Ìran Yorùbá - the people
The Yorùbá are one of the largest ethnic groups in Africa. The people are indigenous to parts of West Africa - the majority are found in modern day south-west Nigeria with much smaller populations found in Benin, and Togo. The current population of the yoruba people is estimated to be between 30 to 50 million worldwide. Historically the Yoruba people existed in a number of city-states that claim a shared ancestry from Ile-Ife - a city in Yoruba Land where it is believed that all life originated. These various city-states speak dialects of the Yoruba language.
Ede Yorùbá - the language
The Yoruba Language, or a dialect thereof, is spoken by a majority of the Yoruba people. Outside of West Africa, thanks to colonization and slave trade, the language and derivatives of the language is spoken in parts of Brazil, Cuba, Sierra Leone, and the Caribbean.
The Yoruba culture was based on an oral tradition and it wasn't until the 17th century that a form of Arabic known as Ajami was first used to write the language. The modern day orthography of the Yoruba Language in Nigeria was codified in 1966 and is largely based on the earlier work of the Church Mission Society and Bishop Ajayi Crowther. In Benin Republic, the Yoruba alphabet was standardized along other Beninois languages - it uses a turned letter c i.e. ɔ for the open-o sound and epsilon, Ɛ, in place of the ẹ used in the nigerian alphabet.