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As an Expression of Yorùbá Aesthetic Philosophy
ISSN 2039-2117 (online) Mediterranean Journal of Vol 9 No 4 ISSN 2039-9340 (print) Social Sciences July 2018 Research Article © 2018 Ajíbóyè et.al.. This is an open access article licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/). Orí (Head) as an Expression of Yorùbá Aesthetic Philosophy Olusegun Ajíbóyè Stephen Fọlárànmí Nanashaitu Umoru-Ọ̀ kẹ Department of Fine and Applied Arts, Obafemi Awólọ́ wọ University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria Doi: 10.2478/mjss-2018-0115 Abstract Aesthetics was never a subject or a separate philosophy in the traditional philosophies of black Africa. This is however not a justification to conclude that it is nonexistent. Indeed, aesthetics is a day to day affair among Africans. There are criteria for aesthetic judgment among African societies which vary from one society to the other. The Yorùbá of Southwestern Nigeria are not different. This study sets out to examine how the Yorùbá make their aesthetic judgments and demonstrate their aesthetic philosophy in decorating their orí, which means head among the Yorùbá. The head receives special aesthetic attention because of its spiritual and biological importance. It is an expression of the practicalities of Yorùbá aesthetic values. Literature and field work has been of paramount aid to this study. The study uses photographs, works of art and visual illustrations to show the various ways the head is adorned and cared for among the Yoruba. It relied on Yoruba art and language as a tool of investigating the concept of ori and aesthetics. Yorùbá aesthetic values are practically demonstrable and deeply located in the Yorùbá societal, moral and ethical idealisms. -
African Concepts of Energy and Their Manifestations Through Art
AFRICAN CONCEPTS OF ENERGY AND THEIR MANIFESTATIONS THROUGH ART A thesis submitted to the College of the Arts of Kent State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts by Renée B. Waite August, 2016 Thesis written by Renée B. Waite B.A., Ohio University, 2012 M.A., Kent State University, 2016 Approved by ____________________________________________________ Fred Smith, Ph.D., Advisor ____________________________________________________ Michael Loderstedt, M.F.A., Interim Director, School of Art ____________________________________________________ John R. Crawford-Spinelli, D.Ed., Dean, College of the Arts TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES………………………………………….. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS …………………………………… vi CHAPTERS I. Introduction ………………………………………………… 1 II. Terms and Art ……………………………………………... 4 III. Myths of Origin …………………………………………. 11 IV. Social Structure …………………………………………. 20 V. Divination Arts …………………………………………... 30 VI. Women as Vessels of Energy …………………………… 42 VII. Conclusion ……………………………………….…...... 56 VIII. Images ………………………………………………… 60 IX. Bibliography …………………………………………….. 84 X. Further Reading ………………………………………….. 86 iii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Porogun Quarter, Ijebu-Ode, Nigeria, 1992, Photograph by John Pemberton III http://africa.si.edu/exhibits/cosmos/models.html. ……………………………………… 60 Figure 2: Yoruba Ifa Divination Tapper (Iroke Ifa) Nigeria; Ivory. 12in, Baltimore Museum of Art http://www.artbma.org/. ……………………………………………… 61 Figure 3.; Yoruba Opon Ifa (Divination Tray), Nigerian; carved wood 3/4 x 12 7/8 x 16 in. Smith College Museum of Art, http://www.smith.edu/artmuseum/. ………………….. 62 Figure 4. Ifa Divination Vessel; Female Caryatid (Agere Ifa); Ivory, wood or coconut shell inlay. Nigeria, Guinea Coast The Metropolitan Museum of Art, http://www.metmuseum.org. ……………………… 63 Figure 5. Beaded Crown of a Yoruba King. Nigerian; L.15 (crown), L.15 (fringe) in. -
Ori, Ritual and Yoruba Drama of Existence
