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NIGERIAN NAMES
A Daystar Series

The series is planned (0 include studies of the personal names characteristic


of the peoples of Nigeria - Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, Efik, Edo, Itshekiri and
so on.
This book, the first in the series, gives an idea of what will be achieved
through the series which we hope will be pleasing to all cultured Nigerians
and others interested in Nigerian culture.

\~

l~

,YORlJBA

NAMES.

Their Structure

and their meanings!

MODUPJ;<: ODUYQYE

Ibadan

Daystar Press

1972

OHiO UNIVt~h:S1r(
I ...~ RA 0,1,
1:., '.1
L lOr.

~.

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DAYSTAR PRESS, P. O. BOX 1261, lBADAN, NIGERIA.

PREFACE
First Published
1972
r{) ModuN Oduyr,>ye 1972

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 is a dictionary of Yoruba names which should list all the items.
The subject of this book is 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 is 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. If 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.

To
MAMA

5.15.11.15

This, then, is a minimum grammar of the Yoruba language. I


have been interested in the fact that one could write an almost complete
grammar of the Yoruba 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, mirror exactly the stream
of-utterance situations. Instead of Olu r~ m[ l' fkun as the sentence would

Printed by Abiodlilz Printing Works Limited Ibadan 3835/971

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of text books: 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.

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.

Modupy OduY9ye

Ibadan, 1971

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-Yorubas 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 commemorate in the first place.
As often happens when a culture migrates, older Yoruba names
such as KonigbdgbC 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
consultants -- 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. F~mi KujQr~
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 spent 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.

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CONTENTS
Page
Preface

..

PART ONE: STRUCTURAL, CLASSIFICATION

The Noun Phrase- Juxtaposition of Nouns

1.

II.

The Simple Sentence:

11

13

(a) The Verb TO DE --I', n', l1i.


The Verb TO BECOME ~ d', di.
(b) Transitive Verbs
Doubly Transitive Verbs

HI.

Emphasis

19

(0) Inversion for Emphasis

Ii

:1

IV.

(b) The Conditional Clause


Compound Verbs and Splitting Verbs

22

V.

Initial /i-/ dialects and Initial /u-/ dialects

24

VI.

Short Forms ~ Subject and Predicate

26

VII.

The High Tone Before the Finite Verb


Predicate ..

(
II

Subject and

28

VIII.

Stative Verbs ..

32

IX.

Titles: "To have" and "To Own" ..

35

X.

Verbs of Motion: "Go home"/"Go to the house"

37

XL

The Noun Forming Prefixes

XII.

I,

II

Ii:

II

39

II

Grammatical Particles:!',fi; t', Ii; M, etc.

43

XUl.

The First Person Singular Pronoun

46

XIV.

Preverbs: tun, jUn1fJ, j(J, fub(j, etc

XV.

Nega tive Particles: I1UI,

XVI.

Diphtongization: ayO>ai; awO>au.

54

XVH.

Oriki ..

57

/a-/ and /a-/

49

!co, ee, if,

ti

50

i:

Ii,
7

II

Iii

I:'
II

..

"

.f"

II

PART TWO: CULTURAL CLASSIFICATION

61

What's in a name? .

Muslim and Christian Names among the Yoruba

Olu, Ohiwa,

~)IQnm -

68

God ..

69

69

Od~a, Ori -- Patron saints, special deities; head

lUi - Augury ..
Awo- Secret Cult

Od" -- Oracular Utterance

71

71

Ogun - God of fire, patron of smiths ..

72

72

\)d~ -- H linters ..

Akal1- Valiant Warriors

73

73

Ot;;o-Seer

74

Ogun- War
Om\ - Artis tic Gen ius ..

Omi --' Rivers ..

<)ILl1i, ]):fml! ....- Fertility and Plenty

76

Qm9 -. Children ..
Qj, Eegiilll --- The Dead Come back to Life ..

77

78

78

XIII.

75

75

75

AYlnJlJl -- The Sound of Drums ..

Oy~, {)$lUJ.,

II.

65

'Tunde -Reincarnation

]J:idm, AYQ - Weeping, Joy

7S

79

Ade- Crown, Royalty

80

Abikii- tnfant Mortality


..

II,

Ii
I

ii

Ii'
ii'

Iii

II

82

83

Ohi - High Estate

I'
I'

81

Oye -- Tille, Chieftaincy


Q$l.n -- Chief ..

II

Ilil'l

i,ll,

!I!!

I
!III

Amiiil)funwa -

85

Names brought from heaven

"

PART THREE

89

Exercises

'I

I'ii
i!

Iii

,Iii

I:I

01

=~;;;:O-::"""'-~;;;m"lP"~"<W",_,,_{ijf'"_~

."'_ _""

;!.{,U!:=';'

...

I:

TIlE NOUN PHRASE


The simplest structure in Yoruba names is A B, where A is a noun
and B another nOLln juxtaposed to it. In this construction, noun B
qualifies noun A:

AM

Ohi
Olll

i
,

II:
~ I

1.

Ola
Ola
OP
ik~
lf~

Iyi
Odll
AY9
0];1
AM

.f;m i
Oyin
Akin
<)k~
Ad6

Ifa
Olu
0]([

01([

Qla
Ohi

AdeQhi

Qlaohl
Olaifa

~ Qp~ohl

~ lk~oh'i
-- lf~olu

-- IyiQhi
~ OdiiQla

QJ~i

Oye
Oye
Qlci
Qhi

OyinQla

01<i
Ow6

AkinQhi

lye

Adeiye
Aanuohi

Aantl Olu
F,:ni
!tan

AYQQla
Qlaoye
Adeoye

~ ~miQla

<)k~ow6

~niitlm

"Crown of high estate"

"The high estate of God"

"The high estate of the oracle"

"Thanks to God" (Gratitude to God)

"The care of God"

"The love of God"

"The prestige of high status"

"The oracular utterance concerning

honour"

"The joy of high status"

"The high estate of a title"

"The crown of a title"

"Spirit of honour"

"The honey (sweetness) of honourable

estate"
'The valour of high status"
"Bag of money"
"Crown of salvation"
"The mercy of God"
"A person (about whose birth there is)
a story

11

_...... 7

ifi

'Iii:
11'1

Iii,

iii
II

i,!

111

'1,1
11\

I1I
!d
!Ii

iii:

III
l!
!"

.. .,lc..L .._,

- ';,iiilW1h .... ,~,;.,

Ill:

:,ii

1.

I1~

1- "t

i
Qdllll
Agbo
Ad6
Ad6
Qla
Qla

han

Qduntan

Qla
- AgboQhl
Agbo- Adcagbo

O~Lm

Opa
Iya
-Popo Qhi
Ad6
Ayt)
lbllkltn Qla
.eblll1 QIQrunQr y
OIClwa Wura Qbi
QdLIll Ewu
OgLm Ad6
-Aeirin Qhi
Okltn Qlei
Ok lJl1 Ade--

AdcQ$un
QhiQpa
Qlaiya
PopoQhi
AYQade
Ibuk(mQhi
tbim
Qr y
WiidH,IIa
Odlmcwu
Og(made
AarinQhi
OkllnQla
Okimade

"A year (famed in) story"


"Circle of honour"
"Crown of (family) circle"

"The crown of 9,~un"

"The glory of plentiful harvest"

"The glorious influence of mothers"


"The highway of honour"
"The joy of a crown"

"An increased allotment of honour"

"Gift of God"
"Gift of Goel"
"Gold of honour"
"A year of danger"
"The Ogun of royalty"
"The centre of honour"
"Beads of honour" (Corel of honour)
"Beaded cord of a crown"

Nmm Phrases

l____

Qla

I ori
Qhi _I
--

I,

II
THE SIMPLE SENTENCE (a)
(i)

101

OILI
oye

Below is the structure of sentences like A is B:

Baba
Oyin
Jf<i
Jfci
OgLlIl
cf. Ogun
Ad6
cf. Ade
Ifet
QmQ
QmQ

l'
I'
I'
l'
I'

Qla
Qla
Qlct
uyi
adc
ade
I' oye
oye
l' QP~
l' ani
I' YY

BabalQhi
OyinlQhi
FalQhi
Faluyi
Ogunlade

"Father is (the source of) honour"


"Fame is (sweet as) honey"
"ljd is (the source of) honour"
"fjit is (a thing of) prestige'"
"Ogzin is (our) crown"

Adeloye

"A crown is (the essence) of a title"

FaIQP~

QmQlani
QmQIyy

QITIQ l' olu

love (of) God - IfyolLI


house (of) God - JIe QIQrun
mother (of) O~Q- Iya O~
hoe (of) the King - Qk Qba
foot (prints) (of) a thieff,ls ole
(The) brink (of) the river - Eti odo

QmQ n'iyi
1'i 'wa l' ad6
1" OILII' QP~
Titi )' Qlet

- OmQJl1iyi
- Tiwaladc
- ToliilQP~
-- THilQhl

----I

This is the simplest grammatical construction in Yoruba speech:


the nOl.m qualifier follows the main noun.

(ii)

QmQlolu

"ljel is (a reason for) thanksgiving"


"Children are (next of) kin"
"Children are (sources of) prestige"
adorn men1.
"Children are the summit of achieve
ment" - lords.
"Children are (sources of) prestige"
"Ours is the crown"
"To God belongs the than ks"
'''Endless is (our) honour"

Below is the structure of sentences like A becomes B:


OgUl1
Oglll1
Ade
Ade
Ade
Ade
Adt5

I
I

I,

Ii
III

(The)
(The)
(The)
(The)
(The)

[~~ L"Of" _~_

I Ade

d' eji d'iran d'iran -d' oyin d' okul1d' Qja el' tUI1 --

Og{mdeji "Ogun becomes two"


Ogiimliran "Og11n becomes hereditary"
Adediran "Crowns become hereditary"
Adedoyin "The crown becomes honey" (sweet)
Adedokun "The crown becomes a sea"
AdedQja
"The crown becomes a market"
Adedi,llnn "The crown becomes new"

I;:

il

II

il
II'

I'

I'
II'

il

il

I'

)!

II

I
)1
ji

I;
I'

II

!,

ii

12

13

IIi
II
I

I'

I
I

l 1

IV)

The 1st person pronoun is an indirect object in the fall owing:

OIu bim mi

Qde( mbun mi Hi blm mi


Baba abun mi -

Ohlbimmi
Qd~bimmi

'Fabimmi
BaMbimmi

"God gave me"

"The hunter gave me"

"lfa gave me"

"Father gave me"

III

(v) There are a few doubly transitive verbs in Y oruba - verbs which
take two objects: a direct object and an indirect object. The verb is
immediately followed by the indirect object as above. Next comes the
direct object preceded by the particle la/mil:
Olll flm n
Odiulfulln
A- k 'm<;>

IIfll aye)
09 ade
IIliJ af~

EMPHASIS

- Oh'ifunhiyi) "God gave me joy"


--- OdufUnlJade "The oracle gave me a crown"
- AkQmQIM~ "One who teaches children fop

~i

pishness"

'1

Doubly
Sub-\Tran111ject sitive
direct
verbs
object

--'-~~~
1

____ I
FUll
Je)w(oJ,

k0

-.--

~;---J

_J.~lm

YU_

wa
f(1ll

Direct
object II

mi

Ote) I' 6 rin


Qt() oi

a drum
a cap

books

children

peace

money

his shoes

Father gave me
Mother gave me
Teacher gave us
1)1 case, give liS
God, give us
Give me
Give him

I'

Ow6 r a bi
Ow6 nn.
Akin I' a bi
Akin ni.

OJ I' a bi

OJ nL

Trallslalc inlo Yuruba:

r----\--- ----- ------- I

The structure of the sentence Where the verb TO BE was used to


indicate identity resolves into X I' Y, where X is a noun and Y is another
noun. The names below show constructions where Y is a clause with a
subject and a finite verb:

X
~

Owolabi

-- Akinlabi

- OWabi
-- Qti)lOdn

"It is money we gave birth to"


"It is money"

"It is a brave man we gave birth to"

"He is a brave man"


"It is an ON we gave birth to"
"He is an ON"

"It's a different route he walked"

"It's a different one"

The inversion frorll A bi OW!J to Owc5 I' a bi elTccts emphasis by

putting the object first: object, copula, subject, linite verb.


Note that when followed by the continuous particle 1M or the habitual
particle IfI, the mid-tone pronouns become low-tone. The mid-tone
pronouns are A40"1", 0 "You", A "We", 1;; "You":

.__

a n k~* - ~olillikf
[Ii.
Ad6 l' r\. wa':' -- Adellulw:i

AM t~i
Aye r a i gb6 -- AyeHigbe
O~6 l'
O~6

11.1

Olll1jy
nil t' em i a

Aye IIi.

"It is a seer we are taking care of"

"It is a seer"

"It is a crown we are looking [or"


"It is a crown"
"The world is the place where people

normally live"

"It is the world"

18
19

3'

n,.

,.

f m c , " ..

on

YeL]!,;.,,\', ,

'"

I'

Yi ... kli

"to turn"

Q1<i yi n ka
Ade yi n ka

"to coil round"


"Honour surrounds me"
"Crowns surround me"

Qlliyinkli
Adeyinkli

"to know" ... "to coil round"


iIumQ9ka
"The city knows him all round" (The
whole city knows him)

1\

IV

,I

mQ ...

ka

Ihl ml} (> ka


l;",I
"

'I

COMPOUND VERBS AND SPLITTING VERBS


K6 ... de
K6
KJiI
Klil
KiBI
KII

're d6
ayi) de
91<\ de

9la W9 '16

~hin

de

Tq ... wi.
Tci aye wo

Mii ~bun de

W,t

Mu iSyi wa

padit l

"to convert"

< "to go back"

'Fapohiinda

"Ifd altered its voice"

"to take" ...

< dur6 2 "to detain" < "to stay, stop"


Ifa da .yi r6 - 'Fadair6
"lia keeps this one waiting"

Makinde
M~biIdC

M:ikinwa

Muyiwli

<

Ifa p'ohun da -

Gbe ... de

GM 9Ia de
Gb6 ... h~lI1
GbH 91<:i han
Gte ... bi)
GbiJ ade bi)

Some disyllabic root verbs are erroneously thought to be a fusion


of monosyllabic compound verbs.
They are, therefore, sometimes
split into two parts, like compound verbs. These verbs have therefore
,been called splitting verbs:

"to pluck" . .. "to look at"


Taiwo
"Taste the world (I1rst)"

"to take" '"

Mu ... wa

Miil Akin

Each of the compound verbs is a root verb in its own right. They
are used together with the object in between, thus expressing ideas which
are too complex for each of them to express alone.

pa ...dit

Mil ... de

Mill Akin de

"to collect" ... "to arrive"


Korede
"Gather good things in"
KaYQde
"Bring joy in"
KQladC
"Bring honour home"
Kqh\wqle
"Bring honour into the house"
K~hinde
"Bring up the rear"

"to arrive"
"Bring homc the valiant man"
"Bring a gift home"
"to cOlne"
"Bring the valiant man"
"Brought this one"

"to carry" ... "to arrive"


"Bronght honour"
GbQhidC
"to carry" '" "It shows, it is visible"
"Exhibit honour"
Gb(lhihan
"to carry" . .. "to return"
"Bring back the crown"
GMdebV

22

da ... ro

Qdyllda .yi r6 -

Od~dairo

<

dapQ 3

D' 9Ia pi)


01<:1 daP9
Ad6 dap9
, , ,4
Qla ~uP9

'DqlapQ
OladapQ

Adedapv

dit ...PQ

bi. ..ni 'nu

<

"mixed together"

Ola~uPQ

binu5 "to annoy"

Qla m bi wQn ni 'nu

1
2
3
4
5

"This hunter keeps this one back"

"Mix high class together" (in an alliance)


"Honours are mixed together"
"Crowns are mixed together"
"Honours cluster together"

< "to be angry"


"Our status is annoying them"

cf. Hebrew padah "to ransom", Le., "to buy back"


cf. Hebrew hadal "to desist"
cf. Arabic 'idafa "addition"
cf. Hebrew 'asaf" to gather"
cf. Ancient Egyptian b'n "evil", Coptic bon "anger"

23

/'

'\\9

~,-;~

Tile

/'>/

~r\-

(1.

r.; ?~ ,:

i (- .

c~j

c;;:
~~(.

