| Aba-Alamu Community,
Ibadan Proud to be contributing to scientific progress |
Do you know that Yoruba courses are taught in
at least 17 universities in the United States, including Berkley
and Cornell?
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| Here we will tell you about our community, highlight our proud citizens and some of the activities they have been engaged in and of course, our role in the International Haplotype Mapping project |
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Aba-Alamu is a community in the Apata Area of Ibadan, Southwestern Nigeria.
Most people have heard about Nigeria. The Yoruba are one of the 3 major ethnic groups in Nigeria (For the curious, Nigeria has over 250 ethnic groups!)
The Yoruba
As a result of the middle passage (slave trade), there is a large Diaspora in the US Caribbean, Cuba, Venezuela, Brazil and Southern United States. Yoruba cultural influence can be seen in the religious practice of people in the Caribbean, Cuba, Venezuela, Brazil and Southern United States (Voodoo and Orixa cults). Recent immigration has also led to huge populations of Yoruba in practically every country/region in the world. We are largely urban dwelling, patrilineal societies with complex political and social organization. Women are largely independent and do gain status and wealth often as a result of involvement in trade and service industries. Current area occupied by the Yoruba has been constantly inhabited since 9,000 BC. Yoruba history talks about a “migration from the East”. The first Kingdom to form in Southwestern Nigeria is that of Ife. This was in 1100 AD. Yoruba mythology states that the world was created by the descent of Oduduwa with a cock, sand and some cowrie shells from heaven. He arrived on a water-logged world and created the world as we know it today! Therefore Ile-Ife is the “source” Till date, Ile-Ife as the modern town is called is the spiritual headquarter of the Yoruba and the “Oni (pronounced aaw-kni)” is the ruler. After Ile-Ife came, Oyo Empire whose rulers united the disparate Yoruba city-states into a loose confederation. By 1820, the advent of Islam from the North and slave trade plunged the Yoruba into decades of civil war which were finally ended when the Yoruba became colonized by the British and incorporated into Nigeria in 1914. Ibadan Ibadan is a city in South Western Nigeria that has been constantly inhabited for about 5,000 years. However, its population swelled as refugees from the internecine civil war settled in the city. By the time the war was over, Ibadan emerged as the dominant military and political force in Nigeria and at one time, with a population of 1 million people, it was the largest indigenous city in Africa. Because of this recent history, the city developed a republican type of city government. Now our community – Aba-Alamu! It has about 19,000 residents, the majority of whom are Yoruba.
And most recently, we participated as one of the sites for the International Haplotype Mapping Project. You can read about this project here.
This is the first basic science project that will be hosted on the web in Yoruba language. As part of the project we set up a Community Advisory Group. The members of the Community Advisory Committee who were chosen to reflect the gender, religious and occupational groups in our society are: From our community:
In addition to members of the community, we had 2 people nominated by the local research team
You can find out about the scientists involved in the project, including those from the University of Ibadan here. Since the completion of the project, we have regularly received Newsletters and Quarterly Updates about how the resource donated by our community is being used. You too can read these news letters in English and Yoruba. Publications You can find out about the papers that have been published about the HapMap here. On this page, you will also find information about how to refer to the populations. We realize that many scientists have not had to worry (until now perhaps ?) about how to refer to Yoruba people and are wont to use generic rules of grammar. For example, some refer to Yoruba people, Yoruba samples etc., this is wrong. Future We are excited to have been a part of this project. We trust the scientists that conducted the study and they reciprocated by treating the community and its institutions with respect and courtesy. We are thrilled to be contributing to scientific research that will help people from all parts of the world. We think that having done this, we should not be neglected when time comes for additional studies on this theme. Our community knows fully well the benefits of research and look forward to participating in more in the future. The Community Advisory Group continues to meet to discuss the Quarterly Reports from the Coriell Institute and any other issue that may arise from the HapMap study. We are also collaborating with the West African Bioethics Training
Program in their training programs for bioethicists in West Africa
by providing opportunities for students on the program to conduct
studies and practicum in the community and within the CAG |
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