1. What argument is Jacbo K. Olupona making about the History of Yoruba Religious Tradition? What methodologies and/or scholars does he utilize to make this analysis? Which one did you find the most interesting?
2. Provide a timeline for how Europeans came to understand the Yoruba religion. How did the indigenous groups respond? Do they agree with each other?
3. Detail a few of the Yoruba deities and/or religious ceremonies. Describe their significance.
4. Were you surprised to learn that the Brer Rabbit stories, written in Georgia in the late 19th century, are actually African folktales? Pick one of the short stories and explain why you like it.
5. What were the purpose of these tales in Africa and do you think that their meanings changed when they came to America? Why or why not?
6. How did environments affect the development of these two African religions? Can you find any evidence from the reading that would support this type of analysis?
1. Olupona is arguing that Yoruba traditions still impact religious beliefs in the United States. Additionally, Olupona argues that the scholars who originally explored Yoruba traditions wrote works that were swayed by christocentrism. We can see this on page 242, “the indigenous authors, such as J. Olumide Lucas and Bolaji Idowu were accused of presenting a christocentric version of Yoruba religion.” Olupona uses the works of many scholars. Namely, Olupona uses the works of Olumide Kucas and Bolaji Idowu. I found Lucas’s analysis most interesting because he states “Yoruba religion had its origin in Ancient Egypt which he regarded as the center of World Civilazation.”
ReplyDelete2. Originally, Yoruba people are describes as heathens by Clarke. The name, “heathen,” is fairly indicative of the fact that early scholars were unwilling to empathize with Yoruba people. From there, writings about the Supreme Being among Orisa cults began to emerge. Once Christian Missionaries began interacting with the Yoruba, they made an active effort to convert them to Christianity by undermining their theology. Efforts to undermine Yoruba faith included songs and poetry, such as a “preparatio evangelica.” Seeing as Yoruba traditions still persist today, it would be fair to assume that they remained resistant to missionary efforts.
3. The highest Yoruba deity is Olodumare, the supreme god. Ogun is the god of iron of war, and he is “a paragon of judicial virtues, an area in which he is most powerful among deities.” The Yoruba believe that Ogun is more swift in delivering justice than the God of Christianity or Islam because Ogun does not wait for penance to carry out judgement.
4. It comes as no surprise to me that African folktales such as Brer Rabbit did not originate in the United States themselves. There seems to be a trend of ideas taken from Africa without credit. I’m a big fan of the “Tar Baby,” story because the rabbit almost loses his life for not rationally thinking through the fact that to keep touching the tar baby would mean getting even more stuck. It says something significant about rationally handling a pressing situation.
5. The purpose of these stories in Africa is similar to the purpose of their existence anywhere else in the world. They provide guidelines to live life according to a certain set of morals. While the characters in the stories have changed— wolves don’t live in Africa so the character in one of the short stories was obviously changed— the meaning behind the stories have remained concrete. Changing the meaning of the story would be rather counterintuitive to their significance.
6. Environment is specifically important to the development of the Yoruba, considering Olumide regards the religion as a center of world civilization with its epicenter based in Egypt. As we see in the conclusion, Yoruba is still practiced in Cuba, Brazil, and the United States. Naturally, the religions have developed differently in each region. However, according to Olupona, Yoruba does face encroachment by western society: “especially at a time when Western influence constitutes a big threat to its survival.” I could not find anything specific about the development religions though. .
1. The main focus of Olupona is whether or not Yoruba beliefs on religion still impact religious beliefs outside of Africa; in particular, the United States. Olupona argues that the Yoruba do indeed impact religious customs here in America. There is a plethora of scholars that he uses to make arguments, however most of the scholars he used seem to be influenced by ethnocentrism. For example, the Christian missionaries that came and observed the Yoruba came because they thought the people were practicing pagan rituals. They were not open or educated on the Yoruba religious traditions. One theory that sparked my interest involves the Yoruba's religious practices starting in Egypt. The theory was originated by a indigenous scholar named Venerable Lucas and I have to disagree with his arguments. There is no proof that the Egyptians forced their religion onto other cultures much less in Western Africa hundreds of miles away from the Nile. Yes, Egypt was the world's strongest civilization during its time but its practices seem too differentiated from the Yoruba.
ReplyDelete2. Intense interactions between the Yoruba people and Europe didn't come until late the 19th century. For the most part, the interactions were sparked by missionaries, travelers, and explorers. Robert Stone, Miss Tucker, and MAS Barber were some of the first outsiders to publish personal accounts on what the Yorubas were like. Later on in the early 20th century, studies of the Yoruba continued. A european by the name of W.H. Clarke described them as "A rather particular heathen". In 1910, a German anthropologist Leo Frobenious traveled to the Yoruban sacred city Ile-Ife and documented his trip. After that, multitudes of Christian missionaries traveled to Nigeria in an attempt convert the native populations. The missionaries found some success but for the most part, the Yoruban people maintained their religious traditions. During the time period in which Christian Yoruba people experienced a bit of a cultural revivalism.
3. Iwi, also called Egungun chants, are verbal chants related to the presence of dead ancestors in the world of the living. The Yoruba people place heavy emphasis on the importance and actions of ancestors. Oriki are epithets of particular individuals, often aimed at ancestors or directly to the gods. Often times scholars could happen upon Orikis depicting Ogun, the god of war, or even Olodumare which is the supreme god.
4. I was surprised at first but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that Africa has always been exploited and discredited for its installations into the world. The one story I'm most familiar with and that we went over in class is the Tar Baby story. I like it because its a classic story of the protagonist outthinking the bad guy and using nothing but wit to make it happen.
5. These stories in particular not only did a great job at entertaining their readers but also taught the readers lessons on appropriate life behaviors and morals. When brought to America and other countries, the components of the stories may have changed in order to relate to the readers better, but the meaning behind the words should and have stayed the same for the most part.
6. Environment is a very important factor in the development of Yoruba and the religious traditions. It is people's physical environments that make them adapt and survive, and through their surroundings are they able to develop belief systems. For example, one of the most prominent deities in Yoruba is Ogun, or the god of iron and war. The Yoruba were reliant on iron for centuries and therefore associated the metal with one of their most worshipped gods.
