For example, ìjálá is acoustically open and intense, while ewì is spoken in a high-falsetto, wailing voice quality. According to Waterman, “The words that placate gods and drive kings to suicide [are] made more potent by the patterning of timbre, texture, pitch, and rhythm.”  According to Vidal, Yorùbás have oríkì for “almost everything .
For instance, ìjálá is a sound with open resonance and intensity, while ewì is spoken in a high-pitched, wailing voice. According to Waterman, the power of words that appease gods and incite kings to suicide is amplified by how they are structured in terms of timbre, texture, pitch, and rhythm.  According to Vidal, Yorùbás have oríkì for almost everything.