The Yoruba people of Africa can track their origins as far back as the 9th century BC. By the 9th century AD the Yoruba population began to swell and began to slowly move and spread to what is today known as Yorubaland, located in Nigeria. This group of African peoples is still rich and ripe with cultural probity.

Of the many stories about the origins of life and the planet that are shared around the globe perhaps the most popular among the Yoruba people, and most widely circulated, is that of Oduduwa (translated to mean "the One"). Oduduwa was the founder of the Ife-Ife and was sent from the heavens to create life on Earth where others had failed before him. As the earth was made of water, he was given a rooster, a bag of sand, and a palm kernel. As Oduduwa climbed down from Heaven, he lost his grip on the sand and the rooster. As the sand filled in the sea, the rooster scratched at the land planting the palm kernel that grew into a tree with 16 limbs representing the 16 ancient kingdoms.

The Yoruba people today constitute nearly 21 million of the Nigerian population with over 30 million people spread throughout West Africa.

The religious system of beliefs of the Yoruba people are perhaps the most fascinating aspect of this group. With over 401 deities and a complex cosmology, Western scholars have compared them to Ancient Greeks.

Today, the Yoruba belief system has come to incorporate Christianity, but this absorption of Christian beliefs mixed with their own ancient beliefs is perhaps what makes this group so fascinating.

Want to learn more? There are several websites available with information about the belief structure of the Yoruba people as well as greater details about the many deities, current political system and more...Google "Yoruba".

Our Yoruba line of products are unfragranced and have been designed with a balanced blend of botanicals and natural oils. These products contain varying combinations of fairly traded organic shea butter, cocoa butter, primrose oil, hemp, and other nut and and fruit seed oils.

You'll find that many products in our Yoruba line may have a naturally occuring light nutty fragrance which is to be expected from some of the quality organic ingredients that they contain. Our Yoruba products contain No artificial fragrances or colors.