Early Travel Accounts Relating to the Cultural Astronomy of the Yoruba

One century of archaeological research in the Yoruba-Edo region of Nigeria has seen the proliferation in scholarship regarding arts, rituals, politics, economy, and material cultures. New evidence of ancient sundials and other astronomical features and practices by the Yoruba provide an avenue to explore archaeoastronomy in the region. In this paper, I analyze European travel accounts from the 19^th century to the first decade of the 20^th century. I show how these documents can shed light on the recently discovered astronomically aligned objects in the region. This paper suggests that indigenous Yoruba peoples paid particular attention to the elements of the skyscape. It suggests that researchers should turn to early travel accounts, some of which provide details of seasons, time-reckoning, and festival cycles. They give insights into how indigenous peoples designed their calendars and organized their rituals and everyday life. I show the importance of early travel accounts in supporting astronomically oriented ethnographic and archaeological data, towards a better understanding of the past.