Literature and Thought
D. O. Fágúnwà and the Yoruba-language novel, Amos Tutùọlá, Níyì Òsúndáre, Fẹ́mi Òṣófisan, Akínwùnmí Ìṣọ̀lá, Adébáyọ̀ Fálétí, and the generation from Teju Cole to Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀.
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D. O. Fágúnwà and the Yoruba-language novel, Amos Tutùọlá, Níyì Òsúndáre, Fẹ́mi Òṣófisan, Akínwùnmí Ìṣọ̀lá, Adébáyọ̀ Fálétí, and the generation from Teju Cole to Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀.
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 literature dey run on two tracks wey rarely meet. One dey written in Yoruba, e start with D. O. Fágúnwà in 1938, and na almost entirely Yoruba readers dey read am. Di other one dey written in English, e start with Amos Tutùọlá in 1952, dem dey read am worldwide, and e don produce one Nobel laureate and several Booker shortlists. Di two tracks no equal for prestige and dem no equal for reach, and di gap between dem na di central fact about Yoruba writing for di last century. Dis file cover di two of dem, and e treat Wọlé Ṣóyínká separately at length for di file wey dey before am.
Fágúnwà write di first novel in Yoruba and, by most accounts, one of di first novels in any African language, and e do am by taking di ìtàn and di folktale give dem di shape of book.
Dem born am for Òkè-Igbó in 1903 . E teach from 1930, for St Andrew's practising school for Ọ̀yọ́, for CMS Grammar School Lagos and for Igbobi College, study for Britain on top British Council scholarship from 1946 to 1948, and later work as education officer for Nigerian Ministry of Education . E drown for River Wuya near Bida on 7 December 1963, as e dey return from business trip .
E write five novels :
| Title | Year | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Ògbójú Ọdẹ nínú Igbó Irúnmọlẹ̀ | 1938 | Di first Yoruba novel. Ṣóyínká translate am as The Forest of a Thousand Daemons, 1968 |
| Igbó Olódùmarè | 1949 | Wọlé Ṣóyínká translate am as In the Forest of Olodumare, 2010 |
| Ìrèké Oníbùdó | 1949 | |
| Ìrìnkèrindò nínú Igbó Elégbèje | 1954 | Dapo Adeniyi translate am as Expedition to the Mount of Thought |
| Àdììtú Olódùmarè | 1961 |
Di structure of di first and best known na hunter journey enter forest wey spirits dey live, every encounter na test, and dem frame di whole story as wetin di hunter tell one scribe. Fágúnwà forest come from Yoruba understanding of igbó as di domain outside human settlement where di irúnmọlẹ̀ and di ẹgbẹ́rún dey, and people fit recognise en monsters and spirits from oral repertoire.
Two things about di writing matter. Di first one be say di prose dey do something specific with Yoruba: e full of proverb, with òwe wey dem use structurally instead of just for decoration, and with di rhythms of oral narration wey dem transfer enter page, and na why e still survive as di standard of literary Yoruba. Di second one be say di moral frame na clearly Christian. Fágúnwà na devoted Anglican and dem dey read en hero tests as Christian trials, dem frequently explain di spirits as demonic, and dem use Olódùmarè with di weight of di Christian God. Therefore e no be transcription of òrìṣà tradition, but a Christian Yoruba writer wey dey use traditional narrative material inside Christian scheme, and make people read di whole work with dat one in mind.
Di 1968 translation wey Ṣóyínká's do dey significant on en own: na major writer engagement with di founding text of di language wey e no write inside, and na free translation wey Ṣóyínká defend say e necessary make e fit carry di tone.
Tutùọlá get di reputation wey people drag pass for Nigerian letters, and di dispute na about English.
Dem born am in 1920 for Wásinmi near Abẹ́òkúta to Yoruba Christian cocoa farmers, e do about six years of formal schooling between 1934 and 1939, and e work as blacksmith, messenger and storekeeper before e join Nigerian Broadcasting Corporation in 1956 .
