Yorùbá Culture

This is a book about Yorùbá thought and practices. It expounds a view about the nature, roles and functions of Yorùbá beliefs in contemporary societies. The position is that philosophical ideas implicit in the Òrìṣà religion form the basis of Yorùbá culture in West Africa, the Americas, and other parts of the world. The book is, therefore, not a catalogue of various cultural practices of Yorùbá peoples around the world. It is not an exposition of tastes in art, dance, etiquette, and other mores that are adopted by this particular social group. It is simply a theoretical account of the philosophical ideas that underlie the world-view of traditional Yorùbá societies.

The subject matter of this book is those ontological, epistemological and axiological assumptions about the universe and its inhabitants that underlie the day-to-day life of the peoples called the Yorùbá. These assumptions are philosophical in nature. Ontology refers to views about the types of entities that populate the world; the nature of these entities (i.e., whether they are purely material entitles; whether they are purely spiritual entities; or whether they are both spiritual and material); the properties of these entities (i.e., what are the various attributes and qualities of these entities?) Epistemology deals with questions about theories of knowledge; what do we know, how do we know what we claim to know, and what roles does knowledge play in our day to day lives? Axiology deals with questions of goals and values (i.e., what goals and values do people have in Yorùbá societies and how do they aspire to achieve them?).

Although I discuss these issues from a philosophical point of view, I should be up front about what this book is not about. For those interested in the staple philosophical diets of “dualism”, “monism”, “Descartes”, “Plato”, “Gilbert Ryle”, “the correspondence theory of truth”, and what not, this is not the book for you. If you are interested in a potpourri of Western philosophical conceptions and African beliefs, please purchase another book. For although this book will discuss Yorùbá ontological ideas on “Gods and Anti-gods”; the Àjê (who are usually improperly translated into English as “witches”); the influences and roles of these metaphysical entities on human life; views about the nature of personhood; and assumptions about the nature and value of knowledge, this book does not discuss Great Western thinkers and how their views are applicable to an African thought system. If you are interested in Western philosophy disguised as Yorùbá philosophy, this book is not for you.