Beaufort County · Marker 07-69
Oyotunji Village
Bryant Ln. and U.S. Hwy. 17/21, Sheldon
Front inscription
In 1970, members of the N.Y. Yoruba Temple arrived in Beaufort Co. to found an “African Village” centered on traditional Yoruba religion and culture. Influenced by Black Nationalist thought, they rented lots at two other sites before establishing Oyotunji Village on a 9-acre parcel here in 1972. Its name refers to the West African empire and is Yoruba for “Oyo again awakes.”
Reverse inscription
Villagers were part of a Yoruba movement known as Orisha-Vodun, the lead founder of which was Oba (King) Efuntola Oseijeman Adelabu Adefunmi I (1928-2005), born Walter Eugene King in Detroit. Here they built temples, shrines, homes, a school, museum, and bazaar. A national center for Yoruba culture, Oyotunji was home to as many as as 150-200 people by the early 1980s.