oriki

Oriki is a traditional Yoruba form of praise poetry used to honor individuals, families, places, and deities. The term conveys praise and reverence, and oriki is typically delivered by specialized praise singers or poets in recitative or chant-like style, often in a social or ritual setting.

The content of oriki relies on genealogies, notable deeds, virtues, lineage, and connections to ancestors, kings, and Orishas. It employs metaphor, allusion, and vivid imagery to frame the subject within a wider ethical and historical context. Oriki can assert status, moral qualities, and capabilities, and it often links the person or group to revered ancestors or divine powers. The performance may include refrains, epithets, and ritual invocations, serving both as entertainment and as a mnemonic device for communal memory.

Oriki is performed during a range of ceremonies, including births, naming ceremonies, introductions, festivals, weddings, funerals, and other public events. It functions as a means of identity formation, social validation, and cultural continuity, reinforcing networks of kinship and community. Acoustic elements commonly accompany the recitation, such as drums (including talking drums), clapping, and other percussion, with the voice delivering the primary charge of praise.

While oral by tradition, oriki has also been recorded, published in anthologies, and adapted into modern poetry and music. It is most closely associated with Yoruba-speaking regions of southwestern Nigeria but has variants across neighboring West African communities and the Yoruba-speaking diaspora. Oriki remains a living practice that contributes to personal dignity, communal memory, and cultural expression.