Lagos

In the olden days, among the Y oruba, an enterprising hunter would lead his friends and relatives to a suitable place, a clearing in the forest, and there the foundations of a new town were laid. They hunted animals for food and farmed nearby, bringing the products of their hunt and of their farms to the markets which they had established in front of the house of their chief, the hunter-leader. The products were first exchanged by barter. Later, as they made contact with the outside world, they adopted cowrie shells as currency and eventually entered the cash economy. The men hunted, farmed or fished according to the location of the town; the women assisted on the farms and traded in the markets. In their leisure they provided entertainment for themselves through their religious festivals which featured masquerades and dancing and re-enactments of historical events: their art provided the masks and carvings of ancestors which were prominent in the polytheistic religion and ancestor-worship. Their learning was essentially oral and remembered and so an elaborate tradition of oral literature was built up in praise poems, folklore, proverbs and wise sayings. The business of traditional education was how to impart all this to the young: how to ensure the continuity of the farming or fishing communities based on the small market towns.