How Does Ife and Yoruba Practice Preserve Nigerian Culture?
HOW DOES IFE AND YORUBA PRACTICE PRESERVE NIGERIAN CULTURE?
HOW DOES IFE AND YORUBA PRACTICE PRESERVE NIGERIAN CULTURE?
INTRODUCTION
The Yoruba religion is the religious belief and practice of the Yoruba people both in Africa (chiefly in Nigeria and Benin Republic), and in the Americas. It has influenced and given birth to several Afro-American religions such as Santeria in Cuba and Candomble in Brazil. Though specific numbers are unknown, it is possibly the largest African born religion in the world. Though claims are made for an ultimately Egyptian/African origin to Judaism, Judaism was finalized as the religion of the Hebrew people of the Levant. Christianity and Islam also have long histories in Africa, but neither of those can claim to be African identified in origin, in their present state, like the African tradition of the Yoruba. While much of Africa has increasingly adopted foreign religions, many indigenous faiths remain. The lack of proselytizing or establishing written "rule books" prevents these religions from spreading as much as Islam or Christianity. Regardless, they survive, both in Africa and the Western Hemisphere.
Santeria is one of the many syncretic religions created in the Americas. It is based on the West African religions brought to the Americas by slaves, forcibly relocated, to the Caribbean to work the sugar plantations. These slaves carried with them their own religious traditions, including traditions of: herbalism including holistic medicine and possession trance for communicating with the ancestors and deities. There is also the use of animal sacrifice and the practice of sacred drumming and dance. Those slaves who were brought to the Caribbean as well as Central and South America were nominally converted to Catholicism. However, they were able to preserve some of their traditions by fusing together various
HOW DOES IFE AND YORUBA PRACTICE PRESERVE NIGERIAN CULTURE?
INTRODUCTION
The Yoruba religion is the religious belief and practice of the Yoruba people both in Africa (chiefly in Nigeria and Benin Republic), and in the Americas. It has influenced and given birth to several Afro-American religions such as Santeria in Cuba and Candomble in Brazil. Though specific numbers are unknown, it is possibly the largest African born religion in the world. Though claims are made for an ultimately Egyptian/African origin to Judaism, Judaism was finalized as the religion of the Hebrew people of the Levant. Christianity and Islam also have long histories in Africa, but neither of those can claim to be African identified in origin, in their present state, like the African tradition of the Yoruba. While much of Africa has increasingly adopted foreign religions, many indigenous faiths remain. The lack of proselytizing or establishing written "rule books" prevents these religions from spreading as much as Islam or Christianity. Regardless, they survive, both in Africa and the Western Hemisphere.
Santeria is one of the many syncretic religions created in the Americas. It is based on the West African religions brought to the Americas by slaves, forcibly relocated, to the Caribbean to work the sugar plantations. These slaves carried with them their own religious traditions, including traditions of: herbalism including holistic medicine and possession trance for communicating with the ancestors and deities. There is also the use of animal sacrifice and the practice of sacred drumming and dance. Those slaves who were brought to the Caribbean as well as Central and South America were nominally converted to Catholicism. However, they were able to preserve some of their traditions by fusing together various
References: Coker, O. & A. (2008). Folklore as Folklaw in Yoruba Indigenous Epistemology. Afroeuropa: Journal of Afro-European Studies, 2, 1. Idowu, W. (2005). Law, Morality and the African Cultural Heritage: The Jurisprudential Significance of the Ogboni Institution Onadeko, T. (March, 2008). Yoruba Traditional Adjudicatory Systems. African Study Monographs, 29(1): 15-28 Salami, Y. K. Ph.D. (2005). The Democratic Structure of Yoruba Political-Cultural Heritage. The Journal of Pan African Studies, vo.1, no.6. Retrieved on November 12, 2010 from: http://tribes.tribe.net/africanspirituality/thread/92f4fde8-0ddf-491a-aa47-47f0c0af0d6e Wikipedia. (Nov 10, 2010) Yoruba People. Retrieved on November 12, 2010 from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoruba_people Appendix