IlekeHD:


Ngga, you're not Yoruba.

Who knows, this might be nduchucks sef. You came out of hiding to post here abi.

One day you're igbo, the next you're Yoruba, then Ijaw.

It's "Afenifere" and "Yoruba ronu"....fake boi.

Are you a JJC here? If not you should have known that aljharem is a self acclaimed awori man from Lagos state.

nduchucks is too solid to be playing your childish games of multiple IDs. I even thought you are the vicious Desola. smh

ilekeHD! you are doing a great job. (I wish I can pay you) SirShym3x I duff my hat sir

Aareonakakanfo:




Beautiful! Another reason might be because Ekiti is very small.A friend of mine who lives in Akure once told me Ekiti is the most beautiful state in Nigeria and has the best road networks but I have only been there once and I was ignorant then so I never cared

Personally, I think the state with the best road network in SW is Osun. the kinda road network in osun is just like what is seen in European countries, but the infrastructures & social amenities is what isn't there. even the Federal road is not really bad.

aresa:

Opic estate Agbara to me is underated. I love the serene atmosphere of the estate. It's been long I visited there, I don't know if it's still the same opic estate I used to know.
God bless chydo (omo ibo) and his family, wonderful people. my best friend @Adeniran Ogunsanya college of education Ijanikin.

University Location
1 Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife
2 University of Lagos Lagos
3 Covenant University Ota
4 University of Ibadan Ibadan
5 Federal University of Technology, Minna Minna
6 University of Ilorin Ilorin
7 University of Nigeria Nsukka ...
8 University of Benin Ugbowo ...
9 University of Agriculture, Abeokuta Abeokuta ...
10 Ahmadu Bello University Zaria
11 University of Port Harcourt Port Harcourt
12 Landmark University Omu-Aran
13 Federal University of Technology, Akure Akurez
14 Redeemer's University Mowe
15 University of Jos Jos
16 Federal University of Technology, Owerri Owerri
17 Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka ...
18 Bayero University Kano Kano
19 Rivers State University of Science
20 University of Maiduguri Maiduguri
21 Afe Babalola University Ado-Ekiti
22 Federal University, Oye-Ekiti Oye ...
23 Pan African University Lagos
24 Lagos State University Ojo
25 Veritas University Abuja
26 University of Abuja Abuja
27 Ladoke Akintola University of Technology
28 Babcock University Ilishan-Remo ...
29 Baze University Abuja
30 Nasarawa State University Keffi
31 University of Calabar Calabar
32 Paul University Awka
33 Federal University, Ndufu-Alike Ndufu-Alike
34 Osun State University Oshogbo ...
35 Kwara State University Ilorin
36 Lead City University Ibadan
37 American University of Nigeria Yola
38 Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Bauchi
39 University of Uyo Uyo
40 Enugu State University of Science an
41 University of Agriculture, Makurdi Makurdi
42 Madonna University Okija ...
43 Adekunle Ajasin University Akungba Akoko ...
44 Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti Ado-Ekiti
45 Bingham University Auta Balifi
46 Bells University of Technology Ota
47 Crawford University Faith City ...
48 Caleb University Imota
49 Joseph Ayo Babalola University Ikeji-Arakeji
50 Federal University, Dutse Dutse
51 Delta State University, Abraka Abraka
52 Ajayi Crowther University Oyo Town
53 Federal University, Otuoke Otuoke
54 Igbinedion University Okada Okada ...
55 Benue State University Makurdi
56 Ambrose Alli University Ekpoma
57 Niger Delta University Wilberforce Island Yenagoa
58 African University of Science and Technology
59 Obong University Obong Ntak
60 Caritas University Enugu
61 Fountain University Oshogbo
62 Achievers University, Owo Owo
63 Anambra State University Uli
64 Adeleke University Ede
65 Umaru Musa Yar'Adua University Katsina
66 Federal University of Petroleum Resources
67 Modibbo Adama University of Technology Yola
68 Tai Solarin University of Education Ijebu-Ode ...
69 Wellspring University Benin City
70 Kaduna State University Kaduna
71 Federal University, Lokoja Lokoja
72 Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University Lapai
73 Nigerian Turkish Nile University Abuja
74 Al-Hikmah University Ilorin ...
75 Ondo State University of Science & Technology
76 Federal University, Dutsin-Ma Dutsin-Ma
77 Benson Idahosa University Benin City
78 Renaissance University Enugu
79 Oduduwa University Ile Ife
80 University of Mkar Mkar
81 Novena University Ogume
82 Imo State University Owerri
83 Usmanu Danfodio University Sokoto
84 Olabisi Onabanjo University Ago Iwoye ...
85 Kebbi State University of Science and Technology
86 Bowen University Iwo
87 Abia State University Uturu
88 Crescent University Abeokuta
89 Elizade University Ilara-Mokin
90 Cross River University of Science & Technology Calabar ...
91 Bauchi State University Gadau ...
92 Adamawa State University Mubi
93 Federal University, Lafia Lafia
94 Gombe State University Gombe
95 Federal University, Kashere Kashere
96 Kwararafa University Wukari Wukari
97 Salem University Lokoja
98 Samuel Adegboyega University Ogwa
99 Sokoto State University Sokoto
100 Yobe State University Damaturu
101 Taraba State University Jalingo
102 Western Delta University Oghara





in terms.of education/academic, "we don't have rival"

jaymichael:
Opic estate Agbara to me is underated. I love the serene atmosphere of the estate. It's been long I visited there, I don't know if it's still the same opic estate I used to know.
God bless chydo (omo ibo) and his family, wonderful people. my best friend @Adeniran Ogunsanya college of education Ijanikin.

The way estates are springing up in Ogun state isn't normal o. lol
BTW

what's the full meaning of opic

WIZGUY69:



The way estates are springing up in Ogun state isn't normal o. lol
BTW

what's the full meaning of opic

Agbara and Opic estate(s) has been around for a very long time now. It did not start 10 years ago. OPIC is Ogun state Property Investment Company Or Corporation, (I can't remember which is it).

Aareonakakanfo:
Another thing a lot of people tend to ignore is the population.Even if everyone gets autonomy, leeches will still run to Yorubaland and the yorubas who are suppose to be the main beneficiaries will still have to compete with them.We can't control immigration as long as we're still in the same country

Those leeches are mostly traders and as long as the Yoruba men(except Kwarans and Ijebus)see trading as a lowlife thing,things could fall apart more than envisaged.Every Yoruba is a potential success.Nigeria of today wants Yorubas to add trading to the vocations they have acquired.Pick 100 traders and 100 craftsmen and you would understand the Yoruba adage:ISE OWO,OMO ASEJE;OWO OMO ASELA...
Meaning:VOCATION OR CRAFTS IS DONE FOR DAILY MEALS WHILE TRADE IS DONE FOR REAL WEALTH...

IlekeHD:


Night. Searching4Love will soon come and tuck you in

That nyggah is a flaming phaggit. Can you believe the butt pirate is trying to send me a PM, like WTF?

Fvck the booty bandit.

Missy89:


I cant dance too . The festival looks awesome thou

Lol. Pants of fire.

But why are chics from Ibadan so fake though? All the Ibadan chics I mess around with on here are so fake and it's like in Ibadan they teach everyone how to fake the funk. I just laugh every time cos they don't know I detect "fakeness" from afar. All of you are the same.

Ekiti folks seem to be the realist on these sides...big ups to them.

Awori chics on here are two-faced and full of shyte with traits synonymous with unrefined market women. But Awori men are men of honour and folks of high character.

And my Osun nyggahs are super gangster...my type of nyggahs. They stay thuggin'.


Just an observation.

Back to the programme.

Let's hit Fidel Castro's country - the big Cuba.

The new home of one of the bravest black women ever - Assata Shakur - revolutionary mindset.

SirShymexx:


That nyggah is a flaming phaggit. Can you believe the butt pirate is trying to send me a PM, like WTF?

Fvck the booty bandit.

Hey foool, i only sent u a pm to let u know i can help u get a better job with a good pay. all i need is your phone number and picture so i can access u well. dont miss this chance. swallow ur pride

SirShymexx:


Lol. Pants of fire.

But why are chics from Ibadan so fake though? All the Ibadan chics I mess around with on here are so fake and it's like in Ibadan they teach everyone how to fake the funk. I just laugh every time cos they don't know I detect "fakeness" from afar. All of you are the same.

Ekiti folks seem to be the realist on these sides...big ups to them.

Awori chics on here are two-faced and full of shyte with traits synonymous with unrefined market women. But Awori men are men of honour and folks of high character.

And my Osun nyggahs are super gangster...my type of nyggahs. They stay thuggin'.


Just an observation.

Lol, honestly I cant dance

I haven't meet a lot of IB chicks but being fake is not one of their traits. I might be wrong thou. Gimme an example

[size=14pt]Yoruba Culture in the Cuba[/size]

The presence in Cuba of African slaves, who were brought by force by the Spanish conquistadors, a phenomenon that was justified at the time by the need for cheap labor force, also marked the beginning of religious traditions brought to the Caribbean Island by members of the Yoruba tribe.

