Abstract

Title-holding is an age long practice before the penetration of Islam in Egbaland an area predominantly inhabited by the Yoruba speaking people of Ogun State Nigeria The acceptance of Islam by the Egbas reformed to a large extent the socio-religious and cultural lives of the people The Yoruba traditional systems of marriage naming and burial rites were among others influenced and reformed by Islam However a good number of the Egbas like other Yoruba tribes which profess Islam still retain some of their cultural beliefs and traditions Consequently there was an infiltration of Yoruba tradition and culture on certain Islamic practices and rites such as marriage naming and funeral rites Such infiltration can also be noticed in title-holding among the people This paper therefore critically appraises the fusion of the Yoruba traditional elements to the Islamic practice of the title-holding among Egba Muslims The paper adopts the historical approach establishing the institutionalization of titleholding in Islam It then x-rays the practice of title-holding among the people The paper then considers the similarities between the Muslim titles and the traditional titles patterned along the traditional set up among the four sections of the people Realizing the fact that title-holding has become a firmly rooted institution among the Egba Muslims the paper offers a number of recommendations for the restructure of the institution for better administration of the people and further development of Islam in Egbaland in particular and Yorubaland in general