1. Dr. Olupona argues that a lot places in the Americas have been influenced by the Yoruba religion. Robert Farris Thompson's book discusses how the worship of the Yoruba divinities made their way across the Atlantic Ocean and into modern cities such as Miami and New York. I found it interesting when Thompson said, "the creators of one of the premier cultures of the world" meaning the Yoruba religion.
ReplyDelete2. The term heathen comes from early scholars who were referring to the Yoruba people. Attempts to persuade them to Christianity were made by songs and written illustrations. The Yoruba religion were not influenced by these attempts rather continued to believe in their beliefs.
3. Èsu is the god of the gate keeper and Ifá is the God of wisdom. Ifá was a "system of explanation, predicition, and control of space-time events was particularly attacked".
4. It did surprise me because all my life I have known the brer Rabbit stories and even watched a movie on it. It is most unique though to learn that it originated from Africa. I found to like "the hare's disguises" story because he was so tricky to take out the two leaders of the group. He weakened them by tricking the most influential guys in the pack.
5. Like any cartoon on tv today, they all have moral meaning to the story. Much like these old folktales that were orally passed down from generation to generation. They were so popular that they were able to spread around the world even though the animal characters may have changed, the meaning didn't.
6. Environment affected the Yoruba religion definitely because if it had not been on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, I don't know if the rest of the world would have even heard enough of the religion to be influenced. However as travel from one side to the other through trade, stories were passed around as well as the overall religious beliefs such as their deities and sacrifices.
1.) Jacob Olupona is arguing that the early research and views concerning Yoruba religion was looked at from a very Christian mindset or “christocentrism”. He argues that further research should be conducted for multiple reasons, one reason being that the traditions still have an impact in the US. Olupona gives credit to many authors such as Alfred Ellis, Leo Frobenius, W. H. Clarke and T. J. Bowen. These four he credits because of their significance to the modern study of Yoruba religion. He also relies on the works and studies of indigenous authors such as J. Olumide Lucas and Bolaji Idowu. I found Odowu’s most interesting as he relies on oral traditions, proverbs, myths and poetry to enforce his position on the supreme god “Olodumare”.
ReplyDelete2.) like most if not all instances where Europeans come into a region they classified the Yoruban’s as heatherns. This term was used by W. H. Clarke specifically. The Europeans began to try to convert the Yorubans but failed even after attempting to undermine their religion. Indigenous groups didn’t sway, and due to the strong traditions still practiced today the conversion was unsuccessful.
3.) the supreme god of the Yoruba is “Olodumare”. Ogun was traditionally portrayed as violent and destructive but Soyinka argues against that arguing he is a “paragon of Judicial Virtues”, From a Christian perspective justice and violence are mutually exclusive but to Yoruba’s they exist together. It gives an example on page 115 of the course packet to how individuals will swear and lie upon the Quran or Bible but will hesitate to swear on Ogun’s ritual objects because they believe he is swift in his punishment.
4.) I was surprised at first but after your explanation in class and the short introduction in the course packet I can definitely see how they came from Africa. I like the story of “the Hare’s End”. I think I most like this story because of the irony within it. The hare in all the other stories is clever and very quick on his feet to elude capture and death. However in this story he is so dim witted and foolish that he kills himself believing it to be some cool new trick. A very “simpleton” act as the cock describes it.
5.) I think the purposes of these tales in africa were to teach valuable lessons and morals. I do believe the meanings changed a little when retold in America. I think if you look closely you can still derive the moral and lessons to be learned but that in America the stories were told simply to be stories.
6.) Environment greatly affects the religious traditions. The Yoruba religion is found In the US and parts of southern America, without trade this migration of religious practices would not have occurred. the envirornment and what is within the surrounding envirornment also has to play a huge role in religions as well. Ogun is the god of Iron as well, not just of justice. Iron must be particularly important to these people to dedicate a deity to this resource.
ReplyDelete1. Olupona argues that religions and cultures from all over the world are strongly influenced by the Yoruba religion. He uses the works of both African and Western scholars to make this analysis. He argues that society and culture of the Yoruba people cannot be studied without the consideration of humanities and social sciences. The most interesting to me would be the ethnographic fieldwork down by Wande Abimbola which studied how Yoruba religion has fared in contemporary Brazil.
ReplyDelete2. The first people to study Yoruba culture and religion were travelers, missionaries, and explorers who wrote about the “pagan” practices of the African people. They were described as heathens by Clarke. These studies centralize around the relationship between the Orisa cults and the Supreme Being. The missionaries who entered this area focused on converting the Yoruba. In the beginning, there was no European understanding, only judgment. Olupona writes, “If we could divest the Westerner’s biases and errors from their interpretations of the accounts which they otherwise recorded so faithfully, it seems to me that we could make a historical reconstruction of the state of Yoruba religion in the 19th century.” (106) The indigenous groups maintained their own religion and practices. The study of the Yoruba then transformed once scholars began to study it from an objective perspective.
3. Olodumare is the supreme god of the Yoruba. He is the one factor which the life and beliefs of the Yoruba were centered. Ogun is the god of war and hunting. He has the largest number of devotees with annual festivals where hunters, warriors, and others chant as a way to praise him. Sango is the Yoruba god of thunder and lightning.
4. At first, it is surprising to learn that the stories I grew up listening to where not of strict Southern origins. However, the more I think about it, the more I realize that it was naïve of me to ever believe that the stories and culture of African slaves would not have been assimilated into southern culture. My favorite folktale is “The Animals and the Well”. I like it because the turtle is meek. He is soft-spoken, and sometimes overlooked. However, he is the one who brings the water to the surface. He is also the one who tricks the hare after the hare tricks a few of the more powerful animals.
5. The purpose of these tales is to teach life lessons of some sorts. I believe that some of the characters were changed, but I do not think that the meanings changed. The stories teach patience, wisdom, strength, and courage. These are lessons that transcend through time and geography, which is why they are still read as “Uncle Remus” stories today.
6. The development of these religions was greatly impacted by environment. Olupona writes, “We can not really do justice to Yoruba religion across the Atlantic if we neglect its avatars and reinterpretation within the West African religions.” (264) The Yoruba’s location on the West African coast is the reason that so much of their religion and culture has been assimilated into that of the Americas. The slave trade had a great impact on how the religion developed and spread.
