Yorùbá Culture
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A philosophical introduction to the foundations of Òrìṣà/Yorùbá religious thought and practices.
Description
Yorùbá Culture: A Philosophical Account
by
This is a book about Yorùbá thought and practices. It expounds a view about the nature, roles and functions of Yorùbá beliefs in contemporary societies. The position is that philosophical ideas implicit in the Òrìṣà religion form the basis of Yorùbá culture in West Africa, the Americas, and other parts of the world. The book is, therefore, not a catalogue of various cultural practices of Yorùbá peoples around the world. It is not an exposition of tastes in art, dance, etiquette, and other mores that are adopted by this particular social group. It is simply a theoretical account of the philosophical ideas that underlie the world-view of traditional Yorùbá societies.
CONTENTS
Foreword by Professor John Pemberton III
Preface
1 Introduction
Where is Africa? 20
The Study of Yorùbá Culture 22
2 The Yorùbá
Locations, Population and Languages 32
From Africa to the New World 35
3 The Yorùbá Cosmos
Ifá and Yorùbá Culture 44
Gods and Anti-Gods 46
Olódùmarè and Yorùbá Theology 49
4 Yorùbá Medicine
The Yorùbá Conception of Àrùn (Illness) 76
The Role of Sọ̀npọ̀nná (Ọbalúayé) 80
The Implications of Yorùbá Medicine 83
5 The Value of Practical Beliefs
Culture as Communal Practices 93
Culture as Individual Beliefs 95
Practical Beliefs (or the Culture Within) 96
Appendices:
- Yorùbá Text of Translated Ifá Poems 101
- A Yorùbá Prayer 107
- Glossary of Major Yorùbá Divinities 113
Suggested Further Reading 130
Index 132