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140-542: The Yoruba Revolutionary Wars , also known as the Yoruba Civil Wars , were a series of conflicts that engulfed the Yoruba -speaking areas of West Africa from approximately 1789 to 1893. These wars were characterized by intense and prolonged struggles among various Yoruba city-states and kingdoms, leading to significant political, social, and economic changes in the region. Earlier in the 18th century, in 1747, after Dahomey

280-402: A phoneme /n/ ; the letter ⟨n⟩ is used for the sound in the orthography, but strictly speaking, it refers to an allophone of /l/ immediately preceding a nasal vowel. There is also a syllabic nasal , which forms a syllable nucleus by itself. When it precedes a vowel, it is a velar nasal [ŋ] : n ò lọ [ŋ ò lɔ̄] 'I didn't go'. In other cases, its place of articulation

420-403: A rinconcito ("little corner"), a small area in which they collect together assorted objects, often those typically found in a household, as a material manifestation of the dead. Offerings to the dead may be placed here. Many practitioners will also enshrine their family ancestors under the bathroom sink. This location is chosen so that the ancestors can travel between the realms of the living and

560-407: A santera or santero has, the greater their aché . The "godchildren" are expected to contribute both their labor and finances to events held at the ilé and in return the santero / santera provides assistance for their needs. Within the religion, offending one's godparent is regarded as also offending the oricha that "rules the head". Practitioners express respect both to their godparent and

700-404: A santero or santera who has attracted a following. An apprentice is known as their ahijado (godson) or ahijada (goddaughter). They refer to their santero / santera as padrino (godfather) or madrina (godmother). The relationship between santeros / santeras and their "godchildren" is central to the religion's social organization, and practitioners believe that the more "godchildren"

840-457: A secret society . For ritual purposes, the Lucumí language is often used. Sometimes referred to as la lengua de los orichas ("the language of the oricha "), it is regarded as a divine language through which practitioners can contact the deities. Although some practitioners are uncomfortable using it, most initiates know tens or hundreds of Lucumí words and phrases. Most Cubans do not understand

980-490: A syllable has been elided. For example: nlá 'to be large', originally a compound of ní 'to have' + lá 'to be big' and súfèé 'to whistle', originally a compound of sú 'to eject wind' + òfé or ìfé 'a blowing'. Vowels serve as nominalizing prefixes that turn a verb into a noun form. Nominal roots are mostly disyllabic , for example: abà 'crib, barn', ara 'body', ibà 'fever'. Monosyllabic and even trisyllabic roots do occur but they are less common. Yoruba

1120-403: A child and who is perceived as the "guardian" of the crossroads. At that point the practitioner may turn to divination to determine the precise meaning of the encounter. The information obtained from these messages may then help practitioners make decisions about their life. Santería teaches that the human head contains a person's essence, their eledá or orí . It maintains that before birth,

1260-420: A consonant has been elided word-internally. In such cases, the tone of the elided vowel is retained: àdìrò → ààrò 'hearth'; koríko → koóko 'grass'; òtító → òótó 'truth'. Most verbal roots are monosyllabic of the phonological shape CV(N), for example: dá 'to create', dán 'to polish', pọ́n 'to be red'. Verbal roots that do not seem to follow this pattern are mostly former compounds in which

1400-566: A distinction between human and non-human nouns when it comes to interrogative particles: ta ni for human nouns ('who?') and kí ni for non-human nouns ('what?'). The associative construction (covering possessive /genitive and related notions) consists of juxtaposing nouns in the order modified-modifier as in inú àpótí {inside box} 'the inside of the box', fìlà Àkàndé 'Akande's cap' or àpótí aṣọ 'box for clothes'. More than two nouns can be juxtaposed: rélùweè abẹ́ ilẹ̀ (railway underground) 'underground railway', inú àpótí aṣọ 'the inside of

1540-471: A means of concealing their continued worship of the former from the Spanish authorities, or as a means of facilitating social mobility by assimilating into Roman Catholic social norms. Santería's focus is on cultivating a reciprocal relationship with the oricha , with adherents believing that these deities can intercede in human affairs and help people if they are appeased. Practitioners argue that each person

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1680-458: A mix of both. Practitioners also believe that the number and identities of these spirits can be determined through divination. It draws a distinction between evolved spirits, who can help those they are attached to, and unevolved spirits, who lack the wisdom and skill to be useful and instead cause havoc. Santería teaches that through offerings and prayers, individuals can help some of their unevolved spirits to become evolved. Santería also divides

1820-409: A more masculinist orientation, such as Palo, have often denigrated it for being dominated by women and men they consider to be "womanly". Santería is a practice-oriented religion; ritual correctness is considered more important than belief . It has an elaborate system of ritual, with its rites termed ceremonias (ceremonies). Most of its activities revolve around the oricha , focusing on solving

1960-413: A particular dance style. The dances at the toque de santo are believed to generate aché , strengthening the link between the realms of the oricha and humanity. Dancing either alone or first in front of the drums at the toque de santo is considered a privilege and is usually reserved for the most experienced initiate present. There are specific rules of engagement that are laid out for taking part in

2100-418: A place to store ritual paraphernalia, kitchen facilities, and space for visitors to sleep. The ilé refers not only to the building where ceremonies take place, but also the community of practitioners who meet there. In this sense, many ilés trace a lineage back to the 19th century, with some santeros and santeras capable of listing the practitioners who have been initiated into it. In some ceremonies,

2240-497: A plural of respect may have prevented the coalescence of the two in NWY dialects. Central Yoruba forms a transitional area in that the lexicon has much in common with NWY and shares many ethnographical features with SEY. Its vowel system is the most traditional of the three dialect groups, retaining nine oral-vowel contrasts, six or seven nasal vowels, and an extensive vowel harmony system. Peculiar to Central and Eastern (NEY, SEY) Yoruba also

2380-403: A regular basis, and at least once a year. Given to strengthen the supernatural forces, to thank them, or as a supplication, they help form a reciprocal relationship with these entities in the hope of receiving something in return. If this fails to materialise, practitioners may resort to several explanations: that the details of the ritual were incorrect, that the priest or priestess carrying out

2520-402: A specific oricha , a group of oricha , or all of the oricha . Those playing the batá are called batáleros , and have their own hierarchy separate from that of the priesthood. Santería drumming is male dominated; women are discouraged or banned from playing the batá during ceremonies, although by the 1990s some women practitioners in the U.S. had taken on the role. Practitioners explain

2660-604: A strong force to Ilorin, Pasin fled to Ola, a dependency of Ilorin, where he was hunted down and killed by forces loyal to Gaha. Although Basorun Gaha was defeated in 1774 by a coalition of Oyo-Ile chiefs, provincial chiefs and Abiodun (at the time an Oyo prince), this event highlighted provincial dissatisfaction in the way Oyo administered its territories. Alaafin Abiodun ruled the empire in an uneasy peace from 1774 until his death in 1789. According to oral tradition , this period saw further expansion and decentralization of authority. It

