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On Divinities: a Comparative Analysis of Selected Yoruba and Chinese On Divinities: A Comparative Analysis of Selected Yoruba and Chinese Divinities Banwo Adetoro Olaniyi Department of Linguistics, African and Asian Studies University of Lagos, Akoka-Lagos, Nigeria E-mail: [email protected] Traditional societies such as the Yoruba and the Chinese share a lot in common. Their values and traditions are modelled on rules and regulations set by supernatural beings or deities. Both societies have historical trajectories that reveals that certain deities have transcendental origins, unique attributes and supreme qualities that are based on an unquestionable truth. The Yoruba cosmology discloses the supremacy of Olódùmarè, who is seen as a supreme being and whose power is absolute. His uniqueness and preeminence is seen by all and acknowledged accordingly. Also from Yoruba cosmology we learn that the Orisas are divinities because they are seen as the offspring of Olódùmarè. Other Yoruba divinities include obatala (lady of mercy), Ogun (the patron of blacksmiths, metallurgists, soldiers, hunters), Sango (the divinity of vengeance) and Osun Seegesi (the elegant deity of wealth). In Chinese cosmology, Shangdi 上帝 is the Chinese terminology for the highest deity in their classical texts. This connotation is embedded in the meaning of primordial deity or first deity in Chinese classical texts. Shangdi just like Olódùmarè has other divinities that assist it in the control of the universe. These divinities are in control of different parts of the earth and human life. Amongst others, Chinese cosmology centers on other deities such as Tiāngōng 天公 who is seen as the "Duke of Heaven" or "General of Heaven"; Tiānjūn 天君 who is connoted as the "Prince of Heaven" or "Lord of Heaven". In a nutshell, Chinese divinities can be grouped under divinities of human virtues and crafts, divinities of celestial and terrestrial phenomena and cosmic gods. This research work intends to compare and contrast selected divinities of the Yoruba and the Chinese. It also aims to reveal how these cultures perceive and uphold their divinities. Keywords: Supreme Being, Tradition, values, cosmology and divinities. Introduction What are divinities? How do people perceive them? What inherent connotation do they have? Webster (1983) defined divinities as the state of being divine, it could come in the form of a deity, godhead or godhood. A deity is a god or someone exalted or revered as supremely good or powerful to be ranked as a god because he or she has the essential nature to be qualified as a divinity. Its origin can be traced to Middle English that called it divin, the anglo-french, from latin it was called divinus and from divus or god. The Latin connotation of divinity can be seen as divinus which could be a god, a soothsayer or a divinare. Oxford Dictionaries inferred two connotations in the conceptualization of divinities, it could be the study of religion which is called theology or the state of being divine, a divine being, a god or goddess (Dictionary, 2008). For the purpose of this research work, divinities would be perceived through the definition offered by Webster (1983) who explained that a divinity could be a god or someone who has been exalted to the position of a god due to the fact that he or she possesses exceptional abilities and qualities. The Chinese strongly affirm that in every area of their human life one must evoke a certain belief or practice. To them gods, spirits, ghosts, demons surround every situation in which they find themselves. Chinese culture upholds that the stars decide their fate, heaven and earth possesses them, and man has to know how to apply the rules or to protect himself against the supernatural powers or to gain their favors. To them the art of living is the art of coming to an understanding with the divine forces and neutralize the hostility of superior forces by magic practices and devices. What human existence comprises for the Chinese is not only the time between birth and death but the time after death as well. His fate after death and during his lifetime is highly influenced by his actions during his lifetime. The Chinese see themselves as existing in a boundless universe in which they have to maintain their position through surviving the unalterable principles of order. The universe has orders in which they have to comply with, although there are hostile forces, the Chinese don’t believe that they have to accept them as blind fate, they can be influenced or manipulated through higher purposeful forces. Throughout the history of China till date, the Chinese expose themselves as a spiritual people firmly planted in the soil of earthly reality who believe that the supernatural provides them with the guidelines for social conduct (Eder, 1973). Similarly, the Yoruba uphold that the foundation of their life and their governing principle is firmly rooted in