THE YORUBA (Continued from Volume 1, Below).
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The Yoruba 'Talking Drum' (Gangan) |
The practice of traditional religion
varies from community to community.
For example, a deity (god) may be male in
one village and female in another. Yoruba traditional religion holds that there
is one Supreme Being and hundreds of orisa, or minor deities.The
worshipers of a deity are referred to as his "children."
There are three gods who are
available to all.
Olorun (Sky God) is the high god,
the Creator. One may call on him with prayers or by pouring water on kola nuts
on the ground.
Esu (also called Legba by some) is
the divine messenger who delivers sacrifices to Olorun after they are placed at
his shrine. Everyone prays frequently to this deity.
Ifa is the God of Divination, who
interprets the wishes of Olorun to mankind. Believers in the Yoruba religion
turn to Ifa in times of trouble.
Another god, Ogun (god of war, the
hunt, and metalworking), is considered one of the most important. In Yoruba
courts, people who follow traditional beliefs swear to give truthful testimony
by kissing a machete, sacred to Ogun.
Sango is the deity that creates
thunder. The Yoruba believe that when thunder and lightning strike, Sango has
thrown a thunderstone to earth. After a thunderstorm, Yoruba religious leaders
search the ground for the thunderstone, which is believed to have special
powers. The stones are housed in shrines dedicated to Sango.
Sango has four
wives, each representing a river in Nigeria...TO BE CONTINUED
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Koslow, Philip. Yorubaland: The Flowering
of Genius. Kingdoms of Africa. New York: Chelsea House, 1996. Hetfield, Jamie. The Yoruba of West Africa. New York: Rosen Publishing Group, 1996.
Bascom, William. The Yoruba of Southwestern Nigeria. Prospect Heights, Ill.: Waveland Press, 1984.
Some Yoruba deities
- Olodumare / Olorun: Owner of the heavens and creator of the universe
- Orunmila / Ifa: God of wisdom, knowledge and divination
- Esu / Elegbara: The trickster god and keeper of the divine power.
- Obatala / Osala: The white god, moulder of human beings
- Ogun: The iron divinity
- Sango: The god of thunder and lightning
- Oya: Sango's fierce wife, goddess of the wind and the storms.
- Osun: A river goddess, great lover of children, associated with sensuality and beauty.
- Yemoja: The mother goddess and queen of the ocean.
- Olofin / Oduduwa: The great ancestor of the Yoruba people.
Sources: Wande Abimbola, Sixteen
Great Poems of Ifa (UNESCO, 1975); Natalia Bolivar and Valentina Porras, Orisa
Aye (Havana, 2011).
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