2800-801: A vision received in his sleep which he believed to have been granted by Oduduwa . This Oduduwa script has also received support from other prominent chiefs in the Yorubaland region of both countries. The syllable structure of Yoruba is (C)V(N). Syllabic nasals are also possible. Every syllable bears one of the three tones: high ⟨◌́⟩ , mid ⟨◌̄⟩ (generally left unmarked), and low ⟨◌̀⟩ . The sentence n̄ ò lọ ( I didn't go ) provides examples of three syllable types: Standard Yoruba has seven oral and five nasal vowels. There are no diphthongs in Yoruba; sequences of vowels are pronounced as separate syllables. Dialects differ in

2940-443: A year-long period, the iyaworaje ("journey of the iyawo "), during which they must observe certain restrictions, the nature of which depends on their tutelary oricha . This may for instance include abstaining from sexual intercourse, wearing only white, or not cutting their hair. The iyaworaje ends with the ebó del año ceremony. Once this is done, they may lead rituals and help initiate others. Thenceforth, they will celebrate

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3080-424: Is el Día del Medio ("the middle day"), when guests—including the initiate's family and friends—pay homage to them. It includes drumming and a feast. On the seventh day of the initiation, the new initiate leaves the ilé and visits the marketplace, where they make offerings to Eleguá and steal something small, also as an offering to Eleguá. The initiate can finally take their otanes home. They may then undergo

3220-399: Is homorganic with the following consonant: ó ń lọ [ó ń lɔ̄] 'he is going', ó ń fò [ó ḿ fò] 'he is jumping'. C, Q, V, X and Z only appear in words borrowed from English. Yoruba is a tonal language with three-level tones and two or three contour tones. Every syllable must have at least one tone; a syllable containing a long vowel can have two tones. Tones are marked by use of

3360-444: Is mi . Apart from tone's lexical and grammatical use, it is also used in other contexts such as whistling and drumming. Whistled Yoruba is used to communicate over long distances. The language is transformed as speakers talk and whistle simultaneously: consonants are devoiced or turned to [h], and all vowels are changed to [u]. However, all tones are retained without any alteration. The retention of tones enables speakers to understand

3500-478: Is non-dualistic and does not view the universe as being divided between good and evil; rather, all things are perceived as being complementary and relative. Several academics have described Santería as having a "here-and-now" ethos distinct from that of Christianity, and the social scientist Mercedes C. Sandoval suggested that many Cubans chose Santería over Roman Catholicism or Spiritism because it emphasizes techniques for dealing with pragmatic problems in life. In

3640-431: Is "born to" a particular oricha , whether or not they devote themselves to that deity. This is a connection that, adherents believe, has been set before birth. Practitioners refer to this oricha as one that "rules the head" of an individual; it is their "owner of the head". If the oricha is male then it is described as the individual's "father"; if the oricha is female then it is the person's "mother". This oricha

3780-490: Is a highly isolating language . Its basic constituent order is subject–verb–object , as in ó nà Adé 'he beat Adé'. The bare verb stem denotes a completed action, often called perfect; tense and aspect are marked by preverbal particles such as ń 'imperfect/present continuous', ti 'past'. Negation is expressed by a preverbal particle kò . Serial verb constructions are common, as in many other languages of West Africa . Although Yoruba has no grammatical gender , it has

3920-524: Is a major cosmological concept in Yoruba traditional religion and has been transferred to Santería. Aché is regarded as the organizing power of the cosmos; the Hispanic studies scholars Margarite Fernández Olmos and Lizabeth Paravisini-Gebert referred to it as "a spiritual-mystical energy or power found in varying degrees and in many forms throughout the universe". The medical anthropologist Johan Wedel described it as "life force" or "divine force", while

4060-433: Is a widespread phenomenon, and it is absent only in slow, unnatural speech. The orthography here follows speech in that word divisions are normally not indicated in words that are contracted due to assimilation or elision: ra ẹja → rẹja 'buy fish'. Sometimes, however, authors may choose to use an inverted comma to indicate an elided vowel as in ní ilé → n'ílé 'in the house'. Long vowels within words usually signal that

4200-445: Is also associated with specific songs, rhythms, colors, numbers, animals, and foodstuffs. Among the oricha are the four "warrior deities", or guerrors : Eleguá , Ogun , Ochosi , and Osun . Eleguá is viewed as the guardian of the crossroads and thresholds; he is the messenger between humanity and the oricha , and most ceremonies start by requesting his permission to continue. He is depicted as being black on one side and red on

4340-643: Is an Afro-Caribbean religion, and more specifically an Afro-Cuban religion. In Cuba it is sometimes described as "the national religion", although it has also spread abroad. Santería's roots are in the traditional religions brought to Cuba by enslaved West Africans, the majority of them Yoruba, between the 16th and 19th centuries. In Cuba, these religions mixed with the Roman Catholicism introduced by Spanish colonialists . Roman Catholic saints were conflated with West African deities, while enslaved Africans adopted Roman Catholic rituals and sacramentals . In

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4480-473: Is associated with lagoons. Agagyú is the oricha of volcanoes and the wasteland. Some oricha are deemed antagonistic to others; Changó and Ogun are for instance enemies. Although in Santería the term santo is regarded as a synonym of oricha and is not a literal reference to Christian saints, the oricha are often conflated with one or more Roman Catholic saints based on similar attributes. For instance,

4620-451: Is controversial. Several authors have argued it is not phonemically contrastive. Often, it is in free variation with [ɔ̃] . Orthographically , ⟨ọn⟩ is used after labial and labial-velar consonants, as in ìbọn 'gun', and ⟨an⟩ is used after non-labial consonants, as in dán 'to shine'. All vowels are nasalized after the consonant /m/ , and thus there is no additional n in writing ( mi, mu, mọ ). In addition,

4760-439: Is deemed responsible for helping to mould humanity. Babalú Ayé is the oricha associated with disease and its curing, while Osain is linked to herbs and healing. Orula is the oricha of divination, who in Santería's mythology was present at the creation of humanity and thus is aware of everyone's destiny. Ibeyi takes the form of twins who protect children. Olokún is the patron oricha of markets, while his wife Olosá

4900-421: Is deemed to have a personal link to a particular oricha who influences their personality. Olodumare is believed to be the ultimate source of aché , a supernatural force permeating the universe that can be manipulated through ritual actions. Practitioners venerate the oricha at altars, either in the home or in the ilé (house-temple), which is run by a santero (priest) or santera (priestess). Membership of

5040-400: Is deemed to influence the individual's personality, and can be recognised through examining the person's personality traits, or through divination. To gain the protection of a particular oricha , practitioners are encouraged to make offerings to them, sponsor ceremonies in their honor, and live in accordance with their wishes, as determined through divination. Practitioners are concerned at