1. The main argument presented seems to be that the earliest research into the Yoruba is clouded by the bias of the Eurocentric and Christocentric researchers and as such should be regarded as suspect. He then goes on to argue that for this reason and as a result of the large ex-pat population of Yorubans, further research is needed. He uses research by both native and European authors, set against the background of who they were and what their goals were to show some potential flaws in their research. The one theory that I found to be the most interesting was that of the German, Frobenius. The fact that he was so biased that he made the massively unsupported assertion that he had found a Greek colony flies in the face of logic. However, when set against the backdrop of German treatment of natives in their colonies, it makes sense. How can the oppression of natives be justified when they are constructing cities an making art at a very high level a relatively short time before the colonizers arrived?
ReplyDelete2. The Europeans came to understand the Yoruban religion via the writings of several missionaries to the area. They were described at the time (by W.H. Clarke) as "refined" heathens, as they did hold a belief in a supreme god, just not the "right" one. After that, as more researchers and missionaries traveled to the area, the Europeans slowly began to understand the Yoruban religion. The indigenous groups responded to the missionaries attempts to convert them by having their priests debate the missionaries. In turn, the missionaries set out to essentially destroy the Yoruban religion in every way possible. Due to the continued existence of sizeable numbers of followers of traditional Yoruban religions today, 200 years after these attempts, we can say that they conclusively and definitively failed.
3. Ifa is the god of wisdom, and was the god of the priests diviners that held great power in Yoruban society, and consequently were some of the strongest resisters to conversion to other religions. Esu was the god of the gatekeeper, and also served to convey sacrifices to the supreme god, Olodumare. Esu is significant, as he was singled out specifically as a devil by the missionaries, who claimed he demanded the most prized possession of his clients for sacrifice. The fact that the missionaries who were attempting to convert the Yorubans singled out both of these gods for undermining would seem to indicate that they held a great number of followers in Yoruban society.
4. The origins of the Brer Rabbit stories came as no surprise to me. The most interesting one is "The Hare Nurses the Lioness' cubs." In this one, the rabbit is allowed by the lioness to care for her cubs. She doesn't realize that he is slowly killing and eating them. The rabbit covers his duplicity by insisting on only bringing the cubs to nurse one at a time, so that the lioness never realizes his trick. The story shows the duplicity of the rabbit clearly, and sends a message about trusting others. The story shows it by the lioness simply trusting the rabbit's word that all her cubs were still alive
5. The purpose of the tales is/was the same in Africa as it is/was in the South: provide and easy way to show a moral trait. To change the meaning would destroy this. Other parts (such as the animal themselves) do change, but in that regard the animals should be regarded merely as plot devices, with the only common thread being the rabbit/hare being a trickster.
6. Environment would have been important to the development of these religions, as it would have guided their belief system and worldview. The Yoruba still in Africa, for example, have slightly different beliefs than those in, say, Brazil. This is supported by the assertion that "A conspicuous place is given to female orishas who were in most places associated with water."(Carniero,1948)
1. I believe that the argument that Olupona is making is that the Yoruba religion and culture are intertwined while at the same time being influenced by many other great civilizations that extended their reaches to western Africa. He references the German Anthropologist Leo Frobenius who noticed the considerable Greek influenced that was present in Greek art. I found his inclusion of Leo Frobenius's analysis most interesting because Olupona suggest that Frobenius's analysis is completely distorted by underestimation of African capabilities.
ReplyDelete2.The study of Yoruban religeon and culture was brought to the western world by Leo Frobenius in the earlt 20th century. Then two professors,Ayandele and Atanda, edited the works of missionaries which were focussed on the presence of a supreme God and the relationship lesser Dieties played in their lives. Many authors continued to write similar works on Yoruba culture most notibely J. Awolalu who wrote theories on the role religion played in Yaruba culture. Molefe Ashante is one of the indigenous writer cones up with a different analysis of Yoruba Religion which suggest that their is a connection between Yaruba Religion and Egyptian religion. Others however disagreed using the argument that the Egyptians didn't expand their influence that far.
3. A few major religios influences were Ifa the Yaruba god of wisdom and Esu the god of the Gatekeeper. The yaruba people were spiritually led by Babalwo, who were priest that represented Ifa. The way that these Gods shaped daily life and thought of Yaruba people was centered around these Gods and the role they playedd in Yaruba religion. This made connecting and the attempted conversion of these people difficult because missionaries did not have a good understanding of Yaruba culture.
4. I was not really surprised to learn that the Brer Rabbit stories originated from Africa because in the south there are many African influences. The slaves shared many customs and traditions with their white master and much of that influence is still seen today especially in food. My favorite story is the Hare and The Hyena because the hyena comes up with an elaborate ruse that eventually backfires and gets him hurt or in some versions killed. Its a story about what karma and the Hyena got what he deserved.
5. These stories serve as moral lessons that are meant to pass on important lessons through the generations. I think these stories are also meant to connect them to the animals that inhabited the same region. These stories humanize the animals perhaps showing the respect they had for these animals. These lessons came with the Bantu when they came to american to continue to pass on the same moral lessons that had been taught generations earlier. This is also quite apparent with the Brer Rabbit stories being incredibly similar to the stories told in Africa.
6. Environment is very important in the religions. This evident in how they viewed medicine. They saw the leaves and plants as mystical and religious showing their great respect for nature. Another example is the Yaruba deity Sango who is the God of lightning and thunder. There is clear connection between Yaruba religion and nature.
1) Olupona is arguing whether or not the Yoruba beliefs still have an impact on the religious beliefs outside of Africa. There are a bunch of scholars that help his argument. He uses the work from both Western and African scholars to help his argument. I think that Odowu’s is most interesting because he uses myths and oral traditions to help his case to the supreme god.
ReplyDelete2) W.H. Clarke described the Yoruba people as “heathens”. As soon as missionaries starting their interactions with the Yoruba people they tried to convert them to Christianity. The Yoruba people ended up outlasting the Christian missionaries and their religion is still maintained today.
3) A few of the Yoruba deities are Olodumare, known as the supreme God. The Yoruba’s have verbal chants which are known as Egungun chants. These chants are used to acknowledge the presence of the deceased ancestors.
