Preview

The Metaphysical Interpretations Of Yoruba

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
351 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
The Metaphysical Interpretations Of Yoruba
This paper focuses on the metaphysical interpretation of kindred notions of Yoruba tribal arts. The region of West Africa that today includes the countries of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo is the land of the Yoruba people, whose art is an essential and integral element in their way of life (see image 1 for the Map of Yorubaland, showing major towns). The Yoruba are among the oldest and most influential of all African cultures and today make up one of Africa’s largest ethnic groups. More than 25 million Yoruba live in Africa, and large vibrant communities of Yoruba immigrants live in the United States and the United Kingdom. They created a strong economy through farming, trading, and art production. Their outstanding and unique artistic traditions

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Place: The music, art, literature, and cultural practices of Africa have provoked interest and respect throughout the world. The old belief that Africa is somehow childlike in its cultural development has been denounced as people become more familiar with the rich traditions of the continent. The music and literature of the people have found their way into houses and classrooms around the globe. We are beginning to learn through the works of scholars, film makers, and writers that Africans can teach us much more than we can show them.…

    • 317 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Unit 3 Assignment

    • 1517 Words
    • 7 Pages

    It is said that the Africa culture stands out more than any other culture In the World. With a rich and diverse culture African culture is known to change from county to county, many cultures along with traditions are found in Africa which makes Africa diverse, unique and mesmerizing in many ways to the world. Africa culture is all about the ethnic group’s family traditions, the literature, art and music shows the religion along with the social paths of their culture. (Nafisa Baxamusa, 2011)…

    • 1517 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    This assignment will discuss the nature of a cross-cultural encounter in the 15th and 16th centuries between the Portuguese traders and the people of Benin, leading to Portuguese figures depicted in Benin art and furthermore our understanding of cross-cultural encounters in general…

    • 1683 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Art Of Benin City

    • 1714 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Certain views, like that of Blythe, a nineteenth century African writer and supporter of African rights challenged the common perceptions of the era but they did not change them. Blythe talks about scientific Europeans ‘giving academic study to the Negro’ but his overall suggestion is that there is a general ‘opinion of some God is everywhere except in Africa.’ (Blythe 1903 in Brown, 2008) Read and Dalton They described both their perception of Benin society and the objects they were studying in a very ambivalent way at the first sight of these remarkable works of art were at once astounded….and puzzled to account for so highly developed an art amongst a race so entirely barbarous as the Bini’ (Read and Dalton 1897 in Brown, 2008).This negative and perception of Benin was a common perception of the whole of Africa at this time . Anthropologists in general struggled to fit explanations of such sophisticated works of art into these commoner held opinions which circulated throughout all major establishments of newspapers, museums and Encyclopaedias. This meant that stereotypical notions were gaining credibility over real facts. Read and Dalton were unfazed and presented their historical version as a prejudiced one, shaped by the society in which they lived, hence they form the conclusion that ‘no hope that a…

    • 1714 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Power Objects

    • 495 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Wyatt MacGaffey writes about the relationship between word and image through exploring art, Afrian art, and minkisi, with great emphasis towards the minkisi class and their concept of power objects. (217) In the English language, there is not an equivelnt word to describe Nkisi, however, fetish inadequately is often implied. Minkisi is another name for chiefs of the Congo. Grasping their origins, composition, and ritual context is complex. In Christianity, the crucifix is comparable in that it is spiritually related. Cheifs in a sense were comparable to objects in African cultrure in that they were treated in similar ways. MacGaffey begins by labeling art is a form of communication. We come across the questions of whether art is an effective means of communication and what exactly is communicated through art.…

    • 495 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In Suzanne Preston Blier’s article Enduring Myths of African Art, she articulates seven of the most common myths believed around the world surrounding African art. Of those seven myths, one that stands most true is the myth that African art is bound by place; the idea that African art in particular travels nowhere and its ideas are constrained to just the cultures they are sculpted in. Blier states, “The African art of myth is also frequently presented, incorrectly again, as an art rigidly bound by place.”1 She continues to express how most of the African art objects and styles studied are judiciously ascribed to particular regions and cultures as if they have no ability to circulate…

    • 2964 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Yorùbá Religion

    • 1011 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Yorùbá religion encompasses religious beliefs and rituals of the Yoruba people. These practices were being utilized before the Yoruba community faced Islam, Christianity and other faith; it originated from Africa and into the New World. This influenced several Afro-American religions such as Lucumí in Cuba, Umbanda and Candomblé in Brazil; in addition to the uproot that took place of the homeland religions. Similar to many other religions that have some form of beliefs and practices, Yorùbá religious beliefs are part of an itan. This is the term used for the sum of all Yorùbá; which include: myths, traditions, folklore, and other cultural concepts which make up the Yorùbá religion and society. Yorùbá religion included a trance and divination…

