Wándé Abímbọ́lá and the transcription of the Ifá corpus, Bọlájí Ìdòwú and diffused monotheism, J. Ọmọ́ṣadé Awólàlú, Jacob Olúpọ̀nà, Ṣóphì Olúwọlé, Ṣégun Gbádégẹṣin, Kọ́lá Abímbọ́lá and Oyèrónkẹ́ Oyěwùmí.
The Yorùbá wey dem quote, the proverbs, oríkì, ẹsẹ Ifá, word list headwords, Odù names and citations dey exactly as the corpus record dem, for every language.
Almost everything wey reader fit know about Yoruba religion and thought from book pass through small number of scholars wey do the transcription, translation, and theorising for the second half of the twentieth century. To understand wetin each of dem dey argue for, and wetin dem dey argue against, dey necessary because their position no neutral and dem dey often clash. Dis file cover scholars of religion and philosophy. Historians, linguists, art historians, and archaeologists dey inside the file wey follow.
One particular problem dey dis field wey make sense to point out from the start. Plenty of the first generation of Yoruba scholars of Yoruba religion na Christian clergy or people wey get Christian education, wey write for the 1950s and 1960s, and one of their aim na to show European audience say Yoruba religion na full religion and no be superstition. Dat aim shape the descriptions wey dem produce, general-general to make Yoruba religion look more systematic, more monotheistic, and look like Christianity pass wetin person wey dey practice am go talk. Dis one no mean say dem dey dishonest; na clear apologetic project wey dey reply specific colonial claim. Na also the reason why reader wey take Ìdòwú Olódùmarè as direct transcript of the tradition go get wrong understanding.
Abímbọ́lá na the single scholar wey get pass influence for dis field, because e change the Ifá corpus from oral knowledge wey only initiates hold enter published text, and because e hold position inside the tradition as well as inside university.
Dem born am for 24 December 1932 for Ọ̀yọ́, inside family of babaláwo, and e learn the corpus for traditional way before e learn am academically [S1]. E get bachelor's degree for history for University College Ìbàdàn for 1963, master's for linguistics for Northwestern for 1966, and doctorate for Yoruba literature for University of Lagos for 1971, the first doctorate wey dat university award [S1].
E be Vice-Chancellor for University of Ifẹ̀ from 1982 to 1989 and Majority Leader for Nigerian Senate from 1992 to 1993, combination of academic, ritual, and political position wey hard to find im match [S1]. E don teach for Harvard, Boston University, and Amherst College, and e direct UNESCO work on Ifá as intangible cultural heritage, wey make dem proclaim Ifá as Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity for 2005 [S1].
For 1981 dem give am the title Àwíṣẹ Awo Àgbáyé, spokesperson for Ifá and Yoruba religion for the whole world [S1]. Dat title na the reason why e dey for unusual position: at the same time, na im be the scholar wey university dey use im transcriptions and also the recognised global spokesperson for the practice wey dem dey transcribe.
Im main works na Ìjìnlẹ̀ Ohùn Ẹnu Ifá (two volumes, 1968 and 1969), wey present ẹsẹ Ifá for Yoruba, Ifá: An Exposition of Ifá Literary Corpus (Oxford University Press Nigeria, 1976), and Ifá Divination Poetry (NOK, 1977) [S1]. Sixteen Great Poems of Ifá (UNESCO, 1975) na the one wey spread pass.
Im methodological argument make sense to talk about because na im dey underneath plenty part of dis corpus. E hold say ẹsẹ Ifá form literary corpus for strict sense, with formal structure, fixed and teachable body of material, authorities wey get name, and internal principles of interpretation, and say because of dat, people fit study am as literature and as intellectual history instead of just as ethnographic data about belief. Dat claim change the whole shape of the field.
The main question about im work, wey e don answer directly, na wetin publication dey do to body of knowledge wey initiation dey control how dem dey pass am down. E don argue say the only other option na loss, and say corpus wey dem document better pass one wey don fade away. Practitioners wey no agree hold say context and ritual authority na part of the meaning and dem no dey survive for inside book page. Serious people inside the tradition dey hold both positions.
Ìdòwú write the book wey define how dem take discuss Yoruba religion for the second half of the twentieth century, and people dey drag the main concept wey dey inside am.
Dem born am for 28 September 1913 for Ìkọ̀rọ̀dú, dem ordain am for Methodist ministry for 1942, and e grow reach to become the third Nigerian-born Patriarch of the Methodist Church Nigeria, wey serve from 1972 to 1984 [S2]. E also be professor and head of religious studies for University of Ìbàdàn.
