Yoruba Research Articles

Gender Differentials in Subjective Well-Being Among Religious Elderly Yoruba People in Southwest Nigeria

This paper examined gender variations in subjective well-being among religious elderly populations in Yoruba community in Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria. Data were generated through purposive sampling of 300 elderly populations aged 60 years and above who are actively involved in religion. Self-esteem scale (with 3 items), Satisfaction with life scale (SWLS) (Pavot, 1991) (with 5 items) and Satisfaction with friendship, hobbies, place of living and family life were used to measure subjective well-being among the respondents. Ninety nine percent of females reported high self-esteem while 94.2 % of males reported same. The chi square analysis (χ2 = 0.028, p = 0.03) revealed that there was significant relationship between gender and self-esteem. In addition, majority of the sample (97.8 % males and 98.8 % females) score high on the relationship between gender and satisfaction with life. Satisfaction with family life, friendship, hobbies, and place of residence total score was high for both sexes. The study concluded that male elderly are more likely to report high subjective well-being (99.3 %) than female elderly (98.1 %).

À cabeça carrego a identidade: o orí como um problema de pluralidade teológica

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Computational Cryptography (ÀROKÒ) in Yorùbá Tradition

verbal and nonverbal) plays a very important role in a society. Nonverbal form of communication involves having knowledge about the signs, behavior and attitude of the sender in which response is also crucial to show that the information is passed. Information is a power tool to any organization or society especially in the preservation of our culture. Hence, there is a need for information security (Cryptography). Yoruba's has a peculiar and symbolic way of sending messages (Aroko). This investigation reveals that Arokois a form of symmetric cryptography Algorithms. Mathematical representation is secured and with Computer program (Software) the culture of the Yoruba people can be preserved especially in the area of sending secret messages called Aroko otherwise known as cryptography. The concept is also linked to Computational security. Keyword Cryptography (Aroko), Yoruba, Communication, Culture, Symmetric and Computational cryptography

Levirate marriage amongst the Hebrews and widow's inheritance amongst the Yoruba: A comparative investigation

In ancient Israel, even though widowhood was not something people were praying for, when it came, the people involved were protected by the legal and customary structures already in place. One of those structures in the Old Testament is the institution of the levirate marriage where the right and the possession due to a widow without a son for her late husband could be protected and appropriated. A similar custom was also found amongst the pre-colonial Yoruba people through the widow�s inheritance which guarantees the welfare of the widow after the demise of her husband. However, these structures have been dismantled by Christianity, thereby exposing the majority of present-day widows to untold hardship. This article, therefore, through historical, descriptive and comparative methods, examines the customs of the levirate marriage and widow�s inheritance in the two cultures, ascertains how effective they were in addressing the welfare and protection of the rights and privileges of widows and recommends how the church can better see to the welfare of the widows in the society.

An Intercultural Appreciation of Nontransferable Kinship Inheritance and Widowhood Care among the Israelites And Nigerian Yoruba

An Intercultural Appreciation of Nontransferable Kinship Inheritance and Widowhood Care among the Israelites And Nigerian Yoruba

Allelic Frequency in Human SNPs Predicts the Rate of Non-Synonymous Nucleotide Substitutions between Human and Chimpanzee Genes

The combination of comparative genomics and population genetics may provide important clues regarding human evolution. We have hypothesized that the divergence between various human and chimpanzee orthologs will be reflected in the variability of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that are localized in the vicinity of the corresponding loci in different human populations. Consistently with this notion, more diverged genes between humans and chimpanzees are more likely to be associated with human speciation and are anticipated to contain SNPs with reduced variability between different human populations. In order to test this hypothesis, we have compared the rate of non synonymous nucleotide substitutions (Ka) between 255 chimpanzee and human orthologs with the average deviation in the allelic frequencies of corresponding closely linked SNPs in two distinct human populations: The Yoruba people in Ibadan, Nigeria (YRI) and US residents with ancestry from Northern and Western Europe, collected in 1980 by the Centre d’Etude du Polymorphisme Humain (CEU). We found a significant (p

Discriminatory Property Inheritance Rights Under The Yoruba And Igbo Customary Law In Nigeria: The Need For Reforms *

Intestate succession under customary law among the Yoruba and Igbo people in Nigeria is full of discrimination, especially to female, adopted child, illegitimate child among others. This paper highlights some of these forms of discrimination and the dangers inherent in them. The paper discovers that some of these forms of discrimination are against Fundamental Human Rights which frown against discrimination to any persons irrespective of their gender, circumstances of birth or age. The paper suggests necessary reforms to curb some of these identified discrimination.

