Intensification and Attenuation: Colonial Influences on an African Culture

Abstract

It is often presumed that colonialism radically altered the cultures that were under it. The showcase of colonialism is the continent of Africa. In most other places, colonialism transitioned to settlements, for instance the United States and Canada. Focusing on Yoruba culture, I will argue that colonialism rapidly and radically intensified or attenuated existing practices rather than upended or even radically changed or transformed them. I will explore the notion that there is perhaps nothing in the way of life that was introduced into Yoruba culture that was not previously available to them or to which they did not have a predisposition, examining the comments of the people in newspapers from the national archive on social, religious, and political institutions as well as popular cultural dynamics involving interpersonal and group interactions.