Yoruba+Polytheistic+Society

=__Yoruba: Polytheistic Society__ =

By: Paula Amaya
Archaic religions are frequently characterized by polytheism. Although, the derivation of polytheism may not be clearly defined, it is clear that religions that do believe in various gods greatly revolve their religious routines around such deities. Such type of religion would be that of the Yoruba people from West Africa. The Yoruba religion’s four main features origin, purpose of each god, rituals, and sacrifices are all heavily influenced by polytheistic traits. The Yoruba creation myth, explains how the world and its people came to be as one. The early beginnings of the Yoruba faith prove its foundations revolve around various gods instead of a sole individual. Moreover, there are over thirty recognized gods in the Yoruba culture. Amongst the thirty gods there is at least one for every significant stage of life and one that applies to any possible human affair. Aside, from the purpose of the gods, significant rituals and festivities revolve are also characterized by polytheistic traits.

Polytheism has influenced the Yoruba culture from the very beginning. The culture’s traditional creation of the world revolves around an oligarchy of gods rather than creation by a single god. Although the people of the Yoruba culture believe in Olorun as their supreme god, the creation of the world would be incomplete without Orishanla and Odudua. According to traditional Yoruba belief, at the beginning of time there was only sky, water, and king god Olorun. Yoruba’s early polytheistic developments are clear as it is believed that Olorun told the eldest god Orishanla to climb down from the sky and create land. However, at this point Orishanla’s brother, Odudua, had created a world of his own. Upon seeing this, Orishanla began to quarrel with Odudua. Olorun settled their differences by giving Orishanla the power to create mankind; hence, the creation of the world. At such point, Odudua was given the power to rule over the world he created and was more commonly recognized as the king ruler of Ife, the center of Yoruba civilization.

The Yoruba religion like many polytheistic religions, divides their gods into chief and minor categories. From the chief categories there are eight gods, all recognized as the most prominent and influential. Amongst the eight gods, Olorun is the deified firmament, however he is the least worshipped, as he is described too be much too indifferent to interfere in the affairs of the world. According to natives, Olorun is perceived as a lazy individual that spends most of his time sleeping. Nevertheless under rare occasions, when an individual feels a lack of response from any of the other gods, he or she will turn their attention to Olorun as a desperate resource.

Second to Olorun, is Obatala, the chief god of the Yoruba. Obatala, is believed to have been created by Olorun to manage the world. Similar to Olorun, Obatala is also portrayed as a sky-god; however, Obatala receives much greater worship as he is attributed to be more human like and more involved with human affairs. White is believed to be Obatala’s sacred color. All of Obatala’s temples, images, and personal belongings are painted white and to pay homage to Obatala, his worshippers also dress in white. The bearing of children is a significant aspect of life to the Yoruba followers. Obatala, being the chief god is associated with the development of children in a mother’s womb; therefore many who desire to bear children direct their prayers towards Obatala. Furthermore, albinism and congenital deformities are regarded as the work of Obatala. Many times they are taken as punishment for lack of worship or just a reminder of his power. Shango is recognized as the god of thunder and lighting and is frequently placed after Obatala in order of eminence. The Yoruba people associate thunderbolts and hurling stones as punishments from the god Shango. The belief in Shango’s spirit is common in many Yoruba homes and temples and is often represented by wood carvings. Although, the carvings never portray Shango himself, most of them represent his worshippers and symbols. Shango’s symbols are Stone age axe heads that are dug up in fields and are formerly recognized as thunderbolts by the Yoruba people. The symbols are commonly kept on bowls on top of carved seats or special carved stands.

Futhermore, Ifa also one of the chief gods, is commonly reached out to, to ward off danger and also to evoke fecundity. It is common for the women of the Yoruba culture to pray to Ifa before marriage to bless the home with fruitfulness, as it is considered disgraceful to keep from bearing children. The origins of the chief god Ifa are unexplained, however, the Yoruba followers do believe he first appeared in their sacred city Ife. Afterwards, Ifa tried to teach inhabitants how to foretell and after unsuccessful attempts, he traveled to Ado where he planted a rock palm-nut and from it grew sixteen palm trees at once. Upon such belief, priests take sixteen palm nuts and briskly asses them from one hand to another. Depending on the number of nuts that are left in his hand he makes a mark in wood dust on a carved wooden plate. This process is completed eight times and can produce up to 256 possible combinations. Each combination represents about four sacred verses and each priest must memorize more than a thousand verses in proper order to fully communicate the god’s message.

