ABSTRACT

Language is the most important means of communication. For the white missionaries to propagate Christianity there was the need for a means of communication among the converts. Professor Bayo Lawal in his paper presentation at the opening ceremony of the conference yesterday told us about the importance of mother tongue in educating children in any society. According to him “introducing literacy in the mother tongue yields better results and there is increased language development”. Therefore, the early Christian missionaries whether foreign or indigenous saw the need to employ the use of indigenous language in the propagation of Christian mission in the nineteenth century and beyond in Yorubaland. The objective of this chapter is to examine the importance of Yoruba language in the spread of Christianity in the geographical region referred to as Yorubaland. It explores the how the Christian missionaries were able to make use of Yoruba language in the production of Hymnal books, prayer books, poetry, prose, and dram among others in the propagation of Christianity in Yorubaland.