YORÙBÁ DIASPORA

Kölá Abíðbölá

PhD (Law), PhD (Philosophy)

University of Leicester

Faculty of Law

University Road

Leicester LE1 7RH

United Kingdom

Tel: +44 (0)116 223 1255

Email: ka78@le.ac.uk

Fax: +44 (0)116 252 5023

Kölá Abíðbölá. (2005). ‘Yorùbá Diaspora’. In Melvin Ember, Carol R. Ember, & Ian Skoggard (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Diasporas: Immigrant and Refugee Cultures Around the World (pp. xx). New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.

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YORÙBÁ DIASPORA

Kölá Abíðbölá

Alternative Names for the Yorùbá Disapora 1

Locations, Population, and Languages 1

History, Culture, and Philosophy 4

From Africa to the New World 4

Understanding Yorùbá Culture 12

A Religio-Philosophical Diaspora 18

The Value of Practical Beliefs 21

References 28

Footnotes 32

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YORÙBÁ DIASPORA

Kölá Abíðbölá

1. ALTERNATIVE NAMES FOR THE YORÙBÁ DIASPORA

Yoòbá; Lùkùmi; Lukumí; Lucumí; Anago; Nago; Káàárõ-oò-jííre; Òrìÿà; Òòÿà;

Òrìshà; Orixa; Oricha. (These names are also used to refer to the peoples, their

culture, their language, and their religion.)

2. LOCATIONS, POPULATION AND LANGUAGES

Although many scholars refer to “the Yorùbá of Southwest Nigeria” as a “tribe”,

I argue here that “the Yorùbá” are not, and never were, a tribal group. Rather

the hallmarks of “Yorùbá” are to be found in a unique set of religio-philosophical

beliefs on the basis of which the Yorùbá organize, regulate and moderate their

day-to-day lives. I refer to these religio-philosophical beliefs as “practical

beliefs” because they are not just about faith; these beliefs also explicitly (but

often implicitly) guide and govern practical conduct. Therefore, it is incorrect

to refer to “the homeland of the Yorùbá ethnic group”! Rather, we should talk

about “the homeland of Yorùbá culture”. Henceforth, whenever I refer to “the

Yorùbá”, this should be read as shorthand for “the culture of the peoples who call

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themselves, and are called, the Yorùbá”.

In the following discussion, I will delineate the boundaries of Yorùbá culture

in today’s world, identify the religio-philosophical properties of this culture,

and explain how these religio-philosophical beliefs aid in the mapping of the

Yorùbá Diaspora.

The homeland of Yorùbá culture is West Africa. Due to the European colonial

policy of partitioning, this homeland spans the four West African countries of

Nigeria, Benin Republic, Togo, and Ghana. (Although the culture is also found in

the West African country of Sierra Leone, this is part of the diaspora.) Various

myths, legends and stories enshrined in Ifá, the Sacred Scriptures of Yorùbá

Religion, proclaim Ilé-Ifê to be the place where the Earth and all its inhabitants

were created. The name Ilé-Ifê comes from the noun “Ilé” (which means “home”

or “house”) and the verb “Ifê” (which means “to expand” or “ to spread out”). The

belief in Ilé-Ifê as the cradle of the life is one key element of Yorùbá culture in

Africa and the Diaspora.

It is estimated that the population of the Yorùbá in West Africa is

twenty-five million. This makes them one of the largest groups in sub-Saharan

Africa. Their largest concentration is in the southwestern parts of Nigeria

where they number about twenty-three million. With an estimated population

of 10 million, Lagos (also known as Èkó, its original Yorùbá name) is by far their

most populous city.

In the Benin Republic, which borders Nigeria to the west, there are about

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one-and-a-half million Yorùbá people, living in the central and southeastern

parts of the country. Some of the main Yorùbá cities in Benin Republic include

Kétu, Sábêë (also spelt Sabe), and Porto Novo (also known as Àjàÿë, its original

Yorùbá name).

In Togo, the Yorùbá occupy the south central regions of the country. Togo’s

second largest city, Atakpame (also known as Ifê-Aáná) is a Yorùbá city. There are

about 50 Yorùbá villages in Ghana. Yorùbá-speaking slaves were settled in Sierra

Leone after the abolition of the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

As a result of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, contemporary economic

migration, and voluntary cultural identification, close to sixty million “black”,

“white”, and multi-racial peoples in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Columbia, Cuba,

France, Haiti, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Mexico, Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, UK, USA,

and Venezuela now organize their day-to-day lives on the basis of Yorùbá beliefs

and cultural practices.

Brazil has the largest concentration of Yorùbá people in the diaspora.

Although demographical data is not readily available, field research by this

author and others suggest that close to twenty million people in Brazil will

readily trace their ancestry to the Yorùbá of West Africa. This is also evidenced

by the various denominations of Yorùbá (or Òrìÿà) religion that are prevalent in

Brazil.

Cuba deserves a special comment, not just because of its citizens who trace

their ancestry to West Africa, but also because of the significance of Ifá in Cuba.

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Santeria and Lukumí are important denominations of Yorùbá religion in Cuba.

