Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, is well-known for its numerous tribes and ethnic groups. Yoruba people, one of Nigeria’s biggest ethnic communities, have developed a variety of different handicraft products including pottery, weaving, beadwork, metalwork, and mask making.
Some traditional dresses of Yoruba people are Buba, Elemu Sokoto, Siki, Agbada, and Sapara. There are many of them. These are the names given to them without any specific reason known or taught by anybody.
One can individually get meaning for each by its appearance or the occasion or even pronunciation. For example, “agbada”, a very big dress, is meant for old people and a great occasion.
Siki is short sleeve and smart. Some Agbadas are made from linen. The most popular color of this Agbadas is white as it is found on most people.
Agbada can be worn during weddings or big events. For example, if it’s a wedding, where there are usually 2 families, the grooms, and the brides. The groom’s side will pick a gold color, and the bride’s side will pick purple. So when you see someone in purple or gold, you will know which side they are from.
For guys, I think it’s Buba. The most important part is the top. Most of the time, guys will wear jeans and just the Buba. It is about the normal shirt’s length, just a bit below the waist.
For women, everything is important. But the waist beads are very interesting. The Yorubas in West Africa are known to have the most varied and peculiar reasons for using waist beads. Yoruba waist beads are also called Ileke, Jigida, and Lagidigba.
They are worn mainly by females, from the littlest to the oldest. These beads are made from small pieces of glass, nuts, wood, or metal which are pierced, strung, and threaded together.
These beads come in varying degrees of color, length, and even quality. These beads have many meanings, and all the reasons Yoruba wear waist beads are unique. First of all, of course, is for decoration.
Secondly, waist beads can be a symbol of love. They are given to women as a token of love from a suitor, a husband, or a family. Parents can gift waist beads to their daughters to demonstrate the love and affection they have for them.
Waist beads can also be used to attract the opposite gender or served as spiritual protection. There are meanings at which these dresses define a family. If you are the King or the Queen, maybe you’ll have some special beads. If not, everybody is the same, no matter what you wear.
For example, in the name Aso Ebi, Aso means “clothes”, and Ebi means “family”. The idea of “Aso Ebi” is that the dress makes everybody feels like one family.