,>

v
INiTJ!AL
!i"UTliAL

li-/
lu,l

,)

:'

\l_.
'L/"''-,,,

mALECTS
DiALECTS

\,'

".

'\

In Yoruba noulls of the structure VCY, where the initial vowel is


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.

Ii-!

,,,0!

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:
"ria is dignity"

< Ha l' uyi


(\f<l n' iyi)
F'ah,yi
"Ilfl confess dignity"

<.:: i1~1 ~' uyl


(ira ~c iyl)
11{~f$HiY ]
"lie! takes the city"

/ 1m gb' lllll
(If:] gba ri'Jilll)
J{aghi~jia
"The crown is the

Acl6
l'
llgb~
(Ade
mJ!
19bb.)
jMh.'h:~!;l,"~
"The
crown is knowledge"

<
Ad6
l'
t:m0
(Ade
ni!l1l11)
DcllJiifHQ
"The
crown
has a palace"

<
Ad6
I1fJ
tlgu.
(A.de
niiJ
19a)
Adenliiga
"Titles
have
palaces"

.<
Oyi;cn~1
ttg:l
(Oycrimt21
iga)
OY~1iloJga
"One
born
into
a palace"
A-hi
~;{~
l!g2l
(A-hi
srh
igu)
Itisi'F""Ha
does
not
ruin
a city"
<.::
W
:t':c
b
'i.iJ.ll
.i'~
(I
fa
0
lIa
~lllj)
F{ib\fiiu.i~
"The
crown
adds
todignity"
/
Ad6
bll
S(,
uyi
(Ade
btl
sil
iyi)
Arlcb'~sliyi
"Valour is dignity"
Akin l' uyi
(Akin n' iyi)
Aki!JllliJijd
"The
chief has a city"
~
();Jli'\mtJ
1:11{1
((hlttm~
lI(l)
01;llm'ilii
"Leaves are as important
<Ewe tilli llg2l.
(Ewe to 'gil)
Ewchlg;)j
as a palace"
'\ ' , < Ol',Ull
'."
,'"
')
,,'
,.
..
1
OglJltulga
t~! uga (Ogun to 'ga
Ggun
IS as big as a pa ace"
The syllable [nlt] betrays the names in which they occur to be Ij9 bu
names. All other dialects have II only before Iii, substituting III before
other vowels. In the same way, thc syllable [li] betrays the name Aw6liyi
as ~gb,l: all other dialects have 11 before /i/.
Can you tell from what parts of Yoruba land the following namcs
come ?
O~lmim~
Sonui!i:e $onMki or,dinQr~n1 Odumliya $o[lQhi
I,ijl\dil
Odunh~
Adei1~I{ln[l
U'!tiin
Up~de
I.ir:;ilihi
(cL Adei~y~, Ohil~y~)

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
Ondo-Ekiti/ijQb(ljj~a

"yallls"
isu
u~u

"work"
js~
u~~

24

25

r"
J

(:

\:)}'7"
'~;
'\

c.)'

U"lIi.' LEI [<I [s l


..

L!l

f~<i

~j

',-;,

I>]

["J

. ,,:.,'. ,~t/

k,;\ "1i'1(~'.i,;"

~J,~i.

~~ ~l "~ If!"C ,~

f'

./

II
II

I),.,

, it

....... ..

rttm'!

T"""',''

..

il

III

l1'1

I
Iii

(i)

Lord

The Lord enters the house

VII

Valour appeals to me

(I like bravery)

Crown
The crown fits me

THii;HIGH. TONE BEfOlim U'lE :FJfNHE VERJEl


Honour
Honour appeals to me
(I like honour)
Honour returns from overseas

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:
iii

ii
ffi'~ [f~

& []

rim

!:t] !:ffJ

E0il [i]

[] r{ij [it]

il1Jh'i
OiiJ;w'I'lc

tf)m<i~{iy(;

Adc

()1'lIq,ltimdc
(1lli:l(iwilJl!1lmi.

[Ay~cJt(tnde] - Ay~ti~m;c
[Ayc)()d6]{;] - AY\ldleRc

Divination

Divination befits me

([}h',~

.'
[Oyi:;!Ssfnil] -

Awo

(N,lwimmi
Q)iIiJt(p!{,mb0

Mother
rvrother comes again
Mother has cOl11e to look for me

Seer
A seer enters the house
A seer appeals to me
(I 'like a visioner)

r:l~

()m.,

AllcY9mn

OJa

Father
Father comes again
Father saw me and ran away

Oye:;;i",,)

Awal~,f~l
()~~lt

Awbf:i1i:;\

[Odlujyoye] -- O,hiyqyc

O~{i

Akiil

'~}6\~v ([?~C

}>l.k nl~sd}E~ya

()ml.

[(/ni\;.(b6Ill] ,-,. Qm1bOIII

'r:;l6wimJl1i

AldJQv,'[mml

]jf{j

l~~ba

'K<',ly,\,mi

Habintimllic
naMdnsll.

(iii)

(ii)

(;

'~

II

"tl
,~,

The
The
The
The

A title

A title opens the way

cult

cult has respect


cult avenges wrong

man of secret arts draws a. linc

The valiant man

The valiant man repays an injury

'Ycw:imic
Q

Joy comes again

Joy arrives in the house

Oracular utterance

Oracular utterance rejoices at a title

Art

lye
'YclillmIc

" The verb TO DE is it copula,

Joy

Children
A child is enough for joy
A child comes again
A child appeals to me

(I like children)

lillk between two nouns.

Art fits God

iIII

It is not a [mite verb.

29

28

'i
~:'EJ1i~i~1;1~;,

---:~~:~,-=-2:1."Jil"~

,If"

d- . -.;.

@S~,",_ . .....- _..._

IV

VI

vii

1111
II.

1111
II.

Ogunyymi

O~un
O~11llt6kun

Qj~
Oj~dele

Oluwa
Oluwmisanmi
Oluwasanmi

1M

Okun

lbiyymi
lbikunle

OkundQsa

Qt~
Ot~sanya

1111
1111
Ogun

IbijQk~

..

(iv)

The sea
The sea becomes a lagoon

The patron of iron workers


(The worship of) Ogun befits me
Birth
Birth confers dignity on me
Children fill the house
The family pets (it) together

Oke

(vi)
The dead come back to life
ON arrives home

~ki

Civil strife
Civil strife repays a wrong

The deceased
The dead settle a quarrel

The hill
(The divinity of) the hill opens the
way

~ki did a thing of honour

bke~ina

J::ki
t:ki~Qla

Oku

Plenty
Plentiful supply fills the house

Okulaja

Opa

(vii)

OpaklLl1le

(V)

O~un
The O~un River is (as big) as the sea

The Lord
The Lord is good - has done
well- with me.

30

31

".,"5

. ,~", ,,",_,

,_~"'

~.l '

'i

I' ,

I,

016
0169 kan
01<i 16 kan
OmQ rlwQn

Ad6 P9 jil

-- It is plenty ( plenty)

-- It is larger, bigger, older

--- It is too much

-AdCpQju

a
a
a

dim
-Ibidim
Ibi dun
dimju
ju aye
6 dim j' aye
Ola dim j' aye -~ Qhidimjoyc

yllll

Epa I'iI yun

-l~poyim

6 jin
Omi i.J jin

- Omijin

tutll-
Ad6 tutu

Crowns arc too many (in our family!)

It is sweet (a sweet)

Childbirth is sweet

It is too sweet

It is greater than titles

It is sweeter than titles

An honourable state is sweeter than

titles
-- It is sweet (Ij'tbll)
-- Oil is sweet
It is far (afar)

-- (The) way is far


It is cold/wet/soothing
-- The crown is comfortable

-- AdetllltiI

a taro
Ad6 taro

-- It is clear (a clear) like water when

-AdetOro

It is expensive
Children are dear (not easy to come
by)
It is enough, sufficient
It is as (big) as the sea'
(The) O~un (River) is as big as the sea!
Oracular utterance (divination) is
sufficient to confer status
Valour is enough for honour
Fathers are enough to hoast about
Ogun is enough to match the
(strength of) white men!
A crown is enough to boast about
Mine (my affairs) is sufficient (cause)
for joy
Mine (my affairs) is sufticient (cause)
[or thanks/gratitude

O~un .. t6 .kun - O~untokun Odu II t6 Qla


- OdutQhi

a t6 oklln

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

6 P9 ju

-QrnQwQn

a t6

STATIVE VERBS

a jil

It rises up
It rises up (in number) by one
Status goes up by one rung

a wQn

VIII

a P9

- Qhilekan -

the sediments have settled


_. The crown is well ordered and at peace

Akin' t6 Qla - AkintQhi


.Baba t6 QI<i --- BabatQhi
Ogun t6 oyinb6 - OguntoyinbO Ad6 t6 Qlci
T' emiilt6 aY9

- AdetQhi
- TemitaYQ

T' emiilt6 9P

- TernitQP~

Sometimes an active verb is used after a stative verb. In this structure,


a particle - high tone i-occurs between the stative and the active verb:
Ad6 t6 i wun
Olll t6 i yin
Olu t6 i sin
Ifa t6 i ki
O~un .t6 i ki
If<-i ~e i sin
Ola ~e i ni
Ow6 ~e i ni 2
Ola dim i ni
QmQlldun i bi
Ow6 dun i ni

Adetowun
Olutoyin
OIMosin
Flitoki
O~untoki
Fli~esin

QIa~eni

Owo~eni

Qllidt'mni
QmQdimbi
Owodimni

"The crown is enough to elate one"?

"God is enough to praise"

"God is enough to worship"


"lfd is enough to salute"
"O$un River is enough to salute"

"lId is possible to worship"

"Fame and honour can be possessed"

"Money is possible to own"

'~High status is sweet to have"

"Children are sweet to have"


"Money is sweet to have"

1 Hence they are called "descriptive verbs" in E.C. Rowlands, Tel/ch Yourself YO
I Contrast OIl! t6 'yc "God is as valuable as a title"
RUBA (English Universities Press, 1969) Note how the verb jtl is used to express
OIl! t6 i sin" God is enough to worship"
the ideas of" ... than" and of the superlative degree.
',' "It is impossible" - It cannot be done -- is Ka ,~e i -,I'e (ko
:z Hence they are also called "predicative adjectives."

32

III

33

I!I

,~ee ,~e).

II

Ko t6 i

y~(;J

KOt6y~

"It is not enough to sneer about(?)

In speech, the particle i is assimilated to the preceding vowel:


'T66yfn, 'T66sfn. t66kf, ~eesin, '$eenf, dununni, dununbi.

IX

TITLES: "MASTER OF ... I LORD OF... "


Owu
Ol6wu
Ak6
Alake
Mtfin
AIMtfinl
Ek6
Eleko

Lord ofOwu

Lord of Ake
"palace"
Lord of the palace (at 9n?)"
Lagos
Lord of Ek6

Lord of

,-

Lord of ltdja
harbour
Harbour master
heaven
Lord of heaven: God

OWQ
QIQwQ
Ikija
Akija
Alakija
ebftte
Elebute

Qrun

QIQrun
Edumare
*Odumare
OIOditmare ade
Alade

9wp

Lord of splendour, full of glory: God


The one whose glory spans the skies like a rainbow
"crown"
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-.
Icf. Old/in < rJin, with the same meaning as Alddjin < ddlin

35

34

;~.",

~\

'1\

Ii:

1\ :

'I '\

ii,

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", Y9
"to rejoice".
alit'!'
ahHa
AI:iHide

oro

0161'0

Olorode
Ayan
Ahiyan
Alayande
<;ma
QIQnil
OI~ll1ade

Wi
Onif<l
Onifade
iP9
onip9
Onip~dc

ibi
onibl
On1Myl)
QI{l
QI(>1<i
01 {lllidC
iyi
oniyi
Oniyide

Il

"white" (white cloth as emblem of Obclfalci)


"the one in white"
"Here comes the one in white"
"the bull roarer"
"the terrible one"
"Here comes the terrible one"
"The sound of drums" - the patron saint of drummers
" Drummer"
"Here comes the master drummer"
"artistic genius"
"the artist"
"Here comes the master artist"
"The Yorllbci divination system"
"The diviner"
"Here comes the diviner"
"consolation"
"the consoler"
"Here comes the consoler"
"birth"
"one who has given birth"
"One who has given birth rejoices"
"elevated state"
"a man of high estate"
"Here comes the honourable one"
"dignity"
"the mall of dignity"
"Here comes the dignified one"

VERBS OF MOTION:

"Go home"

Meyungh~

MalQm{l
J;:nilQ
Obinrewaju
AkinlQhin
AdCwale
Ollidele
Olawale
Om{ldCJe
AYQdelc
AdebQ
AdebQw:ile
Adebajo
AdebQgun

-lya:6 b<)
- Baba:6 tiIll de
- lye:6 tCm de
- Qla ttm de
- Ql<i yi de
- QIa bQ de
- Qla b<) sl 'po
- QmQl:d~hin b<)
D~hinbl)
- Ql,i d~hin de
Dhillde
Qhi s~hin de
- Khin de
Khillde
- M' ~blm d6
MbUde
- M' akin de
M::ikinde
- M' akin wa
Makinwa
- K6 're de
Korede
- K' QIa WQ '16
K{llawQle
Akin:6 t9 mi de
Akintl)mide

iyabi)
llabMiinde
Yctunde
QIMunde
OIayide
QI:ihl)dc
Ollihi)Qpo

Ad6 11 re '16
I-re-ile
Akil1llre '16
Odll-ee ytIll 'gb6
- ee yun 'gbi;
- M,1 1<;> 1119
- Bni IQ I' 6 b<)
- Qla 11 re 'WajCl
- AkinmlQ tan
- Ad6 wa ']6
- Q1<1 d6 '16
- Qla wa '16
- QmQ:6 de 'Ie
- Ay<):6 de '16
-- Ade b<)
- Ade b<) wa '16
- Ad6 b' ajo
-- Ade b<;> ogun

--

37

36

to the house';

wa "COllie"
be) "come, n,'turn"

d6 "arrive, return, reach"

t9 "~o after"

IQ "go"
re "go"
yCm "go" (1j~btl & Ekiti)

Adenrele
Irele
Akinrelc
Odiiyungb6

I "Go

"com(~/return"

"go"

*cf. jim/un hila" pure white".

",,-f.Il:'ii;w

I
i

il
i[Iil

,il

ill

II!I

(y)

Note the non-obligatory role of the preposition Isil "towards".


idiomatic to omit it after wu "come", bp "return", re "go", etc.

It is

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,

6
6
6

wei
wa
de
de

'Ie
'bi
'Ie
'bi

"Come home"

"He came here"

"He got home"

"He got here"

Mcla

THE NOUN FORMING PREFIXES:

de
Wa
b

si
ill
ill

'bi
'bi

'bi

A- bi s. ogun .- Abisogun
A- bi SD llga
- Bisiiga

"He lodged here"

"Come here" (an instruction)

"Come on here" (an invitation)


"One born in a situation of war"

"One born into a palace"

Ab~k~

AjQ kf
A b~ k

Arik~

A ri k

Abik~
Ajik~
Aduk~

A bik
Ajik
A du k
A ,ya bi
A:ja k
A y hi
A gbe k
A ri y
A dun ni
A kan ni
A kin bi
Aja ni
Aja ka aye

Al':labi
A~ak~

But

AYQkli
A- bi QdLIll
A- bi s~
A- bi Iir Qlci
A- bi. oye
A- bi Iir na

Abi~diin
Abi~s~
Abi~la

AMoye
Abi~1Il1

"One horn during a festival"


"One born on the Sabhath"
"One born into fame"
"One born into a chieftaincy title"
"One born on the road"

When the preposWon sf 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".

