Yoruba is allegedly one of the official languages in Brazil
The minister of culture in Brazil has declared that Yoruba will be recognized as one of their official languages and that African history will be incorporated into the school curriculum.
Brazil has gathered a significant number of Yoruba speakers and worshippers of Orisha.
The African slaves from the west brought their Yoruba faith with them when they arrived in Brazil.
This faith is known as Candomblé by Afro-Brazilians — a belief system that aims for harmony with the natural world. This cultural tradition and religion remain highly significant and led to the emergence of the Òrìsà-worshipping and Yoruba-speaking populace in Brazil.
At the AYO event last week, following a national gathering of African-Brazilian narrators, it was claimed that the Brazilian culture minister, Dr. Sérgio Sá Leitão, proclaimed that Yoruba has now become one of their official languages and that African History will be mandated as a subject in the primary and secondary school curriculum. However, the Brazilian Ministry of Culture has refuted this and will keep us informed on any future developments.
If this initiative is implemented, it will significantly assist in reconnecting Afro-Brazilians to their heritage and facilitate their understanding of the connection between contemporary Brazilian customs and Western Yoruba traditions.
For various reasons — the transatlantic slave trade, livestock herding, migration — small enclaves have emerged in different nations where some Nigerian dialects are indeed spoken. Brazil is not the sole nation that acknowledges Yoruba as an official language, apart from Nigeria. Beyond Nigeria, considerable Yoruba-speaking communities exist in Togo and the Benin Republic. Lesser populations can be found in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and other African nations. In these places, French serves as the lingua franca, but if you cannot communicate in it, Yoruba remains the next best alternative.
In Ghana, a burgeoning Hausa community is emerging, and in Equatorial Guinea, Igbo is recognized as a minority group with approximately 53,000 speakers.
