8 Cultural Taboos In Yoruba Land

Every people everywhere have their cultural ways of life and what is considered normal and acceptable for community folks in those areas.

Every tribe in parts of the world have cultural taboos; the following are those of the Yorubas and what you must never do in Yorubaland:

i. Same-sex marriage is forbidden: Americans and people in Europe may have legalized same-sex marriage – that is, gay and lesbian marriages, but it is forbidden in Yorubaland.

ii. Pregnant woman must not sleep with the stomach, so that the child will not die). This is to guard against having a stillbirth. If a pregnant woman sleeps with her stomach it will be difficult for the foetus to kick while still in the stomach and this may claim the life of the baby.
iii. A strapped baby must never fall from its mother’s back: It is an abomination in Yorubaland for a baby to fall from its mother’s back. And this is why many new mothers are warned to strap their babies firmly to their back again if their baby is not well positioned. It is believed that a male child that falls from its mother’s back will always lose his wife at adulthood, and a female will always have a lover die atop her when she grows up. And where a baby eventually falls from its mother’s back, the mother is expected to carry out some rituals to prevent evil from happening to the child when it grows.

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iv. Pregnant women must never walk the streets in broad daylight: What this means is that pregnant women must not go about the streets or go to the market or go to the stream when the sun is high up at its zenith – between 12 pm – 3 pm when the sun is at its brightest.

It is believed that evil spirits roam the town when the sun is at its brightest and they could enter into a pregnant woman, making her to give birth to deformed babies.
v. Women must not enter the Oro grove where Egungun takes off and returns to avoid being kidnapped by Oro. This taboo was also put in place to have respect for Yoruba traditional religion. Women are forbidden to know the secret behind the emanation of masquerades this hence only men propitiate it.

vi. A king must never look inside his royal crown: It is an abomination for a king in Yorubaland to look into the inside of his royal crown.

A king must wear a crown but he must never peer into it. The day he does it is the day he will join his ancestors. Kings could be allowed to do this if they insist on committing suicide.

vii. We must not imitate the sound of a masquerade without wearing his costume to avoid being kidnapped by a spirit). Egungun is one of the traditional deities in Yoruba land. The taboo was put in place so that people will have respect for Egungun as a deity because who ever being kidnapped by Egungun spirit (oro) will never be seen again.

viii. A king must never prostrate for anyone again in his entire life: A royal king is considered a demi-god in Yorubaland and he must never prostrate to greet anyone in his entire life.

However, what are the taboos in your tribe?