Between Àwòrán, Awòran and Ìwòran: The Perceived, the Perceiver and the Process of Perception : Yoruba Aesthetic Concepts as a Paradigm for Living
Nyansapo f rom The African Gourmet The Meaning of this Work, its Sources and Inspiration Thisis a construction of a vision of human development from Yoruba aesthetic ideas. These ideas are distilled from the writings of Babatunde Lawal and Craig Fashoro, organized in relation to Ọlabiyi Babalola Yai ’s interpretation of Yoruba aesthetic concepts. This is done through quotations from Yai’s essays, interspersed with quotations from Lawal’s and Fashoro’s works, contextualized by my own reframing of the significance of those quotations. My comments are placed in square brackets. Quotations from Yai are unmarked. Quotations from Lawal, on the significance of the Yoruba aesthetic concepts àwòrán and awòran, are indicated by quotation marks. Those by Fashoro on the Yoruba aesthetic term ere are also identified through quotation marks. These quotes are at times edited for brevity. My evocations of the kola nut