Yoruba Roots in Brazil: The Forgotten Story of the Magi People

-

    By Victor Olubiye

The term "Nago" or "Anago" refers to Yoruba-speaking individuals, particularly from the ancient kingdom of Ketu, as identified by Fon-speaking communities. During the transatlantic slave trade, this label followed the Yoruba people to Brazil, where they became a pivotal force in shaping Afro-Brazilian culture.


By the 1880s, as the slave trade neared its end, the Nagos were the largest African group transported to Brazil. Alongside other Yoruba people, they played vital roles in:


- Shaping Afro-Brazilian culture

- Influencing religious practices, such as Candomblé

- Fueling resistance movements



The above image is A rare 1869 portrait of a Nago albino black slave in Pernambuco, Brazil, offers a poignant glimpse into their lives. Captured by German-born photographer Alberto Henschel, this image is part of a collection documenting Africa's presence in Brazil, serving as a powerful reminder of the slave trade's enduring legacy in the Americas.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW: After 10 Months in Darkness, Koboro and Abule Owu Communities Set for Electricity Restoration

-
Image
Night view of one of the affected communities showing the prolonged darkness experienced by residents during the 10-month power outage By Victor Olubiye Residents of Koboro Town and Abule Owu Town, neighbouring communities situated along Onigbedu Road, Itori in Ewekoro Local Government Area, are preparing for the restoration of electricity after spending about 10 months without power, following the successful acquisition of a new transformer through community efforts and private support. The General Coordinator for the Electricity/Transformer Project, Prince Adedayo Shodipo, disclosed this while speaking with Victor Olubiye, Editor-in-Chief of The Creativity Site, who anchored the exclusive interview. Prince Shodipo explained that the previous transformer became faulty due to overpopulation and excessive load, as more than three towns depended on it before it eventually broke down, leaving residents in prolonged darkness. According to him, the power outage severely affected economic an...
Read more

The Creativity Site @ 1: How Olubiye Victor Segun Turned a Classroom Assignment into a Grassroots Media Voice

-
Image
By Deborah Awe When a Mass Communication lecturer at Osun State Polytechnic, Iree, asked her students to create a Blogspot site using their phones, she probably did not imagine that one of those assignments would become a functioning digital newsroom one year later. For Olubiye Victor Segun (Oluvickky), CEO of Oluvickky Creative Place, that moment was not just an assignment; it was destiny. “I had always wanted to be a digital journalist and media publisher,” he recalls. “So when I created the Blogspot site, I saw it as a dream coming true.” From sharing posts in WhatsApp groups to migrating to WordPress on a friend’s advice, the platform evolved organically. Blogspot became the home of feature stories, while WordPress was dedicated to news reporting. With no budget for promotions, Olubiye relied on his professional social media management skills to push the platform’s Facebook page to over 3,000 followers and more than 2,000 weekly engagements. From Student Voice to Grassroots Journal...
Read more

The Ogun River (Odo Ogun)

-
Image
    By Victor Olubiye   The Ogun River (Yoruba: Odò Ògùn) is a waterway in Nigeria that discharges into the Lagos Lagoon. Ogun State of Nigeria is named after the river.    The river rises near the towns of Sepeteri and Shaki in upper Oyo State at coordinates 8°41′0″N 3°28′0″E and flows through the rest of the state into Ogun State and eventually into Lagos State where it discharges into the Lagos lagoon at the towns of Isheri and Owode onirin. The river is crossed by the Ikere Gorge Dam in the Iseyin local government area of Oyo State. The reservoir capacity is 690 million cubic metres (560,000 acre⋅ft). The reservoir abuts the Old Oyo National Park, providing recreational facilities for tourists, and the river flows through the park. The Ofiki River, which also rises near Shaki, is one of the Ogun River's chief tributary. The Oyan River, another tributary, is crossed by the Oyan River Dam which supplies water to Abeokuta and Lagos. In densely populated areas t...
Read more

