Yoruba Iconoclasm

Yoruba Iconoclasm began in the 20th century. In the Yoruba context, objects are usually destroyed for religious reasons, with the widespread adoption of Christianity by Yoruba people after British colonization in the 1900s leading to the notion that native Yoruba artworks are icons that need to be destroyed. In recent times, this view of traditional Yoruba art as icons to be destroyed is being challenged and many efforts to preserve Yoruba art and heritage have been undertaken by activists.