IOSR Journal Of Humanities And Social Science (IOSR-JHSS) Volume 17, Issue 1 (Nov. - Dec. 2013), PP 42-47 e-ISSN: 2279-0837, p-ISSN: 2279-0845. www.iosrjournals.org Ori, Ritual and Yoruba Drama of Existence Lekan Balogun Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand Abstract: By their nature, rituals cannot provide scientific link between cause and effect, yet for their functional value they produce results. The Yoruba understanding expressed through belief in Ori as a potent vehicle through which man confronts life draws attention to this reality. Drama has also functioned in underlining this fact. The paper engages this Yoruba ritual concept and makes a case for an authentic Yoruba (African) value by exploring this aspect of the people’s ritual, through an exploration of Wole Soyinka’s Death and the King’s Horseman. By examining the character of Elesin Oba and his son, Olunde, showing how each comes to the understanding and the crucial perception of their individual Ori, and the exploration of their iwa, the paper shows the essential place of that aspect of the people’s belief in their lives and worldview. Keywords: archetypes, consciousness, cosmos, performative art, ritual. I. Introduction In the introduction to the essay, “Prayers to the Orisha: a look at Santeria”, Elizabeth Caudillo asks “Who owns your head?”(2)[1].This is one of the most significant ontological questions, which the Yoruba worldview concerns itself with and, indeed, provides an answer to. Ori is made up of the prefix “o” that stands for the individual, male/female and the suffix “ri” which means “to perceive” and both freely translate as “seat of perception”, or in Western theological term, “seat of consciousness”, or in Taoism, the “unknowable I” at the centre of self-awareness”(Awo Fatunmbi, 45)[2]. -
The Yoruba Trickster God Author(S): John Pemberton Source: African Arts, Vol
Regents of the University of California Eshu-Elegba: The Yoruba Trickster God Author(s): John Pemberton Source: African Arts, Vol. 9, No. 1 (Oct., 1975), pp. 20-27+66-70+90-92 Published by: UCLA James S. Coleman African Studies Center Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3334976 Accessed: 27-10-2016 14:24 UTC JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://about.jstor.org/terms Regents of the University of California, UCLA James S. Coleman African Studies Center are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to African Arts This content downloaded from 141.213.142.215 on Thu, 27 Oct 2016 14:24:20 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms Eshu-Elegba: TheYoruba Trickster God saying cited by Fadipe that "every head of mound of cement about two feet high A t the entrance of almost every com- pound in the Yoruba town of Ila- a compound must have an Eshu outside painted with vertical red stripes. A chunk Orangun, a chunk of red laterite rock his compound and the baale who does not of laterite rock is embedded in the top. It (yangi) protrudes from a hollow in the will have to give account to Eshu" (1970: is the palace shrine for Eshu to which of- base of the wall on the right side of the 285-6). -
Orality and Visuality As Media of Communication in African
International Journal of International Relations, Media and Mass Communication Studies Vol.2, No.1, pp.1-20, March 2016 ___Published by European Centre for Research Training and Development UK (www.eajournals.org) ORALITY AND VISUALITY AS MEDIA OF COMMUNICATION IN AFRICAN DIVINATION Ayo Elebute, Ph.D Department of Mass Communication, Igbinedion University, Okada, Edo State, Nigeria ABSTRACT This study is intended to facilitate the basic understanding of Orality and Visuality as media of communication in African divination systems and to underscore their relationships with related ritualistic and oracular activities and/or actions, and to emphasize their importance within the context of an Oracle that makes statements about future events or about the truth. It is discovered that the Oral languages and Visual images are major components of divination used by the diviners to communicate to the gods on behalf of the people in the traditional African society. From the angle of orality it is discovered that African divination covers a whole corpus of literature consisting not only of straightforward injunctions to sacrifice, of meaningful and elaborate names and (sometimes) prose stories, but also of a body of allusive and complex poetry used in passing oracular messages to diviners’ visitors. From visuality point of view it is established that seriated artistic compositions and mythic allusions to pristine primordial African cultural genres characterize African divination sculpture. In Yoruba divination trays (Opon Ifa), for an example, low relief zoomorphic, aquatic and anthropomorphic images, and geometric shapes encircle the divining surface. Above all it is concluded that some divination trays and other oracular apparatuses are depicted with equestrian figures and caryatid decorations to evoke legendary diviners and their worldly exploits. -
