yoruba-names modupe oduyoye
TRANSCRIPT
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NIGERI N N MES
A Daystar Series
The series is planned 0 include studies
o
the personal names characteristic
o
the peoples
o
Nigeria Yoruba Igbo Hausa Efik Edo Itshekiri and
so
on.
This book the first in the series gives
n
idea
o
what will be achieved
through the series which we hope will be pleasing to all cultured Nigerians
and others interested in Nigerian culture.
o
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\ :7
, & .
DAYSTAR
PRESS, P. O. BOX 1261,
lBADAN, NIGERIA.
First Publishe d 972
r{
oduN
Oduyr >ye
972
To
MAMA
5.15.11.15
PREFACE
This is not a dictionary
of Yoruba
names. If, therefore, you turn
the pages eagerly to find your own name or the names of your friends
and
relations
and
they are
not
here, you should not be disappointed:
it s a dictionary
of
Yoruba names which should list all the items.
The subject
of
this book s the structure
of
Yoruba names. The idea
of
such a
book
came into my mind in the course
of
teaching the
Yoruba
language to adult non-native speakers for the Department
of
Extra
Mural Studies of the University
of
Ibadan and the U.S. Peace Corps.
I found a distinct handicap in
that
the students invariably returned from
the class sessions to live
and
work
innon-Yoruba
speaking environments.
They therefore lacked opportunity for practice in real life situations,
which s the one thing
that
might have helped them perfect what they
had learnt in class and remember them.
This book, then, is conceived as a language learning aid: whether
you have to speak
Yoruba or
not, you are likely to know some
Yoruba
names and to meet them daily in the newspapers or hear them on the
radio or in the streets. I f you know the structure of these names and
remember their meanings, you already have a basis for building the struc
ture of Yoruba speech.
For
Yoruba names are structured like Yoruba
phrases and sentences; and they almost invariably have extant meanings.
This, then, s a minimum grammar of the Yoruba language. I
have been interested in the fact
that
one could write an almost complete
grammar
of
the Y
oruba
language using nothing
but
names for illustra
tions.
For
teaching the language to non-native speakers, this has one
advantage: Yoruba names, whether phrases
or
complete sentences, are
written as single words. The names, therefore, mirr or exactly the stream
of-utterance situations. Instead of lu m l fkun as the sentence would
Printed
by
Abiodlilz Printing Works Limited Ibadan 3835/971
3
'$8
; ~ i i0 1 i : - C ~ ; O
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l
. 1
j>
be written, the name
is
written as Oltlrfl11flfkim which gives a better
guide for pronunciation and for conversation.
For
one does not pause
after each word in speech: the sentence consists
of
five words, but it
is
one utterance.
In
learning to speak a language, one should be learning
utterances, not isolated words. Here is the value
of
the approach in this
book.
All this apart, the subject
of Yoruba
names is itself
of
sufficient
interest
to warrant
treatment. Evidence
of
this is provided in the fact
that at
least four books
on
the subject were being prepared for publication
during 1969. Non- Yorub as will find it interesting to read
of
a culture in
which virtually every name has an extant meaning and to compare the
sentiments contained in the names with similar sentiments in their own
culture.
The
reader will have noticed
that
I inscrt
the
word virtually
whenever I speak
of
every
Yoruba
name having a meaning. Actually,
every
Yoruba
name has a meaning,
but
the meanings
of
some
of
them
are getting lost*
just
as many
of the
names arc disappearing with changed
social
and
religious situations, which are the factors
that
produced the
sentimcnts which the names were meant to commemo rate in the first place.
As often happens when a culture migrates, older Yoruba names
such as
Konigbdgb
and Ojul11irf can be found now among the Creoles
in Freetown, Sierra Leone, who have kcpt up an unbroken tradition of
giving their children appropriate Yoruba namcs, even though the ability
to choose thc names
is
110 longer widesprcad, but has become the
job
of
consultan ts sometimes the older men and women in the community.
There
is
no doubt
tl;;.at
personal and place-names are some
of
the
oldest elements in the Yoruba language, and a study of them will reveal
much about the past history of
the
language and the people.
I should like to express my thanks to Miss Kay Williamson
of
the
Department
of
Linguistics and Nigerian Languages, University of Ibadan,
who read
the
manuscript
at
an early stage and to
Dr A.
AwobulLlyi
of
the same DepaItment who read the final draft. Both Dr
u j Q r ~
of
the University
of Ibadan and Dr
Alfred
Opubor of
the University
of
Lagos gave valuable editorial advice. The
book
was
put
into
final shape during the session 1969-70 which I s pent in the Insti
tute
of
Education, University
of
London,
on
a course in the provision
.. Most of the 1l11litrlrulliva names, for instance, whose meanings can only be found
through etymological research.
4
of text book s: I record my gratitude to the Christian Literature fund of
the
World Council
of
Churches for the scholarship which made the
study leave possible;
and to
Mr. A. J. Loveridge
of
the
Department for
Education in Tropical Areas who was
tutor
for the course.
Ibadan,
1971
Modupy OduY9ye
5
. , : ~ c 1 , c"". : : . . : : ~
, ~ : : : e ; - , , ~ , · ,
i e
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II
"
L
.f"
PARTTWO: CULTURAL
CLASSIFICATION
61
What's ina
name?
.
Muslim and Christian Names among
the Yoruba
65
68
Olu,Ohiwa, ~ I Q n m - God ..
d ~ a Ori- - Patronsaints,specialdeities; head
69
lUi-
Augury ..
69
71
A w o-
Secret
Cult
71
Od"
- -
OracularUtterance
Ot;;o-Seer
72
Ogun - Godoffire, patronof smiths ..
72
- -
Hlinters ..
73
73
Akal1- ValiantWarriors
Ogun- War
74
Om\-
Artis tic Ge n ius..
75
75
AYlnJlJl
- -
The
Sound
of Drums..
75
O y ~
{)$lUJ.,
Omi
--'
Rivers
..
< ILl1i, ]):fml!
....
- Fertilityand Plenty
76
77
Qm9
.
Children
..
78
Qj¢,
Eegiilll
--- TheDeadComebackto Life..
78
XIII.
'Tunde-Reincarnation
Abik i i - tnfantMortality
7S
79
]J:idm, AYQ - Weeping,Joy
Ade·-
Crown,Royalty ..
80
Oye- -
Tille, Chieftaincy
81
Q$l.n
- -
Chief ..
82
Ohi-
HighEstate
83
Amiiil)funwa-
Namesbroughtfrom
heaven
85
PART
THREE
Exercises
89
8
01
= · · ~ ; ; ; : O · - : : - ~ ; ; ; m l P ~ < W , _ , , _ { i j f _ ~
I
I
II.
I
I
I
1
II
I
I
I
I
Ii
I
i
Ii'
ii'
II Iii
Ilil'l
i,ll,
I
III
I
"
I
'I
I' ii
i
I ii
I i i
I: I
I
." '
"" _
; .{,U := ; -
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l
J
I
TIlE NOUN
PHRASE
The simplest structure in Yoruba names is A B, where A is
and B another nOLln
juxtaposed
to it.
In this construction,
a noun
noun B
qualifies noun
A:
A B
AM
Ohi
- AdeQhi
Ola
Olll
Qlaohl
Ola
Ifa
Olaifa
OP¢
Olu p ~ o l
0]( [
l k ~ o h i
01 [
l f ~ o l u
Iyi
Qla
IyiQhi
Odll
Ohi
OdiiQla
AY9
Q J ~ i
AYQQla
0];1 Oye
- Qlaoye
AM
Oye
Adeoye
.f;m i
Qlci
~ m i Q l a
Oyin
Qhi
- OyinQla
Akin
01
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1-
t
I
i
Qdllll han - Qduntan
"A year (famed in) story"
Agbo la
-
AgboQhl
"Circle of honour"
I
Ad6
gbo Adcagbo
"Crown
of
(family) circle"
Ad6 O ~ L m
-
AdcQ un
"The crown of 9 ~ u n
Qla
Opa
- QhiQpa
"The glory of plentiful harvest"
Qla Iya
Qlaiya
"The glorious influence of mothers"
Popo Qhi - PopoQhi
"The highway of honour"
TH
SIMPLE
SENTENCE
(a)Ayt)
Ad6
-
AYQade
"The
joy
of
a
crown"
lbllkltn Qla -
Ibuk(mQhi
"An increased allotment
of honour"
(i) Below is the structure of sentences like A is B:
.eblll1 QIQrun-
tbim
"Gift of
God"
Qr
y
OIClwa - Qr y
"Gift of Goel"
Baba l'
Qla
- BabalQhi "Father is
(the
source of) honour"
Wura
Qbi - WiidH,IIa
"Gold of
honour"
Oyin I Qla - OyinlQhi
"Fame is (sweet as) honey"
QdLIll
Ewu - Odlmcwu
"A year
of danger"
Jf
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IV) The 1stpersonpronoun is an indirectobjectin thefallowing:
OIu bim
mi
- Ohlbimmi
"God gaveme"
Qde mbunmi
- Q d ~ b i m m i
"The hunter gaveme"
Hi blm mi
- 'Fabimmi
lfa gaveme"
Baba abun
mi
- BaMbimmi
"Father gave
me"
(v) There are afew doubly transitiveverbs in Yoru
ba
- verbs which
EMPHASIS
take two
objects: a direct object
and an
indirect object.
