Ogboni

The Ogboni Association is a religious association in southwestern Nigeria .

The Ogboni Association, known in Ijebu oshugbo , plays an important role in traditional Yoruba society as an important socio-religious institution . As a religious institution, it celebrates the founding fathers and mothers of local societies , who are revered as ancestors, but also as earth spirits . In most cases these founding fathers are the mythical ancestors of a local king - so the cult refers less to the sky god Odudua, the cosmic ancestor of all legitimate kings of the Yoruba, and more to the local heroes, who are still found as earth spirits as founders of the various communities watch over their prosperity.

The well-being of the community is and was guaranteed by cultivating tradition, which insists on harmonious cooperation between the various social groups, men and women, old and young. The Ogboni League therefore includes all traditional leaders (men and in some cases women), including the dignitaries of the local religious cults, the district chiefs, important court officials and military leaders.

According to Henry Drewal which runs initiation into the Oshugbo Association in Ijebu in several stages and is considered complete when the initiator of a iwekun called ceremony has completed. A bracelet made of three cowries attached to a ribbon (okun) is washed and then worn on the left wrist. The most important members of the Oshugbo League are six high chiefs who preside over the various districts and who are related to the founders of the community through their lineage affiliation. The highest functionaries are the Oluwo, who calls and leads the meetings, the Apena, who calls people to iledi, makes sacrifices and protects the ritual objects in the cult house, and the Erelu or Olupon ("spoon holder"). It is so called because it spreads (upon) food with a large wooden spoon.

The king himself is represented by a dignitary named Olorin ("owner of the metal"), who is elected in Ijebu by the Oshugbo League. In Oyo , the alfin is represented by a dignitary from the court.

Due to the social status of its members, the Ogboni / Oshugbo League is not only a religious group responsible for the cult of royal ancestors and ancient traditions, but also a very powerful social institution that takes part in the assessment of all social, political and legal issues is involved and plays an important role in the complex network of power and power control as a counterbalance to the ruler's sacred power. One could describe the Ogboni as a cult of traditional rule. At the meetings, which take place every 16 or 17 days, the members of Ogboni / Oshugbo perform the rituals for the royal ancestors, eat, drink and discuss all important matters of the city. The content of their discussions does not penetrate into the outside world because of a sacred oath of secrecy sworn before the ancestral earth spirits. The earth is a witness to all human deeds. Supported by the traditional laws of the royal ancestors, the union can even submit the ruler to his will in the event of a conflict. He mediates disputes, sits in court and was previously able to impose death sentences, which were carried out by the related Oro-Bund.

See also

• Yoruba religion

literature

• Frank Jacob (ed.): Secret Societies: Kulturhistorische Sozialstudien: Secret Societies: Comparative Studies in Culture, Society and History, Königshausen & Neumann, Würzburg 2012, ISBN 978-3826049088
• Henri John Drewal: Yoruba, Nine Centuries of African Art and Thought. Center for African Art, New York 1989, ISBN 0-8109-1794-7 .
• Hans Witte: Earth and the ancestors: Ogboni Iconography. Gallery Balolu, Amsterdam 1988, ISBN 90-900240-1-8 .
• CO Adepegba: Yoruba Metal Sculpture. Ibadan University Press, Ibadan 1991, ISBN 978-121-232-2 .
• Hans Witte: A Closer Look. Local Styles in the Yoruba Art Collection of the Afrika Museum, Berg en Dal. Afrika Museum, Berg en Dal 2004, ISBN 90-71611-16-7 .