Oríkì

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Oríkì or praise poetry is a cultural phenomenon among the Yòrùbá speaking people of West Africa. It varies in length depending on whether it's the name given to a child to describe the future portents of the child's life or as a recital of the accomplishments of a clan. It is invoked when praising a child for bringing pride to the parents/clan or when attempting to evoke virtuous character traits of bravery/fortitude/perseverance believed to be innate in a person due to his pedigree.

It is not always clear what was preeminent in the mind of the person who named a child with the shorter praise names e.g. traditionally a boy born with the umbilical cord around his neck was called Òjó (there are exceptions; the Ijebu sub-culture names a boy or girl Àìná), yet the name Òjó has praise poetry that does not even mention this occurrence but implies that the child would be the darling of ladies and might be a little impatient.

Usually a clan derives its last name from a strong/accomplished patriarch/matriarch and it is not uncommon to find their accomplishments recited in the longer version of the oríkì as well as those of prominent progeny. An excerpt from praise poetry for the name Òjó would be:

“

Òjó ò sí nlé, omo adìe d'àgbà

t'ó bá wà ńlé, á ti pà Ìyà è je....

”

Examples of oríkì middle names and their meanings (m or f denotes names gender):