Apart from the chief god’s individual application to the significant life processes, such as Obatala’s creation of a child in the womb and Ifa’s powers of fertility, the Yoruba’s polytheistic influence is clear from the variety of minor gods. Yoruba culture recognizes twenty-three minor gods. Each minor god has a specified purpose, for instance Olokun is the lord of the seas and is mostly regarded by fisherman. To further exemplify the extent of polytheistic influence, the minor god Shigidi is used to take revenge and take action upon feelings of hatred, while even more minuscule subjects, such as vegetables, are given specific gods. In such case, the minor god Dada is represented by a calabash and represents vegetables. Evidently, the variety of deities the Yoruba beliefs share, prove their large polytheistic influence. However, aside from prominent spirits, the Yoruba rituals are also largely shaped by their polytheistic beliefs. At death a babalawo is used to examine the state of the dead. Specifically, the babalawo examines the death of the person and decides if the person’s death was caused naturally or through "machinations of witches" (Ellis 155). The babalawo sacrifices a fowl and requests communication with Ifa, through the wooden board and sixteen palm tree nuts, to further understand the death of the victim. If the death is proved to be caused by witchcraft, further action is taken to inquire threats to any relatives or to confirm further molestation to the dead body by evil spirits. Polytheism is also present at Yoruba festivals and ceremonies. Festivals and ceremonies are significant to the people of Yoruba as it is often considered not only a social but also a religious forum. Specifically, religious festivals maintain the connection between deities and the people. Most festivals are held yearly and are devoted to different gods. The Osun festival, held yearly at the end of August, celebrates the personality of the goddess Osun, "her essence and her role in the salvation history of Osogbo" (Olajubu 105). The festival identifies the renewal of bonds between the goddess and her followers, who represent humanity at the festival. Traditionally, the festival beings by clearing the town’s main road of weeds and any overgrown shrubs that might inhibit any spiritual bond between the people and Osun; the initiation is preceded by the lighting of the sixteen lamps, natively known as Olojumerindinlogun. The event is carried out by lighting sixteen lamps for Osanyin, the deity correspondent to healing. The lights are kept through until daybreak. Afterwards, the king, the priest, priestess, and votary maid journey to Osun grove to pay respect to the Osun goddess for the town of Osogbo. The journey is accompanied by ritual dances and singing, at the end of the journey the general festivities take place. The general festivities are characterized by singing, dancing, and recitations.

In compliance with Yoruba’s polytheistic beliefs, the Yoruba culture holds other festivals similar to that of the Osun festival. For instance, the Otin traditions begin ten days before its actual date. Women and children dance around the town and the priests inform neighboring towns of the upcoming festival. The instruments are placed and chosen specifically for the goddess and many of the rituals take place five days before the actual festival. The goddess Otin has three distinct shrines, one by the riverside, at the house of a priest, and a town shrine. Each shrine is visited at various points during the festivities. The riverside shrine is actually visited on the day of the festival and food offerings to Otin take place. After, the food has been offered and religious leaders have provided traditional signs of worship to the gods, the festivities begin. Similar to the Osun festival, the feast is characterized by dancing and singing. All attire and even hair dress complies with worship to the god Otin. During such level of worship hair style must be displayed in appropriate style and the priest is conceived as "wives" (olupona 108) to the goddess Otin.

Evidently, polytheism shapes main aspects of the Yoruba religion. The world creation myth illustrates the origin of polytheistic belief. Olorun, although recognized as supreme god, is not the only person accredited with creation. Unlike monotheistic religions, the Yoruba do not hold a sole individual as god. Instead, they have accredited deities such as Obatala and Ifa with great loads of power. Yoruba followers greatly consider all chief gods, except, Olorun, and minor gods for access to their personal needs, ambitions, and stages of life. Obatala and Ifa, the most recognized and searched gods are used to bear healthy children and also to regard the best interest of any individual. Significant festivals and rituals that shape the life and activities of the Yoruba also portray strong polytheistic influences. Similar to the Otin and Osun festivals, people of the Yoruba culture frequently carry out such events to mark their connection between the deities and the people. Indeed, the variety of processes that revolve around the belief of various gods truly set concrete evidence towards the significance of polytheism in Yoruba culture.

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Pemberton, John (1996) Yoruba Sacred Kingship. Washington: Smithsonian Institution.