Uprooted from their motherland, the Yoruba slaves made major contributions to the formation of Cuban society. Their contributions can be found today in the religious syncretism present in Cuban and Caribbean cultures.

The Yoruba religion is based on believing in a supreme being through natural elements, and believers must follow a series of commandments.

Known in the Yoruba culture as the 16 laws of Ifá, their origin is attributed to the pronouncements of Orunmila, the orisha of wisdom and divinations.

The laws of Ifá state that one cannot say what he/she does not know, must avoid unknown rites, refrain from leading others on a false paths, be humble, keep the sacred instruments clean, and respect the weaker and moral laws.

The other commandments state not to betray a friend, to respect hierarchies and the elderly, not to reveal secrets, and not to pretend to be wise when you are not.

That way, the orishas – the gods of the Yoruba religion – have been worshipped in Cuba for nearly five centuries. They are represented with human characteristics and their difference lies in the colors they wear, music, animals that represent them, and preferences for certain food and drinks.

The so-called Ocha Rule, popularly known as Santeria, derived from the Yoruba culture. Santeria followers worship a group of orishas (deities) characterized by different myths and attributes.

The Santeria rites are controlled by priests known as babalawos, who are consulted periodically for advice on specific situations, the cure for diseases or protection.

One of the events that attract most attention is the so-called Letter of the Year, which is revealed by the most eminent babalawos after a religious ceremony.

The babalawos invoke the Oracle of Ifá to know the recommendations that must be followed to prevent and overcome the obstacles and difficulties predicted for the year.

In Cuba, the African slaves identified their deities with Catholic saints, and that, according to experts, marked the origin of Santeria.

For Santeria followers, each person's life is supervised by a specific saint, who plays an active role in that process, which combines Catholic and African beliefs.

Under those precepts, the orishas present human beings with a vision of the past, the present and the future, in addition to helping them to solve everyday problems.

Generations of descendants from the first African slaves who arrived in Cuba have kept alive the Yoruba religion, which is also acknowledged by foreign visitors as a characteristic element in the Caribbean Island.

==================================================

The yorubá or lucumí religion which is also known as Santeria or Regla de Osha is the most expanded religion of African origin in Cuba.

Due to the abrupt change of environment from Africa to Cuba in the middle of horrific and humiliating conditions imposed by the slavery system the rich Yoruba civilization lost many of its values. However, thanks to the wonderful regular strategies to safeguard the most prized values they finally got to preserve their language, habits, music, oral literature, life’s morals and religion. This battle regarded as cultural cimarronaje (fugitive slave culture), religion brought about a tough cultural strength.

Several experts have considered the Santeria or Regla de Osha as a syncretic religion. Its old defenders were obliged to hide their religious beliefs during the slavery and the pseudo republic times. Those Yoruba men and women and their descendants disguised their deities under the aspect of catholic saints with similar characteristics to those of the orishas or Yoruba gods and they really were worshiping their African gods.

This religion as well as others from Africa was bothered by the authorities. Their ceremonies and celebrations were held in the mountains and some time the police seized the drums and other liturgical objects.

Many people thought that with the Cuban socialist government and the establishment of atheistic education based on the Marxist - Leninist philosophy that religion would collapse. Nevertheless, and due to the force and perseverance of the defense of those followers of this religion, its practice in Cuba is a real and regular fact and it is evident in the streets of the island where it was very common to see the initiates with their chains and white clothes.

Today, the Santeria or Regla de Osha has become a social and religious cultural complex whose African roots are unquestionable but at the same time they have been cross-cultured and they is already Cuban.

Missy89:


Lol, honestly I cant dance

I haven't meet a lot of IB chicks but being fake is not one of their traits. I might be wrong thou. Gimme an example

Lol. How can you say you haven't met a lot of Ibadan chics when you were born and raised there? - another fakeness coming to the fore. It seems it's innate.

Any woman that can't dance - which simply involves moving ya legs and shaking ya bum - is a liar.

Let's take a commercial break and celebrate one of the top 20 greatest NBA players ever and the most skilled center to ever play basketball. The owner of the signature "Dream Shake" and a Yoruba son. Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwon.

[size=14pt]Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwon[/size]



During his 18-year career, Nigeria-born Hakeem Olajuwon staked his claim as one of the greatest players in NBA history. Long considered a physical marvel since his days at the University of Houston, his aesthetic and productive play -- highlighted by his Houston Rockets’ back-to-back NBA titles -- earned him a place among the game’s best.

In 1993-94 he had a storybook season, becoming the first player to be named NBA MVP, NBA Defensive Player of the Year and NBA Finals MVP in the same season. The following season he rallied the Rockets from a sixth seed in the playoffs to their second straight NBA crown, making Houston the fifth NBA franchise ever to win back-to-back titles.

Olajuwon was the third of six children and acquired the basic values that pushed him to succeed from his parents, who were middle-class and owned a cement business in Lagos, Nigeria.

"They taught us to be honest, work hard, respect our elders, believe in ourselves," the NBA great has said.

Olajuwon, which translates into “always being on top,” began playing basketball at the late age of 15. Olajuwon's high school, the Muslim Teachers College, was an entry in the basketball tournament at the All-Nigeria Teachers Sports Festival in Sokoto -- but Olajuwon was on the handball team. A fellow student approached the coach and asked if Olajuwon could play for the team. Permission was granted and a basketball superstar was born.

Two years later he enrolled at the University of Houston under the name of Akeem Abdul Olajuwon. He dropped references to "Abdul" prior to entering the NBA and officially adopted "Hakeem" on March 9, 1991. To paraphrase Shakespeare; a great basketball player by any other name is still a great basketball player.

Although his athletic career began as a soccer goalkeeper and handball player, which ultimately helped give him the footwork and agility to balance his overpowering strength and size in basketball, he quickly became a dominating player at Houston. He played three seasons at Houston and help push the Cougars into the Final Four each year.

In 1982, Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler were on a Houston squad that made it to the NCAA semifinals but lost 68-63 to the North Carolina Tar Heels, led by James Worthy and Michael Jordan. The next year in the semifinals, the Cougars -- by this time known as "Phi Slamma Jamma" for their above-the-rim play -- soared above an equally athletic Louisville squad 94-81 in perhaps the most exciting end-to-end, high-flying act the NCAA Final Four has ever seen. However, the Cougars were upset 54-52 in a thrilling championship game on a shot at the buzzer by North Carolina State, an overwhelming underdog.

In 1983-84, Olajuwon averaged 16.8 points and led the NCAA in rebounding (13.5 rpg), blocked shots (5.6 per game) and field-goal percentage (.675). He was a First Team All-America selection that season, but Patrick Ewing and the Georgetown Hoyas defeated Olajuwon's Cougars 84-75 in the championship game.

After the Rockets won a coin flip with the Portland Trail Blazers for the first pick in the 1984 NBA Draft -- one year before the institution of the Draft Lottery -- Houston selected Olajuwon. Although the talented Jordan was also available (he would be picked third by the Chicago Bulls), almost all in the basketball world thought Olujawon was the correct selection at No. 1.

One year earlier, the Rockets won a coin flip with the Indiana Pacers, allowing the franchise to select the University of Virginia's Ralph Sampson. Thus, the fickle flips of a coin created the “Twin Towers” of 7-0 Olajuwon and 7-4 Sampson -- two agile giants.

In his rookie year, Olajuwon averaged 20.6 points and 11.9 rebounds while shooting .538 from the field and finished second to Jordan in Rookie of the Year balloting. The Rockets went from a 29-53 record before Olajuwon’s arrival to a 48-34 mark, but they were eliminated in five games by the Utah Jazz in the first round of the 1985 NBA Playoffs.

Olajuwon ranked fourth in the league in rebounding and second in blocked shots with 2.68 per game. He played in the 1985 NBA All-Star Game and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team and the NBA All-Defensive Second Team. He and Sampson became the first teammates since Wilt Chamberlain and Elgin Baylor in 1970 to both average better than 20 points and 10 rebounds.

The next year, Olajuwon and Sampson powered the Rockets into the 1986 NBA Finals. On the way there, they defeated the reigning champion Los Angeles Lakers in a five-game Western Conference Finals. In the series' final three games, Olajuwon scored 40, 35 and 30 points to lead the Rockets. The Boston Celtics, champs in 1981 and 1984, had a formidable front line of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish and defeated the Rockets in six games.

In 1986-87, Sampson began to suffer from injuries and the following season he was traded to the Golden State Warriors. Olajuwon's production simply increased as he developed into one of the game’s top big men. Olajuwon led the Rockets in 13 statistical categories, including scoring, rebounding, steals and blocked shots. He began a string of selections to the All-NBA First Team (1987 to 1989) and NBA All-Defensive First Team (1987, 1988 and 1990), and was the starting center for the Western Conference All-Stars four years in a row (1987-90).

