As an ethnic description, the word "Yoruba" was first recorded in reference to the Oyo Empire in a treatise written by the 16th century Songhai scholar Ahmed Baba.

It was popularized by Hausa usage and ethnography written in Arabic and Ajami during the 19th century, in origin referring to the Oyo exclusively.

The extension of the term to all speakers of dialects related to the usage of the Oyo (in modern terminology North-West Yoruba) dates to the second half of the 19th century.

It is due to the influence of Samuel Ajayi Crowther, the first Anglican bishop in Nigeria. Crowther was himself a Yoruba and compiled the first Yoruba dictionary as well as introducing a standard for Yoruba orthography.

The alternative name Akú, apparently an exonym derived from the first words of Yoruba greetings (such as Ẹ kú àárọ? "good morning", Ẹ kú alẹ? "good evening" has survived in certain parts of our diaspora as a self-descriptive, especially in Sierra Leone.

The first name the Yorubas were called was Yoruba.

What does that mean? I carried on, Samuel Ajayi Crowther in his Yoruba dictionary defines ‘Yoruba’ as a bastard and deceitful person in Hausa.

Another description comes from the Dr Taiwo Ayanbolu who insisted Yoruba is a name derived from Hausa language which means deceit. He claimed he found the definition at York Museum in England dating to the 19th century.

It has been recorded that the Hausa-Fulani who had been in contact with the Yoruba even before the rise of Oyo Empire had for some reasons chosen to call us Yoruba, or Yaribansa. Perhaps this might have been a result of Yoruba people’s bargaining skills which often made the Fulani traders fall victim of trade by barter.

Some say that the word Yoruba started protruding during the clash between Yoruba and Fulani that steered the lost of Ilorin to them in the 18th century.

Professor Ade Ajayi in “Yoruba Warfare in the Nineteenth century” insisted that during the indirect rule era, it was necessary for the imperialists to give a unique name to the entire towns and people who spoke Yoruba language.

Somehow, they settled for Yoruba. Yoruba is a deviation of Yoruba which the Yoruba people of that century rejected. The Ijebu, Ijesa and Egba rejected this name vehemently but because during the Kiriji war (the Yoruba civil war) where the collapse of Oyo Empire commenced and the signalling factor the imperialists used to prompt the rule over Oyo from covers.

The name Yoruba was foisted on Oyo and Ibadan mainly on documents and slowly the name Yoruba was enshrined in our culture and hence, our appellation. Research shows that the Egba were the last to accept Yoruba as their appellation, reason coming from facts emanating from the first newspaper published in Yorubaland in 1859, goes: Iwe Iroyin Fun Ara Egba Ati Yoruba. This indicates that the Egba refused the name Yoruba as at 1859.

Furthermore, in the Ifa Corpus there's no Odu where we were referred to as Yoruba, rather, it is as Omo Kaaro Ojiire, Omo Oduduwa or Omoluabi.

Thus said, the word Yoruba is new in our vocabulary and it is a way of showing we accepted a negative appellation dropped on us by hostile foreigners.

Debo Kayode Ogunranti

larj:
Source biko

MinorityOpinion:

Saw it somewhere
Counter it with evidence

NwunneWike:


Yoruba is a slave name coined from an hausa name bayerabe, which means 'untrustworthy or cunning'. It has no meaning in yoruba language.

Let's make this thread active my yoruba friend.

lawani:
The Phoenicians are the ancestors of Arabs. They referred to Europe as I Europa meaning westerners. When Arabs became Muslims and Europe prospered without accepting Islam, the name Europa came to mean those who prospered without submitting to Allah. The Songhai were Muslims and they corrupted Europa to Yoruba giving the name to the oyo empire because oyo prospered without submitting to Allah. The name is proto Arabic being originally of Phoenician origin.

lawani:
The Phoenicians are the ancestors of Arabs. They referred to Europe as I Europa meaning westerners. When Arabs became Muslims and Europe prospered without accepting Islam, the name Europa came to mean those who prospered without submitting to Allah. The Songhai were Muslims and they corrupted Europa to Yoruba giving the name to the oyo empire because oyo prospered without submitting to Allah. The name is proto Arabic being originally of Phoenician origin.

firestar:


That’s quite informative.
Thank you for sharing.

somehow:
Without asking for source or verifiable evidence?

AreaFada2:
Well, we already knew it came from Muslim people.