5180-495: Is deemed to prefer a particular color and number of otanes in sopera devoted to them; Changó has six or ten black stones, Obatala has eight white stones, while Ochún favors five yellow stones. New otanes undergo a bautismo ("baptism") rite, entailing them being washed in osain , a mixture of herbs and water, and then "fed" with animal blood. When an initiate receives their stones, they take an oath to protect them and feed them at least annually. Other material placed inside

5320-401: Is known as kariocha , "making ocha ", or "making santo ". A charge is levied for initiation; this varies depending on the client, but is often equivalent to a year's wage. Each initiation varies in its details, which are often concealed from non-initiates. The initiate is known as an iyabó or iyawó , a term meaning both "slave of the oricha " and "bride of the oricha ". As well as

5460-424: Is no strict orthodoxy on this issue and thus interpretations differ. Practitioners often believe that everyone has a specific destiny , their destino (destiny) or camino (road), although their fate is not completely predetermined. Ancestor veneration is important in Santería. The religion entails propitiating the spirits of the dead, known as egun , espíritus , or muertos . Practitioners believe that

5600-407: Is not a baptised Roman Catholic —and others consider themselves to be Spiritists, Hindus , Vodouists, or Jews . Different vocabulary indicates the level of a practitioner's involvement, with the various terms sometimes reflecting different political and social agendas. Practitioners of both Santería and other Afro-Cuban religions are called creyentes ("believers"). Some people external to

5740-492: Is particularly common with Yoruba–English bilinguals. Like many other languages of the region, Yoruba has the voiceless and voiced labial–velar stops /k͡p/ and /ɡ͡b/ : pápá [k͡pák͡pá] 'field', gbogbo [ɡ͡bōɡ͡bō] 'all'. Notably, it lacks a voiceless bilabial stop /p/ , apart from phonaesthesia , such as [pĩpĩ] for vehicle horn sounds, and marginal segments found in recent loanwords, such as <pẹ́ńsù> [k͡pɛ́ńsù~pɛ́ńsù] for "pencil". Yoruba also lacks

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5880-399: Is permitted entry. The initiate is given their own otanes , as well as objects representing the warrior oricha . They are also given beaded necklaces, known as collares or elekes ( ilekes ). Each necklace is a different color associated with a specific deity. During the prendición ("pinning") ritual, a heavy necklace known as the collar de mazo is placed on the initiate. During

6020-440: Is present in both the visible and invisible world. It is nevertheless deemed to sometimes congregate more densely, for instance in the forces of nature, specific locales, and in certain human individuals; initiates are believed to attract more of it than other humans. Santería holds that aché can emanate from the human body via speech, song, dance, and drumming, and can be transmitted through such acts as singing praise songs for

6160-663: Is regarded as the creator of all beings, while Olofi dwells in all creation. In taking a triplicate form, this deity displays similarities with the Christian Trinity . Santeria is polytheistic , revolving around deities called oricha , ocha , or santos ("saints"). The term oricha can be both singular and plural, because Lucumí, the ritual language of Santería, lacks plural markers for nouns. Practitioners believe that some oricha were created before humanity, while others were originally humans who became oricha through some remarkable quality. Some practitioners perceive

6300-490: Is the ability to begin words with the vowel [ʊ:], which in Western Yoruba has been changed to [ɪ:] Literary Yoruba, also known as Standard Yoruba , Yoruba koiné , and common Yoruba , is a separate member of the dialect cluster. It is the written form of the language, the standard variety learned at school, and that is spoken by newsreaders on the radio. Standard Yoruba has its origin in the 1850s, when Samuel A. Crowther ,

6440-410: Is the most favourably used. This is because eti , the Yoruba word for Friday, means 'delay'. This is an unpleasant word for Friday, Ẹtì , which also implies failure, laziness, or abandonment. Ultimately, the standard words for the days of the week are Àìkú, Ajé, Ìṣẹ́gun, Ọjọ́rú, Ọjọ́bọ, Ẹtì, Àbámẹ́ta, for Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday respectively. Friday remains Eti in

6580-657: Is understood to "rule over" a particular aspect of the universe, and they have been described as personifications of different facets of the natural world. They live in a realm called orún , which is contrasted with ayé , the realm of humanity. Oricha each have their own caminos ("roads"), or manifestations, a concept akin to the Hindu concept of avatars . The number of caminos an oricha has varies, with some having several hundred. Practitioners believe that oricha can physically inhabit certain objects, among them stones and cowrie shells, which are deemed sacred. Each oricha

6720-520: Is used for removing malevolent influences and in ceremonies for baptising ritual tools. Santería's animal sacrifice has been a cause of concern for many non-practitioners. It has sometimes brought adherents into confrontation with the law, as with the 1993 case of Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah , in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that animal cruelty laws targeted specifically at Santería were unconstitutional. Initiation

6860-408: Is used in one syllable, the vowel can either be written once for each tone (for example, * ⟨òó⟩ for a vowel [o] with tone rising from low to high) or, more rarely in current usage, combined into a single accent. In this case, a caron ⟨ˇ⟩ is used for the rising tone (so the previous example would be written ⟨ǒ⟩ ), and a circumflex ⟨ˆ⟩ for

7000-465: Is used in radio and television broadcasting and is taught at primary, secondary, and tertiary levels. The Yoruba dialect continuum consists of several dialects. The various Yoruba dialects in Yorubaland can be classified into five major dialect areas: Northwest, Northeast, Central, Southwest, and Southeast. Clear boundaries cannot be drawn, but peripheral areas of dialectal regions often have some similarities to adjoining dialects. North-West Yoruba

7140-626: The Holy Infant of Atocha , a depiction of Christ as a child, is conflated with Eleguá, who is seen as having a childlike nature. Babalú Ayé, who is associated with disease, is often identified with the Catholic Saint Lazarus , who rose from the dead, while Changó is conflated with Santa Barbara because they both wear red. Cuba's patron saint , Our Lady of Charity , is equated with Ochún. It has been argued that Yoruba slaves initially linked their traditional deities with Christian saints as

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7280-762: The Niger Delta ) and Igala (spoken in central Nigeria). Yoruba is classified among the Edekiri languages , which is together with the Itsekiri and isolate Igala from the Yoruboid group of languages within the Volta–Niger branch of the Niger–Congo family. The linguistic unity of the Niger–Congo family dates to deep pre-history, estimates ranging around 11,000 years ago (the end of

7420-602: The Port of Ajase . Islam arrived in Yorubaland in the 14th century during the reign of Musa I of Mali , however, conversions were not widespread until 1655, when the first Mosque was built in Iwo , followed by Iseyin in 1760, Lagos in 1774, Saki in 1790 and Osogbo in 1889. In 1817, Afonja took advantage of a Muslim revolt in Oyo-Ile by calling all Muslim interests in the empire in an effort to enhance his support. This move backfired as he