Despite the fact that no comprehensive study of the dialects of Yorùbá

culture has been published, on-going field research by this author and others

indicate that there are over fifty different dialects of Yorùbá language in West

Africa and the diaspora. Although languages such as English, Portuguese, French,

and Spanish are the main languages spoken in different parts of the Yorùbá

Diaspora, due to the continual emigration of Yorùbá peoples from West Africa to

Europe and the Americas, Yorùbá language is still spoken by millions of people in

the diaspora. Moreover, the slaves in the diaspora generated new dialects of the

Yorùbá language. These include Creole in Sierra Leone and Lucumí in Cuba.

3. HISTORY, CULTURE AND PHILOSOPHY

To fully understand the Yorùbá diaspora, we need to trace the history of

their culture from pre-colonial Africa to the New World, just as much as we

need to identify the religio-philosophical beliefs of the culture.

3.1. From Africa to the New World

The Yorùbá believe that the world is divided into two planes of existence,

Ayé (the Earth) and Õrun (the abode of the supernatural). Olódùmarè (the High

"God") with the assistance of three divinities (namely, Èÿù, Ifá and Ôbàtálá)

created Õrun. The original Òrìÿà (i.e., divinities—excluding Olódùmarè but

including Èÿù, Ifá and Ôbàtálá) who are 400 in number, descended from Õrun on

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an iron chain onto Ilé-Ifê, where they created and founded the Earth and its

inhabitants.

According to Yorùbá mythology, Ilé-Ifê was a city right from the start.

Ôbàtálá, the leader of the Òrìÿà, for instance, settled at Ìtàpá, while Ifá (the god

of knowledge and wisdom) settled at Òkè-Ìtasè. Within a few years, Ilé-Ifê was

filled up, and some of the Òrìÿà and their children moved to other parts of West

Africa to found new towns and cities. The movement of some of the Òrìÿà and

their descendants from the holy city of Ilé-Ifê to other parts of West Africa can

be regarded as the first dispersion of the Yorùbá people. Other key ancient

Yorùbá cities include: Adó-Èkìtì, Àjàÿë, Àkúrë, Ìlá, Iléÿà, Ìlôrin, Ìwó, Õwõ, Kétu,

and Õyö-Ilé (Old Õyö, Õyö).

According to oral tradition, Old Õyö was founded by Õrànmíyàn (often

shortened as Õràányàn or Õrányàn), the youngest son of Odùduwà. Õyö soon

became an empire and many other Yorùbá and non-Yorùbá towns, cities and

kingdoms paid tribune to the Aláàfin (i.e., potentate—sometimes improperly

spelt as “Alafin”) of Õyö. It was the fall of the Old Õyö Empire during the

nineteenth century that led to the mass enslavement and dispersion of Yorùbá

peoples to various parts of the world.

Although we do not know precisely when the Old Õyö Empire was founded,

by c.1000 the Empire had become an important West African State. Crowther,

1843, for instance, commented that at the height of its expanse (c. 1600—c. 1800),

all the Yorùbá “tribes”, and various neighboring kingdoms (such as the Benin

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Kingdom to the east and the Dahomey kingdom to the west) were under the

rulership of the Aláàfin of Õyö. Although others, (e.g., Àtàndá, 1973) have

remarked that Crowther’s delineation of the boundaries of the Old Õyö Empire

is exaggerated, there is no doubt that at its height, it included: the Ìlorin and

Ìgbómìnà Yorùbá to the northeast of the modern day Kwara state, the Ìbàràpá

and Õÿun Yorùbá to the south, and the Êgbádò Yorùbá to the southwest. There is

some controversy about whether the Kingdom of Ilé-Ifê was ever under the

dominance of Õyö. (Law, 1991). However, the Kingdom of Dahomey was

undoubtedly a tributary of the Old Õyö Empire.

The original capital of the empire, which was called Õyö (also called Õyö-Ilé,

Old Õyö, and Katunga), was situated about 10 miles south of the river Niger. At

the collapse of the Old Õyö Empire in the 1830s, a new capital was founded for

the New Õyö Empire at a place called Àgö-Ôjà. Àgö-Ôjà (which is 80 miles south

of the city of Old Oyo) was renamed Àgö d’Õyö (i.e., “Àgö becomes Õyö”). “Àgö

d’Õyö” is now simply called “Õyö”. Due to the British colonial system of indirect

rule in which colonial administration was channeled through existing political

and governmental local structures, the New Õyö Empire became prominent

from 1894-1934. (Àtàndá, 1973.)

What lead to the collapse of this Empire? One popular account in oral history

is that the Empire collapsed because Aláàfin Awólê (1789—c. 1796), the much

weaker Emperor who succeeded Aláàfin Abíödún (c.1774—1789), placed a curse on

the Yorùbá people! Awólê had been removed from office and, as required by the

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constitution of the Empire, he had to commit suicide. Legend has it that his

chiefs deposed him from office because they wanted the Empire to start

participating in the then lucrative slave trade. The Empire’s constitution

required unanimity between the Õyö Mèsì (its most important executive Council

of Chiefs) and the Emperor. (The Õyö Mèsì are eight in number, and not seven,

as erroneously reported by many writers. These are: Baÿõrun, Agbakin, ßàmù,

Alápìíni, Lágùnnà, Akinnikú, Aÿípa, and Õnàa Môdéékè.) Any Emperor who could

not command unanimity between the Õyö Mèsì and himself was deposed from

office and required to commit suicide. This provision had been inserted into the

Empire’s constitution as a “democratic” measure to guard against Royal

autocracy. The legend has it that before committing suicide, Awólê uttered the

curse: “the Yorùbá people will be taken as slaves all over the Earth”. After

uttering the curse, he fired an arrow each to the north, east and west, and

smashed a clay-pot containing occult powers to the ground. He then made the

following proclamation: “Just as nobody mends smashed clay-pots, nobody will

be able to reverse my curse on the Yorùbá people”. This is what is known as Ègún

Awólê (i.e., the irreversible curse of Awólê).

