Chapter Ii. Chief Gods : CHAPTER II CHIEF GODS. THE tendency which we noted in the case of the Ewe speaking peoples to replace gods which were purely local, and only worshipped by those dwelling in the vicinity, by tribal gods, and by gods worshipped by an entire people, has in the case of the Yoruba tribes been very fully...
Chapter Iii. Minor Gods : CHAPTER III. MINOR GODS. (1) OLOKUN. OLOKUN ("oni-okun", he who owns the sea), "Lord of the Sea," is the sea-god of the Yorubas. He is one of those who came from the body of Yemaja. As man worships that from which he has most to fear, or from which he hopes to receive the greatest benefits...
Chapter Vi. Egungun, Oro, Abiku, And Various : CHAPTER VI. EGUNGUN, ORO, ABIKU, AND VARIOUS SUPERSTITIONS. EGUNGUN EGUNGUN really means "bone," hence "skeleton," and Egungun himself is supposed to be a man risen from the dead. The part is acted by a man disguised in a long robe, usually made of grass, and a mask of wood, which generally...
Chapter Xiii. Proverbs : CHAPTER XIII. PROVERBS. THE Yorubas have an extraordinary number of proverbial sayings, and regard a knowledge of them as a proof of great wisdom, whence the saying, "A counsellor who understands proverbs soon sets matters right." They are in constant use, and another saying runs, "A proverb is...
Chapter Xiv. Folk Lore Tales : CHAPTER XIV. FOLK-LORE TALES. THE Yoruba folk-lore tales are very numerous. The word now commonly used to mean one of these popular fables is "alo", which more properly means a riddle, or something invented, literally something twisted, or inverted. A reciter of tales, called an "akpalo"...
Title Page : YORUBA-SPEAKING PEOPLES OF THE SLAVE COAST OF WEST AFRICA THEIR RELIGION, MANNERS, CUSTOMS, LAWS., LANGUAGE, ETC. BY A. B. ELLIS 1894 {scanned , December, 1999} {"Note: Chapters X, XI, XII and the Appendix have been omitted from this etext. We will be adding this material at some point...
Chapter Vii. The In Dwelling Spirits : CHAPTER VII. THE IN-DWELLING SPIRITS AND SOULS OF MEN. IN the first volume of this series we found that the Tshi-speaking peoples believe that every man has dwelling in him a spirit termed a "kra", which enters him at birth and quits him at death, and is entirely distinct from the soul, which...
Chapter Xv. Conclusions : CHAPTER XV. CONCLUSIONS. IN the preface to the second volume of this series it was said that, in collecting information concerning the religions of the cognate tribes dealt with, my chief purpose was to endeavour to ascertain to what extent different conditions of culture led to the modifications...
Chapter Viii. Measurements Of Time : CHAPTER VIII. MEASUREMENTS OF TIME. THE Yorubas reckon time by moons and weeks. A moon, or month, is the period of time between one new moon and the next, and, as is the case with all peoples who count by lunar months, the day commences at sunset, that is at the hour at which a new moon would...
Chapter Ix. Ceremonies At Birth, Marriage : CHAPTER IX. CEREMONIES AT BIRTH, MARRIAGE, AND DEATH. I. AT BIRTH. THE ceremonies at birth resemble in the main those observed by the Ewe-speaking peoples, and described in the last volume, but there are a few changes which may be attributed to increased priestly influence. As soon as the pangs...
Chapter V. Priests And Worship : CHAPTER V. PRIESTS AND WORSHIP. THE Yoruba priesthood is divided into recognised orders, but before describing them it will be necessary to give some account of a secret society which is inseparably connected with the priesthood, and which, except in Jebu, Where it is called Oshogbo, is known...
Chapter Iv. Remarks On The Foregoing : CHAPTER IV. REMARKS ON THE FOREGOING. IN the myths of the origin of the various gods described in the last two chapters we probably see the result of the indwelling-spirit theory having been lost sight of. As long as a god was accepted to be the animating principle or spiritual entity of some...
Chapter I. Introductory : THE YORUBA-SPEAKING PEOPLES OF THE SLAVE COAST OF WEST AFRICA. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY. THE portion of the West African coast occupied by the Yoruba-speaking peoples is situated in the eastern half of the Slave Coast, and lies between Badagry, on the west, and the Benin River, on the east...
