Cross Culturalism of Yoruba Cultures and Yoruba Culture in South West, Nigeria

Abstract

Nigeria consists of many ethnic groups and tribes but the major tribes are Yoruba, Hausa and Igbo. The trio have their culture and cultural values. Particular reference is made to Yoruba tribe which has its socio religious, political and economic milieus. The penetration of Islam and Christianity into what is known as Yoruba land today met the existence of African Traditional Religion with its cultural settings and peculiarities. Although the two religions could be foreign to them in terms of their culture and practices especially Islam, however, the inclination or idea of embracing a uniquely cultural point of view which is tantamount to cross culturalism is a common phenomenon among the religions. The study is based on analytical and historical approaches. It discovers that there was and still some cultural interpolations on the activities and practices of some Muslims in South West Nigeria. The importance of this paper lies in the fact that there are large percentage of Yoruba Muslims whose cultural backgrounds are still reflecting in their professed Islamic faith. The work therefore draws attention to these areas of cultural influences with a view to establish the fact that not all Muslims in South West Nigeria have completely keyed into the Islamic culture and that culture is not static but dynamic.