There is of course a better explanation of why the Empire collapsed. This

explanation has to do with various constitutional problems of the Empire itself.

The constitution contained a number of provisions that made it difficult, if not

impossible, for a weak ruler to survive for long as Emperor. To start with,

although the titles of Aláàfin and the Õyö Mèsì were hereditary, the

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constitution contained “democratic” tendencies that were in conflict with these

hereditary offices. For instance, the Õyö Mèsì, were supposed to be the “mouth”

of the people because their views were moderated and shaped by various social

groups and organizations within society. One such organization is the powerful

Õgbóni society. The Õgbóni were more or less the judicial courts of appeal within

each city-state of the Empire. Although the city of Old Õyö was the capital of

the Empire, the city also operated like any other city-state within the

confederacy that was the Empire. The city of Old Õyö had its own Õgbóni who

curtailed the powers of the Õyö Mèsì.

Secondly, decisions by the Õyö Mèsì and the Aláàfin had to be reached

unanimously, even though the Aláàfin is, strictly speaking, not a member of the

executive council. This is because the Õyö Mèsì deliberated independently of the

Emperor and after arriving at their conclusions, they would present the

Emperor with their resolutions. If there was an irreconcilable dispute between

the Aláàfin and the Õyö Mèsì, the Aláàfin would be deposed from office because

the Õyö Mèsì were regarded as the voice of the people.

Moreover, the day-to-day affairs of the Empire were ran by eunuchs who

are improperly referred to in the literature as “slaves”. These eunuchs (called

Ìlàrí) were headed by three very powerful eunuchs: the Õnà Êfà (i.e., Eunuch of

the Middle), Õtún Êfà (i.e., Eunuch of the Right), and Òsì Êfà (i.e., Eunuch of the

Left). To all intents and purposes, these eunuchs were more powerful that the

Õyö Mèsì because they were responsible for the administrative affairs of the

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Empire. They were also the tax collectors and envoys who traveled all over the

empire. (See, Law, 1977 & 1971, for further details of the constitutional troubles

of the Old Õyö Empire.)

Another lacuna in the Empire’s constitution was that there was no real

separation between religion and the State. The Emperor and the Õyö Mèsì were

the highest-ranking leaders of some of the most important divinities of Yorùbá

religion. The Aláàfin himself was revered as the representative of ßàngó, the

Yorùbá god of thunder, lightening and justice. Each of the eight Õyö Mèsì was

also the leader of an important Yorùbá deity. For instance, the Baÿõrun, who was

the leader of the Õyö Mèsì, was also the head priest of Õrun. Õrun is the

personal divinity of all Õyö Emperors. But towards the collapse of the Empire,

some high-ranking chiefs had accepted radical and fanatical versions of Islam. So,

there was a conflict in their allegiance to the religio-political structure of the

Empire. On the one hand, they were faith-bound by Islam to renounce and

forcibly overthrow Yorùbá religion and all its establishments. But on the other

hand, they were duty-bound by their offices to uphold religio-constitutional

provisions that were founded on a religion they no longer accepted!

One of the most important enemies of Aláàfin Awólê who orchestrated his

deposition was Àfõnjá, the Baálê (i.e., the Ruler) of the city of Ìlorin. Àfõnjá was

also Àrç Õnà Kaka¸fò (i.e,, leader of the Empire’s provincial army). Because

Àfõnjá was related through his mother to one of the royal families of Õyö, he

had nursed the ambition of becoming the Aláàfin in place of the weak Awólê.

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Unfortunately for Àfõnjá, despite the fact that he had supported the Õyö Mèsì

in their coup d’état against Aláàfin Awólê, and despite the fact that one of the

main responsibilities of the Õyö Mèsì was that of overseeing the selection of

new Emperors, the Õyö Mèsì did not select Àfõnjá as Emperor after Awólê

committed suicide. Rather, they selected Adébõ, one of Awólê’s princes.

The selection of Adébõ was however unconstitutional! The constitution did

not allow princes to be the direct successor of their fathers to the throne. In

fact in ancient times, the eldest prince of the Emperor would have had to

commit suicide whenever a reining Emperor died. The reason for this was very

simple. Every reigning Aláàfin was regarded as a demigod—specifically, the

representative of ßàngó (the god of lightning, thunder and justice). As a

demigod, the Aláàfin was revered and he rarely appeared in public. On those rare

occasions when the Aláàfin appeared in public, his face was always shrouded

behind the veil of beads of his heavily adorned crown. Because the Aláàfin was

a demi-god who was not in touch with his citizen, the eldest son of every

reigning Aláàfin held the important title of Àrêmô. The Àrêmô, to all intents

and purposes, had more influence in society because he was the public face of

rulership, authority and power. He was also the eyes and ears of his father, the

Aláàfin, in society. In many cases, the Àrêmô was feared more than the Aláàfin

himself. It was for this reason that, in ancient times, the constitution required

every Àrêmô to commit suicide when his father’s died. The new Emperor would

then be selected from one of the other ruling houses of Õyö.

