Advertise on podcast: Yoruba Proverbs with Bidemi Ologunde

In this episode, host Bidemi Ologunde follows the Yoruba language across continents: from Nigeria to Brazil, Cuba, the Caribbean, the U.K., and the U.S., and asks what happens when AI enters the story circle. Can a “virtual council of elders” help preserve òwe (proverbs), tone, and tradition in diaspora homes? What do we gain when technology records folktales, builds Yoruba chatbots, and supports heritage learners? What might we lose if screens replace living mentorship? How can families use AI to strengthen intergenerational transmission instead of outsourcing it? And what can Yoruba learn from other global languages working to survive and thrive in the digital age? Support the show

In this episode, host Bidemi Ologunde traces how Yoruba cosmology understands contact with “sky beings”—from Ọ̀run and Ayé, Odùduwà’s chain, Ọ̀ṣun’s skyward journey, and Ṣàngó’s thunderstones to folk accounts of night-flying àjẹ́—then connects those themes to contemporary UFO/alien talk. He explores how these ideas traveled through the Atlantic slave trade and live on in the diaspora (Cuba’s Lukumí/Santería, Brazil’s Candomblé, in Haiti, Trinidad, and beyond), including spiritist currents that speak of otherworldly guides. Along the way, Bidemi highlights how Ifá verses, proverbs, and Egúngún traditions frame “visitation” as ancestral or divine rather than extraterrestrial—and how modern Yoruba communities sometimes bridge both lenses. A concise, story-rich look at continuity, adaptation, and why Yoruba thought treats the boundary between worlds as porous. Support the show

In this episode, host Bidemi Ologunde analyzed five Yoruba proverbs. Support the show

In this episode, host Bidemi Ologunde analyzed five Yoruba proverbs. Support the show

In this episode, host Bidemi Ologunde analyzed five Yoruba proverbs. Support the show

In this episode, host Bidemi Ologunde analyzed five Yoruba proverbs. Support the show

In this episode, host Bidemi Ologunde analyzed the following Yoruba proverbs: ó di ojó alé k’ábuké tó mò pé iké kì í somo. O kò mo èwà lónje à-je-sùn. ò nje àgbònrín èsín lóbè, o ní o ti tó tán.O ru ládugbó ò nrerá; kí ni ká so féni tó ru òrìsà-a Yemoja?Support the show

In this episode, host Bidemi Ologunde analyzed the following Yoruba proverbs: Nígbàtí à nto okà a ò to ti emó si. Nígbàtí o mò-ó gùn, esin e-e se sé orókún?Nígbàwo làpò ekùn-ún di ìkálá fómode? ó bó lówó iyò, ó dòbu. O dájú dánu, o ò mo èsán mèsán-án. Support the show

In this episode, host Bidemi Ologunde analyzed the following Yoruba proverbs: “Mo mòwòn ara-à mi” kì í sèrèké èébú. “Mo yó” njé “mo yó,” “mo kò” njé “mo kò;” jeun nisó, àgbà òkánjúwà ni.Ng ó gba owó-ò mi lára sòkòtò yìí; ìdí àgbàlagbà nsí sílè. Nlánlá lomo abuké ndá; ó ní “ìyá ìyá, òun ó pòn.” Níbo lo forúko sí tí ò njé Làmbòròkí? For questions, comments, or suggestions, please contact the host/producer, Bidemi Ologunde, by email [email protected] or on WhatsApp +1-702-983-0499. Support the show

In this episode, host Bidemi Ologunde analyzed the following Yoruba proverbs: “Mo gbón tán, mo mòràn tán,” kì í jé k í agbón lóró bí oyin. “Mo mò-ó gùn” lesin ndà.“Mo mò-ó gún, mo mò-ó tè,” niyán ewùrà-á fi nlémo. Mo mò-ó tán,” l’Orò-ó fi ngbé okùnrin. Mo m’òbàrà mo m’òfún,” kì í jé kí àwòko kó òpéèré nífa. For questions, comments, or suggestions, please contact the host/producer, Bidemi Ologunde, by email [email protected] or on WhatsApp +1-702-983-0499. Support the show

In this episode, host Bidemi Ologunde analyzed the following Yoruba proverbs: Mànàmáná ò séé sun isu.“Bí mbá wà l’óyòó mà ti so esin;” àgùntàn-an rè á níye nílèyí. Mélòó l’èjìgbò tí òkan è njé Ayé-gbogbo? Mo dàgbà mo dàgó, eré omodé ò tán lójúù mi.“Mo dára, mo dára,” àìdára ní npèkun è. For questions, comments, or suggestions, please contact the host/producer, Bidemi Ologunde, by email [email protected] or on WhatsApp +1-702-983-0499. Support the show

In this episode, host Bidemi Ologunde analyzed the following Yoruba proverbs: Lásán kó là n dé etù; ó ní eni tórí è mbá etù mu. Lékèélékèé ò yé eyin dúdú; funfun ni wón nyé eyin won. Má tèé lówó oníle, má tèé lówó àlejò; lówó ara eni la ti nté. Màlúù ò lè lérí níwájú esin.Láká-nláká ò séé fi làjà; omo eégún ò séé gbé seré.For questions, comments, or suggestions, please contact the host/producer, Bidemi Ologunde, by email [email protected] or on WhatsApp +1-702-983-0499. Support the show

In this episode, host Bidemi Ologunde analyzed the following Yoruba proverbs: Kò-sí-nílé kì í jagun enu tì. Kó-tán-kó-tán lajá nlá omi. Labalábá fi ara è wéye, kò lè se ìse eye. Lágbájá ìbá wà a di ìjímèrè; eni tó bá níwájú di oloyo?  Láká-nláká ò séé fi làjà; omo eégún ò séé gbé seré.For questions, comments, or suggestions, please contact the host/producer, Bidemi Ologunde, by email [email protected] or on WhatsApp +1-702-983-0499. Support the show

In this episode, host Bidemi Ologunde analyzed the following Yoruba proverbs: Kíjìpá laso òle; òfì laso àgbà; àgbà tí ò ní tòfì a rójú ra kíjìpá.Kò rà, kò lówó lówó, ó nwú tutu níwájú onítumpulu. Kò séni tó dùn mó, àforí eni.  Kò sí mi lájo àjo ò kún: ara è ló tàn je.  Kò sí ohun tí Sàngó lè se kó jà léèrùn. For questions, comments, or suggestions, please contact the host/producer, Bidemi Ologunde, by email [email protected] or on WhatsApp +1-702-983-0499. Support the show

In this episode, host Bidemi Ologunde analyzed the following Yoruba proverbs: Kí ni ìbá mú igúnugún dé òdò-o onídìrí? Kí ni ó ya àpón lórí tó fisu síná tó nsúfèé pé “bí a ti nse ni inú mbí won?” Kí ni onígbá nse tí aláwo ò lè se? Kí ni orí nse tí èjìká ò lè se? èjìká ru erù ó gba òódúnrún; orí ta tiè ní ogúnlúgba. Kí ni wón ti nse àmódù ní ìlorin? Ewúré njé béè.For questions, comments, or suggestions, please contact the host/producer, Bidemi Ologunde, by email [email protected] or on WhatsApp +1-702-983-0499. Support the show