'Standardized Chapel Library Project' Lists
Standardized Library Resources: Baha’i Print Media: 1) The Hidden Words by Baha’u’llah (ISBN-10: 193184707X; ISBN-13: 978-1931847070) Baha’i Publishing (November 2002) A slim book of short verses, originally written in Arabic and Persian, which reflect the “inner essence” of the religious teachings of all the Prophets of God. 2) Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah by Baha’u’llah (ISBN-10: 1931847223; ISBN-13: 978-1931847223) Baha’i Publishing (December 2005) Selected passages representing important themes in Baha’u’llah’s writings, such as spiritual evolution, justice, peace, harmony between races and peoples of the world, and the transformation of the individual and society. 3) Some Answered Questions by Abdul-Baham, Laura Clifford Barney and Leslie A. Loveless (ISBN-10: 0877431906; ISBN-13 978-0877431909) Baha’i Publishing, (June 1984) A popular collection of informal “table talks” which address a wide range of spiritual, philosophical, and social questions. 4) The Kitab-i-Iqan Book of Certitude by Baha’u’llah (ISBN-10: 1931847088; ISBN-13: 978:1931847087) Baha’i Publishing (May 2003) Baha’u’llah explains the underlying unity of the world’s religions and the revelations humankind have received from the Prophets of God. 5) God Speaks Again by Kenneth E. Bowers (ISBN-10: 1931847126; ISBN-13: 978- 1931847124) Baha’i Publishing (March 2004) Chronicles the struggles of Baha’u’llah, his voluminous teachings and Baha’u’llah’s legacy which include his teachings for the Baha’i faith. 6) God Passes By by Shoghi Effendi (ISBN-10: 0877430209; ISBN-13: 978-0877430209) Baha’i Publishing (June 1974) A history of the first 100 years of the Baha’i faith, 1844-1944 written by its appointed guardian. -
Revisiting the Yoruba Ethnogenesis: a Religio- Cultural Hermeneutics of Ancient Egyptian Texts
REVISITING THE YORUBA ETHNOGENESIS: A RELIGIO- CULTURAL HERMENEUTICS OF ANCIENT EGYPTIAN TEXTS Emmanuel Folorunso Taiwo* & Aghedo Paul Daniel* http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/og.v11i 1.9 Abstract The ethnogenesis of the Yoruba has been a subject of various historical critical arguments in recent scholarship. Local historians and their foreign counterpart have explored different scholarly models to ascertain the origin of the Yoruba race. A sizeable number of these accounts usually explore the historical evidence from ancient Egypt. Although, such historical traditions differ from one school of thought to another, some modern historians of Yoruba descent insist that the Yoruba originated from Egypt. In recent times this development has generated debates; though, some schools of thought have argued that there are indices of religio-cultural affinity between the Yoruba and the ancient Egyptians, yet others maintain that the presence of white skinned Egyptians and the Arabs, do not seem to confirm that the Yoruba originated from Egypt. This paper seeks to explore the possibilities of an Egypto-Yoruba ethnogenesis by examining the religio-cultural elements in ancient Egyptian texts. Keywords: Ancient Egyptians, Yoruba, Ethnogenesis, religio- cultural, Ma’at Introduction There are two sources of the Yoruba ethnogenesis, which this study intends to explore; the first being the “Ifa corpus”, the Yoruba generally believe that this mystical phenomenon has records of the mysteries about the existence of the Yoruba people. Thus, it is Ifa, which can duly explain the origin of the Yoruba. Within the norm of this concept, the Yoruba believes that Olodumare; the supreme God created the universe and the gods. -
Divine Women in Santeria: Healing with a Gendered Self Elizabeth Tracy