7560-465: The Upper Paleolithic ). In present-day Nigeria , it is estimated that there are around 50 million Yoruba primary and secondary language speakers, as well as several other millions of speakers outside Nigeria, making it the most widely spoken African language outside of the continent. There is a substantial body of literature in the Yoruba language, including books, newspapers, and pamphlets. Yoruba

7700-630: The egun to placate and please them. Especially propitiated are those egun regarded as ancestors; these ancestors can include both hereditary forebears or past members of one's congregation, with practitioners believing that a creyente becomes an ancestor when they die. Adherents believe that everyone has a cuadro espiritual ("spiritual portrait" or "spiritual picture") of egun who protect them. Individuals can have as many as 25 protectores , or protective spirits. The religion maintains that all people have multiple egun accompanying them at all times, and that these can be benevolent, malevolent, or

7840-442: The eledá goes before Olodumare, where it is given its essential character, and forms a link with the oricha who becomes "the owner of the head". The concept of the eledá derives from Yoruba traditional religion, where it is seen as a person's "spiritual double". In Santería, this concept idea has syncretised with Roman Catholic beliefs about guardian angels and Spiritist notions of the protecciones or protector spirits. There

7980-633: The fundamentos are stones termed otanes (sing. otán ), which are regarded as the literal and symbolic representation of the oricha , and thus living entities. They are deemed to be sources of aché , with older otanes having more aché than younger ones. Practitioners will collect stones from the landscape and then use divination to determine which ones contain an oricha and, if so, which oricha it is. Specific otanes sometimes display traits linking them to particular oricha ; for example ocean stones are linked with Yemaya, river pebbles with Ochún, and meteorite fragments with Changó. Each oricha

8120-406: The igbodu ("sacred grove of the festival"), where the most important rituals take place. There will also be an eyá aránla or sala , often a living room, where semi-private rites can be conducted. Another space, the iban balo , or patio , will be used for public occasions, as well as for the cultivation of plants and the housing of animals due to be sacrificed. The ilé will typically include

8260-418: The ilé requires initiation . Offerings to the oricha include fruit, liquor, flowers and sacrificed animals . A central ritual is the toque de santo , in which practitioners drum, sing, and dance to encourage an oricha to possess one of their members and thus communicate with them. Several forms of divination are used, including Ifá , to decipher messages from the oricha . Offerings are also given to

8400-435: The iyá is the largest, the itótele is smaller, and the okónkolo is the smallest. For ceremonial purposes, these drums must be wooden; adding metal elements could offend Changó, who is associated with wooden artefacts, because of their links with his enemy, Ogun. They may however have brass bells associated with Ochún, known as chaworo , affixed to their rim. Each ceremonial drum has to be "born" from an existing example,

8540-472: The lavatorio ("washing"), the initiate's head is bathed in omiero , designed to rid them of any malevolent spirits attached to them. Often, their hair will be shaved off. On the día del itá ("day of history"), usually the third day, the initiate will undergo the itá , a session with a diviner. The diviner will reveal the initiate's Lucumí ritual name, a praise name of the oricha that rules their head. This name often incorporates elements indicating

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8680-408: The oricha as facets of Olodumare, and thus think that by venerating them they are ultimately worshipping the creator god. Certain oricha are female, others male. They are not regarded as wholly benevolent, being capable of both harming and helping humans, and displaying a mix of emotions, virtues, and vices. Origin myths and other stories about the oricha are called patakíes . Each oricha

8820-430: The oricha or sacrificing an animal. Among practitioners, aché is sometimes described as conveying notions of luck, health, and prosperity, and has the power to fortify a person's health. Santería has standards for behavior expected of practitioners, encouraging behaviors influenced by the mythological stories about the oricha . The religion presents strict rules regarding how to interact with other people and with

8960-409: The oricha or the egun . Next comes the ceremonia del río ("ceremony of the initiate"), in which offerings are given to Ochún, and the rompimiento ("breaking"), in which the oyubona takes the initiate to purify themselves in a river. The rest of the initiation takes place in the igbodu , where the initiate sleeps upon a mat on the floor for the seven days. No one uninvolved in the initiation

9100-520: The oricha via a ritual prostration, the moforibale , in which they bow their head to the floor. The precise form of the moforibale differs depending on whether the individual's personal oricha is male or female. Altars or shrines to the oricha are typically found both within the igbodu and in practitioners' homes. Central to these altars are sacred objects, termed fundamentos ("fundamentals"), which are contained within porcelain vessels, often tureens , called sopera . The most important of

9240-466: The oricha . Once killed, the animals' severed heads may be placed on top of the sopera belonging to the oricha to which the sacrifice has been directed. After the carcass has been butchered, some of the organs—known as acheses —may be cooked and offered to the oricha ; other parts will be eaten by practitioners. Some of the blood may be collected and added to omiero , an infusion of herbs and water. Believed to contain much aché , this liquid

9380-473: The root of the tongue retracted (so ⟨ẹ⟩ is pronounced [ɛ̙] and ⟨ọ⟩ is [ɔ̙] ). ⟨ṣ⟩ represents a postalveolar consonant [ʃ] like the English ⟨sh⟩ , ⟨y⟩ represents a palatal approximant like English ⟨y⟩ , and ⟨j⟩ a voiced palatal stop [ɟ] , as is common in many African orthographies. In addition to

9520-479: The santero or santera overseeing the initiation ceremony, the event may be attended by an oyubona or oyugbona ("one who witnesses"), who acts as a secondary godparent to the new initiate. The initiation process takes seven days, plus two days of preparatory rituals. During this preparation, a misa espiritual ("spiritual mass") will typically take place to gain the blessings of the ancestral egun , and an ebó de entrada ("opening sacrifice") will be made to

9660-400: The sopera includes cowrie shells; usually 18 are added although the precise number differs depending on which oricha the sopera is devoted to. The sopera will often be covered by a cloth known as a pañuelo that is colored in accordance with the oricha in question. Often laid over the sopera are necklaces known as collares , again representing a particular oricha . On the altar,

9800-431: The sopera will be arranged in a descending hierarchy depending on which oricha each is dedicated to, with that of Obatala at the top. Many altars contain few or no anthropomorphic depictions of the oricha , although will often include objects associated with them; a wooden axe for Changó or a fan for Ochún, for instance. Creating these altars is deemed expensive and time-consuming. Material may be selected based on

9940-454: The toque de santo ; dancing poorly at the ritual is considered an insult to the oricha . Possession is important in Santería, and the purpose of the toque de santo is to call down an oricha to possess one of the participants. The possessed individual is referred to as the "horse", with the oricha having "mounted" them. According to practitioners, becoming possessed by an oricha requires an individual giving up their consciousness to

