Yoruba Culture

Yoruba culture refers to the cultural norms of Yorubaland and the Yoruba people.

The Yoruba are said to be prolific sculptors, famous for their magnificent terra cotta works throughout the 12th and 14th century; artists also earnests their capacity in making artwork out of bronze.

Esiẹ Museum is a museum in Esiẹ, Irepodun. The museum was the first to be established in Nigeria when it opened in 1945. The museum once housed over one thousand tombstone figures or images representing human beings. It is reputed to have the largest collection of soapstone images in the world. In modern times the Esie museum has been the center of religious activities and hosts a festival in the month of April every year.

Weaving is done on different types of looms in order to create hundreds of different patterns.

Some common foods native to the Yoruba include moin-moin (steamed bean pudding) and akara (bean cake). Native Yoruba soups include ewedu, gbegiri, and efo riro (a type of vegetable soup). Such soups as okra (locally known as "ila asepo") and egusi have become very popular in Western Nigeria in recent times and, in addition to amala, a traditional Yoruba fufu made of yam flour, these can be eaten with numerous Nigerian fufu meals, including pounded yam (locally referred to as "iyan"), 'lafun' a Nigeria fufu made from cassava, semolina, and garri (eba).

Some dishes are prepared specially for festivities and ceremonies. Jollof rice and fried rice are very common in Nigeria. Other popular dishes include ekuru and aro, stews, corn, cassava, and flours (e.g., maize, yam and plantain Flours), eggs, chicken, and assorted meat and fish). Some less well known meals and many miscellaneous staples are arrowroot gruel, sweetmeats, fritters and coconut concoctions; and some breads - yeast bread, rock buns, and palm wine bread to name a few. Yoruba cuisine is quite vast.

The Yoruba people believe that people live out the meanings of their names. As such, Yoruba people put considerable effort into naming a baby. Their philosophy of naming is conveyed in a common adage, ile ni a n wo, ki a to so omo l'oruko ("one pays attention to the family before naming a child"): one must consider the tradition and history of a child's relatives when choosing a name.

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