Yoruba

            The Yoruba tribe is a group that lives along Western Africa. They are dispersed throughout western regions of central Africa, Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. They tend to live in cities such as Ife, Oyo, and Ijebu. The Yoruba's population is not only exclusive to Western Africa, they are also present in the United Kingdom, United States, and Brazil. They share borders with different tribes that also inhabit West Africa.

            The Yoruba view the world as being separated by two worlds-- heaven and earth. Heaven is the unseen place where ancestors and gods reside. Earth is the present home for humans where each person experiences normalcy. The tribe seeks to keep the balance between humans on earth and gods and ancestors in heaven to avoid evil paths. Among the Yoruba tribe, more than 401 gods exist. Their main god is Olorun, while the other gods known as orishas serve as messengers for the Yoruba people to communicate to Olorun. Despite the absence of holy sanctuaries dedicated to Olorun, his presence is called upon to receive blessings.

            Wood, metal carvings, plants, and animals are some symbols that the Yoruba use to depict their gods and ancestors. The OrisiL'nlt, the arch-divinity of Yoruba pantheon is seen as old, white, and adorned with white ornaments. The priests are dressed in white, OrisiL'nlt's temple is washed in white, and his emblems should stay in white containers. The symbolism of white emphasizes the importance of holiness and purity. Ifa is a process of divination that represents the wisdom that connects humans to Orunmila's (god of wisdom) divine nature. Concrete items are symbolic of Orunmila's omniscience and wisdom.

            In the east, the god Esu watches over. In the west, the god Sang6 watches over. In the south, the god Obatruci watches over. In the north, the god Ogun watchers over.

            Olorun is the supreme god of the Yoruba who hold the "original source of power". As members of the Yoruba tribe, it is their duty to dedicate their lives to Olorun. Because he is so distant from earthly occurrences, he is only worshiped in prayer. He does not have any special rituals or shrines that honor his presence. The orishas serve as lesser deities that play the middle men between the Yoruba and Olorun. There are countless orishas that the Yoruba worship. The Orisha-nla created the earth. The Ogun is the god of iron and war. He resides in the border area between the ancestors and the other orishas. Esu is considered to be a good and evil god, thus making him a trickster figure in the Yoruba tribe. He is considered a trickster because he's a mediator between heaven and earth and he possesses two contradictory natures.

            One taboo is that the priests of Esu should stay away from coming into contact with palmnut oil. They should avoid contact with plamnut oil in order to prevent unleashing Esu's anger. They should also stay away from palmwine to sustain their ritual sanctity when pertaining to the god Obdtdld. Priests and devotees should stay away from black things and uplift white items in order to maintain ritual sanctity. Because devotees and priests represent holiness and purity, it is imperative that they strive to embody the characteristics that are associated with the color white.

            The shaman's role is to communicate the ancestor's messages to the living. In order to capture a genuine effect, the shaman imitates the deceased through costume to relay consoling messages.

            Divination plays a key role in a Yoruba's life. In order to acquire one's future, one will go to a diviner. A diviner is a priest who practices divination. Through divination, someone's future can be foretold. Information for one's future enables one to appropriately walk through life to fulfill their destiny. Another ritual is when someone mediates between the living and the ancestors. The mediator goes into character by wearing a mask and costume to be a living representation of the dead. The mediator emulates the deceased person to relay messages to the living.

  

Sources

http://www.gateway-africa.com/tribe/yoruba_tribe.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoruba_people

http://obafemio.weebly.com/uploads/5/1/4/2/5142021/04-1_162.pdf

40 Questions

1.  They are called primal because they mostly derive from the religious traditions that will be studied in the book. Characteristics are that they provide special insight into the mythic and ritual dimensions of religion. Primal religions stem more or less from primal beginnings. It has been the traditions of no literate people. Myths are passed down to each generation. It is the traditions of the tribal people.

2.       The ancestors created the landscape and created various forms of life, such as human beings. They organized humans into tribes, legislated each tribe’s territory, and established each tribe’s language, social rules, and customs.

