Yoruba

Origin and history

The Yoruba people have continuous documented history of at least 2,000 years in their region of origin. The mythological-religious tradition traces back to the city of Ile-Ife (in present-day Nigeria) — sacred for the Yoruba as the place of origin of the world in Yoruba cosmology (it is told that the supreme god Olodumare ordered the creator god Obatalá to descend to the primordial waters and create the dry land starting from Ile-Ife — Yoruba equivalent of "cradle of humanity"). The classical Yoruba states (Ife, Oyo, others) flourished from the 11th-15th centuries with sophisticated political-cultural-artistic systems; their bronze sculptures of high realism are among the most precious works of African art.

Transatlantic slave trade: between the 16th-19th centuries, hundreds of thousands of Yoruba (called by the Cubans "Lucumí", Hispanicised version of Olukumi = "my friend" in Yoruba) were captured, enslaved and brought to America — especially to Cuba and Brazil. Despite the unimaginable horror of the experience, the Yoruba preserved their religion through centuries of severe persecution, with sustained Catholic syncretism. Today, ironically, the Yoruba religion has more practitioners in Latin America (especially Cuba and Brazil) than in original West Africa.

Religion and culture

Yoruba religion has these features: 1) Olodumare (or Olorun) = supreme God, transcendent, distant from human affairs. 2) Multiple Orichas = intermediate deities, each with specific personality and dominion (Yemayá of the sea, Changó of thunder, Ochún of rivers and love, Ogún of iron, Obatalá of intelligence, Elegguá of crossroads, etc., etc.). 3) Eggún = ancestors and family deceased; constantly honoured. 4) Communal-ritual practice with sacred drumming, trance dances, ritual offerings, animal sacrifices on specific occasions, formal periods of initiation.

Yoruba divination: extraordinarily sophisticated. Two main systems: 1) Ifá — the most complex, with 256 oddu (16 main × 16 secondary), reserved for fully initiated babalaos. Recognised by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2005. 2) Diloggún — with 16 cowrie shells, more accessible technique to medium-advanced ranking initiates. Both systems use the codified oddu for divination.

Cultural-historic influence: the Yoruba culture has had immense influence on the entire Atlantic Afro-American world. The Yoruba religion gave rise to Cuban Santería (millions of practitioners today), Brazilian Candomblé (millions of practitioners), Haitian Vodun (mostly Fon origin, but with strong Yoruba influence), Trinidadian Yoruba religion, etc. The Yoruba musical-rhythmic traditions are foundation of Caribbean musical-Latin culture (the batá drums Yoruba are central in Cuban-Latin sacred and popular music).