The courtyard compound and its rain-catching impluvium, the palace as the same building at maximum scale, the town laid out around palace and market, the Afro-Brazilian houses of Lagos, and how little of it is still standing.
The Yorùbá wey dem quote, the proverbs, oríkì, ẹsẹ Ifá, word list headwords, Odù names and citations dey exactly as the corpus record dem, for every language.
Yoruba building design dey start from one idea and expand am. Family compound na circle of rooms wey dey around open courtyard, wey dey show plain wall to the street and open completely go inside. Chief house na the same thing but e big pass am. Palace na the same thing but e big pass am well well, with plenty courtyards, each one dey assigned to one office of state, with carved posts wey dey hold the verandas. Town na circle of these compounds wey surround palace and market wey form the centre. The design follow the same pattern from single household reach full city, and the main thing wey special pass about am, the courtyard wey dey collect rain by itself, modern roofing sheet come destroy am for the twentieth century.
The compound, àgbo ilé, na rectangular rooms without window wey dem arrange around one or more central courtyards [S1]. Dem purposely make the courtyards big relative to the roofed area, because na the courtyard be the main living space: na there the family dey gather, talk, chop, work and welcome people, while the rooms na for sleeping, cooking and storage [S1]. Rooms dey open go inside. The outside surface of the compound na plain wall.
The impluvium. The roofs dey slope go inside, so that all the rain water from the roof dey drain enter the courtyard, where one sunken basin dey collect the water [S1]. This na wetin dem dey call impluvium, one term wey dem borrow from Roman architecture because the principle dey exactly the same. E dey do two things at once: e dey collect water through the dry season, and e dey create cool humid microclimate for the centre of the house. The same style dey appear for Benin compounds, so na regional West African solution instead of something wey belong to only Yoruba people.
The kọ̀bì. Roofed bays and verandas wey extend go courtyard edge dey give place to sit down under shade and form the transition between the public courtyard and the private rooms [S1]. The names wey dem dey call am for available sources no too clear: kọ̀bì na generally the projecting gabled porch, ọ̀dẹ̀dẹ̀ na the veranda itself, and dem no always separate the two.
Materials. Walls na cob, puddled laterite mud wey dem build up layer by layer without formwork or moulded bricks, and dem dey allow each layer make e dry before dem put another one [S1]. Dem dey make the bottom of the wall wide for balance, and the edge of the roof dey project well pass the wall surface, because rain wey dey run down mud wall wey no get protection go destroy am. The deep roof overhang na for structural purpose, no be just for style. Roofs na thatched with grass, or with raffia palm leaf for coastal areas. Timber frames dey carry the roof.
Corrugated iron change everything. As dem introduce am during colonial period and later replace am with aluminium sheet, pan roofing light pass thatch, e dey allow roof slope steep well, and e remove the yearly labour of rethatching, so dem adopt am quickly and everywhere [S1]. E also dey throw water go outside. Compound wey dem use corrugated iron roof no fit get impluvium, because the whole hydraulic logic of sloping roof go inside don reverse. The pan-roof compound na different building type wey just dey occupy the old plan, and na this be the single biggest change to traditional Yoruba vernacular architecture, wey material cause instead of design decision.
How a compound grows. E dey expand gradually. Dem dey add new room or wing to the perimeter as each married son dey establish his own household, so the compound dey expand go outside from the founding core, dey add courtyards instead of designing everything at once. Na the baálẹ̀ dey head am, as compound and lineage head. Therefore, the size of compound dey directly show lineage size and standing, and the hierarchy run continuously: ruler àáfin get the biggest courtyards, next na chiefs house, then elders [S1]. The palace no be different building type from ordinary house. Na just the top of one scale.
The palace multiply the courtyard house [S1]. Big àáfin contain dozens of courtyards, each one allocated to one function: reception, the ọba's private quarters, the wives quarters, shrines to dynastic òrìṣà, the drum court, the treasury, and courts wey belong to particular title-holders. The administrative departments of the state exist as physical rooms. Construction na the same mud wall and thatch like ordinary compound, distinguished by scale, by carved wooden pillars and by decorated verandas [S1].
Palaces wey get name include the Aláàfin palace at Ọ̀yọ́, the Ọ̀ọ̀ni's at Ifẹ̀, the Olówò palace at Ọ̀wọ̀ wey records show say get the biggest courtyards for Yorubaland, the Deji palace at Àkúrẹ́ with elevated platforms, the Ògògà palace at Ìkẹ̀rẹ́-Ekiti with its carved posts, and the Ìlẹ̀ṣà palace courtyards [S1][S2].
The posts wey dey carry the palace veranda roof na the main architectural sculpture work, and dem be load-bearing structure and iconography at the same time [S1]. The subjects dey repeat across the whole corpus.
The equestrian, ẹlẹ́ṣin, warrior wey mount horse with weapons, wey dey refer to cavalry power and by extension Ọ̀yọ́, whose empire dem build on horses.
