In Praise of Metonymy: The Concepts of "Tradition" and "Creativity" in the Transmission of
Yoruba Artistry over Time and Space
Author(s): Ọlabiyi Babalọla Yai
Source: Research in African Literatures, Vol. 24, No. 4, Special Issue in Memory of Josaphat
Bekunuru Kubayanda (Winter, 1993), pp. 29-37
Published by: Indiana University Press
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In Praiseof
Metonymy:
The Concepts
of"Tradition"
and "Creativity"
in the
Transmissionof
YorubaArtistry
overTimeand
Space
Babalola
Olabiyi Yai
As studentsofYorubaarthistoryfromcitadelsofWesternforaofproduc-
tionofknowledgeon others,we cannothope to do justiceto Yorubaartand arthis-
toryunlesswe are preparedto re-examine,question,and indeedabandoncertain
attitudes,assumptions, and conceptsof our variousdisciplines,howeverfounda-
tionaltheymayappearto us,and consequentlytakeseriouslyindigenousdiscourses
on artand arthistory.
One conceptthatneedstobe questionedisobjectivity, fortheAfricanarthis-
torianclaimto scientific resultsin portraying
objectivity artas emanatingfromself-
containedcultureswithinidentifiable frontiers. however,ifsuchpor-
It isdoubtful,
trayalsreflectthe experienceand intellectualstanceofYorubaartistsand ofthose
we wouldcall "traditional arthistorians"in today'sparlance.Admittedly ouranaly-
ses invariablyaccommodatediverseinfluenceson specificartistictraditions(e.g.,
Benininfluenceon Owo art,Portugueseinfluence on Benin,etc.). Butpreciselythe
pointis: how relevantis thisveryconceptof influence,in itscurrentacceptation,
whenexaminedinthecontextoftheworldviewsand intellectualtraditions ofAfri-
can cultures?What is itsepistemological orheuristicstatusorvalue?Is itonlyindig-
enous,conceivable,or is italien and alienating?
When approachingYorubaart,an attitudeand intellectualdispositionorori-
entationthat would be morecongenialor consonantwithYorubatraditionsof
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30 I in African
Research Literatures
scholarshipwouldbetoconsider Yoruba
eachindividual artworkandtheentirecor-
pus'as onrki.
One advantage ofsuchan attitudeis thatitallowstheresearcherto
answer theseriesofquestions raisedbyJ.Vansinaintheintroduction
pertinently to
hisArtHistory inAfrica(3) andto raisenewissuesandinterrogations, for,byits
natureanoril isanunfinished andgenerativeartenterprise,asemphatically
stated
inthefollowing (i.e.,anoriki
meta-orlki whichisa discourseonanonrki):
Oriki
akilkitan2
[Ornki,theonewhose praisesareendless]
Makingoriki a tutelary goddess ofYorubaarthistory studies enjoinsustopay
moreattention tothehistory dimension ofthediscipline's title.Thisinturnentails
thatwe familiarize ourselves withYorubaconceptsofhistory andbe conversant
withthelanguage andmetalanguage ofYoruba arthistory.3
Fora Yorubaintellectual, ordiasa conceptanda discursive practiceisinsepa-
rablefrom theconceptanddiscursive practice ofitan.Indeeditcanbe argued that
botharemembers ofa constellation ofbasicYorubaconcepts without theelucida-
tionofwhichitisalmostimpossible tounderstand anyaspectofYoruba cultures. An
exploration ofthecontext basedon itslinguistic analysis istherefore inorder. This
isno idleexercise, fortheYoruba worditanisubiquitously translated intoEnglish as
a
"history," word and concept with so vast a meaning as todeserve the appellation of
"continent histoire" (continent history) incontemporary European discourse.Now
theitan-"history" equivalence involves bothreduction andtranslation, andperhaps
moretheformer thanthelatter. Moreimportantly, thisequivalence blockstheway
toourunderstanding oftheYoruba conceptofandattitudes tohistory.
