Religious Adventure: A Leaf From Yoruba Culture III

Religious Adventure—A Leaf From Yoruba Culture III
© Israel Ayanwuyi, 2019


In the previous episode, I halsened to betalk how Yorùbá came into existence in written words, embraced Christianity, and thereafter contributed to Yorùbá being popular and acceptable language amongst other Africa languages. Under the control of Àjàyí Crowther, many were accomplished by Christian Missionaries for the growth and development of Yorùbá language.


Ajayi Crowther, C.A. Gollmer, J.B. Wood, J.F. Schön, Venn, Mann, Lepsius Bowen (of Baptist Church), Henry Townsend and many other missionaries who came to Nigeria around that time were those who did sacrosanct work together to create and put a start to Yorùbá orthography. Ajayi Crowther first translated Old Testament between 1850-56 and New Testament in 1844, but since around 1854, they started translating 'The Holy Bible' to Yorùbá language philosophy, till final completion in 1880.

In 1841, Crowther returned to Nigeria where he opened his own missionary work alongside Henry Townsend in today's Ogun state of Nigeria and began translating the Bible into the Yoruba langauge. Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther's effort [who was from Oshogun] when he returned from Freetown, Sierra Leone as a linguist and missionary deserves an encomium.


At the time, there were many literate Nigerians who returned from Sierra Leone who began to write literature and some other useful books for teaching in Yorùbá. One of those Sierra Leone indigene was Thomas King. They produced many books for study in schools and CMS orison book in Yorùbá.

In 1843, Crowther produced his first book in Yorùbá—First Primer—where he exemplified the procedure to writing the language of Yorùbá. J.F. Schön (who worked with Crowther), Venn, Revd Mann, Lepsius, Bowen (of Baptist Church), Henry Townsend amongst others, and which for example, C.A. Gollmer proposed dot marks to be underneath some letters as follows: e o, when Mann proposed line marks to be under.

In 1844, C.A. Gollmer translated "Lord's Precation", Biblical Catalogue and 'The Gospel of St. Matthew' to Yorùbá. Thomas King also translated collection of some missionary books within 1857-62. 

In 1848, Ajayi Crowther (made Yorùbá known to be a tonal language and he) released vowels and consonants with tonal marks in Yorùbá language words spelling. It therefore make Yorùbá eath for translator in Newspaper firm, Religious books, Missionary books and Holy Bible. Crowther was the one who made the move of the today's Yorùbá Alphabet and he suggested us to read it in this manner: a bi di e e fi gi gbi hi I je ke li mi ni o o pi ri si si ti u wi yi


Henry Townsend (who was a Bristish), yet brought a printing machine to Abẹ́òkúta, where he made sure every notes brought to be published in Yorùbá are quickly printed. From 1859-67, Townsend started the production of newspapers in Abeokuta for the literate advantage— first of its kind in Nigeria.


Ajayi Crowther preached in Yorùbá language for the first time on January 9, 1844 in Sierra Leone (Ẹsẹ̀ wúrà tó lò lọ́jọ́ náà lóhùn-ún ni Lúùkù 1:35, tí ó kọ báyìí "_ ohung ohworh ti aobih ni inoh reh aomalpe li omoh, Olorung"). He was the chairman, wherefore J.B. Wood was the secretary for the national conference on Yorùbá orthography in 1875.


Do you know? 'Ǹjẹ́ ẹ̀yín mọ̀ pé ọdún 2019 tí a wà yìí ni ó pé igba ọdún (200 years) tí èdè Yorùbá di kíkọ sílé? Òyìnbó òṣìṣẹ́ Ìjọ CMS kan tí orúkọ rẹ̀ ń jẹ́ Bowdich ló jẹ yó tán nílùú Ashanti lọ́dún 1819 tó kọ oókan dé ẹẹ́wàá (1-10) ní èdè tó pè ní èdè AKU, orúko tí wọ́n ń pe èdè Yorùbá nígbà náà. Nítorí náà, èdè Yorùbá kú ayẹyẹ ọjọ́ ìbí igba ọdún tí èdè náà di kíkọ sílẹ̀.

Lẹ́yìn ọdún 1819 tí Bowdich kọ èdè Yorùbá sílẹ̀ yìí ni àwọn Òyìnbó bíi Aya Kilham, Àlùfáà Raban àti Àlùfáà Àjàyí Crowther tó jẹ́ ọmọ abínibí Yorùbá àti àwọn yòókù tẹ́wọ́ gba iṣẹ́ lórí ìdàgbàsókè èdè Yorùbá títí di òní.'

Preserving our godly heritage as Yorùbá is my major concern. I remain your Israel Ayanwuyi, and this is copyrighted in 2019