YORUBA, or YARIBA. For merly a powerful State in Africa, comprising the territory lying southwest of the .Nupe country and east of Dahomey and extending from Borgu south almost to the Bight of Benin. The inva sion of the Fulbe in the•first half of the nine teenth century led to the partition of the Yoruba empire into small States constantly warring with each other. Hence the existence of the large walled cities in that region such as Oyo, the Yoruba capital, lbadan, the chief commercial city, Aheokum, Morin, and a few others, some of w•lhich are supposed once to have had as many as 200,000 inhabitants. At present Yoruba is practically embraced in Lagos (q.v.). The popu lation is estimated at from 1,000,000 to 2,1)00, n00 and is of negro origin. They are chiefly agriculturists. Palm-oil is the main ex port article. The Yoruhas are shorter than negroes in general (1.114 in. to 1.05
and are often mesocephalic or These characters, joined with their fair color, are regarded as evidence of dwarf elements. They are light brown in color, pleasing in fea tures, brave, industrious, and great traders. They have large towns of rectangular houses with heavy, pahn-thatched roofs, Wide plazas, and merchants' booths. Professedly Moham medan, they practice their ancient cult. which is chiefly conciliation of evil spirits and fetishism, hut they punish sorcery with death. The Yoruba rulers maintain great state and an infraction of etiquette is a capital offense. Consult: Ellis, The Yoruba-Speaking Peoples (London. 1894) ; Crowther, ( rani MI r and Vocabulary of the ruba Language (ih., 1852) ; Gouzien, Manua franco-yornba de Conversation. ( Pa ris, 1899) ,