Yorùbá Children's Songs as Instruments of Cultural Transmission and Socialisation in Yorùbá Oral Tradition

Yorùbá children's songs form part of the Yorùbá oral tradition and are one of the earliest ways in which children are exposed to their language, culture, and social norms. Such songs are frequently heard in play, household, and communal contexts but serve a variety of functions that go beyond entertainment. While folktales, proverbs, praise poetry, and riddles have received significant scholarly interest in existing research on Yorùbá oral literature, children's songs have comparatively received little scholarly attention. The current research bridges this deficiency by conducting an intensive functionalist examination of Yorùbá children's songs as unique oral literature and highlighting how their linguistic, educative, social, and cultural functions aid in language acquisition, identity construction, indigenous knowledge dissemination, and cultural preservation among young ones both traditionally and in modern times. This study explores Yorùbá children's songs as a cultural resource for the development of language, morals, socialisation, and the passing of indigenous knowledge. The study is based on the Functionalist theory of oral literature that regards Oral Literature as the social institutions that play important roles in social education and culture. The data obtained were selectively drawn from Ọmọ Elédè Books 2 and 3; Aláwìíyé Ìwé Kejì and Táíwò àti Kẹ́hìndé Books 2 and 3, as well as relevant scholarly publications on Yorùbá oral literature. The study adopts a qualitative textual and cultural analysis to show that Yorùbá children's songs are informal teaching aids used to maintain indigenous knowledge, instill moral values, foster a sense of community, and assist children's cognitive, linguistic, emotional, and social development. The study concludes that although the children's songs of Yorùbá are affected by globalisation and digital media, their documentation, preservation, and incorporation in the educational context are important in sustaining Yorùbá cultural heritage.