Migration and the Yoruba Identities: A Historical Survey of the Yoruba Ancestral Home through the Prism of the Revealed Books (From 1000AD -1900 AD)

Abstract

The idea of the universal history, tracing the origin of people is a subject of intense debate and argumentation among scholars, because migration and replication of original settlements and kingdoms are common phenomenon in African history. This study intends to discuss the Yoruba original homesteads and how they were dispersed in the course of history through migrations to other parts of the world. Therefore, the study adopts analytical research method, consulting many works which are helpful to know the earlier efforts made on the subject. Of all the sources available for understanding the Yoruba history, the most prominent sources of information in this study are Revealed Books and selected Arabic works of the famous Muslim historians such as Ibn Hisham (d. 834), Ibn Samaani (d.1166), Ibn Khaldun (d.1406), al-Qalqashandi (d.1418) and Muhammad Bello (d.1837). Findings of the study showed that the majority of the Yoruba people came from the MiddleEast to Ile-Ife in company of Oduduwa. However, the study argues that not all the Yoruba are children of Oduduwa, because there were pre- Oduduwa people in the Yorubaland and their descendants are among the Yoruba people today. The study concludes by offering recommendation that scholars of religions, history and allied disciplines should advance their frontier of researches and this present study will provide basis, while governments should give financial supports to the study of genealogy.