4) It does not surprise me at all that stories that were written in Georgia actually originated in Africa as folktales. One of the stories I like the most would be the Tar Baby story. I like this story the most because the harder the rabbit fights the tar baby the more entangled he gets which make him fight harder.
5) The purpose of these African tales provides a set of morals in which you should live your life by. Changing the meaning of the stories would take away significance from the story as well as what the story might be saying, I do not think the meanings have changed but I do think the characters have in order to fit with the animals in the current environment.
6) The environment greatly affected the development of the two religions. Because of where the Yoruba people are located it made it a lot easier for the Yoruba religion to be carried to different parts of the world. The slave trade is a huge piece of evidence that helped spread the religion and their beliefs.
1. Olupona argues that a very Christian view was used to research the Yoruba religion in the beginning. He believes that the religion should be studied further, however because of how the traditions still have some effect on the US. Olupona mentions Ellis, Frobenius, Clarke, and Bowen as well as Olumide and Bolaji. These are the people he credits for their study of the Yoruba religion. Odowu’s story was most interesting because of his grand dramatics.
ReplyDelete2. First, the Yoruba religion was studied by explorers and missionaries who described them as “pagan”. Clarke then described them as heathens. As more studies progressed, the Yoruba religion was better understood by the Europeans. The Yoruban religion responded by debating the people that were trying to convert them and so the Europeans set out to destroy the religion.
3. The supreme god is “Olodumare”. Ogun is the god of war and Ifa is the god of wisdom. Ifa holds power over the diviners and Ogun holds power over the people that praise him and he has the most devoters.
4. I wasn’t surprised that our stories came from Africa. It seems like everything in America came from something else. The Tar Baby story interests me because it shows that intelligence was favored in Africa as much as force.
The stories are similar in Africa in purpose to anywhere else they exist. They explain morals to live by. The difference is, the African morals are different than the morals of any other place.
5. Environment would have affected the religion and it’s thoughts on the world. The African Yoruba religion would live differently than a Yoruba man that lived and practiced his religion elsewhere and the world. The basis of the religion did generate in an area that allowed things to develop in the ways that they did for the religion as well.
1.) Jacob K. Olupona argues the fact that we need to focus studies in the New World, instead of only it being in Nigeria. Olupona uses some of Joseph Murphy and Sandra T. Barnes work to prove that Yoruba religions practice and studies are being brought out in the new world of today with constant growth. Yet, the most interesting study to find out was in Bronx, New York; a study of the orisha traditions.
ReplyDelete2.) Well it all started around the 19th century missionaries, travelers and explorers came over to confirm that their ideas of "pagan" worship and animist beliefs among the African people (p. 241). Also the invasion of Muslim Jihadists plays a role in the 19th century because their presence due to the fact that some of the beliefs and practice of Yoruba country were influenced by the Islamic beliefs. Then later on in the 20th century, American Baptist missionary student Clarke stated that that the Yoruba culture were "refined heathens" because they had "knowledge of a Supreme God" and could be approached through many forms (p. 243). The indigenous groups did not respond to the ideas of the Europeans well due to how they wanted to convert everything into Christian believes, meaning they would bash on the Yoruba Gods and put the religion of Christianity over the indigenous belief.
3.) Oqun's Worship: where hunters and devotees praise the god of war and hunting, Oqun, by "Ijala chanting as a source of entertainment and devotion to the deity.
4.) I was really shocked to hear that all these tales came from African folktales and not made in America. I like "The Hare nurses the Lioness's Cubs" because, it tells of a hare tricking a lioness that each and everyone of her cubs are being to care of. When in fact one by one the hare begins to devour them until the very last one. To me it shows that you can never truly under estimate the power of the little guy or be to arrogant to believe that no one will betray you.
5.) The purpose of the stories were to show the African culture and human nature through animal actors. But as transferred over into American land these stories seem to become Americanize, such as "Tar-baby". Yes African tribes do know they "Tar-baby" story but in a different form.
6.) With Yoruba Religion and Brer Rabbit being the center of the civilizations in Western Africa, then moving around to different parts of the world that shows resemblance to the environment in Western Africa proves that it places a key role on how the these two Religions thrived and still do today
1.) Olupona is arguing that religions in the United States have been influenced in one way or another by Yoruba religions. He also claims that the early authors, such as Bowen, Clarke, and Lewis, who studied the Yoruba presented their views in a christocentric form. I found it interesting that Lucas wrote the Yoruba religion had its origin in Ancient Egypt which was regarded as the center of World Civilization.
ReplyDelete2.) First, Clarke refers to them as ‘heathens’, which was brought about by the relationship between Orisa cults and a supreme being. Missionaries and travelers attempted to convert the Yoruba population but their efforts fell short as traditional followers of the religion still exist today.
3.) “Olodumare” is their supreme God. They believe dead ancestors have great influence in living world as demonstrated by Iwi, or verbal chants related to the presence of dead ancestors. Ogun is the God of war and was swift with his punishment. Esu was the God of the gatekeeper and was portrayed as the devil by missionaries.
4.) I did not realize that Brer Rabbit stories were African folktales, but after thinking about it I can understand. Africa is discredited as the origin of many things. My favorite story was “The Hare’s End” because he was clever enough to escape death but he was dumb enough to kill himself in a much more foolish way.
5.) The purpose of these stories is to provide a set of morals. Each story has a different moral meaning behind it. Even though bits and pieces of some stories have been changed, the overall meaning remains the same.
6.) There is an obvious connection between their religions and environment. Ogun, the God of iron and war, was named because how important iron was to their civilization. They also lived on the west coast of Africa so the slave trade encouraged the spread of religious beliefs.
1.The argument that Olupona is making is that the formation and evolution of religions around the world, the US in particular were partly impacted by the Yoruba religions, Olupona cites Western and African Anthropologists and scholars for his evidence. Barnes, Murphy, Odowu, Clarke, Bowen, and others are some of the people he cites. I find Odowu the most interesting because of his style.
ReplyDelete2.W.H. Clarke was one of the first to dissect the central aspects of the Yoruba religion. When first came across them, similar to most outside visitors to Africa, he labeled them as heathens. Although the Yoruba did have monotheistic beliefs, missionaries and travelers alike did not associate their God with the Africans. An attempt to assimilate the two cultures through teaching and debate, but this plan failed dramatically. An attempt to destroy the religion was put into place, but eventually there were no missionaries left to enlighten the “savages.”