Olajuwon regularly placed among the league leaders in scoring, rebounding, blocked shots and steals. He won rebounding titles in 1989 and 1990, averaging 13.5 and 14.0 boards, respectively. And in 1989 he became the first player to finish among the league’s top 10 in scoring, rebounding, steals and blocked shots for two straight seasons. That same year against the Milwaukee Bucks, Olajuwon had 18 points, 16 rebounds, 11 blocks and 10 assists, recording the rare quadruple-double. He also led the NBA in blocked shots in 1989-90 with 4.59 per game and in 1990-91 at 3.95 per contest.

During this run, Olajuwon came back from two serious injuries. He took an elbow in the eye from the Chicago Bulls’ Bill Cartwright in the middle of the 1990-91 season, suffering a blowout fracture of the bones that surround the eyeball and forcing him to miss the Rockets’ next 25 games. In 1991-92, he missed seven contests early in the season after an episode of atrial fibrillation (an irregular heartbeat).

Despite Olajuwon’s play, the Rockets had settled into mediocrity since the team’s trip to the NBA Finals in 1986 -- Houston didn’t win a playoff series from 1988 through 1992. But beginning in 1992-93, midway through his career, Olajuwon got even better, taking himself and the Rockets to new levels of success.


The man called "Hakeem the Dream" had now developed a set of patented moves with either his back to the basket or facing opponents, and he abused defenders with numerous fakes, all of which became known as the "Dream Shake."



Because of stagnated contract negotiations, many thought he had played his last game for Houston at the end of the 1991-92 campaign. But on a flight to Japan, where the Rockets played the first two games of the 1992-93 season against the Seattle SuperSonics, Olajuwon and Houston owner Charlie Thomas smoothed out their differences. In the next three seasons he would average 26.1 points, 27.3 points and 27.8 points, respectively.

Whether the contract squabbles had affected Olajuwon’s 1991-92 performance may never be known, but that year he failed to make an All-NBA Team or an NBA All-Defensive Team for the first time in his career. And he certainly experienced a resurgence in 1992-93. Coach Rudy Tomjanovich began his first full season with the Rockets, preaching defense and imploring the team to feed off of Olajuwon’s energy.

The eight-year veteran, who later in the season became a naturalized United States citizen on April 2, 1993, was simply spectacular throughout the year. He averaged 26.1 points, 13.0 rebounds and 4.17 blocks, which established him as the league-leader in blocked shots for the third time in four seasons. More importantly, he led a Rockets team that had finished 42-40 the previous year to a 55-27 mark and the Midwest Division championship.

At season’s end, Olajuwon finished second to Charles Barkley in the voting for the NBA Most Valuable Player award. He was also named NBA Defensive Player of the Year for the first time, while reclaiming spots on the All-NBA First Team and the NBA All-Defensive First Team.

Akin to an athlete who shared his faith of Islam, Muhammad Ali, who devised the strategy of the rope-a-dope later in is career, Olajuwon introduced a new line of spins, fadeaway shots and jumpers, and he became virtually unstoppable on offense. The man called "Hakeem the Dream" had now developed a set of patented moves involving great footwork with ball and head fakes with either his back to the basket or facing opponents abusing defenders. All of which became known as the "Dream Shake."

During the 1995 postseason run culminating in Houston's second NBA championship, the Rockets defeated the San Antonio Spurs and the Orlando Magic, two teams with great centers who were left bewildered by Olajuwon's moves.

In a Life magazine story, San Antonio's David Robinson seemed perplexed. "Solve Hakeem?" said Robinson. "You don't solve Hakeem."

Orlando's Shaquille O'Neal felt the same way after going down in a Finals sweep . "He's got about five moves, then four countermoves," said a stunned O'Neal. " That gives him 20 moves."

This new Olajuwon had evolved after the dispute with management prompted him to reflect and then rededicate himself. His maturation as a player and in his faith carried onto the floor as a team leader, offensive powerhouse and defensive stalwart.

The transformation was apparent when the Rockets advanced to the 1993 Western Conference Semifinals. However, the team lost a tough Game 7, 103-100 in overtime, against a Seattle SupeSonics team led by Gary Payton and a young, explosive Shawn Kemp.

But in 1993-94, Olajuwon attained the pinnacle of achievement when he won both the league and NBA Finals MVP awards while leading Houston to its first-ever NBA crown. Following a brilliant regular season, the Houston center also earned his second straight NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award.

The Rockets won the title after a grueling seven-game defeat of the Patrick Ewing-led New York Knicks. The center's defensive prowess put an end to the Knicks' attempt to win the series in Game 6, when he blocked John Starks' potential game-tying three-point shot at the end of the game. The 10-year veteran was simply brilliant in the Finals, contributing 29.1 points, 9.1 rebounds and 3.86 blocks per game.

In 1994-95, Olajuwon had a career-best 27.8 ppg along with 10.8 rpg. Despite Olajuwon’s impressive performance, the league’s Most Valuable Player Award went to Robinson after he led the Spurs to the NBA’s best record. Olajuwon also became the Rockets’ all-time leading scorer when he passed Calvin Murphy early in the season. In February, Olajuwon was reunited with college teammate Drexler, who came over from the Portland Trail Blazers in a trade for forward Otis Thorpe.

While trying to adjust to Drexler’s presence, the Rockets closed out the season in bumpy fashion and entered the playoffs seeded sixth in the Western Conference. But Drexler was terrific in the playoffs and Olajuwon averaged 33.0 points on .531 shooting from the field, 10.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.2 steals and 2.81 blocks per game in the postseason as Houston captured its second consecutive title. Matched against the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals, Olajuwon averaged 35.3 points to Robinson’s 25.5.

In the NBA Finals, Houston met the Magic and the league’s great young center, O’Neal. The two big men had similar numbers as Olajuwon averaged 32.8 points, 11.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists to O’Neal’s 28.0 points, 12.5 rebounds and 6.3 assists. But the Rockets swept the series, making Houston the fifth NBA franchise to win back-to-back titles. For his spectacular play, Olajuwon was awarded his second consecutive NBA Finals MVP award.

Olajuwon believes that his religious faith supported his drive to a great career. During an NBA season he observes Islam's Ramadan, which includes periods of fasting. He would awaken before dawn to eat precisely seven dates -- the traditional Muslim fast-breaking food -- and to drink a gallon of water. He would follow with a prayer for strength and have no food or liquid until sunset.

When he played an afternoon game, he would pant for water -- but did not drink a drop. Still, he would say, “I find myself full of energy, explosive. And when I break the fast at sunset, the taste of water is so precious.”

This transcendent dedication and performance earned him mention among the greatest winners in recent history, including Jordan, Bird, Magic Johnson and Isiah Thomas.

After winning the championships, Olajuwon maintained his productive play over the next two seasons. However, the team was swept by the Sonics in the 1996 conference semifinals. And even with the addition of Barkley before the 1996-97 season, which reinvigorated the Rockets, the team lost in six games to the Jazz in the Western Conference Finals.

Beginning in the 1997-98 season, Olajuwon began to miss time due to injuries and played just 47 games that year. He returned to play close to a full schedule during the lockout season of 1998-99. However, his production was slipping and he played just two more years in Houston, averaging less than 12.0 ppg and 7.5 rpg. He retired after playing one season for the Toronto Raptors in 2001-02, interrupting 20 years, including his college career, of playing in the city of Houston.

His impact in the city, however, did not go unrecognized. The Rockets' all-time leader at the time of his retirement in a host of categories, including points, rebounds, steals, and blocked shots (All-time NBA leader with 3, 830) had his jersey No. 34 retired on Nov. 9, 2002. At the ceremony, it was announced that a life-sized statue of Olajuwon would be on display at the Rockets' new downtown arena, scheduled to open for the 2003-04 season.

Another one before I proceed...though he has no connection to the country, Nigeria, but he's Yoruba.

He said his father told him from a young age that his people are from the Yoruba people in present day Nigeria.

He's definitely top-3 greatest players to ever play in the NBA with a signature skyhook no one can defend against. And also one of the greatest college players ever. The great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

[size=14pt]Kareem Abdul-Jabbar[/size]



Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was born in New York City in 1947. A dominant high school basketball player, Abdul-Jabbar was recruited to play at UCLA and led the Bruins to three national titles. His dominance continued in the NBA, first for the Milwaukee Bucks, and later the Los Angeles Lakers. Abdul-Jabbar won six titles and six MVP awards, and finished as the league's all-time scorer. He retired in 1989.

Early Years

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was born Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Jr. on April 16, 1947, in New York, New York. The 7'2" retired center is widely considered one of the greatest players in NBA history, and his talent was celebrated as early as high school.

The only son of Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor Sr., a New York City policeman, and his wife, Cora, Alcindor was always the tallest kid in his class. At the age of 9 he stood an impressive 5'8", and by the time he hit eighth grade, he'd grown another full foot and could already dunk a basketball.

He started playing the sport at an early age. At Power Memorial Academy, Alcindor put together a high school career few could rival. He set New York City school records in scoring and rebounds, while simultaneously leading his team to an astonishing 71 consecutive wins and three straight city titles. In 2000 the National Sports Writers dubbed Alcindor's team "The #1 High School Team of the Century."

