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Yoruba Religion :
The Cornerstone of Society

April 10, 2003
by Ayanna Gillian
Self Empowerment Learning Fraternity, Trinidad and Tobago


E. Bolayi Idowu, in his instrumental work "Olodumare", indicates that, "The keynote of the life of the Yoruba...is their religion... in all things they are religious. Religion forms the foundation and the all-governing principle of life for them." This statement could not be more accurate. Unlike Western European cosmology, African religion forms not just a series of anecdotes to explain the social world, but is the very bedrock and blueprint for the socio-political structure. The Yoruba culture area comprising a large part of present-day northwestern Nigeria including Lagos, Ogun, Oyo and Ondo states as well as the adjoining areas in the Kwara state has a cosmology that is at the heart of its social world. Their creation story, within the wider context of the cosmology, attempts to form a mirror image of their social world and serves as reinforcement and validation of the workings of society. The extremely vast and complex nature of Yoruba cosmology would make it extremely difficult to fully explore all elements of its bonding with the socio-political structure, however this essay will attempt to explore its intricate relationship with the divine status of the Kings; the political relationship between the states of Yorubaland; the hierarchical structure of the village; the micro-political structure of the family and the significance of the religion in the society, showing how these elements are based on the complex and enlightened cosmogony and cosmology of the Yoruba.

The key to understanding the Yoruba socio-political structure is the concept of the "Ebi Social Theory" which holds that the family unit is the microcosm for the social and political world. It is a direct manifestation of the Yoruba's need to relate cosmognically to their social and political structure. As a result, political relations among the Yoruba were conceived in terms of kinship and the state functioned as a larger version of the family with the king regarded as a 'father' to his people. From this we see how the hierarchy of the family unit is reflected in the hierarchy of the village and the political relationship between states in Yorubaland, a structure that has its origin in the hierarchy of the heavens of Olodumare, his Orisas, the ancestors and the Yorubas themselves. The cosmogonical cornerstone of this family unit is the relationship between Orunmilla and his sons. It is said that Orunmilla the creator of the earth and its first King, had sixteen sons who founded the sixteen states of Yorubaland. This relationship is instrumental as it not only links all the states of the Yoruba into a strict federation bound by kinship, but it makes the unit of family the single most important socio-political entity in Yoruba society. It is the family or Ebi relationship that is repeated throughout the socio-political structures of Yoruba society.

In keeping with this social theorem, at the top of the political and social hierarchy is the King and the highest King is the Ooni of Ife. For the Yoruba, the Ooni of Ife is the manifestation of Orunmilla on earth. The nature of the Ooni's divinity is firmly anchored in the cosmogony of the Yoruba in much the same way that the divine rule of the Pharaoh is legitimized in Egyptian cosmogony. For the Yoruba, Ile Ife was the first point of creation of the world and it was here that Orunmilla settled and built his Kingdom. Thus Ife became the centre of the Yoruba polity. The Ooni (Father/King) of Ife is thus the manifestation of Orunmilla on earth as well as the theo-philosophical leader of all Yorubaland. This is paralleled in Egyptian cosmogony, where the Pharoah was the manifestation of Osiris, the son of Ra, who was divinely appointed as the ruler of Egypt. In both instances there is no separation between God and King.

This scenario of divine kingship is manifested throughout the sixteen Kingships of Yorubaland. Each King as a son of Orunmilla is seen as a God as well in his own state. The divinity and spiritual power of each king or Oba, is manifested in several ways. The wearing of the sacred crown or adenla is a symbol of his spiritual power and authority. The crown is veiled to protect his subjects for no one can see the face of a God. Possibly the most important element of his crown is the presence of the Ashe from which his power is derived The King is also set apart from his subjects, is said to have no normal bodily functions and neither eats nor sleeps. His compound is located at the center of the village and all other compounds radiate outward from it, in the fashion of the creation of Ife where all other Yoruba states radiate outward from it. Thus the position of Ife as the fulcrum of the world is thus reproduced in the power and authority accorded to the divine King.

The political relationship between the sixteen states of Yorubaland and their allegiance to the Ooni of Ife is a direct manifestation of the Ebi social theorem as it applies to Yoruba political structure. These states of Yorubaland are linked in a commonwealth of sorts where all the Obas are brother owing fealty to each other and allegiance to their spiritual Father, the Ooni of Ife. However, while Ife is seen as the preeminent state, the state of Oyo enjoys arguably even more significant prominence. Oyo is said to be the state founded by Orunmilla's eldest son. Given the position of the eldest son in African society, Oyo is seen as the political and military capital of Yorubaland. It is important to note however, that while Oyo was perhaps even more powerful than Ife itself, in keeping with the religion and the cosmological view that religion was paramount above all things, Oyo still owes its allegiance to Ile Ife.