Hausa Fulani still deal with the SW with their original. Meaning at the back of their mind.

NwunneWike:


Yoruba is a slave name coined from an hausa name bayerabe, which means 'untrustworthy or cunning'. It has no meaning in yoruba language.

Let's make this thread active my yoruba friend.

Pharaoh4rin:
This is quite informative. FFK once condemned the "yoruba" but he was heavily criticized. I can't remember the tabloid where he wrote d article. He accrued the origin of "yoruba" to d hausa-fulani, but that they referred to d Westerners as "Yoruba" and that he will no longer succumb to the name......

Anyway, who can give us d origin of "hausa or Fulani" name. (Not their origin but d name "hausa"

baby124:

FFK was wrong. I believed his assertion but now I believe differently... Yoruba is from Oyoruba which is the name for the Oyos by their trade allies the Hausa. If you notice there’s other tribes with the *Ruba* in it. Like the Baruba. I think with time all related peoples who spoke the same language were put under that canopy.

lawani:
The Phoenicians are the ancestors of Arabs. They referred to Europe as I Europa meaning westerners. When Arabs became Muslims and Europe prospered without accepting Islam, the name Europa came to mean those who prospered without submitting to Allah. The Songhai were Muslims and they corrupted Europa to Yoruba giving the name to the oyo empire because oyo prospered without submitting to Allah. The name is proto Arabic being originally of Phoenician origin.

Pharaoh4rin:


As for me, if there's a way to denounce the hausa-fulani of the credit, I'll be happy. One Fulani lecturer once told me in skool that we're a conquered region, that they're d original Nigerians. He claimed that d name "yoruba" was given to d SW by them and the yoruba knows that. I was hurt but had to maintain my cool, though he expected something worse. The point is, the "Yoruba" should be looked into. It may be late tho. I'm not a student of history but it's crazy how these uncircumcised bigots keeps coming up with sh.i.t as this!

gregyboy:



Yoruba are thesame thing with hausa-fulani so stop denying your brothers. over here in my states. We call yorubas aboki, if we see yorubas we can't easily differentiate from an hausa person, unless they speak thier language, they are so dirty, with cat marks like wiskers on thier face, and thier brown teeth thier black color is dirty black......


When you spot an igbo man from anywhere you can differentiates him easily from hausa and Yoruba unlike yoruba-hausa

gregyboy:



Yoruba are thesame thing with hausa-fulani so stop denying your brothers. over here in my states. We call yorubas aboki, if we see yorubas we can't easily differentiate from an hausa person, unless they speak thier language, they are so dirty, with cat marks like wiskers on thier face, and thier brown teeth thier black color is dirty black......


When you spot an igbo man from anywhere you can differentiates him easily from hausa and Yoruba unlike yoruba-hausa

Pharaoh4rin:


As for me, if there's a way to denounce the hausa-fulani of the credit, I'll be happy. One Fulani lecturer once told me in skool that we're a conquered region, that they're d original Nigerians. He claimed that d name "yoruba" was given to d SW by them and the yoruba knows that. I was hurt but had to maintain my cool, though he expected something worse. The point is, the "Yoruba" should be looked into. It may be late tho. I'm not a student of history but it's crazy how these uncircumcised bigots keeps coming up with sh.i.t as this!

AreaFada2:
Well, we already knew it came from Muslim people.

Hausa Fulani still deal with the SW with their original meaning at the back of their mind.

Podakejol:

At least yorubas are neater than your olosho women and armed robbers all over Edo State

And remember yorubas are also nearer than your stupid smelly ugly werey Oba of Benin

Olu317:
The Muslim you mentioned was aggressively established in 19th century.So, you don't have a say. May be you will exple the identity of the ethnic group that mentioned Bini as a descriptive word for angered or vexed people Thus, Yoruba names are intact

gregyboy:



Hausa-yoruba-fulani, it fit, you all are Alimajiris and sworn brothers for life....


Lol, Let me not start with your ooni you will hate me bro

Podakejol:

[s]Shut up with your ugly oloribu Oba of Benin wey be like aboki[/s]

gregyboy:



Osagyfo98, would agree with me on this too


When nigeria breaks the remains of nigeria will be Hausa-yoruba-fulani coexistence, to the average fulani man yorubas are regarded as slaves lesser than the hausa man......

#weaklers
#cowards
#slaves