Deity from a Python, Earth from a Hen,
Humankind from Mystery: Narrative and
Knowledge in Yorùbá Cosmology
Marcus Louis Harvey*
Abstract
Yorùbá cosmology represents a signiicant lacuna in Yorùbá studies. Unfortunately,
originary narratives within this cosmology tend not to be explicitly investigated at
the level of epistemology. As concerns methodology, phenomenological studies of
Yorùbá cosmology are rare and typically gain less traction than studies produced
using preponderant social scientiic approaches. In this essay, entitled “Deity from
a Python, Earth from a Hen, Humankind from Mystery: Narrative and Knowledge in
Yorùbá Cosmology,” I argue that a phenomenological analysis of originary narratives
in Yorùbá cosmology illumines the presence of orienting concepts that articulate a
Yorùbá epistemological perspective. We ind in some of these narratives ive orienting concepts that convey this perspective: mystery, materially-based relationality,
unpredictability, the permanency of existential conlict, and irresolution.
Keywords: Yoruba culture, Yoruba religion, narrative, phenomenology, cosmology,
epistemology.
Divindade de uma píton, terra de uma galinha, humanidade
do mistério: narrativa e conhecimento na cosmologia Iorubá
Resumo
A cosmologia Yorùbá representa uma lacuna signiicativa nos estudos sobre Yorùbá.
Infelizmente, narrativas originárias dentro desta cosmologia tendem a não ser explicitamente investigadas no nível da epistemologia. No que diz respeito a metodologia,
estudos fenomenológicos da cosmologia Yorùbá são raros e geralmente recebem
menos atenção do que os estudos produzidos utilizando abordagens preponderantes
das ciêncas sociais. Neste ensaio, intitulado “Divindade de uma Python, Terra de uma
galinha, humanidade do Mistério: Narrativa e Conhecimento na cosmologia iorubá”
argumento que uma análise fenomenológica de narrativas originárias na cosmologia
iorubá ilumina a presença de conceitos orientadores que articulam uma perspectiva
*
Marcus Louis Harvey earned his Ph.D. in religion from Emory University. He is currently an
assistant professor of religious studies at the University of North Carolina at Asheville. E-mail:
mharvey1@unca.edu.
238 Marcus Louis Harvey
epistemológica Yorùbá. Nós encontramos em algumas dessas narrativas cinco conceitos orientadores que transmitem essa perspectiva: mistério, relacionalidade de
base material, imprevisibilidade, a permanência de conlito existencial, e indecisão.
Palavra-chave: Cultura Iorubá, religião Iorubá, narrativa, humanidade do mistério,
cosmologia, episemologia.
Divinidad de una pitón, tierra de una gallina, humanidad del
misterio: narrativa y conocimiento en la cosmología Yoruba
Resumen
La cosmología Yoruba representa una laguna significativa en los estudios sobre
Yoruba. Infelizmente, narrativas originarias dentro de esta cosmología tienden a no
ser explícitamente investigadas en el nivel de la epistemología. En lo respecta a la
metodología, estudios fenomenológicos da cosmología Yoruba son raros y generalmente reciben menos atención que los estudios producidos utilizando abordajes
preponderantes de las ciencias sociales. En este ensayo, intitulado “Divinidad de
una Pitón, Tierra de una gallina, humanidad del Misterio: Narrativa y Conocimiento
en la cosmología yoruba” argumento que un análisis fenomenológico de narrativas
originarias en la cosmología yoruba ilumina la presencia de conceptos orientadores
que articulan una perspectiva epistemológica Yoruba. Encontramos en algunas de
esas narrativas cinco conceptos orientadores que transmiten esa perspectiva: misterio, relacionalidad de base material, imprevisibilidad, la permanencia de conlicto
existencial, e indecisión.
Palabra-clave: Cultura Yoruba, religión Yoruba, narrativa, humanidad del misterio,
cosmología, epistemología.
Since the publication in 1852 of Samuel Ajayi Crowther’s Grammar and Vocabulary of the Yorùbá Language, Yorùbá and Yorùbá-based
cultural traditions historically associated with southwestern Nigeria have
garnered considerable scholarly attention, perhaps more so than most other
Sub-Saharan African continental and diasporic traditions. This attention
encompasses a range of topical foci, some of which include explicating
Yorùbá conceptions of Olódùmarè (the chief Yorùbá deity) in comparative reference to monotheistic Judeo-Christian ideas of “God,” analysis
of the sacred oral literary corpus known as Odù Ifá, Western feminism’s
gendered invention of “women” in Yorùbá contexts, the inveterate sacral
signiicance of the ancient Yorùbá city of Ilé-Ifè ,̣ and the embodied traditions of Yorùbá-derived Cuban Santería and Bahian Candomblé1. Also of
1
See IDÒẂ, Bó ̣lájí E. Olódùmarè: God in Yorùbá Belief. London: Longmans, 1962; ABÍMBỌ́LÁ,
Wándé. Ifá: An Exposition of Ifá Literary Corpus. Ibadan: Oxford University Press Nigeria,
1976; OYĚWÙMÍ, Oyèrónkẹ́. The Invention of Women: Making an African Sense of Western
Gender Discourses. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1997; OĹPỌ̀NÀ, Jacob K. City
of 201 Gods: Ilé-Ifè ̣ in Time, Space, and the Imagination. Berkeley: University of California
Press, 2011; DANIEL, Yvonne. Dancing Wisdom: Embodied Knowledge in Haitian Vodou,
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Deity from a Python, Earth from a Hen, Humankind from Mystery 239
increasing interest to researchers is the examination of Yorùbá traditions
within the broader experience of global encounter2. Scholarship based
on these predominant research vectors has undoubtedly contributed much
to the ield of Yorùbá studies, and subsequently to our understanding of
the socio-historical forces and cultural structures implicated by the term
“Yorùbá”3. However, despite the voluminous literature in this ield, there
remain lacunae in need of critical exploration.
One such lacuna involves Yorùbá cosmology, a dynamically elaborate
spiritual system upon which diverse Yorùbá ethnic communities rely for
meaning and social cohesion. This cosmology is widely recognized as a
bedrock of Yorùbá culture. Nevertheless, for reasons not entirely clear,
Yorùbá cosmology tends not to be explicitly investigated as a distinct
knowledge tradition. Moreover, the originary narratives grounding Yorùbá
cosmology – that is, stories explaining the creation of the world as well as
vital relationships within and between the physical and spiritual dimensions
– are often not thoroughly considered as possible sources of epistemologically signiicant content. As concerns methodology, phenomenological
studies of Yorùbá cosmology are rare4 and typically gain less traction than
studies produced using the preponderant social scientiic approaches of
cultural anthropology, ethnography, and sociology. The preponderance
2
3
4
Cuban Yoruba, and Bahian Candomblé. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2005. Also worth
mentioning is George Brandon’s seminal analysis of the historical emergence of Cuban Santería as
well as his important critique of syncretism as an inadequate theoretical model. See BRANDON,
George. Santería from Africa to the New World: The Dead Sell Memories. Bloomington:
Indiana University Press, 1993; The social function of Yorùbá festivals represents another major
focus in Yorùbá studies. See OĹPỌ̀NÀ, Jacob K. Kingship, Religion, and Rituals in a Nigerian Community: A Phenomenological Study of Ondo Yorùbá Festivals. Stockholm: Almqvist
& Wiksell International, 1991; APTER, Andrew. Black Critics and Kings: The Hermeneutics of
Power in Yorùbá Society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1992. For a more recent philosophical treatment of continental Yorùbá traditions, see ABÍMBỌ́LÁ, Kọ́lá. Yorùbá Culture: A
Philosophical Account. Birmingham, UK: Iroko Academic Publishers, 2006.
See, for instance, PEEL, J. D. Y. Religious Encounter and the Making of the Yorùbá. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2000; OĹPỌ̀N À, Jacob K. and REY, Terry, eds. Òrị̀à
Devotion as World Religion: The Globalization of Yorùbá Religious Culture. Madison,
Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press, 2008.
The term “Yorùbá” also encompasses discrete ethnic subgroups whose cultural traditions dynamically constitute a shared cosmology. William Bascom identiies twenty-three of these subgroups,
including the Ana, Isha, Idasha, Shabe, Ketu, Ifọnyin, Awori, Ẹgbado, Ẹgba, Ijẹbu, Ọyọ, Ifẹ, Ijẹsha,
Ondo, Ọwọ, Ilajẹ, Ekiti, Igbomina, Yagba, Bunu, Aworo, Itsẹkiri, and the Owu. BASCOM, William
R. The Yorùbá of Southwestern Nigeria. Prospect Heights, Ill: Waveland Press, 1984, p. 5.
While incorporating social scientiic methods, Olúpò ̣nà’s Kingship, Religion, and Rituals in a
Nigerian Community remains one of the few and most extensive phenomenological studies of
Yorùbá cosmology as a socio-temporally transformative cultural tradition.
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240 Marcus Louis Harvey
of approaches of the anthropological variety beginning in the nineteenth
and early twentieth centuries leads one to wonder in whose cultural image
Yorùbá cosmology has been discursively molded5.
Departing from this methodological canon, the present essay utilizes
a phenomenological frame of analysis moderately informed by Jacob
Olúpò ̣nà’s 1991 monograph Kingship, Religion, and Rituals in a Nigerian
Community: A Phenomenological Study of Ondo Yorùbá Festivals. In this
study, Olúpò ̣nà’s critical interpretation of several major religious festivals
held in the Ondo region of southwestern Nigeria is not determined by the
theoretical models and attendant presuppositions of the social sciences,
but rather by the actual festivals themselves. While centering on Yorùbá
originary narratives rather than festivals or other rituals, the focus of the
pages to follow nonetheless sets a goal similar to Olúpò ṇ à’s; namely,
an interpretation of Yorùbá originary narratives based on their content.
Bearing this goal in mind, I suggest the existence of an inextricable relationship between cosmology and knowledge in Yorùbá society. More
speciically, I argue below that a phenomenological analysis of originary
narratives in Yorùbá cosmology illumines the presence of orienting concepts that articulate a Yorùbá epistemological perspective. Broadly put,
the term orienting concept as used here denotes an idea that shapes one’s
interpretive perception of the world. In a Yorùbá epistemological perspective, orienting concepts may also be understood as indigenous heuristic
devices enabling a particular knowledge of reality. We ind in the Yorùbá
originary narratives to be examined ive orienting concepts that convey
this knowledge: mystery, materially-based relationality, unpredictability,
the permanency of existential conlict, and irresolution.
The analytical scope of this essay includes four documented originary
narratives: The irst narrative appears to address the genesis of Olódùmarè;
the second recounts the creation of the physical world and human beings,
as well as one deity’s (Òrị̀à-ńlá’s) scheme to gain knowledge not intended for him; A popular variant of the second creation narrative, the third
narrative explains, among other things, the establishment and dissolution
of an ancient covenant between the plant world, the animal world, and
human beings; The fourth and inal narrative involves a dispute bearing
on the issue of cosmic authority. These four accounts fall within the
5
The work of Edward Burnett Tylor and Lucien Lévy-Bruhl readily comes to mind here. See,
for example, TYLOR, Edward Burnett. Primitive Culture: Researches into the Development
of Mythology, Philosophy, Religion, Language, Art, and Custom. New York: Holt, 1889;
LÉVY-BRUHL, Lucien. La Mentalité Primitive (Primitive Mentality). Paris: F. Alcan, 1922;
LÉVY-BRUHL, Lucien. Les Fonctions Mentales Dans Les Sociétés Inférieures (How Natives
Think). Paris: F. Alcan, 1928.
