Yoruba religion is a lifelong devotion to powerful Orisa, or gods, by the performance of specific rituals. Those who practice, use altars to communicate with their many Orisa. During the slave trade, communities of African people were taken by force and shipped to the Americas. These individuals were stripped of all identity; many forced to practice Christianity. Opposition, however, was met with devotion. Those captured practiced their religion in secret, managing to protect and spread Yoruba religion and culture from Africa to the Americas. But this does not mean that Orisa culture and tradition has been completely removed from Africa, for it is bustling in places like the Sacred River in Osogobo, Nigeria; a holy site of the Orisa Osun.

Every year, there is a festival devoted to the river Orisa Osun that occurs on the banks of her holy river, the Sacred river. This festival is essential for “reviewing contracts between humans and the divine.” The people dance, sing, and make sacrifices to their holy Orisas as they unite as a community to cleanse in the banks of Osun’s holy river. Robert Thompson, an expert of African Atlantic Altars, states in “Face of The Gods,” that “Stones and water complete the image of this most important woman. We gather her rounded pebbles at the river and place them in river water in vessels on the altar. Water is the altar where we ask for her blessings.” This excerpt explains how alters can take many forms, for instance and alter can be a river where worship takes place. With this being said, the use of a typical altar is not necessary, for an altar can take any form as long as it is worshipped properly.

There were many typical African Diaspora components in the festival, for instance an animal sacrifice is made by a virgin as an offering to Osun. Animal sacrifices are typical of Diaspora religion. These sacrifices are special gifts to the gods, to show appreciation, but also to give energy to the gods, asking for their divine protection. Also, I saw a lot of dancing and heard a lot of typical diaspora music. I recognized the intense beating of drums used in the festival. Drums are typically used to invite spirits to possess followers. While the drums beat through the night, the dancing reins on as well. The dancing  builds community, and honors certain orisa. However, among all is the alter in which they worship. The alter is the main aspect of Yoruba Religion, and the Osun-Osogbo festival dwellers worshipped a purely organic alter that Osun herself touched; the Sacred River. The Osun-Osogbo festival showed many connections to African Diaspora religion, despite being in different parts of the world two religions can share similar practices.

From what was displayed in the video, Diaspora religion is not only active and engaging, but strong. African Diaspora kept many traditions and practices despite being translocated across the Atlantic Ocean, this takes dedication. Coming from a rural town in Maine, I of course ‘practiced’ Christianity, but never had a strong dedication to it. As a whole, there was never a sense of community, it seemed forced. The Diaspora religions are inclusive to everybody, the dancing engulfs all participants and it is a celebration practiced by many. Everybody in this religion worships, but practice differs from person to person. It is a life long devotion for everyone, but each individual practitioner worships different gods and has different possessions on their alter. The religion molds around the individual, instead of the individual molding around the religion; a special aspect of Diaspora religion. (Dan)