CONSENSUS AND CONTENTIONS AROUND “ASO-EBI” USAGE AMONG NIGERIA’S YORUBA PEOPLE

Oluyinka Olutola OLAJIRE

Abstract

Aso-Ebi, an ancient Yoruba custom has recently come under more systematic and rigorous academic investigation by experts to explain why it is still relevant and used by many different ethnic groups in Nigeria. While many portray the Aso-ebi custom as an enduringly stable tradition, its influence and prominence have surged reverberatingly along the West African coast, particularly at a time when many other African material cultural objects have lost their allure and, as a result, have seen a significant decline in acceptance in the face of the continent's ongoing rampaging modernisation and Westernization. It is against the backdrop of these systematic academic investigations that this study probes further the seemingly endless debate on this distinctive Yoruba material culture known as Aso-ebi. The study tows this part in order to determine the degree of consensus (agreement) and contestations (disagreements) around the discourse on Aso-ebi among selected Yoruba people in the southwestern part of Nigeria. The phenomenological investigation study reveals the various meanings and feelings Yorubas associated with using Aso-ebi.  While a sizable portion of respondents asserted that Aso-ebi’s benefits outweigh its drawbacks, a good number also pointed out the practice's several other shortcomings.

Keywords

Consensus, Contention, Aso-Ebi, Yoruba,Nigeria

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