RETHINKING OF THE ORIGIN AND MEANING OF THE NAME YORUBA

ABSTRACT

The origin and meaning of Yoruba, a name which designates a people and their language, is shrouded in controversy. Hitherto, there was no accurate knowledge of the origin and meaning of the name but alternative facts and misinformation which fueled the apparent controversy; there was also misconception about the name which discouraged conducting any research into its origin and meaning. Various researches on “Yoruba” were conducted mainly from an historical perspective; consequently the name Yoruba was erroneously regarded as a meaningless word. This paper which rethinks the origin and meaning of the name Yoruba embraces history, onomastics, and archaeology to explain that “Yoruba” is not a meaningless word, and to justify the tracing of the origin of Yoruba to Yemen, in ancient Arabia, where the personal Arabic name Ya’rab, with its root in the Hebrew and Aramic word arab, meant a westerner. The meaning of Yoruba, the name of a people, is elucidated in this paper as the people living where the sun-set or the people from the west, based on the meaning of arab in Arabic, Hebrew and Aramic languages.

Keywords: Yoruba, Ya’riba, meaningless word, history, onomastics, archaeology, Yemen, Arabia, Arabic language, Hebrew language, Aramic language, arab, and westerner.