Aghek~

AriYQ
Adimni
Akanni
Akanbi
Ajani
Ajilkaye

Someone whom we are all to pet* together

Someone who has to be begged so that we

may pet him

Someone who only needs to be seen to be

petted
Someone born to be petted
Someone whom one pets daily on waking up
Someone whom people scramble to pet
Someone chosen to be born
Someone chosen for petting
Someone surrounded with joy
Someone to be carried and petted
Someone whom men rejoice to see
Something sweet to have
A child conceived with a touch(?)
A child born with a touch(?)
Someone possessed through struggle
(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
- AbQd~rin
- One who walks with a
hunter
" "to pet", Le., to spoil (of a child) with affection.

38

(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 .... ".
AjQk~

But

XI

39

I
',I

l
1,1

II'

if

II

(/:,j'j

'.~

..

i"

A bM 6rl 7a de

AbOdi;mde

A biiilQya de

Ab"yade

-. Ab"s~de

Abegunde

Abiflirin
Adaramqla

A biW

<)s~

de

A bll eeglm de

A bil Jf<l rin


l;':ni ti 6 dara m(l Qlel

A delra m,l ja

-- Adaramajil

A ri ibi sci lit

AribisaIil

A k() QD1Q ]' af

AkqmQI:if~

Aji 7e af
J,<:ni ti a bi si 'nll <;JdCm

A bi si 'nCI oyc'

A bi si
~ni

~)nil

ti 6 dll bi If,i
A glill bl ade

Ajii;iaf

Abi"dCm

~-

Abioyc

-- AbiQDll

-- Adubiifa
-- AgCmbiadc

A kere d' Olll

Akeredolu

A kere Ie

AkerClc

A ri ogUI1 de ade

Arogundade -

Agbaje

Anifahije

A ji M ik

Ajibik~

Aji M OWCl

JibOwu

A jf d' agbit

Ajidagba

Aji~af~

A gbe aje gun or! it~ -

One who arrives with the


orisa
One who arrives with the
Oya River (Niger)
One who arrives on the day
of rest (Sabbath)
One who arrives with the
masquerade
One who walks with Ifa
One who is good whose
goodness goes together with
honour
One who is so good that he
does not quarrel
One who finds a place to
run to for safety
One who teaches young
men neatness and dandy
ways
One who wakes up and
begins to fop around
One who is born into the
midst of a festival
One who is born into a
chieftaincy title
One who is born on the
wayside
One who is black like Ifa
One who is erect like a
crown
One who in spite of being
small becomes master
One who in spite of being
small is strong and tough
One who on seeing a battle
puts on the crown

AnI

ml ni aje

A ji 7'

af~

'B"diinrin
'B"s~de

'Bisiiga
'Biqla
'Bi(idiin
'Bioyc
'J ib(illi

<
<
<
<
<
<
<

Ajib6ye
AjiMwll

'FQhik~

<
<
<
<
<

'Foluk

-<

Afolllk~

'JibOye
'JibOwlj

Abdunrin
Abs~de

'Jibik~

Abfsuga
Abi(Jlci
AbidClll
Abi6ye
Ajfh(Jl<i

'FQlabi

"I

"t

Elimination of the Mid-tone Prefix jA-j

Ajibik~

AfQlelbi
Af<;Jhik

'BQs~

verb

M
----,----1

b.

1-----1

ifa
Qd y
Qdlll1

rin

<)s~

eegun

- ..--._.

[' I ~~~a

de

_._-------~I-

1 See also Abf.\'(jye

41

40

__

One who carries prosperity


on to the thronc
One who has Ifa and has
prosperity
One who wakes up to find
care
One who wakes up to meet
an anvil
One who becomes an elder
right from youth
One who wakes up and
proceeds to set the pace
of fashion

rmt ,

rl

---

Give the Yo ruba namcs for the


following:
A child who walked in with the
festival
A child who arrived with the
masquerade
A child who came with the Sabbath
Onc who walks with the hunter
One who walks with the oracle
One who arrived with the goddess
of the River Niger.

ii

II'

i.

IIII

l'

'BQla

~-i----'IJ
ject

ba 91<i ni 1 ile

- - - _ --1--

Qm 9 >
Akin>

Ade
Qm I b. 9 lci I nIill 'Ie

I Akinl

Translate into Yoruba:


1
met honour in
1
met father at
We met teacher in
wei met him
on
I
met Jide
in

the house
home
school
the way
(this place)

-- --- ------ -

-----

J __,__

XII
GRAMMATICAL PARTICLES
(i)

The Instrumental Particle fi / f' "with"

II,

f' ... 1 verb I


f' 9lci bi
f' 91a k~
f' Olu k~

f' 91a mi
f' ade k~

FQhimi

AfQhiyan
Fijabi
$6fQhihan
AdHarasin

MofQIQrun~Q

f' 91a gb' ade


f' 9lci rin
f' Olu ~
f' 9lci yan
f' ija bi
f' 91a han
f' ara sin
f' owo ra

f'QIrun ~
f' ade re 'ra
f' 9Ia ~' ade
fi mi han

42

AfQllibi
AdefQhik~
Aderoluk~

OIUfadek~

FQhigbade
AdefQhirin
Folu~Q

O~ifowora

Fafowora
KOfoworQla

Faderera
FQla~ade

Olafimihan

"(A child) born with high status"


"The crown pets (him) with honour"
"The crown cared for this child with
the help of God"
"Breathe with honour"
"God used a crown to pet this child"
, "Receive a crown with glory"
"The crown walked with honour"
"Watch over the child with the help of
God"

II:I

"One who struts around with fame"

"Born with strife"

"The seer exhibits fame"

"The crown is hidden away"

"O~i bought with money"

"If{f bought with mane,'


"She did not purchase distinction with
money"
"I put under the protection of God"
"adorn the body with a crown"
"Make a crown out of honour"
"Fame pointed me out"

43
I

..
I

I
(iii)

Sec the following:

f' iwa ~' aye


1" ~~Q j' aye
f' QrQ l' agba
1" t;j(J SLl11
f' iya jy ~

Fiwa~ayc

"Conduct life with good character"

"Enjoy life without haste"

"consult elders about a problem"

"make a report"

"plInish hi m"

'$adc

-r~~~l-l-~I
mental
particle

noun
or
pronoun

verb
and
noun

Pi

qhi

5e-!-ad;

~~---r---Qhl

~'

lade

gb'

sQ

ba ... 1verb \

ba n ji
banM
bj qla ji
bj oye jq
ba n de 'Ie
ba n t 'fa
ba n kQ 'Ie
ba m gbj o~c --

F' ikll ~'cri"PIay with death"


F' iwa ~'aiy(; "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"

Subj,ct

oye

'---------~--!---------'----'---i

(ij)

The Preposition lilt' "from ... "

l' ...

I~~erb-I

l' okun b0
l' lIgb6 b()
t' ilc w,i
t' inll k

-- Adetokunbr)
-- TugbObr)

Motihlwa

Atimlk

"The crown returns from overseas"


"Returned from the bush"
"I came fro111 a home"
"A child petted from the womb"

'~
----1
I----------1--___
kiti
I
Preposition
"from"

Name
I
of
Verb ,I
place
.

_J

1----1----'
Ade
QI,i
. Mo

,---L

l'

t'
t'

I ~klln I bQ

I Qy(J

I wa

1---1--
ile

intI

MobQlaji
AdebOyej/)
Bandele
Bant~fa

BankQle
BamgbO~e

Predicate

Banj/)

raJ m~ ~"b'

Bank~

Ade

Olu >
Qla>

Olu
Qla

I b'l

>

'~6

"Fame woke up with me"

"The crown helped me to pet"


"1 woke up with honour"

"A crown fitly associates with a title"

"Get home with me"


"Help me to set down the Ira board"
"Help me to build a house"
"Help me fetch the double-axe"

Qhiblinji
Adeblink~

Ade>

0~6

Oku I

,II
II
I

'1,

Banji

Get home with us "Ba wa de '16"


Sit with them "B,i w(Jn j6'k6"
Wa bq wa jyun, OILl'wa "Come eat
with us, Lord"
B,i mi j6ko "Sit with me"
Ra mi de 'Ie "Get home with me"
Ma j6ko I' asan "Don't sit idle"

jq
k
n

:1

ji
de

I'e

I'

Predicate
Subject

Association: the particle bci ...

i,*'

'Toknnbr)

'TinuM

Ni 'gba ti mo t' Ek6 de

AmutQrunwa (A mu t'Qrun wit)

A t'Qrun b(J wa j'aiye

Mo 11 t' Ode b()

Mo 11 t' qja b0

When I arrived from Lagos

That which is brought from heaven

Coming from heaven to enjoy life

I am coming from an outing

I am coming from the market

I---.--I

44

45
11

In
I

I)

1/'1

I,

OIUwasanmi Ilcsanmi
OIUf~mi
Adey~mi
Fagbemi

XII

Oluf6nmihiYQ
OIubimmi
Fabimmi
Bababunmi

Subject Mo:

Modup~

---

Mo
Mo
Mo
Mo
Mo

dLlp~J

1 give thanks
I woke up into high state
I have a part in honour
- I move near high achievement
- I saw a valiant man and
rejoiced
Mor~nik~
-- Mo ri yni k
- I (have) found a person to pet
Moradeun
- Mo ri ade hun 2
- 1 found a crown to boast
about
MorohunfQhi -- Mo ri ohun fun QI,i
I found something to give to
honour
Morohundiya - Mo ri ohun di iya

I found something to com


pensate for suffering
MorohunmubQ- Mo ri ohun mLI bQ

I found something to bring


back
T<iml,lri
- Mo tQ QJ11Q ri
J nursed a child once
Mo~ebQlatan Mo :;;ebi Qla tcin
I thought attainments had
ceased
Motilewa
- Mo t' i!c wa
-
r came from (a) home
MobQlaji
-- Mo M 91,iji
-- I woke up with high status
Mofl,llQruil~Q Mo f' QIrun :;;(>
- J guard (and protect this child)
with (the help of) God
MojisQla
MonilQla
MosunmQla
MorakiIIYQ

ji si Qla
ni 1Ii1 Qli
sun mQ Qlci
rI akin Y9

If,i san mi

I.

God is good to (ffor) me


Home is all right for me
God loves me
The crown fits me
Divination rallied round to
my support

Diu fun mi
aY9
Diu bim mil
Wi bUn mi
Baba" bun mi
Qd~bimmi
Qdy iii bun 111i
J;:bUn
Olurfmil~kun -- DIu r~ mi I.. ykun

God gave me joy


God gave me
lfd gave me
Father gave me
The hunter gave me
Gift
God consoles me
weeping

(iii) Possessive mi emi"I") "my"


Olumide
- Olu .mi III de
Aramide
- Ara limi .. de
Ojumiri
- Oju "mi .. d

My Lord arrives
Here comes my kith and kin
My eyes saw (trouble)

in

my

(iv) In non utterance-final positions, the first person pronoun tends


to be articulated as a mere syllabic nasal; [m] when followed by a
bilabial consonant (b,p,m,kp,gb), [IJl when followed by a velar
consonant (k,g,w), and [11] when followed by any of the other con
sonants:
Abimb<ila
- I was born with high state2
- A bi m b. Qla
- The seer came here to look
- 0:;;6 wi n de
$owande
for me
Yewandc
- lye .. wei n de
- Mother came here to look for
me
-- Sango came here to look for
$angowanwa - ~ang6 wa n wa
me
$obande
- 0:;;6 hi n d6
- The seer arrived with me

(ii) Predicative m! (after mid tone and low tone words)


m! (after high tone words)3
Fasanmi

--

Predicative milmi as Indirect Object

THE FIRST PERSON SINGULAR PRONOUN


(i)

Oluwa Ii san m!
He san mi
Olu f~ mi
Ade yy mi
Ifi gbe mi

Divination has done me good

1 The verb bim "give" takes mid tone mi after it, although it is a low tone word. This
is an exception, a result perhaps of the fact that bim is an alternative reflex of fun,
which has a high tone.
2 Yoruba has no passive voice. Whcre English and other languages which have a
passive voice use the passive construction with the agent unstated, Yoruba makes

an active voice statement using as an hypothetical agent the plural pronouns A

"We" and Wpn "They" as indefinite pronouns.

I Thank you, in Yoruba, is A dlipri"We give thanks"

2 hUIl/wun: h followed by --u > WIl.

3 Often the direct object. See page

., I

47

46

..

'."'-

II:!
'I

,.'~"'.

-----_.

I,

Adeblink~

Ade ba n

Qhibanji

Qlel ba nji

Ohifunmilayi) Adebimpe
Qhibimhin

k~

-- The crown helped me to pet


(this child)
- High status woke up with me
(in the morning of my life)
-- God gave me joy
-- The crown gave me my birth,
and did a :finished job of it.
Honourable people gave me
my birth, and they did a
perfect job
- l/d helped me to look after it
- Get home with me
- God gave me to guard
- God gave me to pet
- God gave me to guide (bring
up)
- The crown fits me (matches
me)
- The year I would have died
- Father saw me and ran away
(died at my birth)
- The crown lifted me upright
!(Ii lifted me aloft
Does the crown come to my
turn?

OILl fUn n 1M ay
Ade bi m pe

Qlei bi

In

tan

.Fabanwij
BandeIe

If,i b'l n WD 6

Ba n de 'Ie

OIUfunk~

Oliifulli;li)
OhifUntQ

Olu Hill n ~9
OILL fLll1 n k
Olu fim n t9

AdebanjQ

Ade b,i n j<;>

Qdimmbaku
Babarinsa

- QdLll1 I'h beL hi


-- Baba II ri n Sci

AdCgbenro
Fagbenle
Adekanmbi

Ade gbe n 1'6


- ]f,i gbe n Ie
-- Ade bn III bi?

,I

XIV'

PREVERBS
A preverb is a particle which normally occurs immediately before a verb.
All the particles cited below are adverbs: they say something about
the manner of the action of the verb.
,- Qhitunde

"Honour comes again"

QInQtiinM

"The child comes again"

YCtunde

"Mother comes again"

BabMunde

"Father comes again"

QJiitunji

"Honour is revived"

Adetunji

"The crown has got up again"

AdCjumi)bi

"Crowns assembled to give birth to this child"

Ade.il)mi)k~

"Crowns assembled to give birth to this child"

QhijillnQk~

"Fame gathered to pet this child"

jq k

IbijQk~

"The family pets together"

j<;> bi

OgimjQbi

"Ogzin gave birth to us jointly"

--

Qd~jQbi

"Hunters gave birth to us all"

QIMubi)sun

"Honour advances further"

tim del

tim j i
jilm<) bi

jlun<) k --

t6b<) sun -

-1 See, however, Aj6 tun 'n19 bi A - ttln 'wa

48

~y

Ajetunll1Qbi,
-- Atunwa~y

49

.0

(iv)

The Negative: ... t1. (See

a k~d.

ad
a ka a ti

xv

a ~' Qrim

NEGATIVE PARTICLES

Ee ~'

Ka slil 9kQ
Ka ku mQ
Ka f' owo r' 91a

Ka to i y~

- KOt6y~
-. Adeoti
- Qlao~ebikan

Ade a ti
Qla 0 ~e 'bi kan
Bi

a ~' Qran ti

Ko / 0 in indicative sentences:

(I)

a ba kli

(ii)

KosQkQ
KokurnQ
KOfow6rQhi

Biobliku

Ki i/i i-negative particle ki/i plus habitual particle i:

Qla i i tan

Qlaiitan

Aje i i gbe

Ajeiigbe

(iii)

"There is no hoe"

"He no longer dies"

"She did not buy high estate with

money"
"It is not enough to .... "
"The crown does not fade"
"Honour does not dwell (ex
clusively) in one place"
"If he does not die, ... "

"Achievements of honour never


finish"
"Prosperity never perish"

Mad before high tone words

Mar. before other words


in prohibitions - "Don't. .. ":
Mar. 19 mQ
- MalQrnQ
"Don't go (away) any more"
Mar. S9 mi nu
- MasQrninu
"Don't throw me away"
Mar. b' oagim j - Mabogunj~
"Don't ruin a medicine"
Mar. da 'ri kim
- Madarikan
"Don't turn round to meet (me)"
Mar.j~ klilo dun mi - Maj~k6dunrni "Don't let it pain me"
Mail f~ y
- Maf~
"Don't marry him/her"
Mar. ti ilu kura
- MatiJuko
"Don't leave the town"

The subjunctive particle ki after .it

Maj~

D~~l-I

j k'o dim wa - Don't let it


grieve us.
Mar. j k'o dim wt5n - Don't let it
pain them.