3.       Symbols such as rocks, paintings, etc.

4.       A totem is the natural form in which the Ancestor appeared in the Dreaming. It could be a kangaroo, snake, rock, or other feature of the landscape. Taboo is when certain things are set aside for specific members or are forbidden to other due to their sacred nature.

5.       It is the reenactment of myth. It is only through ritual that the sacred power of the Dreaming can be accessed and experienced.

6.       They believe that ritual originated when they were taught to the first humans by the Ancestors in the Dreaming.

7.       Initiation rituals awaken young people to this spiritual identity, and redefine their social identity within the tribe. It also prepares them for a spiritual rebirth.

8.       The initiate’s two lower middle teeth are knocked out and buried into the ground. Circumcision for young boys is another act of initiation.

9.       Western regions of central Africa, in Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. 

10.   It is where the god Orisha-nla first began to create the world.

11.  Reality is divided into two separate worlds which are heaven and earth. Heaven is the invisible home of the gods and the ancestors. While the earth is the world of normal experience, the visible home of human beings.

12. He is the supreme god. He is the primary, original source of power in the universe.

13.  They are the lesser deities. They serve as mediators between Olorun and human beings.

14.  Orisha-nla is the god that most Yoruba beleive to have created the earth. Ogun is the god of iron and war.

15.  It is a mischievous  supernatural being. 

16.  Family ancestors gained their supernatural status by earning a good reputation and living to an old age, who are worshiped by their own families. Deified ancestors were important human figures who are worshiped by a number of people.

17. They mediate between the gods and ancestors in heaven, and the humans on earth.

18. Divination is when one's future can be learned. It's an important aspect of Yoruba religion because knowledge of one's future is considered essential for determining how to proceed with one's life.

19.  Scholars believe that humans first came to North America roughly around twenty thousand to thirty thousand years ago. They migrated from Asia, by crossing over the Bering Strait. Eventually, they spread out and inhabited large regions of North and South America.

20.  The Plains religion is representative of American Indian religion. Today the religion serves as the model of pan-Indian religion, a recent and popular movement uniting many tribes from across North America.

21.  Wankan Tanka is the Lakota name for the supreme reality. It refers to sixteen separate deities.

22.  Inktomi is the Kakota trickster figure. He is a mediator between the supernatural and human worlds.

23.  The Lakota believe that four different souls depart from a person after death. One soul will travel the "spirit path" of the Milky Way and other parts of the soul enter someone else and they are born again.

24. So they can gain access to spiritual power that will ensure greater success in activities such as hunting, warfare, and curing the ill.

25.  The sweat lodge is shaped to represent the structure of the universe. It's a hut that is dark and airtight. In the lodge, the person sweats profusely from the steam which causes them to experience physical and spiritual purification.

26.  The vision comes in the form of an animal or another facet of nature. The vision is usually accompanied with a vision.

27.  A sacred leader presides over the Sun Dance.

28.  The axis mundi is the axis or center of the universe. In Sun Dance it is a tree that represents the supreme being and it makes a connection between heaven and earth.

29.  Their bodies are the only thing they own, so they feel that is the most appropriate thing to sacrifice to their supreme being.

30.  It defies the common description of primal religions because they were a large developed civilization that made up a population of fifteen million. They are like other primal religions because they exhibit the importance of myth and ritual as its means for human sacrifice.

31.  Mesoamerica included present-day Mexico, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica.

32.  Teotihuacan is the origin of the cosmos. Quetzalcoatl created and ordered the world.

33.  Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl was a priest-king. He established the standard figure that a role model should if they have authority.

34.  They called their present age the Age of the Fifth Sun.

35.  There were five suns and they each had their own location. The universe was built around the center and the four cardinal directions.

36.  The human body was connecting the earthly realm to the divine.

37.  They could communicate with the others gods and make offerings through language.

38.  Moctezuma II mistook Cortes as the return of Quetzalcoatl. He then welcomed him with gifts.

39.  The Aztecs dedicated a time to join the living and the dead through rituals.

40.  The margins between the supernatural and human worlds overlap. Secular and sacred aspects are not separate, instead religious representations is present all around. The ancestors and the living communicate regularly.