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Àfõnjá did not accept the election of Adébõ meekly. Since he was the Àrç Õnà

Kaka¸fò, he commanded an army that was larger than the standing army of the

capital. Along with some of his allies, Àfõnjá repudiated his allegiance to the

authority of Aláàfin as Emperor of the Old Õyö Empire. The Empire eventually

became engulfed in civil wars. Between the deposition of Aláàfin Awólê (c. 1796)

and the eventual collapse of the Empire (c. 1840), there was nothing less than

twelve full scale civil wars in the Empire.

The significance of this half-century of wars on the dispersion of Yorùbá

peoples should not be lost on us. Prior to 1789 when Awólê ascended the throne

of Old Õyö, Yorùbá peoples had not been enslaved in any significant number

because the “confederacy” of city-states and Kingdoms that made up the Empire

had one of the strongest armies in West Africa. But between c. 1800 and c. 1870,

the Yorùbá became the largest number of slaves to be “exported” off the shores

of Africa. For, in addition to the fact that many Yorùbá warlords sold their

captives (who were also Yorùbá people) into slavery, the Nupe and the Bariba

(who were the neighbors of the Yorùbá to the north and northeast) also captured

and sold an untold number of Yorùbá people into slavery. Islamic Jihadists also

plundered Yorùbá cities for slaves.

These terrible years of incessant civil wars are in fact doubly significant.

The exportation of African slaves to the Americas ended around 1870-75. So, the

Yorùbá were exported in droves out of West Africa during the dying days of the

slave trade. (For the controversy surrounding the estimated number of Africans

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exported as slaves, see Inikori, 1976a & 1976b, and Curtin, 1969 & 1976.)

3.2. Understanding Yorùbá Culture

Yorùbá culture has an elaborate set of myths and legends commonly shared

by devotees in Africa and the diaspora. These shared beliefs operate as unifying

factors within the diaspora. One of these unifying factors has to do with the

role of Ifá in Yorùbá culture. The word "Ifá" has 6 layers of meanings:

(i) Ifá (also known as Õrúnmìlà or Orunla) is the name of the god of

knowledge and wisdom;

(ii) Ifá is used to refer to the divination process related to the god of

knowledge and wisdom;

(iii) There is a body of knowledge called the Ifá Literary Corpus

associated with this divination process. This body of knowledge is

the Holy Scriptures of Yorùbá Religion and all its denominations in

the diaspora. The Corpus is made up of 256 Odù (i.e, “books” or

“chapters”). Each Odù contains between 600 and 800 poems.*

(iv) Ifá (or çsç) is also the name used to refer to any one specific poem

from any “book” of the Corpus;

(v) The word also refers to any special herbal mixture or talisman that

is prepared for medicinal purposes—the recipes for these are

explicitly stated in some Ifá poems; and

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(vi) There are some special Ifá poems that function as incantations or

powerful words. When uttered, these words reveal truth in the

sense that whatever they state will come to pass. These Ifá

incantations are used mainly for medicinal purposes. For example,

reciting one such poem in the appropriate manner "calls out" the

venom of certain types of snakes from the human body. These

special incantations are also called Ifá.

Babaláwo (Ifá priests) and Ìyánífá (Ifá priestesses) are the custodians of the

Ifá Literary Corpus. This is because, although a small number of these poems

have been written down, most have not. When written down, some poems are as

short as 4 lines whilst others are as long as about 20 pages. Every Ifá priest/ess

has to commit at least five poems from each of the 256 books to memory.

Because of the oral nature of their studies, the training of an Ifá priest or

priestess takes about 15 years of full-time study, and up to 35 years of part-time

study. There are thousands of Ifá priests currently practicing in Nigeria.

Outside of Nigeria, Ifá priests are found in significant numbers in Cuba, Benin

Republic, Togo, Puerto Rico, and the USA.

In all parts of Africa and the diaspora, the Yorùbá consult Ifá priests and

priestesses for advice on every important occasion. Priest and priestesses make

use of the religio-philosophical ideas contained in the poems of the Ifá Literary

Corpus to counsel people on how to conduct their practical actions.

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Another unifying factor is Yorùbá Religion’s rather usual pantheon of gods

and anti-gods. According to Ifá, the Sacred Scriptures of Yorùbá religion, the

Religion has a pantheon of 600+1 (not 601) supernatural powers. Ifá identifies

two main categories of these powers:

Irinwó o môlê ojùkõtún,

Igba môlê ojùkòsì òwúrõ.

Four hundred primordial supernatural powers of the right,

Two hundred primordial supernatural powers of the left.