Florida State University Libraries Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations The Graduate School 2005 Divine Women in Santeria: Healing with a Gendered Self Elizabeth Tracy Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected] THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES DIVINE WOMEN IN SANTERIA: HEALING WITH A GENDERED SELF By ELIZABETH TRACY A Thesis submitted to the Department of Religion In partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Degree Awarded: Spring Semester 2005 The members of the Committee approve the thesis of Elizabeth Tracy defended on March 30, 2005. __________________________________________ John Corrigan Professor Directing Thesis __________________________________________ Amy Koehlinger Committee Member __________________________________________ Amanda Porterfield Committee Member Approved: Dr. John Kelsay, Chair, Department of Religion The Office of Graduate Studies has verified and approved the above named committee members. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Thanks to Eleggua for opening the door and to my parents. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract …………………………………………………………………….v INTRODUCTION …………………………………………………………… 1 1. HISTORICAL FEMINIST APPROACH TO SANTERIA……………..……...5 2. STORIES OF THE FEMININE………………………………………………..15 3. RITUALS AS PLACES OF POWER AND HEALING IN SANTERIA……..31 CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………………...40 APPENDIX………………………………………………………………………..42 BIBLIOGRAPHY…………………………………………………………………43 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH……………………………………………………...46 -
Mitología Yoruba
MITOLOGÍA YORUBA HEBE NOVICH MITOLOGÍA YORUBA La mitología yoruba es la gama mundial de deidades de creencias y religiones yoruba, procedente de África (principalmente en Nigeria y Benín), y que han influido o ha dado a luz a varias religiones en el resto del mundo, como la Santería en Cuba o el Candomblé en Brasil, además de las propias religiones del pueblo yoruba. La mitología yoruba es sólo una parte del complejo de mitos, canciones, historias y otros conceptos culturales que conforma la sociedad y la religión yoruba. Deidades Las deidades Yorubas se llaman Orishas, literalmente ‘dueños de la cabeza’. Shangó es quizás el Orisha más conocido. Dios del Trueno y un antepasado del pueblo Yoruba. Él fue el cuarto rey del pueblo yoruba, y se deificó tras su muerte. Se cree que los Orishas alguna vez fueron humanos, derivándose de allí muchos de sus Pattakies (historias, relatos) en la Tierra, y que luego de su muerte pasaron al cielo, donde viven junto a Olofi (Dios). Son muchas las deidades de este panteón, se conoce que existen poco más de 400 orishas. Todos ellos avocados a traer estabilidad y firmeza a las personas que deciden dar sus primeros pasos en esta religión. Deidades principales • Aja • Aje • Babalu aye • Egéngún • Elegua • Eshu • Íbeji • Obba • Obàtálá • Ògún • Oshun • Odùduwa • Olokun • Orunmila • Oshunmare • Oya • Shangó • Yemayá • Alggayú • Yeguá • Olofi • Orisha Oko • Ozaín • Ochosi • Inlé • Dada Pattaki de deidades yorubas Pattaki de Orula Al saber que Oggún había querido fornicar con su propia madre, Obatalá ordenó matar a todos sus hijos varones. Cuando nació Changó, Elegba se lo llevó escondido a Dadá, para que lo criara. -
A Study of Ogun Festival in Ondoland
International Journal on Studies in English Language and Literature (IJSELL) Volume 5, Issue 5, May 2017, PP 1-12 ISSN 2347-3126 (Print) & ISSN 2347-3134 (Online) http://dx.doi.org/10.20431/2347-3134.0505001 www.arcjournals.org Literary and Poetic Aspects of Ogun Deity: A Study of Ogun Festival in Ondoland Dr. Olu-Osayomi Olusegun Department of Languages & Literary Studies, School of Education and Humanities, Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State Abstract: Ogun festival among the Yoruba of Western Nigeria and among Africans generally, have been the subject of many learned discourses. This is largely illustrative of the popularity of the deity as an integral aspect of cultural heritage and as a vehicle for social cohesion. However, the poetic aspect of how Ogun deity is worshipped during Ogun festival by the Yoruba particularly the Ondo people, demands a deeper religious appreciation on which researchers of comparative mythology and religion have not done enough. This thus constitutes the subject of