Odua became old and blind. He told his sixteen sons to go the ocean to collect salt water to cure his blindness. None of his sons except the youngest, Obokun, brought back saltwater. Odua washed his eyes with the salt water and could once again see. When he opened his eyes he saw that his land and all his crowns except for the one upon his head had been stolen away from him by his sons. Obokun was the only son of his who took nothing from him. He thanked his son by giving him a sword. Obokun then went to Ilesa and became king. Odua’s other sons also built large kingdoms. Kings that rule even today are said to be ancestors of these sixteen kings.
RELIGIOUS BELIEFS
Traditional Yoruba beliefs see the world made up of two connected realms. The visible world of the living is called Aye, and the spiritual world of the
Orisas, the ancestors and spirits, is called Orun. Ase is the life force that is given to everything by the Creator of the universe. Ase is in everything: plants, animals, people, prayers, songs, rocks, and rivers. Existence is dependent upon Ase because Ase is the power to make things happen and change.
The Yoruba believe in the Creator who rules over the entire universe along with many other gods that serve underneath him. The Creator of the universe is called Olorun. Olorun lives in the sky and is considered to be the father of all the other gods. Olorun is the only god that never lived on earth. Olorun is the supreme god and has no special group of worshippers or shrines, like the other gods do. The Yoruba people worship over four hundred different deities. These gods are called Orisas. Some of the Orisas are worshiped by all of the Yoruba. Other gods are only worshiped by certain towns or families. Every person is given or receives a special deity to worship. A person usually worships the god of his father, but some worship the god of their mother. Some people are contacted by a particular god in their dreams and are instructed to worship them.
YORUBA ART AND CULTURE
Creation Myth
Every culture has stories that explain how the universe was created. This is one version of a creation story that is told by the Yoruba to explain the beginning of the universe.
Olorun lived in the sky with all the other gods. He told Orisanla, the god of whiteness, to create the earth for him. Olorun gave Orisanla some soil, a chain, a five toed chicken, and a snail shell and sent him on his way. When Orisanla got to the gates of heaven he noticed some other gods having a party. He stopped to chat with the other gods for a bit and drank some of their palm wine. Orisanla became quite drunk from the palm wine and fell asleep. Orisanla's younger brother Odua came by and noticed his brother fast asleep. He took all the things that Olorun had given him and went to the edge of heaven with Chameleon. Odua dropped the chain and climbed down, throwing some of the soil onto the water. He then released the chicken and the chicken scratched out the earth, expanding it in many directions until the ends of the earth were made. Chameleon then stepped upon the earth to make sure that it was stable.
Odua followed and settled at a place called Idio. Orisanla soon woke and realized what happened. From that time on Orisanla put a taboo on palm wine. Even today those who worship Orisanla are forbidden from drinking palm wine. Orisanla came down to claim the earth but his brother, Odua demanded that he was to be the owner of the earth since he had created it. The two brothers continued fighting until Olorun heard them and called them to report to him. Olorun granted Odua the right to own the earth and rule over it. Olorun then told Orisanla that he would become the creator of mankind. In order to keep peace amongst the two brothers Olorun sent them back to earth with Sango, the God of Thunder; Ifa the God of Divination; and Eleshije, the God of Medicine.
There are many important Yoruba deities. Esu acts as a messenger for the other deities and he is also a great trickster. He assists Olorun and the other gods by causing trouble for people who offend them or fail to worship them. Everyone prays to Esu so that he will not harm them. Ifa is the god of Divination, and no matter what other deities a person worships everyone asks Ifa for knowledge and guidance in times of trouble. Ifa is a great wiseman, and he acts as the interpreter between all gods and humans. Ogun is the God of Iron and War. He is a great blacksmith and a fearless hero. Woodworkers, leatherworkers, and blacksmiths worship him. Without Ogun people would not have tools to farm the land that they live on. Other gods rely on Ogun to clear paths for them with his great machete. Sango is the God of Thunder. He lives in the sky and he creates the thunder that comes to the earth. His thunderbolts kill those that offend him or lights their houses on fire. He is married to Oya, the goddess of the Niger River. She comes to the earth as a strong wind before Sango throws his lighting bolts down on earth. Oya has the power to blow the roofs off of homes and knock down trees. All Yoruba people make offerings to the gods they worship. Each god has favorite foods that a person may leave at the god’s shrine. Worshippers of a certain deity might wear beads or special clothing to show that they worship a particular god. There may also be taboos—foods or things that people cannot partake in because of the god that they worship. For example, Esu’s favorite foods are corn, beans, and palm wine. These things are often placed at his shrine. His followers often wear black beads around their neck. They never eat or use palm oil because this is said to make Esu angry.
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