Mar.

~~~-I~ 0 d~n [~~


50

Qran ti
!fa: ee ~' Qran ti

ti "No")

"He read it"


"No"
"He tried in vain to read it"
"He tackled a matter"
"He tried to solve a problem, but failed"
"He never failed in an attempt to solve a problem"
"lfa doesn't try to solve a problem without succeed
ing"
"He died"
"He couldn't die"

a kli
6 kli ti

< Kuti

(v) The Oildo/ij~bU Negative Particle (also Ekiti and Ije~a)

ee
er.

before high tone


before mid and low tones

Akin - 0 ku gbe
Akin - ee ku gbe
Akin - 6 bQ 'hun
Akin - ee bQ hun
Akin - 0 t mi
Akin - ee t mi

[Akinr.kugbe] Akinkligbe "Brave men don't die in


vain"
[Akinr.bQhim] AkinbQhun "Brave men don't lose
heart"
[Akinr.tmi]

Akint~rni

Awo - 6 ~'ika

51

"The brave man does not


let me down"

Awo - eR

~'ika

Ifa - 6 ~' Qran ti

Ifa - elil ~' Qran ti

[Aw6"~ika]

Aw6~ika*

"The cult does not do any


wicked thing"

[Fa.~Qrantl]

Fa~Qdmti*

"flit never attempts a pro


blem and fail"

Ifa - 6 b' Lilli j~

Ifa - ell! b' Lilli j~

Fabiduj~*

[F<iBblJluj~]

"Ifadoes not ruin the city"

Ow6 - 6 tlil QmQ


Ow6 - ee tNiI QmQ [Ow6i11tQmQ] OwOti}IllQ "Money is not as valuable
------as children"
QmQ - 6 hir aYQle
QmQ - ce 1m aYQlc [QmQliIlaYQlc] QmQJaYQJe "There is no cause for joy
in children" (except with
those who receive burial
from their children)
Ifa - 6 jm uyl tan
If,i - ce jril uyi t,ln [Faliljuylt<in] FajuYltan "!lit does not let (our)
glory end"
Q1<i - 6 ni ip~kun

Qla - ee nlll ip~kun

- Qhlnipkull "Elevation has no limit"

All these names illustrate the importance of the assimilated low tone
(marked Ii). As it is never indicated in the orthography, the names
marked* have suffered mispronunciation by speakers whose dialects
have, instead of the Oild6/Ij~bli negative particle ee/er., the QYQ/ibadan
negative particle k% (which now prevails in the common dialect).
Because the 0I1d6/Ij~bU ee/e. has an effect similar to that of the
high tone before the finite verb, many people have missed the negative
in these names. They have misconstrued Awof2$ika as Aw6~ika "AlVo
did a wicked thing" and they pronounce Fitia$pranti as Fit,5pranti "Ifa
attempts a project and fails".
In both cases, the results are the
opposite of the meaning intended.!
The same tendency has been extended even to the QYQ/ibadan
negative particle:
Qi<i - ko ~e 'bi .kan
Qla 0 ~e 'bi .kal1- Qlao~eblkan "Honour doesn't dwcll (exclusively) in
anyone place"

III
!II

ill
I'i
, '

This is the name of the author of Lcarning Yorubit (O.U.P.) It appears


as La$cbikan. The negative particle is lost, and the way is open for con
struing the name as "Honour dwelis (exclusively) in one place."

\1

I,
I
I

'l

Akin - 6 ni 19bagbe

Akin - ee ni 19M9be

Oglll1 - 6 yin akin nL!


6 glin - ee y'akin nL!
Urun - ee

~e

lwc*

Akinn'igbagbe "Brave men are exempt


from the possibility of
oblivion"

II'

Ii,

OgunYlmkin "OgLII1 does not leave a


brave man in the lurch"
RUIl~ewe
"Something did not hap
pen to this one (Nothing
happened to tl1is one)

il

II

II:
'" fwd is Ijt;bu dialect for" this one"
Urun is Ijt;bu dialect for "thing"

1 This perhaps fortifies AYQ Bamgbo~e's suggestion that the assimilated low tone be
marked in Yorubil orthography. He suggests a dot on the line: Aw6.~lka. See his
Yoruba Orthography.

52

53

II

:1\, .
I)

I
,i),;

J.

XVI

'I.

7. Ajayi

8. DawOdu

Iyl a consonant)
Iyl a semi-vowel;
Iii dropped)
[da-wo-du] (3 syllables; Iwl a consonant)
[dei w-duf (2 syllables; Iwl a semi-vowel;
101 dropped)
[a-ja-yf] (3 syllables;
[a-ja 9]' (2 syllables;

DIPHTHONGIZATION: ay(Vai; aw(Vau


There may be disagreement on the question whether there are diph
thongs in Y oruba. The point does not seem to me worth arguing about,
for it is a matter of terminology. Readers who do not like the term
"diphthongization" are free to give a different name to the phenomena
which we study below:
1. T aye wo
Tlit aye wo
Taiwo'

-
-

4' Dei eyi ni


Dei Byi nl
Daini

[Q-Ia-yi-de] (4 syllables;
[Q-lei y -de] (3 syllables;

[da-Yl-ni] (3 syllables;
[dei Yl-ni] (2 syllables?;

Iyl a consonant)
Iyl a semi-vowel;
IfI dropped)
jyl a consonant)
Iyl a semi-consonant;

!If attenuated)

5. Dei eyi r6
Dei Ryf r6
Dairo
6. Dei eyi sf
Da liIyi si
Da isi

IyI a semi-vowel;
lei lost)

[Q-hi-yi-wQ-lei] (5 syllables; /yl a consonant)


[Q-lei y -wQ-lei] (4 syllables; Iyl a semi-vowel;
IfI dropped)

2. 01<i yi we) 'lei


QJaiwQhi
LaiwQJ:i2
3. Olei yi de
QJaide
Laide

IyI a consonant)

[tei-ye-wo] (3 syllables;
[t,i y -wo] (2 syllables;

[dei-YI-r6] (3 syllables;
[dei YI-r6] (2 syllables?;

Iyl a consonant)
IyI a semi-consonant;

Diphthongization is accompanied by the loss of a syllable - a


result of the ambivalent interpretation of the glides IyI and IwI when they
occur between vowels. They can be taken as semi-consonants, in which
case they form a syllable with the following vowel. They can be taken
alternatively as semi-vowels, in which case they form a diphthong with
the preceeding vowel. 3
Ihl behaves in the same way:4
K6 ~hin de
K. ~hin de
[k~-hin-de] (3 syllables; Ihl a consonant)

K~hinde
[k~h-in-de] (3 syllables; Ihl has lost whatever con

sonantal value it had)


[k~-in-de] Uhl lost)
[k~in -de] (2 syllables)
The same process is followed by the following:
Ola s' ~hin de
- Qlas~inde
Oku s' ~hin de
- Okiis~inde
Ola d' ~hin de
Qlad~indC

O~6 d' ~hln de

1;)odinde

F' ~hin l' Qlei

F~hintQla (3 syllables)

,il

II
!I

I,

II

Akin. gb' ~hin


Dei 'hun sf i 5
Mo ri ohun 6 fun Qlei

Mo r. ohun f. e)lei -

Akingb~in

(3 syllables)

Dahunsi

MorounfQJa

(4 syllables)

/lj attenuated)
-

[dei-yl-si] (3 syllables; Iyl a consonant)

[dei yl-sf] (2 syllables; Iyl a semi-consonant;


/II attenuated)

1 Shortened to Tai in the first name of Tai Solarin.


2 Shortened to Lai in the name of Lai Tailoring Service.

54

1 Hence the nineteenth century spelling of the name of Bishop Adjai Crowther.
2 The same name as came to Yoruba land later through Islam as Dauda, through
the Bible as David.
3 The diphthong is often initiated by a high tone.
4 hin = ((yin in the speech of some people.
5 The 3rd person pronoun object after high tone monosyllabic verbs show this change
in the common dialect: ge e ( > ge) "cut it"; mu u ( > mu) "take it"; j6 0 ( > jo)
"burn it". Two syllables (high, mid) become one (mid tone).
6 See onj(( -- ol1nj(( < ohun jij(( "food < edible thing"

55

II

III

I (I
I If
,I

I II

II
,I
"

i
)11

I,

111,

1
1

.~

Mo ri ohun mil bl)


Mo re ohun mil b Ad6 nil ohun k~
Ad6 1'0 ohun mll
Olll nil ohun bi
Ki a nu ohun wi

I
MorounmiIbQ

(4 syllables)

II

I,

'R6nk~

11

Aderounmu
Olurounbi

Karunwi

Each of the following namcs has three syllables: Alilo, Aklm6,


Adi6, Aja6, AmQo, Ab~o. I cannot give any meanings for them. They
originate in little orfki, and names of endearing. See next chapter.

Ii

XVII
ORIKI*
It will be seen that AIdb, Akdna [aIda], Adib, etc all have the tone
pattern Iil 9 III the same tone pattern as most of the names in the two
tables on page 39; Ab~bi, Ab~k~, etc. All these are oriki "pet names"
as Samuel Johnson calls them on page 85 of The History of the Yon/bas:

This is an attributive name, expressing what the child is, or what he


or she is hoped to become. If 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 attributive is popular. But
lhere is a method in the use of it; as a ruIe, only children are addressed
by their oriki by their elders, especially when they wish to express a
feeling of endearment for the child. It is considered impertinent
for a younger person to call an elder by his Oriki or pet name.

'II
Ii'

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
t1~e 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.

56

57

Ii

I,!
,I

,
i

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 animal 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 Adeboye Babalola (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

OrukQ
(name)

Oriki
(pet name)

Oril~

AbiQdun

AIM

Ajibik~

Ab~ni
Ajamli
Akan6

Erin
Qkin
Ogun
Qg9

AdcjiJmQ
Fagbcmi

(totem)

The items in the third column are known as Oril~:


"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

1 It 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.
2 Samuel Johnson, The History of the 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

I
I

I
.1
I

,\I'll.

I'

TIe I' a i WO, k' a to 89 'm9 I' oruk9

III

1
')'

:\1

:1
;,11
1,1

i
:1

Ii

I
I

II

L
d
j

Ii

Ii

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 s- is left; we do not know what to do with it alone.!
Ortik9
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":
tk/rukr "to mention"
(d-r-k-)
Yoruba
Arabic
qakara "to mention"
(<.i-!c-r-)
Assyrian zilearu "to mention, to name" (z-k-r-)
So, here we have an Afro-Asiatic triconsonantal verbal root d-r-k-/d-k-r-: 2
Semitic keeps that intact; but Yoruba "analyses" it-- looses it up into a
"verb-nominal collocation": driruk\} "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 Metathesis 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 Yourse!( Comparative
Linguistics that "consonants (I) and (r) are the most frequently melathesised conso
nants".

61

,II!

We can pursue the root further. When in Genesis 2, it is said:


"Male and female created he them", the Hebrew word translated as
"male" is zakar. Now, what has zakar "male" to do with zakar "to re
mcmber"? Brown, Driver and 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" root is obscure. Yoruba would seem
to share this obscurity: the Yoruba for "man" (male) is rldmrin bkilri],
the same consonantal root as orLik(J with metathesis. t

or another, new combinations of phonetic elements torn from older


forms."l
Yaruba orukr "name" was back-formed from dimikr "to mcntion,
to mention the name".2 They go back to the root ~-r-k-/d-k-r- whose
basic meaning is found in Hebrew zakar "remember". Orukr "name"
is something to remember a man by - not a mark, not a branding, but
a linguistic symbol, a name. "The modern notion of 'remembering,
psychologically viewed as the act of an individual mind, is quite alien
to the Hebrew conception, which is in the first place communal, and
closely related to the idea of the namt:.,,3
This relationship between the concept of a name and the idea of
remembering can be illustrated from another branch of the Hamito
Semitic family: Middle Egyptian rn (Coptic ran) is glossed as "name".
There is no such root in Yoruba with the meaning "name". But it occurs
with the meanillg "to remember":
run mi 1. eti 4
rUIl 'tf
ni mi ni 'ran
flf'ran 5

II

Yoruba darukr is cognate with Arabic clakara; Yoruba or/tkr was


back-formed from Yoruba darukr; Yoruba rki'mrin bkilrI] is related
to Hebrew zikkaron "a souvenh". They all go back to the idea of re
membering. A name is what we remember a person by: a male child is
that one that keeps the name of the father from lapsing into oblivion.
This is the relation between z-k-r- "to remember" and z-k-r- "male".
The Afro-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 perpetuated the memory of the ancestor. He was a zeker
"a memorial" - rkimrin "male", zikkaron. 2

"remind me"

"remember"

"remind me" (Ijybu dialect)

"remembcr" (Ijybu dialect)

,:III
I

Orfki

Let us start by warning the reader not to play the folk etymological
game by back-forming orf "head" from the word oriki. Not so soon after
we have just been talking about orukr. Orrik(J and orfki have the same
consonantal root: -r-k-. Orukr is the linguistic symbol by which you
remember an individual; oriki is the literary form by which you remem
ber him within the history of his family, clan and tribt:. Hence the genea
logical content of orikl. 3

I Course in General Lill/?lIistics (New York, Philosophical Library, 1959) p. 169.


2 It is unfortunate that E. C. Rowlands mentions ddYlik(J when speaking of "a number
of 'verbs' of two or more syllables which are acruaJly compounds of a verb plus
a noun." (Sce page 136 of his Teach Yourself Yoruba). da- in d6nikp which he
assumes to be the verb he glosscs as "make". Would ddnik(J then mean" to make a
name"? The truth is that no meaning can be assigned to dd- in ddruk(J by itself,
not even on the principle enunciated on page 132 of E. C. Rowland's book - that
"the mcanings of monosyllabic verbs are dependcnt on that of accompanyi;1g
words". Whenever one is tempted to apply such a principle, one should suspect
that onc is dcaling with "homophonous verb roots" (See Kay Williamson on page
88 of lBADAN. No. 26.) Each of them has a different etymology.