After graduating in 1965, Alcindor enrolled at the University of California-Los Angeles. There, he continued his unprecedented dominance, becoming the college game's best player. Under legendary coach John Wooden, Alcindor led the Bruins to three national championships from 1967 to 1969 and was named the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Tournament's Most Outstanding Player for those years.

In the spring of 1969 the Milwaukee Bucks, in only their second year of existence, selected Alcindor with the first overall pick in the NBA draft.

Alcindor quickly adjusted to the pro game. He finished second in the league in scoring and third in rebounding, and was named Rookie of the Year. He also helped dramatically change the fortunes of his franchise. Coming off a dismal 27-win season the year before, the retooled Bucks, with Alcindor manning the basket, improved to 56-26.

The following season the Bucks, having added future Hall of Fame guard Oscar Robertson to their roster, made another huge leap. The team finished the regular season 66-16 and then steamrolled through the playoffs, sweeping the Baltimore Bullets in the 1971 NBA finals. That same year Alcindor won his first Most Valuable Player award, the first of six MVP honors he received during his long career.

Shortly after the season ended, Alcindor converted to Islam and adopted the name Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, which translates into "noble, powerful servant."

In 1974, Abdul-Jabbar again led the Bucks to the NBA finals, where the team lost to the Boston Celtics.

The Laker Years

Even with all his on-the-court success as a Buck, Abdul-Jabbar struggled to find happiness off the court in his life in Milwaukee.

"Live in Milwaukee?" he said in an early magazine interview. "No, I guess you could say I exist in Milwaukee. I am a soldier hired for service and I will perform that service well. Basketball has given me a good life, but this town has nothing to do with my roots. There's no common ground."

Following the end of the 1975 season, Abdul-Jabbar demanded a trade, requesting Bucks management send him to either New York or Los Angeles. He was eventually shipped west for a package of players, none of whom came close to delivering for Milwaukee what Abdul-Jabbar would give the Lakers.

Over the next 15 seasons Abdul-Jabbar turned Los Angeles into a perennial winner. Beginning with the 1979-80 season, when he was paired with rookie point guard Earvin "Magic" Johnson, the dominant center propelled the Lakers to five league titles.

His signature jump shot, the skyhook, came to be an unstoppable offensive weapon for Abdul-Jabbar, and the Lakers enjoyed championship dominance over Julius "Dr. J" Erving's Philadelphia 76ers, Larry Bird's Boston Celtics and Isiah Thomas' Detroit Pistons.

His success on the court led to some acting opportunities. Abdul-Jabbar appeared in several films, including the 1979 martial-arts film Game of Death and the 1980 comedy Airplane!

Even as he aged, the health-conscious Abdul-Jabbar remained in remarkable shape. Well into his 30s, he still managed to average more than 20 points a game. By his late 30s, he was still playing around 35 minutes a game. In the 1985 Finals against the Boston Celtics, which the Lakers won in six games, the 38-year-old Abdul-Jabbar was named the series MVP.

When Abdul-Jabbar retired in 1989, he was the NBA's all-time leading scorer, with 38,387 points, and became the first NBA player to play for 20 seasons. His career totals included 17,440 rebounds, 3, 189 blocks and 1,560 games. He also broke records for having scored the most points, blocked the most shots and won the most MVP titles in 1989.

Years after his retirement, Abdul-Jabbar seemed especially proud about his longevity. "The '80s made up for all the abuse I took during the '70s," he told the Orange County Register. "I outlived all my critics. By the time I retired, everybody saw me as a venerable institution. Things do change."

Post-Playing Life

Since his retirement, Abdul-Jabbar hasn't strayed too far from the game he loves, working for the New York Knicks and the Los Angeles Lakers. He even spent a year as a coach on the White Mountain Apache reservation in Arizona—an experience that he recorded in the 2000 book A Season on the Reservation. He has written several other books, including 2007's On the Shoulders of Giants, about the Harlem Renaissance. Abdul-Jabbar has also worked as a public speaker and a spokesperson for several products.

In 1995 Abdul-Jabbar was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

In November 2009 Abdul-Jabbar was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia, but his long-term prognosis looked favorable. In February 2011, doctors declared the retired NBA star cancer free.

A father of five, Abdul-Jabbar has four children from his first marriage to Habiba Abdul-Jabbar and a son from another relationship.

SirShymexx:


Lol. How can you say you haven't met a lot of Ibadan chics when you were born and raised there? - another fakeness coming to the fore. It seems it's innate.

Any woman that can't dance - which simply involves moving ya legs and shaking ya bum - is a liar.

Boarding school!. I have like 2 friends in IB that's it.

There is more to dancing than moving your leg and shaking whatever. I have other talents

[size=14pt]Ilaro Court, Official Residence of the Prime Minister of Barbados[/size]




This building is located on an area once occupied by a house known as “Glenelg”, the property of the late Mr. Charles W. Flemming, a Solicitor during the turn of the Century and was later purchased and rebuilt during the second half of the second decade.It was designed by Lady Gilbert Carter, wife of a former Governor of the Island at the time.

Lady Gilbert Carter was the American wife of Sir Gilbert Carter, a former Governor of Barbados. He had served as Governor of Ilaro in Nigeria prior to his arrival. Lady Carter was from a prominent Boston family, possibly the Peabodys. As a young lady she did the usual activities of someone of her social position. She took drawing classes and went on a grand tour of Europe before her marriage. This strengthened an existing interest in the Arts and Architecture.

With this background and training she designed Ilaro Court and named it after Ilaro in Nigeria. She also designed the Empire theatre, as well as smaller projects, such as the birdbath on the Esplanade. She founded the Ladies Self Help and of course, her larger undertaking was the layout of the grounds of Queen's Park.

Ilaro was built around a rectangular courtyard that overlooked a swimming pool. H.R.H. Edward, Prince of Wales swam in this pool during his visit here in 1920. During Lady Carter’s lifetime it was exquisitely furnished and the grounds and gardens were well kept.

This lovely building was purchased by Government in 1976, to be an Arts Centre, but was left to decay until the Government decided to make it the home of the Prime Minister.

The Parks and Beaches Commission was given the job to re-establish the gardens and it was officially opened on Independence Day 1980. The National Conservation Commission, having replaced the Parks & Beaches Commission takes great pride in showcasing this property as one of the best kept under its aegis. The immaculately manicured lawns and aesthetically pleasing gardens are also the venues for many important activities and functions.

This building is located on an area once occupied by a house known as “Glenelg”, the property of the late Mr. Charles W. Flemming, a Solicitor during the turn of the Century and was later purchased and rebuilt during the second half of the second decade.It was designed by Lady Gilbert Carter, wife of a former Governor of the Island at the time.

Lady Gilbert Carter was the American wife of Sir Gilbert Carter, a former Governor of Barbados. He had served as Governor of Ilaro in Nigeria prior to his arrival. Lady Carter was from a prominent Boston family, possibly the Peabodys. As a young lady she did the usual activities of someone of her social position. She took drawing classes and went on a grand tour of Europe before her marriage. This strengthened an existing interest in the Arts and Architecture.

With this background and training she designed Ilaro Court and named it after Ilaro in Nigeria. She also designed the Empire theatre, as well as smaller projects, such as the birdbath on the Esplanade. She founded the Ladies Self Help and of course, her larger undertaking was the layout of the grounds of Queen's Park.

Ilaro was built around a rectangular courtyard that overlooked a swimming pool. H.R.H. Edward, Prince of Wales swam in this pool during his visit here in 1920. During Lady Carter’s lifetime it was exquisitely furnished and the grounds and gardens were well kept.

This lovely building was purchased by Government in 1976, to be an Arts Centre, but was left to decay until the Government decided to make it the home of the Prime Minister.

The Parks and Beaches Commission was given the job to re-establish the gardens and it was officially opened on Independence Day 1980. The National Conservation Commission, having replaced the Parks & Beaches Commission takes great pride in showcasing this property as one of the best kept under its aegis. The immaculately manicured lawns and aesthetically pleasing gardens are also the venues for many important activities and functions.

Missy89:


Boarding school!. I have like 2 friends in IB that's it.

There is more to dancing than moving your leg and shaking whatever. I have other talents

Lol. You probably got the trait via telepathy and off ya two doozies.

Why do claim Ibadan when you never really lived there? The quest for amala or what? Well, Ibadan folks are good folks and very influential. Even my mum always claim Ibadan, despite the fact that though she was and raised there till her early teen years - she spent the latter part of her life in Lagos and she doesn't speak like ya typical Ibadan person. And they still have a lot of family houses there.

Nah, most chics don't even know how to dance to the rhythm - so it's very easy for a chic to dance. Just move ya legs and shake what ya momma gave you.

So what other talents have you got?

