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| Title: | A test case of folk-etymology among the Ijèsà - Yoruba |
| Author: | Ilesanmi, T.M. |
| Year: | 1991 |
| Periodical: | Afrikanistische Arbeitspapiere: Schriftenreihe des Kölner Instituts für Afrikanistik |
| Issue: | 28 |
| Pages: | 57-74 |
| Language: | English |
| Geographic term: | Nigeria |
| Subjects: | Yoruba etymology history ethnic groups historical sources |
| Abstract: | The Ijèsà ethnic group in Yorubaland consists of the Obòkun, Atàkúm'.osà and Ilé.sà local government councils of Oyo State of Nigeria. This paper examines the origin of the Ijèsà by assessing the history and/or pseudohistory of the origin of the community. The author traces the elements of folk etymology in virtually all the narratives given by various historians and oral artists. It is evident from the accounts of the origin of the Ijèsà compiled by some Ijèsà 'historians' that the Ijèsà community cannot be traced to a single or common origin. These historians have failed to substantiate their statements with quotations from any of the oral poetic genres that abound all over Yorubaland. Thus, the author critically examines the genres concerning the origin of the Ijèsà from age to age and from different ethnic groups, paying particular attention to .Es.e Ifá and Iwì. The heterogeneity of the Ijèsà at a very early period of their establishment at Ilé.sà and in Ijèsà-land as a whole has been elucidated in some of the oral genres. Originally, the Ijèsà could be regarded as a heterogeneous community kept under the banner of .Owá Obòkun by sheer use of military and political prowess. But as more people fled their original abode to seek refuge in Ijèsà-land, common interests prevailed over cultural sentiment and a new outlook on culture which facilitated mixed acculturation superseded the previous heterogeneity. App., bibliogr., notes, ref. |