3 A. G. Herbert,'" Memory, Memorial, Remember, Remembrance" in Alan Richard
son, ed., A Theological Word Book of tire Bible (S.C.M. Press, 1950) p. 142.
4 As with most of such causative constructions in Yomba, the significant word
often an archaic word whose ability to stand by itself is no longer appreciated
is amplified with words specifying the part of the body which comes into the action.
Thus:
rim mE l' (JW(J "lend me a ha.nd" (help me)
rim mE 1'fru "help me with the load"
rim is cognate with Arabic rabma" mercy", Hebrew rabamim "assistance, help".
rwr is cognate with Middle Egyptian' wy "hands"; fru is cognate with Middle Egy
ptian hry "under, carrying".
5 Hence "a generation" is Iran, which illustrates lexically the connection between
memory and history, between the reca!! of king lists (genealogy) and folk history.

,I,
d
I.

Ii
I

,I

I
\

The nasalization in pkimrill began from the final consonan t, like the Inl in Hebrew
zlkkaroll, and spread through assimilation: [Qkurin] > [Qkunrin]
The
process is still going on in obirill "woman" (d. Arabic' imra' "woman" Agni
Beri obla "woman") more frequently spelt
Ivory Coast bla "woman",
obinrill. I differ from Archdeacon J. O. Lucas, Religioll of fhe Yorubas, pages 92-3.
What Archdeacon Lucas calls" nasal n" in the footnote is the orthographic device
in Yoruba for showing that the preceding vowel is nasalized.
2 zlkkaron has the word-formative sumx I-ani, found in Lebanon ( <I,z/xf/l "white"),
Jordan (<yarad"to descend").
3 See S. A. BabalQla, Th(' Content and Form of Yorubu ljala (O.D.P. 1966) pp. 23-4
and AW(J1l Orfki Orflf (CoIlins, 1967) p. II. See also E. Bolaji Idowu, Olodllmare,
God in Yoruba Beliefpp. 9-10 and Ogunl~y~ Agunbiade-Bamishe, KnolV the Yorubas
(Sketch Publishing Co., Ibadan, 1968) pp. 32-4.

62

,i
II

63
I

_..."_._:Mi

I
;,lr1WMll"

i.,

,,\";iJr*'j,:;0:\;j;i

"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 midst of a host of ancestors.
The oriki invokes a host of ancestry, and the child is made to experience
"the communion of saints". "There 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
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 Last 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.
.T 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 and 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.

64

MUSLIM AND CHRISTIAN NAMES AMONG THE YORUBA

I!
"

Christianity came into Yorubaland 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, Stephen
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.
It 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 [J06s~~fu]
= Yeslifit,
David [Deefiidi] = Daudd, Moses [M66siisi] = Musa,
Gabriel [Geebliri~li] = Jibrila, etc. l 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 Yoruba 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 "merciful" came with the
Biblical name Yoha1:zun (John) "Yo (Yahweh=Jehovah) is merciful".
Moses (Mus~i), the name of the greatest of the prophets of Israel, was
given to him in Egypt where he was born. It 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. It 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.

65

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. I

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. I

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 parents desired in preference to the "pagan"
Yoruba names which were available to express the same sentiments ex
pressed in the Bible names. It 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

The Yoruba believe that a person's name affects his behaviour:


they say, Onikr fJ 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.

Christianity and Islam have had at least one 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-Yfmi, If.fun-Iqiya or Ori'~'afunk(:; only Olzi-bL'mmi, Olu~run:jd, Olu-/qiya,
Ohi~runk(:. 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{ll1yln indicates nothing of the religion of the bishop himself; it merely
shows the ancestral belief of his forefathers.

Ii

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. It was as it used to be in

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, Portuguese 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.

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

67

......,..

'enf.

'M;i.

tt

...

Diu "God"
Oluf~mi

Oluszmya
Oh'ijinmi
Oluk~mi

0lllY9mi
Oluymisi
OIUfunmiM
OIUr~mil~kll11

011Illyd6
OIll~~gun
OIMunn~

---

Olll~Y<;

OIMelanu
OlublIs(l!a
OlubUkul1<,JIa
Olllkya
Oilideire
Olltwmim
0lllt6yc

-----

OIll~eyi

Ollunid6
OIlunby
Olllb~tjo

OlllpltZlJ1
Olu~\)ga

Ori~a "Patron saints, divinities"

(Lord, Master)
\,

Olu f~ mi
"God loves me"
Olu san iya
"God avenges punishment"

Olu jin mi
"God gave me"

Olu k~ mi
"God pets me"

Oill Y9 mi
"God rescues me"

Olu y~ mi si
"God honours me"

Olu fun mi k~
"God gave me to pet"

Olu r~ mi I.. ykiln "God consoles me in my weeping"

Olu kit ay de
"God brought joy"

Olu ~ ogun
"God won a victory"

Olu fUn mi ~()


"God gave me to watch"

01L1 ~e Yl(
"God wrought a thing of dignity"

Olu 1. aanu
"God has mercy"

Oill bit sa 9lei


"God replenishes status"

OIu bU klm 91<i


"God fills honour to the brim"

Olu k(,l lyil


"God rebuJTs insults"

OIu del are


"God exonorates"

OIll w ml 1110.
"God washes me clean"

Olii t6 aye
"God is as valuable as a title"

Olll ~e eyi
"God did this"

Olll 15mi Ii de
"My Lord comes"

Olii In by
"God exists"

Olil b' ajo


"God returns (from) a journey"

Olu p' Han


"God tells a tale"

Olu :;>' <)gel


"God makes masters"

Ori~awayi

Ori~agbemi

Od mil 016ye

Orimal<id6

Od mil aliide

OriYllmi

Ori YII 1111

F,~l]biyi
E~ugbayi

E~u .. bi eYl
E~u .. gba byi

Ira
Filllia
Fal(,lp~

Faluyi
Fala~y

Falllm(,l
Fei~lIhi
Fa~ade
Fa~uyi

Fa~lIrQ

"The Lord is beneficial to me"


"The Lord is (big) enough to
worship"

QIrun ni ill by
QIrun" f mi
Mo f' QIrun ~II

Orimol6ye

"The Orf has foreknowledge of


the person destined to be chief"
"Ori knows who is destined to be
crowned"
"Orf delivered me"
E~i1

Fa~anu

FaleO
FagbUlil
Fa~ina

QlQrun "Owner of heaven, - God"

QIrunniillby QIrunf~ll1i
Mof91run~ -

"Ori\~a supported me"

Ori~a II gbe 111i

Orl*

Olowa "Lord, Master" (God)

Oillwa" san JIll


Olliwasanmi
Olliwatosin -- Oillwa II to i sin

"It is God who lives (for ever 7)"

"God loves me"

"I watch with the help of God"

"E~u gave birth to this one"

"E~u saved this one"

"Augury, divination"

Ifa l' <;>hi


Ifa I' IIP~
Ifa I' uyi
Ifci l' a~1(
- Ita l' IIIDII
- Ifa ~e
lila
- Ifa ~e ad6
- Ifa ~e uyi
- Ita ~e IIr
- Ifa ~e aanu
- Ifa ni eO
- Ifa gba ulil
- Ifa ~i na

"Ijit is elevating"

"lId is a cause of gratitude"

"Ijd is a cause of our dignity"

"lId is the word of authority"

"lId is equivalent to children"

"lId works elevation"


"lId makes a crown"

"Ijd produces dignity"

"Ija makes wealth"

"!fa acts mercifully"

"lId has ears" (to hear)

"lId saves a city"

"Ijd opens the way"

Ori is "head". The Yoruba do not worship their own head. Circumstances of
linguistic symbolism, however, brought it about that the gods (and God) being
high and lofty, are called bywords related to words for" head": ori,\'(ilrosh; o/liwaloruwo;
hence Ollilori_ The most easily visible and palpable of these concepts is the human
head.

III

II

Ii

69

68

II
"[I,r

..--:el~____

_ _

, ,

Jj
Fcidip~

Fagbeml
FciJana
Feiy~ml

FagllDwa
Fayiga
Fatogun
Faj[lna
FcibiJl1mi
F,ifunwa
FagbCnlc5
Fcik6redc5
FagbamiIA
F;;idarr6
F;;ijmb(>la
Fa$csll1
F;;ijmisin
F;;lgadc5
F,ttolei
Fasanm[
FMiad6
Fcitllloti
F;;ld,ihunsi
FakciYQd6
F,imoriYQ
F,lrinm;;idc5
Ad6Y yf;;i
Adubifa
Abifadn
Ql;;lifa
Fei$\)ranti
F,ibuluj~

FasehUn
Fajilyi

i
Ifa di ip~
"lflt substitutes a ransom"
I
Ira gbe mi
(
"lId supported my causc"
Ira la Qna
"lIlt cut a path"
Ifa y~ mi
"(The worship of) lId suits me"
Ifei g1111 iwa
"lId straightens character"
Ifa yi iga
"/fd marks out a royal courtyard"
If,1 to oogun
"lfli is sufficient for a medicine"
Ifa j;;i Ql1a
"Jfu crosses the path"
- Ha bim mi
"l(d gave me"
- Ira flm mi wi
"1ja gave me"
- 1m gM mi le
"ljii carricd me aloft"
- WI k6 ire de
"ljii brings in good things"
-- Ita gM mi la
"lId saved me"
- Wi da eyi 1'0
''If(i kept this one waiting"
- Ifei j (lei) n b:i 91~1 "lIlt made it possible for me to
cncounter wealth"
l[ci $C i sin
"lid is auspicious to worship"
- Ira j l11i 1 sin
"f(d is propitious for me to wor
ship"
- If,i gun ade
"lI(i got on a crown"
- Ifa to i ki
"lid is enough to salute"
-- If;;i san 1111
"l(d is good to me"
-- Ini fi i (flw) ad6
"lid gave him to the crown"
-- Irei t6 1r6-ti
"l(ii is reliable enough to stand
by"
- 1fti c1cihlll1 sl i
"l[d gave a response to it"
- If;;1 ko aYQ de
"l(d brought in joy"
- Ifa (ni) 1110 ri YQ
"It's lId I saw that I rejoice"
- Wi rin I11Q ad6
"l(d walks with the crown"
- Ade YV Ifei
"A crown befits ljd"
- A- dtldll bi If,i
"One who is black as lId"
- A- b:i Ifa rin
"One who walks with Jf(i"
- Ql;;IIfa
"Thanks to lfci"
- Wi :ee $e Qran ti
"1.f(i does not fail to solve a
problem"
- If;;i :ee ba ulll j~
"lId does not ruin a city"
- Ifa :6c se ohlin
"1.[a does not refuse an utterance"
-- Wi :c5e j (ki) uyi gbc5 "lId does not let glory die"

70

\
lId names are commonest among thc Ij<;$a. Ncxt come the Ondo.
~here these_ have lIlt names, the Ijvbu tend to have Odi'l and Awo, tl1e
:e:~ba o.}'6. Qsanyin is from Ekiti.

Awo "Secret cult"


AwodeJc5

Awo III de illS

Awoyinfa
AwOfala
AwojQbi
AwolQwQ
AwokQya
Awolilja
AwodQla

Awo" yin Ifa


Awo' fa ila
Awo IiIjQ bi
Awo" ni QWQ
Awo iii k9 iya
Awo IiJ la ija
Awo iii di Q1<1

Awosanml

Awo iii san mi

Awoyyfa

Awo .. yr; Ifa


Awo:ee ~e ika

Awo~ika

"The master of the cult arrives


home"
"The diviner praises lIlt"
"The diviner draws lines"
"We are all children of the cult"
"The cult deserves respect"
"The cult rebuffs an insult"
"Divination settles a quarrel"
"Divination becomes a thing 0
honour"
"Membership of the cult has
bencfitted me"
"A cult is suitable for l.fa"
"The cult did not clo any wicked
thing"

Odit "Oracular utterance"

Odusanya
Odusanwo
OdllYQye
OdutQhi
OduwQle

--

Odli .. san iya


Odli .. san owo
Odli iii YQ oye
Odil" t6 Qla
Odtl .. WQ ile
Odtl" ~e Qt~
Odu .. jln rin 'nti
Odli iii eli emllr~n

Odub~la

Odli iii ni aya


Odu .. by ~la

Awob6du
$ofodtl

Awolil M Oelil
0$6 fQ Odll

Odu~Qt~

Odujinrin
Odudemur~n

Odunaiya

71

"The oracle avenges an injury"


"The oracle pays money"
"The oracle rejoices at a title"
"The oracle is enough for honour"
"The oracle enters the house"
"The diviner is engaged in a plot"
"God is long-suffering"
"The oracular utterance becomes
something else"
"The oracle is bold"
"The oracle pleads with the Lord
of being"
"The diviner and the oracle fit"
"The seer announces the word of
the oracle"

Ogun~Qla

Odu names are almost all from Ij~bu province.


o~o

$6Ulllk~

$6kya
$6wQle
$6yinkii
$6bande
$6weinde
$6wunmi
$6mQrin
$6tunde
$6sanya
$6liirin
$6mlde
$6litja
$6ya11l1wo
$6riyan
$6diimLl
$6dip~

$or~m~kun
JQlao~6
KQleo~6

$6tikar~

O~6
O~6

Oguntade
OgunjQbi

"Seer, wizard"

ni an M
kQ iya

Ogunk~yy

"It is the seer we are petting"

Ogunlade
OgunmQIa

"The seer champions the cause of


the suIfering"
"The seer enters the house"
- O~6 WQ ile
"Seers surround me"
- O~6 yi mi kii
"A seer came with me"
- O~6 ba mi de
"A seer came to look for me"
- O~6 wei mi de
"1 like visioners"
- O~6 wun mi
~ O~6 m Q rin
"The seer knows how to pick his
time"
- O~6 tun de
"The seer comes again"
- O~6 san iya
"The seer repays an injury"
- O~6 la aarin
"The seer passes through the
middle"
~ O~6.mi.de
"Here comes my seer"
- O~6 la ija
"The seer stopped the fighting"
- O~6 yan mi wo
"The seer chose me on trial"
"The seer found something to
- O~6 ri yan
choose"
- O~6 di i mLl
"The seer held him"
"The seer substitutes with a plea"
- O~6 di ip~
- O~6 r~ mi (I.) ykun "The seer consoles me in my
weeping"
- J y QIci 0~6
"Benefit from the status of the
seer"
- KQ iIe 0~6
"Build the house of a seer"
"The seer himself"
~ O~6 l' ika r~

Ogundip~

Ogun~' Qla

Ogunt6yinb6
Ogun~ina

Oguntim~hin -

Ogunnuga
Ogungbe
Ogunrinde
Ogunbiyl
Ogunba
Ogl1l1mQdyde

"Ogun brought elevation"


"Ogun is as valuable as a crown"
"Ogun gave birth to all of us"
"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 ~i na
Ogun ti mi (I.) ~hin "Ogun backed me up"
"Ogun has a palace"
Ogun ni uga
"Ogun is propitiolls to me"
Ogun gbe mi
"Ogun walked here"
Ogun rin de
"Ogun gave birth to this one"
Ogun bi eyi
"Ogun lives"
Ogun ba
