Yoruba religion
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The Yorùbá religion comprises religious beliefs and practices of the Yoruba people of old before the Yoruba community encountered Islam, Christianity and other faiths. It originated from Africa (chiefly in Nigeria and Benin), and in the New World, where it has influenced or given birth to several Afro-American religions such as Lucumí in Cuba and Umbanda and Candomblé in Brazil in addition to the transplantation of the homeland religions.
Yoruba religious beliefs are part of itan — the complex of songs, histories, stories and other cultural concepts which make up the Yorùbá religion and society.
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Yorùbá in brief
It is in Yorùbá philosophy the indication that all humans have Ayanmo (manifest destiny) to become one in spirit with Olódùmarè (Olòrún, the divine creator and source of all energy). Each person in Ayé (the physical realm) uses thought or action energies to impact the community of all other living things including the Earth, and so to move towards destiny. As such, one's destiny is in one's hands. To attain transcendence and destiny in Òrún-Réré (spiritual realm of those who do good and beneficial things), one's Orí-Inu (spiritual consciousness in the physical realm) must be elevated to unify with one's Iponri (Orí Òrún). Those who stop improving are destined for Òrún-Apadi (spiritual realm of the forsaken). Life and death are cycles of habitation in physical body and spiritual realms while one's spirit evolves toward transcendence. This evolution is most advanced in Irùnmolẹ (oní irun, of the unique hair that distinguishes humans from beasts; imo, enlightened of destiny, ilẹ on the land)
For most people, iwapẹlẹ (well-balanced), meditation and sincere veneration sufficiently strengthen one's Orí-Inu. Being well-balanced, it is believed, that you are in prime position to make positive use of the simplest form of connection between eniyan and Olu-Òrún in the form of adúra (petition;prayer) for divine support.
Some feel it also binding to make a petition or prayer to one's Orí Òrún as it is said to yield quick and decisive pockets of joy. Ẹlégbara (Eṣu, the divine messenger) who, without distortion or partiality for good or for bad, negotiates communication to Òrún and navigates them to Ayé; deliverer of àṣẹ. It is thought that Ifá is called upon whilst in times of major decision making; whatever the 'offering'; the line of advice is commonly used to draw conclusions that would not have been first thought. Call Orunmila,Ifa; or try vice-versa; it is said that all communication with Òrún is energized by invoking àṣẹ.
In the Yoruba Theogany, Olódùmarè has àṣẹ over all.
Deities and other entities
Yòrùbá Orishas, literally, owners of heads, are the means to get into contact with the supernatural. The term is often translated as deities[1].
Olódùmarè
Olódùmarè is the most important entity. Olódùmarè is so important, that there can be no gender assigned, for Olódùmarè is seen mostly as a spirit. Olódùmarè is therefore more correctly referred to as an IT. IT is the owner of all heads, for during human creation, Olódùmarè gave the emi, or breath of life to humans. To the Yorubas, Olódùmarè is Supreme. If there was a conflict among the other Orishas IT would take over and the fight would end.
Irunmole
The irunmole were spirits sent by Olodumare to complete various tasks, often between Orun (the invisible realm) and Aiye (the physical realm). Some were acknowledged as Orisha for their accomplishments. The orishas help to create and maintain order on earth. (see Orisha article)
Other concepts
Ifá dafa as well as merindinlogun or (cowrie shell divination) are important element of Yòrùbá religious practices.
- Eledua is Olodumare the Pantheon of the - Yoruba theogany: In this,Olodumare is the supreme being;creator of night and day; the final recipient of all creation
'Emere' as well as 'akuda' is another manifestation of the yoruba belief in reincarnation is the belief in the emere.
Àjòdún / Festivals
Reincarnation
The Yoruba believe in reincarnation, similar to the Indian dharma and karma. They sometimes name children Babatunde ("Father returns") and Yetunde ("Mother returns") to signal this belief.[2]
Yoruba religion in the New World
Many ethnic Yoruba were taken as slaves to Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Venezuela and the rest of the New World (chiefly in the 19th century, after the Ọyọ empire collapsed and the region plunged into civil war), and carried their religious beliefs with them. These concepts were combined with preexisting African-based cults, Christianity, Native American mythology, and Kardecist Spiritism into various New World lineages:
Cultural impact in the United States
In addition, author Ed Morales has claimed that Yoruba religious beliefs and traditions played a part in early American blues music, citing blues guitarist Robert Johnson's Cross Road Blues as a "thinly veiled reference to Eleggua, the orisha in charge of the crossroads."
Relationship with Vodou
The popularly known Vodou religion of Haiti was founded by slaves from a different ethnic group (the Gba speaking peoples of modern day Benin, Togo and Ghana), but shares many elements with the Yoruba-derived religions above.
See also
Notes
- ^ Cf.The Concept of God: The People of Yoruba for the acceptability of the translation
- ^ Murphy, Joseph. Santería. Malaysia: Beacon Press, 1993.
- The yorubas strongly believe in reincarnation. They believe that when everyone on Earth dies, they come back again, sometimes through their grandchildren which causes the name "Babatunde-the father has come back again", "Babajide- the father has woken up again", "Iyabo-the mother comes", and "Yetunde/Yewande-the mother comes back again", and so on, especially when the new child resembles an old relative.
Other references
- Morales, Ed (2003). The Latin Beat. Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-81018-2., pg. 177
- Miguel A. De La Torre, Santería: The Beliefs and Rituals of a Growing Religion in America, 2004, ISBN 0-8028-4973-3.
- Chief S. Solagbade Popoola, Ikunle Abiyamo: The ASE of Motherhood 2007. Asefin Media Publication
- Chief Solagbade Popoola Foundation Ifa Dida Volume One of Seventeen ISBN 978-0-9810013-1-9 Asefin Media LLP 2008
Ase Magazine titles: Olodumare, Irunmole, Irunmole Faithfuls, Obatala, Ogun, Yemoja, Esu, Orunmila, Osun, etc. Ibile Faith Society. (Nigeria/Germany) www.yorubareligion.org
External links
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