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The Mythological Religious Study of a Yoruba Goddess

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The Mythological Religious Study of a Yoruba Goddess OSI.JN OF OSOGBO AND OSI-JN IN THE NEV/ WORLD: THE MYTHOLOGICAL RELIGIOUS STUDY OF A YORUBA GODDESS Submitted by Adewale Alani Kuyebi Bachelor of Theology, CINDICO Erinmo, Nigeri4 July 1990 Master of Divinity, Acadia University, Wolfrille NS Canada" May 1994 Master of Religious Education, Wolfoille NS Canada, May 1994 Master of Theology, Westem Theological Seminary, Holland MI USA, May 1995 Master of Theology, Trinity University, Deerfield, IL USA, May 1998 A Thesis submitted to The Faculty of Graduate Studies In Partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Religion University of Manitoba, Winnipeg Manitoba Canada @ Adewale Alani Kuyebi, May 2008 THE UNTVERSITY OF MANITOBA FACULTY OF GRÁ,DUATE STIJDIES **tr2t* COPYRIGHT PERMISSION Osun of Osogbo and Osun in the New World: The Mythological Religious Study of a Yoruba Goddess BY Adewale Alani Kuyebi A ThesislPracticum submitted to the Facutty of Graduate Studies of The University of Manitoba in partial fulfillment of the requirement of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Adewale Alani Kuyeb¡ @ 2008 Permission has been granted to the University of Manitoba Libraries to lend a copy of this thesis/practicum, to Library and Archives Canada (LAC) to lend a copy of this thesis/practicum, and to LAC's agent (UMIlProQuest) to microfilm, sell copies and to pubtish an abstract of this thesis/practicum. This reproduction or copy of this thesis has been made available by authority of the copyright owner solely for the purpose of private study and research, and may only be reproduced and copied as permitted by copyright laws or with express written authorization from the copyright owner. Contents Abstract ...............v Aclcnowledgements .....vii Dedication . ... ......v111 CHAPTER 1: A. African Traditional Religion in the Old 'World . ........I B. Methods Applied in Studying African Traditional Religion in the New World ...........4 C. Structural Theories of Myth .........8 1. Ferdinard de Saussure (1857-1913).... .........13 2. Claude Levi Strauss (1908-2007) . ...........14 3. Carl G. Jung (1875-1961)...... ..........17 .MirceaEliade (1907-1986)...... ........20 5. Rudolf Bultmann (1884-1976)..... ...........21 D. Myth and Religious Studies .........24 E. Nature of Myth in Religious Studies ...........28 F. Functions of Myth in Religious Studies 3l G. The Challenges Involved in Studying Yoruba Myths . .....35 H. Previous Methodologies Applied in Studying Osun in Yorubaland ......42 CHAPTER 2 HER STORIES: OSUN AND OSOGBO IN YORUBALAND A. Osun, the Daughter of Olodumare . ..............45 7. Olodumare"God" in Yoruba Belief ..........45 2. Meanings and Spellings of Osun..... ..........47 i, Osun, the Ruler of Osogbo. ......48 ii. The Leadership of Osun ........50 iii. Osun, the Goddess of Fertility .................52 iv. Osun's Womanhood....... ,....54 v. Osun the Diviner .... .. ...55 vi. Osun as a Mother. .... .. .. ..59 B. Osogbo: Osun's Original Setting .......6I . 1. Yoruba Meet Osun .........62 i. The First Myth .......65 ii. The Second Myth .........65 iii. The Third Myth ...........66 2, Myths in the Yoruba Belief ......68 3. Historical Explanations of the Origin of Osun ......70 i. Series of Inter-Tribal Wars ..............71 ii. The Colonial Influences .......74 iii. The Growth and Development of Osogbo .........75 CHAPTER 3 THE OSUN ANNUAL FESTIVAL .. ,. , ,,,82 A. Atupø Olojumeridinlogun "the Sixteen-Face Lamps" 84 B. The Day of the Festival ..........88 1 . Activities at the Grove . .... ..90 2. The Annual Sacrifice ......90 3. The King's A¡nual Address ......92 4. Follow-up Activities .......93 C. Major Participants in the Annual Festival .......94 1. Ataoja .........94 2.IyaOsun. .............95 3. Aworo Osun . ................97 4. Balogun Osun . .. ..........98 D. Other Important Places and Things Associated with Osun Festival ...104 1. The Osun Grove ..... ....105 2. Images and Sculptures in the Osun Grove .. ...109 3. The Shrines of Other Yoruba Gods in the Grove ..........11i 4. Other Yoruba Religious Beliefs that Feature in the Osun Festival .....113 i. Oriki, Poems and Poetry . ..1 13 ii. Prayers, Petitions and Vows . .........1 14 iii. Singing, Dancing, and Costumes Dressings ..... .....116 iv. Drums and Musical Instruments ..... .........I17 E. Summary of the Festival 1i9 Chapter Four OSUN IN THE NEw WORLD: THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ATLANTIC ..... .......122 A. How Did the Yoruba Religion Get to the New World? ..........125 B. The General Knowledge of Osun in the New V/orld .....127 1. Osun as Orisa ..........128 2. Osun as a Saint .........I28 Osun in Cuba . ... .....134 A. The Africans as Lucumi ........130 B. African