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Deity from a Python, Earth from a Hen, Humankind from Mystery 241
tradition of Yorùbá originary narration ascribing singular importance to
the sacred city of Ilé-Ifè ̣ as well as the conception of the universe as Igbá
Ìwà (the gourd/calabash of existence)6. It is therefore appropriate to begin
our analysis with a consideration of Ilé-Ifè ̣ and Igbá Ìwà as linchpins of
Yorùbá cosmology.
Ilé-Ifè ̣ and Igbá Ìwà
The city of Ilé-Ifè ,̣ whose combinative name derives from the noun
Ilé (home, house) and the verb fè ,̣ which means to expand or spread out
(ABÍMBỌ́LÁ, 2006, p. 35), is located forty-six miles east of Ìbàdàn, capital
of the Nigerian state of Ọ̀yó ̣. Ilé-Ifè ̣ is regarded both as the primordial home
from which the Yorùbá irst migrated and as the place where the earth and
all terrestrial life were created. As such, Ilé-Ifè ̣ is perhaps the most hallowed
site in all of Yorùbáland. In this sense, Ilé-Ifè ̣ is a spiritual cornerstone of
Yorùbá thought. The Yorùbá notion of Igbá Ìwà and the communal order
of being it encompasses are equally important cornerstones.
In English, the word “gourd” generally refers to a fruit-producing
plant of the species Lagenaria siceraria and to the fruit’s hard outer shell.
However, in Ilé-Ifè ̣ narratives, the gourd takes on much greater cosmogenic
signiicance. A profound structural – but non-static – dualism emerges
upon considering the Yorùbá description of the universe as Igbá nlá meìji
s’ojú dé’ra won (a big gourd with two halves)7. On one level, the dualism
relected in both halves of the Yorùbá cosmos is mediated by an ontological
idea of dynamically reciprocal union expressed in the statement, T’ako,
t’abo, èjìwàpò (the male and female in togetherness)8. But as we will see
later, this cosmic dualism is mediated on another level by a concept of
unremitting antagonism. These notions of dualistic, conlictual relation
are foundational in Yorùbá conceptualizations of reality.
The materiality of Igbá Ìwà functions as an embodiment of this tensive cosmic dualism. According to Yorùbá tradition, the top half of Igbá
Ìwà represents both maleness and the sky, the sky being the spirit world
(Isalorun, Ọ̀ run) whose population consists of invisible spirit beings. The
bottom half represents femaleness and contains the raw materials used to
6
7
8
LAWAL, Babatunde. Èjìwàpò: The Dialectics of Twoness in Yorùbá Art and Culture. African
Arts, v. 41, no. 1, p. 25, 2008.
LAWAL, Babatunde. Èjìwàpò: The Dialectics of Twoness in Yorùbá Art and Culture. African
Arts, v. 41, no. 1, p. 25, 2008.
LAWAL, Babatunde. Èjìwàpò: The Dialectics of Twoness in Yorùbá Art and Culture. African
Arts, v. 41, no. 1, p. 25, 2008.
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242 Marcus Louis Harvey
fashion the physical world (Isalaye, Ayé)9. Although its role as the seedbed of the physical dimension may suggest otherwise, Igbá Ìwà is not
self-sustaining. The existence of Igbá Ìwà and all elements constituting
the physical dimension are dependent upon a vital power known as Ạ̣̀.
Ạ̣̀, the power that “makes things happen,” stems from Olódùmarè
and sustains all life on earth (Ayé) (ABÍMBỌ́LÁ, 1997, p. 172)10. Yorùbá
scholar and priest (Babalòrị̀à) Kọ́ lá Abímbọ́ lá outlines a politico-communal order of being11 as structured within the framework of Yorùbá cosmology. Abímbọ́ lá’s outline is instructive because it makes clear the source
of Ạ̣̀ while also providing a sense of how Ạ̣̀ is distributed throughout
creation: Olódùmarè is joined at the top of the politico-communal order
of being by Ọbàtálá (Òrị̀à-ńlá), Ifá (Ọ̀ rúnmìlà), and Ẹ̀ù, three deities
whose roles in Yorùbá originary narratives are arguably more signiicant
than those of other Òrị̀à (deities serving as sources of religious devotion
and as administrative functionaries of Olódùmarè) 12; The second level is
occupied by other Òrị̀à, the Ajogun (warriors against humanity and the
good forces of nature)13, and the Àjé /̣ ̣ḷỵ/Eníyán (bird people, owner of
birds; negative people who have largely relinquished their capacity for
goodness in favor of doing the destructive bidding of the Ajogun); Humans,
plants, and animals make up the third level, while the Egún/Egúngún14, or
Ará Ọ̀ run/Òkú Ọ̀ run (ancestors/denizens of the spirit world) inhabit the
9
10
11
12
13
14
LAWAL, Babatunde. Èjìwàpò: The Dialectics of Twoness in Yorùbá Art and Culture. African
Arts, v. 41, no. 1, p. 25, 2008.
Lawal adds that ạ̣̀ “is thought to hold the gourd [Igbá Ìwà] in space, enabling the sun and moon
to shine, wind to blow, ire to burn, rain to fall, rivers to low, and both living and nonliving things
to exist.” LAWAL, Babatunde. Èjìwàpò: The Dialectics of Twoness in Yorùbá Art and Culture.
African Arts, v. 41, no. 1, p. 25, 2008.
The term “politico-communal” seems appropriate given Abímbọ́ lá’s description of the Yorùbá
cosmos as a political and existential hierarchy. ABÍMBỌ́LÁ, Kọ́ lá. Yorùbá Culture: A Philosophical Account. Birmingham, UK: Iroko Academic Publishers, 2006, pp. 59-60.
ABÍMBỌ́LÁ, Kọ́ lá. Yorùbá Culture: A Philosophical Account. Birmingham, UK: Iroko Academic Publishers, 2006, pp. 59-60.
ABÍMBỌ́LÁ, Kọ́lá. Yorùbá Culture: A Philosophical Account. Birmingham, UK: Iroko Academic Publishers, 2006, p. 61. Interviews I conducted in Lagos and Modakeke during the summer
of 2013 involving a newly initiated Babaláwo (male priest of the Òrị̀à Ifá) and the Araba (chief
priest) of Modakeke complicate Abímbọ́ lá’s conception of the Ajogun as categorically antagonistic.
Both interviewees divided the Ajogun into two classes: the Ajogun ire (“good” Ajogun), and the
Ajogun ibi (“bad” Ajogun).
The term Egúngún also refers to a Yorùbá society dedicated to the veneration of ancestors.
ABÍMBỌ́LÁ, Wándé. Ifá Will Mend Our Broken World: Thoughts on Yorùbá Religion and
Culture in Africa and the Diaspora. Roxbury, MA: Aim Books, 1997, p. 173.
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Deity from a Python, Earth from a Hen, Humankind from Mystery 243
fourth level 15. Abímbọ́ lá’s outline maps the vivifying dispersal of Ạ̣̀
across the four hierarchically-constituted ontological levels comprising
the Yorùbá cosmos. Let us now explore several Yorùbá originary narratives that in various ways explain the genesis of this cosmo-ontological
structure. The irst is a seeming account of Olódùmarè’s beginnings, or
perhaps the beginnings of the concept of Olódùmarè.
The Birth of Olódùmarè?
Yorùbá art historian Babatunde Lawal perceives continuity between
the idea of Ìyá Agbè (mother), with which the bottom half of Igbá Ìwà is
associated, and the Yorùbá description of a container lid as ìdérí (cover) or
ọmọrí (from the terms ọmọ - child, and orí - on top). He likens the physical support given by a container to its lid to the support a mother gives
her child when carrying the child16. For Lawal, this linguistic connection,
along with the claim made by Yorùbá cultural historian J. Olumide Lucas
(1948) and Yorùbá ethnographer E. Bó ḷ ájí Idòwú (1962) that the Òrị̀à
Odùduwà appears in some narratives as a mother breast-feeding her child
and as an embodiment of Igbá Ìwà, stimulates two questions about Olódùmarè and the meaning of Igbá Ìwà: 1) “Does Olódùmarè have a mother?
2) Can the two halves of Igbá Ìwà also double as a Mother-and-(male)
Child”17? In one Yorùbá tradition, the name Olódùmarè derives from the
title Olodù-omo-erè, or, more speciically, the word Olódù, which, according to the following Ifá verse, signiies “the child of a female python:”
15
16
17
ABÍMBỌ́LÁ, Kọ́lá. Yorùbá Culture: A Philosophical Account. Birmingham, UK: Iroko Academic
Publishers, 2006, p. 60. ABÍMBỌ́LÁ, Wándé. Gods Versus Anti-Gods: Conlict and Resolution in
the Yorùbá Cosmos. Dialogue and Alliance, vol. 8, no. 2, p. 78, 1994. Interestingly, P. A. Dopamu
translates the term Ará Ọ̀ run as “visitor from Ọ̀ run.” DOPAMU, P. A. Traditional Festivals. In:
LAWAL, Nike S., SADIKU, Matthew N. O., and DOPAMU, P. A., eds. Understanding Yorùbá
Life and Culture. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 2004, p. 656. ABÍMBỌ́LÁ, Wándé. Ifá: An
Exposition of Ifá Literary Corpus. Ibadan: Oxford University Press Nigeria, 1976, p. 151.
LAWAL, Babatunde. Èjìwàpò: The Dialectics of Twoness in Yorùbá Art and Culture. African
Arts, v. 41, no. 1, p. 26, 2008.
LAWAL, Babatunde. Èjìwàpò: The Dialectics of Twoness in Yorùbá Art and Culture. African
Arts, v. 41, no. 1, p. 26, 2008. The connection Lawal makes here brings to mind Ii Amadiume’s
theory of “matricentricity” as an organizing socio-cosmological framework among the Nnobi Igbo
of southern Nigeria, as well as Oyèrónkẹ́ Oyěwùmí’s speciication of the non-gendered concept
of “mothernity” as an ideological basis for the communitarian thought traditions found among
the Yorùbá. See AMADIUME, Ii. Re-inventing Africa: Matriarchy, Religion and Culture.
New York: Zed Books, 1997; OYĚWÙMÍ, Oyèrónkẹ́ , ed. African Women and Feminism: Relecting on the Politics of Sisterhood. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press, 2003. More recently,
Dianne Stewart (formerly Dianne Stewart Diakité) has constructively explored these ideas within
the context of Africana women’s experience. See DIAKITÉ, Dianne M. Stewart. “Matricentric”
Foundations of Africana Women’s Religious Practices of Peacebuilding, Sustainability and Social
Change. Bulletin of Ecumenical Theology, v. 25, pp. 61-79, 2013.
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244 Marcus Louis Harvey
Ahéré oko sísùn nií mú òpòló tó lú ní òru
A dá fun erè
Tí o ni ekún se iráhùn omo
Nwón ní kí ó rúbo kí ó lè bí omo: ewúré kan, aso kíjìpá ara rè, èjìlógún
O gbó, ó ru
Erè sì lóyún, o sì bí omo
Àwon ènìà sì bèrèsíí wipé ‘lódú ni omo tí erè bí yì’
Nígbà tí omo náà sì dàgbà, ó sì joba ní ojú iyá rè
Òun ni gbogbo ènìà sì npè ní Olódùmarè títí di òní.
‘When we sleep in the farm hut, frogs jump on us in the night’
was the one who cast Ifá [performed divination] for Python
when she was weeping and moaning for a child.
They say she should sacriice one she-goat, the homespun cloth she was
wearing and eleven shillings so that she might be able to have a child.
She heard and made the sacriice,
and Python became pregnant, and she gave birth to a child.
And people began to say: ‘One who has Odù’ was this child that
Python bore.
And when the child grew up, she lived to see him become a king.
He is the one whom all people are calling “One who has Odù, child of
Python” (Olódùmarè) until this very day18.
