PROPER PARENTING AND CHILD UPBRINGING IN YORUBA CULTURE: A TEXTUAL ANALYSIS OF SOLA ALLYSON’S ALUJONJONKIJON

Abstract

The Yoruba people are domiciled in the southwestern part of Nigeria, consisting of Oyo, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, Ogun and Lagos States. They also occupy parts of Kogi, Kwara and Edo States. Although the Yoruba speak various dialects such as Egba, Ijebu, Ondo, Ekiti and Ijesa, they speak the Yoruba language which is their generally understood language. The Yoruba people are highly religious and cultured people and “are the most urbanized and possibly the most industrialized ethnic group in sub-Saharan Africa†(Aluko et al, 2011: 94), having not less than thirteen cities. The importance of etiquettes among the Yoruba cannot be understated and it is tied strongly to the family. Training an individual among the Yoruba begins from childhood and such individual is nurtured based on the moral framework of the Yoruba culture. According to Olawore (2004), a trained individual, upon attaining adulthood, is expected to remain in the ethos of the Yoruba culture, with which he has been raised. In view of this position, a Yoruba adage says “Ile ni a ti n ko eso r’ode†which literally means “charity begins at homeâ€. Although the training of a young individual among the Yoruba is tied to his immediate family, the communal nature of the Yoruba requires every adult individuals to contribute to the raising of young individuals within their reach. This is premised on the saying that “Oju meji lo n bimo, igba oju nii woo†which literally means that “although a child is birthed by two parents, his upbringing is a collective effort of allâ€.