You can find further detailed information about the concepts summarized in this article by following the links. On the basis of comparative studies between the dynastic tradition of the. This is an introductory article that will summarize these concepts to give the reader a highlevel idea about these ifa traditions. Abstract religion is the strongest element in african culture and exerts great. Yoruba and ancient near eastern history, the present article argues that yoruba traditions of provenance, claiming immigration from the near east, are basically correct. Ifayoruba fundamentals of the yoruba religion orisa worship chief fama. The basics of yoruba an african spiritual tradition. Some examples rituals and rites abound in yoruba traditional religion. Learn yoruba religion with free interactive flashcards. Other names are also used that reflect the yoruba belief that god has. The yoruba deities are old but are not the oldest in origin yet they are very. There is a lot of misinterpration of yoruba religion, and its new world manifestations voudun, santeria, candomble etc. Yoruba spiritual heritage maintains that the yoruba ethnic groups are a unique people who originally settled at ileife.
The handbook of yoruba religious concepts ifa karade. One idea behind yoruba religion is that natural objects, like trees, rivers, stones, metal, have a spiritual existence. Influence of yoruba culture in christian religious worship. Religion of the yoruba, also called santeria, lucumi in cuba. Definition known as nagos in brazil or lucumis in cuba, yoruba speakers highly contributed to the fash yoruba religion is one of the main in. This article aims to shed more light on the origin and history of the yoruba people. Fundamentals of the yoruba religion orisa worship is a veritable encyclopedia. God is known as olodumare the one who has the fullness of everything and olorun the owner of heaven, the lord whose abode is in the heaven above. Given this consideration, ori is nothing short of what the yoruba call ipin or okeipori. The book, the bible of the traditional yoruba religion, is 6 x 9, has 271 pp with photographs. Yoruba traditional religion holds that there is one supreme being and hundreds of orisha, or minor deities. Archaeological and linguistic evidence indicate that the yoruba. The concepts of ori and human destiny in traditional.
Yoruba believe in a supreme being, in primordial divinities, and spirits that have been deified. Traditional yoruba beliefs hold that all people experience ayanmo, which is destiny or fate. This book provides detailed instruction of practical usage of ifa by practitioners and nonpractitioners and answers many questions with respect to how to pray the ifa way. The aggregate of the ways of life of the yorubaspeaking peoples of southwestern nigeria and their kiths and kins elsewhere in the world.
Most of the yoruba in todays america, originated from what is todays nigeria, benin and togo. Yoruba religious beliefs are part of itan, the total complex of songs, histories, stories, and other cultural concepts which make up the yoruba society. The yoruba religions encompasses the traditional religious and psycho spiritual. Ancient african religion finds roots in america africanamerican followers of yoruba say it offers a spiritual path as well as a sense of cultural belonging. Influence of yoruba culture in christian religious worship by odejobi cecilia omobola institute of education, faculty of education, obafemi awolowo university, ileife, osun state, nigeria.
When fidel castro gained control of cuba, many of the yoruba priests who no longer desired to live in cuba, came to the united states in the 1960s. Yoruba religion simple english wikipedia, the free. There are several books written about how the number 16 is important in yoruba religion. The number of speakers of yoruba is estimated between 30 and 40 million, primarily by the ethnic yoruba people. Legend holds that oduduwa created the world at this place by delegation from the high god, olorun. Many claim that they are part of the diaspora of the yoruba as slaves. Concepts and theories on women in yoruba religious sphere3 religion, for it is the venue for contact and interaction between the living, the dead, and the yet unborn. Yoruba religion practitioners of the yoruba religion, which was developed among the yoruba people of nigeria and benin, believe that before we are born we stand before god and choose our own destiny. In this article we will go over ifa religion beliefs and the foundational concepts that support the yoruba religion. Because of yorubas elasticity, it can adopt other religions quite easily. The yoruba culture, for the present purpose, can be defined as follows. Choose from 79 different sets of yoruba religion flashcards on quizlet.