The
verb is
immediately followed by the indirect object
as above. Nextcomesthe
The structure of the sentence Where theverb TO BEwas used
to
directobjectpreceded
by
the particle
la/mil:
indicateidentityresolvesintoX I'
Y
whereXisa
noun
and Yis
another
Olllflmn
IIfll aye)
- Oh ifunh iy i)
"God gave mejoy"
noun.
The
namesbelowshowconstructi onswhereY is aclausewith a
Odiulfulln
09ade
-- - OdufUnlJade
"The oraclegavemeacrown"
subjectand afiniteverb:
A- k¢
m
IIliJ
- A k Q m Q I M ~
"One who teaches childrenfop
pishness"
X
I'
Y
Ow6
r
abi
- Owolabi
I t is moneywe gave
birth
to "
1
Ow6nn
It is money"
AkinI' abi
Akinlabi
It is abrave man wegavebirth
to"
Akin
ni.
"He is abrave man"
OJ¢ I'
a
bi
- OWabi
It
is
an
ON
wegave
birth
to"
OJ¢
nL
"He
is an
ON"
Ote) I'6rin
Qti)lOdn
"It's adifferent
route
he
walked"
Qt()
oi
Trallslalc inlo Yuruba:
"It's adifferentone"
ather gave me
a
drum
r----\---
----- -- -----
I
Doubly
I
Mother
gaveme
acap
The inversion frorll A
i OW J
to Owc5
I' a i
elTccts emphasis by
Sub-\Tran-
111- Direct
Teachergaveus
books
1 1
case, give
l iS
children
putting the objectfirst: object,copula,subject,liniteverb.
ject sitive direct object I
verbs obj ect
God, giveus
peace
Giveme
money
Note that whenfollowedbythecontinuousparticle 1M
or the habitual
-.--
~ J
particle IfI the mid-tone pronouns become low-tone. The mid-tone
pronouns
are
A40 1 ,
0
"You",
A
"We",
1;; "You":
Givehim
his shoes
1
k
I
l' a
n
- ~ o l i l l i k f
It
is aseerwearetakingcare of"
[Ii.
It isaseer"
Ad6
l'
a
r\
wa':'
Adellulw:i
____ I YU_ _ J . ~ l m
.
It
is acrownwe arelooking
[or"
AM
FUll wa
11 1
Olll1jy
It is acrown"
Je)w oJ,
f(1ll
mi
nil
t' em i
a
Aye r a i gb6
AyeHigbe
"The world is the place where people
normallylive"
Aye
IIi.
It is
the
world"
18
19
3 · , .. fm c ....
YeL] ,;.,,\',· ,
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'
• I'
to
coil round
to turn
i . . . kli
Honour
surrounds me
Qlliyinkli
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'\\9
v
INiTJ AL
li-/
mALECTS
i"UTliAL
lu,l
DiALECTS
In
Yoruba
noulls of the structure VCY, where the initial vowel is
Ii-
in
the
QY9/1badan dialects, it
is lu-I in the Ondo-Ekiti/ljybu
dialects,
Initial Ii-I and initial Ill-I in Yoruba are therefore dialectal alternatives.
The Ii-I of the QY91lbadan dialects now
prevail
in the common
dialect.
But Yoruba
names alTer evidence of the prevalence of the
lu-I
alternative:
F'ah,yi
< Ha l' uyi
(\f]
["J
./
/
The
Ii- and
ILI-j dialect distinction coincides wilh a shibollethl
sibokth dialect distinction: wherever the speakcrs of the
Ii-
dialects say
the shibilantsh, the speakers
of
the Ill--I dialects say the sibilant s, and vice
versa.
The common
dialect
has drawn
its
features from both
groups:
it
has
the /i-I
and not
the
lu-/. But
it chooses its sibilant
and
shibilant
according
to
the practice of the lu-I dialect group. Examp!es arc:
Oyi)/Ibadan
O n d o - E k i t i / i j Q b l j j ¢ ~ a
"yallls"
isu
"work"
5
,
,
I
....... ..•
rttm' T"""','·'
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VII
THii;HIGH.
TONE BEfOlim U'lE :FJfNHE
VERJEl
In
aFl1rmative sentences in Yoruba,
there
is a
high tone before
the
finite verb.*
It
results in
the
follovving
changes of
tone
in the subject:
ii i
ii
:t] :ffJ
il1Jh i
OiiJ;w'I'lc
Adc
AllcY9
mn
OJa
(N,lwimmi
Q)iIiJt(p {,mb0
O ~ { i
~ } 6 \ ~ v
'r:;l6wimJl1i
]jf{j
'Kl.k l ~ s d } E ~ y a
AldJQv,'[mml
l ~ ~ b a
Habintimllic
naMdnsll.
lye
'YclillmIc
r m
[]
r{ij
[it]
[ A y ~ c J t t n d e ]
-
A y ~ t i ~ m ; c
[Ayc)()d6]{;] - AY\ldleRc
[ } h , ~
.
[Oyi:;!Ssfnil]
-
Oye:;;i",,)
~ ~ l t
[Odlujyoye]
O,hiyqyc
()ml.
[(/ni\;.(b6Ill] ,-,. Qm1bOIII
'Ycw:imic
It
is not a [mite verb.
" The verb
TO
DE is
it copula
lillk between two nouns.
28
i
ll
l
II
I
1
I
(i)
I
Lord
The Lord
enters
the house
Valour
appeals
to me
Crown
I
like bravery)
The
crown
fits
me
Father
Honour
Father
comes
again
Honour appeals
to
me
Father
saw
me and ran away
(I
like honour)
Honour returns from
overseas
Mother
rvrother
comes
again
Seer
Mother
has cOl11e to look for me
A
seer enters
the
house
A
seer
appeals
to me
(I
like a visioner)
Divination
Divination
befits
me
(iii)
,
(ii)
;
Children
Joy
II
A child is enough for joy
Joy
comes
again
A
child
comes again
Joy
arrives
in the house
A
child
appeals
to
me
"tl
(I
like children)
A
title
i
A
title
opens
the
way
The
cult
The cult has
respect
Oracular utterance
The cult
avenges
wrong Oracular utterance
rejoices
at
a title
The man of secret arts
draws a.
linc
Art
The
valiant
man
Art
fits
God
The
valiant
man repays an
injury
i
29
'
- - - : ~ ~ : ~ - = - 2 : 1 . J i l ~ d •. .;. · @ S ~ ·
_ _
.
~ : E J 1 i ~ i ~ 1 ; 1 ~ ; , ,If"
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~
•
•
VIII
STATIVE VERBS
Stative verbs describe the state of a thing', not an action, not
"what
a
noun
or
pronoun
does". Yoruba , like the Semitic languages, uses
stative verbs immediately after the subject where English would use
adjectives after the verb TO
BE:
2
aP9
- - It is plenty ( a plenty)
a j l
- - It
is larger, bigger, older
6 P9 ju
---
It
is
too much
Ad6 P9 jil
-AdCpQju
- Cr owns arc too many (in
our
family!)
a
dim
- I t
is sweet
(a
sweet)
Ibi
dun
-Ibidim
- Chi ldbi rt h is sweet
a
dimju
- It is too sweet
a ju aye
-
It
is greater
than
titles
6 dim j' aye
- It
is
sweeter than titles
Ola dim
j'
aye
Qhidimjoyc
- An honourable state is sweeter than
titles
6 yllll - -
It
is sweet (Ij'tbll)
Epa I iI
yun
l ~ p o y m
Oil
is
sweet
6
jin
-
It is far (afar)
Omi i.J jin
- Omijin (The) way
is
far
a
tutll-
- It is
cold/wet/soothing
Ad6 tutu AdetllltiI
The crown
is
comfortable
a
taro - -
I t
is clear (a
clear)
like water when
the sediments have settled
Ad6
taro -AdetOro
_. The crown is well ordered and at peace
1 Hence they are called "descriptive verbs" in E.C. Rowlands, Tel/ch Yourself YO-
RUBA (English Universities Press, 1969) Note how the verb
jtl is
used to express
the ideas of" ... than" and of the superlative degree.
:z Hence they are also called predicative adjectives.
32
~ l l
I
,
I
I,
016
- It rises up
0169
kan
- It rises up (in number) by one
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Ko t6 i - O t y ~
I t is not enough to sneer about(?)
In
speech, the particle
i
is assimilated
to
the preceding vowel:
'T66yfn, 'T66sfn. t66kf, ~ e e s i n ' eenf, dununni, dununbi.
34
; ~ .
IX
TITLES MASTER OF ...I LORD OF
...
Owu
Ol6wu
- Lord ofOwu
Ak6
Alake
- Lord
of Ake
tfin
- palace
AIMtfin
Lord of the palace (at 9n?)
Ek6
- Lagos
Eleko
- Lord of Ek6
WQ
QIQwQ
- Lord of 9wp
Ikija
Akija
Alakija
- Lord
of ltdja
ebftte
-
harbour
Elebute
Harbour
master
Qrun
- heaven
QIQrun
Lord of
heaven:
God
Edumare
*Odumare
OIOditmare
-
Lord of
splendour, full
of
glory:
God
The one whose glory spans the skies like a rainbow
ade
- crown
Alade
- the crowned one.
To
form a
noun
meaning
the
owner of. ..
,
use as a prefix
to
the
noun the initial vowel
of
the noun plus
11/
the initial vowel
of
the
noun
being raised
to
a high tone. When the initial vowel
of
the
noun
is
/
i-I
the consonant
III
is realised as n. In this case, the prefix vowel
is
10/. For
nouns which begin with a consonant, use as
prefiX
on£ .
