Journal of Student Research 2019

Journal of Student Research 106 fulfilled their time on earth. 44 The Yoruba believe that each person, upon birth, has a pre-determined number of years that they will spend on earth. 45 It is possible that some people have an unusually short time allotted during a given life cycle, causing the divide between the natural and unnatural to be relatively undefined. 46 The Yoruba believe that ancestors play very important roles in the afterlife. The lives of those who have passed and left a good name for their loved ones are celebrated. This is reflected in their funeral rites, which are more elaborate for authority figures and those who made impacts in their community than for those who have not. 47 It is widely accepted in Yoruba culture that ancestors have the ability to watch over their descendants after they are gone. 48 In order to receive protection from deceased family members, many Yoruba offer libations and kola nuts on the graves of their relatives. 49 At least a few groups believe that ancestors become demigods after death, 50 and may occasionally turn to them for guidance when not consulting their guardian orisha . 51 They believe that the love between a parent and child should continue even after death, and that the bond should remain strong even after the parent has ascended to another plane of existence. This custom of ancestor reverence in Yoruba culture is often misidentified as ancestor worship—a concentrated focus on ancestors in a group’s religion and everyday lives. 52 The concept of reincarnation within a family is widely accepted by the Yoruba. 53 Children who are born immediately after the death of an elder are given names such as Babatunde, Iyabo, Yetunde , and Yeside , which translate into variations of “the dead father or mother has returned.” 54 This furthers the Yoruba belief that the dead are not actually gone. This rebirth is received as a sign that the elder has come back to look after their families and continue their work in this world. 55 Reincarnation does not always have positive repercussions, however. Children can also be born as Abiku—spirits that die and are reborn several times into the same family. Abiku have characteristically short life spans, and will complete several life cycles with one mother, plaguing families with long-term grief and frustration. These spirits are believed to reside in secluded and obscure corners of towns and villages, and are believed to follow pregnant women home and replace the fetus in their wombs with themselves. Abiku have no intention to remain in life. A babalawo

107 Orisha, Divination, and Death in the Yoruba Culture of West Africa is usually the first person that parents of Abiku turn to for assistance, but they are often of little to no help. Parents often take matters into their own hands by giving the Abiku child names that will persuade them to remain alive, including names like Durojaiya (wait and enjoy life), Kokumo (It will not die again), and Pa-kuti (shun death and stop dying). 56 developed their own understanding of life, and what waits for us after life has ended. They believe one’s existence to be perfectly and systematically considered by Olorun, the Sky God. Fate plays a large role in their beliefs towards death, and is a prominent theme in their everyday lives, as displayed by the importance of Ifa divination in their culture. Further research might include a more expansive look at the pantheon of Yoruba orisha and explore each of their powers and significances in Yoruba life in more detail. Additionally, with divination being such a significant part of Yoruba culture, it would be beneficial to research the training that babalawo must undergo before becoming official practitioners in their field. Further research may also examine the numerous variations of this culture and the evolutions that it has undergone over time. This study has allowed a universal phenomenon to be explained through a cultural lens that differs from one that we may understand. A given limitation of this research is that it is being conducted on a culture that the author does not actively participate in, thus creating the possibility of misinterpretation or other cultural barriers in research. Conclusion Like many other cultures of the world, the Yoruba of West Africa have

44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55

Akomolafe. “Yoruba Ontology: A Critique of the Conceptualization of Life After Death.”

New World Encyclopedia.

Akomolafe. “Yoruba Ontology: A Critique of the Conceptualization of Life After Death.”

“Yoruba – Religion and Expressive Culture.” Every Culture. Kennedy. “10 things that might surprise you about Yoruba culture.”

New World Encyclopedia.

Horton, “Yoruba Religion and Myth.”

New World Encyclopedia.

“Yoruba Culture” “Yoruba Religion”

Akomolafe. “Yoruba Ontology: A Critique of the Conceptualization of Life After Death.”

Ibid.

56

Timothy Mobolade. “The Concept of Abiku.” African Arts 7, no. 1 (1973): 62-64.

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