The Palm-Wine Drinkard and his Dead Palm-Wine Tapster in the Deads' Town na Faber and Faber publish am for London in 1952 . E follow one man wey dey drink palm wine pass mark and, when en tapster die, e travel go town of di dead go carry am come back, as e dey pass through series of encounters wey come from Yoruba folktale, including di Complete Gentleman wey be skull wey hire en body parts. Dylan Thomas review am for The Observer and call am brief, thronged, grisly and bewitching, and di book gain immediate international success .
For Nigeria dem attack am. Di objection na to di English, wey be Yoruba-inflected English with non-standard grammar and vocabulary, and di fear among educated Nigerians in 1952 na say people abroad go read am as evidence say Africans no capable instead of as style. Dat fear make sense for dat time; several British reviews do exactly dat, as dem treat di book as naive or primitive art. Another charge still dey, say Tutùọlá copy en material from Fágúnwà. Both of dem draw from di same oral repertoire, and Tutùọlá bin read Fágúnwà; di resemblance dey real and di charge of plagiarism no stand.
Di reassessment come later and Ṣóyínká dey among people wey do am, as e argue say di way Tutùọlá's blend folklore with modern narration na deliberate and successful thing, no be accident . Dem don translate en work into eleven languages . E write more books including My Life in the Bush of Ghosts (1954) and The Brave African Huntress (1958), but none reach di first one. E die for Ìbàdàn on 8 June 1997 .
Di lasting question about Tutùọlá na wetin e mean for writer wey dem no train comot from Yoruba syntax to carry Yoruba oral form enter English. Di answer wey make sense pass na say di way di English strange no be defect, but na di visible joint where one narrative system enter another one, and say a corrected Tutùọlá go be lesser one.
Fágúnwà start one lineage wey continue without break and wey most English-language accounts of Nigerian literature ignore completely.
Akínwùnmí Ìṣọ̀lá (1939 to 2018) na di most important figure for inside am afta Fágúnwà. Dem bon am on 24 December 1939 for Ìbàdàn, e do degree for French for University of Ìbàdàn and master's for Yoruba literature for University of Lagos, start to dey lecture for Ọbáfẹ́mi Awólọ́wọ̀ University for 1978 and become professor for 1991 . E write im first play, Ẹfúnṣetán Aníwúrà, for 1961 to 1962 wen e still dey student, na Yoruba tragedy about di nineteenth-century Ìyálóde of Ìbàdàn, and e come turn di standard modern Yoruba play . E write di novel Ó Le Kú, and di work dem Kòṣeégbé, Ṣawòrò Ìdẹ and Àgọ̀gọ̀ Èèwọ̀, wey Túndé Kèlání adapt most of dem enter film . All through im career e argue say Yoruba suppose be language for serious literature and for teaching, and e show am as e write reach dat kind standard with di language.
Adébáyọ̀ Mọ́sọ̀bálàjẹ́ Fálétí (1921 to 2017) na poet, playwright, broadcaster, translator and actor, and na one of di first professional dem for Yoruba-language broadcasting . E form di Ọ̀yọ́ Youth Operatic Society for 1949, work for Western Nigeria Television, wey be di first television station for Africa, and lata become general manager of Radio O-Y-O . E translate di Nigerian national anthem enter Yoruba and work as Yoruba interpreter for political figures, role wey no just be clerical work for region wey dem dey do political campaign for Yoruba . E act inside and direct film dem including Thunderbolt: Magun (2001) and Bàṣọ̀run Gáà (2004) . Dem make am Officer of the Order of the Niger and e die for Ìbàdàn wen e dey ninety-five .
Other pipo for dis line include Afọlábí Ọlábímtán (1932 to 1992), novelist and professor of Yoruba for Lagos; Ọládẹ̀jọ Òkédìjí (1929 to 2018), wey im Àjà Ló Lẹrù and Àgbàlagbà Akàn bring detective novel enter Yoruba; Adébáyọ̀ Fálétí's contemporary J. F. Ọdúnjọ (1904 to 1980), wey im Àlàwìíyé readers teach plenty generations how to read and write Yoruba and wey im poem Ìṣẹ́ Lògùn Ìṣẹ́, work na di medicine for poverty, na wetin dem sabi by heart across Yorubaland; and Kọ́lá Akínlàdé (1932 to 2008), di most prolific Yoruba crime novelist.
