Yoruba mythology

The tradition & historical record

The Yorùbá religion (Yoruba: Ìṣẹ̀ṣe [ìʃɛ̀ʃē]), West African Orisha Òrìṣà [òɾìʃà]), or Isese (Ìṣẹ̀ṣe), comprises the traditional religious and spiritual concepts and practice of the Yoruba people. Its homeland is in what is commonly known as Yorubaland (Ilẹ̀ Káàárọ̀-Oòjíire), comprising the majority of the states of Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, Kwara, Lagos and parts of Kogi in present-day Southwestern Nigeria; the Departments of Collines, Oueme, Plateau in Southern Benin; and the adjoining parts of Central Togo. It has become the largest indigenous African religion / belief system in the world with several million adherents worldwide. Yoruba religion shares some parallels with Vodun, practised by the neighbouring Fon and Ewe peoples to its west and with the religion of the Edo people to its east. It is also the basis for several religions in the New World, notably Santería, Umbanda, Trinidad Orisha, and Candomblé. Yorùbá religious beliefs are considered part of Ìtàn (history), the total complex of songs, histories, stories, and other cultural concepts which make up the Yorùbá society. ¹

The Yorùbá name for the Yorùbá indigenous religion is Ìṣẹ̀ṣẹ, which also refers to the traditions and rituals that encompass Yorùbá culture. The term comes from a contraction of the words Ìṣẹ̀ (Ishɛ), meaning "source/root origin", and ìṣe (Ishe), meaning "practice/tradition" coming together to mean "The original tradition"/"The tradition of antiquity" as many of the practices, beliefs, traditions, and observances of the Yorùbá originate from the religious worship of Olodumare and the veneration of the Orisha. ¹

According to Kola Abimbola, the Yorubas have evolved a robust cosmology. Nigerian Professor for Traditional African religions, Jacob K. Olupona, summarizes that central for the Yorùbá religion, and which all beings possess, is known as "Aṣẹ", which is "the empowered word that must come to pass," the "life force" and "energy" that "regulates all movement and activity in the universe". Every thought and action of each person or being in Ayé (the physical realm) interact with the Supreme force, all other living things, including the Earth itself, as well as with Ọrun (the otherworld), in which gods, spirits and ancestors exist. The Yorùbá religion can be described as a form of diffused monotheism, with a Supreme but distant creator force, encompassing the whole universe. ¹

The Yoruba believe in Atunwa, the possibility of reincarnation within the family. The names Babatunde (father returns), Yetunde (Mother returns), Babatunji (Father wakes once again) and Sotunde (The wise man returns) all offer vivid evidence of the Ifa concept of familial or lineal rebirth. There is no simple guarantee that one's grandfather or great uncle will "come back" in the birth of a child, however. Whenever the time arrives for a spirit to return to Earth (otherwise known as The Marketplace) through the conception of a new life in the direct bloodline of the family, one of the component entities of a person's being returns, while the other remains in Heaven (Ikole Ọrun). The spirit that returns does so in the form of a Guardian Ori. One's Guardian Ori, which is represented and contained in the crown of the head, represents not only the spirit and energy of one's previous blood relative, but the accumulated wisdom he or she has acquired through myriad lifetimes. This is not to be confused with one's spiritual Ori, which contains personal destiny, but instead refers to the coming back to The Marketplace of one's personal blood Ori through one's new life and experiences. The Primary Ancestor (which should be identified in your Itefa) becomes—if you are aware and work with that specific energy—a "guide" for the individual throughout their lifetime. At the end of that life they return to their identical spirit self and merge into one, taking the additional knowledge gained from their experience with the individual as a form of payment. ¹

Gender roles are essential components of Yoruba religion, with women occupying significant positions as priestesses and custodians of sacred knowledge. These roles are vital for the preservation of religious practices and influence the dynamics of spiritual authority within communities. Yoruba traditions recognize femininity as a crucial aspect of spiritual experiences. Women actively participate in religious practices and rituals, enhancing their influence and importance in the spiritual landscape. The anthropologist Robert Voeks described Yorùbá religion as being animistic, noting that it was "firmly attached to place". Each person living on earth attempts to achieve perfection and find their destiny in Ọ̀run-Rere (the spiritual realm of those who do good and beneficial things). One's orí-inú (spiritual consciousness in the physical realm) must grow in order to consummate union with one's "Ìpọ̀nrí" (Orí Ọ̀run, spiritual self). Ìwà pẹ̀lẹ́ (or good character), meditative recitation and sincere veneration are sufficient to strengthen the orí-inú of most people. Well-balanced people, it is believed, can make positive use of the simplest form of connection between their Ori and the omnipotent Olú-Ọ̀run: an Àwúre (petition or prayer) for divine support. In the Yorùbá belief system, Olódùmarè has àṣẹ (divine authority) over all that is. Hence, they are considered supreme. ¹

The Yorùbá scriptures are called the Odù Ifá, which is a collection of revealed oracular texts originally passed down through oral tradition among babalawos. It is traditionally divided into 256 sections, or Odù, which are divided into verses. It is closely related to the divination system of the Yorùbá religion, Ifá. The verses contain proverbs, stories, and statements that cover every aspect of life. The Odù Ifá is the foundation of Yorùbá spiritual knowledge and has influenced spiritual communities in the Americas, such as Santeria. Ifá refers to the deity Ọ̀rúnmìlà, who is associated with wisdom, intellect, and divination. In 2005, UNESCO designated the Odù Ifá tradition as one of the world's Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Yoruba religion”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

Yoruba mythology is body of oral traditions, cosmology, and sacred narratives of the Yoruba people of West Africa (Nigeria, Benin, and Togo), encompassing the Orisha pantheon, creation myths centered on Olodumare, and the Ifá divination corpus, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²

The source record links this tradition to 5 external registers, which can be verified through the citation. ²