[size=14pt]Yoruba Cultural Influence in Puerto Rico[/size]

Puerto Rico has a rich culture whose origins can be traced back to native Taino Indian, Spanish and West African roots. The Yoruba comprised the majority of West African people brought to our island. This short paper provides an overview of the Yoruba during their "Pre-Contact" history. Our goal is to understand and appreciate the Yoruba people and their culture, before the time of slavery and those who came to exploit their human resources, so that we can better identify and understand the contributions made to our cultural evolution, and appreciate those influences on our culture that are still with us today.
The information presented in this short paper is based on a Ph.D. thesis by a young Yoruba man who used the vehicle of geography to define the unique culture of the Yoruba people. His complete thesis, comparing and contrasting pre-contact and modern times, offers the reader innate knowledge and insight that only a Yoruba could possess.

Yoruba Culture: Pre-Contact Life

Who were the Yoruba?

The Yoruba are a people, not a place. They are a tribe of people who lived in various sections of Nigeria, but predominately west of the Niger River. This part of West Africa, where the native culture is dominated by Yoruba traditions is called "Yorubaland." Yoruba towns traditionally sprang up, not by rivers as was common in other civilizations, but in locations surrounded by rainforest. The thick forests provided protection from tribal wars, a place of refuge.

The Economy

The rural and traditional economy of the early Yoruba people was rooted in farming, hunting, and fishing. Farming in the midst of a rainforest produced unique challenges for farmers. The difficulty of cultivating land thick with roots, the challenge of clearing trees held in place by jungle vines, the fast growing vegetation that was always ready to take back the land, the isolation of living in remote rainforest locations encouraged cooperative farming among extended family members. In those days families located their plots of farmland side by side and worked on them together.

Yoruba hunting and fishing techniques made use of natural materials found in the rainforests. Hunters were typically the area experts, intimately familiar with remote rainforest locations and experts in forest vegetation. For this reason, hunters were typically the herbalists, medicinal specialists, protectors of the village and border guards. Herbalists and medicine men had a high place in society. Their time spent in the deep forest gave them the knowledge and experience with plants and animals to make medicines.

In the pre-contact days, the traditional role of a woman was to clothe the family, as the man's role was to feed it. Assisted by their daughters, women spun raw cotton, dyed the resulting threads, and weaved them into cloth for clothing. Deviations from these traditional roles included the times of year when women helped with farming, and the specialized weaving looms that only men were known to use.

Yoruba Homes and Towns

Yoruba built their houses as groups of compartments built in the form of a rectangle, with an open courtyard at the center. Houses were constructed of mud clay walls and thatched roofs of materials that depended on what was nearby and plentiful. Compounds were built on naturally flat plots, typically built around obstacles in an effort not to alter the natural surroundings. Each compound represented a simple family with a single Head. Homes were laid out around the compound of the Chief owed allegiance to, most times a relative or extended family member. This layout defined a district or "quarter". The compound of all Chiefs faced the compound of the Oba, the highest authority.

The Oba was the arch priest of the living members of society and ensured the fertility in plants and animals and the link between the living and the dead. The Oba lived in a compound in the center of the town, unseen, unheard and untouched except when performing spiritual and political duties. The Oba's palace had two or more courtyards (one example cited was 52). One of the larger courtyards was typically used for town assemblies and the public ceremonies over which the Oba presided. The section of compound facing this courtyard house the Oba's drummers, trumpeters, servants, slaves and "strangers".

At the center of town, across from the Oba's palace was the main market. The market was held there so the Oba could watch the regular assembly of his people. It was an open air market, where trees provided shade and blocks of stones, seats. Goods for sale were displayed on the floor, in baskets or handmade trays of various materials, or in dried gourds in the shape of bowls.

Yoruba towns were surrounded by thick forests that provided protection and refuge in times of tribal wars, and a place for certain religious festivals. The towns were also surrounded by a wall that was also built for protection. Along the base of the wall was typically a ditch, which probably existed as a result of digging mud to form the wall.

Yoruba Religion and Nature

African life is thoroughly permeated by religion. It is not just a component of African culture, but a catalyst of it. The Yoruba claimed to have 401 gods (meaning "lots". The traditions and beliefs of the early Yoruba was influenced in part by the prominent objects of nature around them. For example, highland and hill gods, such as Orosun and Olofin, were honored because of the eternal presence of the hills that outlasted generations and offered protection. River gods, such as Oshun and Oya, were feared because of their high toll on life during river crossings.

The pre-contact Yoruba believed that the dense forests housed tree spirits. Devotees of tree deities were found chiefly among drummers, wood workers and herbalists. An example was the spirit of the ayan tree who was the god of drums. Animals, plentiful in number, were also revered. Monkeys were believed to house spirits of twins who had passed on. Vultures, the reincarnation of loved ones. Pythons, snakes, crocodiles and chimpanzees were also worshipped.

The earth, giver of all things needed for human sustenance, was especially revered and given back the first share of everything. It was thought the earth also held the remains of loved ones who had passed on in its bowels, so food given back to the earth to feed them. Raw materials and the elements also had their place, including gods such as Ogun, the deity of iron and war, and Sango, the god of lighting and thunder who is still remembered today in Puerto Rico as Chango.

Olodumare was the creator of the world, the Supreme Being. In Olodumare they found the final answer to all the problems of life and of living. Esu was the power of evil who causes illness, sufferings, misfortunes, and accidents. Esu shrines we always outside of town; offerings included food made for other gods, palm oil and, way in the past, human sacrifices.

Yoruba Philosophy

Yoruba philosophy was "life affirming," concerned with life whether in rocks, soil, plants, animals or human beings. Yoruba philosophy asked questions to help him come to grips with his environment, thereby shaping his mode of thought.

The creation of the world is told in two similar legends. In the first, Olodumare (the creator) sent Oduduwa (the ancestor of the Yoruba people) and sixteen assistant chiefs down to the water-surfaced earth with a shell full of sand and a giant bird. They poured sand into the water and the bird used its claws to spread the sand and create valleys and mountains. In the second legend, Olodumare sent a chameleon down to earth, who reported back that the earth's liquid surface made it unsafe to walk. Obatala, a deity, raised a portion of the lithosphere and poured sand and metal onto the liquid surface. He then sent a fowl and pigeon to spread sand and create land surfaces. When done, Obatala came down to the center of the world (Ile-Ife) to run the earth.

Yoruba believed the earth and sky were infinitely large and equal in size. The sky, shaped concave up, and the earth, shaped concave down, met at the horizon. Only the sun, moon and stars moved in the heavens. The sun was believed bigger than the moon because of the way it appeared at sunrise and sunset. But both were believed bigger than the other stars in the heavens. The sun and moon were rivals, which is why they were separated into day and night. (Eclipses were those rare times when they would clash.) Midday and midnight were times of wonder where one could see mermaids, when spirits visited the earth, and when animals and trees were metamorphosed. Rainfall on a day of celebration was a blessing.

Yoruba believed that the day began at sunrise and kept time by the position of the sun and the use of shadows on fixed objects. On rare cloudy days, time was kept by keeping note of animal behavior. There were four days in a week, each one dedicated to four of the major deities. In general, four was a sacred Yoruba number and the standard compound unit of calculations. Most Yoruba markets still assemble in multiples of four days. A month was the interval between two consecutive new moons. A year was marked by the passing of the farm cycle, and later, the season cycle -- along with corresponding lunar cycles. The length of a year was imprecise due to the fluctuations of the seasons. Multiples of years were marked by farm plot rotation and natural events of nature (e.g. locusts, epidemics).

Yoruba Art

Yoruba art, inextricably linked with religion and philosophy, is universally recognized as one of the world's greatest heritages. Traditional art included wood carving (including mask making), leather-working, bead-embroidery, weaving and painting. In an environment where the resources for artwork was the vegetation, fires which accompanied every dry season was periodically responsible for destroying years of art in a few hours. Yoruba philosophized that beauty destroyed made room for new and better works of art.

Conclusion

Just as we have seen Yoruba culture place its mark on the evolution of Puerto Rican culture, Yoruba culture in Western Nigeria has withstood the upheavals and turmoils of internal civil wars, slave raiding, and the influences of machine-backed Western culture, not only absorbing the cultural traits, but breathing new life into them from the old traditional culture.





www.nairaland.com/attachments/1065587_644700_365558383550156_2050087749_n_jpg00772280e865266293f3be5a11837cc6











[img]http://www.cla.csulb.edu/departments/chls/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/CofradiaPuertoRicoW200607369.jpg[/img]

Eweso dede ule..... No kin yin lokurin lobirin. Oni a san wa o......

I love what you guys are doing. Many are reading this thread, but the pain in their heart won't afford them the privilege to comment.


Keep the yoruba thing flying.......

SirShymexx:


Lol. You probably got the trait via telepathy and off ya two doozies.

Why do claim Ibadan when you never really lived there? The quest for amala or what? Well, Ibadan folks are good folks and very influential. Even my mum always claim Ibadan, despite the fact that though she was and raised there till her early teen years - she spent the latter part of her life in Lagos and she doesn't speak like ya typical Ibadan person. And they still have a lot of family houses there.

Nah, most chics don't even know how to dance to the rhythm - so it's very easy for a chic to dance. Just move ya legs and shake what ya momma gave you.

So what other talents have you got?

I think you are generalizing thou.