3. It would be appropriate to start off with Olodumare, who is the god above all other gods. Judicial virtues, war, and iron are under his domain, as they were most important when pertaining to the life of the Yoruba. The precense of the dead and ancestors are also very central to the Yoruba, which is why Egungun chats are held to such a high regard.
4.I was not very surprised to learn that the Brer rabbit stories were actually African folktales, because I was taught that they were from a young age by my grandmother. Plus nearly everything in American culture is stolen from somewhere else, so no surprise. My favorite would be The hare and the Hyena, because of the wild things associated with it like trickery and jumping back into your skin. I also like the moral which is to be honest.
5.I believe the tales in Africa had more than one meaning. They were stories for a story’s sake, which means they were meant to entertain an audience. And like any other folktale the point was to also set morals and guide the reader. But I doubt the stories changed, aside from the structure and how they are told, would have changed any when coming to America. There would be no reason to change the morals.
6.It would be ludicrous to say that the development of the religions and environment were exclusive. Through the environment people are able to establish a sense of self, and the formation of religion is unique to that time and space. According to Olupona (264) “There are regional, cultural, and geographical variations among Yoruba city states.” In one region the variation and evolution of the religions could differ greatly when compared to a region right next to it.
1. The two observations that form Oluponas’ argument is first that “the study of Yoruba religion has concerned African and Western scholars alike, and any survey of this scholarship must attempt to integrate both”. His second observation was that “ in Yoruba society and culture, religion and culture are liked so much that there cannot be a pure history of religions approach or perspective without due consideration to cognate disciplines in the humanities and social sciences”. Olupona cites Alfred Ellis, Leo Frobenius, W. H. Clarke, and T. J. Bowen. In his eyes, these authors deserve mention because of the significance of their work to the modern study of the Yoruba religion. I found the acceptance of Clarkes works interesting, because his and Bowens’ edited works were accepted over the works of indigenous authors Lucas and Idowu.
ReplyDelete2. The late 19th century is when the Europeans began to understand Yoruba culture. They did this through making observational accounts of Yoruba cultural life. While accounts like those discussed in question one were helpful for the outside world to understand Yoruba traditions, they were bias and considered Yoruba religion to be a threat. As a result, Christians countered traditional Yoruba beliefs by portraying their gods in a negative manner. Indigenous groups responded to this by using a comparative religion approach to show how inadequate Yoruba religious ideas were to the would be converts. While some agreed with the Europeans views, many Yoruba who were trained in mission schools stayed faithful to Yoruba religious tradition and defended it.
3. Ifa is the Yoruba god of wisdom and Esu is the gate keeper, the divine policeman and conveyor of sacrifices. They are significant because they are the basis of Yoruba religious tradition of the Babalawo(priests diviners of Ifa) that was noticed by many missionaries as a threat to their evangelical missions.
4. I am not surprised that the Brer Rabbit stories originated from African folklore because many things in the South were influenced by the African American heritage. Slavery was the basis for the southern economy for a long period of time. Any and all ideas from African Americans, that whites in the south found profitable, were exploited to the highest bidder. I liked the Animals in the Well. While it is technically one part of the big story, it shows that though the tortoise was successful in bringing up water and catching the hare, the hare was to smart and outwitted the animals.
5. The purposes of these tales were to give different explanations for why some animals were venerated and why others were despised. I think their meanings changed in the American understanding, but stayed the same for those slaves who were still committed to the Yoruba religion.
6. Environment plays a role in the Yoruba religion because it holds several animals and locations as a sacred part of their belief. Environment is also important because of the slave trade, which caused the religion to be scrutinized by Europeans and be passed along by slaves. Evidence that shows the religions present day prominence is that Yoruba oral literature is gaining ground in Nigeria. This is significant because “there is virtually no other ethnic group in Africa that has enjoyed such in-depth research into its oral literature as the Yoruba people”.
1. Jacbo K. Olupona used his article to argue that this is a connection between Yoruba religion and European religion. He utilized the articles about missionaries, art history, and social science to support his argument. I think the research of the Ere Ibeji is very interesting. It shows the facts Yoruba people have the highest twins birth rate and it connect with the local myth stories which can be found arts of these scared beings.
ReplyDelete2. Europeans knew the Yoruba culture in the late 19th century which was provide by the earlier missionaries, travelers, and explorers. One German anthropologist named Leo Frobenius made his visit to Africa to know Yoruba people. However, he didn’t believe that black region could have such organized religion system. In the first quarter of the 20th century, more ethnologists started to write about Yoruba religion. The first indigene group said Yoruba religion had its origin in ancient Egypt which is also the center of the world civilization. While the other group believed that Yoruba religion were learned from Ifa School. Either of those two groups believes other idea of the origin of Yoruba.
3. Ijala is ceremony that Yoruba devotees hold for Orgun’s. Since Orgun’s is the god of war and hunting, people, he has lots of devotees. In this ceremony, people sing oral poems were charteed by devotees to honor deceased hunters
4. I was surprised after I read Brer Rabbit stories because I didn’t know anything about Uncle Remus stories before. Also I don’t think those stories are actually African folktales. I like the story named “the Hare Nurses the Lioness’s Cubs”. It talked about the hare were caught by the lioness after he betrayed other animals. The lioness used the hare as a babysitter to nurse her cubs inside of kill him. However, the hare killed all cubs and run away. The reason I like this story is that never trust the person that betrayed you before.
5. In my opinion, I think the purpose of those tales is to let people more easily to accept the Bantu culture. After they came to America, people more like to change the stories that fit the new culture the most.
6. Environment plays an important role in African religion. For instance, Orun’s has lots of devotees because hunting will provide African people food and the victories of wars will give African more benefits and protect their families. However, if they live in agriculture society, people will more likely to believe god who has power to bring rains. Therefore, different environment decides what kind of religion people will believe.
