Yorubaland
|
Yorubaland Ilè Yorùbá (Yoruba) Southwestern Nigeria, South & Central Benin, Central Togo |
|
|---|---|
| Cultural region | |
| Part of |
 Nigeria  Benin  Togo
|
| - Settlement of Ife | 400 BCE |
| - Oyo Empire | 1400 |
| - British Colony | 1862 |
| - French Colony | 1872 |
| - Nigeria | 1914 |
| - Dahomey | 1904 |
| Founded by | PYIG (Proto Yoruba-Itsekiri-Igala) |
| Regional capital | • Ile-Ife (Cultural) • Ibadan (Political) • Lagos/Eko (Economic) |
| Former seat | • Oyo-Ile (Old Political) |
| Composed of | |
| Government | |
| • Type |
Monarchies • Oba (Monarch/King) • Ogboni (Legislature) • Oloye (Chiefs) • Balogun (Generalissimo) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 142,114 km2 (54,871 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 1,055 m (3,461 ft) |
| Lowest elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Population (2015 estimate) | |
| • Total | ~ 55 million |
| • Density | 387/km2 (1,000/sq mi) |
| In Nigeria, Benin and Togo | |
| Demographics | |
| • Language | Yoruba • English • French |
| • Religion |
Christianity Islam Yoruba religion |
| Time zone | WAT (UTC+1) |
Yorubaland (Yoruba: Ilè Yorùbá) is the cultural region of the Yoruba people in West Africa. It spans the modern day countries of Nigeria, Togo and Benin, and covers a total land area of 142,114 km² or about the same size as the combined land areas of Greece and Montenegro, of which 106,016 km², representing about 74.6% within Nigeria, 18.9% in Benin, and the remaining 6.5% in Togo. The geocultural space contains an estimated 55 million people, the overwhelming majority of them are ethnic Yorubas. About 5.3 million people are estimated to practice Yoruba religion worldwide with the largest numbers found in Nigeria.
Geophysically, Yorubaland spreads north from the Gulf of Guinea and west from the Niger River into Benin and Togo; In the northern section, Yorubaland begins in the suburbs just west of Lokoja and continues unbroken up to the Ogou tributary of the Mono River in Togo, a distance of around 610 km. In the south, it begins in an area just west of the Benin river occupied by the Ilaje Yorubas and continues uninterrupted up to Porto Novo, a total distance of about 270 km as the crow flies. West of Porto Novo Gbe speakers begin to predominate. The northern section is thus more expansive than the southern coastal section.
The land is characterised by mangrove forests, estuaries and coastal plains in the south, which rise steadily northwards into rolling hills and a jagged highland region in the interior, commonly known as the Yorubaland plateau or Western upland. The highlands are pronounced in the Ekiti area of the region, especially around the Effon ridge and the Okemesi fold belt, which have heights in excess of 732m (2,400 ft) and are characterized by numerous waterfalls and springs such as Olumirin waterfall, Arinta waterfall, and Effon waterfall. The highest elevation is found at the Idanre Inselberg Hills, which have heights in excess of 1,050 meters. In general, the landscape of the interior is undulating land with occasional inselbergs jutting out dramatically from the surrounding rolling landscape. Some include: Okeagbe hills: 790m, Olosunta in Ikere Ekiti: 690m, Shaki inselbergs, Igbeti hill.
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Wikipedia