In the excerpt from an Ifá poem above, the cosmos is divided into two halves;

the right-hand and the left-hand. We have 400 original powers on the right, and

200 original powers on the left. The powers on the right hand side are the Òrìÿà

(i.e., divinities). They are benevolent, but they sometimes punish humans who

corrupt society. The Yorùbá pray and offer sacrifice to the Òrìÿà in order to

achieve their desires.

Inhabitants of the left-hand side are the Ajogun (the “Anti-gods”) and they

are irredeemably malevolent. The word Ajogun literally means “warrior”; hence

the Ajogun wage war against both humans and the Òrìÿà. They include: Ikú

(Death), Àrùn (Disease), Òfò (Loss), Êgbà (Paralysis), Õràn (Big Trouble), Èpè (Curse),

Êwõn (Imprisonment), Eÿe (Affliction).

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There are however two supernatural forces that straddle both sides of the

left-right divide. These are the Àjë (who are usually improperly translated as

witches) and Èÿù (the universal policeman). Èÿù is a neutral element in the sense

that he is neither good nor bad. He is simply the mediator between all the

entities and forces on both sides of the right/left divide.

Although the Àjë (witches) also straddle the two sides of the divide, they,

unlike Èÿù, are not neutral. They are allies of the Ajogun. They suck human

blood, eat human flesh, and they can afflict humans with various types of

diseases. The Àjë are, however, sometimes benevolent. They can bless particular

individuals by making them rich and successful. But often, their blessings come

at a high price. For instance, it is believed that one of their favorite prices is to

ask for the child of whoever is seeking their favor.

Because of Èÿù’s neutrality and the fact that he is neither benevolent nor

malevolent, he is regarded as an Òrìÿà. He has his own iconography, his own

liturgy, and priesthood. So, he is counted as one of the 400 divinities of the

right. Human beings are also on the right hand side of the universe. Although

humans are not regarded as supernatural powers, the belief is that every

individual has the potential to become a divinity.

The “plus 1” referred to above does not refer to any particular divinity.

Rather it is a principle of elasticity by which the Yorùbá account for any newly

deified Òrìÿà. So any human deified after death is encompassed by this principle

of elasticity. The 400 Òrìÿà of the right include those and only those original

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divinities that descended onto Ilé-Ifê from Õrun during the creation of Ayé. All

other additional Òrìÿà are encompassed by the principle of expansion or

elasticity, the “plus 1” category of Òrìÿà. This “plus 1” principle allows new

beliefs, new thought systems, and new deities to be brought into the fold of

Yorùbá culture.

One example of this principle of elasticity is the manner in which

Catholicism has been incorporated into Yorùbá religion in Brazil and Cuba. In

Brazil, Yorùbá religion goes by various names. Sometimes the generic term

Candomblé or Orixa (also spelt Orisha or Oricha) is used. Other denominations of

the religion in Brazil include Umbanda, Macumba and Batuque. Although there

are slight variations in the practice of the religion, the central trend is that

Yorùbá divinities are associated with Catholic saints. This is because, instead of

calling the Orixa by their Yorùbá names, they refer to them as “Saints”. “Saint

Lazarus” for instance is the Òrìÿà called ßànpànná in Africa. “Virgin Mary” is the

Òrìÿà called Õÿun and “Saint Barbara” is the Òrìÿà called ßàngö. These associations

were made by Yorùbá slaves in an effort to conceal their religions from their

slave masters. So, when people in Brazil or Cuba claim to be offering sacrifices to

“Virgin Mary” or “Saint Lazarus”, their beliefs and practices have more to do

with Yorùbá beliefs than Catholicism. It is also because of the principle of

elasticity that native Amerindian Spirits such as the Caboclo have a prominent

role to play in Umbanda.

Olódùmarè, the Yorùbá High “God”, is at the apex of the Yorùbá pantheon.

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Although Olódùmarè is often mistakenly depicted as a male entity, in actuality,

the Ifá Literary Corpus always refers to Olódùmarè as an entity who exists in

spiritual form only. Ifá does not make use of any genderized personal pronoun

to refer to the High “God”. So in reality, Olódùmarè is neither male nor female.

Furthermore, a close analysis of the roles and functions of Olódùmarè in

the Ifá Literary Corpus (and in the practice of the religion) reveal that

Olódùmarè cannot be a Supreme Being! As already explained, three other

divinities (i.e., Ôbàtálá, Èÿù and Ifá) have always co-existed with Olódùmarè. These

three divinities have existed for as long as Olódùmarè and Olódùmarè did not

create them. It is also clear from the Corpus that it is Ifá, the god of knowledge

and wisdom, who is all-knowing. Olódùmarè, and the other divinities consult Ifá

regularly for knowledge, wisdom and advise. Moreover, the creation of the

earth, heavens, and all the other forces and inhabitants of the universe

(including all the other divinities) was a joint effort among Olódùmarè and the

Òrìÿà. (See Abíðbölá, K, 2001.)

The nature and function of the gender-neutral Olódùmarè in this cultural

system is another unifying characteristic of the Yorùbá diaspora. This is because,

all over the Yorùbá diaspora, Olódùmarè has no priests of It’s own, has no liturgy,

nor any iconography. Olódùmarè has no temples or shrines. Sacrifices are never

offered to Olódùmarè. Simply put, in Yorùbá religion and its diaspora,

Olódùmarè is believed to be too mighty to be captured by any anthropomorphic,

artistic, literary, or iconographic representation.

