The In-Between · 11 July 2026

He invented 'Yoruba' then smashed its gods

Yorùbá — History, Identity & the In-Between

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Season One · 2026

He invented 'Yoruba' then smashed its gods

Samuel Ajayi Crowther: The Most Complicated Man in Yoruba History

Around 1809, a boy was born in Osogun, Yorubaland.

His name was Ajayi. History remembers him as Samuel Ajayi Crowther: enslaved at twelve, freed by the Royal Navy, and the man who became the first African Anglican bishop. He wrote the first grammar of the Yoruba language, translated the Bible into Yoruba, and — through that translation — helped invent the very idea of a single "Yoruba" people out of the Oyo, Egba, Ijebu, and Ekiti. He also entered sacred shrines and destroyed Yoruba carvings with his own hands.

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