 Several hundred religions in Africa  Yoruba society today = 10 million people ◦ Has endured for over 100,000 years  The Yoruba live in the western regions of Central Africa ◦ In Nigeria, Benin, and Togo

 The Yoruba are not a unified nation but are a group with a common language and culture  Have preferred living in cities throughout their history  City of Ife = Center of Yoruba religion ◦ Believed to be the place where the god Orishna-nla first began to create the world

Heaven -Invisible home of the supreme god (Olorun), lesser gods (orishas), and ancestors Earth -World of normal experience -Visible home of human beings ( descendants of the gods) -Contains a perverted form of human beings, witches and sorcerers

 Maintain balance between the human beings (earth) and gods (heaven)  Guard against the evil deeds of sorcerers and witches  **Boundaries between human and supernatural realms are very thin and can be easily crossed over – important to mediate and maintain balance between the two worlds!**

 Primary, original source of power in the universe  All other life forms ultimately owe their existence to him  Distant and remote, not involved in human affairs  Hardly worshipped, except in prayer ◦ No shrines, rituals, or sacrifices made for him

 Lesser deities, but are very significant  Hundreds of orishas exist ◦ Some worshipped by all Yoruba, others by only one family group  All are sources of sacred power  Can help or harm human beings ◦ Based on how well the rituals designed to appease them are carried out

 Deceased humans who have acquired supernatural status  Possess sacred power; can help or harm the living  Worshipped through rituals at special shrines  2 Types: ◦ 1. Family ancestors ◦ 2. Deified ancestors

 Mediate between the gods and ancestors in heaven and the human beings on earth  Help maintain balance between the 2 worlds  Diviners: Practice divination, the art of seeing one’s future

 Syncretism = A phenomenon that occurs when elements from diverse religious traditions blend  Eschatology = The branch of theology concerned with the final events in the history of the world/humankind; “end of the world”

 During times of slavery, the Yoruba and other African ethnicities utilized their religious practices to maintain their culture and ties to their homeland  Today, many people in the Americas practice the syncretized forms of Yoruba religion, such as Santería and Vodú

 Syncretized orishas with Catholic saints ◦ Hid their gods/rituals behind a “mask” of Catholic saints/rituals to avoid religious persecution ◦ Found similarities between saints and orishas ◦ Saints were seen less as intermediaries between humans and gods and more as objects of worship themselves, like the orishas

 The mother of all saints, protector of children  Colors = blue and white, for the ocean  Favorite offerings = melons, molasses, whole fried fishes, pork rinds  Syncretized with the Virgin Mary

 Yoruba grand priest and custodian of the divination system, a sage, spirit of wisdom, first prophet  Favorite offerings = Flowers, fruits, peanut, coconut, white basil, dove  Syncretized with St. Francis of Assisi

 hXo hXo Ceremony to honor Oya (female warrior orisha): “Crowning of the head”  Wo Wo

 Cosmology – An understanding or theory of the nature, origin, development, and eventual fate of the universe  Transcendence – A state of being that has overcome the normal limitations imposed by the human condition of physical existence (such as through meditation, prayer, and visions)  Axis Mundi – The axis or center of the universe  Syncretism = A phenomenon that occurs when elements from diverse religious traditions blend