18

4. A RELIGIO-PHILOSOPHICAL DIASPORA

In the Yorùbá Diaspora, many Yorùbá individuals make use of Yorùbá

conceptions of health and wellness, in the treatment of illnesses. There are two

types of medical practitioners in the Yorùbá culture: diviners and “medicine

men”. Diviners heal by relying on divination and the sacrifices specified by the

Ifá Literary Corpus, while “medicine men” rely on herbs without using

divination. (It is, however, very common to find diviners who are also medicine

men.) Both types of medical practitioners are thriving all over the world.

Individuals consult both types of medical practitioners for help when the need

arises.*

The success of Yorùbá medical practitioners is significant. Consider for

instance, sacrifice, the main treatment offered by diviners. In her diagnosis, the

diviner will consult Ifá for an explanation of the patient’s ailments and

problems. The supernatural, spiritual and physical entities that populate the

Yorùbá world are crucial to the diagnosis. All the powers on the left-hand side

of the world are spiritual entities whose sole avowed aim is the ruination of

humans and Òrìÿà. On the right hand side, we have the Òrìÿà who are also

spiritual entities. Numerous other spiritual entities are believed by the Yorùbá to

populate the world. The sacrifices stipulated by Ifá are presented to Èÿù, who

then allocates it to the appropriate supernatural power. Sacrifice is, therefore, a

means of appeasement offered by individuals who need to restore (or maintain)

19

peace, health and wholeness in their lives. The use of sacrifice as a medicinal

remedy makes sense only if the Yorùbá religio-philosophical worldview operates

as practical action guiding principles. Sacrifice is not just about prayer or faith!

(See Abíðbölá W., 1984 for further explanation of the nature and role of

sacrifice in Yorùbá Religion.)

The forgoing also applies to herbal medicine. In the Yorùbá worldview,

plants and animals belong to the right-hand side of the universe. Indeed the

Yorùbá believe that Ilê (Earth) is an Òrìÿà. But plants and animals do not just

belong to the right hand side of the world. For, just as humans are believed to

be both physical and spiritual entities, plant and other animals are not mere

physical inanimate objects. Most potions and portions prepared by the Yorùbá

medicine man work only when the “spiritual signature” of the appropriate plant

is invoked. This is particularly important in illnesses that are caused by spiritual

powers. This is precisely why most medicines blended by medicine man are

administered in conjunction with incantations. An illness brought about by a

spiritual entity has physical effects on the individual. And if we are to fully

cure the individual of his or her illness, we need to administer treatment for

both the spiritual and physical aspects of that person’s being. Hence for a herbal

blend to be fully efficacious, there is the need “to call upon” the spirit of the

plants concocted into the herbal blend. (See Abíðbölá, K., 2001, for a more

detailed explanation of Yorùbá Medicine.)

Another illustration of how the Yorùbá religio-philosophical system

20

operates as practical beliefs can be depicted by contrasting the conception of evil

contained in the Yorùbá diaspora with the Manichean conception of evil that is

contained within the beliefs of many religions.

As already mentioned, the Ajogun (warriors against mankind) include: Ikú

(Death), Àrùn (Disease), Òfò (Loss), Êgbà (Paralysis), Õràn (Big Trouble), Èpè (Curse),

Êwõn (Imprisonment), and Èÿe (Affliction). “Traditional” Christian theology, for

instance, does not consider these powers to be separate entities that all have

individual spiritual existence. In the “traditional” Christian worldview, Satan is

(directly or indirectly) the source of all evil. The devil is the only supernatural

force to be blamed for all the ills and problems of mankind. In traditional

Yorùbá worldview, however, there is no devil that is responsible for all evil. I

will engage in some linguistic license to make my point crystal clear. Although

Manichean and other “traditional” worldviews uphold a mono-demonic

conception of evil, the Yorùbá worldview has a poly-demonic conception of evil

in which: (i) there are many evil supernatural entities, and (ii) in which evil is

not necessarily diametrically opposed to the good. For as explained above, the

Yorùbá worldview has entities that are morally neutral. Moreover, the Ajogun

have a dual existential nature: one the one hand they are regarded as evil

supernatural forces; but on the other hand, they are natural forces such as death,

loss, and “big trouble”.

The Yorùbá religio-philosophical understanding of evil makes it possible for

individuals to be held fully responsible for their own moral conduct. The

21

concept that explains this is called Ìwàpêlë (i.e., moral and gentle character).

Ìwàpêlë sets various moral and ethical standards of human conduct, and Yorùbá

all over the world, measure and judge human conduct on the basis of Ìwàpêlë. (See

Abíðbölá, W. 1975, and Abíðbölá, K. 2001 & 1994 for further details of Yorùbá

ethics.)

5. THE VALUE OF PRACTICAL BELIEFS

I have emphasized how five key religio-philosophical ideas come together to

explain the origins, dispersion, population, language, and culture of the Yorùbá

diaspora. These religio-philosophical ideas are:

(i) The common belief in Ilé-Ifê as the cradle of the Earth and its

inhabitants.

