XIᵉ siècle – XVᵉ siècle
Forest and savannah zones of present-day Nigeria
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The Yoruba were one of the principal population groups in the region between the Volta and Cameroon. Linguistic and historical evidence in the extract points to origins and expansion within the forest zone, while dialect clusters reveal differentiated settlement histories. Between 1100 and 1500, Yoruba expansion contributed to the formation of major territorial states, especially Oyo and Ife, though traditions and linguistic analysis sometimes point in different directions.
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The Yoruba are presented as historically one of the most significant peoples between the Volta and Cameroon. Although strong traditions describe movements from the east, dialect analysis suggests that the direction of expansion may have run from the forest into the savannah. This creates a tension between historical tradition and linguistic interpretation, which the extract explains through the possible movement of secondary populations in both directions.
Three principal dialect groupings are identified. The central group includes Ife, Ilesha, and Ekiti; the south-eastern group includes Ondo, Owo, Ikale, Ilaje, and Ijebu; and the north-western group includes Oyo, Osun, Ibadan, and northern Egba. The first two groups are considered to preserve characteristics associated with older settlement, while the north-western group is historically linked to the Oyo empire.
In the twelfth century, the central and south-eastern areas lay within the forest zone. The Ife creation myth locates the origin of the earth at Ile-Ife, whereas an Oyo-based tradition recorded later describes a migration from the east. These traditions are valuable but cannot be treated as uncomplicated records of population movement, since the extract stresses contradictions between oral memory and linguistic evidence.
The wider period witnessed the expansion of some language groups and the emergence of major territorial states, including Oyo and Ife. Such expansion could establish linguistic or political control over areas previously occupied by weaker communities or left uninhabited. The formation of states was therefore part of a broader process of settlement, language spread, and political consolidation.
XIᵉ siècle – XVᵉ siècle
Forest and savannah zones of present-day Nigeria
Traduction non disponible · Original (anglais) · français indisponible
The Yoruba were one of the principal population groups in the region between the Volta and Cameroon. Linguistic and historical evidence in the extract points to origins and expansion within the forest zone, while dialect clusters reveal differentiated settlement histories. Between 1100 and 1500, Yoruba expansion contributed to the formation of major territorial states, especially Oyo and Ife, though traditions and linguistic analysis sometimes point in different directions.
Poursuivre l’exploration
Le récit
The Yoruba are presented as historically one of the most significant peoples between the Volta and Cameroon. Although strong traditions describe movements from the east, dialect analysis suggests that the direction of expansion may have run from the forest into the savannah. This creates a tension between historical tradition and linguistic interpretation, which the extract explains through the possible movement of secondary populations in both directions.
Three principal dialect groupings are identified. The central group includes Ife, Ilesha, and Ekiti; the south-eastern group includes Ondo, Owo, Ikale, Ilaje, and Ijebu; and the north-western group includes Oyo, Osun, Ibadan, and northern Egba. The first two groups are considered to preserve characteristics associated with older settlement, while the north-western group is historically linked to the Oyo empire.
In the twelfth century, the central and south-eastern areas lay within the forest zone. The Ife creation myth locates the origin of the earth at Ile-Ife, whereas an Oyo-based tradition recorded later describes a migration from the east. These traditions are valuable but cannot be treated as uncomplicated records of population movement, since the extract stresses contradictions between oral memory and linguistic evidence.
The wider period witnessed the expansion of some language groups and the emergence of major territorial states, including Oyo and Ife. Such expansion could establish linguistic or political control over areas previously occupied by weaker communities or left uninhabited. The formation of states was therefore part of a broader process of settlement, language spread, and political consolidation.