I
cf. Old/in rJin
with the same meaning as
Alddjin ddli
n
35
,
'1\
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.
The following names are composed of a subject which is a noun of
ownership, e.g. onfpif and a predicate, e.g. the verbs de "to
arrive",
Y
"to rejoice".
alit'!'
ahHa
AI:iHide
oro
0161'0
Olorode
Ayan
Ahiyan
Alayande
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Note the non-obligatory role
of the
preposition
Isil "towards". It is
idiomatic to
omit
it after
wu "come", bp
"return",
r "go",
etc.
It
is like English
Go home
(in
contrast to Gu to the house and Come
home (in conrast to Come to the house . Latin
had
domum, an accusative
without
a preposition, after verbs of going
to mean "homewards". In
Yoruba,
wei
'Ie
"Come home"
6
wa
'bi
"He came
here"
6
de
'Ie
"He
got home"
6
de
'bi
"He
got here"
But
6
de
si
'bi
"He
lodged
here"
Wa i l l
'bi
"Come here" (an instruction)
Mcla
b¢
ill
'bi
"Come on here" (an
invitation)
A bi s .
ogun Abisogun
"One born in a situation of war"
A bi S
l lga - B is iiga
"One
born
into a
palace"
But
A bi
•
QdL ll
-
b i ~ d i i n
"One
horn
during a festival"
A bi
•
- b i ~ s ~
"One born
on
the Sabhath"
A- bi ir
Qlci
- b i ~ l a
"One born into fame"
A- b i
oye
- AMoye
"One
born
into a chieftaincy title"
A-
bi ir
¢na
-
b i ~ I l
"One born on the road"
When the
preposWon
s
is omitted, the high
tone is
retained
transferred
to
the following syllable:
Mo ti
1 J
•
Ie
"I
am
going
home"
Mo n 1 J iii Ek6 "I
am going
to Lagos".
38
X
THE NOUN FORMING
PREFIXES:
A-I and
IA-;
(i) The low-tone prefix A-I forms abstract nouns from verbs or
verb phrases.
In
the names below, it means
"A
thing which ",
A
person
whom
".
j Q k ~
AjQ
kf
Someone
whom we are
all
to pet*
together
b ~ k ~
A k¢
Someone who has to be
begged
so
that
we
may
pet
him
r i k ~
A
ri
k¢
Someone who only needs
to be
seen to be
petted
b i k ~
A ik¢
Someone born to be petted
j i k ~
Ajik¢
Someone whom one pets daily on waking up
d u k ~ A du k¢
Someone
whom
people
scramble to pet
Al':labi
A
ya
bi
Someone chosen
to
be born
~ a k ~
A:ja k¢
Someone chosen for petting
AYQkli
A
y¢
i
Someone
surrounded
with joy
g h e k ~
A gbe
k¢
Someone
to be carried and petted
AriYQ
A
ri y¢
Someone whom men rejoice to see
Adimni
A
dun
ni
Something sweet
to
have
Akanni
A kan ni
A child conceived with a touch(?)
Akanbi
A
kin bi
A child born with a
touch(?)
Ajani
A
ja
ni
Someone possessed
through
struggle
Ajilkaye
Aja
ka aye
(A war)
fought
all
round
the world
(ii) The mid-tone
prefix lal means "the person who... ". The full
form
is
eni
ti
6.
bal... verb
I;:ni
ti 6
ba Qd Lm
rin
- AbQdiinrin - One who walks in with a
festival
A
b Qd
y rin
-
b d ~ r i n
- One who walks with a
hunter
I
" "to pet", Le., to spoil (of a
child)
with affection.
I
39
II
l
if
(/:,j j
l .. )
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A
bM rl
7
a
de
- AbOdi;mde - One who arrives with the
orisa
A
biiilQya de
-
Ab yade
-
One
who arrives with the
Oya River (Niger)
A bi de . b s ~ d e
-
One
who arrives
on
the day
of
rest (Sabbath)
A
bll eeglm de - Abegunde - One who arrives with the
masquerade
A
bil
Jf
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-
~ i I J
ect ba 9
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e
Sec the following:
f' iwa aye - F i w a ~ a y c
"Conduct life with good
character"
1"
j'
aye
"Enjoy life without haste"
f' QrQ l' agba
"consult elders about a problem"
1" t;j(J SLl11
"make a report"
f' iya jy
"p lInish hi m"
'$adc F ikll
~ c r i P I a y
with
death"
- - - - - - - - - · · ~ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - i
oye
verb
and
noun
5e-!-ad;
lade
gb'
noun
or
pronoun
Pi
I
qhi
~ ~ r Q h l
¢sQ
- r ~ ~ ~ l - l - ~ I
mental
particle
F iwa ~ a i y ( ; "Go through life with
. good condl1ct"
Fi
pen
k(J we "Write
with a pen"
Fi fork
)\?UIl "Eat
with a·
fork"
Ta
1'0
f
qw(J kim mi? "Who tou
ched me?"
Qnafqw(Jkan(Qnalilf'qw(J kan) "The
Artist's
touch"
F'¢hin ti ogiri "Lean on a wall"
I
(iii) Association: the particle bci
·1
ba . . . 1verb \
ba n ji
- Qhiblinji
"Fame
woke up with me"
b a n M
- A d e b l i n k ~ "The crown helped me to
pet"
:1
j
qla
ji
- MobQlaji
"1 woke up with
honour"
j oye
jq
- AdebOyej/ )
A crown fitly associates with a title"
I
a
n de 'Ie
- Bandele
"Get
home with me"
,II
II
ba
n
t¢
'fa -
B a n t ~ f a
"Help
me
to
set
down
the
Ira
board"
ba n kQ 'Ie
- BankQle
"Help
me to build a house"
I
ba m gbj
- -
B a m g b O ~ e
"Help
me fetch
the
double-axe"
'1,
Predicate Banj/)
B a n k ~
Banji
Get home with us Ba wa de '16"
Ade>
Sit with them "B,i
w Jn
j6'k6"
Wa q wa jyun, OILl'wa
"Come
eat
Olu >
with
us, Lord"
I
Subj,ct
raJ
Ade I 1
jq
k¢
Olu
I b'l I n
Qla
I I I
ku
ji
de
B,i mi j6ko "Sit with me"
ij) The Preposition
lilt
"from..."
Qla>
Ra mi de 'Ie
"Get
home with me"
>
l' ~ ~ e r b
Ma j6ko I'
asan
"Don't
sit idle"
l' okun b0 - - Adetokunbr)
"The crown returns
from
overseas"
l' lIgb6
b()
- -
TugbObr)
"Returned from the bush"
I
t'
ilc w,i
- Motihlwa
I
came
fro111
a
home"
i
e j
t'
inll k¢
- Atimlk¢
A
child petted from the
womb"
{ :
I
Predicate
i,
'
'Toknnbr)
----------1--_·
__ ······ ----1
Subject I kiti I
'TinuM
Ni 'gba ti mo t' Ek6 de
Prepo- Name
AmutQrunwa (A
mu
t'Qrun wit)
sition of Verb
I
A t Qrun b(J wa
j'aiye
"from"
place .
Mo
11
t'
Ode
b()
1 - - - - 1 - - - -
Mo
11 t' qja b0
Ade I l' I ~ k l l n I
bQ
When I arrived from Lagos
That which is brought from heaven
QI,i
I
Qy(J I
Coming from heaven to enjoy life
I am coming from
an
outing
. Mo t' ile wa
,----
1---1--
I A t' intI M
I
am coming from the market
L
~
I . I
44
45
I
In
I 1/1
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XII
THE FIRST PERSON SINGULAR PRONOUN
(i ) Subje ct Mo:
M o d u p ~ - Mo d L l p ~
MojisQla - Mo ji siQla
MonilQla
Mo
ni 1I1 Qli
MosunmQla
Mo
sun mQ Qlci
MorakiIIYQ - Mo
rI akin
Y9
M o r ~ n i k ~ Mo
ri
yni k¢
Moradeun
- Mo
ri ade
hun
2
MorohunfQhi
Mo ri ohun fun QI,i
Morohundiya - Mo ri ohun di iya
MorohunmubQ- Mo ri ohun mLI bQ
T
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L
0
,
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xv
NEG TIVE P RTICLES
I) Ko /
0
in indicative sentences:
a
sl l
9kQ
-
KosQkQ "There is no hoe"
a ku mQ
- KokurnQ
"He
no
longer dies"
a f' owo r' 91a
-
KOfow rQhi
"She did not buy high estate with
money"
a to i
- K O t y ~
I t
is
not enough to
. . . .
"
Ade a
ti
.
deoti
"The crown does
not
fade"
Qla 0 'bi kan
- Q l a o ~ e b i k a n
"Honour does
not
dwell (ex
clusively) in one place"
Bi
a
ba kli
- Biobliku
"If he does
not
die, ... "
(ii) Ki i/i
i-negative
particle ki/i plus habitual particle i:
Qla
i
i tan - Qlaiitan "Achievements of honour never
finish"
Aje i i gbe - jeiigbe "Prosperity never perish"
(iii) ad before high tone words
Mar before
other
words in prohibitions - "Don't. ..