Quest for amala lol . Well I kind of grew up there ish. Was shipped out of state after primary school. Moved to Fairfax after that . I still visit every year and my folks live there. I wasn't born in Ibadan by the way. Fell from the planet Guflonoe.

The Drums!

IlekeHD:
[size=14pt]Meet Nigeria's Youngest PhD Holders[/size]

A list of Nigeria’s youngest PhDs has been compiled by Nigerian scholars and it is presented below:

Dr Olabisi Adeyemi (Age: 26)


This young intellectual earned her PhD in Botany from the University of Lagos. Though she had maintained a track record of academic success right from her secondary school, she acknowledged that having a PhD at her age, and the record of being the best graduating PhD student, did not come easy.

Born in Lagos Island local government of Lagos state, Dr. Adeyemi attended Girls’ Academy, L/Island where she was the best student in WAEC, with seven distinctions. She proceeded to University of Lagos and graduated with a first class degree in botany in 2006. She completed her PhD in record time in 2012.

Dr Opeyemi Shodipe (Age: 25)


This young Nigerian scholar received her bachelor’s degree at 19, from Babcock University. After the mandatory NYSC programme, she entered for a masters at University of Ibadan, graduating best in her department. She capped it with a well-deserved doctorate degree in information science from her alma mater, Babcock University when she was 25.


Dr Olaoluwa Hallowed Oluwadara (Age: 24)


Acclaimed as one of Africa’s youngest PhD holders, Olaoluwa is a spectacular Nigerian intellectual and scholar, because of his achievements. He entered university for a bachelor’s degree at 15. He earned two B.Sc degrees in mathematics and physics, from University of Bangui, Central African Republic (CAR), run simultaneously. He received his master’s degree from the same university.
He crowned it with a PhD in mathematics at the University of Lagos, Akoka, where he was the best graduating PhD student. Dr. Olaoluwa H. Oluwadara won University of Bangui’s all-time best student award from the department of mathematics, best BSc student award in physics, 2007 and best MSc awards in physics and mathematics respectively in 2008. He currently is a research fellow of the Mathematical Analysis and Optimisation Research Group.

The youngest PhD holders in Africa...

Good job Shymexx and everyone. God bless Yorubaland.

[size=14pt]Orisha Trinidad and Tobago: Drums and Colours[/size]

It is time for the invisible to reveal themselves. The drums are speaking to the ancient ancestors of Africa. Tonight in a rural garden in central Trinidad, tradition dictates that it will be Shango, the Yoruba god of fire, thunder and lightning who will manifest himself in one of his flock, twisting and twirling in the candle shadows of the shrine. They are oblivious to the stormy accompaniment outdoors as Mother Nature plays fireworks in the midnight sky.

To the outsider this surreal scene seems like a wonderful piece of theatre, sound effects as if made to order, the dancing brilliantly choreographed by people just doing what comes naturally. To the devotee, the ebo, or feast, is much more. It is the most spiritually important ceremony in the Orisha religion; the season of sacrifice and thanksgiving, an almost week-long celebration of food, dance and song from midnight till dawn, during which time there will be many manifestations as the spirits interact in different ways with those possessed.
For anyone not brought up in the faith, the concept of being controlled by some cosmic force is hard to grasp. In fact today, as down the ages, there are those who, in their ignorance, still demonise this religion. Yet there is nothing demonic about Orisha, nothing sinister. It is a non-Christian religion, but as with other belief systems there is the notion of one supreme God — Oludumare.

Orisha spirits, many of them equated with Christian saints, are messengers between humankind and His divine Kingdom. Oya, Shango’s wife, mistress of speed and tempestuous wind, is paired with St Catherine; Oshun, goddess of water and beauty, with St Philomena; Osain, Yoruba god of herbal medicine, healing and prophecy, with St Francis; Shakpana, also a healer particularly of children’s illnesses, with St Jerome; Ogun, the warrior god of iron and steel, with St Michael.

Historically, Orisha worshippers have shown a preference for aspects of the Catholic faith, though the dogma of the Church is virtually ignored. In the early 19th century West African slaves in Trinidad were sometimes baptised into Catholicism en masse; it seems likely that many Orishas used the paraphernalia of the Catholic church as camouflage behind which they hid their African beliefs and practices. Their faith was not to be diminished by oppression. And yet, as we draw towards the end of another millennium the religion is still unrecognised by the census-takers of multi-cultural, multi-religious Trinidad and Tobago. There is still in place an outdated law which forbids the rites and rituals of the religion, though the status of Orisha worship in Trinidad is on the rise and its open appeal to the middle classes is apparently increasing. There is also an Orisha Marriage Bill presently undergoing final revision by the religion’s Council of Elders.

Some people have come to this African-based faith as an act of political and ideological self-expression, a way of reclaiming their identity within the cultural “callaloo” that is Trinidad today. As I see it, the grassroots devotee derives a sense of well-being and self-worth from practising a religion which is essentially community-based and in such close touch with Nature. The saints or gods are there to help the faithful cope with the stresses and strains of life, to protect the water, the soil, food, the roadways. Since there is no written liturgy in the Orisha faith, no sacred book, the continuity and uniformity of the religion depends on oral traditions maintained through the generations.
The structure of each shrine is basically the same, and so are the various objects or symbols inside. In the palais, the open-sided part of the building where the singing, dancing and drumming takes place, there are candles burning in all four corners, into which sweet olive oil or water will be poured from time to time as offerings to the gods, and at one end of the room, in front of the three drummers, there is Ogun’s sword embedded in the earthen floor. Around the blade are candles, bottles of olive oil, water or rum. An adjoining room, the chapelle, houses any statues or lithographs of the saints, crucifixes, candles, pots of water, bottles of olive oil and “tools” associated with the deities: swords, a double-bladed wooden axe, Shango’s principal icon, cutlasses, ceremonial brooms, chac-chacs and the shepherd’s crook. Every chapelle has its collection of thunderstones taken from some sacred place and usually kept in white dishes so they can be fed periodically with olive oil.
In a corner of the garden or compound of the shrine is the perogun, an area where a number of flags on 20-foot bamboo poles have been planted, flying the individual colours of those gods expected to “enter” on any particular night. Worshippers consider flags a conduit through which spirits may visit the shrine. It is here in this corner that the slaying of any sacrificial animals takes place. Candles and stools are also placed at various points in the garden for the convenience of powerful deities, and there is always a water trough or pond, because many spirits are also water gods. Water and blood are reckoned, as well, to be powerful matrices of spirit force. It seems that spirits, like people, demand a lot of attention and respect.

Tonight a red flag flies for Shango. Inside the building the drums are pounding in a call-and-response pattern. The worshippers swaying and chanting are somehow insulated from the thunder and lightning playing havoc beyond their enclave. No-one who experiences the exhausting drama of spirit possession will have any memory of what happened. Nor will they feel any pain should they take a bad fall. Feet that have walked through flame will show no scars. These people will feel only an inner strength, by divine grace, a kind of rebirth.

Shango is expected to manifest himself within one of those dancing inside the palais, but tonight is different and no-one within seems to notice that a middle-aged man who had been talking with friends on a verandah outside the shrine is now flat on his back in the mud and rain, stretched out like a corpse. I was talking to him a few hours ago — a quiet, avuncular man who had travelled to the Ebo every night during the week from his home 20 miles away in Port of Spain. Here he is now, entrenched in the garden, but suddenly starting to move, feet first, in seemingly uncontrollable spasms. The sheer effort of moving forward, inch by inch, towards the candle flame in the doorway of the palais, seems almost too much for him, judging by his facial contortions. It is as though the Earth’s magnetism is reluctant to let him go. He is like a prisoner trying to free himself from invisible shackles.

Now the chanting, dancing throng inside become aware that the manifestation they are awaiting indoors is slowly emerging from the storm. A single candle in the doorway shows the way, and olive oil is poured along the route. As if lifting some enormous weight, he heaves himself out of the quagmire and crashes awkwardly into the door frame, one leg twisted beneath him. The atmosphere is electric, the air filled with incense offered to the four corners of the building (no different from the Catholic high mass). The drums and chanting reach a crescendo; women in white make the way clear for the man being “ridden” by the spirit. Gradually he stands, and moves into the light as though dragging chains.
He is divested of the sharp-edged jewellery around his neck and anything else that might cause injury to himself or anyone else, and his trousers are rolled up to the knee. Finally, as he tries to hold his balance, he is tied around the waist and shoulder with a length of red cloth. Then he staggers through the worshippers and into the chapelle which is said to be his earthly domain. In a matter of minutes he re-emerges, straight as a ramrod now, clutching the shepherd’s crook. Shango surveys his flock slowly with the care and concern of a father checking that all is well. His eyes, his face, speak volumes as the drums roll.

From the chapelle the head of the shrine, Mother Joan, brings in the candle-lit dish containing sweet olive oil and the sacred thunderstone (this one from Mount St Benedict). She stands before Shango as devotees come in turn to kneel and receive his blessings. It is a powerful scene in which there is obvious respect for the shepherd in their midst guiding their every move.

