Religious Beliefs and Practices of the Yoruba

Several hundred religions in Africa

Yoruba society today = 10 million people◦ Has endured for over 100,000 years

The Yoruba live in the western regions of Central Africa◦ In Nigeria, Benin, and Togo

Socio-Historical Context

The Yoruba are not a unified nation but are a group with a common language and culture

Have preferred living in cities throughout their history

City of Ife = Center of Yoruba religion◦ Believed to be the place where the god

Orishna-nla first began to create the world

Socio-Historical Context

Yoruba COSMOLOGY: Reality Divided Into 2 Separate Worlds

Maintain balance between the human beings (earth) and gods (heaven)

Guard against the evil deeds of sorcerers and witches

**Boundaries between human and supernatural realms are very thin and can be easily crossed over – important to mediate and maintain balance between the two worlds!**

Purpose of Yoruba Religion

Primary, original source of power in the universe

All other life forms ultimately owe their existence to him

Distant and remote, not involved in human affairs

Hardly worshipped, except in prayer◦ No shrines, rituals, or sacrifices

made for him

Olorun (the supreme god)

Lesser deities, but are very significant

Hundreds of orishas exist◦ Some worshipped by all Yoruba, others by only

one family group

All are sources of sacred power

Can help or harm human beings◦ Based on how well the rituals designed to

appease them are carried out

Orishas

Deceased humans who have acquired supernatural status

Possess sacred power; can help or harm the living

Worshipped through rituals at special shrines

2 Types:◦ 1. Family ancestors

◦ 2. Deified ancestors

Ancestors

Mediate between the gods and ancestors in heaven and the human beings on earth

Help maintain balance between the 2 worlds

Diviners: Practice divination, the art of seeing one’s future

Ritual Practitioners

Syncretism = A phenomenon that occurs when elements from diverse religious traditions blend

Eschatology = The branch of theology concerned with the final events in the history of the world/humankind; “end of the world”

New Vocabulary

During times of slavery, the Yoruba and other African ethnicities utilized their religious practices to maintain their culture and ties to their homeland

Today, many people in the Americas practice the syncretized forms of Yoruba religion, such as Santería and Vodú

Religion and RESISTANCE

Syncretized orishas with Catholic saints

◦ Hid their gods/rituals behind a “mask” of Catholic saints/rituals to avoid religious persecution

◦ Found similarities between saints and orishas

◦ Saints were seen less as intermediaries between humans and gods and more as objects of worship themselves, like the orishas

Religion and RESISTANCE: Syncretism

The mother of all saints, protector of children Colors = blue and white, for the ocean Favorite offerings = melons, molasses, whole

fried fishes, pork rinds Syncretized with the Virgin Mary

Yemoja

Yoruba grand priest and custodian of the divination system, a sage, spirit of wisdom, first prophet

Favorite offerings = Flowers, fruits, peanut, coconut, white basil, dove

Syncretized with St. Francis of Assisi

Orunmila

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXcufe3khXo

Ceremony to honor Oya (female warrior orisha): “Crowning of the head”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4I4TZilVSWo

Santero Interview on Orishas and Saints

Cosmology – An understanding or theory of the nature, origin, development, and eventual fate of the universe

Transcendence – A state of being that has overcome the normal limitations imposed by the human condition of physical existence (such as through meditation, prayer, and visions)

Axis Mundi – The axis or center of the universe

Syncretism = A phenomenon that occurs when elements from diverse religious traditions blend

Essential Theological Terms