DO YORUBA ABORIGINES ORIGINATE FROM EGYPTIAN NUBIANS? .

Dr. Babalola Adesanya-Shine

Oloore Atobatele Makun of Sagamu

DO YORUBA ABORIGINES ORIGINATE FROM EGYPTIAN NUBIANS? 

ODUDUWA  THE SON OF KING LAUMUDU. 

 

There are many cultural practices that connect ancient Egyptians to the Yorubas and the new interpretation of the Oduduwa legend suggests that the Yorubas have originated or are influenced mainly by the Egyptians. The attestation of Egypt as the main influencer of the Yoruba culture made Egypt significant in the study of the history of the Yoruba people. 

Some writers are beginning to think that the ancient Egyptians were responsible for introducing and spreading many cultures amongst the Yorubas. As more Yorubas are tracing their origins and the origins of their culture to ancient Egypt, this research investigates whether the Egyptians were the originators and the main spreaders of the afterlife culture in Yorubaland.

Egyptian Nubians are descendants of an ancient African civilization as old as Egypt itself, which once presided over an empire and even ruled Egypt. Their historical homeland, often referred to as Nubia, stretches along the Nile covering present-day southern Egypt and northern Sudan.

LAMURUDU

Yoruba legend teaches that Lamurudu was the biological father of Oduduwa, originally came from Mecca in Saudi Arabia to Ile Ife in Nigeria 

(Ayandele 2004:123). Lamurudu , a King of Mecca, refused to accept Islam, He wanted to continue the idolatry worship against the new religion of Muhammad SWA. (Islam) . This resulted in a revolt between Lamurudu followers and the majority of Muslims in Mecca. During the revolt, King Lamurudu was killed and his three children, including Oduduwa, were extradited and exiled from Mecca. The other two children were Kukawa and Gogobiri, who were ancestors of two tribes in the Hausa Nation.

Oduduwa took with him two idols to Ile Ife (Ojo 1999:5). Sahibu.

When Oduduwa arrived at Ile Ife, he met with Agbo-niregun (or Setilu), the founder of Ifa worships (Johnson2001:4; cf. Folorunso 2003:87), yet much about the identities of those earlier inhabitants of Ile Ife are unknown (Ayandele 2004:123). 

According to tradition, visitors or indigenous Youba people were not allowed to see or speak to Oni ife, they need to see or go through Obalufe of Iremo, as the Prime minister in charge of the administration of Ile Ife. 

Many historians argue that the Yorubas actually originated from the north-eastern area of Africa and specifically Egypt or Yemen (Yemen used to be regarded as the 

horn of Africa and Yoruba historians associate Egypt with Yemen as if they were the same place). [Le Roux 2008:15]

Lange agrees that the ancestors of the Yorubas were the descendants of Nimrod who lived and intermarried with Egyptians and then left Egypt and settled in Yorubaland. Lange(2004:40–41). 

If  Nimrod (Nemrod) descendants were the ancestors of the Yoruba as this school of thought suggested, then who is Nimrod? 

The Bible states…

CUSH was the father of NIMROD , who grew to be a mighty warrior on the Earth. He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; that is why it is said, “Like Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the LORD.” The centers of his kingdom were Babylon, Erech, Akkad and Calneh in Shinar (Genesis 10:8-10).

In the post-Flood genealogical records of Genesis 10 we note that the sons of Ham were: Cush, Mizraim, Put and Canaan. Mizraim became the Egyptians. No one is sure where Put went to live. could Yoruba ancestors be descended from PUT? 

And it is obvious who the Canaanites were. Cush lived in the “land of Shinar” which most scholars consider to be Sumer. There developed the first civilization after the Flood. The sons of Shem-the Semites-were also mixed, to some extent, with the Sumerians, this would be another research and another topic. 

A prominent writer of Yoruba history, Reverend Samuel Johnson stressed that past historians regarded Mecca as east and that there is indeed a strong affinity between the Yorubas and the east. 

He thinks that the Yorubas originate from 

the east but he believes that east means Egypt and not Mecca and that: ‘the Yorubas came originally from the east there cannot be the slightest doubt, as their habits, manners and customs, etc., all go to prove’ (Johnson 2001:5). Folorunso (2003:84) agreed with Johnson’s view and said that whenever ‘Mecca’ or ‘east’ is mentioned with reference to Yoruba history, it implies Egypt.

 The Yoruba afterlife culture is different from that of the Arabs (the Yorubas 

for example practice extensive afterlife culture more than the Arabians)  their culture is more similar to the Egyptians than those of the Arabs in Mecca.

For example, Olorun the Yoruba god is credited with the attributes of being omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent.

 Lucas (1948:35) believes that the Yoruba word Orun means ‘sky’ and that ‘Ol’ denotes ownership or agency so the word Olorun means ‘Lord of the sky 

or of the heavens’. To the Egyptians, ‘sky’ or ‘heaven’ is called Horu and Lucas says that pre-dynastic and dynastic Egyptians referred to their Sun-god as Horu. He noted that Horu is derived from the word Oru(n), ‘sky’ or ‘heaven’, and that at the establishment of 

the Old Kingdom, Horu the sun-god was displaced by Horu (Horus) the younger, son of Osiris, the god of the dead and of the sky. 

With the transference of the Osirian heaven from Daddu to the sky, Osiris became ‘the lord of the sky’. 