And Shango himself, it seems, is not without a guardian. His wife, Oya, has now manifested herself in one of the white-robed ladies and is twirling around the floor brandishing an axe, as if to ward off unwanted spirits or visitors. She is a human tempest, one second in the centre of the floor and the next spinning outside into the storm to check the compound for anything amiss. She stops, axe in hand, in front of people standing in the garden. She gestures that she wants them inside the palais; her face carries that simple message. One woman runs off into the night, shrieking. The blessings, the singing, chanting and drumming go on until a cock crowing signals the thin light of dawn. Only then does the torrential rain stop and worshippers begin to step out into the warm promise of sunshine. Everyone is smiling and you’d think they were just arriving, fresh as paint, for a garden party.

It had been the same all week: a gathering of 60 or 70 people, young and elderly, from far and near, who came to Mother Joan’s ebo around 10 p.m. every evening in a head-tie and dress of a different colour to please the spirits. During this week of marathons, Wednesday was yellow for the god Osain, he who protects the forest, who can help people in distress, who can find jobs for them, and food. He has another attribute I would like to have known about sooner, as a long-time sufferer with back pain: Osain is also said to be a very good chiropractor.

Shango’s night had so appropriately coincided with thunder and lightning; Osain’s evening is dry — and yet wet with moonlight, palms pointing silver fingers into the shrine. Typically the celebration begins with Christian prayers, the drums rolling quietly behind the Hail Marys. Then all sound ceases briefly, and when the drums start again they are speaking a different language, and so are the worshippers. Instantly we are in West Africa, and the song leader guides us through the musical offerings to different gods. There will be invitation songs, all sung in Yoruba, asking the orishas, or saints, to visit the shrine and possess one of the devotees. There will be acceptance songs as an expression of gratitude after manifestations, and work songs sung while a spirit is attending to or consulting with someone. There are also pleasure songs to entertain the gods after they have completed their work.

Usually the song leader sings for the saints in a particular order but since there is no written liturgy the order may differ from shrine to shrine. Generally the sequence starts with songs for Eshu, the gateman, opening the way to the spiritual experience, then Ogun, the protector, followed by Osain, Shakpana, Emanje (St Anne), Oshun and Erele (equated with Jonah, not as a saint, but as more of a prophet, which I suppose is reasonable, given his adventures at sea). Osain who is said to take special care of children is very popular at Mother Joan’s shrine. She’s had 10 of her own, six of them still at home, and there are grandchildren. Tonight, the palais is jumping with manifestations, at one point half a dozen at a time. There is an explosion of drums and colour.

Several men, at the height of spirit possession, walk on burning coals without a hint of pain. Osain, I’m told, sometimes feels uncomfortable unless there is fire and the sight of men treading the glowing embers is proof, apparently, that he is there. One of Mother Joan’s daughters glides gracefully towards the drummers with a live morocoy perfectly balanced upon her head, the top of its shell lit by four candles. The morocoy is one of the favoured offerings to Osain. So is the white goat which is also brought into the throng to be washed and anointed with oil. There it stands, chewing, blissfully unconcerned. Finally it is led to all four candle-lit corners along with other live offerings — a pair of ducks, a pair of hens, a pair of chickens. A man picks up the goat and dances with it draped around his neck Then, amid the song and dance of celebration, and a puff of incense, a pair of hands holds aloft a baby, only one month old, while prayers are sung for Osain to bestow his blessings upon the child.

And so the night’s spiritual activity moves on relentlessly towards its finale in the moonlit garden, the drummers having re-assembled beneath the flags to welcome those bringing their animals to the sacrificial altar. Prayers are chanted and the first in line, the white goat, no longer chewing, finds himself being danced around again — this time on Mother Joan’s shoulders. A final fling. Then, it is quickly over. The cutlass falls.

Osain was well served this night. In the days to come, all the food, when prepared, will be given to the needy in the district, and beneath the flags in Mother Joan’s shrine will lie some evidence to commemorate her Ebo. In this case it will be the morocoy.
There will be many such ebos in the months of the feast season, and some worshippers, along with drummers, will travel around from one to another. I should mention that not all the shrines sacrifice animals. Some prefer to offer fruit instead, either on moral or financial grounds, or perhaps a combination of both.

According to the most recent count there are now 70 Orisha shrines in Trinidad. But invitations to visit any one of them do not come easily, and that is understandable. The Orisha religion is often misinterpreted even among those who profess religious tolerance, and devotees are cautious about outsiders. In fact until fairly recently in the minds of many Trinidadians the name Shango, and the wild images that it might conjure, had come to epitomise Orisha worship. Way back in history the label stuck because Shango was King of the Oyo people (hence his wife’s name Oya) who were prominent among the enslaved Yoruba. In African theology, Shango is one of the gods who originally walked the earth.
It is interesting that Mother Joan’s shrine is in the middle of a Hindu community who fly different flags for different spirits in their gardens. Some of the Hindus happily come to Orisha ceremonies and vice versa: religious tolerance in practice. History is important to all religious communities, including the Orishas, which might explain the tendency these days towards Africanisation. After all, it is said that a people without a history is like a tree without roots.




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Missy89:


I think you are generalizing thou.

Quest for amala lol . Well I kind of grew up there ish. Was shipped out of state after primary school. Moved to Fairfax after that . I still visit every year and my folks live there. I wasn't born in Ibadan by the way. Fell from the planet Guflonoe.

The Drums!

Lol. Just an observation cos I mess around with a lot of Ibadan chics on here...and you know I'm a sly muthaphucka and I can see the fakeness from afar. When you chat with a nyggah that's street smart - better be real and come correct.

So you never really lived in naij, no? - that's interesting. And nah, you were not shipped to Fairfax - you were shipped to Newport News and later moved to fairfax.

I heard Planet Guflonoe is somewhere in Ibadan and amala is the delicacy there. Shyte, last time I met a nyggah from Planet Guflonoe - he told me he's so niggerish and he likes "see-keen" like every nyggah out there. And I was like: "what the hell is see-keen?" Oops, my bad, that's an Ibadan nyggah messing up the enunciation of "Ch"...and he meant "Chicken".

Can you play drums?

Yoruba culture and the orisha really traveled far and wide.

God bless Yorubas.

Time to move to Yorubas doing great things in their respective fields.

I'm kicking off with sports - my favourite.

[size=14pt]David Olatokunbo Alaba[/size]

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www.nairaland.com/attachments/1124460_alaba_jpge90ebb226c903956e4cba96e45342506


Alaba was born in Vienna to Gina and George Alaba and has one sister.His mother emigrated from the Philippines to work as a nurse, his Yoruba Nigerian father is a prince from Ogere who is also a rapper and works as a DJ. He is a Christian and a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. His middle name "Olatokunbo" means "Wealth from across the sea" or "Wealth from a foreign land" in the Yoruba language.


Pep Guardiola: David Alaba is Bayern’s “God”

Bayern Munich manager Pep Guardiola has hailed David Alaba as the team’s “god” because he has played in all ten outfield positions, via Sport.
Alaba has been with Bayern since 2008 and under Guardiola he has really become one of the most complete players in world football.

The Austrian broke into the team as a left-back but he has often been used in the midfield and as a centre-back as Guardiola has moved players about.

Speaking at his press conference before the game against Koln on the weekend Guardiola praised his player’s versatility.
“David Alaba is our god. He has already played almost all 10 positions.”

He is primarily a full-back still for his club but he has been the heartbeat of Austria’s successful Euro 2016 qualifying campaign in the middle of midfield.

He doesn’t have many weaknesses and it is no surprise that Guardiola has loved working with him since he took over at Bayern Munich.
When Philipp Lahm eventually retires it will be interesting to see whether Alaba is put in midfield permanently then but of course he may have already won his position on merit.

Alaba’s versatility and all-around ability has drawn praise from all angles and many point to him as the perfect player if you had to make an XI out of just one player playing in every position.

[size=14pt]Dele Alli - Bamidele Jermaine Alli[/size]




Dele Alli: the ‘unreal’ rise of Tottenham’s fearless young man in a big hurry

In his first newspaper interview as a Tottenham Hotspur player, Dele Alli said “unreal” and “surreal” on a number of occasions. Then again, he was speaking after making his first start for the club, in the showpiece friendly against Real Madrid at Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena, in front of 70,000 fans and, 24 minutes in, he had nutmegged Luka Modric.

Alli said that he and Real’s superstar midfielder had “had a laugh about it in the tunnel afterwards”. Modric, according to Alli, had called him a “little bugger – or something like that”. It was an episode to raise a few smiles but one that highlighted, at a stroke, Alli’s talent and confidence, and how far he had come. At the end of last season, he was playing for MK Dons in League One.

The 19-year-old has now made another giant stride forward to confirm the impression that here is a young man in a big hurry. The box-to-box midfielder has won his first call-up to the England squad for the Euro 2016 qualifiers against Estonia and Lithuania – and after only three Premier League starts. Expect to hear him say “unreal” and “surreal” rather a lot in the coming days.

