Yoruba Yoruba African, Indigenous and Syncretic Religions in Latin America
Resources on Santeria, Macumba, Candomblé and other African, indigenous and syncretic

Black Nationalism
...in Zaire The wide variety of African indigenous beliefs and ... World labor came from

« CONVERSION »
Eruosa National Church among the Yoruba and Edo ... The African Independent and Aladura

Religions of the World -- African
...www.uiowa.edu/~africart/toc/people/yoruba.html. An African Cosmogony A Boshongo

Santeria, Palo, Espiritismo @ New Orleans Mistic Marketplace and ...
The religion is an amalgamation of authentic Yoruba from Africa; indigenous

Academic Info: African Philosophy
...present various perspectives on Africa's indigenous knowledge systems ... Philosophy

african indigenous anthropology fon people
Africa, African Anthropology - General Resources. ... Songo Songye Suku Swahili Tabwa

Africa's Science and Indigenous Knowledge Systems
...b. African Philosophy (Janz). c.Orisha -Yoruba, West Africa. ... Last update: September

Book review: Democracy and Decentralisation in South Asia and West ...
Toyin Falola’s Yoruba Gurus not only attempts to fix the African ... by ignorant Africans

African Indigenous Knowledge Systems (AIK)
...of Yoruba Traditional Medicine' in GT Emeagwali (ed.) African Systems of Science,

Indigenous WM from an African Perspective
TWM, INDIGENOUS WM (AFRICA ... is an exerpt from "The PK Man Seen From an African Perspective

Olomo Core of Fire
...this aspect of God in African indigenous religions has ... appeal for a rediscovery of

Indigenous Faith of Africa, Inc.
The Babalodu Awo serves as the head of the Indigenous Faith of Africa (IFA), Inc

Courses in African Languages and Indigenous Languages of the ...
Indigenous Languages of the Americas. ... 97. Elementary and Intermediate Studies in

REalities SpiritSpace ~ home of Yorubalife and Afrospirit Mail ...
Candomble`, Yoruba Search Engine List, Yemanja Tarot. The Orisa Consciousness Movement,

Facts about Nigeria
Main Religions, Christianity, Islam, African indigenous. ... Cotta Figures The oldest

MYTHING LINKS / Indigenous Peoples' Opening Page
Goddesses of Indigenous Peoples: Oshun, West African Yoruba Goddess of

Open Directory - Society: Religion and Spirituality: African ...
Indigenous Faith of Africa, Inc. - Website of organization headed by Chief Babalawo

African History - Architectural History
...are: Asante political expansion, Batimalliba two-story architecture, Islam and

Noma: Benchmark cultural work on Ifa wins 2001 Noma Award
...the movement of cultural reclamation from within Africa. ... intellectual responsibility

OLODUMARE: GOD IN YORUBA BELIEF AND THE THEISTIC PROBLEM OF EVIL.
IN YORUBA BELIEF AND THE THEISTIC PROBLEM OF EVIL. ©. John AI Bewaji. INTRODUCTION.

INDIGENOUS AFRICAN RELIGION > THE AFRICAN'S CONCEPT OF GOD
...to different religious concepts in indigenous African societies ... names ascribed to

INDIGENOUS AFRICAN RELIGION > THE DIVINITIES
...not be unusual when SANGO and SO, THUNDER DIVINITIES in Yoruba and Ewe ... Ketu, Denu

Arewa-online
IFA: The Indigenous Faith of Africa. Yoruba: Nigerian Galleria. Festival of Ogun:

Africa Book Centre Ltd Traditional
...and to see its resonances in African American religious ... occupy a central place in

World Ethnic, Indigenous, Pagan and Neopagan Religion Links
Bill's Aboriginal Links Mything Links / Indigenous Peoples Asatru ... Yoruba House Yoruba

African Origins of the Major "Western Religions"
Western Religions" like "Greek Philosophy," cannot escape its indigenous African

New Age Books & Supplies: Indigenous Religions, Cultures
Spirituality and Shamanism in Native American, African and other indigenous cultures.

