The Yoruba from Prehistory to the Present

A rich and accessible account of Yoruba history, society and culture from the pre-colonial period to the present.

Aribidesi Usman (Author), Toyin Falola (Author)

9781107064607, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 4 July 2019

514 pages, 67 b/w illus. 12 maps
23.5 x 15.6 x 2.7 cm, 0.95 kg

'… the book is a timely contribution to the literature on Yoruba studies. It should be a worthy reference material for historians, political scientists, sociologist, and non-academicians interested in Yoruba history, culture, society, and politics.' Adeniyi S. Basiru, African Studies Quarterly

The Yoruba are one of the largest ethnic groups in West Africa, with significant populations in Nigeria, Benin and Togo, as well as a sizeable diasporic community around the world. By considering the art, religion, economics and political systems of the Yoruba, Aribidesi Usman and Toyin Falola chart the history of the Yoruba through the lens of the group's diverse and dynamic cultural and social practices. Using archaeological data, oral, and archival sources alongside rarely-discussed local histories Usman and Falola form a rich and detailed picture of the Yoruba from a period of early occupation and agriculture, the growth of complex societies and empires, the turbulent colonial period to the present day, constructing a comprehensive account of Yoruba history brought together in a single volume.

List of figures
Preface
Acknowledgments
1. Geography and society
Part I. Long Historical Formations: 2. Prehistory and protohistory
3. The growth of complex societies
4. States and small-scale polities, AD 1400–1600
Part II. Yoruba Polities and Entry into the Atlantic World: 5. The seventeenth century: the age of empire building
6. The eighteenth century
Part III. The Nineteenth Century: Wars and Transformations: 7. Yorubaland in the nineteenth century: the height of trouble
8. The nineteenth century: the internecine wars and consequences
9. The nineteenth century: slave trade and slavery
10. The nineteenth century: new agencies of transformation
Part IV. Economic, Social, and Cultural Practices over Time: 11. Precolonial economy
12. Religion and world view
13. Creativity: arts, body adornment, and music
Part V. Colonial Yoruba: 14. Colonial rule, economy, education, and identity
15. Politics and identity in the late colonial era
Part VI. Postcolonial Yoruba: 16. Politics and identity: the post independence era
17. Politics and identity at the close of the twentieth century
18. Contemporary politics and identity
19. Contemporary sociopolitical, economic, and cultural transformation
20. Summary and conclusion
References
Index.

Subject Areas: African history [HBJH]