Do you know that it is widely believed that the origin of the Yoruba as a nation is traced back to Oduduwa in the city of Ile-Ife. Ile-Ife is a city in Osun State, a south-western part of Nigeria. It is acclaimed that in Ile-Ife, there is a spot where Olodumare, the supreme being created man, and as such Ife is usually referred to as the capital of the realm of humanity.  Research has shown that as early as the 8th century, a powerful kingdom already existed in Ile-Ife which makes it one of the most ancient civilizations in Africa. This civilization, though ancient, is yet an advanced civilization in the world with an estimated 25million native speakers which makes it one of the largest in Africa. While Yoruba is a language, it encapsulates the very idea of a group of people with shared ancestry and history, all embodied within this language. 

The Yoruba people have spread across different parts of the world with the language being spoken by native Yoruba and Non-Yoruba people alike. We can therefore find them in South-western Nigeria, Southern Benin, Eastern and Northern Togo as well as in the Americas; Cuba, Brazil, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago and so on. This language has become a source of unification among people who thought themselves to be strangers in a foreign land, only to realize that they are from the same “abule” –village. A language which has become a symbol of home between speakers; a symbol of kinship and relatedness. Perhaps, you long for this feeling of belonging for you and/or your children, Karibani is where to begin this reconnection from. Immerse yourself in the deep intricacies of the Yoruba; a language we speak and a home we belong to.