Yoruba religion

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Temple in the sacred grove of the goddess Osun

The Yoruba religion is mainly practiced in parts of Nigeria and neighboring Benin . It is also the origin of a number of religious traditions that today flourish mainly in various countries in America . These Afro-American religions include Vodoun ( Voodoo ), Santería , Umbanda , Candomblé , Macumba and a few more, whereby the boundaries between one another and with Christianity are often fluid. Some even speak of a "Yoruba world religion " because of its wide distribution, especially among blacks in many countries .

The sacred grove of Orisha Osun has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2005 and the Ifá oracle of Orisha Òrúnmìlà is a UNESCO masterpiece of humanity .

Pataki

Patakis are narratives of the Yoruba that tell of the creation of the world, the origins, the relationships and the actions of the Orisa . Most of them go back to myths or folk tales .

cosmology

The cosmology is based on an inseparable cosmos in which the invisible area (òrun) and the visible area (aye) interact via Ashé and are kept in balance. In òrun there are olódùmarè , orishas and ancestors, in aye the living. There is no polarization between “ the good ” and “ the bad ”.

This idea is expressed in representations of the Yorùbá.

  • A calabash symbolizes the cosmos with its two halves.
  • A divination board (opon ifá) of the Ifá oracle consists of a raised edge with figures and a flat, smooth center.

Olódùmarè

Olódùmarè (Odumare; Olórun; Olófi) is the creator of the Orishas and the universal life energy Aché (Aşe; Ashé) or these are his emanation . He is without a specific gender. He is together with the Orishas and the ancestors (égún) in heaven ( òrun; " world of gods "), but only the Orishas Obatala and Ellegua know his "whereabouts". It is far removed from the problems of everyday life in the earthly world ( ayé, aiyé; "this side "). Therefore the believers seek guidance and help from the orishas and the ancestors.

Ashé

→ Main article: Ashé

Ashé (Ase, Àşe, Aché, Axé (bras.)), Is the life energy that not only all living beings and objects, but also all immaterial spirits (orishas and ancestors) and human actions ( prayer , song or gesture ) possess. It decreases over time despite a “good character” (ìwa pèlé) and has to be charged with religious rituals such as prayer (adura) and sacrifice (ebo, ebbo) , otherwise the gods will become empty idols.

Orisa

Orishas are humanized spirit beings / gods, such as nature spirits , cultural heroes and deified ancestors, who act as messengers and mediators between heaven and the earthly world. They differ regionally in their meaning, their aspects and their relationships. They are assigned colors, numbers, plants, sounds, rhythms, favorite foods and drinks.

While scholars such as Bolaji Idowu are of the opinion that polytheism is a regression of monotheism, there are also interpretations that recognize the aspects of deity in the multitude of Orisa. Such an explanation for the multitude of Orisa is given by a myth told by the Yoruba. So in the beginning there was Orisa, who was broken into hundreds of pieces by his slave, who hated him. Orunmila, however, collected the parts all over the world and put those he could find in a large calabash, which he called Orisa Nla, and which he set up in a shrine in Ife. Hundreds of fragments are still scattered around the world today and Orislana is the most important of all.

Orí

In the Orí (literally 'head') the determination (àyànmó) is anchored, which a person brings with him at his birth and which is a “partial” reincarnation of his ancestors. The believer tries to learn more about his predestination from the Orisas through oracle systems . The Ifá oracle , in which one communicates with mrúnmìlà, the Orisa of wisdom , may only be performed by Babalawos (Ifá high priest ).

Web links

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ UNESCO World Heritage: Grove of the Osun (English).
  2. ↑ Coordinates: ( 7 ° 45 ′ 20 ″  N , 4 ° 33 ′ 8 ″  E )
  3. ↑ a b UNESCO Masterpiece of Humanity: Ifa Divination System in Nigeria (English).
  4. ↑ Metropolitan Museum of Art : 12. Carved Calabash ( Memento of January 7, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) (English)
  5. ↑ Metropolitan Museum of Art: 13. Ifa Divination Tray (Opon Ifa) ( Memento from January 7, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) (English).
  6. ^ E. Bolaji Idowu: Olodumare: God in Yoruba Belief. ISBN 0-942272-41-2 .