Iya ni Wura

 Iya Ni Wura 

In the 1800s Books and travelers’ 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 independent and respected Yoruba women were compared to their own societies at the time.

The Yoruba woman of the 1800s was not silent. She was a voice, a force, a balance of softness and strength that kept the Yoruba nation alive.

Ìyá ni Wúrà

Folashade Gbajumo edited