Olódùmarè: God in Yoruba Belief (Longmans, 1962) na revised version of the doctoral thesis wey e defend for University of London for 1955 [S2]. Na the first systematic study of how Yoruba people understand God, of òrìṣà worship, and of the structure of Yoruba religion wey Yoruba scholar write.
The main claim wey dey inside na diffused monotheism. Ìdòwú argue say Yoruba people na monotheists, say Olódùmarè na the only one God, and say the òrìṣà no be independent gods but ministers or refractions of the one God, so dat worship wey dem direct to òrìṣà dey end up for Olódùmarè. Na im invent the term for am.
People don challenge dis claim from two sides. Historians of religion, and dis one include both European and African scholars, don argue say the concept na Christian theological framework wey dem import enter description of practice wey no need am, and say the argument purpose na apologetic, wey dey aim to answer the missionary charge of idolatry instead of to describe wetin worshippers dey do. The way practitioners dey behave support dat objection because ordinary òrìṣà worship dey go direct to òrìṣà, and Olódùmarè no get cult, no get shrine, no get priesthood, and no dey receive sacrifice. For the other side, defenders point out say Yoruba language and usage dey truly treat Olódùmarè as the only one, the supreme, and the source of àṣẹ, say the theology of Olódùmarè distance make sense on its own, and say Ìdòwú dey report real feature of Yoruba speech, no be say e invent am.
Dis corpus treat diffused monotheism as Ìdòwú own interpretation, give am date, and mark am say people dey argue about am. Im oda important book, African Traditional Religion: A Definition (1973), carry di argument go di whole continent and e face di same criticism for bigger level.
Awólàlú book Yoruba Beliefs and Sacrificial Rites (Longman, 1979) na di standard work on ẹbọ, sacrifice, for Yoruba religion, and e do wetin Ìdòwú book no do: e start from ritual practice dey go outside, instead of to start from theology about God dey come down [S3].
Di book look through di earlier literature, bring out different types of Yoruba belief, and interpret religious rites as part of one single sacrificial system wey get clear internal logic of exchange, substitution and restoration [S3]. Na im still be di main reference for di vocabulary of sacrifice, ẹbọ, ètùtù, ìpèsè and di rest, and wetin dem dey use each one for.
Awólàlú na professor for University of Ìbàdàn and, just like Ìdòwú, na ordained Christian minister, so di same caution about apologetic framework still apply to am, even though e no strong reach dat one because di book dey closer to wetin dem observe for practice.
Olúpọ̀nà na di leading scholar of Yoruba religion for Western academy today and na im do pass to bring am enter di mainstream of religious studies instead of just area studies.
Dem born am for 1951, e do im first degree for University of Nigeria and do im master and doctorate for history of religions for Boston University [S4]. E teach for University of California, Davis, and na professor of African religious traditions for Harvard Divinity School with joint appointment for African and African American Studies [S4]. Dem elect am enter American Academy of Arts and Sciences for 2023 and e hold Nigerian National Order of Merit wey dem award am for 2007, plus honorary doctorate from Edinburgh [S4].
City of 201 Gods: Ilé-Ifẹ̀ in Time, Space, and the Imagination (University of California Press, 2011) na im major work, wey be study of ritual, kingship, gender, class and power for di one Yoruba city wey be religious capital [S4]. E don also edit di standard collections on Yoruba religion for diaspora, especially Òrìṣà Devotion as World Religion with Terry Rey (2008), wey make di argument say make dem classify òrìṣà religion as world religion on di same terms like di odas, based on how e spread geographically, number of followers, textual corpus and doctrinal development.
Wetin e dey work on now na African immigrant religious communities for United States, wey connect di Yoruba material to di sociology of modern migration.
Olúwọlé na di first woman wey get doctorate degree for philosophy for Nigeria, and na im make di strongest and most specific case say Yoruba philosophy dey in di technical sense [S5].
E head di department of philosophy for University of Lagos and after e retire, e set up and run di Centre for African Culture and Development [S5]. E use im whole career do philosophical analysis of di Ifá corpus and translate am as philosophical text [S5].
Di book wey e write wey bring controversy pass na Socrates and Ọ̀rúnmìlà: Two Patron Saints of Classical Philosophy (2014), wey place di sayings wey dem attribute to Ọ̀rúnmìlà for inside di Ifá corpus side by side with di Socratic dialogues, and argue say dem be comparable bodies of philosophy: di two of dem pass from mouth to ear through teacher wey no write anything, na followers preserve di two, and di two of dem concern knowledge, ethics and examined life. Di argument do two tins at di same time: e scatter di claim say philosophy must need writing, and e force specific comparison instead of just general talk say Africa get philosophy.