Sola Akinrinade's article "Warring, But Not Unto Death" , details the diplomatic relationship between the states. He describes the system as the Ebi Commonwealth based on the Ebi social theory described above. While each kingdom was an independent political state, "There existed a consciousness of belonging to a single socio-political entity" . As a result, even in times of conflicts or disagreements, certain provisions for mediation were put in place to ensure that conflicts never escalated to the point that would cause a rupture in the confederation. Even when wars did break out between states, it was a last resort when all options for diplomatic resolutions had failed. This confederation system with loyalty to Ife is based on the kinship ties apparent in the cosmogony. The Egyptian state system employed similar methods to promote a sense of cohesion between the cities in Egypt. In the Osirian drama, his brother Set murders Osiris and the sixteen pieces of his body are scattered throughout Egypt. While in this case, no one city can claim ascendancy over the other based on the presence of Osiris, what is achieved as with the Yoruba, is the oneness of the state by the presence of the physical and spiritual 'body' of the God. In both cases political cohesion is achieved through the cosmogony.

Another aspect of the cosmology working toward the creation and maintenance of the Yoruba commonwealth is the power of the Orisa to mediate during times of conflict and warfare. An account is given of a war between two neighboring states where the Orisa Shango was called upon to bring an end to the conflict . The cultural and religious cohesion of the Yoruba state despite their individual independence is an excellent example of the cosmology bonding with the political structure. The common religion and culture of the sixteen states of the Yoruba formed an effective political and social bond. The social stratification of the family unit and the wider family unit of the village is also based on the cosmogony as well as the hierarchy present in the Heavens between Oludumare and the Orisas. The family unit has at its head the ancestors followed by the grandparents, the father, the wives and then the children. The eldest male is the head of the family just as the eldest male is usually the head of the village or clan. The passing on of property or titles is also hereditary and through the eldest male child of the family. The eldest son can inherited all the worldly goods of his father above the wives or other children and is then responsible for the disposal of the goods as he sees fit. This relationship is reflected in the prominence of Orunmilla, the male creator God who was the first King of Ife as well as his passing on of his wisdom and knowledge to his sixteen sons who went on to found the sixteen states of Yoruba. The hierarchy of the heavens where Oludumare is the head of all creation, the preeminent who can only be accessed through his Orisas is also an important cosmogonical influence on the family structure. African societies are extremely hierarchical. This is seen in the Igbo as well as the Mande-Dogon clan structures. According to M'biti, The elders are always given preeminence in the social structure. For example, in the worship of the ancestors in the family only the eldest male is allowed to communicate with the ancestors of behalf of his family. Once the male grandfather is alive, his son cannot intercede with them on the family's behalf. This is reminiscent of the relationship with the Supreme Being, Olodumare who can only be accessed via his Orisas, who in turn can only be accessed by the priests or Babalewos.

The overall structure of the clan or village mirrors this hierarchy. At the apex of the social structure is the King or Oba, followed by the preists or Babalewos, the artisans and farmers and lastly, the commoners. This structure is based on both the hierarchy of the earth crossing both spiritual and earthly planes, as well as the creation story. An instrumental part of the Yoruba cosmology is the belief that the planes of the heavens, the spirit world and of humans are not entirely separate linear. The belief is that through fixed lines of hierarchy, each plane can be accessed by the other. For example, the common man cannot look upon the King. He interacts strictly with the Bablewos who are manifestations of the Orisa to whom they are initiated. The other people of the clan can then look to the Babalewos to intercede with the Gods on their behalf. The elevated position of the artisans/blacksmiths, craftsmen etc and the farmers are as a result of the creation story. When Orunmilla created the earth at Ife some accounts indicate that he used a piece of iron to anchor the newly formed earth and thus the world was built upon this rod of iron. It is also said that the land that spread outward from Ife was fertile farmland. As a result the Yoruba that occupy these positions are given prominence over all others. It is also important to note that iron smelting and craftsmanship in West Africa reached its height of mastery at Ile Ife. That element of the creation story was probably also a reflection of this.