Linguistic Alienation and Culture Subversion as Sociolinguistic Factors for Name Dropping and Change among the So-Called Yoruba Elites

Aspects of language use and attitudes among the contemporary Yoruba people, as reflected in their naming practice, are the primary focus of this paper.The study primarily expounds the linguo-cultural uniqueness of Yoruba names with a view to highlighting their pragmatic and cultural importance.An approach comprising of empirical and descriptive approaches was adopted to showcase the prevailing sociolinguistic factors in the south western part of Nigeria eliciting the factors that are responsible for name dropping and change among the so-called Yoruba elites. It is found that lack of cultural understanding,unbridled incorporation of western cultureon the part of the young elitescoupled with reckless religious bigotry largely account for the people’s negative attitudes towards the jettisoning of certain form of names. Conclusively, it is argued that name dropping and change are common sociolinguistic phenomena among the contemporary Yoruba elites and the situation should be stemmed or at least be sanitized, as it strongly portends strong linguistic alienation and culture subversion which are deemed to be devastating tosustainabledevelopments.

Surnames as Markers of Identity among the Yorùbá Sub-Ethnic Group Members

In this paper, we examine surnames that serve as markers of identity among some Yoruba sub-ethnic group members. We show that this present work is different from the previous works because the earlier works focused on Yoruba personal names in general, and the present work locates the Yoruba surnames within particular sub-ethnic groups to show that though all the names described in the previous works are Yoruba names the previous works do not distinguish tradition-based names that are today surnames and also do not tell us where the names can be found within the Yoruba sub-ethnic groups. We argue that surnames form one of the parameters that can be used to distinguish the Yoruba sub-ethnic group members from one another. We also show that surnames which indicate Yoruba sub-ethnic group affinities are tradition-based personal names and that each of the tradition-based surnames is structurally a combination of a noun phrase and a simple clause or a noun phrase and a simple clause. We further show that the noun phrases depict traditional religions or deities that were peculiar to each sub-ethnic group before the advent of Christianity while the simple clauses, in some cases, consist of lexical items that are also peculiar to each sub-ethnic group dialect. We also argue that the introduction of Western or European address forms into Yoruba whereby the use of surnames is emphasized has helped in preserving the Yoruba religious thoughts, beliefs and variation in Yoruba dialects. This is because, in some cases, the tradition-based surnames serve as reminders or are full of reminiscences of the religious activities of the Yoruba people before the advent of Christianity in Yoruba land.

Representing children and childhood in Yoruba Nollywood

Abstract This article offers the first in depth consideration of representations of children in West African ‘Nollywood’ cinema. Through textual analyses of a subset of video films that feature children, the article considers the extent to which Nollywood offers representation of local youth that can stand in opposition of the global stereotype of the helpless African child. Ultimately, it argues that Nollywood, by choosing to embrace only the more conservative elements of Yoruba cultural traditional, fails to offer well-developed depictions of African children and childhood.

Discovery and functional assessment of gene variants in the vascular endothelial growth factor pathway.

Angiogenesis is a host-mediated mechanism in disease pathophysiology. The vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) pathway is a major determinant of angiogenesis, and a comprehensive annotation of the functional variation in this pathway is essential to understand the genetic basis of angiogenesis-related diseases. We assessed the allelic heterogeneity of gene expression, population specificity of cis expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs), and eQTL function in luciferase assays in CEU and Yoruba people of Ibadan, Nigeria (YRI) HapMap lymphoblastoid cell lines in 23 resequenced genes. Among 356 cis-eQTLs, 155 and 174 were unique to CEU and YRI, respectively, and 27 were shared between CEU and YRI. Two cis-eQTLs provided mechanistic evidence for two genome-wide association study findings. Five eQTLs were tested for function in luciferase assays and the effect of two KRAS variants was concordant with the eQTL effect. Two eQTLs found in each of PRKCE, PIK3C2A, and MAP2K6 could predict 44%, 37%, and 45% of the variance in gene expression, respectively. This is the first analysis focusing on the pattern of functional genetic variation of the VEGF pathway genes in CEU and YRI populations and providing mechanistic evidence for genetic association studies of diseases for which angiogenesis plays a pathophysiologic role.