10080-610: The 17th century, Yoruba was written in the Ajami script , a form of Arabic script . It is still written in the Ajami writing script in some Islamic circles. Standard Yoruba orthography originated in the early work of Church Mission Society missionaries working among the Aku (Yoruba) of Freetown . One of their informants was Crowther, who later would proceed to work on his native language himself. In early grammar primers and translations of portions of

10220-784: The 1960s, growing emigration following the Cuban Revolution spread Santería abroad. The late 20th century saw growing links between Santería and related traditions in West Africa and the Americas, such as Haitian Vodou and Brazilian Candomblé . Since the late 20th century, some practitioners have emphasized a "Yorubization" process to remove Roman Catholic influences and created forms of Santería closer to traditional Yoruba religion. Practitioners of Santería are primarily found in Cuba's La Habana and Matanzas provinces, although communities exist across

10360-547: The 19th century, elements from Spiritism —a French variant of Spiritualism —were drawn into the mix, with Santería emerging as a distinct religion in western Cuba during the late 19th century. Although Santería is the best known of the Afro-Cuban religions, and the most popular, it is not the only one. Others include Palo , which derives from practices originating in the Congo Basin , and Abakuá , which has its origins among

10500-444: The Americas are not fluent in the Yoruba language, yet they still use Yoruba words and phrases for songs or chants—rooted in cultural traditions. For such practitioners, the Yoruba lexicon is especially common for ritual purposes, and these modern manifestations have taken new forms that don't depend on vernacular fluency. As the principal Yoruboid language , Yoruba is most closely related to these languages Itsekiri (spoken in

10640-401: The Americas which collectively form the "Orisha religion", "Orisha Tradition", or "Orisha worship." These include Haitian Vodou and Brazilian Candomblé , sometimes characterized as "sister religions" of Santería due to their shared origins in Yoruba traditional religion. [Santería] in Cuba was not just a continuation of Yoruba religious and cultural practices but something new, born from

10780-585: The English Bible, Crowther used the Latin alphabet largely without tone markings. The only diacritic used was a dot below certain vowels to signify their open variants [ɛ] and [ɔ] , viz. ⟨ẹ⟩ and ⟨ọ⟩ . Over the years, the orthography was revised to represent tone, among other things. In 1875, the Church Missionary Society (CMS) organized a conference on Yoruba Orthography;

10920-460: The Lucumí language, barring a few words that have filtered into Cuban Spanish . Lucumí derives from the Yoruba language, although it has become "increasingly fragmented and unintelligible" since the 19th century. As Yoruba transitioned into Lucumí, the Yoruba pronunciations of many words were forgotten, and in the early 21st century some practitioners have studied the Yoruba language to better understand

11060-526: The U.S., some African American adherents have contrasted what they regard as the African-derived ethos of Santería with the non-African origins of Christianity, thus adopting it as a religion readily combined with black nationalism . The scholar of religion Mary Ann Clark labelled Santería a "female oriented and female normative" religion, arguing that all of its practitioners are expected to take on "female gender roles" during its rituals. Women can hold

11200-548: The Yoruba language. • Odu Ifa , • Oriki , • Ewi , •Esa, •Àlọ́, •Rara, •Iremoje, • Bolojo , •Ijala, •Ajangbode, •Ijeke, Alámọ̀ As of 2024, the Yoruba Misplaced Pages  [ yo ] is the most visited website in Yoruba. Santer%C3%ADa Santería ( Spanish pronunciation: [santeˈɾi.a] ), also known as Regla de Ocha , Regla Lucumí , or Lucumí , is an Afro-Caribbean religion that developed in Cuba during

11340-415: The acute accent for high tone ( ⟨á⟩ , ⟨ń⟩ ) and the grave accent for low tone ( ⟨à⟩ , ⟨ǹ⟩ ); mid is unmarked, except on syllabic nasals where it is indicated using a macron ( ⟨a⟩ , ⟨n̄⟩ ). Examples: When teaching Yoruba literacy, solfège names of musical notes are used to name the tones: low is do , mid is re , and high

11480-441: The annual anniversary of their initiation, their cumpleaños de santo ("birthday in the saint"). Although a largely orally-transmitted tradition, santeros and santeras often emphasise teaching in a non-verbal manner, encouraging their initiates to learn through taking part in the ritual activities. Since at least the 20th century, some initiates have kept libretas , notebooks in which they have written down material relevant to

11620-610: The area, eventually paving the way for British annexation in the late 1800s under the guise of ending the slave trade. Yoruba language Yoruba vocabulary is also used in African diaspora religions such as the Afro-Brazilian religion of Candomblé , the Caribbean religion of Santería in the form of the liturgical Lucumí language , and various Afro-American religions of North America . Most modern practitioners of these religions in

11760-555: The clothes box'. Disambiguation is left to context in the rare case that it results in two possible readings. Plural nouns are indicated by a plural word. There are two 'prepositions': ní 'on, at, in' and sí 'onto, towards'. The former indicates location and absence of movement, and the latter encodes location/direction with movement. Position and direction are expressed by the prepositions in combination with spatial relational nouns like orí 'top', apá 'side', inú 'inside', etí 'edge', abẹ́ 'under', ilẹ̀ 'down', etc. Many of

11900-451: The consonant /l/ has a nasal allophone [n] before a nasal vowel (see below ), and this is reflected in writing: inú 'inside, belly' ( /īlṹ/ → [īnṹ] ). The voiceless plosives /t/ and /k/ are slightly aspirated; in some Yoruba varieties, /t/ and /d/ are more dental. The rhotic consonant is realized as a flap [ɾ] or, in some varieties (notably Lagos Yoruba), as the alveolar approximant [ɹ] due to English influence. This

12040-465: The dead must be treated with respect, awe, and kindness; they are consulted at all ceremonies. Although the dead are not deemed as powerful as the oricha , they are still thought capable of assisting the living, with whom they can communicate through dreams, intuition, and spirit possession. Santería teaches that a person can learn to both see and communicate with the dead . Practitioners will often provide offerings, typically seven glasses of water, to

12180-422: The dead via the water in the pipes. Offerings are called ebbó (or ebó ), and are given to the oricha , ancestral spirits, to a person's own ori , and sometimes to the earth. These offerings can consist of fruit and other foodstuffs, liquor, flowers, candles, money, or slaughtered animals. Divination is often used to determine the exact nature of the offering; initiates are supposed to provide offerings on

12320-505: The division of titles into war and civil is unknown. Linguistically, SEY has retained the /ɣ/ and /gw/ contrast, while it has lowered the nasal vowels /ĩ/ and /ʊ̃/ to /ɛ̃/ and /ɔ̃/, respectively. SEY has collapsed the second and third-person plural pronominal forms; thus, àn án wá can mean either 'you (pl.) came' or 'they came' in SEY dialects, whereas NWY for example has ẹ wá 'you (pl.) came' and wọ́n wá 'they came', respectively. The emergence of