their faith of supernatural gods or deities. Their faith is clearly expressed in their music, songs, myths, folktale, riddles and proverbs. They are also primarily accommodating and tolerant in their belief (Okehie-Offoha & Sadiku (Eds.) (1996). Yoruba traditional religion has a pantheon of deities called the Orisha. They honor between 400 and 700 Yoruba gods which they regard existed before the creation of the earth. Others are heroes or heroines from their ancient past that have become gods after their deaths. This tribe postulate that before we were born, we stand before God and choose our own destiny (Ayanmo). We decide before we ever arrive on earth what we would contribute to the world, where we will live, who we will love and even the day we will die. This tribe is highly traditional and their practice varies from one community to another. A deity (god) may be male in one village and female in another. Yoruba traditional religion holds that there is one Supreme Being and hundreds of orisha, or minor deities. The worshipers of a deity are referred to as his "children" (Hetfield, 1996). The inherent connotation here is that both the Chinese and the Yoruba have firm roots in the supernatural, over the years they have evolved one form of divinity which represents their own traditions. They also hold in esteem that their daily life and existence can be influenced through their actions, practices and rituals accordingly. Thus, every staunch believer is expected to keep up with reverence to avoid any wrath that may befall them as a result of negligence or anger of the deity. Deities or gods, supernatural beings have tremendous influence on the existence of human life. These cultural; groups, i.e. the Yoruba and the Chinese revere deities because they opine that they regulate, observe and influence human existence. Mbiti (1969) asserts that there are many divinities as there are human needs, he exclaims that one divinity is associated with wealth, rain, harvest, human fertility, death, medicine and iron. This work intends to scrutinize the worship of different deities among the Yoruba and the Chinese. It intends to explore their powers, mode of worship and level of people’s consciousness about them. It also expects to reveal the importance and the roles of these deities on their cultural life and existence. Furthermore, an insight into the deities of these tribes would expose the civilization of their cultures and their traditional beliefs. Literature Review Chinese civilization was created within the framework of cosmogonic holism and in the words of Frederick Mote, “the genuine Chinese cosmogony is that of organismic process, meaning that all the parts of the entire cosmos belong to one organic process and they all interact as participants in one spontaneously self-generating life process (Mote, 2010). This organismic process is what Tu Wei-ming amplifies as being characterized by “three basic motifs: continuity, wholeness and dynamism. All modalities of being from a rock to heaven are integral parts of a continuum. Since nothing is outside of this continuum, the chain of being is never broken. A linkage will always be found between any given pair of things in the universe (Wei-Ming, 1996). This ancient Chinese world view, sometimes referred to as correlative cosmology is surely not unique, in essence it represents the substratum of the human view of the world found widely among primitive societies that believe in gods, divinities, deities and their ancestors. Eder (1973) claims that Chinese worship of gods were based on benevolence and whom they were sure the hostilities could be warded off. The Chinese also worshipped heroes who were embellished with legends and fables through their historic personalities. The Chinese perception of gods is very vague in its significance, they use the terminology kuei-shen which means the returning souls of the dead or higher beings who never had a human life. They have two different connotations to this, they could be earthly or heavenly spirits or they could be dead souls which were worshipped. Chinese gods and spirits were conceived as omnipotent, more superior than human beings who have higher intelligence and knowledge. Chinese gods and spirits can be categorized into forces of nature (Hi-ho-mother of the sun; Heng-no- the goddess of the moon, Feng-po- count of the wind, Yu-shih- the lord of thunder, Ho-po the lord of the waters, the gods of the four oceans). Another categorization is the god of human activities (Ta- szu-ming-the god of fate, Kiao-mei- the god over marriages, Tsao-kung- the Prince Hearth, Chung-liu- the god of impluvium, Tsing-the god of the well and Hing- the god of access). Tomoyasu & Keliher (2010) offers a historical perspective into the study of deities and gods in China. He affirms that Chinese gods and deities were worshipped according to the characteristic and tradition of the particular locality.
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