Three lineage oríkì from Karin Barber's Okuku fieldwork, plus the Olúfọ́n dynasty and the Ìkòyí warrior lineage whose praise obliges the chanter to include its own dishonour.
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.
Fieldwork wey Karin Barber do for Òkukù, Ọ̀sun State, na di single richest documented source of oríkì orílẹ̀ with full performance context wey dis corpus dey draw from, and oriki-women-as-custodians and oriki-poetics-and-untranslatability don already present several of her texts for oda purposes. Dis file dey present three extra lineage oríkì wey specific to Òkukù compounds, di Ẹlẹ́mọ̀ṣọ́ lineage, di Òpó (Òpómúléró) lineage, and, from another separate town, di Olúfọ́n dynasty of Ifọn-Òrolú, and e close with di Oníkòyí warrior lineage oríkì, wey di source material for 13-oral-literature/13-the-performers.md and yoruba-rara cite because of how e describe itself without shaking.
Igbá tó wu ìjòkun ló ń dudu idu ojé. Ó wáá wu Babalọla Ọmítọ́tan ó dudu tán ó fẹ́yín ṣẹ́kẹ́.
It was by choice that the ijokun plant became as black as lead. And by choice Babalola Omitotan became perfectly black with teeth as white as gristle.
Na Karin Barber translate am .
Wetin e dey talk. Deep dark skin and bright white teeth, wey dem attribute to one named ancestor, Babalọla Ọmítọ́tan, dem no present am as inherited accident of biology but as qualities wey dem choose, wey dem compare with plant choice to turn dark.
Significance. Barber own analysis, wey dem cite alongside dis text, frame am say e dey praise di genetic and ancestral physical distinction of di lineage, dey assert inherent beauty, pride and autonomy through di deliberate comparison with plant agency . Dis na documented case of oríkì orílẹ̀ wey put lineage pride specifically on top physical appearance, one category wey dey distinct from di martial, agricultural and craft-based claims wey dey more common for oda places inside dis section.
As dem dey perform am. Lineage gatherings, ancestral rites, naming ceremonies, funerals, and daily morning praises by wives and mothers, inside di Ẹlẹ́mọ̀ṣọ́ lineage of Òkè-Ìlá / Òkukù ancestral stock .
Notes. Confidence on di reading of "by choice" (instead of simpler "it pleased X to become") depend on how dem parse wu; di gloss and translation wey dem harvest two of dem settle for di volitional reading without to flag di alternative, so dis corpus dey report dat reading as dem give am instead of to propose im own.
Ará ìlú Ọ̀yún, ara rí gbó mi láṣọ. Kẹ̀kẹ́ ta dùndún, aṣọ lẹ́dìdì ènìyàn. N ó bá ọ relú rẹ, ọmọ kálukú ló láṣọọ rẹ̀. Egbìnrin ńkọ́? Aṣọ òpó yín ni. Egbìnrin ńkọ́? Aṣọ òpó yín ni. Kèélekùlù láṣọ àrẹ́-pẹ́kun òpóó. Ẹnínléyò ilée yín ni wọ́n ti í rógi láṣọ.
Native of Oyun town, I'm wearing my clothes out. The spinning wheel spins merrily, cloth is the covering of people. I'll go with you to your town, child of "Everyone has their own cloth." What about egbinrin cloth? It's your post's cloth. What about egbinrin cloth? It's your post's cloth. Kelekulu is the very best of all the post's cloths. Ileyo people, it's in your family they dress up a post in cloth.
Na Karin Barber translate am, from I Could Speak Until Tomorrow, pp. 93-94 and 130 .
Wetin e dey talk. Call-and-response structure wey dem build around specific and unusual practice: to dress carved or ritual post (òpó) with named grades of cloth (egbìnrin, kèélekùlù), wey dem present as di distinguishing craft and ceremonial marker of dis lineage, alongside general claim to weaving and textile production.
Significance. Dis text call im own source precisely, with page numbers, wey rare inside dis harvest material and allow higher confidence rating pass most orílẹ̀ texts for dis section. Barber own reading, wey dem report alongside di text, be say di closing line image of wrapping post inside woven cloth dey function as di lineage distinct visual and ritual symbol , comparable to how coat of arms or totem dey operate, but dem express am through textile practice instead of animal or plant emblem.
As dem dey perform am. Ceremonial gatherings of di compound, ancestral lineage rites, bridal departure chants (rárà ìyàwó), and funeral obsequies, wey wives of di lineage dey chant for call-and-response, and by female oríkì chanters and brides inside Òkukù .
Variants. Di source record another wide branch of dis same lineage oríkì wey dey narrate one farmer dispute on top locusts wey destroy crops for Alé-Ọ̀yún, wey reach judgment before di Aláàfin for Ọ̀yọ́, and dey salute oda ancestors wey dem name Ọmọ Ẹrúbàmí and Ọmọ Abímbọ́wọ́ . Dem no transcribe dat branch independently inside di material wey dey available to dis corpus, so na to note am dem note am instead of to reconstruct am.