Lucas says that this title was applied to Osiris when the fusion of the Osirian and the solar faiths were effected. 

Lucas (1948:35–36) also says that ‘this identity of meaning of Olorun with the title of Osiris constitutes a prima facie evidence for assuming the existence of some connection between the Olorun of the Yorubas and the Egyptian “Lord of Daddu”.’ 

Lucas reiterated that the Yorubas worshipped other deities but that Olorun was the greatest of them all and that the Egyptians regarded Osiris in the same way as the Yoruba Olorun (Lucas 1948:36–48).

Lucas believes that most Egyptian gods like Osiris, Isis, Horus, Shu, Sut, Hathor, Sokaris, Ra, Seb, Thoth, Khepera, Amon, Anu, Khonsu, Khunum, Khopri and others are well known amongst the Yorubas. 

However, he noted that Ra survives only in name and that the Yorubas no longer worship the sun as the Egyptians did. Lucas further noted that many ancient Egyptian religious ideas have survived amongst the Yorubas: both ancient Egyptians and the Yorubas recognised the existence and the supremacy of a supreme deity but worshipped local deities. 

In both cultures, kings were regarded as divine authorities, certain animals as sacred and certain forms of festivals involving dancing and singing were practiced. Magic and the use of amulets were important in the daily lives and in the afterlife beliefs of both cultures (Lucas 1970:412–413). 

Also, the Egyptian word for hippopotamus is pronounced as Ririt from which the Yoruba word Riri, ‘dirty’ is derived. He thinks that the derivation is due to the dirty nature of hippopotami on emerging from marshy waters. Also, the sacred animal of the Egyptian city of On (Aunu) survives in the word Oni ‘crocodile’, a name used as the title of one of the  lmperial King in Yorubaland, that is, the Oni of Ife (Lucas 1948:21–28). 

In addition, the word Orisa is used by the 

Yorubas to refer to the name of a supreme deity, a deity or an idol. Lucas says that the word Orisa is actually derived from the ancient Egyptian form Horu-sa-Ast or Horu-se-Ast (Lucas 1970:411–412). 

Lucas (1948:261) thinks that both the Egyptians and the Yorubas 

use the words Khu or oku to mean death. For example, he says that the Yorubas believe that every human being possesses a Khu or 

o ku which in Yoruba means ‘he or she dies’. In ancient Egypt, Khu meant to give up one’s spirit. The word used by the Yorubas for 

‘spirit’ or ‘spiritual soul’ is Emi(n). Lucas (1948:261) believes that the Yoruba word Emi(n) is used in the same sense as the Egyptian word Khu. 

He suggests that Egyptians regarded Khu as a divine spiritual element in humans, in the same way that the Yorubas regard Emi(n). connects the word Emi(n) to the ancient Egyptian god Min. He emphasised that the word Emi(n) can actually be transliterated to mean ‘that which belongs to Min’ the Coptos god of ancient Egypt. He thinks that the Yorubas had contact with Coptos in ancient Egypt, where the Egyptian deity Min was worshipped. 

In terms of knowledge, the Yoruba pottery, glass and glaze work and metalwork bear a close resemblance to those of dynastic Egyptians (Lucas 1970:414–416). 

The ‘Ife Marbles’ in Yorubaland have been found to have similarities to Egyptian sculptures. Johnson also reiterated that at present, about three or four of the forms of these sculptures can be seen in the Egyptian Court of the British Museum, ‘showing at a glance that they are among kindred works of art’ (Johnson 2001:6–7). 

Both cultures practiced polygamy and the first wife was given a special role and regarded as more important than the other wives. The Yorubas call her Iyale, ‘mistress of the house’, a title corresponding in significance to the nabit piru (the mistress’s crown) of the ancient Egyptians (Lucas 1948:28–30). 

It was believed in both countries that the magician and priest served the same function. For the Egyptians and the Yorubas, magic could be used in acts of love, passion, hate, ambition, revenge, healing and in other daily activities. Lucas believes that 

the magic and divination of the Egyptians has a strong connection linking them to 

the Yorubas (Lucas 1948:289290). 

Body mutilations practiced in ancient Egypt also found their way to the Yorubas. These practices include: circumcision, excision, 

piercing of ears and nose, tattooing, and shaving. These Yoruba cultures were 

practiced during the pre-dynastic and dynastic periods of ancient Egypt (Lucas 

1970:412–413). 

Yoruba social engagements like salutation, respect for elders, importance of oaths, and observance of moderation were similar to those in ancient Egypt. It is also clear that both the Egyptians and the Yorubas shared names, for example, Danga is a name of a dwarf in ancient Egypt and this name also survives in Yoruba (lo bi danga ) meaning go as quickly as a Danga dwarf. 

The Yoruba clothing of animal skins especially of leopards is a pre-dynastic and dynastic Egyptian practice (Lucas 1970:414–416).

Lucas (1970:381–382) observed that in regard to animal sacrifice, ablution, 

purification and marital norms, the Jews did like the Yorubas, yet he noted that this 

is not enough reason to conclude that the Yorubas are culturally influenced or are 

originated from Israel.

The next topic research would be on the ancestors of Aboriginal Yoruba before the coming of Oduduwa, in most research, it has been established that the Yorubas were from the east (Egypt /Mecca). 

Some researchers said the Yorubas are of Jewish cultures, and some schools of thought said Yorubas were descendants of Nimrod. What is your own thoughts or findings on this topic.