12460-427: The drum. Practitioners believe that the consecrated batá contain a substance called añá , itself an avatar of Ochún, and a manifestation of aché . Many drummers avoid mentioning the añá in public and may not refer to it by name. Drums which have not been baptised are not viewed as containing añá , and are called tambores judìos ("Jewish drums"). Particular rhythms played on the drums may be associated with

12600-483: The emergence of a common Yoruba identity. The earliest evidence of the presence of Islam and literacy goes back to the 14th century. The earliest documented history of the people, traced to the latter part of the 17th century, was in the Yoruba but in the Arabic script called Ajami . This makes Yoruba one of the oldest African languages with an attested history of Ajami (Cf. Mumin & Versteegh 2014; Hofheinz 2018). However,

12740-515: The encounter of the diverse Yoruba tribes with one another, with non-Yoruba Africans, and with the Europeans in a new environment and a new social order governed by [a] set of institutions different from those of Africa. — Ethnomusicologist María Teresa Vélez Santería is a flexible and eclectic tradition, with considerable variation in how it is practiced. There is no strict orthodoxy, no key sacred text , and no central authority in control of

12880-708: The entire religion. It has absorbed elements from many cultures that it has encountered, such as that of the Chinese migrants who came to Cuba in the 19th century, while in continental North America, Santería has also incorporated influences from Central American and Mexican religions as well as from New Age and modern Pagan practices. As well as it being common for Cubans to idiosyncratically blend ideas from different religions, many of Santería's practitioners claim multiple religious allegiances. Santería's adherents often consider themselves to be Roman Catholics —some priests and priestesses of Santería refuse to initiate anyone who

13020-424: The existence of an overarching divinity, known as Olodumare , Olofi , or Olorun . Practitioners believe that this divinity created the universe but takes little interest in human affairs. As this creator deity is inaccessible to humanity, no major offerings are dedicated to it. The three facets of this divinity are understood slightly differently; Olodumare represents the divine essence of all that exists, Olorun

13160-609: The falling tone. In Benin , Yoruba uses a different orthography. The Yoruba alphabet was standardized along with other Benin languages in the National Languages Alphabet by the National Language Commission in 1975, and revised in 1990 and 2008 by the National Center for Applied Linguistics . In 2011, a Beninese priest-chief by the name of Tolúlàṣẹ Ògúntósìn devised a new script for Yoruba, based on

13300-520: The first native African Anglican bishop, published a Yoruba grammar and started his translation of the Bible. Though for a large part based on the Ọyọ and Ibadan dialects, Standard Yoruba incorporates several features from other dialects. It also has some features peculiar to itself, for example, the simplified vowel harmony system, as well as foreign structures, such as calques from English that originated in early translations of religious works. Because

13440-449: The folklorist Michael Atwood Mason called aché the "ritual generative power". The ethnomusicologist Katherine Hagedorn described aché as "the realized and inherent divine potential in all aspects of life, even in apparently inert objects." She added that " Aché is neither good nor bad; rather, aché is motion". While deeming Olodumare the ultimate embodiment of aché , practitioners believe that aché permeates all life, and

13580-449: The highest leadership positions, although restrictions are placed on them while menstruating. Similar restrictions are also placed on homosexual males, traditionally prohibiting them from taking part in certain forms of divination and ritual drumming. Many gay men are nevertheless santeros , and some santeras are lesbians. A stereotype exists that all male Santería priests are homosexual, and members of other Afro-Cuban traditions with

13720-571: The initiate's tutelary oricha ; devotees of Yemajá for instance usually include omí ("water"), while those of Changó often have obá ("king"). Next comes the asiento ("seating"), or coronación ("coronation"), which marks the point when the aché of the tutelary oricha is believed to literally enter the initiate's cranium. The otanes of several oricha are placed to the initiate's head, culminating in those of their tutelary oricha . An animal sacrifice usually follows, involving at least five four-legged animals and 25 birds. The following day

13860-552: The island and abroad, especially among the Cuban diasporas of Mexico and the United States. The religion remains most common among working-class Afro-Cuban communities although is also practiced by individuals of other class and ethnic backgrounds. The number of initiates is estimated to be in the high hundreds of thousands. These initiates serve as diviners and healers for a much larger range of adherents of varying levels of fidelity, making

14000-460: The killing of animals as an acceptable substitute to human sacrifice , and in Cuba there have been persistent rumours of children being sacrificed in Santería rites. The oricha and egun are believed to "eat" the blood of the victim; the latter's lifeforce is deemed to transfer to the oricha , thus strengthening its aché . An animal that struggles to avoid being killed is sometimes understood as having particular strength which will then pass to

14140-687: The late 19th century. It arose amid a process of syncretism between the traditional Yoruba religion of West Africa, the Roman Catholic form of Christianity , and Spiritism . There is no central authority in control of Santería and much diversity exists among practitioners, who are known as creyentes ("believers"). Santería teaches the existence of a transcendent creator divinity, Olodumare , under whom are spirits known as oricha . Typically deriving their names and attributes from traditional Yoruba deities, these oricha are equated with Roman Catholic saints and associated with various myths. Each human

14280-405: The latter constituting its "godfather," and in this way they form lineages. Before being used in ceremonies, these drums are baptized, after which they are referred to as a tambor de fundamento . This baptism entails washing the drums in omiero , making sacrifices to Osain, and affixing an afoubo , a small leather bag containing items including a parrot feather and glass beads, to the interior of

14420-616: The majority of them Yoruba , and Roman Catholicism, the only religion legally permitted on the island by the Spanish colonial government. In urban areas of West Cuba, these traditions merged with Spiritist ideas to form the earliest ilés during the late 19th century. After the Cuban War of Independence resulted in an independent republic in 1898, its new constitution enshrined freedom of religion . Santería nevertheless remained marginalized by Cuba's Roman Catholic, Euro-Cuban establishment, which typically viewed it as brujería (witchcraft). In

14560-475: The meaning of the whistled language. The Yoruba talking drum , the dùndún or iya ilu , which accompanies singing during festivals and important ceremonies, also uses tone. Written Yoruba includes diacritical marks not available on conventional computer keyboards, requiring some adaptations. In particular, the use of the sub dots and tone marks are not represented, so many Yoruba documents simply omit them. Asubiaro Toluwase, in his 2014 paper, points out that

14700-413: The most popular oricha , Changó or Shango is associated with lightning and fire. Another prominent oricha is Yemaja , the deity associated with maternity, fertility, and the sea. Ochún is the oricha of rivers and of romantic love, while Oyá is a warrior associated with wind, lightning, and death, and is viewed as the guardian of the cemetery. Obatalá is the oricha of truth and justice and

14840-650: The names of these individuals, who are regarded as the ancestors of the house, are recited in chronological order. Although members of different houses often interact, each ilé is largely autonomous, allowing for variation in their practices. In Cuba, it is common for Santería practitioners to meet with each other regularly, and to regard each other as being akin to a family: the familia de santo . Conversely, in an area like Veracruz in Mexico, many practitioners attend group rituals and then leave, sometimes never seeing their co-practitioners again. Most ilés are established by