":
Mar
19
mQ
-
MalQrnQ
"Don't go (away) any more"
Mar
S9 m i n u
- MasQrninu "Don't throw me away"
Mar
b'
o gim
j¢ - M a b o g u n j ~ "Don't ruin a medicine"
Mar
da
'r i
kim - Madarikan
"Don't turn round to
meet (me)"
M a r j ~ klilo
dun mi -
M a j ~ k d u n r n i "Don't
let
it pain me"
Mail
y -
M a f ~
"Don't
marry
him/her"
Mar
ti ilu kur - MatiJuko "Don't leave the town"
The subjunctive particle ki after
it
M a j ~
Mar j¢ k'o dim wa - Don't let it
~ ~ l I
grieve
us
Mar
j¢ k'o dim
wt5n
-
Don't
let it
~ ~ ~ I ~ 0 [ ~ ~
pain
them
50
(iv) The Negative: ... t1 (See 6
ti "No")
a
"He
read it"
d
No
"He tried in vain to read it "
a ka
a ti
"He tackled a matter"
a
Qrim
"He
tried to solve a problem,
but
failed"
a
Qran ti
"He never failed in an attempt t o solve a
problem"
Ee Qran ti
lfa
doesn't
try to solve a problem without succeed
!fa:
ee Qran ti
ing"
a
kli
"He died"
"He
couldn't die" <
Kuti
6
kli
ti
(v) The O i l d o / i j ~ b U Negative Particle (also Ekiti
and I j e ~ a
before high tone
er before mid and low tones
Akin - 0 ku gbe
Akin - ee
ku
gbe
[Akinr.kugbe] kinkligbe "Brave
vain"
men don't die in
Akin - 6
bQ
'hun
Akin - ee
bQ
hun
[Akinr.bQhim] AkinbQhun "Brave
heart"
men
don't
lose
Akin
- 0
t¢
mi
Akin - ee
t¢
mi [Akinr.t¢mi]
A k i n t ~ r n i
"The
brave
man
does
not
let
me down"
Awo - 6 ~ i k a
51
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Awo - eR ~ i k a
[ A w 6 ~ i k a ] A w ~ i k a
Ifa - 6 Qran
ti
Ifa - elil Qran
ti
[ F a . ~ Q r a n t l ]
F a ~ Q d m t i *
Ifa - 6
b'
Lilli
Ifa
- ell! b'
Lilli
[ F < i B b l J l u j ~ ]
F a b i d u j ~ *
Ow6
- 6 tlil QmQ
Ow6- eetNiI QmQ
[Ow6i11tQmQ]
OwOti}IllQ
QmQ- 6
ir
aYQle
QmQ- ce 1m aYQlc [QmQliIlaYQlc] QmQJaYQJe
Ifa
- 6
jm
uyl
tan
If,i- ce
jr l
uyit,ln
[Faliljuylt
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XV
DIPHTHONGIZATION:
ay(V»ai ;
aw(V»au
There
may be
disagreement
on the
question
whether there are
diph
thongs in
Yoruba. The point doesnot seem to me worth
arguing
about,
for it is a
matter
of terminology.
Readers who do not
like
the term
"diphthongization" are free to givea different name to
the
phenomena
which
we study
below:
1.
T¢ aye
wo
Tlit
aye
wo
[tei-ye-wo] (3 syllables; Iy
aconsonant)
Taiwo'
[t,iy -wo](2syllables; I asemi-vowel;
l i
lost)
2. 01
ge)"cut it";
mu
u(
>
mu)
"take it";
j6
0 ( > jo)
"burn it". Twosyllables(high,mid)becomeone(midtone).
6 Seeonj(( ol1nj((
<
ohunjij((
"food <
ediblething"
55
,
r
II
!I
I,
I
,
II
I
,
III
I
(I
I
If
,I
I II
,I
i
"
1
I
1
1
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I
Mo
ri
ohun mil bl)
Mo re
ohun mil b¢
Ad6
nil
ohun
Ad6
1 0
ohun
mll
Olll
nil ohun
bi
Ki
a
nu
ohun wi
- MorounmiIbQ
-
R n k ~
- A de rou nmu
-
Olurounbi
- Karunwi
(4
syllables)
II
I
XVII
I
I
I
11
\
Ii
Each
of
the following namcs has three syllables: Alilo, Aklm6,
Adi6, Aja6, AmQo, A b ~ o I cannot give any meanings for them. They
originate in little
orfki
and names
of
endearing.
See
next chapter.
ORIKI*
It
will be seen
that
AIdb Akdna [aIda] Adib
etc all have the tone
pattern
Iil
III -
the same tone pattern as most
of
the names in the two
tables on page 39;
A b ~ b i
A b ~ k ~ etc. All these are
oriki pet
names"
as Samuel Johnson calls them
on page 85 of
The History
o
the Yon/bas:
This
is
an attributive name, expressing what the child is,
or
what he
or
she is hoped to become.
f
a male,
it
is always expressive
of
some
thing heroic, brave,
or
strong; if a female, it is a term
of
endearment
or
of
praise.
In
either case it is intended to have a stimulating
efTect
on the individual
The lise
of
the attributive name is so common
that
many children
arc better known by it
than
by their real names. Some
do
not
even
know their own real names when the attribut ive is popul ar. But
lhere
is
a method in the use
of
it; as a ru
Ie,
only children are addressed
by
their oriki by their elders, especially when they wish to express a
feeling
of
endearment for the child.
t is
considered impertinent
for a younger person to call an elder by his Oriki
or pet
name.
'II
i
I
i
I
I
I
'\
[III
I
I \
'l'It
is
uul easy to find a name for this in English because the
Llsage
does
nol
exist
among the English peop c\ Oriki ...
is
a little
more
than the "cognomen"
among
ancient Romans.
The
nearest I have found to
it
are the invocative recitals
of
Virgil in his Aineids In these
books
Virgil describes his heroes
and
his principal
actors
and
actresses
by
giving their genealogy treeS
and
re-counting the heroic
deeds of their deified ancestors.
Tn Yorubaland two categories of odk are easily distinguishable. There is a per
sonal or k
and
the family or ancestral orfk ." Ogunleye Agunbiade-Bamishe,
Know The Yorubas
(lbadan,
1968) pp. 32-33.
Ii
56
57
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1 t must be obscrvcd that this system was most at home among the Northern Yoruba
the i-dialect group. In fact, the -0 oriki are rare among Southern groups like the
ljc;bu.
The items in the third column are known as O r i l ~
The
term
OriN denotes foundation
or
origin,
and
is of an immense
importance in the tracing of a pedigree. Each one denotes a parent
stock. The
Oril
is not a name, it denotes the family origin or Totem.
The
real meaning
of
this is lost in obscurity. Some say they were
descended from the object named, which
must
be a myth; others
that the object was the ancient god
of
the family.
The
Totem represents every conceivable object e.g.
Erin
the elephant),
Ogun the god
of
war), Op6 post), Agbo (a ram), etc.
The
number
of totems of
course is large, representing as each does a distinct
famill
These one-word
oriki
must
be
distinguished
from
the longer literary
genre of the same name:
to
the little
orfki
may be applied the term
praise
name , to the longer
oriki
should bc applied the term praise
poem .
This latter will not concern us in this study; it is a literary-historical
genre in itself: every great man, every family, every town has its
oriki;
every anim al worth celebrating in verse has its own: so does every divinity.
They are treated at length in books such as Oridc(J
Yoruba
by
C.
L.
Adeoye 1969)
AW911
Oriki Oril?
by Adeboy e Babal ola Collins, 1967).
The first chapter of Rogelio A. Martinez Furc's Spanish anthology,
Poesia Yoruba is on Oriki la poesia de los dioses y los hombres . See
also Oriki by Bakare Gbadam9si.
A Yoruba
person's
full name before
the
post 1840
Christian
names
and surname innovation) had three elements:
1
:1
; 11
11
:1
1
)
I
I
I
\
I
i
:1
Ii
I
2
TIe I a i WO, k a to 89 m9 I
oruk9
i
,
I
I
1
I
r i l ~
totem)
Erin
Qkin
Ogun
Qg9
riki
pet name)
AIM
b ~ n i
Ajamli
Akan6
rukQ
name)
AbiQdun
j i b i k ~
AdcjiJmQ
Fagbcmi
2 Samuel Johnson, The History o f he Yorllbas, pp. 85-86.
For
a list of the orile and
the families they signify, see p. 86. Also page 195 of J. O. Lucas, The Religion of
the Yorllbas and pp. 6-12 of C. L. Adeoye, Orllkr Yoruba.
58
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!
I
WHAT'S
IN
A
NAME?
f
A lot. The Hebrew for
name
is
shem,
the Arabic is
'ism.
Both
are cognate with Arabic wasama
to
brand,
to
mark" . A name, then, is
a mark, a
wasm, a
mark, a brand".
To
be nameless
is to
be without
identity. A name identifies the person.
Yoruba has the root
wsm/,sm:
we say
sam to put
a mark on...".
You
can trust Yoruba to break that CVCV verb into a "verb-nominal
collocation": from sam
we
have back-formed the YCY noun am a
mark, a sign". Only
is
left; we do not know what to do with it alone.!
Ortik9
II
Sam
has now been restricted to the branding
of
non-human beings:
we
mark things
and
brand cows,
but
we
name people.
Our
word for a
name
is oruler. What is
its origin?
Let us begin with the Yoruba for to mention":
Yoruba
tk/rukr to
mention" (d-r-k-)
Arabic
qakara
to
mention"
(&i 'ruler to mention
the name of...").
-ruler name
was then restructured and given legitimate
lexical status
as
a VCVCV noun by the usual noun-forming process of
vowel prefixing:
-rttkr>orukr.
