USA Africa Dialogue Series - J. A. ATANDA PRIZE FOR THE BEST ESSAY ON THE YORUBA: FINALISTS

J. A. ATANDA PRIZE FOR THE BEST ESSAY ON THE YORUBA: FINALISTS 

Babcock University, Yoruba Studies Review, and the Jury of the J. A. Atanda Prize are happy to announce the three finalists for the 2020 J. A. Atanda Prize for the Best Essay on the Yoruba. The finalists will receive Certificates and Citations while the winner will receive, in addition, a sum of $500. The J. A. Atanda Prize represents a stable and enduring platform for the promotion and further development of Yoruba Studies. The winner for this year will be announced at the end of October.

 

 2020 JURY MEMBERS

Chair:            Professor Akinloye Ojo, University of Georgia

Members:     Professor Segun Ogungbemi, Independent Scholar

                        Dr. Bose Afolayan, University of Lagos

Secretary to the Jury: Kaosarat Aina, University of Ibadan

 

The list of the finalists below is not an indication of ranking:

 

Duro Adeleke and Adeola Mobolaji "Àrifàyọ Ìmọ̀ Abínibí nínú Oríkì Orílẹ̀ Mẹ́tàdínlógún tí Adébóyè Babalọlá kọ," 1.2, Spring 2017.

Duro Adeleke and Adeola Mobolaji's paper is a comprehensive study of the collection of Yorùbá indigenous knowledge embedded in Oríkì (praise poetry), a genre of Yorùbá oral poetry, specifically sub-genre of lineage Oríkì. Rather than highlighting Oríkì as the reconstituted link with the past as often done in previous studies on the subject, the paper engages Yorùbá lineage Oríkì as ampules of indigenous knowledge relics of the Yorùbá's engagement and adaptation of their environment. Adeleke and Mobolaji engage Indigenous knowledge theory in analyzing the collection of Yorùbá lineages Oríkì in "Oríkì Orílẹ̀ Mẹ́tàdínlógún" by Adeboye Babalola (2000). More than a textual analysis, Adeleke and Mobolaji's novel engagement reveals an array of Yorùbá indigenous knowledge incorporating experiential know-how, imagination, and observations that the Yorùbá have used to fend for themselves and to bring development as prescribed in their culture. Adeleke and Mobolaji's proficient analysis of Babalola's collection uncovered emergent Yorùbá indigenous knowledge from within diverse fields of human endeavor such as sculpturing, home construction, weaving, and tie-dyeing, farming and indigenous technology, brewing, animal husbandry, medicine, and health care, fashion, and beautification. The use of Yorùbá indigenous language in the discussion of Yorùbá indigenous knowledge found in lineage Oríkìs is an extraordinary strength of this paper. It is a testament to the viability of Yorùbá as a language of intellectual discourse and research.  The paper exceptionally exposes that which is good in the Yorùbá and present original ideas constructively to highlight the positive in Yorùbá language, culture, and society.

Ademola Dasylva, "Glocalization of Yorùbá Ọ̀mọlúwàbí ideology," 1.1 Fall 2016.

 

Ademola Dasylva's paper is an in-depth analysis of the Yorùbá concept and ideology of Ọ̀mọlúwàbí, the ideal persona. The author displays an impressive and exceptional command of the concept and its underlying philosophy. Given the complexities of Ọ̀mọlúwàbí in Yorùbá moral philosophy, he uses different terms like ideology, philosophy, principle, belief, and concept to explain his analyses and narratives for clarity purposes. The paper traces the etymology of Ọ̀mọlúwàbí to sacred texts familiar to the Yorùbá, including Ifá and the Bible, noting that belief has nothing to do with the Biblical Noah, omo ti Nua bi. The paper eruditely illustrates how the importance and meaning of this fundamental Yorùbá concept, foregrounded in the Ifá corpus, had been lost or discarded in the society. Extraordinarily, the paper engages the Yorùbá Indigenous Ifá knowledge System, transmitted in the Ifá corpus, to engage a luminous discussion of this pertinent concept and to show the possibility of the ideology mediating and promoting an ideal society locally and beyond. The paper exhibits a profound understanding of Yorùbá concepts such as Ara, Ẹ̀mi, Orí, and Ènìyàn as philosophical paradigms guiding life and living in Yorùbá society. The paper argues that this concept from the local can be harnessed to manage global issues. All in all, the paper provides an impressive elucidation of Yorùbá concepts and uses high-quality discursive language to achieve the intellectual treatment of a local idea to ensure understanding for a global audience. The paper exceptionally exposes that which is good in the Yorùbá and present original ideas constructively to highlight the positive in Yorùbá language, culture, and society.

 

Oluwole Famule "Èdè Àyàn: The Language of Àyan in Yorùbá Art and Ritual of Egungun," 2.2, Spring 2018

Famule's paper is an in-depth analysis of the language of Àyàn (drumming) among the Yorùbá people. The author highlights the nature and import of Àyàn, the Yorùbá god of drumming and patron deity of all drummers, who was the mythic first drum maker and drummer deified upon his death. The paper painstakingly outlines the heavenly and earthly roles of Àyàn in the Yorùbá belief system and society. Firstly, identifying his critical deific role as the 'mouthpiece' or spokesperson of the pantheon of Yorùbá Orisas (gods) based on the fact that it is Ayan's wooded abode that transforms into carved drums engaged in 'accompanying all sacred rites in honor of virtually of all Yorùbá Orisas (gods).' Secondly, identifying his material role as the enabler and motivator for every dexterous drummer and the provider and designer of all wood carved drums. This paper provides a detailed descriptive analysis that reads like a comprehensive exposition of Yorùbá drums, the language of these drums, and their ritual contexts, including the veneration of gods, the celebration in religious festivals (particularly Egungun festival), and within socio-religious groups as the Ogboni secret society. The paper provides a thorough analysis, with photographic evidence of sacred drums dedicated to some principal Yorùbá deities such as Obatala (Yorùbá creation deity), Ogun (Yorùbá god of Iron), Sango (Yorùbá god of thunder), Orunmila (the Yorùbá Oracle), and notable festivals such as Ifa festival, Ogun festival, epa festival, and the Egungun Festival. Ultimately, the paper reports on a series of detailed and extensive fieldwork across Yorùbáland, exposing that which is good and useful in the language of Ayan (drum and god) recording novel ideas that highlight the positive in Yorùbá language, culture, and society.