It is a measure of Alli’s impact at Tottenham that Roy Hodgson, the England manager, who took in all three of the club’s games at White Hart Lane last week, has been sufficiently enthused to pick him, as injuries bite in central midfield. Jack Wilshere, Jordan Henderson and Fabian Delph are among those unavailable to him.

Alli has made three further Premier League appearances as a substitute, one start in the Europa League and, when he came on in last week’s Capital One Cup tie against Arsenal, the White Hart Lane crowd roared their approval. Already, they have taken him to their hearts and they have come to consider him as somebody who can make the difference.

Alli has a crowd-pleasing style, being direct, fearless and combative; he has five yellow cards in his fledgling top-flight career. Then, there are the skills – he seems destined to be a regular on Soccer AM’s Showboat – and, most fundamentally, the hard running.

When Alli joined Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham squad in the summer, having signed in February for £5m but been loaned back to MK Dons for their successful promotion push, he impressed everybody with his stamina. Members of the staff rated him as the fittest player at the club.

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Alli moved to Tottenham because he knew that Pochettino would give him a fair chance, as the Argentinian does with many young players, and the wisdom of that decision looks sound. Tottenham’s regular central midfield pairing from last season of Nabil Bentaleb and Ryan Mason have suffered from injuries this time out and Alli, together with Eric Dier, has taken advantage. Dier, too, had been tipped for the senior England call only to miss out. Hodgson said Alli first came to his attention via his assistant Ray Lewington, whose son, Dean, is a defender at MK Dons and played with the midfielder there. “Ray goes to watch his son play,” Hodgson said. “His son is the captain of MK Dons so he has seen him play many times and mentioned him to me a while back, not as a potential England player because the lad was only a teenager and in League One. But when he got the move to Tottenham we thought: ‘This is interesting, to see how this transpires. If he gets into the Tottenham team and plays as he does for MK Dons, he could be a very interesting player.’ And that is exactly what’s happened.

“We weren’t at all surprised when Tottenham bought him. We thought it was a good buy. He’s done even better. I think he was bought with a view to getting experience but he has broken into the team and he is playing well so it was an opportunity now with the absence of quite a few players in the central midfield area to have a look at him. We think, going forward, if he continues his rate of progress he could be very interesting for us.”Pochettino’s reaction will be mixed. He is happy and proud, obviously, but there will be the fear of how the emotions that relate to such a breakthrough can affect a young player, not to mention the hype machine. When Harry Kane was called up for the first time by Hodgson in March, and responded with a goal against Lithuania with his third touch, Pochettino felt that his form dipped for a few weeks afterwards.

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Pochettino understands why, having been there himself. He made his debut for Argentina against Holland in 1999. “I was up on cloud nine for one month and when I got back to my club, Espanyol, it was difficult,” he told the Observer, in April. “I came back and I said: ‘Oh, but now I play with Redondo, Batistuta.’ You feel like a superstar and then you have to go back to Espanyol. My players at Tottenham are balanced, mature and humble but it’s just that this is the reality.”

When Pochettino was asked last week about the prospect of an England call-up for Alli, he made it clear that he felt it would be too soon. “It is the same situation as with Harry Kane last season,” Pochettino said. “Be careful with the young players that arrive in the Premier League. It is not easy.

“You can see that Dele is very mature and a player who shows great quality. He has a great personality and good character. But it is too much of a rush to talk about bigger steps for him. Always in football, you need to take it step-by-step, game-by-game.”

The excitement that Alli has generated has held sway.

[size=14pt]Phillips Olaosebikan Idowu[/size]



Phillips Olaosebikan Idowu was born in Hackney, on 30 December 1978, to Nigerian parents who were, as he puts it, 'from a low-income background'. He was brought up on an estate, his father was in and out of prison, and Idowu spent some of his youth in foster care. He is uncomfortable talking about his early years, visibly squirming when asked about them and politely but firmly evading most questions.

What he does admit is that he had an authentically poor Hackney upbringing. In the 1980s and early 1990s, the hipsters and bohemian mummies had yet to move into the borough. Growing up out East, says Idowu, 'You saw things: drugs, crime, which were just normal.' Was he involved? A crooked half-smile. 'I'm not going to sit here and say that I did any of that, but yeah, I had friends who were.' Could he have seen himself having gone down the same route? 'Yeah. Definitely.'

Fortunately for Idowu, while he was at school he showed athletic promise and that prevented him from being swept up by street culture. Tall and strong (he is 6ft 5in), he was a very good basketball player. So good that he thought he could make a career of it. 'I thought I would go to America and play in the NBA,' he says. 'But I had a PE teacher who more or less forced me to do athletics.'

Very soon he realised that track and field might provide an escape. 'Athletics was a chance to get out of Hackney.' Literally so: 'I was going to Mile End to train, and then later to Crystal Palace.' He trained compulsively and by any means possible. 'If I didn't have enough money to get into the athletics ground, I'd jump over the fence.'

One way and another that jump training paid off. Idowu excelled at triple jump. In 1997, aged 18, he won the English Schools Championships and placed fourth in the European Junior Championships. Three years later he finished sixth at the Sydney Olympic Games. In 2002 he won silver in the Commonwealth Games, behind Britain's last great triple jumper, Jonathan Edwards. As Edwards wound down to retirement, it was clear that Idowu was the future. Yet throughout this impressive rise, athletics was an intensely personal, almost
secretive pursuit.

'My parents never watched me compete,' he says. 'Like a lot of African families they wanted me to concentrate on my schoolwork. They saw athletics as a distraction from that. Athletics was something I did for myself.' While other young athletes were cheered on by their proud relatives, Idowu was all alone. Was that strange? 'No, not really. What was strange for me was seeing people with two parents coming to watch them.' Even now, he says, 'My sister probably only watched me compete for the first time two years ago. I don't know if my brother has ever watched me.'

Idowu has reacted to the dysfunction of his upbringing by ploughing every scrap of his energy into his own young family. He has two children with his partner Carlita: D'Karma, four, and Prince, who will be two next month. Do they watch him compete? Well, sometimes, but that, too, can be tough. 'My daughter used to get upset watching me,' he says. 'She would see me in the hotel the night before and then not again until I stepped out on to the runway. Then she'd start crying because she wanted to come and hug me. I found it hard to switch out of being Daddy. It's easier when they're watching me on the TV, when they can jump up and down and shout "Go Daddy!" '

He still finds the conflict between family and athletics hard to resolve. Last summer he was very close to abandoning Team GB when they travelled to Daegu in South Korea for the World Championships. 'I nearly didn't go,' he says. 'My final was on the same day as my daughter's birthday. I'd never missed her birthday before and I seriously thought about not going. It was like there were two options: either take them with me, or don't defend my title.' In the end he went but failed to defend his title, narrowly bumped into the silver medal spot by a spectacular jump from the American athlete Christian Taylor.

Idowu takes a veteran's attitude towards his failure. 'What I've always said about triple jump is that it only takes one good jump,' he says. 'You have six attempts and you only need one of them to be good enough. Even when Christian jumped 17.96m [the winning jump] I was still confident I could beat it. But World Championships are always about building towards the Olympics. And I still jumped more consistently than pretty much any other athlete in World Championships history.'

But dig a little deeper and there is the sense that jumping was not the only thing on his mind last summer. 'Being away in Daegu, and knowing I was missing D'Karma's birthday, my heart wasn't really in it,' he says. Fortunately for Team GB, neither D'Karma's nor Prince's birthday conflicts with the London Games, a fact Idowu acknowledges with a laugh.

Obviously, you can't interview Idowu without asking about his hair. He may be Britain's best triple jumper, and an MBE, but it is the colour of Idowu's barnet that really screams for attention. At various times it has been pink, white, red and yellow. Combined with his numerous facial piercings, shaved eyebrows and trademark 1980s towelling headband, Idowu's space-punk vibe has made him perhaps the most instantly recognisable of all Britain's Olympic hopefuls.

When I enquire how often he dyes it, he shrugs with a smile. 'I really haven't dyed it that many times,' he protests. 'It has been red for most of my titles, but when I'm not competing, it's like it is today.' Which, for the record, is a neatly cropped, au naturel black. The whole point, for Idowu, is having an image that he can manipulate at will. 'It's the same with the piercings. It wasn't like having tattoos that were permanent.' (Currently visible: lip, eyebrow, ears.)

Idowu talks about his Dennis Rodman-esque, almost cartoonish image without a hint of resentment, just a touch of bewilderment that it has become such a big deal. What started as one element in his love of fashion ('I love Gieves & Hawkes three-piece suits. Most of the time I'm in a tracksuit so it's nice to get dressed up') has now become part of his brand.

With the London Games approaching, the pressure is naturally on Idowu to complete his East End story: to return to the deprived part of London from which he emerged and win the one gold - Olympic - that has so far eluded him. It would be some return: 'To have the Olympics not only in your hometown, but in your manor... that doesn't happen for many athletes.' Winning gold would not just cap the extraordinary rise of Phillips Idowu, it might even give people more to talk about than just his hair.