Collection: Yoruba Tribe Collection

Yorubaland is the cultural region of the Yoruba people in West Africa. It spans the modern-day countries of Nigeria, Togo, and Benin. The Yoruba states are located in southwest and north central regions of Nigeria. The Yoruba people make up the second largest tribe in Nigeria. Evidence suggests that as of the 7th century BCE, the African peoples who lived in Yorubaland were not initially known as the Yoruba, though they shared a common ethnicity and language group. The history of the Yoruba people begins in Ile-Ife, an ancient Yoruba city in southwestern Nigeria (located in the present-day Osun State) that turned into the first powerful Yoruba kingdom, one of the earliest in Africa south of the Sahara-Sahel. This kingdom was founded by the deities Oduduwa and Obatala, whom according to Yoruba religion are believed to have created the world. Almost every Yoruba settlement traces its origin to princes of Ile-Ife. As such, Ife can be regarded as the cultural and spiritual homeland of the Yoruba nation. It is rightly regarded as the birthplace of some of the highest achievements of African art and culture, combining technical accomplishment with strong aesthetic appeal.