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In ‘The Yoruba Today’, Joseph Eades writes about the history of the Yoruba during the pre-colonial period, the early Yoruba towns and their kinships, the structure of their economic and political sphere, their belief and religious systems and the inequality involved in their ethnicity. ... In this chapter, Eades deals with the changes in religious beliefs in the Yoruba land. He aims to answer the questions- “How far have the world religions and Yoruba social life been affected by each other”? “How have the new religions produced a new set of social cleavages cross-cutting those of social status and area of Yoruba origin”?
Research shows that in recent times, an overwhelming majority of the Yoruba, are either Christian or Muslim. Eades begins by discussing the infiltration of Christianity and Islam into the Yoruba society in the 19th century, and how it was promoted by the colonial rule. ... Eades seeks to argue that though the majority of Yoruba men and women are Christians or Muslims, their traditional beliefs are more tenacious, saying that there is a widespread belief in combining traditional rites at home with church or mosque attendance, even though Christian and Muslim leaders preach against it. ...
Eades starts off the describing the Yoruba cosmos by pointing out the problems faced in accounting Yoruba religion, yet, he does not offer a solution or an in depth explanation of why these problems arise. ...
In Yoruba traditional religion, like in modern religions, it is believed that man is made up of both physical and spiritual elements, of which the spiritual has different functions. Yoruba believe that man has a destiny, which can be achieved by appeasing the messengers of Olorun through piety, divination and sacrifice. ... In the Yoruba land, the king plays an important unifying role in the religious tradition. ... This is true as for Yoruba rulers’ reign to be successful, it is believed that they have to be blessed by an orisa before they are crowned. ...
On “ Personality and the Ancestors”, Eades describes the Yoruba’s view of the world. ... Mediating between both worlds are small deities such as Orunmila, the orisa of divination, and Esu, the Yoruba trickster. ...
The belief in Orun and Aiye helps in understanding the Yoruba concepts of life, death, destiny, reincarnation and the soul. Yoruba make a distinction between the physical body (Ara) and the spiritual elements that give it life and individuality.
Approximate Word count = 1926
Approximate Pages = 7.7
(250 words per page double spaced)
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