Devotees celebrate Yoruba religion

We have a story to tell,” Prof Wande Abimbola, a retired academic and culture exponent, declared during an interactive session with participants at the 10th Orisa World Congress held at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in Ile-Ife, Osun State. It was a defining statement about the place of Yoruba religion and culture, also known as Orisa tradition, in a global village of multiple faiths. Earlier, while making a contribution to a discussion during the five-day programme, Abimbola went directly to the nub of the matter, saying, “Ifa is the heart and soul of the culture and philosophy of the Yoruba people. It is not dead, but parts of it are going into oblivion.”

Ile-Ife, which is regarded as “the source” and cultural capital of the Yoruba race, was an appropriate setting for a focus on the challenges of the Orisa way of life, especially in the context of a diverse globe, and contending faiths, some of which have the advantage of apparent numerical dominance. The variegated gathering, which included participants from the United States of America (USA), Brazil, Cuba, Venezuela and Mexico, demonstrated the appeal of the religion beyond its local provenance, and brought instructive international perspectives. An all-male family of four from Cuba, a Chinese couple who live in Venezuela and a densely bearded white American were among the alluring sights.

There is no doubt about the international status of Yoruba religion, which is reinforced by the fact that the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2005 added the Ifa Divination system to its list of the “Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.”

Ironically, however, it would appear that the religion is, to a large extent, unrecognized among Nigeria’s Yoruba population in this day and age, majority of them reportedly either Christians or Muslims. This observation was rejected by Dr. Kola Abimbola, an academic, the international coordinator of Orisaworld and son of Prof Abimbola. Both of them are also Ifa priests, Babalawo. “Orisa religion and culture is the largest indigenous culture of the world,” said the younger Abimbola. He argued, “As you know, I went to the London School of Economics and Political Science, so it is very difficult for statistics to be used as wool to cover my eyes. I don’t accept that in Yoruba society, Christianity and Islam are the dominant religions. It is not true.”

Giving grounds for his rather unusual position, he reasoned, “For example, let’s just use simple arojinle- philosophical analysis. Yoruba/Orisa religion doesn’t have this standard Christian and Muslim approach of having churches and mosques. So, for us, counting Orisa temples is not a good way of determining how many practitioners of Orisa/Yoruba religion there are. Secondly, any honest Yoruba person will tell you that when people run into trouble, almost everyone who claims to be a Christian or a Muslim goes to Babalawo or Iya Onifa, Iyalorisa to divine.”

According to him, “If you go to church, you also go to a diviner; then, you are practicing the two religions. So how can you count yourself as being a Christian and not as being the other? People are not bold enough to say what they really do. There are those like me who have absolutely no reservations whatsoever practising what we practise. So tell me, are there more Christians and Muslims than practitioners of Yoruba religion? I don’t think there are, we are more. That’s the problem: statistics and figures. There is one book which I use to teach Statistics or Mathematical Logic; How to lie with statistics-that’s the title.”

A multitude of gods or orisa makes up the Yoruba pantheon, with Ifa as the oracular mouthpiece of Olodumare, the Almighty in Yoruba religion. Who would have imagined that Orisa tradition could prove relevant to the Boston Marathon bombings in USA on April 15, 2013, when two pressure cooker bombs exploded, killing three people and injuring 264 others? One woman who lives in Boston, 47-year-old Clemencia Lee, an American of Columbian origin initiated into the religion 10 years ago, said being a devotee of Yoruba gods saved her and members of her family from the bombings. According to her, “It was definitely the Orisa that watched over us to not be there and right where the bomb was.” She attended the congress with her husband, Tony Van Der Meer, an American academic of Suriname-Dutch origin and Orisa devotee, and her second daughter who is also an initiate with a Yoruba name, Adetutu.

There was an unmistakable irony in the insistent efforts by many of the foreign participants to speak Yoruba language, especially in the context of exchanging greetings with others. Such cultural projection was food for thought, considering the observed societal trivialisation of the language in favour of English. A panelist in one of the several round-table discussions, Prof Segun Gbadegesin of Howard University, USA, highlighted this absurdity, saying, “Seventy percent of Yoruba elite discourage the use of Yoruba language by their children in domestic settings.” It was also interesting to see foreigners who were devotees prostrate themselves in a customary Yoruba way while greeting others.

Some of the foreign visitors were simply captivated scholars, and not adherents of the religion. It was William Cullinan’s first visit to Africa and Nigeria. A white American Christian, 64 years old, from Philadelphia, he said, “I came to Orisa World Congress because I’m interested in learning about different religions and cultures, and I had always wanted to come to Nigeria because Ile-Ife is considered to be the centre of civilisation according to the Yoruba.”

A striking highpoint of the event was the declaration by the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuade, the community’s revered traditional ruler and Grand Patron of the Orisa tradition and religion, that July and August will be celebrated as “Yoruba cultural months” from next year. “I implore all descendants of Oduduwa to return home every year during these to celebrate our culture and religion,” he said, at the opening ceremony of the congress at Oduduwa Hall, OAU, on July 24. Oduduwa, regarded as the progenitor of the Yoruba people, is artistically represented by an imposing wooden sculpture carved by Lamidi Olonade Fakeye, which was unveiled at the front of the university theatre in 1987 by Sijuade himself.

Speaking on the launch of the cultural months, Sijuade declared, “All my children in Nigeria, Benin Republic, Togo Republic, Ghana, Sierra Leone and Sudan, invite all lovers of Yoruba culture to the homeland during the months of July and August. Celebrate the values, virtues and treasures of our towns and cities. Hold public events, conventions and activities that showcase the invaluable riches of Yoruba culture and religion. These are the treasures that have made Yoruba culture and religion a global heritage of humanity.”

