Yoruba Love Poetry

Hello friends!We’re back this week with one of my favorite sessions from the MA Twitter Spaces. This is from a while back when we read poetry and used the Friday sessions to talk about the more risqué side of African folklore.This session focused on Yoruba love poetry. We started with an exploration of Yoruba courtship practices and then had a discussion about the importance placed on virginity in different African cultures. Next, we read poems from Nicholas Awde’s “Treasury of African Love: Poems and Proverbs”, and explored the concept of “love” across different relationships as expressed in African languages. A question came up about different words/expressions for love between intimate partners, friends and family members etc. in African languages. We looked at examples in Yoruba, Bemba and Lamba. It’s a long one but I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did! Get full access to Mythological Africans at mythologicalafricans.substack.com/subscribe