Here
is
an illustration of the statement of
Ferdinand de Saussure that "the vast majority of words are, in one way
1 For if srJmi is a verb plus noun, and dmi is the nonn, wl1a is the verb? This is not
a case of ellision from
sa dmi.
The Hausa reflex of the root
is s/ Ina
name .
2 Me tathesis often takes place where /r/ is one of the consonants See Yoruba
eri'tp?,
Hebrew
'apar
dust . Robert Lord says on page 92 of
Teach Y ourse ( Comparative
Linguistics that "consonants (I) and (r) are the most frequently melathesised conso
nants".
61
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or another, new combinations of phonetic elements torn from older
forms."l
Yaruba
orukr
"name" was back-formedfrom dimikr
"to
mcntion,
tomentionthename".2 They go backto the root~ r k d k r whose
basic meaningis found in Hebrew zakar "remember".
Orukr
"name"
is somethingto remember aman by- not amark,not abranding,
but
a linguistic symbol, a name.
"The
modern notion of 'remembering,
psychologically viewed as the actof an individual mind, is quite alien
to the Hebrew conception, which is in the first place communal,and
closely relatedto theideaof thenamt:.,,3
This relationship between the concept
of
a name and theidea
of
remembering can be illustrated from anotherbranch of theHamito
Semitic family: Middle Egyptian
rn
(Coptic ran) is glossed as "name".
Thereisnosuchroot
in
Yorubawiththemeaning"name". Butitoccurs
withthemeanillg"to remember":
run mi 1 eti
4
rUIl ' tf
ni
mi
ni 'ran
flf'ran
5
"remindme"
"remember"
"remindme"(Ijybudialect)
"remem bcr" (Ijybudialect)
I Course in General Lill/?lIistics (NewYork, PhilosophicalLibrary, 1959)
p
169.
2 It is unfortunate that E. C. RowlandsmentionsddYlik(J whenspeakingof
"a
number
of
'verbs' of two or more syllables which are acruaJly compounds of a verbplus
a noun." (Scepage 136 of his
Teach Yourself Yoruba).
da- in d6nikp which he
assumestobe theverbheglosscsas"make". Would
ddnik J
thenmean" tomakea
name"? The truth
is
thatno meaningcan beassigned to
dd- in ddruk(J
by itself,
not even on theprincipleenunciated onpage 132
of
E. C. Rowland's book - that
"the
mcanings of monosyllabic verbs are dependcnt on that of accompanyi;1g
words". Wheneverone is tempted to applysuch a principle,one shouldsuspect
that onc is
dcalingwith
"homophonous
verb
roots"
(See
Kay
Williamson
on
page
88 of
lBADAN. No.26.) Each
of
themhas adifferentetymology.
3A.G.Herbert,'" Memory,Memorial,Remember,Remembrance"inAlan Richard
son,ed.,
A Theological Word
Book o f ire
Bible
(S.C.M. Press, 1950)p. 142.
4 As with
most
of
such causativeconstructions in
Yomba,
the significant
w r -
oftenan archaicwordwhose abilityto standbyitselfis no longerappreciated
is
amplifiedwithwordsspecifyingthe
part
ofthebodywhichcomesintotheaction.
Thus:
rim mE l'
JW J "lend meaha.nd"(helpme)
rim mE 1 fru
"help
mewiththeload"
rim
is cognatewith Arabic
rabma
mercy", Hebrew
rabamim
"assistance,help".
rwr is cognatewithMiddleEgyptian' wy "hands"; fru is cognatewithMiddleEgy
ptian
hry
"under, carrying".
5 Hence
"a
generation" is
Iran,
which illustrates lexically
the
connection between
memoryand history, betweenthereca!!of kinglists(genealogy) and folkhistory.
62
We can pursue the root further. Whenin Genesis2, it
is
said:
"Male
and female created
he
them", the Hebrew word translated as
"male"
is zakar. Now,whathaszakar "male"to dowith
zakar
"to re
mcmber"? Brown, Driverand Briggs say on page 271 of A Hebrew
and English Lexicon
of
the Old Testament
that
the relation
of
zakar
"male" to the z-k-r- "remember" rootis obscure. Yorubawouldseem
tosharethisobscurity: theYorubafor"man" (male) is rldmrin bkilri],
thesameconsonantalrootas orLik(J withmetathesis.
t
Yoruba darukr is cognate with Arabicclakara; Yoruba or/tkr was
back-formed from Yoruba darukr; Yoruba rki'mrin bkilrI] is related
to Hebrewzikkaron "a souvenh". Theyall go backto the ideaof re
membering. Aname is whatwe remembera person by:a male childis
that one that keeps the name
of
the father from lapsinginto oblivion.
This is the relation between z-k-r- "to remember"
and
z-k-r- "male".
TheAfro-Asiatic society was a society that valued a male child speci
fically because he stayed
on
in the family and was
not
given away in
marriage. He perpetuatedthememory
of
theancestor.
He
was azeker
"a memorial"- rkimrin "male",zikkaron.
2
Orfki
Letus startby warningthereadernot to playthe folketymological
gamebyback-formingorf "head" fromthewordoriki. Not sosoonafter
we havejustbeentalkingabout
orukr. Orrik(J
and orfki havethesame
consonantalroot: -r-k-.
Orukr
is the linguistic symbol by which you
rememberan individual; oriki istheliteraryform by whichyouremem
berhimwithinthehistory
of
hisfamily, clan
and
tribt:. Hencethegenea
logicalcontent
of
orikl.
3
The nasalizationin
pkimrill
beganfrom thefinalconsonant,likethe Inl
in
Hebrew
zlkkaroll, and spread through assimilation: [Qkurin]> [Qkunrin] The
process
is
still going
on
in obirill
"woman" (d.
Arabic' imra'
"woman"
Agni
Ivo ry Coast
bla
"woman", Beri
obla
"woman") more frequentlyspel t
obinrill.
I differfrom ArchdeaconJ.O. Lucas,Religioll
of fhe Yorubas,
pages
92-3.
WhatArchdeacon Lucascalls" nasaln"
in
thefootnote
is
theorthographicdevice
inYoruba forshowingthat theprecedingvowel is nasalized.
2 zlkkaron has the word-formative sumxI-ani, foundin Lebanon
(
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It is thought that the recital of the orfki arouses in the child a
strong feeling of solidarity with its blood relations...
l
For the
oriki
finds a secure place for the restless child in the midstof a host of ancestors.
The
oriki
invokes a host of ancestry, and the child is made to experience
the
communion of saints . Ther e are widely publicised stories of
many a mentally ill person who has been cured through the repeated
performance, in his hearing, of the
oriki
of his lineage.,,2
It
is a way of
tracing a man to his roots, to his genesis a way
of
integrating him into
a closely-knit web of family relationships and thus rescuing him from
I
I
"
marginality.
The Jews had a liturgical or sacrificial inemorial, the
zikkaroll
or azkarah, translated in the Septuagint by the word mnemosunOI1
synonym of anamnesis, the word used at the La st Supper.,,3 Thus
at
the service of Holy Eucharist Christians recite the oriki of
God:
Almighty God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Maker of
aU
things, Judge of all men. We praise him, we bless him, we worship
him, we glorify him We chant the oriki
of
Jesus:
the
only begotten
Son, Jesus Christ, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, that takest away
the sins of the world,.... that sittest
at
the right
hand
of
God
the Father.
We say a creed different from the Apostle's Creed, because the Eucharist
is
a service of Memorial and we want to be able to recite the oriki of Jesus:
the only begotten Son of God. Begotten
of
his Father before all worlds,
God
of God, light of light, Very God
of
very God, Begotten, not made,
Being of one substance with the Father . By whom all things were made...
This is not ranting but praise: it is oriki.
And
God remembers 4.
ust as among the Yorubas, it is traditionally believed that the correct
performance of oriki in honour of a progenitor gladdens that progenitor
in the world of the spirits and induces him to shower blessings on his
offspring on earth. s
1
S
A. BabalQla,
The Content an d Form,
p. 25.
2 ibid.
3 Max Thurian,
The Eucharistic Memorial
(John Knox Press, Richmond Virginia,
1960) pp. 23-25ff. The term
zeker,
.. has, unlike
zikkaron
and
azkarah,
no primary
liturgical importance; it signifies the
memory
of a reality in thought
or
word and
hence often the name
of
a person .
4 ibid p.24.
5
S
A. BabalQla,
The Content and Form, p 24
MUSLIM AND CHRISTIAN NAMES AMONG THE YORUBA
Christianity came into Yoruba land in 1842, Islam a century or two
earlier. With these two religions came the adoption of Semitic names by
Yoruba converts, converts to Christianity taking Biblical (Hebrew
and
Greek) names-like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Theophilus, tephen-
converts to Islam taking the Arabic forms of the names: Ibrahim, Isiaka,
Yakubu, Yusuf.
These names are not
Yoruba
names,
and
Yoruba
persons
who have such names usually have indigenous Yoruba names in addition.
They are likely to be called by the Yoruba names
at
home.
t is not easy for the Christian called
Abraham
to see that he has the
same name as the Muslim called Bimiimp; few people know
that
Isaac
[AisiikiJ =
isiakd,
that
Jacob
[Jeek9Qblt] =
Ydlolbil, Joseph [ J 0 6 s ~ ~ f u ]
Yeslifit,
David [Deefiidi] = Daudd, Moses [M66siisi] = Musa,
Gabriel e e b l i r i ~ l i ]
=
Jibrila,
etc. Even less easy is it for most people
to realise that many of the Hebrew
and
Arabic words in these Semitic
names have indigenous cognates in the
Yoruba
language antedating the
coming
of
Islam to Yorubaland or the planting of Christianity in Yoruba
land.
