NUDITY AND POWER IN NORTH-EASTERN YORUBA: A STUDY OF PRE-COLONIAL AND MODERN TRADITIONAL PRACTICES

Abstract

In recent years, research into sexuality studies has become popular. It is an inter-disciplinary fieldthat dovetails into many sub-fieldslike nudity, art, culture, psychology and others. Nudity has generated many debates onthe female body in Yoruba.It is culturallysymbolic, connoting different meaningsand power.Drawing evidence from pre-colonial and modern Akoko in the north-eastern part of Yoruba, this paper engages symbolismsof nudity in the historyof north-eastern Yoruba people. Nudity is discussed as ritual dress for festival and protest. While nudity festivalis discussed among virgin girlsin the pre-colonial period, nudity protest is examined in modern times as a tool forcontrolling public policy. This paper argues that public nudity has defining power over humans in the society.While female nudity is a common practice in Yoruba, Akoko version stresses the inexhaustible power attached to it, particularly the indispensable value occasioned by the nineteenth century Yoruba insecurity. This research is also important because it straightens out unique specificities of power accrued to public nudity, especially how women transformed their body to sitesof power and change. This paper combines historical research method and inter-textual approach to establish the discourse in broader Yoruba sexuality studies and power.