Facts on Yorubas Incorrectly Cited

While it is certainly regrettable that several thousand dollars worth of Yoruba objects were taken from the Peabody Museum last week it is equally regrettable that no one bothered to verify the most basic of facts in Victor T. Chen's story ("African Artifacts Stolen from Peabody Museum," news story, Apr. 26, 1995). The Yoruba students who were in my African Art sections (Literature and Arts B-27) last semester may be more than a bit surprised to find that they "once lived in what is now Liberia and Nigeria. "First, the Yoruba continue to live in Nigeria, and from all accounts, the culture is showing no signs of extinction. Second, the Yoruba never lived in Liberia, and if one were so bold as to check a map of the Africa Continent, one would find that these two countries are separated by four others--Cote D'Ivoire, Ghana, Togo and the Republic of Benin--and more than 1,000 miles. As far as we know, no single Sub-Saharan African culture ever covered so vast an area. I will, however, admit that 'Liberia' at least sounds similar to 'Nigeria.'

Although I have no expectation that anyone at The Crimson would have known these basic facts, I do expect that you, as responsible journalists, would do your homework. Steven Nelson   GSAS