RELIGION OF YORUBA PEOPLES OF NIGERIA

Nigeria has about ninety million people. The Hausa, Yoruba, and Ibo groups comprise over half the population. Half the people are Muslims, followed closely by Christians. We know of cultures in the area from 700 b.C.e. In the fifteenth century c.e., Portuguese and British slave traders exploited the area. In 1861 a campaign against slavery began. In 1960, Nigeria gained independence, and in 1963 it formed a republic. Since then the population has been divided by civil war between competing governments.
Primarily in southern Nigeria, the Yoruba peoples have developed an impressive civilization. Their central city, Ife, functioned as a city- state. Although their farms provided much of their food, they entered into trade with other peoples. Their trade with the Europeans who came for slave trade and colonization made them vulnerable to harsh treatment.

Yoruba Peoples 

The basic unit of Yoruba religion is the household, dominated by the male head of family (olori ebi) who is the priest at the family shrine. The village, the town, and major cities are the next levels. The chief (oba) conducts sacred rites for the community. The Yoruba peoples believe the god Olorun gave them their fates at creation. Unfortunately, humans have forgotten their fates; through divination they can be learned again. An alter ego of Olorun, Esu, functions as both trickster and mediator for humans.
The Yoruba of Ife considered their city particularly sacred because there the god Orisha- nla began creation. On all important matters, a diviner (aworo) communicates with Orunmila, the deity of Ife. Like the Zulu, the Yoruba believe other deities, ancestors, and spirits play active roles in the universe and in human lives. Ancestors are believed to be active in Yoruba lives. Mediation enables the living to receive powerful blessings from ancestors. Prescribed rituals assist in the mediation. At the heart of ritual is a sacrifice, which may be only a prayer or a kola nut (a caffeine- containing nut used as a medium of exchange).
A slaughtered animal is a more precious sacrifice, which can serve as food for the gods. The Yoruba people employ specialists for dealing with deities, orisha, and ancestors. A medium (elegun) is anyone possessed by divine powers. A specialist in medicine (oloogun) diagnoses and prescribes in curing illnesses. The masked dancers (egungun) represent ancestors for all festival and ritual occasions. Mediation between spirits and humans is a regular part of life among the Yoruba.

Community and Individual Responsibilities

Festivals involve the whole community in mediation with deities and ancestors. The Gelede festival celebrates the arrival of spring rains and cools the power of female witches. It honors the mothers (awon iya wa), who are a collective form of divine energy (ase). The deity (orisha) Agemo is represented by a chameleon in a festival of kings and priests. Sixteen chief- priests approach the city of Ijebu- Ode, where they are invited by the oba Awajale. They mutually acknowledge the powers of kings and priests.
In the town of Oshogbo, thousands of people annually honor the goddess Oshun. She is the Great Mother, who helps women have healthy children and brings prosperity. As “my Mother,” she controls “our mothers,” the aje, who are powerful, assertive women (sometimes translated as “witches”). Oshun is the paramount deity of feminine power. Individuals have particular duties toward various orisha who have claim on them. In each person’s head a personal orisha (oriinun) represents an ancestral guardian of the soul. In heaven, each person has an ori who serves as surety for his or her destiny, its possibilities and limitations.

Deities of the Yoruba Peoples

The hierarchy of deities of the Yoruba is somewhat complicated. Olorun is the primary power of Orun, the sky. He is also known as Olodumare. His lofty status prevents direct approach, but people can approach him through the orisha. Ancestors, who occupy a somewhat lower level, are also subjects of veneration. According to African scholar Bolaji Idowu, each person has a double or guardian spirit. The earth is Aiye, the home of humans, animals, and omoraiye, “the children of the world,” who are responsible for sorcery and witchcraft.
Communications between earth and heaven are facilitated by orisha, such as Obatala. He created earth and brought to it sixteen people already created by Olorun. Among the Yoruba,physically unfortunate people are sacred. At Ile- Ife, Odudwa is the deity credited with correcting Olorun’s errors. Orisha- nla is head of the “white gods,” (named not for their skin color but for their white clothes). He prohibits drinking palm wine and associating with dogs. The Yoruba have a hierarchy of gods, spirits, and ancestors, and theirs is a unified universe permeated by divine energy (ase). Religion is their way of channeling the energy for beneficial rather than dreadful results.

By Warren Matthews in the book "World Religions", Wadsworth (Cengage Learning), U.S.A, 2010, excerpts p.56-57. Adapted and illustrated to be posted by Leopoldo Costa.

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