1. Olupona argues that Yoruba Religious Traditions have influenced modern day religions. Along with, early accounts of Yoruba Religious Traditions done by missionaries, travelers and explores could have been influenced by Islamic beliefs and practices. The noticeable bias of the early accounts calls for further research into the religion. One example is the misinformation on whether Yoruba Religious Traditions included a supreme God or not. I found it very interesting when he referenced scholar Leo Frobenius as the first person to bring scholarly attention to the ancient world. I just think its interesting that this world people group and religion was looked over by scholars until 1910.
ReplyDelete2. The earliest accounts of Yoruba religion were in the 19th century. These accounts were from missionaries, travelers and explorers. It is speculated that through the 19th century the recent influence of Islam effected the beliefs and practices of Islam. The Yoruba people were able to maintain their own beliefs and traditions despite the influence of the Christina missionaries.
3. Olodumare would be considered the supreme Yoruba deity. Babalawo is the Yoruba God of Wisdom and Esu is the God of the gate keeper. Esu is described as a “divine policeman and conveyor of sacrifices. These deities are significant in that they are worshiped by members of the religion and are the figure heads of the Yoruba religion.
4. I was very surprised to learn that the Brer Rabbit Stories came from Africa. I have grown up hearing these stories, therefore I always assumed they were a part of southern culture and roots. I really enjoyed the Tar Baby story. I have heard this story since I was kid, therefore it brings back good memories. I just enjoy the overall cleverness presented in the story.
5. The main purpose of these stories is to offer little life lessons or ethics for children. While many parts of the stories changed when they came to America, I think the overall purpose and meanings stayed the same. The only major change I see is the animals used. For example, the shift from a hare to a rabbit. But this change doesn’t effect the overall storyline.
6. The environment did effect the development of these two African religions. Different environments have different physical features and animals, therefore making some things sacred to one group and not to another. Also, the slave trade affects the development of these two African religions. The Brer Rabbit stories were able to enter the western world, because of the environment and location they originated in.
1. Jacob K. Olupona states that “Yoruba religion has concerned African and Western scholars alike,” and that in order to study the history of this culture you must utilize both sources; furthermore, Olupona states that , “religion and culture are linked so much that there cannot be a pure history of religions approach or perspective,” and he attempts to prove this second statement with his use of a scholar such as Leo Frobenius who comments on both the culture of these people and what he describes as their “myth, legends, and tales,” which is their religion. Afro-centrism is a methodology explored by Olupona through his use of scholar Venerable J. Olumide Lucas. Afro-centrism attempts to put a focus on ancient Egyptian and Nile Valley civilizations in order to explain the History of Africa, which Olupona dichotomizes with how the European world explain their cultures through comparisons with ancient Greece and Rome. Olupona makes it obvious that Lucas is partaking in an ‘Afro-centrism” view when he says that Lucas wrote “Yoruba religion had its origin in Ancient Egypt.” The works of Clarke, who were edited by Profs. Ayandele and Atanda, I find to be the most interesting. What is interesting about it is the way he describes their use of a plurality of “inferior deities” who serve as a bridge between the Yoruba people, who he calls “creature,” and God. However, the indigenous people of Yoruba culture insist that they don’t have one ultimate being.
ReplyDelete2. In the late 19th century, missionaries, travelers, and explorers believed that Yoruba people had pagan (ungodly) worships and animist beliefs. Moving along to the early 20th century, the “theistic” beliefs of the Yoruba took center-stage in explaining the Yoruba religious practices. It was also understood by Frobenius that, “he found traces of a Greek colony,” among the Yoruba, meaning he believed that the Greek and their complex culture influenced these people. One response from the Indigenous scholars is that instead of the Yoruba being influenced by the Greeks that they were instead influenced by Ancient Egyptians which was supported by Lucas. Many Yoruba peoples defended their religious tradition and the Ifá by referring to the texts of Ifá as “the holy scripture of the Yoruba people.” Another response can be justified from the Ibadan school in the mid-twentieth century in Bọlaji Idowu’s Olódúmaré, God in Yoruba Beliefs he responds to the World view of Africans being too incompetent to know a God through his studies of Yoruba practices. Although he recognizes the many divinities that shaped Yoruba peoples lives, he described the Yoruba religion has “diffused monotheism.”
3. In Yoruba culture there exist many deities that they worship. One of which is Sango, the Yoruba God of thunder and lightning. It is said that this deity is a trickster. Ogun is the Yoruba god of iron and war, which could probably be contributed to the fact that the Yoruba people used iron weapons. While giving sacrifice to this God during the Olojo festival attention to the crown of Ooni of Ife that included the “symbolism of veiling and of sacred birds.” A tradition that one studying Yoruba religion should take notice of is their masquerades dedicated to their ancestors. It is said that witchcraft is practiced with these masks but not necessarily evil witchcraft that is thought of that took place in colonial America, dubbed the Salem witch trials. The witchcraft of the Yoruba people is described has, “a neutral force which can be used for both benevolent and malevolent ends.”
4. I am a little surprised that the Brer Rabbit stories are actually African folktales due to the Americanization of the Animals and names of the characters in the stories. The Hare Disguises is my favorite short story of them all. The fact that the Hare cleverly disguised himself twice and worked alongside the animals looking for him was hilarious to me and made that story very likable.
Delete5. The purpose of these tales in Africa were to illustrate traits of character that are “common to human nature” and through the outcomes of events in these stories there is ine trait that often wins out. The wits and Brain of the Hare puts an emphasis on how intelligence was important to the people of the Bantu culture. I don’t think their meanings changed much when imported to America because these stories of the clever Jackal and easily fooled dupes are universal traits that exist across many cultures and makes for an interesting story in almost any culture.
6. One environmental factor that could have affected the development of these two religions is the diverse landscape of Africa. Because the landscape varies from region to region and Africa is so vast there are certain land features/ environmental effects that each village have to deal with that affect what they deem as important and influences what they could give worship to. The Shango cult in Trinidad worship and Sacrifice of the Shango deity , tells you that in this are they probably have many powerful thunderstorms that affect their region thus giving them reason to worship a supreme being believed to have control over the thunder and lightning.
He is arguing that yoruba religions have influenced religions in America, and he is arguing that early accounts show a strong egocentrism when people were learning about Yoruban religions. He credits several african scholars to back up his work.I found Odowu the most interesting because he used oral stories to focus on Olodumare.
