“Owe l’eshin oro, oro l’eshin
owe. Bi oro ba sonu, owe ni ao fi wa- proverb is the rhetorical horse upon
which words travel, and if there is a lost of meaning to a word, its through
proverbs we will get it.”------------------Yoruba Proverb.
INTRODUCTION
Language is a system of
communication or medium of interaction within a community or a particular group
of people with the use of words or related means.
Yoruba Language is one of the
endangered languages as postulated by UNESCO, which are likely to go the way of
Latin, Aramaic and co. The situation is getting worse on a daily basis, not
because of lack of its usage by its native speakers alone, but the meaning of
its words, terms and concepts are being eroded by the over-bearing influence of
foreign Languages i.e English Language in particular.
The over-bearing influence of
English-Language and its sub-standard called pidgin English is affecting
people’s understanding of Yoruba Language terms, in which “OKO” is a very
important element. This lost of meaning and usage is what the writer intends to
address within the limit of his understanding.
“OKO” AND THE POPULAR OPINION
Generally speaking, the popular
mindsets of many Yoruba and lovers of Yoruba-Language the world over, is that
the concept “OKO” means Farm. This particular view was corroborated by a
Dictionary of Yoruba Language (2009), when it asserts that
‘OKO’ is “a farm, plantation.”
This definition of “OKO” as a
farm or plantation might seems correct, but not absolutely, due to the
realities of its usage in Yoruba-Language, and in IFA- the encyclopedia of
Yoruba body of knowledge.
THE REALITIES OF A CONCEPT “OKO”
The meaning and traditional usage
of ‘OKO’ in IFA corpus goes beyond the dictionary meaning and the popular
opinion. In the ancient time, Yoruba uses ‘OKO’ not only to mean farm, but a
place where one can put down money, time, seed or any other things to get
something he or she desires. In different verses of IFA, a prospective client
would be said to have get one or two things together, and go to “OKO ALAWO”.
The said ‘OKO ALAWO’ used in IFA is not a farm, but house of an IFA priest,
because it requires putting down money just as one will plant a seed in the
farm to get the necessary information from the priest. It is important we know
that “OKO OWO” is the basis of Yoruba concept of “OKOWO” which means act of
trading in a particular place, while some people can venture in what the Yoruba
sees as “OKO AGBARO”-this does not mean one is cutting grass for people that
wants to cultivate, but normally goes out to where he or she can help people to
cut grasses for whatever reasons. It should be noted that in the ancient time,
people also engage in dry cleaning services, that they normally do at the bank
of a stream or river within the community, which is called “OKO AGBAFO”.
CONCLUSION
The understanding of a usage of a
language terms and concept determines the proficiency of the speakers, and the
sustainability of the Language in the committee of Languages. Having,
critically examined the usage of the concept “oko”, it’s of the view of the
writer that the potential readers and native speakers will see the meaning of the
term or concept beyond the popular opinion or usage.
Kareem Yusuf Adetola
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