Etymologically itanisa nounderived fromtheverbtan.
Tanmeanstospread, reach,toopenup,toilluminate, toshine.4
Theverbtanandthederivative nounitanarepolysemic andintegrate atleast
threefundamental dimensions:
1.Thechronological dimension through whichhumangenerations andtheir
beings,deeds,andvaluesarerelated.
2.The territorial orgeographical dimension through whichhistory isviewed
as expansion (butnotnecessarily withtheimperial connotation whichhasnowa-
daysbecomethestigma ofthatconceptintheEnglish language) ofindividuals, lin-
eages,racesbeyond theiroriginal cradle.Inthatsenseitisimportant toobserve that
theYoruba havealways conceived oftheir historyasdiaspora. Theconceptandreal-
ityofdiaspora, viewedandperceived incertain cultures (Greek,Jewish) as either
necessityorlamented accidentisrationalized inYorubaland as thenormal ornatu-
ralorderofthings historical.
Intheintellectual traditions oftheYoruba aselaborated byandhandeddown
tousbythebabalawoinifdtexts, thegeographical dimension ofitanrevolves around
fivecardinal axes.Abimbola accurately circumscribesthiselement ofthedefinition
ofitaninthefollowing terms:
Ifdhaslongagodivided theglobe intofive regions
namely:
a.IkoAwusi (theAmericas)
b.Idorbmu Awius(Africa)
c.Mereetelu (Europe andAsia)
d.Mesin Akiaarub (Arabia, thelandoftheworship ofKaaba)and
e.Iw6nran nfbi ojum6ti i m66wa(which refers
toAustralasia)
Asfaras theYoruba areconcerned, alltheabove-mentioned partsofthe
world arealllands ofIfa.Thus, when anIfapriestwakes upinthemorning he
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OlabiyiBabalolaYai 1 31
willsaluteIfain all thesefivedivisions oftheearth.(Abimbola, "Contribu-
tion"80)
3. The thirddimensionofitanhas paradoxically andtragically beenneglected
by mostYorubahistorians.This is the discursiveand reflexivedimensionof the
concept.
Tanmeansto illuminate, to enlighten,todiscern,todisentangle.Tanisthere-
foreto discourseprofoundly on the twodimensionsmentionedearlier.The noun
itanforthisdimensionalwaysrequirestheactiveverbPa.
Pa itan (pitanin contractedform)is oftentriviallyand somewhatinade-
quatelytranslatedintoEnglishas "to tella story." Pa is also usedforsuchnounsas
ekiuro (kernel)obi(kola nut) = to separatethetwolobesofthekola nut;eyin,omo
(egg), to hatch;owe (proverb);alo (riddle,parable).5Pitantherefore meansto pro-
ducesucha discoursethatcouldconstitute theAriadnethreadofthehumanhistori-
cal labyrinth, history beingequatedwitha mazeor a riddle.Pa itanis to "de-riddle"
history, to shedlighton humanexistencethroughtimeand space.No wonderthen
ifOrinmila, the Yorubadeityof wisdom,knowledge,and divination,is called
OpitanileIfe.(He whode-riddles itan,i.e.,unravelshistory throughoutIfeterritory.)
We cannothope to fullyunderstand thearthistory ofYorubalandand neigh-
boringculturesunlessand untilwebecomeconversantwiththeintellectualclimate
prevalentin theregioninpre-colonialtimes.Historians'history oftheareadisplays
an undueinflationofpoliticswithitsemphasison thehegemonicbehaviorofcer-
tainkingsand dynastiesand theunquestionably divisivefactortheslavetradewas,
to the detriment of a strongunifying undercurrent observableamongthe peoples
and theintellectuals ofthevariousethnicgroupsat all times,evenwhentheirrulers
wereat war.In thisrespect,Akinjogbin's"ebfsocial theory"remainsunsurpassed as
the mostreliableand convincinghistoricalparadigmforitssensitivity to Yoruba
valuesand itsexplanatory power,whilehis critics'argumentation lacksin cultural
relevance (Akinjogbin). The intellectualclimate of the regionwas and still is
largelycharacterized by a dialogicethos,a constantpruritto exchangeideas and
experienceand materialculture.Each citywas a locus of intellectualinteraction
between intellectuals(babaldwo,herbalists,poets, artists,etc.) and Ile-Ifewas
regardedas a sanctuary and theuniversity parexcellencein theetymological sense
ofthisword.