Ifá dídá, the systematic divinatory “process” referenced in the verse
which is said to have been bequeathed to the Yorùbá people by Ifá (the
Òrị̀à of “wisdom and intellectual development”), will be addressed momentarily19. Of interest presently is the signiicance of this verse vis-á-vis
Olódùmarè and the verse’s trajectory of meaning.
Lawal suggests that the female python (erè)20 mentioned in this verse
may be the Yorùbá deity Òsùmàrè (Èsùmàrè)21. Òsùmàrè’s primary symbol
is a python, and it is believed Òsùmàrè is manifest in the physical world
18
19
20
21
BASCOM, William R. Ifá Divination: Communication between Gods and Men in West Africa.
Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1969, pp. 322-323. BÁMGBỌ́É, Ayọ. The Meaning
of Olódùmarè: An Etymology of the Name of the Yorùbá High God. African Notes: Bulletin
of the Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan, v. 7, no. 1, p. 27, 1972.
ABÍMBỌ́LÁ, Kọ́ lá. Yorùbá Culture: A Philosophical Account. Birmingham, UK: Iroko Academic Publishers, 2006, pp. 47, 119.
LAWAL, Babatunde. Èjìwàpò: The Dialectics of Twoness in Yorùbá Art and Culture. African
Arts, v. 41, no. 1, p. 26, 2008.
LAWAL, Babatunde. Èjìwàpò: The Dialectics of Twoness in Yorùbá Art and Culture. African
Arts, v. 41, no. 1, p. 26, 2008.
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Deity from a Python, Earth from a Hen, Humankind from Mystery 245
as a rainbow22. Wealth and prosperity are also associated with Òsùmàrè23.
The possibility of an ontological link between Òsùmàrè and Olódùmarè is
strengthened by an astute morphological observation made by Idòwú (1962,
p. 30) and Bámgbọ́é (1972, pp. 27, 32) regarding the linguistic construction of the appellations Òsùmàrè and Olódùmarè; namely, that the word
mare (that which is immense) is found in both appellations. The above
verse presents a narrative wherein the being of Olódùmarè has its genesis
in the creative power of Ifá dídá physically working through Python.
It is signiicant that this narrative ascribes to matter and the natural
world major roles in the process of bringing Olódùmarè into being; Ifá
dídá was physically performed on Python’s behalf; Python offers “one
she-goat, a homespun cloth she was wearing, and eleven shillings” as
material sacriices (̣bọ) with the expectation that they will enable her to
give birth. An important implication here is that Olódùmarè’s existence is
possible only through relationship with the material world. It is through
matter that Olódùmarè’s being acquires eficacy and therefore becomes
meaningful in a universe placing on living creatures the unrelenting demand of regular material engagement. The function of Ifá dídá in this
narrative is instructive because it facilitates an awareness of the role of
Yorùbá cosmology in the construction of knowledge.
Ifá dídá functions in the narrative as a materially-rooted epistemological practice that opens creative trajectories of meaning contributing
much to the understanding of human existence, the natural world, and
the spiritual dimension. Ifá dídá functions also as a spiritual technology
of matter producing in Python a knowledge of herself as a being capable
of birthing new life. As a spiritual technology of matter, Ifá dídá is an
epistemological catalyst prompting a conceptualization of Olódùmarè as
a deity whose being can be interpreted within the framework of a materialist ontology. In addition, Ifá dídá discloses another level of meaning
pertaining to Igbá Ìwà; Both halves together (Python and Olódùmarè) can
be understood as a representation of the relationship between mother and
child. This maternal trajectory of meaning is buttressed by the Yorùbá
belief that contained within the rainbow is an encrypted message from Olódùmarè to Olódùmarè’s mother, Python of lower Ọ̀ run24. The generative
22
23
24
LAWAL, Babatunde. Èjìwàpò: The Dialectics of Twoness in Yorùbá Art and Culture. African
Arts, v. 41, no. 1, p. 26, 2008.
LAWAL, Babatunde. Èjìwàpò: The Dialectics of Twoness in Yorùbá Art and Culture. African
Arts, v. 41, no. 1, p. 26, 2008.
LAWAL, Babatunde. Èjìwàpò: The Dialectics of Twoness in Yorùbá Art and Culture. African
Arts, v. 41, no. 1, p. 26, 2008.
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246 Marcus Louis Harvey
material relationship between Python and Olódùmarè provides a context
for Olódùmarè’s authoritative cosmic status and seminal role in the three
narratives studied below. We move now to the irst of these narratives.
The Creation of the “Solid Earth” and Human Beings
In the irst chapter of Olódùmarè: God in Yorùbá Belief, author E.
Bó ḷ ájí Idòwú cites an early Yorùbá originary narrative involving Ilé-Ifè ̣
and the creation of the “solid earth.” In examining this narrative, readers
will notice Idòwú’s problematic tendency of referencing the genderless
Olódùmarè using the pronoun “He,” which is not in keeping with descriptions of the chief deity found in Yorùbá oral tradition 25. The narrative is
quoted in full below:
What moved Olódùmarè to think of creating the solid earth, no one knows. However,
he conceived the idea and at once carried it into effect. He summoned Òrị̀à-ńlá
[Òrị̀à, Ọbàtálá, Òọ̀àálà, Òọ̀àńlá] the arch-divinity, to His presence and charged him
with the duty: for material, He gave him a leaf of loose earth (some say that the loose
earth was contained in a snail’s shell), and for tools a ive-toed hen and a pigeon.
When Òrị̀à-ńlá arrived, he threw the loose earth on a suitable spot on the watery
waste. Then he let loose the hen and the pigeon; and these immediately began the
work of scattering and spreading the loose earth. This they did until a great portion of
the waste was covered. When enough of it had been covered, Òrị̀à-ńlá went back and
reported to Olódùmarè that the work had been accomplished. Whereupon, Olódùmarè
dispatched the chameleon to go down and inspect what had been done. The
chameleon, it must be noted, was chosen on the merit of the extraordinary carefulness
and delicacy with which it moves about, and the still more extraordinary way in which
it can take in any situation immediately. From the irst visit, the chameleon took back
the report that although the earth was indeed wide enough, it was not yet suficiently
dry for any further operation; from the second visit, however, it returned with the
cheering report that it was both ‘wide enough’ and suficiently dry. The sacred spot
where the work began was named Ifè ̣. And that, according to the tradition, was how
Ifè ̣ . . . got its name. The preix Ilé was added much later on to signify that it was the
original home of all and to distinguish it from the other towns called Ifè ̣.
25
Such gendered descriptions are inconsistent with portrayals of Olódùmarè found in Odù Ifá. As
Abímbọ́lá explains, “ . . . the Ifá Literary Corpus always refers to Olódùmarè as an entity who exists
in spiritual form only. Ifá does not make use of any genderised personal pronoun to refer to the
High ‘Deity.’ So in reality, Olódùmarè is neither male nor female.” ABÍMBỌ́LÁ, Kọ́lá. Yorùbá
Culture: A Philosophical Account. Birmingham, UK: Iroko Academic Publishers, 2006, p. 51.
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Deity from a Python, Earth from a Hen, Humankind from Mystery 247
When Olódùmarè was satisied that the work had indeed been accomplished, he sent
Òrị̀à-ńlá back to equip and embellish the earth. This time, he sent Ọ̀rúnmìlà [Ifá,
Orunla] to accompany him and be his counselor. To Òrị̀à-ńlá, Olódùmarè handed the
primeval Igi Ọ̀ p̣ (Palm Tree). This he was to plant – its juice would give drink, its
seed would give oil as well as kernels for food. He gave him also three other trees
which were full of sap. These were Iré ̣ (Silk Rubber Tree), Awùn (Whitewood), and
Dòdo. These also were to be planted and propagated: their juices would give drink.
For as yet, there was no rain upon the earth. The original hen and pigeon which had
been used in spreading the loose earth should somehow increase and multiply and
provide meat for the dwellers on earth.
Òrị̀à-ńlá came down and did as he was told. When all was ready Ọrẹlúẹrè ̣, one of
the beings who had been prepared beforehand, was commissioned to lead a party of
those beings down to earth. He brought them down as he was instructed and those
became the nucleus of the human occupants of the earth.
When the affairs of the earth had been running for some time and its inhabitants were
multiplying, it was discovered that there was not enough water for use. Therefore
Òrị̀à-ńlá appealed to Olódùmarè and, as a result, rain began to fall upon the earth.
Òrị̀à-ńlá was assigned another special job. He was made the ‘creator’ of human
physical features for the future. It is not clear from the oral traditions when he irst
began to do the work. However, he got the job, and his allotted duty was thenceforth
to mold man’s physical form from the dust of the earth. He thus became the sculptor
divinity. But the right to give life Olódùmarè reserved to Himself alone forever. The
instruction given to Òrị̀à-ńlá, therefore, was that when he had completed his own part
in the creation of man, he should lock up the lifeless form in a room and leave the
place. Olódùmarè would then come and give breath [è ̣mí], thus completing the
creation of the human being.
A story is told of how, once, Òrị̀à-ńlá envied Olódùmarè this right to be the sole
Giver of life. He therefore laid a plan to spy on Him. When he had completed his
work one day, instead of locking up the completed forms and leaving the place, he
locked himself in with them and hid in a corner, awaiting the arrival of Olódùmarè.
Olódùmarè, however . . . knew his crafty design and forestalled him by putting him
into a deep slumber from which he awoke only when all the forms in his stock had
become human beings. Since then, Òrị̀à-ńlá has contented himself with his own
allotted part of the work.
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248 Marcus Louis Harvey
The ofice of a ‘creator’ gave Òrị̀à-ńlá the prerogative to make at will human igures
perfect or defective, and of whatever colours he wants them to be. The hunchback,
the cripple, or the albino, are special marks of his prerogative or, more often than not,
ispleasure26.
One detects in this narrative an embedded epistemological orientation. The activities of the deities described above play an elemental
role in the formation of what Oyèrónkẹ́ Oyěwùmí (1997) calls a Yorùbá
“world-sense”27 that yields distinct knowledge of the cosmos as an environment wherein human meaning is at every stage rooted in the generative entanglement of the spiritual and material dimensions. This distinct
knowledge can be explored phenomenologically by attending to ways in
which the orienting concepts of mystery, materially-based relationality,
unpredictability, the permanency of existential conlict, and irresolution
are manifest in the narrative. What follows is an exploration of how the
narrative’s engagement of these concepts gives formative expression to a
Yorùbá epistemological perspective.
Mystery
The narrative begins with an assertion of the unknown; a complete
understanding of Olódùmarè’s purpose in commissioning the creation of the
solid earth is beyond the reach of human knowledge. Therefore, efforts to
examine Yorùbá cosmology with the goal of probing the deepest meanings related to the origin of the earthly dimension will necessarily include
mystery and imaginative speculation. The lack of information regarding
Olódùmarè’s intention for the terrestrial world implies a circumscription
of knowledge. This circumscription applies also to human knowledge of
all other non-terrestrial and spiritual phenomena comprising the broader
universe. Complete knowledge of Olódùmarè’s purpose for the earth, the
broader material cosmos, and the spirit world is simply unavailable to the
26
27
IDÒẂ, Bó ḷ ájí E. Olódùmarè: God in Yorùbá Belief. London: Longmans, 1962, pp. 18-20.