"Ogun makes the hunter arrive
Ogun mu Qdy de
safe"

Ogun t6 ade
OgunjQ bi
Ogun k6 ~yy
Ogun I' ade
Ogun mQ Qla
Ogun di ip~
Ogun t6 oyinb6

Qd y "Hunter"

Qd~gbaroye

--

Qd y "
Qd y "
Qd y
Qdy
Qdy
Qd y
Qdy
Qd y

AbQdyrin

A- ba 9dy rin

Qd~biyl
Qd~rinde

Qd~ku
Qd~yale
Qd~tQla

Qd~bunmi

QdNina

"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
ters"

bi eyi
rin de
ku
ya ile
t6 Qla
bim mi
di na
gbQ aroye

Most O~6 names are ~gbci. They are also found in Ij~bu R~mQ area.

Akin "Valiant warrior"

Ogun*
Ogunlesi
Ogun~~yy

Ogun I' esi


Ogun ~' ~yy

"Ogun is our defence"


"Ogun wrought glory"

Ogl/It is the god of iron, the patron of all who work with iron

e.g. smiths the

god of war and the patron of hunters.

Akingbade
Akinwunmi
Akintunde

- Akin. gba ade


- Akin. wun mi
-- Akin. tun de

72

"A valiant man lends glory to a


house"
"The valiant man takes the crown"
"I like valiant men"
"The valiant man comes again"

Akin. yy ile

AkinYyIe

73

"'mar

-e;m......_..,... ~~-=-~. __...

---._._.__.__._.. _--~-_ ..

J
\1
I'

Akinrin(>hi
Akint(>hi
Akinsanya
Akinlade
Akinniyi
Akinjide
AkinY'Ymi
Akfntciy
Akintoye
Akinluyi
AklnbQgun

Akinp~llI

Akinl~yy

Akintl11ide
Akinsanm i
Aldnrele

--

AkinmUSlllJrU --Aldnkunmi
Akindele
-Akfn~~t~
Akfnb(>li
--
AkinQlii
Akinkligbe
Akinbl1Un
Akfntmf
AkinnigbagM
Ogunmakind6

-.
--

Ogunnuikinw~-i-

lkllll10gunniyi -

Akin .. rin (j) Qla


Akin. to 91a
Akin .. san iya
Akin .Ia de
Akin .. ni iyi
Akin II I. ~yy
Akin iii ji de
Akin!fJ yet 1111
Akin .. t6 ay
Akin .. to aye
Akin I' Ilyi
Akinilb OMi) ogun

"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 valian t man is back [rom

war"
Akin .. p~lu
"The valiant man was one of
them"
Akin .. t mi de
'The valiant man came after me"
Akin .. san l11i
"Valour is good for me"
Akin .. re ']C r~
"The valiant man went to his
house"
A1<in .. mu sllllrll
"The bold one exercises patience"
Akin .. kllI1 111i
"The valiant man
Akin .. de ile
"The valiant man got home"
Akin .. ~e ~t~
"The valiant man did
Akin B bii Qlii
"Valour goes very well with
honour"
Akin Q/;i
"Valour of honour"

Akin:ee kll gbe


"Valiant men do not die in vain"

Akin:ee b ohilD
"A valiant man does not give up"

Akin:ee t 111i
"Valour never let me down"

Akin :ee ni igbagbe "Valiant deeds have no oblivion"

Oglll1 mll akin de


"Ogun brought the warrior back"

Oglm ml\ akin w~i "Oglll1 brought the warrior here"

Ba16gun

lkll mll ogun nl iyi "Death gives importance to war


fare"
Iba ni ogun
"Leader in war"
I

I'

Qua "Artistic Genius"

I,

I,

QnMQw(lkil11
Qnab61l1
Qniifk
Qnayetmi
QnaJaja
OnaMmir6
Qn{l~i16

Qnabajo
Qnadip~
QnaMnk~

Onagoruwa
Qnakomaya
AdebniljQ

Qna .. f'9W(> kim


"The artist creates with the hand"

Qna II ba Olll
"Art befits lords"

Qna .. f ~kQ
"Art needs learning"

Qna .. YiY mi
"The profession of artist suits me"

Qna .. la ijil
"Art settles the quarrel"

Ona .. M mi r6
"Art stays with me"

Qna II ~i He
"The artist opens a house"

Qna .. b (lilti) iljO "The artist returns from a journey"

Qna. di ip~
"Art puts in a plea with a ransom"

Qna .. ba mi k
"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 ba Qna jQ
"A crown goes very well with art"

Ayi'm "The sound of drums"


Ayand61e
Ayiinthi
Ayiintllga

- Ayan" de ile
- Ayan ail t6 Qla
-- Ayan .. t6 llga

Ayanbad6jQ

Ayan n bel ad6 jQ

Aliiyiind6

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"


QyawQye
Abyade

Most Akin names are Ondo and Ijy~a. No girl is given an Akin name.

Qya WQ oye
A- ba Qya de

"The Niger assumes a title"


"One who arrives with the Niger"

Ogull "War"
AdebQgun

Ohl?~gun

~-.

Abisogun

1 The River Niger being to the north of Yoruba land, Qya names are found among
the Northern Yorubil, in Qfa for instance.

AdiS b<) (latl) ogun "The crown returns from war"


Olu ? ogun
"God is victorious"
A- bi si ogun
"Born in war"

74

75

,
"""";;;':'<ittttt

.1jjF~'f'

,I!

(>~unl "The O,~un River"


0$Llllkunl6
0$unt6ki
0$(\11 t6kun

O$unniyi
O$Lll1kya

O$un .. kun il6


O$un .. t6 i kf
O$un t6 ohm

"O$un fills the house"

"The O~'un is enough to salute"

"The O,~un River is as big as the


sea !"
"The O$un has dignity"
"The O.yun champions the cause

of the suffering"

"The O$un gave me"

O$un .. ni iyi
O$Ull k9 iya

O$unbimmi

O$un bUn mi

Qpadtun
Qla Opa

Qpa d' tun


Qla Opa
QI(Jpa de

QI(Jpad6

~fun -

Guardian of the fields

J;:fUnyymi

-J;:fun yy mi

J;:fUnkya

J;:fun. k9 iya

$6k~fun

0$6 kIr yfun

Ogunm~fun

Ogun mQ J;:fu11

Orni "Water"
Omikunl6
Omit(Jla
Omf$ad6
Omf$oore

Omi" kun il6


Omi. t6 91<i

"Water fills the house"


"Water is enough for a thing of
honour"
"Water made a crown"
"Water did a kind deed"

Omi. $e ad6
Omi $e oore

Oke*
Ok6~fn~L
Okcdijf

Ad6gokc
Qlc\g()kc

- Ad6 gun oke


-- Qlci gun okc

"The hill"

OkC. $i Qna
Okc. d' iji

"The hill opens a way"


"The hill becomes a place of
refuge"
"The crown ascends a hill"
"Status ascends"

(lIla "Plenty"
Opc\kunl6
Opal~yy
Opayymf

I.

Opa kUll il6


Opa
~yy
Opei yt; mi

"Plentifulness fills the house"


"Plentiful harvest confers dignity"
"Worship of plenty suits me"

76

"Worship of the god of the farms

suits me"

"The god of the farms rebuffs

indignity"

"The seer greets the god of the


farm" (?)
"Ogun with the god of the fields"

QrnQ "Children"*

9.

Qm9wunmi
QmQtQ$<)

Qm9. wun mi
Qm
t6 9$9

QrnQtay

Qn19 t6 ay

Q m 9 lan\
Qm9 niyi

-- Qm9 I' ara


- Qn19 11' iyi

QmQd616

Qm9 d6 ilc
Q n19 l' ~yt;

QmQI~yy

Qm910lu

1 Osun Division, of course, is the centre around which Osun names occur mpst fre
quently. But the names follow the course of the Osun River through 0sogbo,
:ed~, Ibadim districts and the Eastern parts of Ij~bil land.
* Oke names are found in the hilly areas whose beginnings are conne.cted with the
flight of refugees to safety on mountain tops or in mountain caves: Ekiti, Ibildan,

Abeokilta, etc.

"Plentiful harvest becomes new"


"The elevated status concomitant
with plentiful harvest"
"Here comes the devotee of the

god of plenty"

"Children appeal to me" (I like ... )


"Children are sufficient for an
adornment"
"Children are sufficient cause for
joy"
"Children are one's kith and kin"
"Children are the glory (of their
parents)
"The child arrives home"
"Children are the real status
symbols"
"Children are the copestone of
one's aspirations" (?)

Qm9 I' OILI

In the days before the conlact wilh Brilain, the Yoruba had no surnames, as we
now know them. The method of connecting a person with his family was to call him
A the child of B - 9lnP LagbrijJ, pmr Tmdu - a system best preserved in the
Semitic system extant in Hebrew (ben Gurian "the son of Gurion") and in Arabic
(' ibn Musa" the son of Musa").
The surnames of Yoruba today were the personal names of the parents of the
children whose names were registered soon after the contact with Britain in the
nineteenth century: the names of their fathers were interpreted as "surnames".
Hence Mr. Id6wu; even Mr. Bal6gun.

77
I

Ii_

i.

.f

~
~

Q1116bhi
Qmparf9I,i
Kik19 111 9

Q m9 II bel 91ci nl il6 "The child meets honour at home"


Q m 9 11 pari 9la
"Children complete one's high
state"
Kik l' 9m9
"Children are for petting"
<)j~ "The living one"

~ OJ II de ile
~ OJ Iii d' iran

OJdele
OJdiran
OJdokun

''OJ arrives home"


''OJ becomes hereditary"
''OJ becomes the sea"

~ OJ'' d' ohm

Eeglm "Ritual masks, ancestral masks"


Eegllllj9bi
Abegunde
E6gunyc;mi

E6gllll j9 bi

~
~

~
~
~

~
~
~

K(l~im

Kuybi

~iwkil

Eegun yC; mi

Baba" tun de
~ lye II tun d6
~ Iya be)
~ Baba II tlm ji
~ Baba IIji de
~ Qn19 III dhin de
~ Qm9 II dhin be)
-- J;:ni (tl) 6 19
l' 6 be)

"Father comes a second time"


"Mother comes a second time"
"Mother returns"
"Father wakes up again"

"Father is awake and is here"


"The child comes back"

"The child comes back"


"It's the person who went away
who has come back"

Orukq Abikii ~ Infant mortality


Mal9m
Kokum
Kosk
R6timi
Dur6sinmi

Dllr6jay6
Kaljaye

~
~

Ma 19 111
Ko ku m
Ko si 9k
R6 ti mi
Dur6 sin mi

"Don't go any more"

"He does not die any more"


"There is no hoe" (to dig a grave)

"Stand by me"
"Stay to bury me" (don't die pre
maturely)
"Stay and enjoy life"
"Sit down and enjoy life'.'

Dur6 j' aye


Kal j'aye

78

II

Aye) "Joy"

'Tunde ~ Reincarnation
Babatunde
Yetund6
ly,ibe)
Babatunji
Babajid6
Qm<)deind6
Qmdinb<)
J;: nfl 9

"Sit down with me"


"Help me build the house"
"It's a child we would have petted"
"Death spared him"
"Death left him alone"
"Death was merciful"
"Death wrought a painful thing"
"Death ruined me"
"Death pardoned"
"Death refused this one"
"Death could not recognise him"
"Death removed the guilt"
"Take (your) hands off dying"
(stop dying)

Ba mij6ko
Ba mi kQ ile
Qm9 ni aiM k
IkujwQ r
lku yin in nil
IkLl $e aanu
lku $e or6
lku run mi
lkLl foriji
lku k9 eyi
lku $i i m!)
lku yy bi
~i 'wQ iIeu

"Eegu/1 gave birth to al1 of us"


"One who comes with the eegu/1"
"Eegzl/1 fits me"

~ A- ba eegun de
~

Banj6ko
Bankle
Qm 9IaMk
Kuj9r
Kuyinnu
KU$aanu
KU$or6
Kurunmi
KUforiji
Kuk9yi

AY9d6le
AY9 deji
AY9 rIn de
Ql11t,iye)

Temit,iY9
TitilaY9
J;kLll1daY9
AY9 ade
AY9 Ia
QdunaY9

~
~

"Joy reaches (our) home"


"Joy becomes two"
"Joy walks in"
"Children are enough cause for

joy"
"Mine is enough cause for joy"

"Endless is (my) joy"


"Weeping becomes joy"
"The joy of a crown"
"Joy of elevation"
"A year of joy"

AY9" de il6
AY9 II d' eji
Ay II rin de
Qn19 II t6 aY9

Ti emi II t6 ay<)
Titi l' ay
~ J;:kun d' aY9
~ AY9 ad6
-- Ay 9la
~ Qdun aY9
~

.J::kun "Weeping"

J;:kundaY9
~ J;:kun d' aY9
J;:kundare
~ J;:kun da are
OlurmilkLm ~ Olll r mi ni ykun
~6rmkLm
~ 0$6 r mi ( , ) ykLm

"Weeping becomes joy"

"Weeping vindicates"
"God consoles me in my weeping"
"The seer consoles me in my
weeping"

79

I
!

I ' ~

Ade "Crown"
-

Ad6 tunji
Ad6 dap
Ad6 ba ayo
Ad6 wei il6
Ad6 kun ile
Ad6 gun oke
Ade gun ori oye
Ade S9 ji
Ad6 r~ mi (1111 ykllll)
Ad6 f mi
Ade ~i na

Ad6111(J1~gun

-
-

Ad6 da m 91ei
Ad6 m 91a
Ade ba mi k
Ad6 bU kun 91ei
Ade bi si
Ad6 bi 111i p6
Ad6 pe oju
Adej9 k
Ade di oyin
Ad6 taro
Ad691ei
Ad6 yc,: mi
Ad6 yi mi k:i
Ad6poju
Ade mu i1~ glm

Ad6kanmbi
AMgbit
Ad6kya
Ad6day
Ad6muwagun

- Ad6 kin mi bi?


- Ad6 gba it
- - Ade k9 iya
- Ad6 di ay
- Ade mu iwa gun

Adeyym9
Ad60ye
Adeniran

Adetunji
Ad6dap
Ad6bay
Ad6weil6
Ad6klm16
Ad6goke
Adegor6ye
Ad6s9ji
Ad6r~mi

Ad6f~mi
Ad6~[na

Ad6damlei
Ad6mla
Ad6beink
Ad6bllknlei
Ad6bisi
Adebimp6
Ad6peju
Ad6j9k
Ad6doyin
Adeloro
Ad691ei
Adeyc,:mi
Ad6yinkei
Adepojll

Ade yy 9m9
Ad60ye
Ad6 ni iran
80

"The crown is resuscitated"


"Crowns affiliate"
'The crown comes home"
"Crowns fill the house"
"Crowns ascend a hill"
"The crown ascends to a title"
"The crown is revived"
"The crown consoles me"
"The crown loves me"
"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"
"The crown gives birth to more"
"The crown begat me whole"
"The crown is full value"
"Crowns join in petting"
"Crowns become honey (sweet)"
"The crown is peaceful"
"The crown of honour"
"The crown befits me"
"Crowns surround me"
"There are too many crowns"
"The Crown makes the land
stable"
"Is it my turn to the crown ?"(?)
"The crown takes a throne"
"The crown rebuffs insults"
"The crown becomes joy"
"The crown makes character
straight"
"A crown befits a child"
"A crown of title" (titular)
"Crowns have pedigree"

Ad6niyi
Adeniji

Ad6 ni iyi
Ad6 ni iji

Ad61abU
Adebajo

Adela iM
Ad6 b (Wi) ajo

Ad6iye
Ad6nrel6
Ad6deji
Ad6bUs6ye
Ad6gb91ci
Ad6ribigbe
Ad6gb6yega -

Ade iye
Ad6 n re '16
Ad6 di eji
Ad6 btl si oye
Ad6 gba 91ei
AM Ii ibi gbe
Ad6 gbe oye ga

Ad6b6yej9

- Ad6 ba oye j9

Ad6b(maj9

v'<71ci~adc

Ad6 ba 9na j9
F' 91ci ~e ade

Iga/uga
Ademlga
ayenuga
Bisuga
Leid6ga
Hyiga

"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"

"courtyard, palace"

Ad6 nllluga
aye II nil ug~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"

Oba "King"
Qbafmi

Qba II f l11i

"The king loves me"

Oyc "titled posts"

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

Oyekunle
OyeyipQ
Oye~ina

Oyenuga
Oyel~sy

Oyeniran
Oyeniyi
Oyediran
Oyemade
Oyenam~

Oyebde
OyeYymi
Oyesilllya
Oyegoke
Oyebla
Oyebolll
OyelwQ
Qlcidunjoye
Ogunt6ye
OlMoye
Adeloye

---

Oye .. kun ile


Oye .. yi p
Oye .. ~i Qna
Oye .. ni uga
Oye .. Iii ySy
Oye .. ni iran
Oye .. ni iyi
Oye .. di iran
Oye II m ade
Oye II ni am~1
Oye .. bQ de
Oye iii Yv mi
Oye .. san iya
Oye .. gun 6U
Oye .. ba <;>lci CiQ)
Oye Iii ba Olu (jQ)
- Oye .. I.. QWQ
-- Qla dLll1 ju aye
-

Ogll11 t6 aye
0111 t6 aye
Ade l' aye

Adegboyega -

Ade gbe aye ga

Adeoye
QhlOyC
Abioye

Ad6 aye
Qla aye
A- bi (si) aye

O~in

Qr;;ifow6ra
