Oral Poetry from Africa
Yorùbá poet Lanrewaju Adepọju performed and recorded Ìlú le! (‘Hard Times!’) in 1980. At the time Nigeria was transitioning from the miltary junta of Olúṣẹ́gun Ọbásanjọ́ to the elected government of Shehu Shagari whose regime was becoming deeply unpopular with citizens.
Hard times!
As if by a deluge of evil
Everyone is in trouble
And everyone now cherishes common ninepence!…
A new poem by Amore David Olamide, part lamentation, part evocation of the spirit of an ancestor to come forth from the grave.
Igbo biribiri, Okunkun biribiri
The commiserator of fallen trees…
The annual Ọ̀ṣun-Òṣogbo Festival takes place in the capital city of Osun State in Nigeria and lasts fourteen days. The festival celebrates the discovery of the large river in Òṣogbo by Prince Ọlároóyè in the 18th century. Oba Ọlároóyè was a prince of the city-state Iléṣà, about 20 kilometers from Òṣogbo, who had led an exploratory expedition due to water-shortages in Iléṣà. Yorùbá mythology describes the expedition encountering a powerful goddess, Ọ̀ṣun, dwelling within the river who granted permission to these pioneers to settle near the river.
Aládékojú, I am calling on you
Hail My Beloved Mother Aládékojú…
The following Oríkì praising the Orisha Èṣù Ẹlégbára, is from Ayọdele Ogundipẹ’s comprehensive academic study, Èṣù Ẹlégbára: Chance, Uncertainty in Yorùbá Mythology. The poet is Mùtíù Adélékè, described as a forty-ish trader from Ile-Olunlọyọ in Ibadan state, Nigeria.
Leisurely, I will trail after you with music,
He who creates man and never forgets him.
I will follow you leisurely with music…
Whilst the following poem by Samuel Olugbeminiyi principally concerns the Òrìṣà Ṣàngó, it is also a retelling of the most well-known myth about the Yorùbá goddess Ọba and her rivalry with the goddess Ọ̀ṣun for Ṣàngó’s affections.
Elempe’s people accorded Torosi’s son with native intelligence,
He was possessed with bits of four hundred deities…
