Clothing in Yoruba | Learn Yoruba
Channel: The Yoruba Educator (fka Tana Adu)
Date: 2022-07-14

Dressing is one of our eminent cultures in Yoruba land. We call it ÀṢÀ AṢỌ WÍWỌ̀.

This video labels different clothing types and what we call them in Yoruba. It is important to note that many of the clothes we wear today are influenced by civilisation. So, in Yoruba, if we don't have an original word or it, we substitute with a loan word or descriptive word formation.

BÙBÁ is our traditional blouse worn on wrapper. For the sake of generic name, we have chosen Ẹ̀WÙ to cover all kinds of tops ( blouse, shirt, tshirt, polo).

We did not use to have SKIRT. Hence, the loan word SÍKẸ̀Ẹ̀TÌ. The reason YẸ̀RÌ is used is to describe a flowing skirt. So, YẸ̀RÌ is better suited for flared skirts.

KABA covers all kinds of dresses. KABA GÍGÙN for long dress and KABA PENPE for minis. You can also call a flowing or flared dress GBÁRÌYẸ̀. It's an extended name from a type of male dàńsíkí.

TÒBÌ or YẸ̀RÌ is called WOMEN'S DRAWERS in English. It is a kind of knickers women wore under their garments. I believe (this is my assumption) that the name YẸ̀RÌ was transferred to mean skirt because the women in that age designed a voluminous underskirt.

BÀǸTẸ́ is originally loin cloth. It's meaning has now extended to cover APRON. After all, they are all tied around the waist.