Yoruba may refer to the ethnic group that resided in Yorubaland, a cultural region of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo, West Africa. It can also refer to the language that many people in that region speak. The use of the word Yoruba in the context of interest is the Yoruba religion. The purpose of this research paper is to explore the many rituals and practices that are integral to the Yoruba religion and its continuation through oral and performative traditions. These practices include Ifá divination, spiritual songs and dances, spiritual clothing, reincarnation and funeral rites. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay The most important ritual in the Yoruba religion is that of Ifá divination. It is a ritual that seems to contain all the answers to every question one might have, from personal health concerns to making an important decision, whether those decisions are for oneself- same or for a group of people. These divination rituals are practiced by Ifá priests known as “Babalawo” or “Iyalawo” which means either the father or the mother of secrets in the Yoruba language. The process of Ifá divination involves a complex system of sifting pine nuts from one hand to the other and, depending on how many nuts end up in a hand at any given time, marks are made on a table of divination. This is done 8 times and is known as Odù. The Odù Ifá is the sacred text of the Yoruba religion and in the Odù Ifá there are "16 major divination figures called Odù Ifá, and there are 16 verses associated with each figure, which gives 256 Odù" or verses. The Ifá priest, whether a Babalawo or an Iyalawo, will interpret the verses obtained during the divination process and tell them what type of sacrifices should be made for that person. “In addition, there are 16 others that relate to the 256 verses, which makes a minimum of 4,096 Odù, and each of these Odù is associated with 1,680 ẹsẹ Ifá.” These many mathematically calculated probable outcomes lead the Yoruba people to believe that there is no situation that Ifá divination cannot resolve. When a person is born into the Yoruba religion, their destiny is determined by an Ifá priest at birth. It is possible to have a bad destiny and still be a good person, just as it is possible to have a good destiny and still live an evil life. The purpose of a Yoruba's life is to reincarnate. If they live a good life, do good deeds, and die a natural death, they will be reincarnated as grandchildren, often resembling their former selves as an elder. If they do not reincarnate in the physical world, they will reincarnate in the spiritual world, watching over their family. If one leads a bad life, dies prematurely and a criminal death, then he will go to "bad heaven" (orun bururu), the place of broken things that cannot be repaired, and are therefore incapable of reincarnating ". This is interestingly in contrast to the ideology of Hinduism and Buddhism in which one completes the cycle of reincarnation until one is able to achieve nirvana and no longer exist in the physical world. Reincarnation is also mentioned in a passage from the Odù Ifá entitled “THE TWIN BROTHERS”. In this passage, two twins are born to a king by one of his favorite wives. Traditionally, twins were supposed to be executed immediately. The king could not bring himself to do such a thing, so he threw his wife and twins into exile, so as not to be discovered bythe rest of the capital. When news of the king's death spread, the brothers argued over who would throw a stone the furthest, and whoever did so would return to the capital and claim the throne. The younger twin won, so he claimed the throne and welcomed his brother. Jealousy fell on the elder brother and one day he killed his brother in the river. He then assumed kingship, with no one witnessing the murder. The older brother, some time later, passed by the same place where he had murdered his brother, where a fish came out of the water and started singing "Your brother is here, your brother is here." The king killed the fish. On another occasion the king passed the same place again, and the river gushed and sang the same song. Onlookers were quick to notice the body of the previous king in the water. The sudden death of the king was explained and the elder brother was poisoned and died. Although not a reincarnation in its ideal form, it was a vengeful reincarnation of the gods aimed at exposing the older brother of his misdeeds and thus negating his chances of reincarnation due to the death he suffered and the actions he accomplished. Another common ritual is known as “Ebo”. These are ritual sacrifices intended both to appease the gods and to remedy a fate of evil. Via Ifá divination, the Ifá priest determines what must be sacrificed to obtain this remedy. “Cosmic, supernatural and spiritual forces are mainly appeased with the following objects: a rat (Eku), a fish (Eja), a goat (Obuko), a pig (Elede), a rooster/hen (akuko/abo-adie ), a chicken. egg (Eyin-adie), pigeon (Eyele), snail (Igbin), banana (Ogede-omini), white bean cake (Ekuru), palm oil (Epo-pupa), roasted yam (Isu-sisun), corn roast (Guguru), a kola nut (Obi) and a bowl of water (sometimes dew water). » (Enaikele and Adeleke) Sometimes these