Di objection wey come against am from inside African philosophy na di ethnophilosophy critique wey people know with Paulin Hountondji: say collective traditional worldviews no be philosophy, since philosophy need individual critical argument, and say to present communal corpus as philosophy dey mix culture with reasoning. Wetin Olúwọlé's reply be say di Ifá corpus contain positions from clear individuals, contradictions between verses, and clear reasoning, and say di claim of ethnophilosophy dey assume wetin e suppose prove. Nobody don settle di argument yet, and na one of di major live disputes for African philosophy.
Gbádégẹsin na professor of philosophy for Howard University and na author of African Philosophy: Traditional Yoruba Philosophy and Contemporary African Realities (Peter Lang, 1991), di standard analytic work on Yoruba concepts of person, destiny and community.
Di work wey people quote pass from am na on orí and destiny. E analyze wetin di tradition talk about how person dey choose orí before dem born am, and e ask di question directly: if person don choose destiny and dem seal am before birth, na how person go take dey responsible for im life? Im explanation separate wetin dey fixed from wetin person fit change, e treat ẹbọ and character as di variables wey dey work, and argue say Yoruba thought hold compatibilist position instead of fatalist one. E also work on ìwà, character, and how e connect to personhood, dey argue say Yoruba personhood na sometin wey person dey achieve and wey get moral standard, no be just wetin dem dey give person at birth, position wey get clear matching for Akan philosophy as Kwame Gyekye explain am.
Kọ́lá Abímbọ́lá na professor of philosophy and African studies for Howard University and na son of Wándé Abímbọ́lá, wey learn di Ifá corpus under im papa [S6].
Yorùbá Culture: A Philosophical Account (Iroko Academic, 2006) give theoretical account of di structure, roles, and functions of Yoruba belief inside contemporary society [S6]. Im distinct contribution dey on top methodology. As pesin wey train for Western analytic philosophy and philosophy of science, im use dat framework apply to Ifá, dey treat di divination system like knowledge system wey get formal structure, procedure to bring out and test hypotheses, plus mode of inference, and im ask which kind epistemology e form. Dat approach different from im papa philological approach and di comparative one of Olúwọlé's, and na di most direct engagement between Yoruba thought and analytic philosophy wey dey available today.
Oyěwùmí na professor of sociology for Stony Brook University and na di author of di claim wey generate pass dispute inside Yoruba studies.
The Invention of Women: Making an African Sense of Western Gender Discourses (University of Minnesota Press, 1997) argue say gender, as principle for social organisation, no exist for precolonial Yoruba society [S7]. Di claim no be say men and women bin equal. Na say anatomical distinction no be di social category wey dem take organize society. Di category wey dem take organize society na seniority, relative age, wey dey show for inside di language: Yoruba kinship terms like ẹ̀gbọ́n and àbúrò dey show relative age and no be sex, and di third-person pronoun ó no get gender. Ọba, ọmọ and other central terms no carry sex. From dis view, di categories of "woman" and "man" as social kinds, and di subordination wey attach to di first one, enter wit colonial administration, missionary Christianity, and English language, wey force translators make dem put distinction wey Yoruba language no make.
Di book win di 1998 Distinguished Book Award of di sex and gender section of di American Sociological Association and e reach finalist for di Herskovits Prize [S7].
Di criticism plenty well-well and e mostly come from other Yoruba scholars. Bíbí Bákàrè-Yúsuf argue say Oyěwùmí evidence come mostly from Ọ̀yọ́ and she generalize am to all Yoruba people, say di linguistic argument no prove reach wetin she claim since as grammatical gender no dey no mean say social gender no dey, and say many Yoruba practices, including some ritual roles, inheritance patterns, and specific institutions of women authority like di Ìyálóde, require say gender category dey. Others point out say di precolonial evidence no plenty reach to settle di matter for either side.
Even wit dat, di book still dey very important, and na for one particular reason: whatever pesin conclude about di strong claim, e establish say seniority na primary axis for Yoruba social organisation, say di gender categories wey dem use for most writing about Yoruba society follow English enter, and say reader suppose check weda claim about Yoruba women get evidence or na translation artefact. Dis corpus dey treat di strong claim as wetin people dey debate and e take di methodological warning as something wey make sense.
Early Yoruba religious and philosophical thought develop as oral tradition wey base inside royal courts, civic cults, and priesthoods like di babaláwo [S8]. Under di Ọ̀yọ́ Empire during di seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, centralized political authority make di widespread standardization and regional circulation of Ṣàngó worship and Ifá divination systems spread across di Yoruba region [S8].