Polyglottism wasa commonfeatureamongintellectuals andYorubalanguage
in itsIfeand OyQvarietieswas thepredilectedlanguageofintellectualdiscourseof
the entireregion,particularly amongdiviners.The degreeto whichpolyglottism
and multiculturalism werehighlyvalued and indeedrequiredfromintellectualsis
evidencedin the verywell knownornki ofOrunmila,the god ofdivination.He is
knownas afedefeyo, i.e.,He whospeaksall languagesand Yoruba.
Polyglottism and multiculturalism prominently featurein the divination
"corpus"oftheEwe,Gun,Fon,and Aja. Where"lines"and sometimesentireverses
ofotherlanguagesoftheregionarefoundas "lines"ofNupe,Fon oftenoccursinthe
YorubaIfa"corpus"(Maupoil; AbimbolaIjinle).
The leadingroleoftheYorubalanguageisalsodocumentedintheaccountsof
earlytravellers, althoughlittleattentionhas hithertobeen paid to thisimportant
aspect of the intellectualregionof the area. For example,Alonso de Sandoval
referred to the Oy6 Yoruba,thenknownas Lucumi,as peopleswhoseculturewas
prestigious amongthe Bini,Arda,Mina, and Popo (Sandoval 16-173).6In 1640 a
Jesuitmissionary, FreiColombinade Nantes,likenedthestatusofthe Yorubalan-
guagein WestAfricato thatofLatin in Europe.Said he, "... linguaeorumestfacilis,
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32 I inAfrican
Research Literatures
vocatur Licomin
lingua injstispartibus
etestuniversalis sicutlatinum
inpartibus
Europa"
(Brasio465) ["theirlanguageis easyto learn,itiscalledtheLucumilanguageand it
isa universallanguagein thisarealikeLatinincertainpartsofEurope"( mytransla-
tion)]. Art objects should ideallybe appraisedwiththisbroad contextin mind.
Viewedin thatperspective, theUlm divinationtray(opdnifd)takeson a pivotalsig-
nificanceforthe arthistoryof the regionand the mode and mood of interaction
betweenWestAfricancultures.Forwantofa betterterm,theUlm divinationtrayis
an importanttext.It mustbe keptin mindthata divinationtrayis not justan art
objectorparaphernalia. Fora Yorubaintellectual,an opdnifdisitselfa babalawo.An
ifdversefromEji Ogbe "chapter"(odiu)describesop6nifd(divinationtray)as one of
thethreemainomoawo (disciples)ofOrunmilasenttoforeign landsto seekwisdom
and knowledge.
Ooreifgb6
Ooreii nu
E ? roragiido
K6ore6 mabaasegbe
A difffunOrunmila
Ifa6 teomoawometareniff
Ifala top6nniff
Op6nsawolo sko iAw6is oba16je
Ifalo teajereniff
AjeresawolosOd6romu Awuse
Oba 16je nfbe
Ifa16t6bonif
Ib6sawoloslwonran ibiojunm6oree tii m6
Kmimaagbe,ad0se
Ki i gbe,adesa.
Orire.
[Generosityisneverwasted
Generosityisneverlost
IfadivinationisperformedtoOrunmila
Whoinitiated histhree
disciples
Ifiinitiated
op6n(thetray)
Op6ntravelled toIkoAwusitoseekknowledge
He becamea kingthere
Ifainitiated
ajere
Ajeretravelled toIdoromui
Awuis
Therehebecamea king
Ifiinitiated
ib6
IbbtravelledtoIworanintheOrienttoseekknowledge
Therehebecamea king
Generosityis rewarded
Generosityis neverwasted
Generosity.]