Religion in Cuba .........133 C. Yoruba Religion in Cuba . .....136 D. Osun Worship in Cuba ......I37 1. Oceans, Rivers and Lakes ...I39 2. Love, Beauty and Sex. .. ..140 3. Osun's New Names and Personalities.. ......142 E. Osun in Santeria ...I43 1. Osun's Favorites ......145 i. Image .........146 ii. Sexual Activities .....I47 iii. Color ..........148 iv. Number ........I49 v. Food .......149 vi. Materials.... ..........150 vii. Poetical Verses ........i51 2. Spirit Possession and Initiation in Osun . ..156 3. The Yoruba Language in Osun Worship ..........I57 Osun in Brazil . .. .. ..156 A. African Myths in Brazil .........157 B. The Yoruba in Brazil as Nago Community . .. .......158 1. Yoruba Descendants as Farmers . , , ....159 2. YorubaCults. ......160 C. Challenges Encountered by Yoruba V/orshippers in Brazil . .....161 D. The Yoruba Religion in Catholic Faith . ....163 1. Yoruba Churches Operating Under Catholic Faith .. ...164 2. Osun in Yoruba V/orship . .. ......165 lll i. Authority and Power ...........165 ii. The Priests (Babalawo) ...... .......166 Osun in Trinidad ... ....170 A. Yoruba Religion in Trinidad .........170 1. The Context ,......171 2. Music in Yoruba Religion . .. .......I73 B. Osun Worship ...............174 1. Sacred Centers and Forests ..........176 2. Osun and Divination in Trinidad ....177 3. Similarities in Sango and Osun. ..............178 4. Sango's Taboos and Rules ...I79 5. Festivals and Ceremonies . ...........179 CHAPTER 5 OSTIN IN JAMAICA AND IN HAITI A. Yoruba People AND Osun in Jamaica 181 B. Yoruba and Osun in Haiti ........183 1. Voodoo and Yoruba Religion . ....184 2. Osun Worship ...... ....185 i. Haiti Syncreticism.... ..........187 ii. Religious Meetings ..........187 iii. African Religious Music .... 188 Summary of Osun Worship in the New World Conclusion BIBLIOGRAPHY 1V Abstract This thesis asks the question whether and to what extent Osun in the New World is the same as the Osun of the Old World. My argument is that the selected Yoruba myths studied in this dissertation prove that Osun in the Old and the New Worlds is the same divinity as the Osun of the New World. Our three areas of study are: myth as a form of oral literature for the Yoruba religious studies, the Osun annual festival as the season of celebration of her divinity, and the worship of Osun in the New World today. Earlier researches on Osun either limited themselves to Osun in Nigeria or solely concentrated on the personalities of Osun in the New World. In answering this question, I propose to study the myths of Osun. Myth is a form of African oral literature. I will describe and explore the significances of the symbols in the myth. Myth has narrative, descriptive functions and it is meaningful in understanding a religion. Descriptive research such as this is important in analyzing the relation between a religious lifestyle and personality traits. Myth forms a spiritual storyline which is useful for the descriptive theorist to work with. Empirical study has to test the hypothesis of compare and contrast the new nature of a religion. Myth, for instance, contains facts or statements about society and universe which is not accessible by ordinary observational techniques by itself. There are various meanings in symbols, n¿rrnes, attributes and characters that appear in myth. Love, powers, passion, beautiful, seductive, young, mountains, running waters, jewelry, mirror, fans, gold, little bells, parrot, peacock, quail, clams, hawk, Thursday, yellow, green, number five, cake, oranges, cinnamon, honey, melon, Venus, Moon, bedroom, kitchen and many more are coded with meanings and messages that contribute to the continuation of Osun worship in the Old and the New World. For the purpose of conciseness in this dissertation, Osogbo and other Yorubaland towns are hereafter referred to as the Old World. Cuba, Brazil, Trinidad, Jamaica, Haiti and other nations of Americas are henceforth referred to as the New World. These classifications are similar to the usage of the previous studies of the African and African- American religions. The methodology applied in this study is called the descriptive structural approach to myth. Richard Mercer Dorson (1972), William Russell Bascom (1969, 1975), Saburi O. Biobaku (1973), Isidore Okpewho (1983, 1992), Graham Furness (1995) and Jan Vansina (1985, 2006) had successfully studied myths and religions. Irving Hexham and Karla Poewe studied the effects of myths in understanding cults and new age religion (Hexham and Poewe 1986: 55, 57,72). Where I depart from these scholars' uses of myth is that I focus on describing origin and in interpreting the structural myths of Osun and how they helped in sustaining Osun worship in the Old V/orld and in the New World. I intend to work with one tradition that exists in two different geographical settings. For this reason I
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