Iku ya jƒ?? §?sin: Invitation to Suicide in Yoruba Ontology

In Yorubaland, southƒ??western Nigeria, ku means death, ya means better or preferred while Ž?sin means ignominy. Thus, the Yoruba construct of ƒ??iku ya jƒ??Ž?sinƒ?? means ƒ??death is better than (or preferred to) ignominyƒ??. In sharp contrast to what obtains in the highly individualistic Yoruba contemporary society, in traditional and communalistic Yoruba societies, a high premium was placed on honour, integrity, honesty and dignity. Thus, individuals kept their names (oruk ¯) and those of their families and forbears (oruk ¯ Ž?bi) unimpaired and inviolable. Indeed, ƒ??oruk ¯ rereƒ?? (good name) was the standard of measurement of an individualƒ??s or familyƒ??s reputation in traditional Yoruba societies hence the construct ƒ??oruk ¯ rere san ju wuraƒ?? (good name is preferred to wealth). But then, there were occasions when imminent military defeat, severe physical disability, serious health challenges, frustration, despondency, hopelessness and guilt threatened the honour and dignity of individuals, families or communities and prompted them to resort to suicide. This paper argues that the Yoruba construct of ƒ??iku ya jƒ??Ž?sinƒ?? was an invitation to suicide in Yoruba traditional societies. Although, like any other people, modernization has significantly altered and considerably modified the culture, taste, worldview, traditional values and belief system of the Yoruba; yet, till date, many Yoruba still commit suicide. The question then is: do the Yoruba of southƒ??western Nigeria still commit suicide for the same reasons for which their ancestors and forebears committed suicide? This paper answers this question. Among others, data for this study included interviews, archival material, records compiled by European explorers, missionaries and colonial officials as well as books and newspapers. The study employed the descriptive and analytical method of data analysis.

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Not applicable

The datasets used in this study are openly available at [repository link] and the source code is available on GitHub at [GitHub link].

This work did not receive any external funding.