Stimulating discussions on various issues of interest in the context of Yoruba religion and culture took place at Oduduwa Hall and Institute of Cultural Studies on the campus, with wide-ranging topics including Ifa, Education and Culture; Youth Rights, Elder Rights: Generational Integration; Poverty Eradication; Youth, Education and Spiritual Development; Globalization and Cultural Identity; and Nollywood versus Hollywood: Images of Orisa in Movies. It was a reflection of the times that the subject of homosexuality came up, and many were curious about the position of the religion on this controversial question. After a lively debate, it was Prof Abimbola who had the last word. According to him, “We cannot say exactly how Ifa views this. There is no need for us to get involved in this controversy.”

A major aspect of the programme was the first Awo Ifatoogun Lecture delivered by Prof Moses Akinola Makinde, a retired university teacher of Philosophy and DG/CEO, Awolowo Centre for Philosophy, Ideology and Good Governance, Osogbo, Osun State. Although not an initiate, he is respected for his work in the area of African Philosophy and Yoruba cultural thought. He revealed to the audience that he had been influenced to rethink the labelling of his scholarly work as African Philosophy, rather than “Yoruba Philosophy” which formed the basis; and he made an argument for “Yoruba Philosophy as a sub-set of African Philosophy.” He attributed his new perspective to his son, Olumide Okunmakinde of the Institute of Cultural Studies, OAU.

The Awo Ifatoogun Lecture, in honour of an outstanding Ifa priest and university teacher, Prince Babalola Adeboye Ifatoogun, who died in 2009 at age 85, provided a platform for Makinde to explore the concept of Ifa as “a repository of knowledge.” According to him, “Ifa’s many branches encompass the whole of human knowledge.” He coined the term “Ifaology”, which he likened to Epistemology or philosophy of knowledge in Western Philosophy.

Central to Makinde’s lecture was “Ifa and the concept of Omoluabi,” which considered Yoruba religion and culture in the context of “morality, social and political philosophy.” Ever conscious of intellectual integrity, Makinde also gave credit to his son for helping to further clarify the concept of Omoluabi as captured by Ifa. Omoluabi, according to Makinde, defines “a good, cultured and virtuous person” in relation to “his expected contributions to society” based on “honesty, integrity, transparency, accountability, good governance and other good things concerning the life of a man in a sane society.” This lecture, significantly, projected the inclusiveness of Ifa, showing that it was not only about religion, and should not be seen in ritualistic terms alone.

When the time came to go to the Ooni’s palace in town, there was a predictable eagerness among the participants. A pleasant surprise awaited them. July 27 was also Prof Abimbola’s 80th birthday, but the news didn’t leak. So, in a large decorated hall with shimmering lights, the Royal Court Band played danceable melodies, and the participants socialised in a setting that reflected monarchical grandeur. Their host, Oba Sijuade, 83, was resplendent in a white flowing robe over purple attire. He wore purple shoes and a glittering white cap. “Eating in the Ooni’s palace is a privilege,” said the MC of the congress, Chief Yemi Ogunyemi. It was a memorable birthday for Prof Abimbola who holds the chieftaincy title, Awise Agbayie, conferred on him by Oba Sijuade in 1981, in recognition of his services to Yoruba religion and culture. It was momentous that three devotees were installed as Cultural Ambassadors at the party. They were: Suriname-Dutch American Tony Van Der Meer, Chinese Chiu Ming Ho, and one of Prof Abimbola’s wives, Michelle, a white American. There was a mystic dimension to their installation as each went briefly into an enclosure formed by powerful traditional chiefs who created a human screen, preventing any view of their encounter with the Oba.

There was an infectious festivity in the air all through the congress, with displays of the rich resources of the indigenous culture, ranging from fabrics and adornments to music and songs, from poetic performances to vibrant dances. Two foreign musical groups were part of the show: Omo Alagba/Miyaasu/Ibori Records and WolfHawkJaguar. Founded in 1981 by Prof Abimbola, Orisaworld is “an organisation of practitioners and scholars of Orisa tradition, religion and culture.” The group “promotes culture, education and peace in a world where Orisa tradition and culture plays a central role in the day-to-day lives of over 100 million people,” and has “individual and institutional members from over 50 countries.” The tenth edition of Orisa World Congress in Ile-Ife, with the theme “Culture and Global Peace,” was the fourth in the ancient town, starting from the first one 32 years ago, and six others have been held in Brazil, USA, Trinidad and Tobago, and Cuba. While serving as an umbrella to all other Orisa and Yoruba cultural organisations, the group’s overriding aim is “to revitalise and rejuvenate the Orisa culture and all its traditions.” Prof Abimbola announced that future congresses would be held in Nigeria, and that the next one would take place in 2016 in Ile-Ife.

At the opening ceremony of the 10th congress, Oba Sijuade declared with poetic overtones, “I hereby make the following proclamation: the religion of Yoruba land; the religion of Oduduwa who descended from Heaven on a chain of iron; the religion of Oranfe who lives in a house of perpetual fire in Heaven; the religion of Ifa, witness of destiny; the religion of Sango, the great warrior and giant, child of Oranmiyan; the religion of Oya nicknamed oriirii, eater of she-goats, the female warrior who wears a sword as part of her outfit; the religion of Osun nicknamed ewuji the greatest mother of all; the religion of Obatala, owner of ancient Iranje; will never perish.”