Typesetting African languages, by Conrad Taylor
...quilt of small patches; "Written African"; indigenous scripts; Alphabets ... Typesetting

Ethnomathematics Digital Library (EDL)
...mathematical practices of the indigenous peoples of ... America Cultural group: African

eBay Store - Santa Fe Source: African Currency Pieces: Yoruba Rare ...
Old Mali Granite Bracelet African Currency Dogon Senufo Fascinating Indigenous Repairs,

Africa
French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common ... Mandinka, Wolof, Fula, other indigenous

Idasa.org.za - Output Details
The Yoruba compounds are inward focusing, with one or numerous courtyards for ... typology

Africa - Choral Music
English, perc = percussion*, * Note that most South African indigenous music does

African Cultures - MavicaNET
Select site, Yoruba House - English URL: http://www.primenet.com/~yoruba/. African

Africa Conferences at the University of Texas at Austin
Ààabò Òrò: The Indigenous Language of Education in Yoruba Adamu Orisha Festival

2004 Pruit Memorial Symposium "Slavery, Oppression & Prejudice"
Author of The Development of the Doctrine of the Holy Spirit in the Yoruba (African)

Bibliography on African Traditional Religion
Courlander H., Tales of Yoruba Gods and Heroes, New York, 1973. ... Human rights in African

Geometry.Net - Basic_Y: Yoruba Indigenous Peoples Africa
...of Rain; Yemaya, West african yoruba Mother of Goddesses of indigenous peoples Mawu,

Article
...and journals in Africa, beginning with the earliest known indigenous-language newspaper

Map & Graph: Countries by People: Ethnic groups
...influential: Hausa and Fulani 29%, Yoruba 21%, Igbo ... with Teutonic, Slavic, North

Map & Graph: Africa:Countries by People: Ethnic groups
...black African 98.5% (major tribes - Akan 44%, Moshi-Dagomba 16%, Ewe 13%, Ga 8%,

Ethnicity and Race by Countries
Benin, African 99% (42 ethnic groups, most important being Fon, Adja, Yoruba, Bariba),

Beliefnet.com
...who have started calling their Santeria/Lukumi practices .."traditional Yoruba".

africa
Windhoek. English, Afrikaans, German ,indigenous languages: Oshivambo ... Nigeria. Abuja.

Yorubic Medicine: The Art of divine Herbology by Tariq Sawandi
In order to understand the system of Yoruba medicine, it is ... conditions that gave

African Philosophy Resources: Indigenous Knowledge Systems
Indigenous Knowledge Systems (Gloria Emeagwali) - focusses on African science and

Omoluwabi
...claims that the latter’s "representation of the Yoruba ethos is ... at strategic intervals,

The Yorùbá are the second largest ethnic group in Nigeria, after the Hausa and Fulani (21%). The Yorubas constitute approximately 21% percent of Nigeria's total population, and numbering upwards of 30 million individuals throughout the region of West Africa. While the majority of the Yorùbá live in the south-west of Nigeria, there are also substantial Yorùbá communities in Benin, Togo, Sierra Leone, Cuba and Brazil. The Yorubas (or rather the ruling classes) consider themselves to be descendants of Oduduwa, who came from the far northeast. Oduduwa is now revered as a demi-god.

The Yorùbá are the main ethnic group in the states of Ekiti, Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, and Oyo; they also constitute a sizable proportion of the citizens of the Republic of Benin. Yoruba gods include "Oya" (river goddess), "Ifa" (divination), "Eleda" (destiny), "Ibeji" (twins), "Osanyin" (ifa's constant companion) and "Osun" (goddess of fertility, protector of children and their mothers. Majority of modern day Yorubas are Christians with indigenous churches having the largest memberships. Muslims comprise about a quarter of the Yorùbá population, with traditional Yorùbá religion accounting for the rest.

The chief Yorùbá cities are Lagos, Ibadan, Abeokuta, Akure, Ilorin, Ijebu Ode, Ogbomoso, Ondo, Ota,Ado-Ekiti, Shagamu, Iseyin, Osogbo, Ilesha, Oyo, Ilé-Ifè.