Di structural problem wey dis tradition dey face clear well-well. Yoruba-language publishing depend heavy on top school syllabus, and di pipo wey dey read adult literary fiction for Yoruba don reduce because English dey dominate education and because Nigerian publishing industry collapse. Writers for dis line, pipo dey read dem as set texts pass as literature. Na dat gap dem talk about for di top of dis file be dat, and e neva close.
Níyì Òsúndáre (dem bon am 1947) na, afta Ṣóyínká, di most significant Nigerian poet wey dey write for English and di pesin wey im work close pass to Yoruba oral form. Dem bon am on 12 March 1947 for Ìkẹ́rẹ́-Èkìtì, e do first degree for Ìbàdàn, master's for Leeds and doctorate for York University for Canada for 1976, head di English department for Ìbàdàn from 1993 to 1997, and e don dey as professor for University of New Orleans since . The Eye of the Earth (1986) win both di Commonwealth Poetry Prize and di Association of Nigerian Authors poetry prize; Waiting Laughters (1990) win di NOMA Award . Im poetry na wetin dem write make dem perform am, e dey use call and response, and e dey draw direct from Yoruba oral technique, song and proverb, and e don argue consistently say poetry suppose dey easy for non-academic audience to understand, as direct opposition to how di Ṣóyínká generation take hard. E survive Hurricane Katrina for 2005, experience wey dey behind City Without People . Im most recent collection Green: Sighs of Our Ailing Planet (2022) return back to di ecological argument of The Eye of the Earth .
Fẹ́mi Òṣófisan (dem bon am 1946) don write pass sixty plays and na im be di Nigerian dramatist wey dem perform pass afta Ṣóyínká. Dem bon am on 16 June 1946 for Erúnwọ̀n for Ògùn State, study French for Ìbàdàn from 1966 to 1969 and do postgraduate work for Sorbonne, teach for Ìbàdàn until e retire as professor for 2011, and na distinguished professor for Kwara State University . E dey publish poetry under di name Okinba Launko . Im theatre clearly dey political and materialist, and na im be di clearest counter-position to Ṣóyínká inside Nigerian drama: where Ṣóyínká dey look situation through myth, Òṣófisan dey look am through class, and plenty of im plays na direct answer to Ṣóyínká's, including No More the Wasted Breed, wey e write against The Strong Breed. E dey adapt classical text dem, including Euripides' The Trojan Women and Sophocles' Antigone, enter African settings, and e dey use Yoruba performance technique, storytelling frames and audience address take do am . For 2016 na im be di first African wey collect di Thalia Prize of the International Association of Theatre Critics .
Teju Cole (dem bon am 1975) wey dem bon as Obayemi Babajide Adetokunbo Onafuwa on 27 June 1975 for Kalamazoo, Michigan, to Nigerian parents, grow up for Lagos from wen e dey two years old . E study for Kalamazoo College, do master's for School of Oriental and African Studies and doctorate for Columbia for art history, and na professor of the practice of creative writing for Harvard . Every Day Is for the Thief (2007) and Open City (2011) bring am out well-well; Known and Strange Things (2016) na collection of essays; Tremor (2023) na di most recent novel . Di Yoruba content for inside im work mostly dey hidden under, e dey as sensibility and inside di Lagos material pass as main subject matter, and im importance for dis corpus na as Yoruba writer wey im connection with di tradition dey indirect and no get sentiment.
Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ (born 1988) dem bon am on 29 January 1988 for Lagos, e do im first degree and master's for literature for Ọbáfẹ́mi Awólọ́wọ̀ University and creative writing degree for University of East Anglia . Stay With Me (2017), wey happen for Ìlésà and Ifẹ̀ and wey focus on matter like infertility, polygamy and sickle cell, enter shortlist for Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction and win 9mobile Prize for Literature; A Spell of Good Things (2023) enter longlist for Booker Prize . Na im fiction be di most successful recent one wey happen full-full inside Yoruba social life without to dey try translate am give reader wey dey outside.
