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Impart your knowledge ..i wanna know what its all about and why didt u choose the religion as your path to spirituality?

What is it that you want to know

A Religion in itself is not a path to Spirituality. One shouldn't corss the two concepts. To do so is like losing a race before you've even begin to compete.

why u say so ?

just gimme a summary or something....where does it orginate?..is it nature based?.....along dem lines

i have an italian teacher who is a follower..she just made me curious

Because spirituality by definition is not religion, per se, but the active and vital connection to a force, spirit, or sense of the deep self.


you can always "google" it you know

Howso?

i want a personal account of it...moreso .........why u chose it ?

well she white..first of all..and knowing her hiccups about religion on a whole ...why did she choose this one..

anyway i'll google it..thanks

easy boss now that you've explained yourself, it's easier to answer you questions:

The Yoruba in itself is a very old belief which came from Yorubaland, which is now present day Nigeria.

Many of the Yoruba People from this area were shipped to the Americas during Slavery after the fall of the Oyo empire. It was during this time that other religions (which some call New World Religions) were created:

Santeria - Puerto Rico, Cuba

Spiritual Baptist - Trinidad, Bahamas, Barbados

Candomblé - Brazil

Vodun - Haiti

The faith in itself has nothing to do with nature worship (ie - I don't go home to an alter and worship by goldfish), however it is quite adimant about respecting the world we live in. So much so that there were stories and even personalities given to the elements to personify the power they represent (the Orishas).

The majority of the faith is one that is oral in history as oppose to the Scriptures in the Bible. However, this oral tradition is the sole reason why this faith has lasted so long, even through the slave trade, into this modern day society.

This belief is no different than what you know Christianity to be in the fact that there is one God (Oludumare) who created this planet and the universe. one thing that is paramount within the religion is the fact that our ancestors are a direct link to world of the Spirit since they have passed on and are now one with God. Since this is the case, I say prayers to my deceased relatives often for guidance, clarity and wisdom.

Why I chose this faith?

That's a long story, but here's the 'skinny':

Why does anyone choose a faith! You choose what speaks to your soul. I cannot condemn a next man/woman for what they believe, however I know within my heart of hearts what I believe and what works for me.

I hope this answers your question.

Great feedback kevy!

Basically what Kevlocks stated and also about doing some research, actually research is the best part about understanding traditions and culture. Googling is good, but also check out some books to get some first hand accounts about the Yoruba way of life and the other religions formed from it.

My reasons for following this way of life is because of something that Kevlocks stated it "speaks to your soul"... there was a calling and sense of direction to take, and I followed those steps with an open mind.

To look at some other personal accounts you may want to check out a favorite book of mine : Altar of My Soul or http://altarofmysoul.com/ by Marta Moreno Vega. PhD. and her journey into intiating into the Lucumi religion also known as santeria.

I will try and post some later...
blessings

aight thanks people .....iam at my cross roads....kinda looking for a calling too

^^^ thats a good place to be. and its great that you are looking at diffirent things... i think some of the truths will come to you as long as you are actively looking

Kevlocks ; anyone .. could you explain to me the Christian influence on the Yoruba .. from what I read so far(not too much so far) I've come to understand that there was some; that they incorporated some Christianity..

I did some reading ..and it seems to appear in Hati where they hid the practice behind Christian Saints.

I suppose that may depend on the region, for here in Trinidad, the Yoruba traditions were not so much influenced by Xianity as it practised syncretism -- the "adoption" of the dominant Xian faith in order to mask the Orisa beliefs. During the colonial period, African beliefs were vigourously banned and outlawed; Church propaganda blasted any and evrything related to African spiritual beliefs as heathenism, savage, superstition, paganism, occultism, etc., you know the story. Defiantly, Orisa devotees took the principal aspects of Catholicism and Anglicanism, particularly the use of water, veneration of the saints, etc, and used them to conceal the Orisa rituals (in any event, there was little difference anyway). Catholic saints and its avatar were used to conceal the various Orisa and Eledumare. The Baptists (often confused with Orisa, hence the misnomer "Shango-Baptist") did the same and it is for this reason, particularly in the houses of the older devotees, one used to find many Catholic icons, the bible and various chains and beads associated with Catholicism. Now the younger generation of devotees, who did not experience having to hide to worship or being beatenand jailed, began to question and dispense with the retaining of what was obviously Christian artifacts and prayers (the older devotees used to also recite the Rosary during divination and meditation) and this caused some conflict.

yes I see this, but from what I have seen so far Xianity had some influence on it while Yoruba was in Africa - b4 it came to WI... is that BS?

Well now that is the first I have heard of that, can you cite an example or something?

remember I'm new to this..It was from an unverified site..I was looking for insights into Yoruba..
since you never heard of it, and I know youre sharp..I'll scratch that off my list..I have stumbled upon the other things you have posted tho...

I'd tell you where I got the thing I just cant put my hand on it right now...