What thisifaversetellsus isthatop6nifd,thedivinationtray,isan agentin theYor-
uba modeofrelatingto othercultures.
That an oponifdfromAlada is amongthe oldest"artworks"in a European
museumis no accident,forAlada figures prominentlyin ifddivinationliterature.
The nameofAlada orArada isemblematicofwealthand evokedand invokedin ifd
recitationsto signify
abundanceofrichesresulting fromthe compliancewithIfd's
suggestions,recommendations, or prescriptions.
This is rituallyevokedin the fol-
lowingcontext:
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Olabiyi Babalola Yai 1 33
Otitibabaaje
asoArada
lo6giningini
Ak6ok6tan ohunor6nIf.
[Otitiepitome ofwealth
Q16giningini clothoriginated fromAlada
Inexhaustiblerichesfrom If.]
The Ulm ifdtrayis also symbolicof the will of the West Africanelite to
engageEuropeanculturesin a dialogueon an equal footing.The traybelongedto
the KingofAlada and was describedin theExcoticophylacium as "an offeringboard
carvedin reliefwithrareand loathsomedevilishimages,whichtheKingofArdra,
whichis a vassalofthegreatKingofBenin,togetherwiththemostimportant offi-
cersand men ofthe region,usesto employin fetishritualsor in sacrifices to their
gods.This offering boardwasgivento,and usedbythereigningKingofArdrahim-
self' (Bassani4).
We knowfora historicalfactthataroundthe timethiswas written(1659),
KingTezifonofAlada had beensendingemissaries to Europeanpowers.The Kingof
Spain, Felipe IV, respondedbysendingto Alada a delegationoftwelveCapuchins
who in 1658 broughtto the kingdoma translationversion(in Alada language)of
theChristianDoctrine(Labouretet Rivet;Yai). We mustresisttheseculartempta-
tionto interpret thedecisionofKingTezifontosendhisdivinationtrayto Europeas
a meregestureofkindnessfroman Africanto a Europeanprince.Itwouldbe equally
senselessto hypothesize thattheKingofAlada was trying to converthis European
counterparts to his religionsinceproselitizationisnot a featureofhisreligion.If,as
wasstressed bycontemporaries, theUlm traybelongedtotheKinghimself, he could
notpossiblyhave senta divinationtrayoverseasgratuitously, givenwhatan opdn ifd
represents to him.
I surmisethatTezifon'sgesturewasone ofdiplomaticand culturalreciproca-
tion.As Europeankingshave been sendingto West Africamissionaries who were
perceivedas themostrepresentative wise menand intellectualsoftheirrespective
nations,the King ofAlada, in an attemptto establishequal culturaland political
exchange,musthave pertinently thoughtofsendingtoEuropeankingsa divination
traypreciselyperceivedas theperfectequivalentofthetextEuropeanmissionaries
carriedwiththemselvesalongtheWestAfricancoast.We mustnotforget thatmost
missionaries wereaccountabletotheirkings.A divinationtrayisalwaystheresultof
thecollaborationbetweentwointellectuals, a divinerand an artist.It wasa carved
textpar excellence.Tezifon,therefore, was engagingthe contemporary European
elitein a culturaldialogue,an exchangeoftextsordiscourses.BecauseKingTezifon
knew some Portuguese,7it is possible,and indeed likely,that he mighthave
explainedthe meaningofthetrayto thosewho carriedit to Europe.The iconogra-
phyofthetraylendssomecredenceto thishypothesis. The trayis an "ol6giningini"
on wood. The wordologiningini, whichdesignatesa luxurytextileofwhichAlada
specializedinproducing,isan ideophone.