EXCLUSIVE: Week of Turmoil — Kebbi Schoolgirls Abducted, Kwara Church Attacked, Kanu Jailed for Life

-
Image
By Victor Olubiye Symbolic representation of Nigeria in crisis, amid abductions, attacks, and rising insecurity. Credit: Public Domain Nigeria is reeling from a wave of crises that together expose the fragility of its security, politics, and international standing. Twenty-five schoolgirls were abducted from a boarding school in Kebbi State in a pre‑dawn raid. In Kwara State, armed bandits fired into a church during evening service, killed several people, and carried off dozens of worshippers. In Abuja, Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment on terrorism charges. All this is unfolding against a backdrop of earlier, sharp international pressure — including a warning from U.S. President Donald J. Trump, who last month threatened military intervention in Nigeria if Christians continue to be attacked. In the early hours of Monday, November 17, gunmen on motorcycles overran the Government Girls Comprehensive ...
Read more

DOCUMENTARY: A Founder Of Kambole Town In Togo Was A Hunter From Ile-Ife

-
Image
 By Victor Olubiye Kambolé (also called Camboli or Kaboli) is a historic town in Tchamba Prefecture, about 90 km east of Sokodé in central Togo. With a population of around 50,000, it is known today as a key trading hub for nearby farming communities. The people speak Ede Nago, a dialect of the Manigri-Kambolé variety. The origins of Kambolé trace back to between the 14th and 17th centuries when a renowned hunter from Ilé-Ifẹ̀, known as Ọ̀dẹ Amọn, left Nigeria in search of safer lands due to unrest back home. A direct descendant of Odùduwà, Ọ̀dẹ Amọn’s name means "the famous or well-known hunter" in Yoruba. His journey took him through places like Idjiho in Nigeria, Savè and Igbomakoh in what is now Benin Republic, moving alongside the Ouémé River. He and his companions eventually settled temporarily in Katankou. One day during a hunting expedition in the forests of Katankou, he discovered a beautiful clearing and named it Òkè Gengele ("Hill" in Yoruba). Venturing f...
Read more

PROFILE: Fela Sowande: Father of Nigerian Classical Music

-
Image
 By Victor Olubiye Born on May 29, 1905, in Abeokuta, Olufela Obafunmilayo Sowande grew into one of the most influential African composers of the 20th century. Trained in both African and European musical traditions, Sowande masterfully fused Yoruba folk melodies, Christian hymns, and Western classical music into rich, original compositions that earned him international acclaim. Educated at the University of London, Sowande became a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists and worked as an organist in several London churches. He also performed as a jazz musician to support himself during school, playing with notable bands in the UK during the 1930s. In 1944, he composed his most recognized piece, the African Suite for string orchestra, broadcast by the BBC. It showcased African themes in a Western orchestral setting, helping to define a new genre known as African art music. Other major works include Folk Symphony (1960), Six Sketches, and various pieces for organ, like Yoruba Lamen...
Read more

PROFILE: GBENGA ADEBOYE

-
Image
 By Victor Olubiye Unarguably, Gbenga Adeboye still remains the most known and widely accepted radio broadcaster in Yoruba lands, even in death. The legend was born into a Christian family on 30th September 1959, at Ode Omu, Gbongan, Osun State, Nigeria. In some of his narratives that serve as his authobiography he narrated how he had knowledge of both Islamic and Traditional religions. And this is evident in his records. Describing himself, he said that he was a man who chose to combine the three religions, i.e Islam, Christianity and Traditional together so that he would be accord special recognition in Heaven. No need for explanation as he was a man who quoted Al-Qur'an, Bible, and Oracle verses with precision, exactness, and correctness. His birth by a church general overseer regardless, it was believed that these quotations earned him the 3-1 nickname Alhaji, Pastor, Oluwo. Late Adeboye first worked as a freelance radio presenter for Radio Lagos where he used to anchor a very ...
Read more