(ii) The multi-layered meanings of Ifá and their roles in the day-to-day

live of Yorùbá people.

(iii) Yorùbá Religion’s rather usual pantheon of gods and anti-gods.

(iv) The philosophical principle of elasticity (or cognitive openness) that

is implicit in the Yorùbá thought system.

(v) The unique and anomalous roles of the gender neutral High “God”,

Olódùmarè.

These are by no means the only unifying factors for the Yorùbá diaspora.

22

One other crucial unifying factor that can be spelt out quickly is that of cultural

identity. How does one become a Yorùbá person? The answer to this question is:

by birth, prescription, or choice. Anyone who is an offspring of a Yorùbá person

is ipso facto a Yorùbá. Often, when someone who is not a descendant of a Yorùbá

parent consults an Ifá priest or priestess, that person may be advised to “initiate”

into the sect of one of the 400+1 divinities. Anyone who is so initiated becomes

a Yorùbá by prescription. Finally, many people who are fascinated by the culture

may choose to be initiated even when it was not prescribed for them.

Cognitive religious or theological openness (i.e., the principle of elasticity) is

central to an understanding of the Yorùbá diaspora. This is precisely why it is a

diaspora that is devoid of segregation on the basis of color, caste, race, and

gender. The theme of openness to virtues from other cultures and religions are

prevalent in poems from Òtúrá Méjì, the thirteenth Odù of the Ifá Literary

corpus.

The following poem from Òtúrá Méjì illustrates the theme of cognitive

openness in Yorùbá Religion. In this poem, Ifá (i.e., Õrúnmìlà) the Yorùbá god of

knowledge and wisdom graciously accepted the conversion of his children to

Islam. This is because Yorùbá Religion has a practical purpose. It is not merely

concerned with faith and the afterlife, but also with practical guidelines on how

to live together in a diverse, multi-cultural, global, and cosmopolitan world. In

making use of poems such as this to deal with new, foreign and ‘strange’ ways,

Òtúrá Méjì suggests that we emulate Õrúnmìlà by evaluating the

23

others-regarding postulates of these new ways.

“Wútùwútù-yáákí”,

“Wútùwútù-yá¸bèlé”.

“Anyone-who-runs-until-complete-exhaustion-and-fatigue,

May-end-up-using-his or

her-expensive-àlàárì-cloth-to-blow-mucous-from-his-or-her-nostrils”.

5 “The-cattle-egret, bird-of-Muslims;

Takes-flight-from-atop-the-õpõtö-tree,

Then-perches-atop-the-lime-tree,

But-also-gains-a-lot-of-wisdom-in-the-process”.

These were the names of the diviners from the Divination Practice that divined for

Õrúnmìlà

10 When he was sorrowful and angst-ridden because he had no offspring of his own.

The Divination Practice prescribed sacrifice for Õrúnmìlà.

He was told to sacrifice two agile and swift rats,

Two fish that swam elegantly,

Two hens with large livers,

15 Two goats that were heavily pregnant,

And two cows whose horns were wrapped and woven like load-pads.

He performed the sacrifice.

When Õrúnmìlà first gave birth to a child,

He gave birth to Gambi.

20 When he gave birth another child,

He gave birth to Kalitu.

When he gave birth to a third child,

24

He gave birth to Daudu,

Who was the last and youngest of them all.

25 The Anti-god called Death did not kill them.

The Anti-god called Disease did not afflict them.

As they were growing up,

Õrúnmìlà taught them how to divine with the sacred palmnuts,

They mastered this.

30 He taught how to print the signatures of each Odù onto sand,

They mastered this.

He taught them how to prescribe and effectively perform sacrifices,

They mastered this.

But on one memorable day:

35 They took their father’s agbádá garments;

They took their mother’s gèlè headdress;

They wore the agbádá garments;

They turbaned themselves with the gèlè headdress;

They erected four pillars as supporting posts for a structure;

40 They went inside the structure they had erected;

They started to mutter inaudible words to themselves;

They were touching the floor with their foreheads;

They were standing up;

They were kneeling down;

45 They were getting up.

Their father was just observing them in amazement.

They were performing these rituals five times a day.

Õrúnmìlà then remembered the Ifá

25

That the diviners from the Divination Practice had chanted to him,

50 And he did not quarrel with his children.

After a while they perfected these rituals.

After a while,

They took this up as an occupation.

The result was that

55 When someone was having a naming ceremony,

They would go there.

If someone’s relation died,

That person would request the counsel of these children.

That was what they did

60 And they had many good things of life.

When they grew up,

And they had their own children,

Their children followed in their footsteps.

They started to dance joyously,

65 They started to rejoice.

They said that was exactly

How their Ifá priests sagaciously interpreted the chants of Ifá.

“Wútùwútù-yáákí”,

“Wútùwútù-yá¸bèlé”.

70 “Anyone-who-runs-until-complete-exhaustion-and-fatigue,

May-end-up-using-his or

her-expensive-àlàárì-cloth-to-blow-mucous-from-his-or-her-nostrils”.

“The-cattle-egret, bird-of-Muslims;

Takes-flight-from-atop-the-õpõtö-tree,

26

Then-perches-atop-the-lime-tree,

75 But-also-gains-a-lot-of-wisdom-in-the-process”.

These were the names of the diviners from the Divination Practice that divined for

Õrúnmìlà

When he was sorrowful and angst-ridden because he had no offspring of his own.