sacrifices may be refused by supernatural beings if the scriptures of Ifá divination indicate this result. . In Osun's tale, he performs the Ifá divination ritual and when confronted with the results, he refuses to sacrifice himself, but this does not actually alter his predestined path in a negative way. In the words of Teresa N. Washington, it “adds to the character and complexity of each person.” There is an account of a white man trying to produce a human, so he goes to speak with a soothsayer who tells him that he must sacrifice a goat in order to produce a human. The Caucasian man refuses and the soothsayer persists in the man's wish. The soothsayer tells the man to gather mud to create a human; he shapes the mud to resemble a human figure. The white man returns after the figure dries up to find that it "has no soul and is unable to speak." In this case, not sacrificing something led to negative consequences. The story of how different tribes could distinguish themselves is found in the Odù Ifá, the sacred text of the Yoruba. The passage titled “HOW TRIBAL MARKS CAME TO BE USED” tells the story of a king sending two of his slaves on a mission to do something for him. One slave returns successfully and the other returns with nothing to show for the journey. The slave who has done nothing receives “one hundred and twenty-two razor blows all over his body”. The king's wives appreciated the condition of the scars on the body of the second slave after their healing and from that time he “…decided that the cuts should in future be inflicted, not as a punishment, but as a sign of royalty..." Then, in order to distinguish members of one tribe from members of another tribe, "two cups would be a sign of royalty and various other cups becamemarks of other tribes. The Yorubas often have some sort of festival to remember and celebrate the past. However, there are often conflicts between some Yorubas. Some of them were slaves themselves and others were slaveholders and proud of the power their ancestors held, enslaving other people. The dancer/singer has the right to reveal anything private about themselves or their history during their ritual if they wish. Although these competing histories are closely intertwined with one another, they are no excuse for violence between those on different sides of history. They now recognize that they are all one people. “The festivals, marked by dance and music (songs, recitations, songs and instrumentations) are essential to arouse spiritual emotion in the faithful and encourage them to greater action while teaching community history. Of course, the Yorubas hold this festival for more than just remembering slavery, other community issues and less controversial topics are also celebrated. This is quite interesting in that ritual singing and dancing has remained relatively constant since the end of slavery, in its formal sense, in Yorubaland in the late 19th century. In (Performing Trauma: The Ghosts of Slavery in Yoruba Music and Ritual Dance), the 96-year-old Yoruba respondents say they remember hearing and seeing the same rituals performed as children at exactly the same places. types of celebrations. As for clothing, during the aforementioned festivals and periods of spiritual need, the Yorubas wear the Egungun. These garments are worn by Egungun masqueraders who take the form of ancestors who return to listen to the grievances of their people and "to bless them with human and agricultural fertility as well as general prosperity." When masqueraders wear them, they are no longer human, they are a representation of ancestral spirits returning to Earth. Masqueraders are called "babi mi (my father) or baba wa (our father) whenever they appear, whether during festivals or special occasions." The colors of the Egungun correspond to the favorite colors of the deities, in order to copy the way the deities themselves dressed, if the incorrect colors are worn then the deities will not accept any offerings. These Egungun costumes “are often astonishing and fragile constructions of fabric, leather or small threads to which monkey skulls, cowrie shells, necklaces and various medicines are attached”. When the costumes are not worn for special events, they are placed on a stand, reminiscent of the armor stands of medieval times; These stands are made from ahun wood, the same wood used for the masks they wear. Interestingly, when the costumes are not in use, they are very well maintained, but when they are in use, sacrificial animal blood is poured on them in the name of worship. The craftsmanship can be appreciated by people outside the religion and these costumes are one of the pieces that have made African art so popular with the masses, but the true meaning of the costumes can never be fully understood by a stranger. The burial ritual The rites are also popular among the Yoruba people. It is called Ìsààró and “marks the exit of elderly women from this world to the afterlife”. This burial procedure is carried out by the head masquerader. It is also obligatory that the children of these deceased women perform this funeral service. If it is not carried out by their children, the woman risks not having a good passage in the afterlife and constitutes a bad omen for her..