I prefer Oyěwùmí’s use of the term “world-sense” in her deconstructive analysis of European
bio-logically based misunderstandings of knowledge production and social organization among
the pre-colonial Ọ̀yó -̣ Yorùbá. She writes, The term “worldview,” which is used in the West to
sum up the cultural logic of a society, captures the West’s privileging of the visual. It is Eurocentric to use it to describe cultures that may privilege other senses. The term “world-sense” is
a more inclusive way of describing the conception of the world by different cultural groups. In
this study, therefore, “worldview” will only be applied to describe the Western cultural sense, and
“world-sense” will be used when describing the Yorùbá or other cultures that may privilege senses
other than the visual or even a combination of senses. OYĚWÙMÍ, Oyèrónkẹ́. The Invention of
Women: Making an African Sense of Western Gender Discourses. Minneapolis: University
of Minnesota Press, 1997, pp. 2-3.
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Deity from a Python, Earth from a Hen, Humankind from Mystery 249
human intellect. This means, for instance, that the ultimate motivating
factors for over three billion years of biological evolution and nearly
fourteen billion years of cosmic expansion cannot be known. This also
means that the primary motives underpinning the complex inner workings
of the spirit world are humanly incomprehensible. Our ability as humans
to gain a more complete understanding of a particular being is in large
measure predicated upon the accessibility of knowledge related to that
being’s patterns of intentionality. Said differently, a critical understanding
of the principal logic governing the creative activity of a being is vital
to the acquisition of comprehensive knowledge about that being. Given
that human knowledge of Olódùmarè does not include an understanding
of the principal logic undergirding Olódùmarè’s creative agenda pertaining
to the solid earth or to other dimensions of existence, the deeper recesses
of Olódùmarè’s being remain shrouded in mystery.
The circumscription of knowledge implied by the scarcity of information regarding Olódùmarè’s intentionality vis-à-vis the creation of the
solid earth encompasses human “potential”28 or destiny. As we have seen,
the originary narrative under examination illustrates how the opacity of
purpose concerning Olódùmarè and the creation of the solid earth functions as a source of the unknown. We ind further evidence of ultimate
purpose serving this epistemological function upon considering a particular
aspect of the Yorùbá understanding of human destiny: the concept of Orí
(spiritual head, inner head)29. The Yorùbá believe that, prior to birth in
the physical world, unborn humans select an Orí in the spirit world. The
purpose of the Orí – which itself is worshipped as a deity 30 – is to serve
as a lifelong guide steering an individual in a speciic direction based upon
28
29
30
ABÍMBỌ́LÁ, Kọ́ lá. Yorùbá Culture: A Philosophical Account. Birmingham, UK: Iroko Academic Publishers, 2006, p. 72.
LAWAL, Babatunde. Orí: The Signiicance of the Head in Yorùbá Sculpture. Journal of Anthropological Research, v. 41, no. 1, p. 91, 1985. Some other related terms include àyànmọ́
(“choice”), ìpín (“predestined share”), kádàrá (“divine share for man”), and ìpọ̀rí (“inner head”).
ABÍMBỌ́LÁ, Wándé. Ifá: An Exposition of Ifá Literary Corpus. Ibadan: Oxford University
Press Nigeria, 1976, p. 113.
ABÍMBỌ́LÁ, Wándé. Ifá: An Exposition of Ifá Literary Corpus. Ibadan: Oxford University
Press Nigeria, 1976, p. 114. Abímbọ́ lá elaborates on the signiicance of Orí when he writes, Since
every man’s Orí is his personal god, he is more interested in the welfare of the individual than
the other gods. Therefore, if an individual is in need of anything, he should irst of all make his
desires known to his Orí before he approaches any other god for assistance. If a man’s Orí is
not in sympathy with his cause, no god will sympathize with him and consequently he will not
have the things he wants. ABÍMBỌ́LÁ, Wándé. Ifá: An Exposition of Ifá Literary Corpus.
Ibadan: Oxford University Press Nigeria, 1976, p. 142.
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250 Marcus Louis Harvey
the individual’s largely irrevocable choice of Orí31. There is no guarantee
that the chosen Orí will be good in nature. This is so because Àjàlá, the
spiritual entity credited as the supplier of Orí, gives to each unborn human
an Orí that is either good or bad. The nature of the chosen Orí cannot be
known beforehand. Thus, the kind of Orí an individual selects is purely
a matter of chance.
31
The belief in the unalterability of human destiny comports with a related belief in the Òrị̀à’s
inability to change a person’s destiny once the choice of Orí has been made. ABÍMBỌ́LÁ, Wándé.
Ifá: An Exposition of Ifá Literary Corpus. Ibadan: Oxford University Press Nigeria, 1976, p.
145. It is also important to acknowledge that, according to one verse from Odù Ọ̀ sá Méjì, most
humans select a bad Orí and consequently fail in life, despite continual efforts to improve their
destiny:
Bí ó bá ̣e pé gbogbo orí gbogbo ní í sun pósí,
Ìrókò gbogbo ìbá ti tán n’ígbo.
A diá fún igba ẹni,
Tí ńt’Ìkò ḷ é ò ṛ un bò ̣ wá sí t’ayé.
Bí ó bá ̣e pé gbogbo orí gbogbo ní í sun pósí,
Ìrókò gbogbo ìbá ti tán n’ígbo.
A diá fún Òwèrè,
Tí ńt’Ìkò ḷ é ò ṛ un bò ̣ wá sí t’ayé.
Òwèrè là ńjà,
Gbogboo wa.
Òwèrè là ńjà.
Ẹni t’ó yan’rí rere kò wó ̣pò ̣.
Òwèrè là ńjà,
Gbogboo wa.
Òwèrè là ńjà.
(“If all men were destined to be buried in cofins,
all ìrókò trees would have been exhausted in the forest.
Ifá divination was performed for two hundred men
who were coming from heaven to earth.
If all men were destined to be buried in cofins,
all ìrókò trees would have been exhausted in the forest.
Ifá divination was also performed for Struggle
who was coming from heaven to earth.
We are only struggling.
All of us.
We are only struggling.
Those who chose good destinies are not many.
We are only struggling.
All of us.
We are only struggling”). ABÍMBỌ́LÁ, Wándé. Ifá: An Exposition of Ifá Literary Corpus.
Ibadan:
Oxford University Press Nigeria, 1976, pp. 146-147.
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Deity from a Python, Earth from a Hen, Humankind from Mystery 251
Also important to mention is the belief that only Ọ̀ rúnmìlà/Ifá (the
deity of knowledge and wisdom)32 knows the nature of each human being’s
Orí as well as the nature of each Òrị̀à’s Orí33. Therefore, the nature of a
person’s Orí cannot be determined from physical attributes or behavioral
characteristics. As one researcher puts it,
. . . nobody can tell who has chosen a bad or a good Orí. The shape or size of a bad
head may not be different from that of a good one. The type of Orí chosen by a
particular person remains unknown to him and to all other men; it is Ọ̀rúnmìlà alone,
as the only witness of the act of the choice of destiny, who can tell what type of head
each person has chosen. Hence the need for every person to consult Ọ̀rúnmìlà from
time to time34.
This understanding of Orí is consistent with a verse (̣ṣ) from Ọ̀ sá
Méjì, the tenth Odù (book, chapter)35 of the Ifá oral corpus:
Orí burúkú kì í wú tuulu.
A kì í dá ẹsè ̣ ạiwèrèé mò ̣ lójú-ò ̣nà.
A kì í m’orí olóyè láwùjọ.
A díá fún Mó ḅ ówú
Tí í ̣e obìnrin Ògún.
Orí tí ó jọba ló ̣la,
Ẹnìkan ò mò ̣;
Kí tọkọ-taya ó mó ̣ pe’raa wọn ní were mó ̣.
Orí tí ó jọba ló ̣la,
Ẹnìkan ò mò ̣.
32
33
34
35
ABÍMBỌ́LÁ, Kọ́ lá. Yorùbá Culture: A Philosophical Account. Birmingham, UK: Iroko Academic Publishers, 2006, p. 47.
It is believed that each of the Òrị̀à also has his or her own Orí, the “wishes” of which can only
be determined through “consultation” with Ọ̀ rúnmìlà. What is more, knowledge of Ọ̀ rúnmìlà’s
own Orí does not automatically accrue to him. Instead, like human beings and the other Òrị̀à,
Ọ̀ rúnmìlà must make use of his “Ifá divination instruments in order to ind out the wishes of
his Orí.” ABÍMBỌ́LÁ, Wándé. Ifá: An Exposition of Ifá Literary Corpus. Ibadan: Oxford
University Press Nigeria, 1976, p. 115.
ABÍMBỌ́LÁ, Wándé. Ifá: An Exposition of Ifá Literary Corpus. Ibadan: Oxford University
Press Nigeria, 1976, p. 147.
ABÍMBỌ́LÁ, Wándé. Ifá Will Mend Our Broken World: Thoughts on Yorùbá Religion and
Culture in Africa and the Diaspora. Roxbury, MA: AIM Books, 1997, p. 174. ABÍMBỌ́LÁ,
Kọ́lá. Yorùbá Culture: A Philosophical Account. Birmingham, UK: Iroko Academic Publishers,
2006, p. 47. The Ifá corpus consists of 256 Odù, each containing between 600 and 800 ̣ṣ. The
irst 16 Odù are considered major, whereas the remaining 240 are considered minor.
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252 Marcus Louis Harvey
A bad head does not swell up.
Nobody knows the foot-prints of a mad man on the road.
Nobody can distinguish the head destined to wear a crown in an assembly.
Ifá divination was performed for Mó ̣bówú
who was the wife of Ògún.
The head that will reign tomorrow,
nobody knows it.
Let husband and wife stop calling each other names.
The head that will reign tomorrow,
nobody knows it36.
This verse further grounds the Yorùbá conception of Orí as an elusive
reality to which humans ironically have limited access. The verse also
ampliies the uncertainty involved in the selection of Orí. In order for a
person to gain knowledge of her Orí, she must actively seek the wisdom
of Ọ̀ rúnmìlà. However, seeking this wisdom does not eliminate the mysterious uncertainty accompanying all efforts to attain the destiny desired
by one’s Orí37. Yet, effort remains a crucial component of Orí.
The attainment of human destiny is possible only through protracted
struggle on the part of the individual. The necessity of this struggle is
expressed by the idea of ̣sè ̣ (leg, legs)38. Wándé Abímbọ́lá (1978) explains
the relationship between ̣sè ̣ and Orí in the following manner:
Whether or not the individual has chosen a good orí, he must still labor to realize his
potential: hence the concept of ̣sè ̣. Just as every individual has chosen an orí, he also
has his own ̣sè ̣ with which he will have to struggle in life to aid his orí in the
realization of his destiny. ̣sè ̣ represents the principle of activity and struggle without
which even the best orí cannot unfold its good potentialities. As for those who have
chosen bad orí, they have to work harder and struggle more with their ̣sè ̣ before they
can achieve success in life39.
36
37
38
39
ABÍMBỌ́LÁ, Wándé. Ifá: An Exposition of Ifá Literary Corpus. Ibadan: Oxford University
Press Nigeria, 1976, pp. 27, 147-148, 247.
ABÍMBỌ́LÁ, Wándé. Ifá: An Exposition of Ifá Literary Corpus. Ibadan: Oxford University
Press Nigeria, 1976, p. 115.
ABÍMBỌ́LÁ, Kọ́ lá. Yorùbá Culture: A Philosophical Account. Birmingham, UK: Iroko Academic Publishers, 2006, p. 80. ABÍMBỌ́LÁ, Wándé. Yorùbá Traditional Religion. In: IBISH,
Yusuf and MARCULESCU, Ileana, eds. Contemplation and Action in World Religions: Selected
Papers from the Rothko Chapel Colloquium “Traditional Modes of Contemplation and Action.”
Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press, 1978, p. 234.
ABÍMBỌ́L Á, Wándé. Yorùbá Traditional Religion. In: IBISH, Yusuf and MARCULESCU,
Ileana, eds. Contemplation and Action in World Religions: Selected Papers from the Rothko
Chapel Colloquium “Traditional Modes of Contemplation and Action.” Seattle, WA: University
of Washington Press, 1978, p. 234.