History

The Yorùbá were the most urbanized sub-saharan Africans in the pre-colonial era, and have a history of town-dwelling that goes back to 500 A.D. The wealth of the Yorùbá came from controlling the important trade routes to the coast. The pre-colonial Yorùbá had recently been forced further south by the Fulani who made extensive use of cavalry. The Yorùbá Empire of Oyo lost the northern portion of their region to the Sokoto Caliphate, and for the most part retreated to the latitudes where tsetse flies made horses unable to survive.

The Yorùbá were a loose confederacy that often saw wars between the city states. In theory, all Yorùbá acknowledge the leadership of the ancient city of Ife in religious matters and the rule of the recently risen rulers of Oyo as political leader. The ruler of Oyo held the power to confirm or reject the leaders of the other cities, but this power could not always be executed.

Most of the city states were controlled by heriditary monarchs and councils made up of nobles, guild leaders, and merchants. Different states saw differing ratios of power between the two. Some had an autocratic monarch with almost total control, in others the councils were supreme and the king little more than a figurehead.

Precolonial Social Organization

Though monarchies were fairly common throughout the Yoruba-speaking region, they was not the only approach to traditional social organization. The various original Egba communities were a notable example, being independent polities each with an elected Oba, though the Ogboni, a legislative and judicial council of notable elders, wielded the actual political power. This was a proverbial trait of the Egba, according to the eminent Yoruba historian Reverend Samuel Johnson, but such gerontocratic leadership councils were shared by other groups like the northern Okun Yoruba groups and some of the eastern Ekiti groups. The Ogboni were, and continue to be, also found in polities where monarchic rule existed.

Occupational guilds, including the Parakoyi (or league of traders); egbe ode (hunter's guild) and so on maintained an important role in traditional commerce and vocational education.

There are also examples of other peer organizations that existed in the region. When the Egba resisted their domination by the Alaafin of Oyo, a local man named Lisabi is recorded to have either formed or revived a covert organization named Egbe Aaro. This group, originally a farmers' union, was converted to a network of secret militias throughout the Egba country and finally rose to defeat the Oyo empire's local representatives in the late 18th century.

Similar military resistance leagues like the Ekitiparapo and the Ogidi alliance were organized during the 19th century wars by the decentralized communities of the Ekiti, Ijesa, and Okun Yoruba in order to resist the imperial rule of Ibadan, Nupe, and the Sokoto Caliphate.

Yoruba Kingship (Obas)

Most towns and cities of the Yoruba kingdom have a structured hiererchy in which the Obas were the ruler kings with powers over property, life and death of the subjects. The Obas held legislative power in their city states before the colonial period. The Kingship of any city state was usually limited to between 1 and 3 families, a family could be excluded from kingship and chieftancy for any family member, servant or slave belonging to the family commiting a crime such as theft, fraud, murder or rape.

The kings were almost always polygamous and many had as many as 20 wives and often married royal family members from other towns/city states, the choosing of kings till this day is a task undertaken by a group of elders, many of whome hold chieftancy positions within the ecity state.

The chief Yoruba Kingdoms include: Oyo, Ife, Owo, Osi Ekiti, Illorin, Ijebu Ode, Ilesha and Ogbomosho.

Ife and Oyo were considered the leadership of the Obas due to religious reasons. In modern times many other Yoruba city states have appointed kings, these kings often commnad little respect ouside their courts and lack the political importance of the kings of the historical kingdoms.

Culture

The Yorùbás are one of the few ethnic groups in Africa whose cultural heritage and legacy survived in the west despite slavery. Orisha religion with Shango worship, various musical artforms popularized in Latin America, especially Cuba, are rooted in Yoruba music. Their religious beliefs are complex with a wide variety of dieties. Olorun is the chief god. In the past few centuries, the Yoruba have been also very strong as a Christian group, where their numbers have placed them in prominence in many worldwide Christian organizations. In the United States, they are recognizeable, especially in middle class circles as very strict Christians, observing many of the conservative Biblical views.

The Yoruba are known in many western countries for their strong appreciation for education. In the United States and Britain, they have a disproportionally high success rate in the professional fields.

Sports

Yorùbáland stadia include the National Stadium, Lagos (55,000 capacity), Teslim Balogun stadium (35,000 capacity), Liberty Stadium, Ibadan (40,000 capacity). Lekan Salami stadium, Ibadan (25,000)

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