ABSTRACT

Chief J.A. Ayọrinde explains that ‘all chiefs and prominent personalities have oríkì describing their character and achievements, which serve, as it were, as their “signature tunes” to announce their approach or presence’, and indeed that ‘no child is given a name without being given an oríkì, which is an important adjunct to any name … ’ The fact that Western academic traditions have not recognised the place of oríkì in the retrieval of the histories and accomplishments of Yorùbá intellectuals should not lead us to conclude that Yorùbá society thinks that they are anonymous. A Yorùbá òwe (dramatic figures of speech) points us in the right direction:

Àńkì í

Àńsà á

Ó ní òun ò mẹni tókú

Ońgbọ́ ‘ikú mẹ́rù

Ọ̀pàgá

Abisutabíòdòdó

Alábàọkà

Arokofẹ́yẹjẹ'

O ní ‘Àgbẹ̀ lókú ni tàbí ọ̀nájà?’

Translation:

We recite someone’s oríkì

We intone his attributes

But an ignorant person says he does not know who has died.

He hears ‘Death has taken a renowned man

A titled man

Whose-yams-spread-like-petals

Who-possesses-a-barn-of-corn

Whose-fields-are-a-bounty-for-birds,'

The [ignorant] person still asks ‘Is the dead man a farmer or a trader?’ (Owomoyela 2005 96)

摘要

酋长 JA Ayọrinde 解释说，“所有酋长和知名人士都有 oríkì 描述他们的性格和成就，这可以说是他们的“标志性曲调”来宣布他们的到来或存在”，事实上，“没有孩子被赋予名字没有被赋予 oríkì，这是任何名称的重要附属物……”西方学术传统没有承认 oríkì 在检索约鲁巴知识分子的历史和成就中的地位这一事实不应使我们得出结论，约鲁巴社会认为他们是匿名的。Yorùbáòwe（戏剧性的修辞手法）为我们指明了正确的方向：

Àńkì í

Àńsà á

Ó ní òun ò mẹni tókú

Ońgbọ́ 'ikú mẹ́rù

Ọ̀pàgá

阿比苏达比奥多多

阿拉巴哈

Arokofẹ́yẹjẹ'

O ní 'Àgbẹ̀ lókú ni tàbí ọ̀nájà?'

翻译：

我们背诵某人的oríkì

我们理解他的属性

但是一个无知的人说他不知道谁死了。

他听到“死亡带走了一个名人

有头衔的人

谁的山药像花瓣

谁拥有一个谷仓

谁的田地是鸟类的赏金，'

[无知] 人还在问“死者是农民还是商人？” （奥沃莫耶拉 2005 96）