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Deity from a Python, Earth from a Hen, Humankind from Mystery 253
An important insight we can glean from Abímbọ́ lá’s explanation is
that while ongoing struggle makes the realization of one’s destiny more
likely, such struggle does not guarantee the realization of one’s destiny.
This insight – along with a consideration of the opacity of ultimate purpose as regards the provision of Orí by Àjàlá and a recognition of human
beings’ limited access to information about the true nature of any given
Orí – makes visible the presence of mystery in the Yorùbá conception of
destiny. The intended meaning of the term “opacity of ultimate purpose”
in reference to Orí is simply this: In a inal analysis, it is unclear why the
kind of Orí chosen by an unborn person is a matter left to chance. Moreover, it is also unclear why knowledge of the true nature of a person’s Orí
is not more readily available. These points together represent an element
of mystery endemic to Yorùbá cosmology. One must recognize, then,
that this mysterious element tempers a Yorùbá epistemology of human
existence, thereby keeping alive an experience among the Yorùbá of the
human being as a source of the unknown.
The circumscription of knowledge signaled by the originary narrative
of the creation of the solid earth and human beings through its assertion
of Olódùmarè’s opaque intentionality and through its consistency with the
mysterious concept of Orí comprehends the spiritual dimension as well.
This is evident upon attending to the narrative’s portrayal of the deity
Òrị̀à-ńlá. Recall that Òrị̀à-ńlá is accompanied by Ọ̀ rúnmìlà, who is to
serve as his “counselor.” Ọ̀ rúnmìlà accompanies Òrị̀à-ńlá by mandate of
Olódùmarè. At irst blush, this detail may appear insigniicant. However,
one’s impression changes when taking into account what this detail implies
about the nature of knowledge in the context of the spiritual dimension.
One is compelled to question Olódùmarè’s decision to assign
Ọ̀ rúnmìlà to Òrị̀à-ńlá in an advisory role, especially given Òrị̀à-ńlá’s
status as the eldest Òrị̀à 40. On one level, Ọ̀ rúnmìlà’s station as the
deity of knowledge and wisdom renders Olódùmarè’s decision less than
surprising. On another level, this decision relects Olódùmarè’s acknowledgement of the imperfect nature of knowledge even among the Òrị̀à.
Òrị̀à-ńlá’s seniority does not mean that his knowledge of the cosmos is
complete and hence not needful of further guidance and augmentation.
This aspect of Òrị̀à-ńlá’s depiction in the narrative provides a clue as to
how the idea of knowledge is understood in Yorùbá epistemology.
40
ABÍMBỌ́LÁ, Kọ́ lá. Yorùbá Culture: A Philosophical Account. Birmingham, UK: Iroko Academic Publishers, 2006, p. 124.
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254 Marcus Louis Harvey
The depiction of Òrị̀à-ńlá suggests knowledge is understood in Yorùbá epistemology as an interdimensional phenomenon luidly operating in
both the material and immaterial dimensions. The narrative’s depiction
of Òrị̀à-ńlá also suggests that knowledge is a dialectical phenomenon
deined positively by what it produces (i.e., understanding) and negatively by its limitations (i.e., that which lies outside the conceptual grasp
of knowledge). We might think of Ọ̀ rúnmìlà in this narrative context as
a symbolic representation of the mystery-laden limitations and necessary
but tempered augmentation of Òrị̀à-ńlá’s knowledge. Moreover, Òrị̀àńlá unintentionally punctuates the importance of mystery as a theoretical
component in the Yorùbá conception of knowledge by unsuccessfully
attempting to outwit Olódùmarè in hopes of gaining access to the most
esoteric and powerful recesses of Olódùmarè’s knowledge.
Òrị̀à-ńlá’s Scheme
In the narrative, Òrị̀à-ńlá grows desirous of the knowledge necessary
to animate the human forms he creates. This knowledge, however, is the
exclusive domain of Olódùmarè. Undaunted, Òrị̀à-ńlá devises a scheme;
he hides among the inanimate human forms awaiting “breath” (è m
̣ í) from
Olódùmarè41 in order to surreptitiously observe the divine bestowal of life
and thereby acquire knowledge he otherwise would not possess. However,
Olódùmarè foils Òrị̀à-ńlá’s plan by causing him to sleep through the moment during which his “sculpted” human forms are infused with èm
̣ í. The
thwarting of this ill-advised scheme is important for our understanding of
Yorùbá epistemology, for it heuristically represents the bounded nature of
knowledge. Interestingly, though, Òrị̀à-ńlá’s scheme and Olódùmarè’s
response are signiicant also because they point toward that for which
knowledge ultimately strives: an exhaustive understanding of the unknown.
It has been observed that Yorùbá epistemology conceptualizes knowledge in close relation to the multifaceted mystery circumscribing knowledge.
In fact, in a Yorùbá perspective, knowledge and mystery make little sense
in isolation from each other. The ideas of knowledge and mystery are intelligible within the framework of Yorùbá epistemology because both ideas
are bound together in a theoretical tension wherein the meaning of mystery
clariies the meaning of knowledge, and vice versa. What the narrative of
Òrị̀à-ńlá’s scheme contributes to our understanding of the Yorùbá conception of knowledge is an emphasis on the seeking orientation of knowledge.
41
ABÍMBỌ́LÁ, Kọ́ lá. Yorùbá Culture: A Philosophical Account. Birmingham, UK: Iroko Academic Publishers, 2006, p. 80.
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Deity from a Python, Earth from a Hen, Humankind from Mystery 255
The term seeking orientation of knowledge draws attention to knowledge as a phenomenon that, in the interest of expanding the scope of its
intellectual domain, constantly reaches for ever more sophisticated understandings of existence (wíwà)42. As new understandings of the world develop, these understandings enable new questions about the world, questions
that may not have been previously considered, and answers to these new
questions are sought. However, Yorùbá epistemology adds the following
caveat: Despite the seeking orientation of knowledge, knowledge cannot
apprehend existence in its most arcane form; in other words, knowledge
lacks the ontological standing necessary for such apprehension. The narrative of Òrị̀à-ńlá’s scheme strongly implies this caveat.
Regarding Olódùmarè’s obstruction of Òrị̀à-ńlá’s scheme, I would
speculatively argue that the former is motivated less by an interest in simply underscoring the ascendancy of mystery and more by a commitment
to facilitating and preserving a certain mode of relationality within the
spiritual dimension; Òrị̀à-ńlá’s unexpected encounter with mystery in the
form of Olódùmarè’s superior intellect and power occasions in him an acute
awareness and “content” acceptance of his role as the “sculptor divinity”
as well as a sober acknowledgment of the limitations inherent in this role.
Relationally speaking, encounter with mystery enables Òrị̀à-ńlá to remain
attuned to the will of Olódùmarè. This analysis suggests the functionality
of mystery in Yorùbá epistemology; ironically, mystery makes possible
the conceptualization of the idea of knowledge while also facilitating
meaningful spiritual relationships. To put the latter point another way,
the delimited nature of knowledge in the human world makes relationship
with the spiritual world and its vast repository of knowledge a necessity.
However, one must bear in mind that, for the Yorùbá, the signiicance of
relationality is always tied to the material dimension. Indeed, relationality
is a foundational theoretical component in the Yorùbá conception of the
material world. This brings us to materially-based relationality, a second
orienting concept found in the narrative of the creation of the solid earth
and human beings.
Materially-Based Relationality
Òrị̀à-ńlá is the most salient expression of materially-based relationality in this account. His creative participation in the making of the solid
earth foregrounds a tactile, fecund relationship with matter: The items
given to Òrị̀à-ńlá by Olódùmarè for use in the creation of the solid earth
42
FAKINLEDE, Kayode J. Existence. Yorùbá-English/English-Yorùbá Modern Practical Dictionary.
New York: Hippocrene Books, Inc., 2003, p. 152.
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256 Marcus Louis Harvey
consist of “a leaf of loose earth,” “a ive-toed hen,” and “a pigeon,” all of
which are tangible physical objects composed of matter. After traveling to
the appropriate location, Òrị̀à-ńlá casts the loose earth onto the “watery
waste,” at which point he releases the hen and pigeon. The hen and pigeon
then spread the newly-strewn loose earth across vast distances in all directions. Upon receipt of the chameleon’s second inspection report indicating
that the new land is suficiently “wide” and “dry” to accommodate further
enhancement, Olódùmarè supplies Òrị̀à-ńlá with more matter in the form
of the Igi Ọ̀ p̣ (Palm Tree), Iré ̣ (Silk Rubber Tree), Awùn (Whitewood
Tree), and Dòdo (Tambalacoque Tree), all of which are planted to provide
liquid nourishment for the new land’s inhabitants. Through proliferation
over time, the role of the hen and pigeon as “tools” of creation shifts to
that of food source. Òrị̀à-ńlá’s activity in this narrative prompts the question: Is the signiicance of matter in Yorùbá cosmology limited to matter’s
status as evidence of the creative actions of spirit beings?
Extending beyond the realm of the evidentiary, the signiicance of
matter in Yorùbá cosmology has a pronounced epistemological dimension,
and one must ask why this is the case. This pronounced epistemological
signiicance stems from the role of matter as the primary theater of all
human knowing and action. Matter, knowledge, action, and spirit thus
emerge as inextricable realities in a Yorùbá perspective. The epistemological signiicance of matter in the narrative of the creation of the solid
earth and human beings becomes apparent upon observing Òrị̀à-ńlá’s
relationship to matter. This relationship is far from supericial or exploitative, for it is only through matter that Òrị̀à-ńlá’s creative mandate is
given meaningful expression.
What is more, Òrị̀à-ńlá’s relationship to matter highlights matter as
a prime source of creative spiritual power that remains connected to the
mysterious, fecund will of Olódùmarè. Additionally, matter functions in
Yorùbá cosmology as the raw “stuff” (kiní kan, nnkan) upon which the
“spiritual technology” utilized by Òrị̀à-ńlá in the creation of the solid
earth depends for actualization 43. These points indicate the importance
of Òrị̀à-ńlá’s relationship to matter for our understanding of Yorùbá
epistemology. Matter emerges through this relationship not as inert stuff
but as a reconigurable vessel of spiritual power that, by way of engage43
FAKINLEDE, Kayode J. Stuff. Yorùbá-English/English-Yorùbá Modern Practical Dictionary.
New York: Hippocrene Books, Inc., 2003, p. 411. My use of the term “spiritual technology”
relects a conceptual indebtedness to Dianne Stewart who, during several personal conversations
held over the past six years, referred to specialized African religio-practical systems as “mystical
technologies.”
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Deity from a Python, Earth from a Hen, Humankind from Mystery 257
ment, yields knowledge of the physical world as an environment shaped
by profound creative potential and lux. From the perspective of Yorùbá
epistemology, relationship with the matter comprising the physical world
is a cardinal locus of knowledge production. Knowledge is not gained
through an intellectual retreat into self that distances the operation of the
mind, body, and spirit from matter. Rather, knowledge is acquired through
relational participation in the chaos of material existence. The aim of this
participation is not the permanent taming of matter. Instead, the aim is the
cultivation of a constructive, communally beneicial relationship with the
sacred power sustaining matter. Nonetheless, relational participation in
materiality is fraught with dangerous uncertainty; hence the third orienting
concept to be discussed: unpredictability.
