The Yoruba people were involved in the slave trade most often as captive slaves taken aboard ships bound toward North America (Smith, 1988). Author Ellis (2008) expands on this history of Yoruba involvement in the slave trade as he helps tell his account of the trade itself during the middle of the nineteenth century. The Yoruba played a key role in the trade triangle which occurred between Africa, the Caribbean, and what was to become the United States. Traders would secure slaves in Africa and trade them for sugar in the Caribbean states. This sugar was then bound for the New World (United States) and then was traded for rum. The rum was shipped back to Africa, completing the trade triangle (Ellis, 2008). It is interesting to note that many of the Yoruba who were sold into slavery are the ancestors of modern-day Caribbean citizens as well as African-Americans. The Yoruba culture is very roust, and many of the slaves held onto their own religious beliefs throughout their journeys. This helped to contribute to the diverse religious and cultural beliefs that many of the Caribbean nations share today.
Politically speaking, many of the African cultures regard politics and culture as one and the same entity. The Yoruba are traditionally no different than many other cultures in that their political structure mimics their cultural and societal values and norms. It is therefore easier to understand how a culture like the Yoruba's does not blend very well with competing political or cultural ideals, and how there have been many wars involving the Yoruba (Apter, 1992). These wars are most commonly centered on political or governmental power, and the Yoruba people themselves are no strangers to the idea that they have to fight for the survival of their own culture. Author Laitin (1986) points out that for most African cultures, politics and culture are a Janus-faced entity (pp.ix).
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This has occurred because of the Yoruba people's involvement in the slave trade as well as through the migration and wars fought in and around the city-states once governed by the Yoruba people. The culture has a rich heritage and has incorporated itself into many of the religions and cultures of the Caribbean region as well as elsewhere in Africa. The religious beliefs and culture of the Yoruba have been documented for well over 200 years, and that being said, it is easy to recognize that their cultural influence will likely continue to be felt well into the future. The Yoruba are an amazing culture, and just as Ellis (2008) realized nearly two centuries ago, it has some very unique cultural and religious aspects that will likely survive on through future conflicts and population migration and changes. Often it is the ideas that survive history and not necessarily the cultures themselves.
Works Cited
Abimbola, Kola. (2006). Yoruba Culture: A Philosophical Account. Iroko Academic Publishers: London, England.
Apter, Andrew Herman. (1992). Black Critics and Kings: The Hermenuetics of Power in Yoruba Society. University of Chicago Press: Chicago, IL.
Cohen, Abner. (2004). Custom and Politics in Urban Africa. Routledge: New York, NY.
Eades, Jeremy Seymour. (1980). The Yoruba Today. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, England.
Ellis, a.B. (2008) Yoruba-Speaking Peoples of the Slave Coast of West Africa. Bibliobazar: New York, NY.
Laitin, David D. (1986). Hegemony and Culture: Politics and Religious Change Among the Yoruba. University of Chicago Press: Chicago, IL.
Peel, J.D.Y. (2000). Religious Encounter and the Making of the Yoruba. Indiana University Press: Bloomington, in.
Smith, Robert Sydney. (1988). Kingdoms of the…