ReplyDeleteW.H. Clarke called them "heathens" Then the missionaries tried to convert the Yoruban people to christianity, but the Yoruban's didn't want anything to do with it, so they just stuck to their religion and they went onto influence religions across the atlantic.
Olodumare, the supreme god. They believe that their dead ancestors are influential in their everyday lives.
It was really cool to learn about how the uncle remus stories came to the south from africa and how it was connected to a culture that seems so exotic here in the south. I love brer rabbit and the tar baby and always have because it shows how tricky brer rabbit is and how it shows how brer rabbit tricks brer fox.
I think that these stories were for teaching. I think they taught ethics and morals, and it also probably provided a source of comedy for the people, and im sure they changed when they came to america because of a change in animals and a change in culture.
I believe it does, because as the groups travelled across the atlantic the religion does change slightly with the stories changing as it passes from person to person.
1) Olupona’s main argument is that current Yoruba religious studies have been tainted with Christian bias from the missionaries and explorers who travelled into the region. These travelers were interested in documenting what they believed to be “pagan” practices and “animist” beliefs of the African peoples. Olupona argues that there are still neglected aspects of Yoruba religion to be studied and that, in his words, “future research should focus on developing new theories and uncovering exsiting ones in indigenous Yoruba discourses.” Since culture and religion and sp intertwined in many African societies, it is not logical to study one without due consideration of the other. Scholars in Yoruba study from the disciplines of art history, literature, sociology and other humanities and social science fields have greatly contributed to our understanding of Yoruba religion. The author uses examples such as the importance of oral literature in Yoruba religion, one important aspect of that being “Ofo” (which are powerful spoken words that make things come to pass), to show that the contribution of cultural study adds to the interpretation of Yoruba religion. The most interesting methodology the author utilizes to make his analysis is the contribution of art history to the understanding Yoruba religion. Many art pieces were designed not only for style and aesthetic purposes but also for religious purposes and symbolic meaning. These works include “Ere-Ibeji” sacred twin arts, “Egungun” and “Gelede” masking traditions and “Ogboni” secret society.
ReplyDelete2) Yoruba religious beliefs were first accounted by missionaries, travelers, and explorers who wanted to confirm previous account of “pagan” worship and animist beliefs among the African people. Leo Frobenius is noted for mistakenly claiming that West African had been colonized by the Greeks after finding a piece of art of superb quality. The European scholars did not reach West Africa until after the Muslim Jihadists had already invaded the region and a noticeable interation between Islam and traditional religion had occurred. Later, indigenous authors who wrote the first set of scholarly works on Yoruba religion were accused of presenting a Christocentric version of Yoruba religion. Christian missionaries engaged in debates with traditional priest-diviners and their devotees. They tried to undermine traditional beliefs and used poetry and song lyrics to teach a Christian counter-position to traditional beliefs. Many youthful Africans remained faithful to the Yoruba religious tradition and defended their religion against “the despisers of their culture.”
3) “Ijala” is poetry devoted to Ogun’s worship by hunters and his devotees. “Ogun” is the god of war and hunting. Yearly, hunters, warriors and other devotees engage in “Ijala” chanting during Ogun’s festival as a source of entertainment and devotion to the deity. The supreme god of Yoruba religion is Olodumare.
4) I am not surprised to learn that the Brehr rabbit stories were African folktales, much of the culture slaves brought with them to America was stripped from them and they were forced to assimilate. I especially like the story of The Animals and the Well because of how the tortoise is the wisest of all the beasts and he is also the most underestimated. The tortoise is assaulted by the rhinoceros for successfully completing a task that he himself could not complete. The rhinoceros represents many people I know in this world and the tortoise is a character I can easily relate to.
5) The purpose of these tales was to give people and children insight into real-world situations like trickery and deception. They also show that the least suspecting individual could be the best person for the job, such as the tortoise in The Animals and the Well. The stories provide a learning experience in an entertaining way. I believe the meaning of the stories did not change much when they were brought to America because they are focused on universal life issues. Different societies had their own versions of some of the same stories but with different local animals.
Delete6) Environment plays an important role in the development of the African religions. The area in which the Yoruba people live is surrounded by much wildlife and there are so many factors of life that are represented by different deities. I think its easier to convert to monotheism in an industrialized or industrializing society. Also, the environment and culture provide for the rich stories that were created. Because of the Atlantic Slave Trade, the religion was able to be carried to different parts of the world, where it is struggling to survive because of western influence.
1. Olupona argues that the Yoruba religion has played a strong role in the development of world religion. Although Olupona references contributions of scholars such as Lucas and Bascom, he believes some aspects of the religion to be understudied.
ReplyDelete2. Travelers accounts of Yoruba culture circulated from people such as Robert Stone. Explorer Frobenius made a visit to the sacred city in 1910 and drew attention from the scholarly world. Indigenous missionaries were trained to "evangelize their own people," but most were not swayed.
3. The Babalawo were the priests diviners of Ifa. These priests had had to go through years of training to be ordained, and held great influence and power. Although they lacked sacred literature, they had oral rituals knows as Iwe.
4. It did surprise me to learn that the Brer rabbit stories originated in Africa. It makes me wonder what other aspects of our culture are directly and sometimes unknowingly influenced by a distant people. I found "The Hyena kills the Hare's Mothers" entertaining and quite different, but I liked them all. They give an underlying theme or life lesson while entertaining the reader at the same time.
5. These stories provide a framework for generations of life lessons. These stories have a deeper theme, so the transition of the stories from African culture to Western culture would not change the meaning.
6. The environment most certainly played an impact on these two religions. The Atlantic slave trade spread the religion and has played a major role in its development to this day. Olupona believes this "spread" has made the Yoruba religion what it is now.
1.Jacob K. Olupona is arguing that the history of Yoruba religions has been skewed by white Baptist missionaries and authors who did not understand the culture. Jacob states that culture and religion are so intertwined in Yoruba society that they must be studied together, which many early missionaries, explorers and historians failed to do. Jacob mentioned four scholars that stood out in the study of Yoruba religion: Alfred Ellis, Leo Frobenius, W. H. Clarke. And T. J. Bowen. I found the story of Leo Frobenius the most interesting. He was a German explorer and anthropologist and he made a trip to a sacred city. The quality art he found at the sacred city was so impressive and he thought the creation possibly couldn’t have come from the Black race, just as the Hamitic Hypothesis would support.