this paper. The paper, therefore, focuses on the exploration of the literary and poetic aspects of Ogun deity in relation to Ogun festival in Ondoland. It further examines the origin and role of Ogun deity in Yorubaland, Ogun in Ondo, the cultural basis of Ogun in Ondo, cardinal attributes of Ogun deity, role of worshippers in Ogun festival, mode of worship and its importance, Ogun and social harmony in Ondo; in order to appraise the immense significance of the various exploits and life – style that were recorded about Ogun deity in Ondoland. The aesthetic value or merit of this poetic form, however, is to the Ondo secondary to its religious significance. -
Ogun in Precolonial Yorubaland a Comparative Analysis
3 Ogun in Precolonial Yorubaland A Comparative Analysis Clerical intellectuals like Samuel Johnson prided themselves on being the con- structors of a more nearly unified concept of Yoruba society and culture,1 includ- ing something that they called “Yoruba heathenism.”2 Yet they were well aware of the variety that stood in the way of this task, since their very activity as evangelists introduced them to religious practices in dozens of communities across a large swath of Yorubaland, and their detailed reports necessarily document it. In this chapter my aim is to use this evidence in a deconstructionist spirit, suggesting that the sheer extent of regional diversity in Yoruba religious practice calls into question whether we should be speaking of Yoruba religion as a single entity at all. We have to deconstruct Yoruba religion if we are to see it as an entity with a history rather than (as most of the literature presents it) as a pantheon of deities with unchanging, even eternal attributes, as first manifest in the archetypal setting of primordial Ile-Ife. Ogun, the Yoruba god of iron and war, makes an excellent subject for this purpose, since his cult is spread all over Yorubaland, placing him clearly in the quite small number of truly pan-Yoruba orisa. In this task, compari- son will play a key role, in two dimensions: between the manifestation of Ogun in different areas/locations and between the functional attributes of Ogun and other orisa. What will emerge is a view of Yoruba traditional reli- gion as less a single pantheon of deities with fixed attributes in relation to one another, spread evenly across the whole country, than a spectrum of varying cult complexes, each one the product of a unique set of local and historical circumstances. -
A Historical Analysis of the Interconnectivity of Ogun Onire
DOI 10.32370/IA_2019_01_5 A Historical Analysis of the Interconnectivity of Ogun Onire Festival and Ire-Ekiti: Tracing the Ancestral Link Adeleye, Oluwafunke Adeola Department of History and International Studies Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti. 08067172929 [email protected] Abstract Ogun is a prominent god in Yoruba traditional religious belief. He is renowned and might not require the introduction needed for some other deities in Yorubaland. This study examines the migration account of the origin of the people of Ire-Ekiti, belief about Supreme Being (God) who is worshipped through gods in Yorubaland prior to the coming of the Europeans and the indigenous culture in Ire-Ekiti before the advent of Western Culture. The study focuses principally on the form of Ogun that does not enjoy prominence, which represent a deviation from its other forms in Yorubaland. The focus of this study is to assess the heroic deeds of Ogun, the deity on the evolution of Ire community in Ekiti State. The study examines the circumstances culminating in the emergence of the celebration of Ogun, a deity in Yorubaland. Though Ogun is peculiar to the Yoruba race, he will be discussed majorly within the boundaries of Ire-Ekiti. The study makes use of historical analysis to achieve its objectives. To attain this, primary and secondary sources were used. Primary sources include interview, praise poems, cognomen and rituals. The secondary sources include written materials e.g. journals, textbooks, newspapers, monographs and internet materials. Keywords: Festival, Ogun, Ire Ekiti, Yoruba deities, Culture Introduction Festivals are celebrated to preserve the cultural heritage of the society.