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SLAVERY AND HUMAN SACRIFICE IN YORUBALAND: ONDO, c. 1870–94

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 December 2005

OLATUNJI OJO
OLATUNJI OJO
Affiliation:
Ohio University, Athens
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Abstract

This article, focusing on the operation and abolition of human sacrifice in eastern Yorubaland, examines a key aspect of the dialogue and conflict between Yoruba chiefs and their opponents – slaves, Christians and British colonialists – during the late nineteenth century. The exchange reflected the position of human sacrifice in the consolidation of economic inequalities and socio-cultural privileges. The article examines this controversy in the context of the broader changes of the era, including the ending of the Yoruba wars and the approach of colonial rule. It analyses the interaction of external and internal forces that produced the eventual demise of human sacrifice.

Keywords

Nigeriaprecolonialkingdoms and statesreligionslaveryhuman sacrificeimperialism
Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of African History , Volume 46 , Issue 3 , November 2005 , pp. 379 - 404
Copyright
2005 Cambridge University Press

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Footnotes

I am grateful to Paul Lovejoy, Mariza Soares, Elisee Soumonni and this journal's anonymous readers for their insightful comments on this paper.