In the first part of the thesis, the author starts with a description of the social setting and the nature of Yoruba ijala. Then he makes a quick survey of the constituent elements of the content of Yoruba ijala, and, after expounding the characteristics of both the inner and the outer form of ijala [which lead him to conclude that ijala is a type of oral poetry with a metrical scheme] he records the standards by which ijala-composition and ijala-performance are respectively judged. In the second part of the thesis, the author gives, with English translations and explanatory notes, representative examples of ijala, arranged in classes.