The natureand combinationof the consonantsand vowelsas well as the
tonal patternof this wordtogethersuggestto the ears of a culturedYorubathe
impression ofa textilethatisveryrichin motifsand colors,an epitomeofbaroque.
In thesamewaytheUlm trayis a supremely loadedtext(Bassani;Drewal). It
aboundsinsymbolsofpoliticaland spiritualpowerand authority. The varietyofthe
motifsrepresented (humanbeingsofbothsexesand variousages,animalsofvarious
orders,plants,Esuhead withmagicgourds,a divinationchain,etc.) and theirsyntax
seem to suggestthatthe artistand his patrondeliberately soughtto portray Alada
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34 I in African
Research Literatures
polityas one,diverse,andwealthy. Whowastheartist? Washe a Yoruba? Can the
Alada-Ulmtray stillbeconsideredasa Yorubaartwork? Arethesequestions mean-
ingfulinthecontext oftheareainthe17thcentury? Bassaniconvincingly demon-
stratedthattheAlada-Ulm showssomemorphological
tray andstylistic
similarities
witha group ofstatuescollectedinBeninRepublic andTogo.Thesamemorpholog-
icalandstylistic
featurescanbeidentified,
I mayadd,inmodemappliquetextiles in
AladaandAbomey, whichseemstosuggest thatthereexistssomepermanence of
styleintheregion. ButtheAlada-Ulmtrayisuniqueinone important it
respect:
creolizedthecardinaltypesofYorubaandFondivination trays.Whiledivination
trayscanbeeither circular orquadrangularinYorubaland,thepredilectedshapein
Fon-speaking areasisthequadrangle (Maupoil).TheAliada-Ulm so
trayinscribes,
tospeak,a circlewithin a quadrangle.
Theartist,ifa nativeofAlada,wasverycon-
versantwithYoruba religiousandartistic
traditions.
Thereisgoodreasontobelieve
thathisstyle,farfrom beinganaberration,wasparadigmatic ofartistic
andintellec-
tualtraditionsinAladaKingdom, forOlfertDapper inhisDescriptiondel'Afrique,
originallypublishedinDutchin1668,hadthistosaya propos Alada:
C'estunechosefort quecesNegres
singuliere meprisentleurlanguematemelle
etnelaparlent presque point,pourenapprendre uneautrequ'ilsonttoujours a
la bouche,
nommee Ulcumy.(Dapper225)
[Itisquitesurprising tonotethattheseNegroesneglecttheirmother tongue
andhardly speakit; theyinsteadlearnanotherlanguagetheyalwaysspeak
calledUlcumy (i.e.,Yoruba);
mytranslation.]
IfYorubalanguagewasspokenbytheAlada peoplewithoutitbeingimposed,8
to thepointthatDapperwasshockedbywhatmusthave appearedto himas alien-
ation,we can infertherefrom thatotheraspectsofYorubaculture,artistictraditions
included,werealso well knownand practicedin the kingdomofAlada. Dapper's
unjustifiablyneglectedobservationraisesfundamental issuesconcerningthemodes
ofrelatingofYorubaartistictraditions in timeand space.How couldtheAlada peo-
ples and theirelitehave acceptedthatwhichin many,perhapsmost,historicalcir-
cumstances,wouldhave necessitatedsomemeasureofimperialism? How does one
accountforthisparadoxofdeliberate alienation? I wouldliketo offer in thefollowing
pages,not a definitive answerto theenigma,buta fewelementsofsolution,which
are hypotheticalin nature.It is to be hoped thattheywill provokecontributions
fromas manyangles as possible,forit is only througha diverseand collective
approachthatYorubaculture,a perfectHarlequinrobe,isbestapprehended.
Since theparadox,farfrombeingaccidental,appearsto be characteristic of
Yorubacultureswhenevertheyare in permanentcontactwithothercultures,an
examinationofsometenetsofYorubaphilosophycouldperhapsproveuseful.
