke
*[CHORUS]- YAH
Ke-re-ke-KE- JI- Ke-ke
(repeat 3x)
*[CHORUS] TEACHER, TEACHER-O NA THE LECTURER BE YOUR NAME
TEACHER, TEACHER-O, NA THE LECTURE BE THE SAME
MAKE-EE NO TEACH-EE ME AGAIN OH
AS SOON TEACHING FINISH YES, DA THING-EE IT GON DIE IT DEY OH
AS SOON TEACHING FINISH YES, DA THING-EE IT GON DIE
ME & YOU NO DEY FOR THE SAME-EE CATEGORY (4X)
*[CHORUS] NOT THE SAME CATEGORY OH
Category *(repeat/Lead fills vocally)
Not the same category oh
***********************************************************************
TROUBLE SLEEP, YANGA WAKE AM
(lead vocal scats melody), sax solo, organ intro
*[CHORUS]
RA RA-RA RA, RA-RA-RA-RA-RA
RA RA-RA RA, RA-RA-RA-RA-RA
RA RA-RA RA
When Trouble sleep,
Yanga go wake am,
Waking him dey find
*[CHORUS] PALAVER, HE DEY FIND
Palaver**, he go get-e o **(trouble)
*[CHORUS] PALAVER, HE GO GET
Palaver
When cat sleep,
Rat go bite him tail,
Waking him dey find,
*[CHORUS] PALAVER, HE DEY FIND
Palaver, he go get-e o
*[CHORUS] PALAVER, HE GO GET
Palaver
Tenant lost him job,
Him sit down for house,
Him dey think of job,
Mr. Landord come wake am up,
He say, "Mister, pay me your rent"
Waking him dey find
*[CHORUS] PALAVER, HE DEY FIND
Palaver, he go get-e o
*[CHORUS] PALAVER, HE GO GET
Palaver
My friend just come from prison,
Him dey look for work,
Waka* waka day and night, *(walk)
Police man come stop am for road,
He say, "Mister, I charge you for wandering"
Waking him dey find
*[CHORUS] PALAVER, HE DEY FIND
Palaver, he go get-e o
*[CHORUS] PALAVER, HE GO GET
Palaver
Mr. Husband marry for church,
He make big party,
Then he start to spray**, **(excessive tipping by placing money on forehead of people, usually the celebrants or musicians)
Because him love him wife,
Him say, "wife come run away"
Bank manager run come,
He say, "Mister, pay me your debt"
Waking him dey find, for Lagos e-o
*[CHORUS] PALAVER, HE DEY FIND
Palaver, he go get-e o
*[CHORUS] PALAVER, HE GO GET
Palaver
When Trouble sleep,
Yanga go wake am,
Waking him dey find
*[CHORUS] PALAVER, HE DEY FIND
Palaver, he go get-e o
*[CHORUS] PALAVER, HE GO GET
Palaver, he go get-e o
When cat sleep,
Rat go bite him tail,
Waking him dey find,
*[CHORUS] PALAVER, HE DEY FIND
Palaver, he go get-e o
*[CHORUS] PALAVER, HE GO GET
Palaver, he go get e-o
*[CHORUS]
RA RA-RA RA, RA-RA-RA-RA-RA
RA RA-RA RA, RA-RA-RA-RA-RA
RA RA-RA RA
RA RA-RA RA, RA-RA-RA-RA-RA
RA RA-RA RA, RA-RA-RA-RA-RA
RA RA-RA RA
Explanation:
Don't kick people when they are down,
Nor bother them at inappropriate times:
There is a limit to patience.
When things are calm,
Don't start trouble by bothering people who are struggling to get by.
***********************************************************************
WATER NO GET ENEMY
To ba fe lo weh omi lo- malo <
If you wan go wash- water you go use
Toba fe sobeh omi lo- malo
If you wan cook soup- water you go use
To ri ba ngbona omi lero lero
If your head be hot- water it cool am
Tomo ba ngagda omi lo- malo
If your child dey grow- water you go use
If water kill your child- water you go use
Tobi ba bwi nao homi lo- malo
Ko sohun tole se ko ma lomi- o
Nothing without water (repeat this couplet)
****
*[CHORUS] WATER, IT NO GET ENEMY - [AFTER EACH LINE]
Oh me a water-o
No go fight am, unless you wan die
I say water No get enemy
No go fight am, unless you wan die
O me a water-o
O they talk of Black-man power
O they talk of Black power, I say
I say water No get enemy
No go fight am, unless you wan die
I say water No get enemy
I say water No get enemy
O me a water-o
O me a water-o
_____________________________________
WATER NO GET ENEMY: EXPLANATION
The "water" is the Nigerian common people. The Government/Military must not make enemies of the populous, nor disturb their "flow" (endevours & routines)- as it is dangerous to make an enemy of the country's most essential resource. The people make everything happen.
Nothing exists without water
Water does not gain enemies
because if you fight (renounce)water, you will die
Power cannot exist without the people
***********************************************************************
ZOMBIE
Zombie-o, zombie** **(police/army-unthinking followers)
*[CHORUS] ZOMBIE-O, ZOMBIE (2X)
Zombie no go go, unless you tell am to go
*[CHORUS] ZOMBIE *(after each line)
Zombie no go stop, unless you tell am to stop
Zombie no go turn, unless you tell am to turn
Zombie no go think, unless you tell am to think
Zombie-o, zombie
*[CHORUS] ZOMBIE-O, ZOMBIE (2X) *(repeat last 2 stanzas)
Tell am to go straight-- Joro, Jara, Joro
No break, no job, no sense-- Joro, Jara, Joro
Tell am to go kill-- Joro, Jara, Joro
No break, no job, no sense-- Joro, Jara, Joro
Tell am to go quench-- Joro, Jara, Joro
No break, no job, no sense-- Joro, Jara, Joro
Go and kill
*[CHORUS] JORO, JARA, JORO *(after each line)
Go and die
Go and quench** **(destroy)
Put am for reverse
Go and kill
Go and die
Go and quench *(3x)
Joro, Jara, Joro- O Zombie way na one way (3x)
Joro, Jara, Joro- Ooooh
Attention
*[CHORUS] ZOMBIE *(in time- average every 2-3 words)
Quick march
Slow march
Left turn
Right turn
About turn
Double time
Sa-lute
Open your hat
Stand at ease
Fall in
Fall out
Fall down
Get ready *(2x)
Ha-lt
Or-der *(Repeat 3x from "Attention")
*[CHORUS] ZOMBIE (repeat on "1" of each measure as desired)
Dis-miss
ADDITIONS & CORRECTIONS
Please contact me with any additions or corrections to Fela Kuti Lyrics.
Please check out the CHOPTEETH AFROBEAT BAND from the Washington D.C. area.
Ifa bless Antibalas, pioneers of the Afrobeat Renaissance.
Cheers!
-David (Disciple of Fela Anikulapo Kuti & Tony Oladipo Allen, proponent of Afrobeat, afro-batteur)
Ijebudrums COMMENT
Thank you, David and Tony Oladipo Allen, for this work. It appears here for educational purposes.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)