Thus DIu God had been in Y
oruba
land before Arabic 'al-lah
the (one
and
only) God , or the Hebrew'
El God
(in
Gabri-el, Dani-el,
Micha-el, Beth-el) was known to the Yoruba. And danu
mercy
had
been a Yoruba word before Hebrew
/.zanun
mercif ul came with the
Biblical name Yoha1:zun (John) Yo (Yahweh=Jehovah) is merciful .
Moses
M u s ~ i ,
the name of the greatest
of
the prophets of Israel, was
given
to
him in Egypt where he was born.
t
is the ancient Egyptian
word msi
to
give birth , mslV to be born which is found in the ancient
Egyptian names
Tuthmoses
begotten of Thoth ,
Rameses
begotten
of
Ra .
Moses, Tuthmoses
and
Rameses
have been popularised in their
Greek form with the Greek
-esj-s
noun ending.
Egyptian msi occurs indigenously in Yoruba
misi
found in
9Y9 nisi,
the title
of
the kingmakers at QY9, kingmakers by virtue of their being
begotten
at
QY9 ,
being descended from sons
of
the soil.
t
occurs in
1 The
Isaaki, Jak(Jbu, Jos( /lI, Dajidi,
]v[ose in the Yomba Bible do not reflect the actual
phonetic modification
of
the Biblical names in the speech of Yombas. The names
themselves have travened to Yombaland by a round-about route, via the Septuagint
and the Greek New Testament, the Latin Vulgate, and the English Bible from
where they were transliterated into the Yoruba Bible, where the Epistle
of
James
is
caned the Epistle
of Jak(Jbu
even though the Yoruba Christian with the name
James
is caned
Jeemiisi.
The
Jak(Jbll
for the James of the English Bible is a carry
over from the usage of the Greek New Testament.
64
65
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Yoruba
mesi
found in
Afesi Ogp,
the nick-name
of
the people
of lbadan,
begotten
of
the hill , a reference to the devotion of the Ibadan people
to Oke 'badan
the lbadan
hill which, according to legend, ofTered
refuge to Lagelu, the founder
of
the city.
The first generation converts tended to throwaway everything in
the indigenous culture as pagan; only subsequently did it begin to dawn
on people
that God
in sundry times
and
places has revealed himself in
diverse forms. Bishop James Johnson, it is said, refused to christen babies
with Bible names which their pa rents desired in preference to the
pagan
Yoruba
names which were available to express the same sentiments ex
pressed in the Bible names.
t
was the semantic parallels which impressed
the bishop; he could hardly have known
that
the
Yoruba
language itself
was related to Hebrew
or
to Arabic.
2
Christianity and Islam have had at least on e effect on Yoruba names:
by persuading the
Yoruba
converts to reduce the number
of
divinities
they worshipped
to
only one, they have had the effect
of
reducing the
number of theophoric prefixes in the Yoruba names chosen for children
from Christian
and
Muslim homes-no more Ogllll-bL mmi, Fa-Mnmi ,
i pa-Yf
mi
, If.fun-Iqiya or r i ~ a f u n k : ; only
Olzi-bL mmi,
O l u ~ r u n : j d , Olu-/qiya,
O h i ~ r u n k :
The ancient variety
of
Yoruba
names
and
Yoruba worship is
preserved now in the names which have become fixed as
surnames
family names. Thus the OS{lnyln in the surname of the late Bishop
OS{ll yln indicates nothing
of
the religion
of
the bishop himself; it merely
shows the ancestral belief of his forefathers.
In ancient times every male Altiytillde would know how to play the
drums, every male
Oneib6M
would be skilled in some art, every male
i jflabi would be initiated into the cult of ancestral masks: religions and
professions ran in families. This made the babaldwo s question -
What
is your
name?
- meaningful.
What is
your
name? What
is the name
of
your father?
What
is the name
of
your
mother?
And a lot of background
information would have fallen into his hands.
t
was as it used to be in
1 L6gelrl itself, like other mythological names, is symbolically given: it breaks inio
L6-gelti. The first
is
the particle of ownership - of a thing
or
a quality. The second
palt
is
cognate with Hebrew
gal
mound, hill in
Gal Ed. L6gehi
means something
like
mountain nymph - the one on the hill.
2 See Modupv OduY9ye, Yoruba and Semitic Languages: Linguistic Relationship
in the Nigeria Magazine, No. 99 Dec. 1968.
66
England: every Smith was close to the smithy; every Mason came from
a family of builders; every Carpenter was connected with
that
trade.
Today, a Mr.
Mason
may be a fisherman
or
a lawyer, a
Mr.
Fisher may
be a smith, and a Mr. Fowler may not have hunted for game in his life.
The Yoruba believe
that
a person's name affects his behaviour:
they say, Onikr
f f {}
6, his name is having a psycological effect
on
his
behaviour. Whether one understands how this happens
or
not, the
responsibility for choosing a meaningful name for one's child
or
grand
child should still be a solemn undertaking.
For
the name one gives
to
one's child is the name the world will call him throughout life.
i
Williams, Moore, Syngle, Lucas, Fisher, Smith, Fowler are only a few of the English
surnames which can be found as surnames among the Yoruba. The explanation is to
be found
in
the history
of
the
Yoruba
contact with British missionaries first
in
Freetown, Sierra Leone, and subsequently in Abyokuta. The incidence
of
such
names is lherefore highest in these two places. Similarly, Portugue se surnames like
Branco, Perreira, Jacintha,
da
Rocha were actually brought back from
Brazil
reminders of the trans-Atlantic slave trade to South America and the return of the
exiles after the abolition of slavery. Most such names can be traced back to the
Brazilian quarters in Lagos. There
is
nothing funny about these foreign names;
they are a true reflection of significant events in the history of the bearers. Nor is
there anything funny
about
Mr Wood
or Mr
Stone: the reader may consult J. W.
Freeman's book, Discovering Surnames,
or
such manualS for their explanation.
67
enf.
M; i .
. tt
)
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Diu "God"
(Lord, Master)
O l u f ~ m i
- Olu
mi
"God
loves me"
Oluszmya - Olu san iya
"God
avenges punishment"
Oh'ijinmi - Olu jin
mi
"God
gave me"
O l u k ~ m i
- Olu
mi
"God
pets
me"
0lllY9
mi
- Oill
Y9 mi
"God rescues
me"
Oluy¢misi - Olu
mi
si
"God
honours me"
OIUfunmiM - Olu fun mi
"God
gave me to
pet"
O I U r ~ m i l ~ k l l 1 1 - Olu
mi
I.. ykiln
"God
consoles me in
my
weeping"
011Il«ly¢d6 - Olu kit ay¢ de
"God
brought
joy"
O I l l ~ ~ g u n
Olu
ogun
"God won
a
victory"
O I M u n n ~ ¢
Olu
fUn mi
"God gave me to watch"
O l l l ~ ¢ Y < ;
-
01L1
¢Yl
"God
wrought a thing
of
dignity"
OIMelanu
Olu
1. aanu
"God
has mercy"
OlublIs(l!a - Oill bit sa
9lei
"God replenishes status"
OlubUkul1 < gel
"God
makes masters"
Olowa "Lord,
Master" (God)
Olliwasanmi
Oillwa"
san JIll
"The
Lord
is
beneficial
to me"
Olliwatosin
Oillwa II to i sin
"The
Lord is (big) enough to
worship"
QlQrun
"Owner
of
heaven, -
God"
QI¢runniillby
- QI¢run ni • ill by
It
is
God
who lives (for ever 7)"
Q I ¢ r u n f ~ l l 1 i
-
QI¢run" f¢
mi "God loves
me"
M o f 9 ¢ r u n ~ ¢
-
Mo f'
QI¢run
"I watch with the help of
God"
68
O r i ~ a
"Patron
saints, divinities"
\,
O r i ~ a w a y i
O r i ~ a g b e m i
-
O r i ~ a II
gbe
111i
O r i \ ~ a
supported
me"
Orl*
Orimol6ye
-
Od
mil 016ye
"The Orf
has foreknowledge of
the person destined to be chief"
Orimal
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,
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du names are almost all from I j ~ b u province.
O g u n ~ Q l a
- O g u n ~
Qla
Ogun
brought elevation
Oguntade
- Ogun t6 ade Ogun
is
as valuable as a crown
Seer, wizard OgunjQbi
- OgunjQ bi Ogun gave birth to all
of
us
$6mlde
$6wQle
$6yinkii
$6bande
$6weinde
$6wunmi
$6m¢Qrin
$6tunde
$6sanya
$6liirin
6 U l l l k ~
$6k¢ya
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
O ~ 6 m i d e
WQ ile
yi mi
kii
ba mi de
w i
mi de
wun mi
m¢ Qrin
ni anM
kQ iya
tun de
san iya
la
aarin
It is the seer
we
are petting
The seer champions the cause of
the suIfering
The
seer enters the house
Seers surround me
A
seer came with me
A seer came to look for
me
1 like visioners
The seer knows how to pick his
time
The
seer comes again
The seer repays an injury
The seer passes through the
middle
Here
comes my seer
O g u n ~ i n a
O g u n t i m ~ h i n
Ogunnuga
Ogungbe
Ogunrinde
Ogunbiyl
Ogunba
Ogl1l1mQd
y
de
O g u n k ~ y y
Ogunlade
OgunmQIa
O g u n d i p ~
Ogunt6yinb6
Ogun
¢na
- Ogun ti mi
I.)
