The Yoruba People III History: Archaeological discoveries suggest that Yoruba ancestors may have lived in their present territory from prehistory. The oral tradition of Yoruba describes an origin myth in which God counts as picked by a chain from heaven to Ile-Ife to Oduduwa, the ancestor of the Yoruba people, bringing with him a rooster, a piece of land and a seed in the palm of the hand. The land fell into the water, but the rooster was rescued to become the Yoruba territory and the seed grew a tree with sixteen branches representing the original sixteen kingdoms. The origin of the Yoruba people, although there is no certainty about it, is believed to be in Egypt, where the Odudua emigrated, founders of the first Yoruba kingdoms. This hypothesis is based on the resemblance of the sculptures found in Egypt and the sculptures found in the excavations of the ancient city-state of Ife. According to their myths, their founders were the sons of Odudua. The Yoruba still refer to themselves as "children of Odudua." Yoruba city-states were among more than 25 centralized kingdoms. Of these, Ile-Ife is universally recognized as the most important. It is believed that it was founded about the year 850. His main rival, the kingdom of Oyo, northwest of Ife, was founded about 1350 AD to the. The Oni of Ife and Oyo Alafin are still considered and respected Yoruba kings in Nigeria as such. Other major kingdoms were Ijesha and Ekiti to the northeast; the Shabe, Ketu, Egbado, Ijebu, and Awori in the southwest, and the Ondo, Owo, and Itsekiri in the southeast. In the 15th century, and with the help of the Portuguese arms creating the Oyo empire, whose expansion is often associated with the commencement of employment of the horse. In the late
18th century there was a civil war in which one side wins the support of the Fulani, who in 1830 will take control of the whole empire Oyo. The Fulani invasion pushed many Yoruba to the south where they founded the towns of Ibadan and Abeokuta. In 1888, with the help of a British mediator, Yoruba and Fulani sign an agreement that the first regain control over their land. Yorubaland in 1901 is officially colonized by the British Empire, who establish an administrative system that retains much of the governance structure of Yoruba. Economy: Historically, the Yoruba society was characterized by the predominance of agriculture as their main economic activity. The main crops are cocoa and yams. These are planted by rotating three-year periods, alternating with cassava, maize, peanuts, cotton and lentils. At the end of this cycle, the land is left fallow, sometimes for seven years. It is estimated that nearly 70 percent of the population works in agriculture. Yorubaland is characterized by the existence of many densely populated urban centers with surrounding fields for farming. Society: The political and social systems vary greatly from region to region. Each region has a major urban center lies the chief authority of the same. Each village has a leader (Oba), who may achieve his position in several ways: through heredity, gaining the position through participation in certain associations or being picked by the Oba to the ruling. In many cases, it is considered that the Oba is a direct descendant of the Baal (father of the earth), the Oba founder of the town. A council of chiefs normally helps the Oba in decision making. Associations such as the Ogboni, play an important role in balancing the power of cities. Formerly, the royal palace was at the center of the city and celebrated in front of the market. The Oba was the religious and political leader of the people. He named the heads; Otun ( "right hand man") or first counselor and Balogun, Warchief. The king was considered as a sacred person, as
a living god. You could not see or speak directly. I could not eat in public. His soul spent his successor. Yoruba Religion and Mythology: The Yoruba say they have 401 different deities. The complexity of their cosmology has led Western scholars to compare the Yoruba societies with ancient Greece. Yoruba deities are known as orisha, and the chief god is Olorun ( "owner of heaven"). There is not any organized priesthood or temple in honor of Olorun, although it is invoked to ask his blessing. According to the Yoruba religion when a person dies the soul enters the realm of the ancestors from which they continue to have influence on earthly things. Annually, the lineage heads are responsible to honor all ancestors in places specifically for estefin maintained. Other important orishas are Eshu, the trickster, Shango, the god of thunder, and Ogun, the god of iron and modern technology. The Yoruba religion varies significantly from one region to another, the same deity may be male and female in a village in the next, or the characteristics of two gods can be included in a single deity in a neighboring region in the city of Ile Ife only the trickster god is adored under three different names. In these variations of the characteristics of each Orisha, transmitted orally, also appreciate the influences of outside religions, especially Christian and Muslim. Despite such deity, it is considered that the Yoruba religion is a monotheistic religion with a single omnipotent creator god who governs the universe, along with hundreds of minor deities, each with a specific power. Shango (Sango or sago), the god of Thunder, occupies an important position in the pantheon of Yoruba cosmology. Create thunder and lightning by releasing "thunder stones" to the ground. The priests are to where lightning has fallen to locate the stone thrown by Shango. It is believed
