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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | Gender Ideology: Portrayal of Women in Yoruba 'ijala' |
Author: | Ogúnsina, Bisi |
Year: | 1996 |
Periodical: | African Languages and Cultures |
Volume: | 9 |
Issue: | 1 |
Pages: | 83-93 |
Language: | English |
Geographic term: | Nigeria |
Subjects: | Yoruba women oral literature (form) Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups) Women's Issues Cultural Roles literature Sex Roles |
External link: | https://www.jstor.org/stable/1771794 |
Abstract: | This article examines the portrayal of women in Yoruba 'ějálá', oral poetry in praise of Ogun, the Yoruba god of hunting, warfare and iron. Unlike other genres of Yoruba oral literary tradition, 'ějálá' chants are mainly records of male experience. 'Ějálá' chanters are mostly hunters, and 'ějálá' chants by women, about women and with a female perspective are rare. The author analyses four 'ějálá' narratives recorded in O. Yemitan's 'Ějálá aré .od.e' (Ibadan, Nigeria, 1979), in which women feature prominently. In all four chants women are portrayed as destructive, diabolical, treacherous, stubborn, and unattractive. The author sees this negative portrayal of women as a reflection of the gender ideology of an overwhelmingly patriarchal society. Bibliogr., note. |