- Ogun ni uga
- Ogun gbe m i
- Ogun rin de
- Ogun
bi
eyi
- Ogun ba
- Ogun mu Qdy de
- Ogun k6
- Ogun I' ad e
- Ogun
mQ Qla
- Ogun di
Ogun t6 oyinb6
Ogun brought dignity
Ogun
is
crown
Ogun
with
honour
Ogun substitutes for a ransom
Ogun is as strong as the white
nlen
Ogun
lifted (opened) the gate
Ogun backed me up
Ogun
has a palace
Ogun
is
propitiolls to
me
Ogun walked
here
Ogun gave birth to this one
Ogun lives
Ogun makes the hunter arrive
safe
$6litja
$6ya11l1wo
- la ija
- yan
mi
wo
The seer stopped the fighting
The
seer chose me on
trial
y
Hunter
K Q l e o ~ 6
6 t i k a r ~
J Q l a o ~ 6
$6riyan
$6diimLl
6 d i p ~
o r ~ m ~ k u n
- KQ
iIe
l ika
di i mLl
- di
- mi I.) ykun
-
ri yan
- J
y
QIci
The
seer found something to
choose
The seer held him
The
seer substitutes with a plea
The seer consoles me in my
weeping
Benefit from the status
of
the
seer
Build the house of a seer
Th e seer himself
AbQdyrin
Q d ~ b i y l
Q d ~ r i n d e
Q d ~ k u
Q d ~ y a l e
Q d ~ t Q l a
Q d ~ b u n m i
QdNina
Q d ~ g b a r o y e
- A-
ba
9d
y
rin
- Qd
y
bi
eyi
Qd
y
rin de
- Qd
y
•
ku
- Qd y • y a ile
- Qdy • t6 Qla
- Qdy • bim mi
- Qd
y
•
di ¢na
- Qdy • gbQ aroye
A hunter gave birth to this one
The
hunter walked to this place
There are hunters left
The hunter called in the house
Hunting
is
enough for status
The
hunter gave me
The hunter blocked the way
The hunter listened to com
plaints
Someone who walks with hun
Most names are ~ g c i They are also found in I j ~ b u R ~ m Q area.
ters
Ogun* kin Valiant warrior
Ogunlesi
O g u n ~ ~ y y
Ogun I' esi
Ogun
Ogun is our defence
Ogun wrought glory
AkinYyIe
- Akin.
yy
ile
A valiant
house
man lends glory to a
Akingbade
- Akin. gba ade
The valiant man takes the crown
Ogl/It is the god of iron, the patron of all who work with iron e.g. smiths the
Akinwunmi
- Akin. wun mi
I
like valiant men
god
of
war
and
the patron
of
hunters.
Akintunde
Akin.
tun
de
The valiant man comes again
72
7
~ ~ = ~
__
_ _
__
.
__
_
J
\1
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I
Akinrin(>hi
Akint(>hi
Akinsanya
Akinlade
Akinniyi
A k i n l ~ y y
Akinjide
AkinY Ymi
Akfntciy¢
Akintoye
Akinluyi
AklnbQgun
A k i n p ~ l l I
Akint¢l11ide
Akinsanm
i
Aldnrele
- Akin .. rin (j)
Qla
- Akin. to 91a
- Akin
..
san iya
- Akin
. I a de
- Akin .. ni iyi
- Akin
II I
- Akin
iii ji
de
- Akin!fJ yet
- Akin
..
t6 ay¢
- Akin
..
to aye
-
Akin
I' Ilyi
- Akinilb¢ OMi) ogun
- Akin
..
p ~ l u
- Akin .. t¢
mi de
Akin .. san
l11i
- A ki n .. re
']C
AkinmUSlllJrU ---
A1li -- Akin
B
bii
Qlii
AkinQlii . Akin
Q/;i
Akinkligbe - Akin:ee kll gbe
Akinb¢l1Un - Akin:ee b¢ ohilD
Akfnt¢mf - Akin:ee t¢ i
AkinnigbagM Akin :ee ni igbagbe
Ogunmakind6 - Oglll1 mll
akin
de
O g u n n u i k i n w ~ i
Oglm ml\ akin
"The valiant man walks in honour"
"Valour
is enough
for
honour"
"Valiant men avenge insults"
"The valiant man arrives safe"
"Valour
has dignity"
"Valour
has
glory"
"The valiant man has come early"
"Valour
befits me"
"Valour
is
enough matter
for
joy"
"Valour
is enough for a title"
"Valour
is dignity"
"The valiant man is
back
[rom
war"
"The valiant
man
was one of
them"
'The
valiant
man came
after
me"
"Valour
is good for me"
"The valiant man went to his
house"
"The bold one exercises patience"
"The
valiant man
"The valiant man got home"
"The
valiant man did
"Valour goes very well with
honour"
"Valour of honour"
"Valiant
men do
not
die in vain"
"A valiant
man
does not give up"
"Valour
never let me down"
"Valiant deeds have no oblivion"
"Ogun
brought
the
warrior
back"
"Oglll1
brought
the warrior here"
Most kin
names are
Ondo
and
I j y ~ a No
girl
is
given
an kin
name.
Ogull
"War"
AdebQgun
-
AdiS b kim
- Qna II ba Olll
-
Qna
..
f¢
- Qna ..
i
mi
- Qna .. la ijil
- Ona . . M mi r6
- Qna II
He
- Qna
..
b¢
(lilti) iljO
- Qna. di
- Qna
..
ba
mi k¢
"The artist creates with the
hand"
"Art befits lords"
"Art
needs
learning"
"The profession of artist suits
me"
"Art settles the quarrel"
"Art stays with me"
"The
artist opens a house"
"The
artist returns from a journey"
"Art puts
in
a plea
with
a ransom"
"Art helps
me
to pet (this child)"
- Qna .. gun od uwa "Art is the cream of existence"
- Qna ' ko mi 0 )
aya
"Art emboldens
me"
-
Ade
b
na j "A
crown goes very well with art"
Ayi m
"The
sound
of
drums"
-
Ayan"
de ile
- Ayan
ail t6
Qla
Ayan ..
t6
llga
-
Ayan
nbel ad6
jQ
- Alayan" de
"The
drummer reaches home"
"Drumming is
enough
for honour"
"Drumming
is
as good as a
palace"
"Drumming goes very well with
royalty"
"Here
comes the master of drums"
Qya'
"Mother Niger"
- Qya WQ oye
"The Niger assumes a title"
- A-
ba
Qya de
"One who
arrives with the
Niger"
1 The River Niger being to the north of Y
oruba
land, Qya names are found among
the Northern Yorubil, in Qfa for instance.
75
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Qpad¢tun
- Qpa d' ¢tun
"Plentiful
harvest becomes new"
> ~ u n l
"The O , ~ u n River"
Qla
Opa
Qla Opa
"The
elevated status concomitant
with plentiful harvest"
$Llllkunl6
O$un .. kun il6
O$un fills the house"
0$unt6ki
QI(Jpad6
QI(Jpa de
"Here
comes the devotee
of
the
O$un ..
t6
i kf
"The O ~ u n is enough
to
salute"
0 (\11 t6kun
god of plenty"
O$un • t6
ohm
"The O , ~ u n
River
is as big as
the
sea "
O$unniyi
O$un .. ni iyi
"The O$un
has
dignity"
~ f u n - Guardian of
the
fields
O Lll1k¢ya
O Ull •
k9 iya
"The O.yun champions
the
cause
J;:fUnyymi -J ; : fun • yy
mi "Worship
of
the
god
of
the
farms
of
the
suffering"
O$unbimmi
O$un • bUn mi
"The O$un gave me"
suits me"
J;:fUnk¢ya - J;:fun. k9 iya
"The
god of the farms rebuffs
rni "Water"
indignity"
k ~ f u n - 0$6 k r yfun
"The seer greets
the
god of the
Omikunl6
Omi"
kun
il6
"Water
fills the house"
farm"
(?)