    • 1011 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    (2011). Yoruba indigenous spirituality and the reshaping of new religious movements in south-west Nigeria. Ogbomoso Journal Of Theology, 16(1), 149-164. Retrieved from http://ehis.ebscohost.com/eds/results?sid=6cff0141-0227-4bd5…

    • 1822 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Transcultural Nursing Paper

    • 2588 Words
    • 11 Pages

    The country of Nigeria is located in Western Africa bordering the Gulf of Guinea (Bureau of African Affairs, 2011). The Cultural interview discussed in this paper was conducted on a 33 year old man who migrated to the United States of America from Nigeria 4 years ago. “Nigeria has over 50 languages and over 250 dialects and ethnic groups” (Central Intelligence Agency, 2011). The three largest groups are the Hausa-Fulani, the Igbo, and the Yoruba. Nigeria music is mostly folk-like. It is very popular worldwide due to the unique instruments played such as the gongon drums (Faola & Heaton, 2008). The person I interviewed is a coworker of mine. Our interview took place in Taco Bell in Willoughby, Ohio, November 20th at 11 A.M. We spoke for about 1 hour and 40 minutes. During our interview I asked questions about the standards of living in Nigeria, and cultural beliefs and practices. I also asked individual questions about personal life and perceptions about Nigerian and American culture.…

    • 2588 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Igbo Clan Analysis

    • 1274 Words
    • 6 Pages

    "We shall not do you any harm," said the District Commissioner to them later, "if only you agree to cooperate with us. We have brought a peaceful administration to you and your people so that you may be happy. If any man ill-treats you we shall come to your rescue. But we will not allow you to ill-treat others. We have a court of law where we judge cases and administer justice just as it is done in my own country under a great queen. I have brought you here because you joined together to molest others, to burn people's houses and their place of worship. That must not happen in the dominion of our queen, the most powerful ruler in the world." (p. 194)…

    • 1274 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    In the ancient African Yoruba mythology, Olorun is the almighty all seeing all knowing god who created the universe and all other gods. Olorun, meaning owner of the sky, goes by many different names of different meaning such as Olodumare which means the almighty, Olofin - Orun which means lord of heaven, and Oba - Orun meaning king of the sky. Being the creator of all things possible, he is the highest power among all the gods of the Yoruba myth. Even though Olorun is the almighty god, no shrines are dedicated to him, and no sacrifices were made for him. It's possible that this is so because the Yoruba believed that it was impossible to dedicate anything to him worthy enough to his righteous overwhelming power. Olorun's…

    • 267 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    There are many religions throughout the world today. Although there are several different religions, many individuals are not educated about the other beliefs besides there own. Religions today do have differences but are also very much the same. This is demonstrated between the religion of Yoruba, and Christianity. The Gods that the people in these religions worship are different but have the same purpose throughout the lives of each individual. Each individual’s purpose and goal in these religions also display similarities. Furthermore the rituals that are done throughout these religions are done for directions and to improve the relationship between the individual and their god. There are various differences and similarities between these systems and structures of the Yoruba religion and Christianity.…

    • 803 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Igbo People

    • 1171 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The Igbo people were a highly religious and close knitted community, at least when it came to their own particular clans and tribes. They relied heavily on their farming and looked upon the strongest farmers as those blessed by the gods and carrying a good chi (Achebe, 17). By the late 1800’s however, the Igbo people came into contact with British colonialism and soon their culture and beliefs began to spread thinly among the few who remained true to their gods and superstitions. The reason for the great fragmentation of the Igbo people came about because they were always a fragmented group spread out into dozens of different Igbo clans (Miers, 437), their strong belief that the gods would intervene in the blasphemous was of the missionaries, and the missionaries use of medicine to keep the “destructive power” of the Ibgo gods at bay, making those very gods they relied on so heavily seem powerless against “the albinos.”…

    • 1171 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    African American Culture

    • 4492 Words
    • 18 Pages

    For Iliffe, the factor which most strongly shapes the character of African cultures is the African environment. Iliffe believes that Africans inhabit an environment whose aridity, infertile soils and profusion of diseases create particularly difficult challenges for humans. He sees the history of Africa as a process by which Africans surmount these challenges through agricultural innovation and sheer hard work. Of course, other historians disagree with the views of Davidson and Iliffe, and instead seek other factors which help to explain differences between Africans and other human societies. Thus part of the task of students who study African art is to ask themselves whether they see in it expressions of values and ideas which are unique, or whether they see manifestations of a common human…

    • 4492 Words
    • 18 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Africa there are clear standards of beauty. These standards include resemblance to a human being, luminosity, self-composure, and youthfulness. The Yoruba tribe uses these standards quite often in their work. The Yoruba are a number of semi-independent people loosely linked in, geography, religion, history, and language. They are from around the Nigeria region, and have one of the highest twin birth…

    • 517 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays