As one of the 4 capitalized altars in the Fleming Museum’s “Spirited Things” exhibition, the Yoruba altar contains a deeper purpose that was orchestrated by the creator of the altar, Professor Matory of Duke University. Altars in all religions are sites of ritual communication where the boundary between the spiritual and tangible world is explored (Thompson, 1995, p. 50) However, altars are especially pertinent to the orisa tradition in West Africa because they enable practitioners to offer their devotion to specified deities.

Although varied colored objects on the altar suggest the reference of other orisa, the altar is chiefly dedicated to the river goddess Yemoja. The most prominent object on the altar is a Yemoja embodiment in a white calabash. The calabash contains cowrie shells, kola nuts, river stones, and a number of other pieces that pertain to the identity of Yemoja known as Yemoja Olowo Kan. This embodiment of Yemoja is most closely associated with ancient Yoruba land, such as the town of Osogbo. With this in mind, one purpose the altar serves is to express devotion to the goddess Yemoja because of her worth to the Yoruba.

Professor Matory is responsible for the orientation of the altar, therefore it can be said that this altar is authentic to him. Several photos are included on each side of the altar and their presence is telling of an emotional connection that the Professor has with the goddess Yemoja and the Yoruba. Upon asking the Professor about the photos, it was explained that the photos serve as a commemoration to remind him of his engagement with the people of Yemoja. This in turn evokes the relationships that the people have formed with the goddess to fulfill their dutiful obligations. The Professor also added that the altar was his own Yemoja. His personality reflects the personality of Yemoja just as her personality reflects the personality of himself. These ideas contribute to an additional purpose of the Yoruba altar, a medium to acknowledge the elaborate relationship that the Professor has with the goddess Yemoja.

This past Wednesday The University of Vermont’s Fleming Museum hosted guest speaker Daniel Rodriguez in light of the 2017 “Spirited Things” exhibition. Rodriguez addressed the topic of orisa tradition, more specifically the Afro-American religion of Santeria as a byproduct of the Transatlantic slave trade. Santeria is visualized in the “Spirited Things” exhibit as a grand altar, rendering Rodriguez’s lecture exceedingly relevant. His background as a priest in the religion for over 30 years makes him an excellent conveyor of Santeria teachings to audiences that lack exposure to the discipline.

Rodriguez began by explaining the origins of Santeria, otherwise known as Regla de Ocha, stating that early implementation was facilitated by slaves that had been removed from West Africa and brought to the Caribbean to work on plantations. In the New World slaves devised ways to revive the traditions they were forced to abandon, resulting in diasporic religions such as Santeria. The island of Cuba is closely associated with this practice, and as time progressed the religion crossed seas to the United States. In a predominantly Western cultured country, the practices of Regla de Ocha were and still are subject to wrongful criticism by a close-minded society. The specific exercise of animal sacrifice draws the most attention from non-practitioners and the media alike.

Santeria is a religion based on nature in the form of a concept known as ase. Ase is a foundational power that concerns the state of living and nonliving things (Abiodun, 2014, p. 53-87). For the purpose of ceremonial sacrifice, ase can be understood as a self-pertaining spiritual force manipulated by practitioners. An integral part of Cuban Santeria is sacrificial ase for the gods and goddesses. Sacrifice of an animal represents a pathway to honor a specified god, where the blood of the sacrifice represents the ase that is received by the deity.

Seen as controversial in the eyes of the masses, sacrifice is a highly sophisticated ritual that fails to be accurately depicted through popularized media outlets in the United States. As an initiate of animal sacrifice himself, Rodriguez was adamant that the practice is carried out in a humane and standardized way that only individuals with a certain status may conduct. A common misconception of Afro-American religions is that the behaviors associated with them seem primitive, even wicked when paralleled to Western religion. The reality is that the purpose of sacrificial ase is strikingly similar to Western culture procedure. Scholars of religion in all regions of the globe discuss living bodies as multisensory interfaces that are reconfigured through ritual performances (Perez, 2011, p. 665). Just as animal sacrifice in Cuban Santeria allows participants to connect to their higher power deity, Christianity expresses the same connection to a divine figure through Communion. When an individual takes Communion, they are essentially digesting the body of Christ and drinking his blood to exchange his spiritual presence within their own body.

Acknowledging that Afro-American religion contains many complex layers is a central theme in our class discussion. Attending this lecture reinforced the notion that Cuban Santeria and other diasporic religions are intricate practices that require exceptional devotion. I chose to focus my dissection of Rodriguez’s lecture on the false impressions of animal sacrifice shared by the American people as it relates to a greater careless perception of foreign culture in this country. Listening to Daniel Rodriguez articulate his personal experience with Regla de Ocha provided truthful insight to ritual sacrifice. If you have had the pleasure of viewing the “Spirited Things” exhibit, you have witnessed a piece of the profound nature of Afro-American institutions. However, I encourage those who lack exposure to a faith such as Santeria to listen to the words of a priest or priestess before any conclusion is made about the dense tradition.

References

Abiodun, Rowland. Yoruba Art and Language: Seeking the African in African Art. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press, 2014. doi:10.1017/CBO9781107239074.

Elizabeth Pérez (2011) Cooking for the gods: sensuous ethnography, sensory knowledge, and

the kitchen in Lucumí tradition, Religion, 41:4, 665-683

Here is the link to the google document used to analyze the objects.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nd7KHlFCZoTueygON_vsT3zpk9kRTnmrVuRNCguhcYQ/edit?usp=sharing

My apologies for the previous faulty link

Jamie Bottino

Rel 095

11/6/17

There is more than what meets the eye; an old saying that resonated through my head as I entered the “Spirited Things” exhibit at the University of Vermont’s Fleming Museum for the first time. The exhibit features sacred artifacts and altars sourced from West African religion, as well as the various diasporas that resulted from the displacement of African peoples as early as the 16^th century. Passing each display, I was captivated by the individual parts that define altars as a whole as well as the orientation of individual objects in the museum space. Each artistic representation possessed a degree of complexity that I had never before seen at such volume. As I skirted the corner to view the second half of the exhibit, I spotted one particular encased object that stood alone.

Labeled “Staff of Fate” (Opa Osun), this piece drew me in among other artifacts because of its isolated arrangement in the context of the museum. As I approached the object, I realized that it contained many rusted limbs hinting at its old age. After reading the provided label for the staff, I discovered that it was a product of iron craftsmanship with an exception to its restored base. The object appeared to have levels near the top and bottom that resemble two distinct rings. Lining the outside of each ring are many small iron sculpted birds that face the stalk of the staff. Between both of these rings, a larger iron sculpted bird faces outwards in a fashion that resembles guidance and leadership. The larger bird is also adorned with a circular head piece and wings that extend far beyond its body, qualities the lesser birds lack (Duke University 2015) The very top of the staff contains a conical shape attached to a tray that leads down below the upper-ring. Adjacent to the tray, 4 long and narrow rusted bells are fastened to the object, and this is symmetrically represented below the lower-ring as well.

My basic understanding of staffs and their representations from other cultural examples led me to wonder if the Opa Osun garnered a certain force that could be manipulated by those who managed it. If the Opa Osun is interpreted in this way, what powers can be transmitted by the staff and who guides this power? In my writing, I will explore the substance of the Opa Osun Staff in Yorubaland in addition to the function of staffs and their operators in the context of ancient Yoruba tradition. By investigating these questions about the nature of the Opa Osun, I hope to reveal a heightened perception of religious artifacts in West Africa and the New World.