The kneeling woman, often with bowl or child, embodying ìkúnlẹ̀, kneeling, wey be the posture of respectful offering and also the posture wey person dey take kneel down before Olódùmarè to choose their destiny before birth. Kneeling female figure wey dey hold up palace roof dey make statement about wetin really dey support kingdom.
The king with his senior wife, carved in hierarchical scale.
The masterwork of this genre na the Veranda Post, Ọ̀pó Ògògá, by Olówè of Ìṣẹ̀, wey dey Art Institute of Chicago, one of the set carved for the palace of the Ògògà of Ìkẹ̀rẹ́ around 1910 to 1914 [S3]. The king sit down for throne with crown, and his senior wife stand behind am in a much larger scale with her hands on the crown. The composition na the argument itself: na the women of the palace dey place and hold the crown, and the king authority na figure wey big pass himself physically dey support am. Related posts and doors by Olówè dey Washington, London and Munich, and dem treat the Ìkẹ̀rẹ́ commission fully for the file on wood sculpture.
Dèm carve palace doors for panels with drawings wey dey tell story, like how colonial officials take arrive, procession of people wey carry tribute come, hunting, and market scenes.
Di centre na palace plus market. Di central market, ọjà ọba, di king market, na im people know as di active centre of di city and e dey directly for front of di palace, and di two of dem together form one single centre [S4]. Dis no be just market place wey dem just put near government because e convenient. Di peace of di market and di authority of di ọba na di same guarantee, na market be where public life dey happen, and for Yoruba thought, market na still di meeting point between di world of living people and di world of spirits, na why plenty proverbs dey talk about am.
Radial layout. Compounds gather along roads wey spread commot from di palace and market centre go reach di town gates, wey make di city round small [S4].
Quarters. Dem divide di town for administration level into wards, and each one dey under one chief with title, and di words wey dem dey use dey differ across regions: àdúgbò for Ọ̀yọ́ and Ifẹ̀, ìtún among di Ìjẹ̀bú, idimi for Ondo [S4]. Di way dem divide di land match di chieftaincy structure exactly, so di map of di town na im be di constitution.
Walls and ditches. Earthworks na wetin dem take defend major towns, ditch wey get di sand wey dem dig throway put for back like bank, wey wall dey on top, and get gates, bodè, wey get guards and where dem dey collect toll [S4]. Ilé-Ifẹ̀ get many round circuits, wey dey show how di town take dey expand step by step.
Sungbo's Eredo na di biggest among all of dem with wide margin: one system of walls and ditches for southwest of Ìjẹ̀bú-Òde for Ogun State, wey tradition link with di Ìjẹ̀bú noblewoman Ọlóyè Bilikisu Sungbo, with total length wey pass 160 kilometres wey cover area of roughly 40 kilometres from north to south by 35 from east to west, with walls wey high reach 20 metres and ditches wey deep reach 20 metres for some places [S5]. Dem generally believe say e date back to around 800 to 1000 CE and dem describe am as Africa single largest ancient monument [S5]. National Commission for Museums and Monuments submit am go UNESCO tentative list for 1995 and e still dey tentative, dem never fully inscribe am [S5]. Di claim wey people dey repeat say e pass Egyptian pyramids for volume of material wey dem move na wetin spread well well, but dem no verify di calculation for dis file and dis work no make dat claim.
Who di returnees be. From roughly di 1830s, Africans wey dem free from slavery and dia descendants return from Brazil and Cuba go Lagos, Porto-Novo, Ouidah and Abẹ́òkúta, in numbers wey jump high after di 1835 Malê revolt for Bahia and again after Brazil abolish slavery for 1888. Dem call dem Àgùdà, from Ajuda, di Portuguese name for Ouidah, or Amaro. Make dem separate dem from di Sàró, di recaptives wey return from Freetown for Sierra Leone, wey come with English culture instead of Portuguese and Brazilian culture.
Di Àgùdà dem na master masons, carpenters and architects plenty times, and na dem bring ornate plasterwork, arched windows and big balconies enter [S6]. Dia building work wey dem learn for Brazil na dia way enter Lagos economy, na why wetin dem do for architecture big pass dia population far far.
Di style. Two-storey plaster sobrados; front wey balance well (symmetrical façades); arched windows and doors; decorative pediments; ornamental plinths, pilasters and columns; balconies with handrails and iron work; outside stairs; and brick construction, wey one Sardinian tile factory wey dey supply Lagos make possible [S6].
Names of builders.
Senhor Lázaro Borges da Silva and Senhor Francisco Nobre na di most prominent master craftsmen for late nineteenth-century Lagos, wey work across carpentry, bricklaying and architecture [S6].
Francisco Nobre and Balthazar dos Reis build Holy Cross church for Lagos for 1878, and dos Reis, wey be cabinet maker and woodcarver, make di altar and pulpit [S6].
João Baptista da Costa build di Shitta-Bey Mosque for 1882 for Martins Street for Brazilian Quarter, with help from one local builder wey im name na Sanusi Aka [S6]. Sanusi Aka na di important name for inside dat sentence. Di work wey Àgùdà designer and Yoruba builder do together na di way wey make di style stop to be foreign thing and become Lagos own.
Wetin remain and wetin no remain.
