Èrò Ni Gbẹ̀gìrì

Among the most often cited    evidence of sexism in Yorùbá society are the following lines from the anthology of divination poems (ẹsẹ ifá), Ìjìnlẹ̀ Ohùn Ẹnu Ifá: Apá Kejì (Glasgow: William Collins, 1969, p. 30) edited by Wande Abimbola.   Obìnrin lèké, Obìnrin lọ̀dàlẹ̀, Kéèyàn mọ́ finú han fóbìnrin. The female is the liar The female is treacherous No person should confide in the female Scholars quote these lines as if they were some oracular pronouncements from a divinity that is in a position to assert self-evident, truly Yorùbá, cultural certainties. This is sheer intellectual bunk and misuse of "evidence." First, these words were recited by a particular divination priest who performed (perhaps composed) the lines as part of an illustrative story about how to avert death. These are not divine pronouncements from any god or goddess.   Second, the lines refer to one precise individual named Olójòǹgbòdú, the one married to I...

Thoughts in Progress. Do Not Quote.  1: We may designate the four basic terms as:  ọ̀tọ̀; ẹ̀yà; ẹ̀ya; òmíràn/òmín-ìn . 2: For now, I want to separate the fourth term,  òmíràn/òmín-ìn , because I am not able to outline its phonological components. In English translation, the word typically serves as the equivalent of "another" set (entity), abstract or concrete, time or place. 3: Now to the other three: (i) ọ̀tọ̀ (being apart);  (ii) ẹ̀yà (being in/of a sort); (iii) ẹ̀ya (being in/of a derivation). *We could say these are the basic forms of differentiation in the language. 4: Phonologically, the root terms (or syllables): (i) tọ̀; (ii) yà; (ii) ya. Each word is transformed into a nominal phrase in 2 above with low toned, back vowel, prefixes: /ọ̀/ and /ẹ̀/ 5: English translations of the ideophonic root terms are: (i) tọ̀: pursue, trace, follow, urinate; (ii) yà: separate or turn (verb), draw (graphically), deviate, defecate;...