ReplyDelete2.The survey begins in the 19th century, when European missionaries and explorers waned to “confirm their previously held accounts about ‘pagan’ worship and animist beliefs among the African peoples.” They had these ideas and assumptions that Africans were savages. It’s similar to the negative misconceptions that westernized people have of Africa. Leo Frobenius visted Ile-Ife, a sacred city and desecrated the thought of the black race creating the art there. Clarke referred to the Yoruba people as “refined heathens” because they at least acknowledged a supreme God. Indigenous missionaries were being trained convert their own people to Christianity. The bible was also translated into the Yoruba language. The missionaries wanted to completely eradicate the Yoruba religion, so they engaged in polemical debates (strong and controversial speeches.) This lead to some responses by indigenous Christian priests and the publication of the literatures, Ifa and Orunmila by E.M. Lijadu. These two books basically state that the Yoruba religion are inadequate to the “would be converts.” After Lijadu, Rev. Epega published a book to show that Christianity is superior to the traditional religion.
3.Olodumare is the Supreme God, in which the life and beliefs of the Yoruba people were centered. The Orisa (divinities) occupy the world, like the “ghosts” of ancestors that we learned about in lecture that still occupy the earth until they go to the underworld. Ijala is the poetry of hunters and devotees of Ogun, the god of iron and war. Oriki is praise poetry. These stories have a significant impact on Yoruba religion and they also impact the minds of the young. These stories are passed down from generation to generation by elder family members as life lessons and more.
4.I was not surprised to learn that Brer Rabbit stories were African Folktales. I use to read these folktales in English and quite honestly, it’s hard to fathom these stories being anything but African folktales. My favorite short story is “The Animals and the well: The tortoise is too sharp for the Hare.” I like it because the underlying message tells readers not to judge a person off their appearance. The smallest person in a room could do the job just as good as the tallest or biggest person in the room.
5.The purpose of these tales in Africa was to educate, entertain, and encourage families. These tales were also meant to be in the family for generations. These stories are entertaining but also educating. Elders would tell these tales to children to teach them a valuable lesson or just to tell them a tale like a mother would read her child a bedtime story. While the content in the stories may have changed, the purpose has not. These African tale stories are used in High school English classes as part of the curriculum because these tales have so much symbolic meaning.
6.The environment affected these Yoruba because it was developed in West Africa, where most of the slaves were captured for the Atlantic Slave Trade. This caused Yoruba to spread to the west indies, America, South America and change occurred as the religion spread. I found evidence from the section “Yoruba Religion in the New World.” According to Olupona, “scholars have been concerned about the status and survival of Yoruba religion in brazil…” (p.258) There is too much western influence that is threatening the survival of Yoruba.
Delete1. Olupona's argument is that all religions, primarily in America, came from the Yoruba. He uses tons of evidence from the works of many authors including. I found Odowu the most interesting because he uses oral stories and traditions to argue his claim.
ReplyDelete2. European's started studying the Yoruba in the 1800s. Missionaries first discovered them and described them as heathens because they have a supreme god, but it isn't the same one that they worshiped making him the "wrong" god. Missionaries tried to convert the Yoruba, but they resisted and ended up keeping their own religion and moving on the influence other areas around the globe.
3.Olodumare is the supreme god of the Yoruba. There are also many other gods including Sango, the god of thunder and lightening. The Yoruba believed that their ancestors had a role in their daily lives and that they were always with them until they were forgotten and had to return to the underworld.
4. I actually was not surprised because I had already known about these stories for a long time. My grandmother used to read them to me and we actually visited the Uncle Remus Museum in Eatonton where we learned that the stories came from Africa. I really liked the Animals and the well story because of the lesson that it teaches: never underestimate people because the person that you least expect could be the smartest, fastest, strongest, etc.
5. The components of the stories may or may not have changed to better fit the readers in the United States, but the lessons they teach have remained the same. These stories are great entertainment that also provide a life lesson to live by.
6. Environment has definitely affected these religions. For example, if the Yoruba weren't originally on the coast of Africa, they may have never been discovered.
1. A major point that Olupona is making is that Yoruba religious history is one of the most deeply researched among African cultures. Another point he is making is that this rich religious history has had important transnational effects in places like Brazil, Cuba, and America. To show this, he evidences work, especially by multidisciplinary and transnational scholars who are often studying Yoruba religion in their native country. One scholar who’s research I found interesting was that of Stephen Glazier (and supported by Angelina Pollak-Eltz), who found a high crossover between the Baptist Church and the Shango cult in Trinidad.
ReplyDelete2. European interaction with Yoruba culture began in the late 19th century with missionaries, travelers, and explorers. As might be expected, this European contact and interpretation initially viewed Yoruba culture from an ethnocentric view and one that tried to interpret Yoruba religion through a Christian lens. As a result, Christian missionaries and scholars clashed with Yoruba priests and adherents over the European misinterpretations. This can be seen in the debates held between Christian missionaries and indigenous priests, as well as the songs composed to teach a “Christian counter-position” as a way of undermining the influence of Yoruba religion with the native population.
3. Two prominent deities are Ifa the God of wisdom and Esu the god of the gatekeeper. Ifa for example has an entire priesthood and system of worship and was attacked by Christian missionaries for its claim “as a system of explanation, prediction, and control.”
4. I was not particularly surprised to find that the Brer Rabbit stories are actually African folktales. Especially after reading Olupona, it is clear that aspects of some African cultures have a strong presence in the Americas, especially as a result of the slave trade.
5. Many of these stories were origin stories, either the origin of the world or, in a smaller sense, of how certain animals came to be the way they ware now, such as the chameleon’s split lip as a result of being too slow to deliver the Moon’s message about man’s mortality. I think that aspects of these stories have changed as a natural result of cross-cultural encounter. For example, the error made in English translations whereby the Hare is called a Rabbit, is the result of a misunderstanding about African animals and perhaps of the need to make the main figure a recognizable animal.
6. Environmental influences are seen perhaps most strongly and most concretely in the traditions surrounding Ogun, the god of iron, war, and hunting. Olupona states that because of his importance to hunting and war, he “has the largest number of devotees” in Yoruba culture.