Unpredictability
Òrị̀à-ńlá’s creative mandate in the narrative is not restricted to the
formation of the solid earth. Olódùmarè also appoints him to the role of
sculptor divinity, which means that his creative responsibilities additionally
include the “molding” of “human forms” and “features” from the “dust of
the earth.” While Òrị̀à-ńlá’s investiture of creative power excludes the
ability to give life, it does grant him the “prerogative” of making human
forms “perfect” or “defective” depending upon his pleasure or “displeasure.” Òrị̀à-ńlá’s creative prerogative as the sculptor divinity introduces
uncertainty into the existential situation of material relationality. The
fashioning of matter into physically optimal or suboptimal human forms
is subject to Òrị̀à-ńlá’s caprice. This caprice represents the power to
materially exacerbate human suffering through somatic malformation or
mitigate human suffering through healthy somatic formation. The unpredictability of Òrị̀à-ńlá’s role as the sculptor divinity preigures the
dangerously unpredictable dimension of matter itself as a reconigurable
vessel of spiritual power.
The unpredictable dimension of matter as relected in Òrị̀à-ńlá’s
somewhat whimsical role as sculptor divinity evokes the functions of
mystery and materially-based relationality as orienting concepts in Yorùbá
epistemology; the concept of materially-based relationality grounds human knowledge in the dynamic entanglement with matter ensuing from
existence in the physical world, while the concept of mystery radically
delimits the scope of human knowledge. As mentioned earlier, the concept
of unpredictability adds to our understanding of material entanglement the
element of dangerous uncertainty. This leads to an important point worth
accenting: In conjunction with mystery, unpredictability destabilizes the
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258 Marcus Louis Harvey
authoritative status of human knowledge. This is not to suggest that the
accumulation of human knowledge carries no authority whatsoever with
respect to cognitive orientation, or that the meaning-making power of human knowledge is null. Rather, the axiomatic point here is that because
human knowledge participates ineluctably in the chaotic uncertainty of
matter and is reliant on the mysterious spiritual moorings of matter, it
cannot deliver an absolute, immutable understanding of anything.
Consideration has been given to the significance of mystery as it
relates to the function of unpredictability in Yorùbá epistemology. Importantly, this consideration was informed by a previous analysis of the
idea of materially-based relationality. Still in need of attention are the
orienting concepts of the permanency of existential conlict and irresolution
as well as the special relevance of these concepts to our analysis of the
epistemological function of unpredictability as suggested in the Yorùbá
originary narrative under discussion. This will now be addressed.
The Permanency of Existential Conlict
As noted above, Òrị̀à-ńlá’s work as the sculptor divinity casts light
on the unpredictable dimension of matter and on the unpredictability of
material engagement. The concept of the permanency of existential conlict uncovers yet another layer of meaning with regard to the function of
unpredictability in Yorùbá epistemology. This concept is hardly foreign
to Yorùbá cosmology. For the Yorùbá, the permanency of existential
conlict is a central philosophical maxim that fundamentally inluences
the structure of Yorùbá thought. The permanency of existential conlict
is ensconced in orally transmitted beliefs about the Ajogun’s indefatigable
war against humankind and the Òrị̀à. Concerning the signiicance of this
idea in Yorùbá cosmology, Wándé Abímbọ́ lá (1994) states,
In the Yorùbá belief system, conlict rather than peace is the order of the day.
Resolution can only be achieved through the offering of ̣bọ [sacriice] via the
intervention of Ẹ̀ù who is at the same time an Òrị̀à and a master of the Ajogun. But
we must always remember that resolution is temporary. It is not, unlike conlict, a
permanent feature of the universe”44.
44
ABÍMBỌ́LÁ, Wándé. Gods Versus Anti-Gods: Conlict and Resolution in the Yorùbá Cosmos.
Dialogue and Alliance, vol. 8, no. 2, p. 86, 1994. ABÍMBỌ́LÁ, Wándé. Ifá Will Mend Our
Broken World: Thoughts on Yorùbá Religion and Culture in Africa and the Diaspora. Roxbury, MA: AIM Books, 1997, p. 173. At a lecture given at Emory University in 2007, Professor
Abímbọ́ lá restated this point in asserting that, for the Yorùbá, peace is merely an “aberration.”
It is also important to be aware of signiicant differences between indigenous Yorùbá and Yorùbá
diasporic perceptions of ̣bọ (sacriice) and ritual practice. Abímbọ́ lá makes the following comments regarding these differences:
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Deity from a Python, Earth from a Hen, Humankind from Mystery 259
Abímbọ́lá’s emphasis on the focal philosophical position of conlict (ija, rogbodiyan)45
within the conceptual framework of Yorùbá cosmology provokes questions about the
epistemological connection between unpredictability and existential conlict. Chief
among these questions is the following: Can the Yorùbá concept of material unpredictability be understood as a re-inscription of the permanency of existential conlict?
I am not suggesting that the meaning of material unpredictability in
Yorùbá epistemology is reducible to a re-inscription of the permanency
of existential conlict. Yet deeply implicit in Yorùbá epistemology is the
idea that the material world becomes meaningful in part through its unpredictable aspect. Unlike some conventional Western scientiic epistemologies, the Yorùbá “world-sense” does not perceive the material world as
a predictable, closed system. From a Yorùbá standpoint, it is impossible
to know with unfailing precision how matter will behave from moment to
moment. Equally inaccessible is exact knowledge of how individual and
communal relationships with matter will change over time. Nevertheless,
it is within this existential condition of relational entanglement with the
unpredictable material world that human beings pursue well-being (ayọ̀
àti àláfíà) and success (ìyege) 46. Well-being and success are possible
only through daily struggle amid the unremitting, often life-threatening
unpredictability of matter.
45
46
There is an over emphasis on blood in the Diaspora. The emphasis of the religion [Ifá] in the
Diaspora is mainly on rituals, and on the visual aspects, such as beads and clothes. Little attention
is paid to literature or philosophy. When the descendants of the Yorùbá in the Americas lost the
literature they concentrated more on the visual and ritual aspects of the religion. In Africa, a
babaláwo may have attended to 20 clients in a day without prescribing one animal or fowl.
There are so many sacriices we can do that don’t involve blood at all. When we give food to
Ògún, it may be prescribed that we give roasted yams or roasted corn. Occasionally a dog may
be prescribed, but that may not happen often. When we give food to Ọbàtálá, we prepare iyan
(pounded yam), and è g̣ úsí (a type of soup prepared with melon seeds). ABÍMBỌ́L Á, Wándé.
Ifá Will Mend Our Broken World: Thoughts on Yorùbá Religion and Culture in Africa and
the Diaspora. Roxbury, MA: AIM Books, 1997, p. 84.
Through consultation with Nigerian-born Yorùbá speaker Olabisi Animashaun, I learned that
the Yorùbá terms ija and rogbodiyan may approximate the idea of conlict as a reality inhering
within the structure of existence. However, she emphatically noted that the Yorùbá distinguish
between different forms of conlict, and that there are several other Yorùbá terms that can be used
to describe these forms.
FAKINLEDE, Kayode J. Well-Being. Yorùbá-English/English-Yorùbá Modern Practical Dictionary. New York: Hippocrene Books, Inc., 2003, p. 462; FAKINLEDE, Kayode J. Success.
Yorùbá-English/English-Yorùbá Modern Practical Dictionary. New York: Hippocrene Books,
Inc., 2003, p. 413.
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260 Marcus Louis Harvey
Here we perceive the philosophical link between material unpredictability and the permanency of existential conlict; just as matter frequently
opposes the human struggle for well-being and success, this same struggle
opposes the dangerous unpredictability of matter. The frequently harmful
caprice involved in Òrị̀à-ńlá’s molding of material human forms conlicts
with the constructive goals for which many of these human forms will
strive once given life by Olódùmarè. Stated otherwise, material unpredictability and human striving reciprocally create and preserve existential
conlict. It is in this tensive sense that material unpredictability can be
interpreted as a re-inscription of the permanency of existential conlict.
Material unpredictability can also be interpreted in a manner underscoring
its relevance to the concept of irresolution. It is to this concept that our
analytical focus now shifts.
Irresolution
The presence of irresolution in Yorùbá thought is made apparent by
the above originary narrative’s portrayal of Olódùmarè and Òrị̀à-ńlá. We
have explored how the mystery surrounding Olódùmarè’s commissioning
of the solid earth is epistemologically meaningful. Ways in which this
mystery points to the circumscription of human knowledge were also
speciied. Presently in need of investigation is this mysterious element’s
role in the condition of unpredictability manifest in the creative caprice
of Òrị̀à-ńlá.
If Olódùmarè’s purpose for matter remains unavailable to human
knowledge, as our focal narrative suggests, then it stands to reason that
the power to gain an unerringly predictive understanding of matter is also
beyond the pale of human knowledge. By extension, if neither the purpose of matter nor complete foreknowledge of its activity from moment to
moment are within the reach of human intellect, then it follows that the
complexity of matter is never resolvable within any humanly contrived
system of meaning. Hence the implicit idea in Yorùbá epistemology that
human knowing is always circumscribed by the permanent condition of
material irresolution. A vital function of human knowledge is to sharpen
awareness of matter as a fundamentally irreducible reality whose deepest
meanings frustrate the powers of human reason. Yorùbá epistemology
makes possible the realization that at the level of material unpredictability,
human knowledge is no knowledge at all. This realization throws human
knowledge back onto itself, disabusing us of the presumption that human
knowledge can have absolute authority. To be clear, I am not asserting
that Yorùbá tradition looks unfavorably upon human intellectual activity
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Deity from a Python, Earth from a Hen, Humankind from Mystery 261
seeking to probe the greatest depths of material meaning. What I am asserting is that, in a Yorùbá purview, such probing must remain connected
to the existential condition and needs of human communities.
The narrative of the creation of the solid earth and human beings is
part of a larger tradition of Yorùbá originary narration including various
documented and undocumented accounts. While access to the full range
of these accounts is not possible, it is nonetheless important to consider
multiple accounts so as to further enlarge our understanding of the meanings shaping Yorùbá epistemology. A goal of the preceding analysis
was to establish that knowledge is understood in Yorùbá epistemology
as a phenomenon marked by mystery, materially-based relationality,
unpredictability, the permanency of existential conlict, and irresolution.
The foregoing discussion of these ideas as equally important markers of
Yorùbá thought provides broader conceptual context for the prominence
of materially-based relationality and existential conlict in the originary
narratives that follow. The next narrative to be explored is a popular
variant of the irst creation narrative treated earlier. The Òrị̀à Odùduwà
(younger brother of Òrị̀à-ńlá/Ọbàtálá) and Ògún (the deity of war and
iron) both appear in this version47.
47
ABÍMBỌ́LÁ, Kọ́lá. Yorùbá Culture: A Philosophical Account. Birmingham, UK: Iroko Academic
Publishers, 2006, pp. 120-121. Idòwú makes the historical argument that the appearance of this
variant is a result of the successful invasion of Ilé-Ifè ̣ by a man named Odùduwà who worshipped a
female divinity with the same name. Idòwú explains that
. . . Odùduwà, was therefore, without
doubt, a divinity who belonged to the man Odùduwà. It was he who brought this divinity with
her own cult to the land. For a period at least, the conlict went against Òrị̀à-ńlá and the Ọrẹlúẹrè ̣
party; and that would mean that Odùduwà had prevailed over the indigenous divinity. As Odùduwà
became established in the land, he would of course make people learn their revised article of belief,
namely, that his own goddess was strongest and supreme; that it was she, and not Òrị̀à-ńlá, who
created the earth. This must have gone down well with a goodsection of the people.
Later generations who belonged to both worlds found it not impossible to accept both versions of
the story about agent of creation and make a conlation of them. This conlation is the one now
generally accepted as the orthodox story of Ilé-Ifè ̣: that it was indeed Òrị̀à-ńlá who got the
commission from Olódùmarè but, through an accident, he forfeited the privilege to Odùduwà whothus became the actual creator of the solid earth. That this story is accepted without question today
by the priests of Òrị̀à-ńlá is not strange: they also have the blood of Odùduwà in their veins.
