Ilaje names: an appraisal of Yoruba culture

Abstract

Naming is an intrinsic aspect of the Yorùbá culture. Beyond identification tags, it also serves as an anchorage to project culture, didactics and the destiny of a name-bearer, particularly in Ìlàjẹ communities of Oǹdó State, Nigeria. Notwithstanding, critics of Yorùbá names have overlooked the deep historicity and culture preservation entrenched into Ìlàjẹ names. This study, therefore, examines Ìlàjẹ names based on their linguistic and religious significance to consolidate the need for culture retention among the Yorùbá. The study employs traditional criticism as a theoretical construct to analyze the primary data, which were indigenous names collected through oral interviews from indigenes of Ìlàjẹ communities. The secondary data comprised of books, journals, internet articles on names. Findings reveal that despite modern civilization and western religion, Ìlàjẹ communities maintain indigenous names which bother on profound Yorùbá culture manifested in the names of their children and their ornate consequence within the broader spectrum of the Yorùbá culture. Ìlàjẹ names were categorized based on association with prominent Yorùbá concepts like destiny, death, religion, metaphysics, morality, children, kinship, social relations and wealth. The study though a contribution to existing knowledge on Yorùbá names is a unique interdisciplinary blend of culture and linguistics of Ìlàjẹ communities.