Sacrifice to Môlê was prescribed,

He was told that it would be advisable,

80 If he performed the sacrifice.

He listened to the prescribed sacrifice,

He performed it.

He listened to their instructions on how to present sacrifices to Èÿù,

He complied with these instructions.

85 He experienced an effective response,

Because the gods acceptance his sacrifice.

We are seeking three good things in life:

We are seeking money,

We are seeking children,

90 We are seeking a good end to our lives.*

27

REFERENCES

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Africa Review, 3, 1-30.

Abíðbölá, K. (1994). God and evil. Philosophy Now, 8, 23—25.

Abíðbölá, W. (1997). Ifá will mend our broken world. Roxbury: Aim Books.

Abíðbölá, W, & Hallen, B. (1993). Secrecy and objectivity in the methodology and

literature of Ifá divination. In M. Nooter (Ed.), Secrecy: African art that

conceals and reveals (pp. 213—221). New York: The Museum of Fine Arts.

Abíðbölá, W. (1984). The notion of sacrifice in Yorùbá Religion. In D.W. Fern

(Ed.), Restoring the kingdom (pp. 175—181). New York: Paragon Press.

Abíðbölá, W. (1976). Ifá: An exposition of Ifá literary corpus. Ìbàdàn: Oxford

University Press.

Abíðbölá, W. (1975). Iwapele: The concept of good character in Ifá literary

corpus. In W. Abíðbölá (Ed.), Yorùbá oral tradition (pp. 389—420). Ìbàdàn:

University of Ìbàdàn Press.

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Abíðbölá, W. (1971). Ifá divination poetry and the coming of Islam to

Yorùbáland: A preliminary investigation. Pan African Journal, IV:4, 440—454.

Abíðbölá, W. (1968). Ifá as a body of knowledge and as an academic discipline.

Lagos Notes and Records, 2:2, 30—40.

Akínjógbìn, I.A. (1967). Dahomey and its neighbours. Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press.

Àtàndá, J.A. (1973). The new Õyö empire: Indirect rule and change in Western

Nigeria 1894—1934. New York: Humanities Press.

Bíòbákú, S.O. (Ed.). (1973). Sources of Yorùbá history. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Brandon, G. (1997). Santeria from Africa to the new world: The dead sell

memories. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

Buckley, A. (1997). Yorùbá medicine. New York: Athelia Henrietta Press.

Curtin, P. (1969). Measuring the Atlantic slave trade once again: A comment. The

Journal of African History, 17:4, 595—605.

29

Curtin, P. (1969). The Atlantic slave trade: A census. Madison: University of

Wisconsin Press.

Crowther, S. (1843). A vocabulary of the Yorùbá language. London: C.M.S.

Inikori, J.E. (1976a). Measuring the Atlantic slave trade: A rejoinder. The Journal

of African History, 17:4, 607—627.

Inikori, J.E. (1976b). Measuring the Atlantic slave trade: An assessment of Curtin

and Anstey. The Journal of African Society, XVII:2, 197—223.

Johnson, S. (1921). The history of the Yorùbás from the earliest times to the

beginning of the British Protectorate. London: C.M.S.

Law, R.C.C. (1977). The Õyö Empire c. 1600—c.1836: A West African imperialism

in the era of the slave trade. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Law, R.C.C. (1971). The constitutional troubles of Õyö in the eighteenth century.

The Journal of African History, XII:1, 25—44.

Law, R.C.C. (1970). The chronology of the Yorùbá wars of the early nineteenth

century: A reconsideration. Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria, V:2,

30

211—222.

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FOOTNOTES

Page 13

* Actually, there are two divination systems: the full version with its 256 Odù,

and a condensed system called Çërìndílógun or “Sixteen Cowries”. Sixteen

Cowries assimilates the 256 Odù of the Ifá Literary Corpus into 16. It is called

Sixteen Cowries because, instead of the divination chain and sacred palm nuts

used in the full Ifá divination, it uses cowries.

Page 18

* It is difficult to place a figure on the number of individuals who visit Yorùbá

medical practitioners for help, but a quick look at any black-issues paper such as

The Voice is indicative of the success of Yorùbá medicine. This is because

numerous Yorùbá diviners and medicine men advertise in these papers. In the US

and the Americas, there are many practicing Yorùbá medical practitioners.

Page 27

* This is a contextual translation of the poem. (See Abíðbölá W, 1971, for a

different translation.) It should be noted that this poem also contains veiled

criticisms of Islam. For instance, lines 1 and 2 present Islamic prayers as

meaningless utterances. Also, lines 3 to 8 appear to be ridiculing the itinerant

way of life of early Islamic priests. This is precisely why line 5 calls the

cattle-egret (a white and restless bird), the bird of Muslims. But we should not

32

read to much negativity into these criticisms of Islam because Yorùbá Religion

actually takes cognitive openness to its most logical conclusion: there are

hundreds of Ifá poems in which Yorùbá gods and goddesses are also ridiculed,

mocked, and derided! Simply put, cognitive openness cuts both ways.