The Yoruba Rites of Passage Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Yoruba Rites of Passage - Term authorship ExampleThe Yoruba is considered as one of the largest ethnic communities in Africa having a population of approximately 30 one million million million batch (Johnson 16). The community is mostly found in countries such as Nigeria, Benin and Togo, though it is possible to stick that there be close to who have migrated to other countries such as the US and other destinations for immigrants. These subgroups be 20 in number and are as a result of the fact that the community had 20 kingdoms, each led by an independent king and when the kingdoms were dissolved, the communities continued to recognize themselves in that scope. Much of the frugal activities conducted by this community mainly involve farming (Akintoye 29). However, due to industrialization and subsequent rapid urbanization, some of the members have migrated to urban areas in search of formal employment, but it is observed that even in these areas, the Yoruba people still en gage in crop production though in a minimal scale. As with any other community in Africa and the world in general, the Yorubas have their own comical culture which is extensively respected and strictly followed by the members. This is despite the fact that the community is surrounded by diversity, especially in religious dimension, which has the capacity to influence and assimilate these people thereby resulting to abandonment of handed-down practices (Ambibola 22). This paper will examine the Yorubas culture in the context of rites of passage, i.e. traditional practices conducted in delimitate moments such as birth, marriage and eventually, death. Birth The birth of a child is an event that is received with great joy and happiness as it involves the introduction of a new life to the world. It facilitates the continuation of a family declension and the existence of a community, which whitethorn otherwise become extinct in the absence of new births to patch up lost lives. The Yoruba people are no different from other communities in recognizing the importance of new births. This may be the reason why every newborn child must undergo two major processes that include welcoming and identification which are celebrated in two different occasions. In these occasions, tradition demands that parties be held and in this case, Iko Omo and Isomo Loruko are the two words that are used to refer to the welcoming and the naming parties respectively (Akintoye 41). In both Iko Omo and Isomo Loruko, the family must ensure that proper planning is done as these are considered to be the most important and probably defining moments for the childs future. Depending on the financial ability of the family, it is a requirement that food be in plenty and to achieve this, most of the people pick out to slaughter a cow or a goat. Buying of new clothes is also a component of these celebrations as family members must look smart and presentable in an effort to signify their precond ition and also to symbolize their joy for the arrival of the new born (Lawal and Sadiku 22). It may be observable that get of new clothes during important occasions such as Christmas. It is a common practice in most of the societies and this may be interpreted to signify their celebratory mood. It is also common for parents and the family of the newborn to enlist celebrities such as musicians to entertain the crowd with music. Also, when these celebrations are in progress, traffic along the streets near the locus of the celebrations may be disrupted as a result of people blocking the roads firearm singing and dancing such that anyone familiar with the Yoruba culture would definitely tell what is