Struggle, Triumph, Destruction and Resurgence in Yoruba History as a Great Human Narrative: Akinwumi Ogundiran's The Yoruba : A New History

[Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju]

Anybody who wants to enjoy a good story, beautifull narrated with the skill of a novelist, the analytical mind of a philosopher, the imagery of a poet and the sensitivity to value of material forms of an archeologist, should read Akinwumi Ogundiran's The Yoruba : A New History, even if you have no interest in or knowledge of Yoruba history or culture.

The book brings the story of the Yoruba alive as a great human narrative of struggle, triumph, destruction and resurgence, in the midst of nature, human society and historical forces.

You will learn about the great Obalufon, leading Ife to great heights of commerce, politics and culture, only to die is isolation in a grove on the outskirts of the great city, isolated due to having become a victim of the smallpox that ravaged Ife.

You will encounter the destructive daring of the Nupe warriors, experts in mounted warfare and how their mighty cavalry laid waste to many Yoruba communities, in search of slaves and land, how they displaced the Oyo from their location, making the Oyo flee their home land for many years, regrouping through a great network of alliances, amassing of their own cavalry and the high cost in slaves as a central currency in building this arsenal through which the Nupe were eventually dislodged.

You will see, almost with the vidvidness of a film, how the Ife intelligentsia constructed myths of origin making their city the centre of creation and of humanity, accounts which, along with Ife's huge material wealth, made that city known  within and beyond Yorubaland as the"city of daybreak" where dawn arose for the human race, an eminence that still glows to a degree among the Yoruba.

As the mighty narrative progresses, the author reflects on the process of understanding and telling history as both an account of what happened and how those to whom it happened and those who made it happen see what happened, invoking Yoruba proverbs to shape this reflective process, framing the story by drawing on Western thought.

 Ogundiran splendidly encapsulates a story that sums up his career as a scholar through decades of inveatigation, reflection and writing within and beyond Ife itself, the civilisation at the centre of his story.

[Nimi Wariboko]

I just ordered it based on this description. I was not aware of it. Thanks for bringing it to my notice through this platform as you have just done. 

Nimi 

On Dec 16, 2020, at 9:27 AM, Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju <toyin....@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju]

Great thanks.

It's a fantastic book.

So many wonderful nuggets within it's majestic tapestry.

I have had to copy and paste sections of the text on Word for the delightful of closer reading, like a person storing sweets.

These are the kinds of books Africans should be reading to know who they are and which everyone else should read to know who Africans are.

Thanks

Toyin

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[Akin Ogundiran]

Toyin,

Thank you for these great words of praise for The Yorùbá: A New History and me. You wrote like a master Àyàn “marinating” his dùndún drum. I am still dancing to the melody of your remarks.

Limited copies of the book arrived in Nigeria last week. We hope that two or three bookstores in the Lagos-Ibadan axis will soon have copies on their shelf. Otherwise, the book is available from Amazon and Indiana University Press or its agents.

 

I am grateful,

Akin Ogundiran

UNC Charlotte

[Oluwatoyin Vincent Adepoju]

superb.

it will be helpful to know the names of those bookshops.

enquiries are being made about how to get it on a group to which i introduced it.

it would also be helpful if cheaper copies could be produced, perhaps in nigeria for the nigerian and adjoining markets.

thanks

toyin

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