INDIGENOUS STRATEGIES FOR MANAGING FAMILY AND COMMUNITY VIOLENCE IN YORUBALAND: LESSONS FROM HISTORICAL PEACE SYSTEMS

This article examines indigenous strategies for managing family and community violence among the Yoruba people of Oyo State, Nigeria, drawing critical lessons from historical peace systems for contemporary practice. Despite the persistence of domestic violence, marital disputes, elder abuse, and community conflicts in contemporary Yoruba communities, indigenous conflict resolution mechanisms continue to operate alongside formal legal structures, often with greater community acceptance and accessibility. Drawing upon oral traditions, archival materials, this study traces how pre-colonial conflict resolution institutions including lineage assemblies (idile), councils of elders (igbimo), quarter meetings (adúgbò), and gender-specific peace institutions developed philosophical foundations and procedural approaches specifically adapted to addressing violence within families and communities. The study also examines the colonial transformation legacies for conflict resolution and more importantly the role of women in conflict resolution though paradoxically, they were not really recognized by men The research finds that contemporary indigenous strategies remain shaped by historical principles of restorative justice (alááfíà), communal solidarity, and the reintegration of offenders, yet they operate within transformed contexts of urbanization, legal pluralism, and changing gender dynamics.