We mustkeep in mindthatthe ideal artistin Yorubatraditionis an are.Lag-
bayi,the Yorubatranscendental sculptor,lived as an are. An ari is an itinerant, a
permanentstranger precisely because he or she can be permanentnowhere.Being
an are istherefore beingan individualexponentofitanas definedin thefirst partof
thisessay.9
In a culturewhereorn,the principleof individuality, is as centralas to be a
deitythatinforms and shapesthe worldviewand behaviorofpersons,it is simply
"natural"thattheprivilegedidiomofartisticexpression,indeed,themodeofexis-
tence ofart,shouldbe throughconstant departure. The Englishword"representa-
tion,"withitsassumptionof,and intrinsic bias towardssimilarity, cannotdo justice
to Yorubatraditions ofaestheticsand modesofrelatingto othemess.10
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OlabiyiBabalolaYai 1 35
Evendeconstruction an idiomoftenpraisedas themostadvanced
theory,
modeofcriticism, toaccountforYorubaattitudes
lackstheadequatevocabulary to
sinceits"decentering"
"representation," conceptpresupposesa center.In Yoruba
artistic
worldview, practice, thebestwayto recognize
anddiscourse, realityand
relateto it is to departfromit. An entityor realityworthrespectingis
artistically
thatwhichwedepart ordiffer
from.
Thus,theessenceofartisuniversal Yoruba
bifurcation. verbalart,ornki,
abun-
dantly
displaythisbifurcationethosas do visualartswhich,as wenowknow,are
oforiki.
modalities
The languageandmetalanguage oftheYoruba verbalandvisualartspredict-
ablyoverlap,and perhapscriticsshouldbe moresensitiveto them.The keyconcept
in thisdomainisya,as in theexpression:
yaere( tocarve)
yaaworan topaint)
(todesign,
intheverbalarts,inijildforexample,
Similarly thefollowing
metalinguistic
andcritical
versespunctuate
anyperformance:
OnkannOu
unni
Iyatokannut unni
[Hereisoneori
Hereisonedeparture/difference.]
These twoemphatic,metalingual, and critical"lines"areusedto signalthefluidity,
boundarilessness, andcenterlessness oftheconstituent partsofan onrliperformance
(Barber249).
It isno accidentifthekeyYorubaconceptsofom(individuality) andiyato(dif-
ference,originality) areprominent in theselines.This isbecausetheoraland visual
onkiareessentially vocativediscourseinwhichdialogueisa constitutive ingredient.
Butonk?i isalso evocativeand provocative.
I wouldliketo suggestthattheYorubapredilectmodeofartistically engaging
realityand theirpredilectwayofrelatingtoeach other,theorisa, and othercultures
is moremetonymic thanmetaphoric.To "ki"(perform onkiverbally),"gbe"(carve),
or"ya"isto provokeand be provoked.
Artis an invitationto infinite metonymy, difference,and departure, and not
a summationforsamenessand imitation.In sucha culturetheperennialquestionin
arthistoryofthe relationbetweentraditionand creativity is less tragically
posed,
solved,and lived,forto a largeextentthe tradition/creativity binaryoppositionis
neutralized. Traditionin Yorubais isa. Innovationis impliedin theYorubaidea of
tradition.The verbsa, fromwhich the noun asa is derived,means to select,to
choose,to discriminate or discern.Sa and tin are semantically cognate.Hence Isa
and itanare.That whichhas not been theresultofdeliberatechoice (sa) based on
discernment and awarenessofhistoricalpracticesand processes(itan)byindividual
orcollectiveoricannotqualifyas asi. And sincechoicepresidesoverthebirthofan
1asa(tradition),thelatterispermanently liableto metamorphosis.
One can thereforeeasily understandMuraina Oyelami, one prominent
Oshogboartist,whenhe affirms thathe losesa piece ofhimselfwitheverypainting.