RRM1 and RRM2 Pharmacogenetics: Association with Phenotypes in HapMap Cell Lines and Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patients

Ribonucleotide reductase catalyzes an essential step in the cellular production of deoxyribonucleotide triphosphates and has been associated with clinical outcome in cancer patients receiving nucleoside analog-based chemotherapy. In the current study, we sequenced the genes RRM1 and RRM2 in genomic DNA from HapMap cell lines with European (Utah residents with northern and western European ancestry [CEU]; n = 90) or African (Yoruba people in Ibadan, Nigeria [YRI]; n = 90) ancestry. We identified 44 genetic variants including eight coding SNPs in RRM1 and 15 SNPs including one coding SNP in RRM2. RRM1 and RRM2 mRNA expression levels were significantly correlated with each other in both CEU and YRI lymphoblast cell lines, and in leukemic blasts from acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients (AML97, n = 89; AML02, n = 187). Additionally, RRM1 expression was higher among patient features indicative of a high relapse hazard. We evaluated SNPs within the RRM1 and RRM2 genes in the HapMap lymphoblast cell lines from CEU and YRI panels for association with expression and cytarabine chemosensitivity. SNPs of potential significance were further evaluated in AML patients. RRM1 SNPs rs1042919 (which occurs in linkage disequilbrium with multiple other SNPs) and promoter SNP rs1561876 were associated with intracellular 1-β-D-arabinofuranosyl-CTP levels, response after remission induction therapy, risk of relapse and overall survival in AML patients receiving cytarabine and cladribine. These results suggest that SNPs within ribonucleotide reductase might be helpful predictive markers of response to nucleoside analogs and should be further validated in larger cohorts.

Engendering an Alternative Approach to Otherness in African Women's Autobiography

This paper proposes an alternative approach to the reading of otherness in African women's autobiography. It is inspired by the Oloto proverbial of the Yoruba people of South West Nigeria which projects otherness as the uniqueness and power of the individual to speak for ‘self’ as an ‘other’. It examines the strategies employed by Wambui Otieno in her autobiography, Mau Mau's Daughter: A Life History to celebrate her otherness as defined by the Oloto proverb and demonstrates how the socio-political history of Kenya has shaped her life narrative. It concludes that her autobiography exemplifies the uniqueness of the female subject-narrator within the ethos of communality in African societies.

Yoruba at home and abroad

Yoruba at home and abroad

Determinants of condom use by men in extramarital relationships in Nigeria

BackgroundExtramarital sex is a high-risk behavior in terms of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) transmission, yet condom use in extramarital relationships is an understudied area in Africa, and Nigeria in particular, where such liaisons are not uncommon. This study highlights key determinants of condom use among men who engage in extramarital sex in Nigeria.MethodsResults are based on a subsample of 642 married men from a combined dataset from three waves of the National HIV/AIDS and Reproductive Health Survey (NARHS), a set of multiround nationally representative surveys. Logistic regression was employed to explore possible determinants of condom use in extramarital sex. The motivation, opportunity, and ability model was applied in selecting the determinants.ResultsHIV risk-reduction knowledge was found not to be associated with condom use. At the full logistic regression model, being of the Yoruba tribe, having no misconception about HIV transmission, ability to discuss condom use, and ability to wear condoms were the key variables significantly associated with condom use in extramarital sex.ConclusionImplementing HIV risk-reduction behavior change requires more than knowledge. Behavioral skills in condom use are critical. Intervention efforts should move away from knowledge about risk to concentrate on improving skills on how to discuss condom use and wear condoms correctly.

Abstract 2216: The role of cytosine modifications in cellular sensitivity to cytarabine.