14980-401: The number of vowels they have; see above . Nasal vowels are by default written as a vowel letter followed by ⟨n⟩ , thus: ⟨in⟩ , ⟨un⟩ , ⟨ẹn⟩ , ⟨ọn⟩ , ⟨an⟩ . These do not occur word-initially. In the standard language, /ɛ̃/ occurs only in the single word ìyẹn ~ yẹn 'that'. The status of the vowel [ã]

15120-507: The official orthography of Standard Yoruba. However, they exist in several Yoruba dialects. The pronunciation of the letters without diacritics corresponds more or less to their International Phonetic Alphabet equivalents, except for the labial–velar consonant [k͡p] (written ⟨p⟩ ) and [ɡ͡b] (written ⟨gb⟩ ), in which both consonants are pronounced simultaneously rather than sequentially. The diacritic underneath vowels indicates an open vowel , pronounced with

15260-563: The older orthography, it employs the Latin alphabet modified by the use of the digraph ⟨gb⟩ and certain diacritics , including the underdots under the letters ⟨ẹ⟩ , ⟨ọ⟩ , and ⟨ṣ⟩ . Previously, the vertical line had been used to avoid the mark being fully covered by an underline , as in ⟨e̩⟩, ⟨o̩⟩, ⟨s̩⟩; however, that usage is no longer common. The Latin letters ⟨c⟩ , ⟨q⟩ , ⟨v⟩ , ⟨x⟩ , ⟨z⟩ are not used as part of

15400-461: The oldest extant Yoruba Ajami exemplar is a 19th-century Islamic verse (waka) by Badamasi Agbaji (d. 1895- Hunwick 1995). There are several items of Yoruba Ajami in poetry, personal notes, and esoteric knowledge (Cf. Bang 2019). Nevertheless, Yoruba Ajami remained idiosyncratic and not socially diffused, as no standardized orthography existed. The plethora of dialects and the absence of a central promotional institution, among others, are responsible. In

15540-406: The opening verse of the song, the akpwón may break into a personal prayer. The akpwón can switch from song to song quickly, with the drummers having to adapt their rhythm accordingly. A chorus of singers will respond to the akpwón , often while swaying back and forth. These choral responses may split into a two or three-part harmony. Dancing also takes place, with each oricha associated with

15680-462: The original meaning of Lucumí words. Rituals take place in the ilé ("house"), sometimes called the ilé-oricha ("house of the oricha "), casa templo ("house of worship"), casa de santos ("house of saints"), or casa de religión ("house of religion"). The ethnomusicologist María Teresa Vélez called this the "house-temple", with the ilé usually being the personal home of a santero or santera . It will typically have an inner room,

15820-446: The other, and practitioners will frequently place a cement head decorated with cowrie shells that represents Eleguá behind their front door, guarding the threshold to the street. The second guerro is Ogun, viewed as the oricha of weapons and war, and also of iron and blacksmiths. The third, Ochosi, is associated with woods and hunting, while the fourth, Osun, is a protector who warns practitioners when they are in danger. Perhaps

15960-459: The participants. It is believed that the collective energy built up by the group is necessary in achieving this. In turn, the oricha are believed capable of soothing the grieving, healing the sick, blessing the deserving, and rebuking those who have behaved badly. The toque de santo uses double-headed drums called batá ; these are deemed sacred, and are sometimes regarded as the central symbol of Santería. There are multiple types of batá:

16100-417: The practice of Santería. These may be shared with their own initiates or kept private. Santería's main public ritual is a drumming ceremony called the toque de santo , or tambor . Lasting for up to several hours, this is usually seen as an offering to the oricha , performed to gain their favor. The goal of the rhythms and songs is to summon the oricha to earth, at which point they can possess one of

16240-421: The precise numbers of those involved in Santería difficult to determine. Many of those involved also identify as practitioners of another religion, typically Roman Catholicism. The term Santería translates into English as the "way of the saints". This term was first used by scholarly commentators in the 1930s and later spread among the religion's practitioners themselves. It has become the most popular name for

16380-435: The primary beneficiaries. Adelabu , a Ph D graduate from Damascus cited—among many other common usages—the following words to be Yoruba's derivatives of Arabic vocabularies: Some common Arabic words used in Yoruba are names of the days such as Atalata ( الثلاثاء ) for Tuesday, Alaruba ( الأربعاء ) for Wednesday, Alamisi ( الخميس ) for Thursday, and Jimoh ( الجمعة , Jumu'ah ) for Friday. By far, Ọjọ́ Jimoh

16520-420: The problems of everyday life. Practitioners usually use the term "work" in reference to ritual activity; thus "working ocha " describes its rites. Santería is an initiatory religion, one which is organized around a structured hierarchy. An ethos of secrecy pervades many of its practices, with initiates often refusing to discuss certain topics with non-initiates. For this reason, Mason described Santería as

16660-419: The prospect of offending the oricha . Creyentes believe that the oricha can communicate with humans through divination, prayers, dreams, music, and dance. Many practitioners also describe how they "read" messages from the oricha in everyday interactions and events. For instance, a practitioner who meets a child at a traffic intersection may interpret this as a message from Eleguá, who is often depicted as

16800-465: The religion have referred to its practitioners as "santerians" although this is not used by adherents themselves. A non-initiate, including those who may attend public Santería ceremonies, is an aleyo ("stranger"); these non-initiates make up the majority of people involved in the religion. Initiates are known as santero if male, and santera if female, although these two terms have sometimes been used for anyone, initiate or not, who participates in

16940-473: The religion, although some practitioners find it offensive. A common alternative is Regla de Ocha , meaning "the rule of ocha", ocha being a term for the religion's deities. Some adherents regard this as the religion's "official" name. The tradition has also been called Lucumí , in reference to the colonial Spanish term for the Yoruba people , or alternatively La Religión Lucumí ("the Lucumí religion") or Regla Lucumí ("the rule of Lucumí"). Santería

17080-407: The religion. Alternative terms for an initiate are babalocha or babaloricha ("father-deity") if male and an iyalocha or iyaloricha ("mother-deity") if female. Those who have a sustained engagement with the religion are also referred to as omoricha ("children of the oricha"), aboricha ("one who worships the oricha"), and an oloricha ("one who belongs to the oricha"). Santería teaches

17220-529: The rite lacked sufficient aché , or that the wrong ebbó was provided for the situation. Animal sacrifice is called matanza , with the person carrying it out termed the matador . This is usually a man, with menstruating women prohibited from involvement. Birds—including guinea fowl , chickens, and doves—are commonly sacrificed, usually by having their throats slit or their heads twisted and ripped off. For rituals of greater importance, sacrifices are often of four-legged animals. Some practitioners describe