Omit(Jla
- Omi . t6 91
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Q1116b¢hi
Qm¢parf9I,i
Q
m
9 II bel 91ci nl il6
"The
child meets
honour
at home"
Q
m
9 pa ri 9la "Children complete one's high
Banj6ko
Bank¢le
Ba mij6ko
Ba mi kQ ile
"Sit down with me"
"Help me build the house"
Kik¢19 9
Kik¢ l' 9m9
state"
"Children are for petting"
Q
m
9
IaMk
¢
Kuj9
r
¢
Qm9
ni a iM k¢
Ikuj¢wQ r¢
"It's
a child we would have petted"
"Death spared him"
Kuyinnu
lku yin in nil
"Death
left him alone"
"The living one" KU$aanu
IkLl $e aanu
"Death was merciful"
KU$or6
lku $e or6
"Death
wrought a painful thing"
OJ¢dele
OJ¢
II
de ile ''OJ¢ arrives home"
Kurunmi
lku
run
mi
"Death
ruined
me"
OJ¢diran
OJ¢dokun
OJ¢ ii d' iran
OJ¢'' d'
ohm
''OJ¢ becomes hereditary"
''OJ¢ becomes the sea"
KUforiji
Kuk9yi
- lkLl foriji
-
lku
k9 eyi
"Death pardoned"
"Death refused this on e"
l ~ i m ¢
- lku $i i m )
"Death could
not
recognise
him"
Kuy¢bi
lku yy ¢bi
"Death
removed the guilt"
Eeglm "Ritual masks, ancestral masks"
~ i w ¢ k i l
'wQ iIeu
"Take
(your) hands off dying"
I
(stop dying)
Eegllllj9
bi
- E6gllll j9 bi
Eegu/1
gave birth to
al1
of us"
Abegunde
A-
ba
eegun de
"One who comes with the eegu/1
E6gunyc;mi
Eegun
yC;
mi
Eegzl/1 fits me"
Aye)
"Joy"
'Tunde Reincarnation
AY9" de il6
"Joy reaches (our) home"
AY9d6le
Babatunde
Baba"
tun de
"Father
comes a second time"
AY9 II
d'
eji
"Joy
becomes two"
AY9
de
ji
Yetund6
lye II tun d6
"Mother comes a second time"
AY9
rIn
de
Ay¢ II rin de
"Joy walks in"
ly,ibe)
Iya be)
"Mother
returns"
Ql11¢t,iye)
Qn19 II t6
aY9
"Children are enough cause for
Babatunji
Baba II tlm ji
"Father
wakes up again"
joy"
Babajid6
Baba IIji de
"Father
is awake and is here"
Temit,iY9
Ti emi II t6 ay
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Ad6dam¢lei
Ad6m¢la
Ad6beink¢
Ad6bllk¢nlei
Adetunji
Ad6dap¢
Ad6bay¢
Ad6weil6
Ad6klm16
Ad6goke
Adegor6ye
Ad6s9ji
d r ~ m i
d f ~ m i
d ~ [ n a
de Crown
The
crown is resuscitated
Crowns affiliate
- Ad6 tunji
- Ad6
dap¢
- Ad6 ba ayo
- Ad6 wei il6 'The crown comes home
- Ad6 kun ile Crowns fill the house
- Ad6 gun oke Crowns ascend a hill
- Ade
gun
ori oye
The
crown ascends to a title
- Ade
S9
ji The crown is revived
- Ad6
mi
1111 ykllll) The crown consoles me
- Ad6
f¢
mi The crown loves
me
- Ade
¢na The
crown lifts the barrier on
the way
The crown is mixed with status
A crown and honourable estate
The crown helps me to pet
The crown completes status
- Ad6 da m¢
91ei
- Ad6 m¢ 91a
- Ade
ba
mi
k¢
- Ad6 bU kun 91ei
Ad6b(maj9
v < 7 c i ~ a d c
Ad6iye
Ad6nrel6
Ad6deji
Ad6bUs6ye
Ad6gb9
1ci
Ad6ribigbe
Ad6gb6yega
Ad6b6yej9
Ad61abU
Adebajo
Ad6niyi
Adeniji
Ad6
ba
oye
j9
- Ad6 ba 9
na
j9
- F'
91ci
ade
- Ade iye
- Ad6 n re 16
- Ad6 di eji
- Ad6 btl si oye
- Ad6 gba
91ei
-
AM i
ibi gbe
- Ad6 gbe oye ga
- Adela iM
- Ad6 b¢ (Wi) a jo
- Ad6 n i iyi
- Ad6 ni iji
A
crown has dignity
A crown has refuge (for the
oppressed)
The crown crossed deep waters
The crown returns from a jour
ney
A crown of salvation
The
crown is going home
The
crowns become
two
A crown adds to a title
The crown takes status
The crown finds a place to live
A crown raises a chieftaincy
high
A crown well complements a
title
A crown fits in well with
art
Make a crown out of honour
Ad6bisi
- Ade bi si
The crown gives birth to more
Adebimp6
Ad6peju
Ad6 bi 111i p6
- Ad6 pe oju
The crown begat me whole
The
crown is full value
Iga/uga
courtyard, palace
Ad6j9k¢
Ad6doyin
Adeloro
Ad691ei
Adeyc,:mi
Ad6yinkei
- Adej9 k¢
- Ade di oyin
- Ad6
taro
- Ad691ei
- Ad6 yc :
mi
- Ad6 yi mi
k:i
Crowns join
in
petting
Crowns become honey (sweet)
The crown
is
peaceful
The
crown
of honour
The crown befits me
Crowns surround me
Ademlga
ayenuga
Bisuga
Leid6ga
Hyiga
- Ad6 nl lluga
-
aye n l
u g ~ t
- A-
bi
si uga
- Qla
d6
iga
- Ifa
yf
iga
A crown has a palace
A title has a palace
Born in a palace
Status reaches a palace
Ifa builds a (round) courtyard
Adepojll
- Ad6poju
There are too many crowns
A d 6 J ~ g u n
- Ade mu
glm
The Crown
stable
makes the land
Oba King
Ad6kanmbi
AMgbit¢
- Ad6
kin mi
bi?
- Ad6 gba it¢
Is it my turn to the crown ? (?)
The crown takes a throne
Qbaf¢mi
- Qba
II f¢ l11i
The king loves me
Ad6k¢ya - - Ade k9 iya
The
crown rebuffs insults
Ad6day¢ - Ad6 di ay¢
Ad6muwagun - Ade mu iwa gun
The crown becomes joy
The crown makes character
Oyc
titled posts
Adeyym9
Ad60ye
Adeniran
- Ade
yy 9m9
- Ad60ye
- Ad6 ni iran
straight
A crown befits a child
A crown of title (titular)
Crowns have pedigree
ayekan
ayetund6
ayebanji
- aye
II kan mi
- aye .. tun d6
- aye III ba mi j i
It is my turn to the title
A title has come again
The title has been with me since
my waking
up
81
80
-
Q ~ i
baodu "Chief ta incy fits the o racle"
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Oyekunle
- Oye. .kunile
"Titles
fill
thehouse"
OyeyipQ
- Oye .. yip¢
"Titles roll together"
O y e ~ i n a
- Oye..
Qna
A
titleopenstheway"
Oyenuga
- Oye. .ni uga
"Titleshavepalaces"
O y e l ~ s y
- Oye..
Iii
ySy
"Titles have rank and hierarchy"
Oyeniran
- Oye..
ni
iran
"Titleshavepedigree"
Oyeniyi
- Oye..
ni
iyi
Titles havedignity"
Oyediran
- Oye. .di i ran
The titles becomeshereditary"
Oyemade
- -
Oye
II
m¢ade "Thetitleconjoinswithacrown"
y e n m ~
- Oye
II ni a m ~
"Titleshavesymbols"
Oyeb¢de
- Oye..
bQ de
The
titlehascomeroundagain"
OyeYymi
- Oye
iii Yv mi
The title fits me"
Oyesilllya
- Oye. .saniya
The titleavengessuffering"
Oyegoke
- - Oye..gun
6U
"The titleascendsa hill"
Oyeb¢la
- Oye .. ba < >lci
CiQ)
A
title agrees well with status"?
Oyebolll
- Oye
ii ba
Olu(jQ)
A
title
fits God
Oyel¢wQ
- ye I QWQ
"Titles haverespect"
Qlcidunjoye
--
Qla
dLll ju
aye
"Status
is
sweeterthan chieftaincy
titles"
Ogunt6ye
-
Ogll11
t6aye
"Og(1Il
is
enoughforatitle"
OlMoye
-
111 t6aye
God
is sufficientfor
titles
Adeloye
- Ade
l'
aye
A
crown
is
the mark
of
chief
taincy"
Q ~ i b d i l
-
Q ~ i
yaile
The
chiefcalled
in
thehouse"
Q ~ i y a J e
Q ~ i b Q w a l e
-
Q ~ i
b¢wa 'Ie
The
chiefreturnedhome"
Q ~ i k o m a i y a
-
Q ~ i
k6
mi
0 )
aya
The
chiefenboldenedme"
-
II b ~ r u
'The chieffears"
Q ~ i k a n l u
- Q ~ i kanOllt "Chieftaincy appertains to divi
nity"
Q ~ n a j a
-
la ija
The
chiefsettlesthequarrel"
Q ~ i f Q d l J ] f i n
-
..f' Qdun rin
"The chief selected the time
of
thefestivaltotakeatrip"
Q ~ r b ~ r i l
O ~ i n
namesare almost
all
Ijybu. Inthatdialect, anattenuation
of
nasalizationisincipient:hence O ~ i
Qili "Elevatedstatus,fame,honourableestate"
Q l a ~ e n i
- Qhi
i
ni
Fame
is notunachievable"
- Q!
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cord
twined
around
their neck. Of
the
two names, the Ijybu use only Aina;
for it is proverbial
that
IjfbU ki fit oj6, "Ijybus never bear the name D6.
6 Children whose hair are
knotted
together around the crown of the
head are called Dada.
The
hair must be left like that until ceremonially
cut.
7.
Qri
is the name
of
children conceived soon after a previous birth,
before resumption of menstruation.
8
- which means
"sack"
-
is
the name
of
a child
born wrapped
up in a thin membrane - the amniotil sac.
9. The following names mentioned before are determined
by
the
circumstances of the birth of the
child:
AbfPdun, Ab(5dl'inrin, Abfpl1a,
AbfrSf, AbpsMe.
10. The first
of
twins to "taste
of
the world"
is
Taiwo; the one who
"comes last" is
~ h i n d e
11.
The
third of triplets is
:;ta
oko
but the child is not generally called
3
by this "title". f:;ta is "three"; for oko see Hausa
ukil "three".
12. Counting Tafwo as one, Kt hinde as two, the child born after a set