Abstract Introduction: Inter-individual differences in cytosine modifications are a result of genetic and environmental influences. 5-methylcytosine and 5-hydroxymethylcytosine are covalent cytosine modifications that occur in CpG dinucleotides throughout the human genome. Objective: To characterize inter-individual variation in cytosine modifications in HapMap samples and investigate the contribution this may have on downstream phenotypes, such as cellular sensitivity to chemotherapeutics, such as cytarabine. Model: Cytosine modification levels at >485,000 CpGs were measured in the International HapMap lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs). We utilized the Illumina Infinium 450K HumanMethylation Beadchip array to measure cytosine modification levels in 73 unrelated African (YRI - Yoruba people from Ibadan, Nigeria) and 60 European ancestry (CEU - Caucasians from Utah, US) LCLs. In addition, we evaluated LCL sensitivity to cytarabine in these HapMap cell lines. Results: We performed a linear regression model in order to identify novel associations between cytosine modifications and cytarabine-induced cytotoxicity. From these analyses, we found that promoter methylation of CDC6 and CCDC37 was associated with cytarabine IC50 (p= 3.75 x 10−6 and p= 5.39x 10−6, respectively). Furthermore, it has been shown previously that SNPs associated with pharmacological traits in LCLs are enriched in expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs). We interrogated SNPs associated with cytosine modification (mSNPs) to help us understand the role of mSNPs in pharmacologic trait-associated genetic variants. We found that SNPs associated with cytarabine are enriched in cis-acting mSNPs in LCLs derived from individuals of European descent. Next, we integrated genome-wide cytosine modification data with genotype and gene expression data available for HapMap LCLs to allow for a more comprehensive understanding of inter-individual genetic variation. We identified a SNP in SLFN5 that was significantly associated with cytarabine sensitivity that is a cis-acting eQTL and mSNP for SLFN5 gene expression and cytosine modification. Conclusions: Analyzing cytosine modification-drug phenotype data may identify novel candidate genes associated with sensitivity to cytarabine. In addition, integrating genotype and gene expression data allow for a better understanding of the biological function underlying pharmacologic trait-associated SNPs. Citation Format: Erika L. Moen, Wenbo Mu, Lucy A. Godley, M. Eileen Dolan, Wei Zhang. The role of cytosine modifications in cellular sensitivity to cytarabine. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2216. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-2216

Review of Jé K'Á So Yorùbá, Jé K'Á Ka Yorùbá, and Jé K'Á Gbó Yorùbá

Review of Jé K'Á So Yorùbá, Jé K'Á Ka Yorùbá, and Jé K'Á Gbó Yorùbá

An investigation into the ancient Egyptian cultural influences on the Yorubas of Nigeria

There are many cultural practices that connect ancient Egyptians to the Yorubas and the new interpretation of the Oduduwa legend suggests that the Yorubas have originated or are influenced mainly by the Egyptians. The attestation of Egypt as the main influencer of the Yoruba culture made Egypt significant in the study of the history of the Yoruba people. Some writers are beginning to think that the ancient Egyptians were responsible for introducing and spreading many cultures amongst the Yorubas. As more Yorubas are tracing their origins and the origins of their culture to ancient Egypt, this research investigates whether the Egyptians were the originators and the main spreaders of the afterlife culture in Yorubaland.

Application of ‘Magun’ to Punish Unrepentant Adulterous Act: Reactions of Men in Igbesa Community to a Traditional Way of Punishing Adultery in Yoruba Land

This study is a sociological investigation of the opinions of some men in Igbesa community of Ogun State, Nigeria, on the application of Magun in punishing the act of adultery in the community. Using a survey design, the study investigated some men (n=40) who were conveniently sampled from the community, to seek their opinions on the application of Magun in pu- nishing the act of adultery. Through questionnaire, which was the instrument employed in the study, the information gathered revealed that the people still believe in the existence of Magun and that the same is still very efficient and effective in punishing the act of adultery among the Yoruba people. A large proportion of our samples would not apply Magun to punish adultery because it involves taking of human life and that this would be a sin within their religious contexts. Some considered the act to be a barbaric. It was discovered that religion and education would likely play prominent role in determining whether husbands would apply Magun to punish adultery or not. The study, therefore, recommended further studies on how religion and education would significantly influence the application of this method of punishing adultery among the Yoruba people.

Yorùbá Movies and the Problem of Subtitling

Yorùbá Movies and the Problem of Subtitling