It is a pluricentric language spoken principally in nigeria and benin, with communities in sierra leone, liberia, other parts of africa, the americas, and. The yoruba originated from a people known as the oyo who arose and became quite popular by their trading with the portugues which gave them a large supply of guns. Yoruba customs and beliefs pertaining to twins yoruba religious beliefs within todays yoruba religious affiliations, more than 40% of the population are allied to islam, less than 40% are christians with the remaining 20% exclusively practising the traditional animist yoruba religion. It is a very ancient religion of the mysteries and messages of olodumare revealed to man by orunmila. It is a continuum beginning from their subsistence, communal, agrarian life of the. The first source of change pertains to the new conflicts in human interaction that cannot be explained by yoruba tradition. The concepts of ori and human destiny it is the ancestral guardian soul, having its physical symbolization as the physical head. Department of religion and african culture adekunle ajasin university p. The second is the permanent effect of contact with islam and the west, expressed in such institutions as law, marriage, religion, education, and public health services. The lucumi religion was born in cuba from african and european religious systems. It is a practice which originated thousands of years ago.
Concepts and theories on women in yoruba religious sphere. Ifaorisha in the global spiritual marketplace qualitative sociology. Previous work on yoruba religion and gender major pioneering works on yoruba religion were not concerned about gender, because gender was not an important theoretical and conceptual paradigm for examining culture at least in africa at the time they were written. Pdf the yoruba of the southwestern part of nigeria and the adjoining parts of benin. This paper attempts to unravel the historical development of yoruba traditional medicine. Yoruba religion is a traditional west african religion.
The name yoruba is said to be an adaptation of euroba or arabism. We would attempt to examine the influences on the language, dressing, food and cultural practices and norm of the yoruba people, in an attempt to reach a befitting conclusion as to the history of the yoruba, we would also include some folk lore and stories, to enable you the readers reach a strong conclusion. Yoruba civilization has had a significant impact on the culture and make up of latin america, in particular, cuba, haiti, brazil, trinidad and puerto rico. The yoruba religious system central connecticut state. Ykeme gives you a brief break down of the history of the orishas and some of the ones that are never mentioned. L w l abstract often times, people ask questions about the origin and development of traditional medicine among the yoruba people. So, when you look down, you see there are these palm nuts. Yoruba religion ifa history and interesting facts in 2019. Learn the basics of the yoruba religion ifa in this exciting article. As a part of this, there is an expectation that everyone will eventually achieve the state of olodumare, which is becoming one with the divine creator who is the source of all energy. Origin of the yoruba and the lost tribes of israel dierk lange abstract. Unlike the indigenous religion, yoruba christianity is an offshoot of early christianity introduced by missionaries around 1842. Fundamentals of the yoruba religion orisa worship by.
The yoruba religion comprises the traditional religious and spiritual concepts and practice of. Voodoo, hoodoo and slave magic by stephen ashley, city of 201 gods. This book takes the inclusive energy of ifa to a new level by offering simple, comparative excerpts from religious texts from differing religions, even a list of chakras and their yoruba counterparts. In yoruba, you must believe in orisha if you are to reach godconsciousness. One of the traditional practices of the yoruba people is ifa worship. I highly recommend this book to those who seek to grow into a mature relationship with ifa. In hieroglyphic script the foot is a,uniliteral phonogram with soundvalue b. It sufficiently explains the relationship between ancient egypt and the religion of southern nigeria, in addition to providing detailed steps, measures, practices, and initiation into the religion. Not only did the yoruba people survive slavery, but the yoruba religion survived as well. Abstract this article explores the advantages of covenantkeeping among the yoruba people using them as models to be emulated in the contemporary nigerian society. The secrets of the religion were passed on from father to son, and in this way it has been kept intact until this time. Chapters of the basics of the religion, prayers and chants, messages from the odus combine easily with aspects of the orisa history of the yoruba and elements of initiation including photographs. Shango is historically a royal ancestor of the yoruba as he was the third king of the oyo kingdom prior to his posthumous deification. It is reported from havana that the roman catholic church claims that seventy per cent of cubas elevenmillion people are catholics.
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