Yoruba Spirituality and Philosophy
There are various religious systems in Africa that share manycommonalties. To discuss them all in their intricacies wouldtake volumes. This page will attempt to focus on the Yoruba spiritual philosophy of West Africa. It stresses an extremely ancient rooted African tradition of working with natural forces and the ancestral realm to better one's life. Its system of divination in fact has led some scholars to remark on its similarity to Eastern philosophical beliefs such as those found
among the Chinese in the I Ching. And while it may not be as ancient as Nilotic beliefs, it is the African spiritual system that can be best called a world religion.
The origins of Yoruba religion lie at Ille-Ife', a holy city that is regarded as the cradle of civilization for the Yoruba of Southwestern Nigeria. Currently there are 20 million or more people who speak Yoruba as their mother tongue. Yoruba speaking communities have lived in other West African
countries for centuries. When speaking of a "Yoruba spiritualsystem," we are discussing traditional beliefs of those who speak the language and not the more modern religions some may practice today (Christianity, Islam, etc.) Over the years the Yoruban spiritual system has taken on the characteristics of a world religion. With the trans Atlantic Slave Trade, the Yoruba religion was transplanted in various parts of the western hemisphere. Today it is practiced in a host of different forms. One of these is Vodoun, a mixture of Yoruba, Catholicism, and Freemasonry, in Haiti. It is known throughout South America, the Caribbean, and Central America as Santeria where it is practiced not only by Africans but also the descendants of indigenous peoples (misnomered Indians or Hispanic) that inhabit the region.
Worship in the Yoruba religion is based upon the belief in a Supreme Being (Oldumare), the creator of Heaven (Orun) and Earth (Aye); the belief in a multitude of spiritual deities (Orisha); and the belief in ancestral spirits (Egungun). The Yoruban spiritual system has been described as a pyramid with five layers. At the apex is Oldumare, the Supreme Being. The second layer beneath the Supreme
The traditional shrine as a symbol of our cultural history
Being is composed of lesser deities called Orisha. Below these deities are ancestral deities called Egungun. While all of the above are noted as spiritual beings, the next two layers of the pyramid consist of human beings. Firstly there are the kings, queens, chiefs, priests and priestesses while at the last layer are devotees. The Yoruba universe has a "heaven" and an "earth" which differs from the Western view. The Yoruba divide the physical world into two planes, the upper Outerworld
(Orun) and the world of the living (Aye). This universe is often pictured as sphere. Orun is the home of Oldumare, Creator and Supreme Being. It is also home to the Orisha and the ancestral spirits, Egungun. The heavenly plane (Orun) has two dimensions: simply put, a good heaven and a bad heaven. Earthly deeds and character decide which heaven one travels to when one dies. In traditional Yoruban belief there is no "hell" nor is there a "devil" in the western sense. It was not until 1850AD, with the influence of Christianity and Islam, that a "devil" was assigned to the Yoruba spiritual system.
The Yoruba believe in the existence of spiritual beings or divinities. Called Orishas, they are seen as emissaries of Oldumare from whom they emanated. These Orisha are ancestors whose great deeds earned them divinity. The Orisha are said to recognize themselves and are recognized through a host of different numbers and colors. These polarities which each Orisha exhibits are expressed as personalities called Roads or Paths of the Orisha. This is done through offerings to Orisha of their particular favorite foods and other gifts. One can learn much about these different Orishas by watching the forces of nature atwork about you. These Orishas can be contacted during a "bembe" where one or more of their priests will be mounted in a form of highly spiritualized trance possession. This possession by an Orisha is an integral part of Yoruba religious ritual as it serves as a means of communicating with the forces of Oldumare (God).
The Babaloawo, Diviner, holds a sacred place in Yoruba spirituality. It is the Babaloawo who calls upon Ifa, the oracle of divination who mediates between the Orishas
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