that these stones have special powers, and are kept in temples dedicated to Shango. He has four wives, each of which is materialized through a river of Yoruba land. His chief wife, Oya, is represented by the Niger River. According to a myth about Shango, when he was human and ruled as the fourth king of the ancient kingdom of Oyo, had the power to create lightning, and inadvertently killed his entire family inadvertently. In return for this disease caused his death became an orisha. The Yoruba often say they have 401 or 601 different orisha Shango seems to be, being the most recent adds that unit. Olorun features as creator and omnipotent, but without religion of any kind has suggested to some that may be more recently established, reflecting the Christian God and Muslim. Some Yoruba legends pair of gods, Orishala (Obatala, Orisa-nla) and his wife Odudua as supreme creator deities, independent of or prece ding Olorun omnipotent. However, another legend has Olorun creating the world and leaving Obatala and Odudua to finish up the details, other interpreters have seen Olorun and Obatala one and the same. Obatala, god often a sculptor, is responsible for shaping human bodies; Olorun, however, the ability to breathe them, gives them life. In some places, Obatala rules over all the orisha, or minor gods, as king, although subordinate to Olorun. When the first Christian missionaries to the lands of the Yoruba people, he explained that these minor gods descended from a single omnipotent god, in the same way Jesus was the son of the Christian god. Another important orisha Ogun, the orisha of war. It serves as the patron of blacksmiths, warriors, and all who use metal in their occupations. He also presides over deals and contracts Yoruba In some courts, they swear to tell the truth by kissing a machete sacred to Ogun. Thought to be fearful and terrible in his vengeance, if you break a pact made in his name, the punishment
is imminent and terrible. Some regions Ogun combined with the trickster god, Eshu. Eshu or Legba is also known as. In the past, Eshu was misidentified by the Europeans with the Devil. The Yoruba pantheon, however, has no evil god, a more accurate comparison would be between Eshu and the Satan that tests the faith of men. Eshu has a myth about that once, posing as a merchant, alternately sold to each of the two wives of a man increasingly wonderful gifts, prompting a fight between them to win the favor of the husband until the family was finally broken. Eshu also serves as the guardian of houses and villages. When you are worshiped in this supervisory position, his followers call him Baba ( "father"). Eshu also serves as a protector of Ifa, a sophisticated geomantic art of divination that uses signals and increasing the number four square to predict all facets of the future. It is very popular and many Yoruba do not make any major decisions without consulting him. Shokpona, the god of smallpox, was once an important Orisha. Shokpona terrified as they feared to say his name, having been named in an indirect way, speaking of Elegbana ( "hot earth") Hazor ( "one whose name is not propitious to call during the dry season). The priests of Shokpona wielded immense power, as they were considered capable of carrying the disease to their enemies, in fact, it is known that there were priests who were preparing a potion with the scabs and dry skin of patients who died of smallpox then throw it in the house of an enemy or a neighboring village to spread the disease. Today, however, that smallpox has been eradicated, Shokpona priests have lost power and the cult has disappeared. Some gods, as Olokun, appear only in certain regions. Olokun (the owner of the sea "), alternately a god or goddess, is responsible for life at sea with his soldiers and mermaids, a
popular legend tells of Olokun trying to conquer the land through a great flood. Logically, the cult Olokun exclusively given to the coastal regions. When a child is born, a seer, babalawo, determine which orisha the child should follow. As a result of the slave trade from the mid 18th century that particularly affects the Yoruba people, today there are many elements of culture, religion and language Yoruba issued by countries like Cuba and Brazil.