Q~rdele

Q~rYymi
Q~rkQya
Q~isanya

"Titles fill the house"


"Titles roll together"
"A title opens the way"
"Titles have palaces"
"Titles have rank and hierarchy"
"Titles have pedigree"
"Titles have dignity"
"The titles becomes hereditary"
"The title conjoins with a crown"
"Titles have symbols"
"The title has come round again"
"The title fits me"
"The title avenges suffering"
"The title ascends a hill"
"A title agrees well with status"?
"A title fits God"
"Titles have respect"
"Status is sweeter than chieftaincy
titles"
"Og(1Il is enough for a title"
"God is sufficient for titles"
"A crown is the mark of chief
taincy"
"The crown raises the status of a
chieftaincy"
"The crown of chieftaincy"
"The high status of chieftaincy"
"Born into a title"

"Chief"

Q~i"

f' owo ra
Q~i" de ile
Q~i" Yv mi
Q~i" kQ iya
Q~i II san iya

"The chief bought with money"


"The chief kept the house"
"Chieftaincy suits me"
"The chief avenges punishment"

"The chief repays punishment"

Q~ib6dil
Q~iyaJe

Q~ibQwale
Q~ikomaiya

Q~rb~ril
Q~ikanlu

Q~naja
Q~ifQdlJ]1fin

Q~i" ba odu
Q~i" ya ile
Q~i" b wa 'Ie
Q~i" k6 mi 0") aya

Q~i

Q~i

II

b~ru

Q~i" kan Ollt

Q~i

"la ija
.. f' Qdun rin

O~in names are almost all Ijybu.

In that dialect, an attenuation of

Qili "Elevated status, fame, honourable estate"


"Fame is not unachievable"
"High status is sweet to have"
"Fame becomes two"
"Fame becomes many"
"Status is progressing forward"
"Status returns to its pristine
place"
"Fame is leagued together"
Qliidap
- Qla da PQ
Qlagoke
- Ql3. gun 6ke
"Status goes up"
QladeI6
- Qla de ile
"Fame reaches home"
QlaiwQhi
- Qla yi WQ QM
"Fame is intertwined with fame"
"I like high status"
Qlawunmi
- Qla wun mi
Qlaitan
- Qhi i i tan
"Honour never gets used up"
Qlayinka
- Qla yi mi kit
"Honour surrounds me"
QlaniYQnu
- Qla ni iYQnu
"Fame has its troubles"
QlaiibiwQnnu - Qla ill bi wQn ni inu "(Our) success is annoying them"
Qla6~ebikan -- Qla 6 ~e ibi kan
"Honour does not dwell exclu
sively in one place"

Qla~eni

Qladunni
Qladimeji
QladipQ
Qlanrewajll
Qlab(>p6

I
I
i
l~

Qhi ~e i ni
Q!<i dun i nr
Qla di meji
Qla di P1IPQ
Qla 11 re 'wajll
QM bQ (si) ipo

----------

lOne hears in Ijybu ogu [or ogun "war", f!fu for ffim, a circumstance which now makes
it difficult to know whether the first elemenl of the names Okusimyil, OkuliljiL,
Okubadek), etc, is okun" thread" or bkti"the dead". The context helps one to choose
in okubcidlfj(J "threaded beads match a crown".

83

82

''',~,;._,_ .;,,~'

"Chieftaincy fits the oracle"


"The chief called in the house"
"The chief returned home"

"The chief enboldened me"

'The chief fears"


"Chieftaincy appertains to divi
nity"
"The chief settles the quarrel"
"The chief selected the time of
the festival to take a trip"

nasalization is incipient: hence O~i.1

1 Ijt;:bu dialect fOf dmi "sign".

,A.

,t

QIal6kan
Ql<inlyan
Qhfglmju
Q!<iolu
Qlatund6
AbiIa
Gbemisl:i
Daraml:i
Ql:idunjoye

- Qla Ie kan
- QM ni [yan
- Qla gun oju
- QM Olu
- Qla tun de
- A- bi (s1) QM
- Gb6 mi Sl Qla
- F' Qlci ~e ade
- A- dara mQ QI::f
- Qlci dun ju oye

Blanl6

AjibQlci

QmQlilba Qlci ni il6

A- ji ba <;>Ja

Moblciji

Qlabisi

KOf6

Mo ba QI<I ji

Qla bi si

Ko f' ow6 ra Qlci

FQJa~ade

"Fame goes up by one"


"Status has its boasts"
"Fame sets the face straight"
"The grace of God"
"Fame comes again"
"Born into fame"
"Put me into honour"
"Make honour a crown"
"One who is good with high state"
"High status is more delightful
than a chieftaincy title"
"The child met fame in the family"
"One who wakes up to find
honour"

"f woke up with honour"

"Fame increases"

"He did not buy status with

money"

AfQ1cibi
- A- f' Qlci bi
"Born with fame"

OIubUkQnhi - Olu bu kun Qlci


"God fills up high status"

OlubUsQla
- Olu btl SI Qlef
"God amplifies status"

Ad6bUk<,'mlci - AM bU kll11 Qlci


"The crown fills up high status"
QJanrp~kun
- Qhi:ee ni ipo ~kun "Elevation does not have a ceiling"
(limits)
QI::ibintan
- Qlei bi mi tiln
"Famous men gave birth to me

TitilQla
<)r~dQM
~ijuwQlci

without blemish"
-

Tit! l' Qlci


<)r~ d' Qla
~i oju wo QIei

"On and on is (our) elevation"


"Friendship becomes fame"
"Lift up (your) eyes to look on
high status"

OfukQ AmutQfunwa
1. Talabi is one of the amutfmmwa names in Yorubci; that is, it is
determined by the circumstances of the birth of the child. Any (female)
child who is "born with the head and body covered with the caul, or
ruptured membranes" is automatically called TaJdbi, whatever other
Abis!) names it may acquire at its naming ceremony on the eight day.
Like most of the other amutrrunwa names, we do not try to translate
them as we instinctively do with the Abis!) names. We still know the
correct usage of the amutrrt'mwa names, but their etymologies are in
most part now obscure. I have not arrived at the etymology of SdJdlq5,1
Ajayi, Ige etc.
But TflUtbi has the consonantal root t-I-b. This, I suggest, is the
same consonantal root as we find in TombOlo. 2 The connection between
TdJdbi and TombOJo is this:
TambO/a: a man clothed like an eegungun masquerade, pretending to
the role of eegllngun but really acquiring no more than the
abuse of bush eegungun, eegun ara aka ...
TaJab[:
"a child born with the head and body covered with caul"
draped like a masquerade!
The two Yoruba words are related to Arabic labisa, Hebrew (mit)
labish "dressed, clothed" (l-b-sh):
t - I - b
Talabi
t - b - I
Tambala
I - b - s
"clothed, dressed"
It is this idea that is expressed in the Hausa name Mairiga for a
child born with its placenta intact: Hausa riga is "clothes".
2. Any baby whose incessant crying at birth seems to suggest that it
is in some distress or the other is Oni. The name has nothing to do with
its homophone, oni "today". It is cognate with Arabic 'ana "distress",
Hebrew 'anah "to be afflicted", as in the Biblical name Ben Oni, "the
son of my affliction", Hebrew 'awft "affliction, iniquity".
3. Any baby who comes from the womb feet first is 1ge.
4. Any baby born face to the ground is Ajayi.
5. Oj6 and Aina are the names for children born with their umbilical

given to boys born in the same circumstances as TdMb[ - which is properly


for girls.
2 The-m- in tambala is a syllabic nasal; syllabic nasals do not count as radicals in the
roots underlying Yoruba words.
1 Sdldk(5 is

84

85

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 Dj6."
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. IIQri is the name of children conceived soon after a previous birth,
before resumption of menstruation.
8. Qk~ - 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 K~hinde.
11. The third of triplets is !:;ta oko, but the child is not generally called
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
of twins is Idowu if a boy, Idogbe if a girl. For reasons of sound symbc

lism, Idogbe is so unpopular that I have not known a girl called by this

name: Idi)wu, therefore, serves for boys and girls born after a set of twins.

3
Exercises

13. The child born after Idilwu counts as the fourth: He (or she) is
Ah\ba, a cognate of Hebrew rabica, Arabic 'arbaca "four".

14. If, as it happens once in a blue moon, a child is born with an extra
digit showing the beginnings of a sixth finger, he is Oh'igbOdi - but, of
course, this name is not advertised.
15. A child born with the umbilical cord wound round his wrist is
Erinl~.

Almost everyone of these amutrmmwa names arc connected with


unusual circumstances of birth, often difficult circumstances which
make it necessary to prescribe special taboos for the care of the baby.
They indicate something of the midwifery lore of the Yoruba. These
names can be named as soon as the baby is born by anybody who can
match names with circumstances. For the dbis(J names, in contrast, one has
to wait until the naming ceremony to hear what name the father has been
keeping in his inside, depending upon the ruminations and reflections he
has been making about life in general and the life of his own family
and of himself in particular.
86
It

The Noun Phrase (to follow Chapter I)


The qualifier may be (i) another noun, (ii) a possessive pronoun,
(iii) a verbal noun, or (iv) an adjective: I
(i)

(ii)

(iii)

fSf gfgim

ow6 iliP

ow6 mi

"house rent"

"my money"

ite ewe

"thatched house"
i.)(! alf

"night duty"
i.yf (Jw(J

"hand work"
ow60rf

"capitation tax"

etf inu

"inner ears"

ite

wa

"long legs"

omi didim

"our house"
i$f

"sweet water"

+ yfn

"your work"
(Jm(J

(Jm(J

k(Jbr mfta

"three pennies,'

(Jtn(J

kekere

"little child"

a$(J w(Jn

omi gbUgb6na

"their clothes"

$fle kan

"one shilling"

eniyan pup(J

"holy spirit"

"her child"
"his son"

ori fz!a

"big head"

"many people"
ftni mfm(J

"your child"

(iv)

"hot water"

ok?!l?! bamba

"large morsel"
apata ganga

"lofty rock"

ikim randu

"rotund belly"

Real adjectives are rare)n Yoruba: the gap ;s filled by the lJse of verbal nouns formed

from stative verbs - 0 gun: gigun "It (is) long/long"; 0 dun: didun "It is sweet/

sweet". The number names with m-prefix count as adjectives. There are also adjectival

ideophones formed by infixing a syllabic nasal within a root, e.g. Rausa baba "big",

Yoruba biimba.

Compare gdngii and ogongo "ostritch" with ga "to be high" and the triplicated

ideophone giigiiga.

2 The following place-names are in this group: Ij~bU Ode, Ij~bU 19bO, INbli +
Rmr, Ij?hU /N$ii, Ipetu IN$d, lie-Iff, Im~si lie, Adi OY9, Ado Ekltl, I;;sii Oke, 19biirii
Oke, ado Ogbo/ii, Oke Add, lsiil~ Ekd, Ab Oklita, Ifllin 19b~tI, EbUti Era, etc.
3 The symbol / + / is not used in normal writing. It indicates the presence of a mid
tone juncture when noun B begins with a consonant: ile + wa is to be pronounced
ilee wa.

89

~~.

'I

't

The Simple Sentence (to follow chapter IJ)

Predicate

The verb TO BE is the copula


fli before consonants and before a pause
11' before vowel i
I' before other vowels

---!comPle- ,
Sub
ject

Ade
Qla
Oye

------,- -r---
A

n'

QmQ = 1QmQ

mi

'F,i

Og~1I1 = IOg~1Il

Akm

= Akll1

'LQlli

Copula Complement
Sub- / verb
ject I "to be",
of
ni
i verb

l'

iyi
ad6
QP9
iyi
uyi
ani
CSI

I; 9yt;
~~t;
I ~a_'

I-----,----.-

'Deji
'Dayi,l
'Doyin
'Di,ltun 0 di tuntun "It became
new"
Salt became water "Iy 9 d' omi"
Afternoon turned into night "Osan
d' oru"
White became black "Funfun di
dlidu"
It is eggs which bec0111e cocks
".e:yin ni i d' akilk</"
You will become old (live long)
"Wa ::i d' agba"
He became rich (a rich person)
"0 d' 016w6"
Till morning "6 d' aar" (greetings)
Till (I) return "6 d'ab" (greetings)

At9w(llogun -- At9w I'ogun


"(The) palm of the hands are
one's true inheritance"
At'iiwQ rani "(The)
palm of the hands are one's true
relations"
Aye I' Qja "(The) world is the
market place"
Orun oi ile "Heaven is home"
lwa l' ywa "(Good) character is
(true) beauty"
Ow6l'owo "Money is (the essence)
of commerce"
Ek6 0' ile "Lagos is home"
A,ir r </ja "Morning is market
(time)"

Verb
"beco
mes"

= lAde I

>

Oye

l;klm

= Il;kun

Ogun

eji
(pU)P9
tun
meji'

di

IQ1a

d'

IOgt'in
1----

ment
of '
verb

~jQ

ay
igba

I Han
~yill

Predicate
--~---

j~~1 verb
Sub-

Direct
object

'$aanii
'$cyt;
'$1)1l1

:::-r 1

aanll

N.B. There is no high tone before


the "VERB TO BE".

Olll
Ogun

"

-,

Olu~aanu - God does mercy


Olt'lwa, ~'aanll flm wa God, have
mercy upon us.

ainu

::

~yy

Qla

90

'

91

i
.~~,:j'; ':'ji1:~",,:;~m

fI1

&

-hr-....-. ,=-----,,"----.-'..-...;.-

"

Predicate

'WQle

Predicate
gun
Subject
Ade
Q1<i
Oye

AM

<)1,

> Oye

A policeman entered.

bke

- - -----

verb

object

_I

Translate into Yoruba:

I climbed a hill.

I can climb up.

oke

g'

,Goke

Sub
ject

w9 ile

Qgb~ni"

016
01"--1
Ade Ade
0~6 'S6
Oye > 10ye

M,l gun ori igi mango mQ,

Apari, g'oke wei.

Come in, gentleman!

"QIQpa W9
'Ie"
"W9 'Ie,

w9 'Ie

1-----1

A thief came in.

"Ole kan W9
'Ie"
A hen has entered Adiy kan-6 ti
WQ '16)
Adiy kan ti w9'le

Predicate

Subject
Ade
Ade
Akin> Akin
0~6
'S6
If<i
'Fa
Ogun
Ogun
<)~un > <)~un
Awo> Aw6
Qla
Qla

---

finite
verb
n[

Direct
object

Nik~

Niyi

~yy

111
1111

ik~

eti
iyi

QWQ

I.

1 have money "Mo owo"

We have a house "A oi 'Ie"

Have you any eyes? "Sc 0


oju?"

He has two wives. "0 oi liyaw6

meji"
A dove which has no wings "Adaba
ti 0
apa"
A maiden who has no clothes
"Qm9ge ti 0 I. a~9"
Olubadilll 0 I. aM "(The) Olu
badan has no crown"

I.

iY9 nu

[n] when followed by the vowel /i-/


[I] when followed by the other
vowels.

92

Predicate

I.

-\--1
ogun,
S~

Sub
ject
Olu - j ~IU Ade -~de

direct

verb