Similarlyone has no difficulty understanding anothermemberofthesameschool,
Rufus's,irritation and anger,whencalled "the Picasso ofNigeria."His insistence
that"RufusisRufus"isYorubaand traditional(Beier 15,48). The perceptionoftra-
ditionas iterationofindividualand collectiveornsacts basedon choice in an infi-
nite figureof contiguityis also perceptiblein the oftenheard and seemingly
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36 I in African
Research Literatures
paradoxicalstatementbyYorubaartists:"Our traditionis verymodem."A paradox
in the Englishlanguage,thisstatementsquarelyresiststranslationintoYoruba,for
asa is boththe "traditional"and the "modem."It is one ofthosepronouncements
thatarenotadmissiblein theYorubalanguage,and can onlybe renderedat therisk
of being tautological.Indeed, it is a pronouncementinvariablymeant forand
directedto non-Yorubapeople.
This abilityto reconcileopacityand difference
and opennessin an unending
movementofmetonymic engagements mightexplainthesuccessand popularityof
Yorubaculturein the New Worldwhereit has greatlycontributed to cementand
creolizeAfricanand non-Africanculturesdespitea social climateof intolerance
and invitation to mimetism.As the Yoruba themselves believe and say
emphatically:
Orukot6wuniId je lehin
odi
[Outsidethewallsofyourbirthplace,youhave a rightto choose thenamethat
isattractive
toyou.]
NOTES
'Anotherinadequateconcept,as aresuchexpressions as "ifdliterarycorpus,""onkicor-
pus,"whicharenonsensicalstrictly fromthepointofviewofYorubaculturebecauseoftheir
assumptionofclosure.
2Inthisregard,thetitleofKarinBarber'sbook,I CouldSpeakuntilTomorrow, couldnot
have been moreappropriate.
3Weareall victimsoftheimperialism ofwritingwithitspejorationoforalcultures.As
a consequence,mostAfricansconducttheirresearchwithan implicitassumptionofa discur-
siveand metalinguistic tabularasa in theculturesbeingstudied.The epistemological poverty
ofthisattitudeneedsnotbe elaborated.Fortunately Yorubaartscholarsareincreasingly going
againstthisgrain,thisresulting in moreperceptiveanalyses.
4As it sometimeshappensin Yorubalanguage,the verb"tan"has a mid-tonepseudo
homophone,tan.They belongto thesamesemanticrange.Tan meansto relate,to belongto
thesamefamily.
Fora systematic explorationoftheconceptencapsulatedin theverb"pa"and itsrela-
tion to other concepts used in Yoruba metalanguageand literary/artistic discourse,see
Adek6.
6"Los lucumies,gente no menos en numeroque en consideraci6n"are Sandoval's
words.
7Hewassentto Sao Tome in hisyoungeryearsbecausehisfatherwantedhimto master
thesecretsoftheEuropeans'might.Buttheseinsteadwantedto converthimto Christianity,
whichhe resisted(Labouretet Rivet;Lombard48).
8Itisonlyin 1698 thatOy6 mademilitary incursionsin Alada, accordingto Dalzel (see
Lombard49).
9Are usedto be quintessentiallylaudatoryin meaningto thepointthatitsoundslikea
"chieftaincy title."Example:AreLagbayi.Sadlyenoughwithcolonizationand theerosionof
Yorubavalues,arenowadaysin certainquartershas acquireda pejorativeconnotation.An are
nowadaysis moreofan unseriousvagabondthanan itinerant poetorartist.
0°Margaret Thompson-Drewalpointsto thedifficulties encounteredin thisdomainby
Westernscholarshipon representation and new waysofcomingto termswithconventional
viewsofrepetitionbyadvocatinga "repetitionwithcriticaldifference" (Thompson-Drewal
3).
"For a brilliantdiscussionofthisapproachto artand creativity, as equallybrilliantly
represented inYorubamoder lettersbyWole Soyinka,see Fioupou,especiallypages491-518.
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