As a result of the conlation, there has taken place in some localities a kind of hybridisation
between the cult of Òrị̀à-ńlá and that of Odùduwà, which often appears as if one has been superimposed upon the other. For example, Igbó-Ọrà worships Òrị̀à-ńlá under the very transparent
veneer of Odùduwà. One can easily discern the foundation cult to be that of Òrị̀à-ńlá and that
the other one has been thinly spread over it. IDÒẂ, Bó ḷ ájí E. Olódùmarè: God in Yorùbá
Belief. London: Longmans, 1962, p. 25.
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262 Marcus Louis Harvey
The Creation of “Dry Land” and the Covenant between
Humankind and the Natural World
Like the previous creation narrative, this commonly known variant
holds that in the primeval era the earth consisted almost entirely of water;
small in number, the only extant landmasses were scattered mountains protruding from the water’s surface. Desiring to create “dry land,” Olódùmarè
commissioned four hundred Òrị̀à to bring this dry land into existence.
Olódùmarè provided each Òrị̀à with dust from Ọ̀ run48, a chameleon, and a
ten-toed hen to aid in the creation process. Ọbàtálá was speciically chosen by Olódùmarè as the leader of the four hundred commissioned Òrị̀à
and was primarily responsible for the creation of the dry land. Assisted
by an iron chain given to them by the deity Ògún, the Òrị̀à traveled to
Òkè-Àrà (mountain of wonders)49, a location well within reach of Ilé-Ifè .̣
While atop Òkè-Àrà, Ọbàtálá became drunk on palm-wine and fell
asleep. Odùduwà, his younger brother, took advantage of the situation by
stealing special articles given to Ọbàtálá by Olódùmarè. Odùduwà then
proceeded to scatter about sacred dust from Ọ̀ run. Inexplicably, the strewn
granules of dust began to solidify and form dry land. Next, Odùduwà released his ten-toed hen, and the hen scratched the newly-formed land, causing
it to expand continuously in every direction. Finally, Odùduwà’s chameleon
walked across the land and, with its feet, veriied the land’s irmness.
After waking from his drunken sleep, Ọbàtálá discovered what his
brother had done. Odùduwà’s opportunistic actions angered Ọbàtálá.
Consequently, Ọbàtálá incited a ierce conlict with Odùduwà, which was
highly unusual given Ọbàtálá’s reputation as a deity of “peace, order,
and clean living”50. After observing this conlict, Olódùmarè intervened
on behalf of Odùduwà, giving sanction to the initiative he demonstrated
in creating the dry land. Olódùmarè acknowledged Odùduwà’s newly-acquired status as the creator of the earth. Concurrently, Olódùmarè also
afirmed Ọbàtálá’s position as the eldest Òrị̀à while recommissioning him
as the molder of human forms51. So ended the dispute between Ọbàtálá
and Odùduwà. The site of the dry land’s creation and expansion is now
known as Ifè .̣ Odùduwà eventually became king of Ifè ̣ (Ilé-Ifè )̣ , holding
48
49
50
51
ABÍMBỌ́LÁ, Kọ́ lá. Yorùbá Culture: A Philosophical Account.
demic Publishers, 2006, p. 120.
ABÍMBỌ́LÁ, Kọ́ lá. Yorùbá Culture: A Philosophical Account.
demic Publishers, 2006, p. 120.
IDÒẂ, Bó ḷ ájí E. Olódùmarè: God in Yorùbá Belief. London:
IDÒẂ, Bó ḷ ájí E. Olódùmarè: God in Yorùbá Belief. London:
Birmingham, UK: Iroko AcaBirmingham, UK: Iroko AcaLongmans, 1962, p. 25.
Longmans, 1962, pp. 19, 21.
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Deity from a Python, Earth from a Hen, Humankind from Mystery 263
the title of Ọlọ́in-Ayé (lawgiver to the world)52. Many Yorùbá communities claim Ilé-Ifè ̣ as their ancestral home and identify Odùduwà as the
progenitor of the Yorùbá people. The Yorùbá also regard Ilé-Ifè ̣ as the
place from which all life on earth emerged53.
One may add to this account the following details from a fuller account appearing in chapter two of Wándé Abímbọ́ lá’s Ifá Will Mend Our
Broken World: Thoughts on Yorùbá Religion and Culture in Africa and
the Diaspora:
Vegetation later appeared on earth not by accident but by a deliberate design of
Olódùmarè. A verse from Òtúá Ìrosùn, a minor Odù . . . of Ifá, explains how
vegetation appeared on earth. This same chapter of Ifá tells us that each species of
vegetation was asked to perform sacriice before it left ọ̀run. Those species which
performed sacriice are the ones which are respected, and are, therefore, not felled
down indiscriminately. Those which did not perform sacriice have been wantonly
exploited and destroyed ever since.
Apart from the chicken and the chameleon, Olódùmarè also caused other species of
animals to be sent to the earth. Altogether, 880 species each of animals, plants, and
birds were originally sent to the earth. Their appearance on earth pre-dated the
appearance of human beings, who were created as a result of a joint effort between
Ọbàtálá and Ògún (the iron divinity) who supplied the skeleton, as well as Àjàlá
[a “potter” in Ọ̀ run] who supplied the inner or spiritual head. Olódùmarè himself
supplied the vital breath force known as Ẹ̀mí, referred to by Ifá as a daughter of
Olódùmarè.
All of these acts of creation were witnessed by Ifá, whose other name is Ọ̀rúnmìlà . . .
It was Ọ̀rúnmìlà who gave each plant, animal or bird its own special name and
identity. That is why Ifá is known as ̣lé ṛ ìí – ìpín (witness of destiny) a – jé ̣ – ju –
òògùn (who is more effective than medicine).
When all the species of plants, animals and birds arrived on earth, a covenant was
made which stipulated that no species should wantonly or greedily exploit the other.
A similar covenant was also made with human beings . . . The verses of Ifá tell us that
in those ancient times some animals and birds understood and spoke the languages of
human beings and some humans also spoke and understood the languages of birds and
52
53
ABÍMBỌ́L Á, Kọ́ lá.
Academic Publishers,
ABÍMBỌ́L Á, Kọ́ lá.
Academic Publishers,
Yorùbá Culture: A Philosophical Account. Birmingham, UK: Iroko
2006, p. 121.
Yorùbá Culture: A Philosophical Account. Birmingham, UK: Iroko
2006, p. 121.
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264 Marcus Louis Harvey
animals . . . In those ancient times, whenever human beings were celebrating
important festivals, they invited animals and birds. Some trees had the ability to
change themselves into human or animal form, and they too were cordially invited to
human events. Those plants, animals, or birds left out of such great festivals felt
insulted and sometimes found ways and means to sabotage or cause confusion on such
occasions.
The ancient covenant between the plant kingdom, the animal kingdom and the human
beings was inally broken in Ilé-Ifè ̣. Several verses of Ifá tell us how this happened ...
A wife of Ọ̀rúnmìlà, known as Pèrègúnlè ̣lè ̣, daughter of Awùjalè ̣, was the irst
woman to give birth to twins. They were named Ẹdun, the same which the Yorùbá
gave to the colobus monkey.
But according to this verse of Ifá, it happened one day that Ọló ̣in, the priest-king of
Ifè ̣, was mysteriously lost in the forest. The male Ẹdun saw him, rescued him, and
brought him back to the city. Ọló ̣in then organized a big thanksgiving ceremony to
mark his return to the city. He invited as usual all species of birds and animals. The
animals made erin, the elephant, their leader. He was assisted by ̣fọ̀n, the buffalo.
But to the amazement of the animals, they were turned back one by one from the
party. The elephant was the irst to leave the party in anger . . . The buffalo, the
antelope, [and] the duiker were all turned back like the elephant. But after some initial
hesitation and doubt, Ẹdun, the colobus monkey, was allowed to join the party and
was eventually re-admitted into the society of human beings. He was placed among
the Ifá priests who advise Ọló ị n. But all the other animals who were turned back
never returned . . . Thus it was human beings who broke the ancient covenant in IléIfè ̣, leading to the separation of humans from the rest of creation. From that time until
now there set in a relentless antagonism between humans and the environment54...
The notions of interconnectedness and conlict igure saliently in this
account. The account describes a multidimensional, diverse community
of being wherein relationship with the natural world is a primary means
by which human existence gains intelligibility. The existence of the primordial human community and that of the natural world are so thoroughly
54
ABÍMBỌ́LÁ, Wándé. Ifá Will Mend Our Broken World: Thoughts on Yorùbá Religion and
Culture in Africa and the Diaspora. Roxbury, MA: AIM Books, 1997, pp. 14-15, 18-19. A
recent discussion with Yorùbá linguistic consultant Olabisi Animashaun revealed that in southwestern Nigeria, Awùjalè ̣ is a title commonly reserved for kings. Moreover, Animashaun stated
that the meaning of the words pèrègún and lè ḷ è ̣ may be relevant in determining the signiicance
of the word Pèrègúnlè ḷ è .̣ The word pèrègún refers to a plant used by trained Yorùbá healers in
the preparation of sacred medicines. The word lè ḷ è ,̣ which means “slender” and/or “malleable,”
accurately describes the size and lexible body of the pèrègún.
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Deity from a Python, Earth from a Hen, Humankind from Mystery 265
entwined that some humans possess the ability to speak bird and animal
languages, and vice versa. Moreover, the depth of existential connection
between the natural world and the primordial human community is such
that trees can take on human form. These trees, along with birds and animals, are included in the affairs of the human world, so much so that they
are invited to “important festivals.” This narrative bespeaks an understanding of human existence as a dynamic condition of communal relation
with the assorted modes of life comprising the natural world. The world
described in the narrative is a world in which human existence is material
relation. But intrinsic to material existence is the reality of conlict.
We learn at the beginning of the narrative that Ọ̀ run, the source of
material existence, is not without conlict. The deiant behavior of certain
plant species in Ọ̀ run establishes Ọ̀ run as a site of conlict. According
to Odù Òtúá Ìrosùn, some plant species failed to perform the requisite
sacriice prior to departing Ọ̀ run. These plants have since been the subject of exploitative violence. This non-compliance directly conlicted
with the sacrificial expectations of Ọ̀ run. As a consequence of their
non-compliance, the plants remain in conlict with beings in the material
world wishing them harm. This primordial manifestation of antagonistic
non-compliance set the stage for the development of existential conlict as
an enduring condition of the material world, a condition for which further
explanation is supplied later in the narrative.
This further explanation involves Ọlọ́in’s thanksgiving ceremony in
Ilé-Ifè .̣ For unclear reasons, the birds and other animals invited to this
thanksgiving ceremony in celebration of Ọlọ́i n’s return to Ilé-Ifè ̣ after
being rescued from the forest by ̣dun were not permitted to attend. ̣dun,
the colobus monkey, was permitted to attend and also was “eventually re-admitted into the society of human beings,” but only “after some initial
hesitation and doubt” on the part of this society. The human decision to
exclude birds and animals from Ọlọ́in’s thanksgiving ceremony violated
the covenant between humans and the natural world, thereby creating a
perduring, “antagonistic” rift between the two. This exclusionary decision
introduced a new level of conlict within the realm of material existence.
From a broad social perspective, this decision precipitated a structural
shift in material relations characterized by oppositional movement away
from cooperation. The signiicance of this relational shift is apparent upon
considering that the human condition and the natural world both gain a
certain intelligibility when understood according to an epistemology of
conlict. In this epistemology, the human condition and the natural world
are knowable as tensive domains of existence struggling against one
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266 Marcus Louis Harvey
another for survival and well-being. However, the perdurance of conlict
between these two domains does not necessitate total isolation, nor does
it eliminate the possibility of future cooperation. The existential interconnection of the human and natural worlds as spheres of materiality remains.