Di nineteenth-century Yoruba civil wars scatter established institutional lineages and displace plenty people across southwestern Nigeria [S8]. During dis period of wahala, transatlantic enslavement carry Yoruba metaphysical concepts and ritual frameworks go di Americas, wey establish solid foundation for traditions like Lucumí, Candomblé, and Santería inside diaspora [S9]. At di same time, mid-nineteenth-century missionary contact and di expansion of British colonial rule for late nineteenth century produce di first systematic written representations of Yoruba cosmology, wey dem often filter through Christian theological categories [S8]. Samuel Johnson complete im foundational historical and cultural study for 1897, wey dem later publish for 1921, wey document precolonial political and religious orders while e still address British administrative presence [S8].
After Nigerian independence for 1960, di academic study of Yoruba religion and philosophy experience major renaissance wey indigenous scholars lead [S2]. People like Bọlájí Ìdòwú for 1962 and Wándé Abímbọ́lá for 1976 change di field as dem provide solid academic frameworks, dey move from colonial-era ethnographic models go formal theological, literary, and philosophical analyses of oral texts [S1, S2]. Today, Yoruba intellectual and religious traditions dey operate globally, dey engage both international academic discourse inside departments of philosophy and religious studies, and transnational practitioner communities across West Africa, di Americas, and Europe [S9].
[S1] "Wande Abimbola", English Wikipedia; and Wande Abimbola, Ifá: An Exposition of Ifá Literary Corpus (Oxford University Press Nigeria, 1976); Sixteen Great Poems of Ifá (UNESCO, 1975). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wande_Abimbola [S2] "Bolaji Idowu", English Wikipedia; and E. Bolaji Idowu, Olódùmarè: God in Yoruba Belief (Longmans, 1962). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bolaji_Idowu; https://archive.org/details/olodumaregodinyo0000idow [S3] J. Ọmọṣade Awolalu, Yoruba Beliefs and Sacrificial Rites (Longman, 1979). https://archive.org/details/yorubabeliefssac0000awol [S4] "Jacob Olupona", English Wikipedia; and Jacob K. Olupona, City of 201 Gods: Ilé-Ifẹ̀ in Time, Space, and the Imagination (University of California Press, 2011). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Olupona [S5] Adeshina Afolayan and others, "Sophie Olúwọlé's Major Contributions to African Philosophy", Hypatia (Cambridge University Press). https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/hypatia/article/abs/sophie-oluwoles-major-contributions-to-african-philosophy/4CC0A123381A4EFE19BB6473E1FD9804 [S6] Kola Abimbola, Yorùbá Culture: A Philosophical Account (Iroko Academic Publishers, 2006). https://philpapers.org/rec/ABIYCA [S7] Oyèrónkẹ́ Oyěwùmí, The Invention of Women: Making an African Sense of Western Gender Discourses (University of Minnesota Press, 1997). https://www.upress.umn.edu/9780816624416/invention-of-women/ [S8] Samuel Johnson, The History of the Yorubas: From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the British Protectorate (C.M.S. (Nigeria) Bookshops, 1921). https://archive.org/details/historyofyorubas00john [S9] Wande Abimbola, Ifá Will Mend Our Broken World: Thoughts on Yoruba Religion and Culture in Africa and the Diaspora (AIM Books, 1997). https://thenationonlineng.net/abimbola-and-the-ifa-panacea/
The Ìbàdàn school of history, Ṣàbúrí Bíọ́bákú and Bọ́lánlé Awé, Tóyìn Fálọlá, Ayọ̀ Bámgbóṣé and Adébóyè Bàbálọlá on Yoruba language and oral poetry, Rowland Abíọ́dún and Babátúndé Lawal on art, and Akínwùnmí Ògúndìran on archaeology.
The plays, the Nobel, the prison years, and the sustained argument in Myth, Literature and the African World that Yoruba cosmology is a body of tragic philosophy and not a folklore to be collected.
Ifá is a Yorùbá system for reaching a decision by casting a signature, retrieving the memorised verses filed under it, and reasoning from the precedents they contain.
What the sources actually attribute to Olodumare, the disputed etymologies, and the live scholarly argument over whether the supreme-being framing is indigenous Yoruba thought or a shape given to it by the missionary encounter.
The life, academic scholarship, spiritual office, and global cultural impact of Wande Abimbola, the pioneer of academic Ifa literary studies and Awise Awo Agbaye.
A comprehensive analysis of Oyèrónkẹ́ Oyěwùmí's foundational critique of gender universality, her thesis on seniority in pre-colonial Ọ̀yọ́-Yorùbá society, and the major scholarly debates surrounding her work.