The role of women must be noted as a complex element of Yoruba society and one that is reflected in cultures of the Egyptians, the Igbo as well as the Yoruba. While the societies are largely patriarchal, with most lines of heredity and rule being passed through the male line, women in Yoruba and in other West African societies have retained their role as the holders of wisdom, the keepers of magic and the spiritual guardians of the clan. The importance of the status of women is seen throughout the cosmology even if not often translated into political lines. In Yoruba culture, women are often oracles, and guardians of wisdom. It is significant in the cosmogony that the divinity of the Ooni is reinforced by the cosmogonical marriage of Orunmilla and his wife Odu as described in the Odu Irete. Odu was said to hold the power of the oracles and divination. It is Odu who has given Orunmilla the 'Awo', the secret power to control 'the Ashe', the sacred bird that participated in the creation process, scratching the earth poured by Orunmilla to create the first land of Ife. This is reflected in Egyptian cosmogony as well as it is Isis, the sister/wife of Osiris who uses the words of power taught to her by her father Thoth to raise Osiris from the dead and restore him to Kingship. It is also the wisdom and power of Isis that allowed Osiris to seize power from his father, Ra, and rule Egypt. Although women rarely enjoyed political power among the Yoruba, their spiritual power was indeed evident.

The Ifa religion of the Yoruba is the single most important cosmological feature of their culture. Ifa is said to be an energy-based religion where Orisa who control certain elements of the universe are appealed to receive gifts, blessings or material goods. Ifa governs every aspect of a person's life, from the birth of a child to old age and death. Each town has its own Odu or oracle, which is to be worshipped and appeased. The most important elements of Ifa as it applies to the social structure of the Yoruba are the use of divination to determine life path; the belief in a balanced universe in a constant state of siege between good and evil; the notion for sacrifice or Ebo, the belief in pre-destiny or Ori; the concept of good character or Iwapele, and the steadfast belief in the divinity of man. The Babalewos employ the Awo of divination to forecast the future and to reveal to the Yoruba the path for their lives. There are several variations of the creation story to detail how this gift of divination came about. However the common feature is that Orunmilla taught it to his sixteen sons, who then taught it to their disciples who became Babalewos. Divination reveals not simply the future but the true life- path of the individual in keeping with God's desire for one's life. In essence Ifa and the Yoruba worldview can be summed up in terms of the interchangeability and the fluidity between the supernatural, the human and non-human elements. The world is in a state of constant siege owing to the conflict between the Orisas - benevolent gods and Ajogun- malevolent gods. Through the use of sacrifice and the crossroads manifested by the Orisa Esu, humans are able to circumnavigate this conflict. The divinity of humankind due to the possession of Ori, the divine essence almost identical to the Igbo belief in Chi gives humans free will although it is counterbalanced by the belief in pre- destiny. Harmony is maintained by the need for humans to cultivate Iwapele, the ultimate balance between all planes of existence. This profound and complex yet extremely coherent belief system provides and excellent compliment to the socio political structure manifested by the Ebi micro- political basis for society.

The most prominent idea that emerges upon examining Yoruba cosmology is their intense respect and reverence for life, humanity and all aspects of existence. They do no believe in the separation of the physical and the spiritual and see eternity as ongoing and not as a result of linear transcendence. Every aspect of their socio-political lives is bound by the religion and firmly anchors the belief in the family as the single most important micro-political entity. Through careful examination it can be sent that every aspect of the political structure and political hierarchy of the Yoruba culture group is grounded by the religions and cosmology. From the divinity of the King, and brotherhood between the states to the structure of the family and practice of Ifa in all aspects of life, it can be concluded that the Yoruba state structure is not simply influenced by its religion, but the religion is the very essence and foundation of the state structure.


Works Cited

Abimbola, Wande, "Ifa: A Western Cosmological System", Religion of Africa: Experience and Expression ed. Blakeley, Van Beek & Thompson Heinmann, 1994

Akinjogbin, I.A, The Specificities and Dynamics of Africans Negro Cultures: the Yoruba Area. Distinctive Characteristics and Common Features of African Cultural Areas South of the Sahara. Unesco, 1985

Akinrinade, Sola, Warring But Not Unto Death: Conflict Prevention and Resolution Mechanisms in Yoruba Military Tradition Paper presented at the All-Africa Conference on African Principles of Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation, held at the United Nations Conference Centre, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 8-12 November 1999.

Ayisi, Eric, An Introduction to the Study of African Culture London, Heinmann 1972

Bascom, William, The Yoruba of Southwest Nigeria,
University of California, Berkeley

Ben-Amos, Paula Girshick, "The Promise of Greatness: Women & Power in an Edo Spirit Possession Cult" Religion of Africa: Experience and Expression ed. Blakeley, Van Beek & Thompson Heinmann, 1994

Idowu, E. Bolayi, Olodumare, God in Yoruba Belief A&B Book Publishers

M’biti, John, Introduction to African Religion Heinemann; 2nd edition - 1991

Njake, Elechukwu Nnadibuagha, Igbo Political Culture, Northwestern University Press, Evanston, 1974

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