Mọlúfọ́n Adé àwọn baba mi, Oríkondo níí mú'lé wọn sú mi í lọ, Ẹ pèlé Ọm'Olóòṣà kan Òòṣà kàn.
Molufon Ade of my fathers, Orikondo that makes going to their home never tire me, Greetings to you, child of the one and preeminent Orisa (Obatala).
Na Adeboye Babalola translate am, inside Àwọn Oríkì Orílẹ̀ (1967) .
Wetin e dey talk. Na one royal house name, Mọlúfọ́n Adé, wey connect by name to one place wey dem dey call Oríkondo, and e end with clear identification say the lineage na descendants of "the one and preeminent Òrìṣà," wey the source explain as Ọbàtálá.
Significance. Dis one trace the lineage identity, royal descent and Ọbàtálá priesthood origins of the Olúfọ́n line of Ifọn-Òrolú straight to Ilé-Ifẹ̀ and Ọbàtálá , as e connect one particular eastern Ọ̀sun-area dynasty to the primary òrìṣà wey join body with creation and moulding, wey dem explain well well for 06-orisa/04-obatala.md and 23-orisa-deep/01-obàtálá.md, wey dis file no repeat again.
Wia dem dey perform am. Civic gathering dem, lineage celebration dem, installation rites of the Olúfọ́n, and festival invocation dem .
Notes. Separate literal translation no dey inside the harvested source; dem state am like dis instead of making compiler-constructed translation put, according to the rule of dis corpus against to form wetin source no supply.
Olúgbọ́n Agbe, ọkùnrin ogun lọ́tùn-ún, olè lósì, Ọmọ olóóro ẹgbẹ́ olóola. Ẹ̀ẹ́sún kì í hù nínú igbó, nínú oko tí a ro l'ẹ́ẹ́sún hù sí. Ọkùnrin ogun t'í ti ọ̀wọ̀ ọfà bọra. Gúnyándémi, àgbàlagbà tó roko rẹ̀. Rókadémi, ọmọ Erúùkú. Ta l'ó ba Ẹ̀sọ́ jà l'ẹ́yìn Ẹ̀sọ́?
Olugbon Agbe, man of war resorting to theft on the left hand side, offspring of a titled woman in the society of circumcisers. The elephant grass does not grow in the forest but in the farm clearings. Man of war carrying sheaves of arrows. Gunyandemi, an elderly man tilling his farm. Rokademi, offspring of Eruuku. Who fought against the Ẹ̀sọ́ from behind?
Na S. Adeboye Babalola translate am, inside The Content and Form of Yoruba Ijala (1966) .
Wetin e dey talk. The opening line talk am direct, without euphemism, say dis warrior na man of war for one side and thief for the other side, an admission of robbery inside the same breath as praise for war power. The elephant-grass proverb, say the plant dey grow only for cleared farmland, no be virgin forest, dey serve as riddle-like commentary on top wia opportunity (for warrior, fit be wetin dem plunder) dey actually come out from.
Significance. yoruba-rara inside 13-oral-literature present one related Ẹ̀ṣọ́ Ìkòyí text (the mérú/mèrù tonal-pun passage) and analyse the genre duty say make e no comot bad things about lineage even when na the lineage dey pay the performer; dis text na the same lineage im oríkì from different source, Babalola im ìjálá corpus instead of the Kolawole article wey yoruba-rara use, and e confirm the pattern on im own: dem call theft by name plain plain just as dem call bravery. Readers wey want the tonal-pun analysis of "who carry slaves, who carry property" suppose check yoruba-rara direct instead of dis file, wey no repeat dat analysis.
Wia dem dey perform am. Hunters' guild meetings (ìjálá performance sessions), annual ancestral festivals including Egúngún outings, and chieftaincy installations .
Notes. The harvested excerpt end on top the rhetorical question "who fight the Ẹ̀sọ́ from behind the Ẹ̀sọ́?" without the answer wey full performance likely supply; dem report dis one as cut-short of available source material, wey dis corpus no resolve.
Karin Barber's finding that oríkì in Okuku is held and performed mainly by women, with texts showing what that custodianship does at a wedding, at a festival, and inside a marriage.
How oríkì is built from independent units rather than narrative sequence, and the specific mechanisms, tonal, structural, and referential, that make it resist translation.
The secular chanting genre of praise, who the rárà singer is and how the performance is shaped by the audience paying for it, and the accuracy that makes rárà more than flattery.
Lineage and town-of-origin oríkì for four major Yoruba groups, including two variant texts for Ọ̀fà shown side by side rather than merged.
The complete classification of oríkì by subject, orílẹ̀ through eranko, with a worked text for each kind and the boundary cases that show the categories are not airtight.
Where oríkì with reliable Yoruba originals and named translators actually lives in print, who collected it, and what is and is not digitised or open access.