Water House for Kakawa Street, Lagos Island, wey dem build for nineteenth century, na one of di few remaining residential buildings for Brazilian style for Nigeria and e still dey stand [S7]. E get connection with di da Rocha family; di sources wey dem check call di owner different names like João Esan da Rocha, returnee wey become one of di richest men for West Africa, and Candido da Rocha, and dem no verify di father-and-son relationship wey for explain dis. Di popular story wey people dey talk about di name, say di family get borehole and dey sell water to Lagos people, na traditional gist and dem never confirm am.
Di Shitta-Bey Mosque still dey stand and dem declare am as national monument for 2013 [S6].
Ilójo Bar, wey dem still dey call Casa da Fernandez, for Tinubu Square for Lagos Island, dem scatter am on Sunday 11 September 2016, for inside situation wey get controversy over di Eid weekend [S8]. National Commission for Museums and Monuments bin declare am as national monument for 1956 [S8]. Dem destroy monument wey dey listed as national monument.
Di history of di building complex pass wetin pipo dey mourn. Wetin traditional tori tok na say na 1855 dem build am and na di Fernandez family, but research wey Dutch journalist Femke van Zeijl do show say di building get two different half wey dem build much later, between 1903 and 1914, and say di name Casa da Fernandez dey refer to José Amoedo Fernandez, wey come from Galicia, wey buy am and remodel am for 1903 [S8]. Alfred Omolana Olaiya buy am for 1933 and change di name to Ilójo Bar after im hometown Ilójo for Ijesa Isu, Ekiti State [S8]. Di Fernandez family employ ex-slaves wey return from Brazil and Cuba wey don master how to build house for Americas [S8]. So di Brazilian building wey pipo mourn pass for Lagos fit be say na one Galician owner pay for am use Àgùdà workers build am, many decades after wetin pipo bin believe. Dat one no make di demolition less serious; e make di documentation problem dey more serious.
Dem pull Branco House down for 1955 and wetin remain of am na only one watercolour painting wey appear inside Vaughan-Richards im Building Lagos [S9].
Di condition of di buildings. Report from 2016 and 2017 go front dey consistent: Lagos Afro-Brazilian buildings dey disappear, sake of pressure to redevelop land for Lagos Island, sake of neglect and broken roof, sake of family ownership wey divide wey make am impossible to take decision on maintenance, and di clear fact say to list am as national monument no save Ilójo Bar [S8].
UNESCO put Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove inside World Heritage List for 2005 as site 1118 [S10]. E be roughly 75 hectares of thick forest for Ọ̀ṣun river outside Òṣogbo, wey pipo take as di home of Ọ̀ṣun, wey get sanctuary, shrine, sculpture and artwork full ground to honour Ọ̀ṣun and other deities, and e dey among di last high forest wey remain for southern Nigeria [S10].
Di way e take survive no be by accident and di tori no be regular tin. Susanne Wenger, one Austrian artist wey settle for Òṣogbo, lead di New Sacred Art movement wey rebuild di shrines with iron, mud and cement from 1950s go front, and work make dem bring back di grove traditional rules wey forbid fishing, hunting and cutting of trees after one period wey pipo bin ignore dem [S10]. Im big sculptures now form part of di property wey UNESCO recognize. Dis one dey bring real question about who get di work and how authentic e be wey di site admirers dey like to pass: one World Heritage site of Yoruba sacred art get plenti work inside wey Austrian artist and im Yoruba collaborators do for twentieth century, wey dem use cement do. Di reasonable answer na say di grove na living religious site and no be preserved ruin, say Wenger na initiated priestess of Ọbàtálá and work with Yoruba artists like Adébísí Akànjí and Búráìmọ̀h Gbádàmọ́ṣì, and say shrines na wetin dem dey always rebuild. But make dem tok am clearly instead of to smooth am over.
Threats wey dey ground wey dem report from 2014 go front include urbanisation, building of residential house near di boundary, portions of protected land wey dem claim say dem sell give developers, and hotel construction near di south entrance [S10].
Nigeria get only two inscribed World Heritage sites, Osun-Osogbo and di Sukur Cultural Landscape for Adamawa, wey no be Yoruba [S10].
The genres of Yoruba wood carving, from Ifá trays to palace doors to epa masks, the master carvers and family workshops who made them, and the reason so much of this work sits in museums without an artist's name attached.
A practical guide to the museums holding Yoruba art in Nigeria and abroad, what can be searched online and where, and a factual account of the restitution and provenance position as it stands.
How Ọ̀yọ́ rose to dominate the western Yoruba region and beyond, the constitutional machinery that constrained its king, the cavalry that made it work, and why both eventually failed.
A comprehensive scholarly treatment of Ọ̀ṣun, the Yoruba divinity of fresh waters, fertility, wealth, and sovereignty, examining her theology, oríkì, priesthood, and transatlantic developments.
How a Yoruba person is located among relatives, in a physical compound and in a descent group, and why seniority rather than sex does most of the organizing work.
What a Yoruba town is made of, the palace at the centre, the market before it, the wards and compounds around it, and the wall and ditch that closed it in.