Tomi Adeyemi (born 1993) dem bon am on 1 August 1993 for United States to Nigerian parents and e grow up for Chicago . E study English for Harvard and study West African mythology and religion for Salvador, Brazil, wey be where di Yoruba material for im work come from . Children of Blood and Bone (2018), wey be di first book for Legacy of Orïsha trilogy, build im magic system from Yoruba òrìṣà material, start for number one on top New York Times young adult list, and win Andre Norton Award, Waterstones Book Prize and Hugo Lodestar Award . Di main importance na di scale: e put òrìṣà names and Yoruba vocabulary for front of plenti young readers all over di world. As for weda e represent di tradition correctly, dat na anoda matter, and people suppose read am as fantasy wey dem build from Yoruba material, no be like say na real historical account of am, and na so di author sef describe am.
Ayọ̀délé Olófintúadé na writer, journalist and Ifá and òrìṣà scholar wey dem bon for Ìbàdàn, wey im work focus on African feminism, Yoruba spirituality and di position of gender-non-conforming people for Nigeria, and wey identify as queer and non-binary . Im works include Ẹnọ's Story, wey enter shortlist for NLNG Prize for Literature for 2011, Swallow: Ẹfúnṣetán Aníwúrà, and Lákíríboto Chronicles: A Brief History of Badly Behaved Women . Di research wey e dey do now dey on top indigenous Yoruba practice and how dem dey manage land . Dem include Olófintúadé for here because di whole work dey engage di tradition from position of feminist and queer, wey be say traditional institutional voices neva really represent, and e dey do dis from inside Nigeria instead of diaspora.
Two writers wey dem dey usually list with Yoruba people no be Yoruba.
Ben Okri, wey dem bon on 15 March 1959 for Minna and wey win Booker Prize for 1991 for The Famished Road, na Urhobo person from im papa side and part Igbo from im mama side . Di spirit-child material wey e use follow di concept of abiku or ogbanje, wey be wetin plenti cultures across southern Nigeria share and e no be only Yoruba thing as e use am. E be major Nigerian writer, but dem no include am for here as Yoruba writer.
Cyprian Ekwensi, wey dem bon on 26 September 1921 for Minna and wey write People of the City (1954) and Jagua Nana (1961), na Igbo man from Nkwelle Ezunaka for Anambra State . Di novels wey e write about Lagos happen for Yoruba land and dey give useful evidence about mid-century Lagos, but e no be Yoruba writer.
Di earliest documented forms of Yoruba literary expression na pure oral tradition, wey contain big-big collection of oríkì praise poetry, ìtàn historical stories, àlọ́ folktales, and ese Ifá divination verses . Under di Ọ̀yọ́ Empire from seventeenth century go front, imperial palace poets and royal singers institutionalize dis oral genres so dat dem go fit legitimize royal family lineages and state diplomacy . Di nineteenth-century Yoruba civil wars scatter dis centralized palace structures, spread di performers go different places, and spread local dialect variations across refugee settlements like Ìbàdàn and Abẹ́òkúta .
Contact with missionaries for mid-nineteenth century transform Yoruba verbal art enter print. From di 1840s, Church Missionary Society linguists wey Samuel Àjàyí Crowther lead set down standard Yoruba orthography, translate di Bible, and produce di first printed reading books, wey open door for written Yoruba literature . Under British colonial rule for early twentieth century, school curriculum and colonial education bureaus encourage indigenous creative writing . Dis one reach top level for 1938 wen D. O. Fágúnwà publish Ògbójú Ọdẹ nínú Igbó Irúnmọlẹ̀, wey begin di printed vernacular novel as e combine oral journey mythologies with Christian allegory [S14, S15]. At di same time, colonial office work and uneven English literacy bring out Amos Tutùọlá's 1952 breakthrough for English, wey establish di two-way language path of Nigerian writing .
Afta independence for 1960, Yoruba intellectual and literary production grow well-well across university departments, travelling theatre troupes, and radio broadcasting services, producing classical playwrights like Akínwùnmí Ìṣọ̀lá and radical social dramatists like Fẹ́mi Òṣófisan . Today, Yoruba literary practice dey run at di same time across local vernacular markets, Nigerian university syllabus, and global diaspora . Present-day diaspora and international writers dey repackage òrìṣà cosmology and urban Yoruba sensibilities inside global speculative fiction, transatlantic novels, and queer African critical thought, wey extend di reach of Yoruba verbal aesthetics give audience all over di world .
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