o - Aceh Books website

874 YORUBA
even where traditional beliefs have been challenged simultaneously by Islam and
Christianity. Although some Yoruba felt the influence of Islam in earlier centuries,
it was not until the early nineteenth century, following the Fulani jihad
in the north, that old Oyo came within Muslim influence and Ilorin fell to Muslim
rule under a line of emirs that persists to the present. By the time Fulani military
pressure forced the resettlement of Oyo to the south, Islam was firmly entrenched
in the Yoruba savannas—as far, indeed, as the horse could safely go. Thereafter,
the advance of Islam in Yoruba country was peaceful. By the 1830s, Hausa
traders, some of whom were also religious teachers, had established themselves
in the new city of Ibadan. As British colonial influence grew, freedom of trade
movement further facilitated proselytization. During the second quarter of the
present century, British "indirect rule," which reinforced powers of emirs and
obas (kings), led to Islamic domination in the north and a consequent rapid
growth in the south. In the 40 years between 1913 and 1953, the proportion of
professed Muslims in Ibadan alone increased from 35 to 60 percent. Simultaneously,
Christian missionaries—many of them returned slaves from America—
were active in the south, and eventually it could be said without great exaggeration
that throughout the Yoruba territories fewer than one-seventh of the people
remained professed traditionalists, while the remainder divided fairly equally
between Islam and Christianity.
One of the most striking characteristics of present Yoruba religious practice
is its open tolerance of divergence, even within the family. In hundreds of
communities, when the time of the egungun ancestor impersonation and festival
arrives, drummers go about the streets calling Christians, Muslims and others,
often by name, to join in the celebration. Few resist the call. Every city had at
one time, and some have still, an active ogboni or otherwise named secret society.
Largely purged of rites distasteful to the new orthodox, these continue to function
and effectively command the allegiance of powerful citizens, regardless of faith.
While compounds and even lineages often tend to adopt a common religion, in
many families this is not so. Muslim, Christian and traditionalist members of a
single family live peacefully together and join happily in each others' festivals,
giving the official calendar of holidays a remarkable length and fullness of
observance.
This tolerance and even pleasure in diversity arises from the fact that both
Islam and Christianity are seen as civilizing in the sense that traditionalists remain
outside the ruling cultures, while traditional beliefs are widely shared. Islam
demands few overt changes in Yoruba behavior; it is a choice, a preference
within a relatively stable lineage-oriented society. The choice can be significant,
since in the economy traditionalists are likely to be the least successful, Muslims
tend to be more successful and Christians are clearly strongest in professions
and large-scale business. Islam's appeal over Christianity is far broader than
wealth. While it is true that monogamy is the rule among all Yoruba, it is not
the ideal; Islamic toleration of polygyny and also brideprice (condemned by the
orthodox churches) have not been inconsequential in influencing free choice