West Africa is home to ancient Yorubaland, a civilization where kingdoms once flourished in a framework of revolutionary urbanization (Okediji 1997). Within these kingdoms, artistic representations of sculpture containing highly refined naturalistic elements prospered and became a vital part of the religious traditions of the Yoruba (Drewal, Pemberton, & Abiodun 1989). During this period, craftsmen became highly skilled in the creation of sculpture using metals such as copper, brass, and bronze. The Opa Osun Staff is an example of the refined craftsmanship that characterizes the artistic creations of Yoruba people. A time considered a period of enlightenment in West Africa ended with the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, resulting in various diaspora in the New World. Forcefully relocated to a foreign frontier, Yoruba traditionalists brought their religious devotions overseas and practiced them behind closed doors amidst the ruthless bearings of slave life (Okediji 1997). The Yoruba expressed an unprecedented level of hope despite grim realities in the New World. Resilience played a crucial role in preserving the artistic creations of the Yoruba, and the Opa Osun Staff is no exception.

Religious artistic creations and tools significant in Yoruba culture are surrounded by a concept known as ase. Ase is a foundational power that concerns the state of living and nonliving things such as a staff. The phenomenon of ase can also be understood as a self-pertaining spiritual force that contains traditional medicinal answers (Abiodun 2014). There are many aspects of ase, however the most relevant to the Opa Osun is the role of ase as an activation of religious objects so that they may function accordingly. Artwork in Yorubaland is charged with ase, as it allows the visual representation of the work to transcend what others believe art to do. For example, staffs wielded by priests in divination processes are used to implement ase in the context of the ceremony. By establishing ase with a staff similar to the Opa Osun, priests can manipulate the fate of those who seek aid in their lives (Abiodun 2014). This insight accounts for the alternative name of the Opa Osun in the blurb beside the object in the museum, “Staff of Fate”. Another instance of a staff acting as a functional body can be found in an ancient Yoruba verse. In the verse, a cripple is instantly liberated from his state by just one touch from a healing staff (Abiodun 2014). The Opa Osun acts as a healing tool by harnessing ase in these instances of staff function. It is important to note that both scenarios of staff function detail that the operators of the staff have a higher status than a common individual.

The Opa Osun has also been used as a weapon against destructive forces such as death. In a ceremony referred to as Itefa, a religious leader known as a babalawo sacrifices a cock and uses the staff to arrange the body of the sacrifice. The ceremony involves the dismemberment of the animal, beginning with a swift ending of the cock’s life to ensure that death receives the offering instantly. Attending participants are touched on their heads with the head of the cock before it is then placed on the Opa Osun Staff. Following this, the babalawo takes the wings and feet of the sacrificed cock and touches them to the shoulders and feet of the ceremony’s participants before once again arranging them on the staff (Drewal & Thompson 1989). By doing so, a babalawo satisfies death with a cock in place of the members in attendance. The Opa Osun acts as a deterrent of future destruction in this case because the sacrifice of the cock ensures resilience against harm in the lives of the participants as well as the lone babalawo (Drewal & Thompson 1989). The Opa Osun can only be guided in this practice because its power cannot be entirely harnessed by the senior official. In other words, the staff is operated through influences, not direct actions.

The Opa Osun is demonstrated as an object that traditionalists look to for guidance in the present and future. In Yoruba culture, staffs are in fact charged with forces that can be manipulated by practitioners. Ancient verses and ceremonial divination allows me to suspect that the superior life force of ase is potent in power staffs similar to the Opa Osun. These comparable staffs serve a purpose of healing individuals who require aid as well as determining fate. The Opa Osun is also a medium to satiate destructive forces that threaten the well-being of practitioners. The sacrificial systems employed during the Itefa ceremony are telling of a complex transmission involved in the staff’s function. Both cases of staff power manipulation allow me to deduce that staffs in Yoruba culture are able to function as force synthesizers.

Staff power was and still is significant to Yorubaland inhabitants, and the principles of staff function were carried over to the various New World diaspora that resulted from the slave trade. From dissecting the use of staffs and their significance to Yoruba tradition, it seems natural that they would be implemented in the New World. Staffs served the purpose of limiting destructive futures and healing, therefore they would be applicable to the daily routines of an oppressed slave. Resilience allowed the Yoruba to prevail through hardship, and the Opa Osun symbolizes the hope retained by those subjugated.

