Oríkì and the making of an African sociologist: Akìw w (Ifá priest who recites Ifá divination texts profusely by rote like pouring rain)

Chief J.A. Ay rinde explains that 'all chiefs and prominent personalities have oríkì describing their character and achievements, which serve, as it were, as their "signature tunes" to announce their approach or presence', and indeed that 'no child is given a name without being given an oríkì, which is an important adjunct to any name ... ' The fact that Western academic traditions have not recognised the place of oríkì in the retrieval of the histories and accomplishments of Yorùbá intellectuals should not lead us to conclude that Yorùbá society thinks that they are anonymous. A Yorùbá òwe (dramatic figures of speech) points us in the right direction:|Ànkì í|Ànsà á|Ó ní òun ò m ni tókú|Ongb ´ 'ikú m ´rù| `pàgá|Abisutabíòdòdó|Alábà kà|Arokof ´y j '|O ní 'Àgb ` lókú ni tàbí `nájà?'|Translation:|We recite someone's oríkì|We intone his attributes|But an ignorant person says he does not know who has died.|He hears 'Death has taken a renowned man|A titled man|Whose-yams-spread-like-petals|Who-possesses-a-barn-of-corn|Whose-fields-are-a-bounty-for-birds,'|The [ignorant] person still asks 'Is the dead man a farmer or a trader?' (Owomoyela 2005 96)