17360-878: The scope of the slave trade in the 19th century. Some of the victims of these wars became Christian converts in Sierra Leone . The most notable effect was the creation of new states; Ibadan , Abeokuta and Ijaye . It also saw the rise and fall of some of the most influential figures in Yoruba history; Kurunmi in Ijaye , Basorun Oluyole , Aare Latoosa , Efunsetan Aniwura and Balogun Ogunmola in Ibadan , Biodun Fabunmi in Ekiti , Ogedengbe of Ilesa , Efunroye Tinubu , Kosoko in Lagos, Arilekolasi in Ondo and many more. It also severely weakened Oyo suzerainty over

17500-529: The secret male societies practiced among the Efik-Ibibio . Many practitioners of Palo and Abakuá also follow Santería. Another Afro-Cuban religion is Arará , which derives from practices among the Ewe and Fon ; although its origins are not Yoruba, it is sometimes considered a branch of Santería rather than a separate system. Santería also has commonalities with other West African and West African-derived traditions in

17640-694: The spatial relational terms are historically related to body-part terms. Yoruba uses a vigesimal (base-20) numbering system. The wide adoption of imported religions and civilizations such as Islam and Christianity has had an impact both on written and spoken Yoruba. In his Arabic-English Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Quran and Sunnah , Yoruba Muslim scholar Abu-Abdullah Adelabu argued Islam has enriched African languages by providing them with technical and cultural augmentations with Swahili and Somali in East Africa and Turanci Hausa and Wolof in West Africa being

17780-475: The spirits into categories that each exhibit different traits, reflecting stereotypes about different social groups, with such spirits often portrayed as African, Haitian, Gypsy, Arab, or Plains Indian . The gitano (gypsy) spirits for instance are believed capable of foreseeing impending troubles and diagnosing illnesses while the congo spirits of Africa are perceived as strong-willed, powerful, and adept at guiding people through hostile circumstances. Aché

17920-451: The spirits of the dead, with some practitioners identifying as spirit mediums . Healing rituals and the preparation of herbal remedies and talismans also play a prominent role. Santería developed among Afro-Cuban communities following the Atlantic slave trade of the 16th to 19th centuries. It formed through the blending of the traditional religions brought to Cuba by enslaved West Africans,

18060-511: The spirits of the dead. These typically consist of a white-covered table known as a bóveda , something derived from the White Table of Spiritism. Bóveda often feature photographs of deceased relatives, to whom offerings are given; popular offerings for the spirits of the dead include seven glasses of water, a cafecito coffee, and the aguardiente liquor. Alternatively, many practitioners of Santería—like those who follow Palo—will have

18200-517: The standard devised there was the basis for the orthography of the steady flow of religious and educational literature over the next seventy years. The current orthography of Yoruba derives from a 1966 report of the Yoruba Orthography Committee, along with Ayọ Bamgboṣe's 1965 Yoruba Orthography , a study of the earlier orthographies and an attempt to bring Yoruba orthography in line with actual speech as much as possible. Still similar to

18340-513: The supernatural, for instance placing emphasis on respect for elders and superiors. A general attitude in Santería is that if an individual maintains good character, the oricha will aid them. Practitioners generally take socially conservative stances, having high regard for traditional family structures, marriage, fidelity, and child-rearing; adherents in the United States often adopt more progressive stances on issues surrounding gender and sexuality than their counterparts in Cuba. The religion

18480-419: The taboo with the view that menstrual blood can weaken the drum's añá , or that the drum's desire for blood would drain the woman, causing her harm, or in some cases infertility. Praise songs are sung for the oricha , with specific songs associated with particular deities. These may be sung a cappella or with instrumental accompaniment. The lead singer at such ceremonies is known as an akpwón . During

18620-437: The tastes of the adherent; anthropologists have observed practitioners who have included Taoist figurines or statues of wizards , on their altars. Food and flowers are often placed on the altar as offerings. Although rarely included on their altars, practitioners will often have statues of Roman Catholic saints elsewhere in their homes. In addition to their altar to the oricha , many practitioners have altars set aside for

18760-424: The underdots, three further diacritics are used on vowels and syllabic nasal consonants to indicate the language's tones: an acute accent ⟨ ´ ⟩ for the high tone, a grave accent ⟨ ` ⟩ for the low tone, and an optional macron ⟨ ¯ ⟩ for the middle tone. These are used in addition to the underdots in ⟨ẹ⟩ and ⟨ọ⟩ . When more than one tone

18900-426: The use of Standard Yoruba did not result from some deliberate linguistic policy, much controversy exists as to what constitutes 'genuine Yoruba', with some writers holding the opinion that the Ọyọ dialect is the "pure" form, and others stating that there is no such thing as genuine Yoruba at all. Standard Yoruba, the variety learned at school and used in the media, has nonetheless been a decisive consolidating factor in

19040-401: The use of these diacritics can affect the retrieval of Yoruba documents by popular search engines. Therefore, their omission can have a significant impact on online research. When a word precedes another word beginning with a vowel, assimilation, or deletion (' elision ') of one of the vowels often takes place. Since syllables in Yoruba normally end in a vowel, and most nouns start with one, it

19180-577: Was added to the empire, Basorun Gaha of the House of Yau Yamba, the head of the Oyo Mesi , the most senior line of Yoruba chiefs, led a popular revolt against a despotic Alaafin , Labisi, who was viewed by the Oyo Mesi as being manipulated by his provincial chiefs. The provincial chiefs, led by Ilorin's Baale Pasin of the House of Laderin, paused the remission of taxes to Oyo-Ile as a result. Gaha responded by sending

19320-556: Was also during Abiodun's reign that the law prohibiting the bearers of the Abaja tribal mark , from being enslaved, was enacted. This law severely affected the livelihood of the provincial chiefs and some members of the Oyo imperial family. It also led to the sourcing of Muslim slaves from Northern Hausa , Bariba and Nupe towns; some of these slaves were then exported to Europe and the Americas via

19460-580: Was historically spoken in the Ọyọ Empire . In NWY dialects, Proto-Yoruba velar fricative /ɣ/ and labialized voiced velar /gʷ/ have merged into /w/; the upper vowels /ɪ/ and /ʊ/ were raised and merged with /i/ and /u/, just as their nasal counterparts, resulting in a vowel system with seven oral and three nasal vowels. South-East Yoruba was most likely associated with the expansion of the Benin Empire after c.  1450 . In contrast to NWY, lineage, and descent are largely multilineal and cognatic , and

19600-512: Was murdered in a palace coup by his warrior band, then known as the Jamaa. The weakened Oyo empire leading to the rapid rise of the Ibadan city-state as an empire prompted the culmination of the decades of warring into the Kiriji War . All of these quarrels weakened central authority and gave rise to regional autonomy. They vastly affected the sociopolitical landscape of the Yoruba country and expanded

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