~~

I object
I

'gun

'~~guo

God is victorions. Olu~~gun


Who won the battle? "Ta 1'6
~~gun ?"
He won the battle. "6 ~~gun"

93

,J

Predicate

Predicate
Subject

IFinite -;bjec~verb
-----

Akin>

Ifa
Ifcl
Ad6
ql,i
qlla
lbi

Akin
'Fa

'Fa

01(1

>

Subject

'Y~mi

'Ie

'111Q
01(1
mi
Ad6
yc;
qlci
qnil
fbi
---._----- - - ---)---_._--

OrukQ naa }'f Q11lQ mia.


11aa-6 yr; )
Aye cl yr; .
Etiyc;ri Eti- 6 yr; or\)

OrukQ

Odli >

Translate into Yoruba:


This cap.
This cap fits me.
That cap doesn't fit you.
It doesn't fit you.

Odii
Ade
Ogul1
Olu
--

verb

direct
object

san

'w6
liIya

'Sanya
'Sanw6
--

-~--

J:;san

"Recompense"

Predicate
Sub
ject

la ija

lAde

Predicate

~ub-

Ject

QmQ>

I Qm 9

Qna >
Awo>

Oku
Qna
Aw6

'Lajlt

la 'ja
onilaja
-- peace maker

aWQn onilaja - peace makers

aWQn
- They

- - - - - ----------

Finite! Object
\ verb

'
- - - - 1I - - - ----

Olu
Baba

Predicate

'I<'~rni

Adc -- Ad6
01(1

> Bab,i

QI(mll1
Oba >

MoN

1111

Sub
ject

Q111Q.

Translate into Yoruba:


$ade loves me
KlIllle married 'Bisi.

Q1QrLln

Ob,,1.

'-------\
kQ iya

'KVyil
\ Ad6

I O~6

'Fa
Qna > 011:1
Qsun > _Q~un
\ Olu

, Ogun I_ _I

k<) 'ya

-~-

95

94

i"'

....

--~,-

'..

Predicate

~ub-

Ad' -Qla

Omi >
,OO
>
aye >
lbi
>

kim il6

'KUnle

f?~
Qla

[i I
,On

Predicate

Ject

..k

aye
lbi

verb

object

di

(ey)i

Q'U

Translate into Yoruba:


The house is full of clothes
The house is full of people
The house is full of/ood
The house is full of rats
The house is full of smoke

hln'I6

11 Direct

Subject

,i

Iku

Dais!
Good Lord, spare us "Oluwa rere,
da wa si"
Death spared him "Iku da a si"

Predicate
!---'

ml

fUn

f-.

~--

Sub
ject

Second
in- verb exdirect pressing
object purpose
--

Verb

Compound Verbs and Splitting Verbs


(to f{)llow

-J--

Predicate
Sub-
'~ject
verb

1._--

[llejo ro (da'Iejo r6) "Keep the

visitor waiting"
Mil dd 111i duro "[)on't keep me
waiting"
W(m ti dti OIUf~mi duro ni ibi '~~
"OIUf~mi has been dismissed
from work."
l\Wqll qlQpa dO. wa durol'Qna
"The police stopped us on the
way."

Oill

'Fa

D:ilro
Dl'iini

LI
i

I k~
t(>

'~Q

~--,----

'Fun~(}

'Funt(}
I

Translate into Yoruba:


Ad6 gave me to eat.

Ad6, give me to eat.

Fun mijy.

Do

Qd~

verb

---,-'
cyi

1
Qd y >

r--=-A~d6
I Olu

Chapter IV)

'Funk~

di I '( I r6

\_I~-

016Ifa
1
j

'KaY9de

~1~6

'Korede

k6 __

I
~,'
!:_J
Sub-

j,e<

Predicate

v,,b objoct, vc<b

k.

aY9
(i) re

d6

Wn ti k6 / awqn iwe+wa / de.


W(>n ti k6 l~ta de.
Translate into Yoruba:
The washerman came.

The washerman has come.

The washerman has come with the

clothes.
I have come with the paper.

96

97

Ii

~" -

Sub
ject
Olll>
Ad6>

:~~--I~-rl
--~ dire~~ --I

vcrb I object

~I-----

Olll
Ad6

I Ifci

_,~_

verb

---- -----

YiJ

' --

Predicate

1---1---'
IStative

Translat(' into Yorllba:


My boss elevated me.
I was promoted (They ... )
[ have been promoted (They ... )
Exalt the Lord.
Gael supported me - kept me
upright.
Enemies surrounded me.

gb6

Stative Verbs
(to ff)llow Chapter VIll)

,Gbenga
'Gbenro
W(lI1 gbe e ga nl'bi i~

Predicate

n , ga
r6
Id
---- --,-I

Subverb
\
ject I t6

I Com
Iplement

1- .,---_.-----_.--. - - -

Akin> I Akin

?du > ?du


Ogun -

Ogll11

<)~Ull

O~(1Il

>

tw

I 91;;i
lade
I ()yinb6

Gtt-teng:~

Predicate

sea"

A~~T

I'

- - ---_.--

Owo 0 to Qm? "Money is not as


valuable as children"
Ko t6 "It is not sufficient"
Ko t() nkan "It does not amount
to anything"

GMy~~g~a

GMd6h~

Sub- \
Direct
ject ,vcrb object" verh

----~-

6 t6 "H (is) enough"


Temi t'9P "Mine (is) enough for
thanksgiving"
Ir(l! <)~,lln 0 t6 ohm "Untrue! (The)
O~un (River) is not as big as the

ok;1I1
ay\)

T'emi> I Tcmi
Qm? > Qm()
Qd y > Qd

'1'(ll1i
'Tliyi)

Gh0mit;(nh'i

- --'-',-

Clod elevated

1-,:r;""J E~_li~_

/\ w~i ligh/

i,l

liS

"Olll gb6

ga" ql.(mm

l!'(f

Pi).iiJ

lja"

"Vie mat;

nify thee, 0 God"'

Predicate
Sub
ject

I verb I
P9 I

verb

1---1'----1------'

r'\d6 --

I AM

jl.l

_ _ _ _ _- - - 1 - - -

Translate iI/to Yorllba:


It is too much.
Pepper is too much.
The building is tall.
The building is too tail.
Troubles are many.
(There is much trouble)
Troubles are too many.
(There is too much trouble)
Noise is too much.
(There is too much noise)
The tea is sweet.
The tea is too sweet.
Who is bigger/older?
1t is too sweet.

99
98

:~:~I%

"'-",T\,

"I

____1

Translate the following into your own language


$e ere - enS dun i

[ > dun un

It can't be eaten (1Il1eatable)

Ko ~e i jy [> Ko ~e jy ]

It is undrinkable

Ko ~e i mu [> Ko ~e mu ]

This wine is undrinkable

Qti yI 0 ~e i mu

It is impossible (cannot be done)

Ko ~e i ~e

[ > Ko ~e e ;;e > Ko ~ ~e ]


Oklita 0 ~e i jy
Ko ~e i pa: ko ~e i di l' Oktlll
Kilkut6 0 ~e i 1111 [> Ko ~6 mi ]

~c

~e]

yja dun i jy

Jy yja -

( > d ill1 un jy ]
S9 9r9 -

<)r<) dim i S9

[ > dun un S9 ]
9ti dun i lUU

Mu 9ti -

r>

dim un

Wa 9k -

11111 ]

9k<) dun i wit

[ > dim un wit ]

Sun (oorun) -

OOflln dlll1 i Sllll

[ > d lll1 llll Still ]

Mll 9s9n- 9s<)n dlll1 i mu

[ > dun un

Predicate

fiU ]

J y obi -

obi dlll1 i jy

r>

dim un jy ]

Qla
Qla
Ad6 - I Ad6
Akin> I Akin
QlUq> QmQ
Eji >
Eji
Q~6 O~6

Bi 9lU9 - - 91119 dill1 i bi

[ > dim un bi ]

Ni 91<i -

91<i dlll1 i ni

[>

dlm Lin ni ]

Ni ow6 -

-I

SU~j'd IM I~Obj'd I

ow6 dlll1 i ni

I wun

_ 111i

[ > dun un ni]

[>
[>
[>

~e

ow6

~e

e ni ]
~e

i nl

1 like children "QlU(J wtm mE"


We like children "QlUQ wun wa"

He likes children "Q111Q wun un"


I like light complexioned girls
"Qm9 pupa wun lUi"
I do not like it "Ko wun mi"
I like this one "EyE wil11 111i"
I like the city of Lagos "Ilu Ek6
Wlll1 111i"
lyaw6 dara, 6 witn wi "The bride
is beautiful, we like her"
lrysI wim mi i jy "I would like to
eat rice"
K:iyewu "That he may like the
world" (and not die)
Ki aye wun un

i bi

91119

~e

e bi ]

9r9 ~e i S9

~e

e s9 ]

100

101

~_~~~:~~,~.,...,'".. -;,:.m~',;,;i!r

..- ,-~

I.

"To have" and "To own"


ni "to have" (before consonants
and Iii)
hi
(elsewhere)

o
o

o
o
o

016w6
"rich man"
016ri
"headman"
016ju kan
"one-eyed"
anile
"house-owncr"
oninLI '1'10
"kind person"
aniwa tLltLI
"a lllan of gentle disposition"

money"
a head"
one eye"
a housc"
kindness"
gentle character"

o n i lI1(jto
"Yall have a vehicle"

"car owner/driver"
onibread
"bread sellcr"

"You have bread"

o ni siga
o

o
o

onisiga
"cigarette seller"
on [portmanteau
"owner of a suit case"
016bi
"owner of kola nuts"
016mi tlltu
"those who use cold water
(for healing)
016ke meji
"The town with two hills"
0160re
"kind person"
alagidi
"strong-headed man"

"You have cigarette


ni portmanteau
"Yall have a portmanteau"
IrlI obi
"You have kola nuts"
hi ami tutu
"Yall have cold water"

o Iii oke meji


"You have two hills"

01.

001'10

"You have good deeds"


I. agidi
"You have stronghead"

"dog-owner"
Qlpa
"police man"
016ye
"chief"
aJaiinu
"merciful one"
Qlla
"Honourable so and so"
onigbagb
"Christian"
onigbese
"debtor"

o 1M alubsa

onim(jto

o ni bread

alaja

Obi aja
"You have a dog"
o l!lilpa
"You have a baton"
o hi aye
"You have a title"
0111 aanu
"You have mercy"
o hil:Qla
"You have high status"
o ni igbagb
"You have belief"
o ni gbese
"You have a debt"

(t%llow Chapter IX)

-ml "owner of" (before Iii)


-hi
(before other
vowels)

o hil ow6
"You have
llIii or!
"You have
hi oju kan
"You have
ni 'Ie
"You have
ni 'nu 'rIO
"You have
ni iwa tlltLI
"You have

"You have onions"


o mg iyanrin
"You have sand"
o 1m yyyIe
"You have pigeons"

Ahilubsa*
"onion seller"
On [yamin':'
"sandy place"
I;:lyylc*
"Pigeon owner"

o mJilip~

011ip~*

"Yoll have scales"


01. afara
"You have a bridge"
o lil9k9
"You have a canoe"

"The scaly one"


AIMclra*
"The forded place"
QIk
"boatman"

All these occur as placenames.

102

_-",-_...

-,- __.. ,_...,...~-->==." .....-._ _

103

?EE

.....",,";.~,~~

iH'' ' ..........''

. .."'.i,..""''?i .... n4h,.,..

--~'-"'--'

...

-.--"-----~. _~. _._~_

...

~'"_.,m, ...."

)
,

Exercises for pages 102 and 103

The high tone before the finite verb


(to follow chapter VII)

la. Go through the sentences in


the left hand column, substi
tuting 6 (high tone) "He,
She, It" for 0 (mid tone)
"You". No other change is
nceded to get He has mon('y,

] b. Go through this right-hand


column fitting nouns (X) into
the f;tructure X ni. You have
sentenccs meaning He is 0
She is X, It is X.

SII(' has money, He had motley,


She had money, etc.

2b. One step further: put mi (Y)


into the position Y:

2a. It is the advcrb of timc which


is added to this which shows
whethcr thc statcmcnt refers
to the past or to the present.
Try and add ... r! "before, in
the past" to each statement
at the very end. Yall have
statements meaning "He had
... before".
3a. Othcr pronoun subjects are
J110 "I", A "'We", J:,' "You"
(plural), Wr!11 "They".
4a. Use names of persons as
subject.

n;

Predicate

d~-'--~~-I
Subject

3b. Try other pronouns in the


",
position Y: ... r "ou
... wei "We ... ", ... yin "You "
(pI ural), ... wr5n "They ... ".

-I

Verb

You have said, "1 am X"


Try it throughout the column.

In~r.a~l~-
sltlve

'Dele

----r ----
\
>I
II
>

AY9

>

Ay9

Qlci

-.

()la

Qm 9
Awo
Akin>

Ogun

de

Qm';
Aw6
Akin

'Ie

6g~_1

>

Translate into Yoruba:


Come home with me.

(With me come home)


(With us come home)
'Bisi called at the house
Go home with them.
(With them go home)
We have reached home.

.1

4b. Use names of persons in the


position y,1 When Y begins
with vowels, ni is n' before
Ii-I, I' elsewhere.
Revise
chapter II (a) (i), pp. ??
Predicate

I w~

1- -

ile-II

1 - -1- - -
[ntran
Subject \ sitive
Verb

1 Notl: the difference beiween the copula, the ycrb TO BE 1', /I', IIi (middle tone)
and the finite verb "to have": /.:., 1l1lil. 11, (high tone). "To own" is 1', n', ni (middle
tone), distinguishcd fr0111 Ihe verb TO BE in that it occurs only in subordinate
clauses: Emi ni Ina 11i f"Il is I who owns it".

Ad6 Olci _.

Ad6
Ola

Om<;> >

Om

Ogun-IOgun
i

I wa

Translate illto Yoruba:

Your house.
Our house.
I came home.
I came to your house.
You came to our house.
I came home in the afternoon.

'Ie
I

'W:lJe

105

104

'-~,.="'-.

~~'

.. -"'=~

11

Predicate

Predicate

------1

111-

}n-

O~o
Ad(~

--I

__ ~

ly,i

'$6
-- Ad6
_.. -. fy:5

()I11Q

>. Om,)

I
I

II

II

Ogun -- Oglll1

-----1----I-------1------

'-'-'--~-

'TunW

t(\11

~-.

I ji

de
. _ - - - - , ----

__- _ I

----)

Return "Padil bl)"


Return horne "Pada b<) We] 'le'
Mll11'1b0 "I am coming back"
D klI ab<) "Welcome"
,Bl)dc "Return"

Predicate

\-;~l~l

-------1
Subject

Adverb

Ogun

Ooun

Awo>
Ibi

~w6

~~

bi

----

Ad6

Ad6

jQ
jillnQ

k0

---1

Predicate
Subject

Translate into Yoruba:


Jesus rose again.

I 16

W,]

h,)

bl)

I Ad6

Ad6

i-

, -

QJ,]

I Qla

Qlci

,_~_

verb Iverb

I.-----
I~TeJ~

S"bjeet Adv"b

S u b- tran- tran
ject i sitive sitive nounl

IA(;;~I~I-~el-b

'JQk
, JimH>k~

Translate the following into Yoruba:


They came.
They came together.
Let us eat together.
Let us eat.
lya ti bi'111Q I'ami.
Ak~baj~
Gbogbo wa l' ()glm jQ bi.

'TiJll1dc

-------- 1--- -- .- .... ------

Baba>
lye :>
ql::]

I
Akin>
Ak~1l
I
Oye
Oye >
QIllQ

>

() tll11 de
Translale inlo Yoruba:
11/C rain has come agaill.
(}jcJ has come again.
Y all have come again.
You have eOllle agaiil, have you?

Baln]

'YC
Qlci

tlll1 I de

()m(l

1------ -

I
- - -- - - -----

1. Note:
t(ll1oO.

bi

Aj6 tun 'mQ bl- AjellmJTIQb'j "Prosperity gives a second lease of life \()

:1 111:111"

(changes one's image)


This shows that there is 110 rule whieh prevents a w",d ""111111",
and a verb. It seems that preverbs c!evelnpcd 0111 "I' \( 'I I> ;

106

107

11.'1\\"('11 "

1""lnl,

.~

The Noun-forming Prefixes


(to follow chapter XI)

J~

k.. a lQ "Let's go"


k'a)9 19 "Let's go together"
Mo bf 9 "1 beg you"
A bf Jesu 111 Bethlehem "Jesus vvus
born in Bethlehem"
6 ti jf "He has awoken"
AW911 aja Yyl1 tija "Those dogs are
fighting"
Aw<,l11 aja Yyll njlL elu egungul1
"Those dogs are fighting over a
bone"
$a okiita kilf() ni 'I1U lrysi yi
"Pick stones away from this rice"
G be mi ga "Lift me high"

[AF~I~
I11Q

A I

bo
bi

J~

k(~*

ji
dll
~a
Uti

gbc
kltll

jQ

\
i

'.'

II':

,r,1\

ai

J1I."
Ii
i '

Ii!

I ,~I

.N
"il

~'
it

!11

--------1

i~

A verb verb I
1----.--- ----,-1
III

~a

A I

bi

ldlll
dll

I-_1._--,-----
I gbe
~

Only girls have names with k,; "to pet". All the names in this table, therefore, are
pet names or girls.

108

'"'~!I':~.!!ilifIOfii

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