Abímbọ́ lá’s discussion is helpful here:
Even though the ancient covenant between man and the rest of creation was broken in
Ilé-Ifè ̣, vestiges of the covenant have survived, yielding a profound respect for nature
among the Yorùbá even today. In the Ifá sacred literature itself, every creature or
object of nature is personiied. When Ifá speaks of a tree, an insect, a bird or an
animal, it speaks of it as if it were human. For example, several birds, such as igún
(the vulture), agbe (the blue turacoo), àlùkò (the red feathered turacoo), and
àgbìgbònìwọ̀nràn, are regarded as priests of Ifá in the Ifá literary corpus. Èèsún, giant
grass of the forest, is the Ifá priest of the forest while mèrùwà, giant grass of the
savanna, is the Ifá priest of savanna lands. Irínmọdò, a huge and very tall tree of river
basins, is a wife of Ọ̀rúnmìlà himself. A verse of Ifá speaks of Irínmọdò as follows:
Ifá ló irínmọdò jọba.
Ifá ló irínmọdò jọba.
Ọ̀rúnmìlà lò gbé Irínmọdò níyàwó.
Ifá ló irínmọdò jọba.
It
It
It
It
was
was
was
was
Ifá who made Irínmọdò a potentate.
Ifá who made Irínmọdò a potentate.
Ọ̀rúnmìlà who wedded Irínmọdò as a wife.
Ifá who made Irínmọdò a potentate55.
Abímbọ́ lá’s translation illustrates one way the Ifá corpus construes
the human and natural worlds as cooperatively bound together, despite the
covenantal breach. And yet, the tension introduced by this breach renders
the connection between these two worlds conlictual. Reductive interpretations of Yorùbá cosmology describing the material world either as a
domain of cooperation or as a domain of conlict are therefore impugned.
The tensive multidimensionality of meanings found within the originary
narrative to which the above verse relates relects meanings present in
other narratives as well. One such narrative features Igbá Ìwà (the gourd
of existence), Olódùmarè, the Òrị̀à Ilè, and a bush rat.
55
ABÍMBỌ́LÁ, Wándé. Ifá Will Mend Our Broken World: Thoughts on Yorùbá Religion and
Culture in Africa and the Diaspora. Roxbury, MA: AIM Books, 1997, pp. 21-22.
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Deity from a Python, Earth from a Hen, Humankind from Mystery 267
Olódùmarè, Ilè, and the Bush Rat
It is said that during the primordial era both halves of Igbá Ìwà
existed together in union; the top half of Igbá Ìwà (Àjàlórun, male spirit-world) was ruled by Olódùmarè, while Ilè ruled the bottom half (Àjàláyé,
female earth) 56. One day, Olódùmarè and Ilè went hunting together for
bush rats in a forest of Àjàláyé. After catching only one bush rat, the
two began to argue over who should keep the rat. Ilè contended that her
seniority and the rat’s presence in her jurisdiction granted her exclusive
right to the rat. In response, Olódùmarè eventually relinquished the rat.
However, Olódùmarè’s decision resulted in the sundering of Igbá Ìwà. The
sudden disconnection between the two halves of Igbá Ìwà caused the sky
to cease producing rain, and Àjàláyé (earth) suffered. Upon witnessing
this suffering, Ilè was compelled to recognize Olódùmarè as the chief
cosmic authority. It was in this way that the balance of life on Àjàláyé
was restored57.
Ilè’s contentious claim of seniority is puzzling in light of Olódùmarè’s
status in other narratives as the original creative impetus behind the existence of Àjàláyé. As Lawal suggests, the meaning of Ilè’s claim gains some
clarity when examined in the context of other Yorùbá originary narratives
viewing Odùduwà as the “Supreme Goddess” and as an “embodiment” of
Ọ̀ run and Ayé58. Consider, for instance, the following point made by Lucas:
In the early myths she [Odùduwà] is credited with the priority of existence . . . She is
regarded as having independent existence, and as co-eval with Olórun [Olódùmarè],
the Supreme Deity with whom she is associated in the work of creation . . . Odùduwà
is known as Ìyá Agbè –‘Mother of the Gourd’ or ‘Mother of the closed calabash.’ She
is represented in a sitting posture, nursing a child. Hence prayers are often addressed
to her by would-be mothers59.
56
57
58
59
LAWAL, Babatunde. Èjìwàpò: The Dialectics of Twoness in Yorùbá Art and Culture. African
Arts, v. 41, no. 1, p. 25, 2008.
LAWAL, Babatunde. Èjìwàpò: The Dialectics of Twoness in Yorùbá Art and Culture. African
Arts, v. 41, no. 1, p. 25, 2008.
LAWAL, Babatunde. Èjìwàpò: The Dialectics of Twoness in Yorùbá Art and Culture. African
Arts, v. 41, no. 1, p. 25, 2008.
LUCAS, J. O. The Religion of the Yorùbás. Lagos: CMS Bookshop, 1948, p. 45. Also, many
Yorùbá believe that the three Òrị̀à known widely as Ẹ̀ù (a uniquely powerful Òrị̀à who mediates
between the human and spiritual worlds, and between other beings within the spiritual world),
Ọbàtálá, and Ifá have always existed alongside Olódùmarè. ABÍMBỌ́LÁ, Kọ́lá. Yorùbá Culture:
A Philosophical Account. Birmingham, UK: Iroko Academic Publishers, 2006, pp. 51-52.
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268 Marcus Louis Harvey
One of Lawal’s interviewees, Yorùbá elder D. O. Epega, goes a step
further than Lucas, stating that “Odùduà is the Self-Existent Being who
created existence. He is both male and female . . . The word Olódùmarè is a praise title of Odùduà”60. Moreover, Yorùbá scholars Idòwú and
Bámgbọ́é lend etymological credence to the points made by Lucas and
Epega in noting the occurrence of the word odu (chief) in the titles Olódùmarè and Odùduwà61. This observation raises the possibility that both
appellations designate the same deity. Lawal makes a similar linguistic
observation concerning Olódùmarè and Odùduwà: “Indeed, Olódùmarè is
also known as Elédùwà, which recalls the duwa in Odù-duwà. Thus the
narrative attributing the creation of the terrestrial world to Odùduwà may
very well relect a divine act of self-extension, identifying Olódùmarè as
a sexually biune Supreme Deity”62. The case of Olódùmarè and Odùduwà
as indirectly raised by Ilè’s conlictual challenge of Olódùmarè’s authority
is a prime example not only of the tensively complex relational structures
of meaning inhering within Yorùbá oral culture, but also of the multivalent
linguo-conceptual construction of deities found in Yorùbá cosmology. My
point is that this tradition of constructing deities through a combination of
intricate relational conceptualization and oral theo-philosophical discourse
is an epistemological tradition that contributes substantially to knowledge
production in Yorùbá society.
Our purpose in analyzing the narrative of Olódùmarè, Ilè, and the
Bush Rat, as well as the earlier three narratives, does not entail resolving debates about the ine details of these accounts, or settling apparent
inconsistencies. The purpose, instead, is to shed light on the role these
originary accounts play in providing some of the conceptual tools with
which Yorùbá modes of apprehension are crafted. Put in other terms,
the focus is not on establishing narrative authority toward the objective
of upholding a static cultural canon. The focus is on delineating explicit
and implicit content in Yorùbá originary narration that enables discrete
vectors of knowing.
60
61
62
LAWAL, Babatunde. Èjìwàpò: The Dialectics of Twoness in Yorùbá Art and Culture. African
Arts, v. 41, no. 1, p. 25, 2008.
IDÒẂ, Bó ḷ ájí E. Olódùmarè: God in Yorùbá Belief. London: Longmans, 1962, pp. 22-27,
31-32. BÁMGBỌ́É, Ayọ. The Meaning of Olódùmarè: An Etymology of the Name of the
Yorùbá High God. African Notes: Bulletin of the Institute of African Studies, University of
Ibadan, v. 7, no. 1, pp. 28-29, 1972.
LAWAL, Babatunde. Èjìwàpò: The Dialectics of Twoness in Yorùbá Art and Culture. African
Arts, v. 41, no. 1, p. 26, 2008.
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Deity from a Python, Earth from a Hen, Humankind from Mystery 269
Conclusion
Motivating this essay is an interest in employing phenomenological
analysis to explore several Yorùbá originary narratives not as cultural
artifacts to be cast aside as outmoded myth but as dynamic sources of
knowledge production anchoring a compelling epistemological perspective. Over the course of the analysis, particular attention was given to ive
orienting concepts detectable in these narratives: mystery, materially-based
relationality, unpredictability, the permanency of existential conlict, and irresolution. It was also suggested that these concepts represent key markers
of Yorùbá thought. The analysis yielded a range of insights appertaining
to Yorùbá epistemology. Some principal ones include the following:
•
•
•
•
•
The universe is an environment wherein human meaning is at
every stage rooted in the generative entanglement of the spiritual
and material dimensions.
Yorùbá epistemology indicates that a vital function of human
knowledge involves sharpening awareness of matter as a fundamentally irreducible reality whose deepest meanings frustrate the
powers of human reason.
In a Yorùbá perspective, matter emerges not as inert stuff but
as a reconfigurable vessel of spiritual power that, by way of
engagement, yields knowledge about the physical world as an
environment shaped by profound creative potential and lux.
The function of Ifá dídá (the Yorùbá divinatory process) is instructive because it facilitates an awareness of the role of Yorùbá
cosmology in the construction of knowledge.
The multivalent linguistic construction of deities in Yorùbá cosmology via a combination of intricate relational conceptualization and
oral theo-philosophical discourse is an epistemological tradition.
Undoubtedly, these insights imply other trajectories yet to be explored.
It may not be possible to calculate with any precision the age of the
various originary narratives engaged throughout this essay. Some are likely
older than others. However, heeding Oyěwùmí’s warning, I have avoided
arguing for the “timelessness” of these accounts. This is not to suggest
they lack contemporary relevance. The vigorous, continuing presence of
Yorùbá-based cultural traditions found in northeastern Brazil, Cuba, Trinidad, North America, and elsewhere belies such a suggestion. Yet what
must be borne in mind is the structural dynamism of Yorùbá cosmology as
Estudos de Religião, v. 29, n. 2 • 237-270 • jul.-dez. 2015 • ISSN Impresso: 0103-801X – Eletrônico: 2176-1078
270 Marcus Louis Harvey
a tradition of thought. In short, Yorùbá epistemology is a living organism
with inveterate roots, and should be studied accordingly63.
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BÁMGBỌ́É, A. The Meaning of Olódùmarè: An Etymology of the Name of the Yorùbá
High God. African Notes: Bulletin of the Institute of African Studies, University of Ibadan
7, 1, pp. 25-32, 1972.
CROWTHER, S. A. Grammar and Vocabulary of the Yorùbá Language. London: Seeleys,
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IDÒẂ, E. B. Olódùmarè: God in Yorùbá Belief. London: Longmans, 1962.
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Submetido em: 16-6-2015
Aceito: 14-12-2015
63
In a discussion of problematic trends in academic discourses produced by Western scholars in the
ield of Yorùbá studies, Oyěwùmí writes of these scholars that they “have assumed that present-day ‘customs’ . . . they encounter are always rooted in ancient traditions. I suggest that their
timelessness should not be taken for granted; some of them are ‘new traditions.’” OYĚWÙMÍ,
Oyèrónkẹ́. The Invention of Women: Making an African Sense of Western Gender Discourses.
Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1997, p. xv.
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