Yoruba is a language spoken in West Africa, primarily in Southwestern Nigeria. In the Yoruba tradition, respect, language, and greetings are of great value to the indigenous people.
Respect is an important tradition of the Yoruba, it is a symbol of peace and orderliness. It is a mannerism that the elders do not joke with. Language is also a way of showing respect. Honorific language is used amongst the Yoruba. It is a tradition to accord respect to the older ones, you do not use the pronoun "you", instead, when referring to an older person, Yoruba uses the alphabet 'e' as in the phonetic sound of the first letter in egg and the alphabet "o" in open is used amongst peers. Irrespective of your age, you will be accorded your respect.
Greetings are also one of the traditions, it is one of the values that young people imbibe while growing up. Males prostrate with their full chest touching the ground, while females go down on both knees touching the ground. If you are caught bowing instead of observing this appropriate greeting, you will be termed as being disrespectful. The older one might tell you that "obaje" you are a spoilt brat, or if such people are close to the older ones, he or she might receive"ìgbajú"- slap, or "ìkó"- knock on the head.
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Also, greetings in Yoruba vary, depends on what occasion or time. Good morning is " ekaaro", good afternoon "ekasan", good evening "eku irole or ekale", good night " odaaro", well-done"eku ise", welcome "ekaabo", sorry e pele" and so on. The language being used is very important.
Another aspect of being respectful is offering a seat to the older ones. When the younger one is found seated and there is no vacant space for the older person, the younger one has to stand for such person to seat.
It is noteworthy that offering a visitor water is also one of their traditions. Whenever anyone visits, the first thing they do is to offer the visitor "omi tutu"- chilled water. It is a symbol of care.
One can see how significant these values are in Yoruba land.
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