3 June 2023, Happy new Yoruba year,


 

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Understanding Ẹdan Ògbóni

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Understanding Ẹdan Ògbóni  Ògbóni; Ògbóràn  Erelú; Àbíyè Eríwo yà!; À yà gbó, À yà tó!  The old ones; Increase with age. Titled female elders; May children be born to live The Lord of secrets, descend!; For longevity and prosperity! Ẹdan Ògbóni is a pair of male and female brass figures with iron stems, usually joined at the top by an iron chain. It is an emblem of membership in the Ògbóni society, which wielded considerable political, judicial, and religious powers among the Yoruba in precolonial times and still does, to some extent, today.  In the past the society (known as Òṣùgbó among the Ẹ̀gbá and Ìjẹ̀bú Yorùbá) functioned as a town council, a civic court, and an electoral college for selecting a new king and dethroning a bad or unpopular one. It imposed curfews in times of crisis and also executed serious offenders. Much of the society's authority derives from its role as the vital link between the community and the Earth that susta...
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Justice System in Yorubaland

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Iya ni Wura

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Iya Ni Wura  In the 1800s Books and travellers' accounts described Yorùba women as powerful traders, warriors, priestesses, mothers and political voices. They held down families, towns and trade networks.  Finance & Economy – Yoruba Women dominated local markets, from kola nuts to textiles. Some became wealthy merchants, controlling trade routes that linked the Yoruba to coastal ports. Spiritual Authority – As priestesses of Òrìṣà like Ọṣun, Yemoja, and Ọya, women carried immense influence in guiding communities through rituals and festivals. Family & Society – A Yoruba woman was the backbone of the extended family system. She was both nurturer and strategist, raising children, managing farms, and ensuring survival during wars and displacements of the 1800s. Resilience in Crisis – During wars and slave raids, women organised escapes, rebuilt settlements and town as well as negotiating peace in some regions. European visitors often wrote with surprise about how independ...
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