Yoruba mythology
"Yoruba legends" redirects here. For the book, see Yoruba Legends. |
Statue of the oriṣa Eṣu, Ọyọ, Nigeria, c 1920 |
The
mythology of the Yoruba is the entire gamut of the world view and the religions of the Yoruba both in
Africa (chiefly in
Nigeria and
Benin Republic), and in the
New World, where it has influenced or given birth to several religions such as
Santería in
Cuba and
Candomblé in
Brazil in addition to the transplantation of the homeland religions.
Yoruba mythology is only one part of
itan — the complex of myths, songs, histories and other cultural concepts which make up the Yorùbá religion and society.
|
Temple of Ọṣun in Oṣogbo, Nigeria. |
Yòrùbá are called
Oriṣas, literally "owners of heads".
Shango is perhaps the most important Oriṣa; god of
thunder and an ancestor of the Yòrùbá. He was the fourth king of the Yòrùbá, and deified after his death.
Èshù is another very important Oriṣa. He is a
trickster and very well-respected both by the Yòrùbá themselves and the other Oriṣas.
The Oriṣa
*
Aja*
Aje*
Egéngún*
Eṣu*
Ìbejì*
Ọbàtálá*
'gún*
Ọṣun*
Odùduwà*
Olokun*
Ọrunmila*
Oṣunmare*
Ṣanpanna*
Shango*
YemojaOther concepts
Yòrùbá mythology includes several other entities besides the Oriṣa, such as
Egbére.
Ifá dafa as well as
merindinlogun or (
cowrie shell divination) are important element of Yòrùbá religious practices.
* Eledua
Many ethnic Yoruba were taken as slaves to
Cuba, the
Dominican Republic,
Puerto Rico,
Brazil,
Venezuela and the rest of the New World (chiefly in the
19th century, after the
Ọyọ empire collapsed and the region plunged into
civil war), and carried their
religious beliefs with them. These concepts were combined with preexisting
African-based cults,
Christianity,
Native American mythology, and
Kardecist Spiritism into various New World lineages:
*
Santería (
Cuba)
*
Oyotunji (
USA)]
*
Candomblé (
Brazil)
*
Umbanda (
Brazil)
*
Batuque (
Brazil)
*
Lukumí (
Cuba)
The popularly known
Vodun religion of
Haiti was founded by slaves from a different ethnic group (the
Gba speaking peoples of modern day
Benin,
Togo and
Ghana), but shares many elements with the Yoruba-derived religions above. in addition, author
Ed Morales has claimed that Yoruba mythology played a part in early American
blues music, citing blues guitarist
Robert Johnson's
Cross Road Blues as a "thinly veiled reference to
Eleggua, the
orisha in charge of the crossroads."
:Category:Yorubans* , pg. 277
*
Indigenous Faith of Africa Inc.*
Yoruban cosmology and mythology