I think back to the day I first laid eyes on the Opa Osun. A simple visit to the Flemings Museum paired with a quick reading of the information on the artifact was not nearly enough to understand the full potential of the object. I approached the object as if was a museum piece, when in reality the object is a functional entity that plays a critical role in religion (Thompson 1993). My experience with this object is representative of a cultural disconnect between Black Atlantic religions and Western society. Accurate assessments of Yoruba culture can only be reached if one analyzes the traditions in question with a curious and open mind, aware that art is much more than just a visual representation.

The Opa Osun Staff was theorized to be a reciprocating object of power due to a preconceived notion of staffs in other cultures. I also questioned the individuals who guided the power of the staff and the operations that surrounded its functioning. Upon research, I gathered that the Opa Osun has the ability to manipulate power, specifically the fate and resilience of one’s life. I also validated the figures who guide the powers of the staff, those being senior officials such as a babalawo. My findings leave me with a heightened perception of African religious power objects and the crucial role of a iron crafted staff in the lives of Yoruba religious affiliates.

Bibliography

Abiodun, Rowland. Yoruba Art and Language: Seeking the African in African Art. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press, 2014. doi:10.1017/CBO9781107239074.

Drewal, Margaret Thompson, and Henry John Drewal. “An Ifa Diviner’s Shrine in

Ijebuland.” African Arts 16, no. 2 (1983): 61-100. doi:10.2307/3335852.

Okediji, Moyo. “Art of the Yoruba.” Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies 23, no. 2 (1997):

165-98. doi:10.2307/4104382.

“Opa Osun, D027.” The Sacred Arts of the Black Atlantic. Accessed October 30, 2017.

http://sacredart.caaar.duke.edu/.

Opa Osun. 2015. The Sacred Arts of the Black Atlantic, Duke University, Durham.

Thompson, Robert Farris. Face of the gods: the artists and their altars. 1st ed. Vol. 28. Museum

for African Art, 1993.

Abiodun, Rowland. Yoruba Art and Language: Seeking the African in African Art. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014. doi:10.1017/CBO9781107239074.

This source was found using JSTOR, a database of digital articles, books, and primary sources centered around academia. The key words “Yoruba” and “art” were used to distinguish the source among others on the database. A specific chapter of the book titled “Ase” was targeted because objects in Yoruba art culture are accepted to be synthesizing the concept of Ase. An excerpt from the chapter details a staff that is strikingly similar to the Opa Osun; the Opa Orere. The staff is a tool of an Ifa priest, held in the right hand vertically and used during professional gatherings to establish Ase in the context of a ceremony. The staff is also noted to have the ability to solve one’s problems by literally and metaphorically implementing Ifa’s orders. It is also mentioned that Ase is transferable to successive staffs that mark the start of a new reign. Upon reading this article, it is learned that staffs in Yoruba culture are potent with Ase.

Professor Abiodun was born in a Nigerian region known as Yorubaland, so Yoruba culture is very personal by his account. A well-studied art historian, his goals in the work are to educate readers on the significance of various sacred objects sourced from Yoruba civilization. His careful consideration of all viewpoints and traditions allows for an accurate description of evidence for information provided in his book. In turn, the source can be regarded as highly relevant.

Drewal, Margaret Thompson, and Henry John Drewal. “An Ifa Diviner’s Shrine in Ijebuland.” African Arts 16, no. 2 (1983): 61-100. doi:10.2307/3335852.

This source was found using CAT Quest, a database containing a collection of UVM library content as well as digital articles and other peer-reviewed resources. For this source, the name of the object itself was used as a search tool. In this journal article, an alternative use of the Opa Osun staff is presented. It is stated that a tale involving Orunmila and the sacrifice of a cock is a centerpiece of the staff’s function. During a particular formal ceremony known as the Itefa ceremony, the babalawo will face osun by sacrificing a cock and placing the individual parts of it on the Osun staff. By mounting parts of the cock on the staff, death is “satisfied” and osun benefits from the nourishment of the cock’s blood. This use of the Opa Osun staff is astonishing because the staff is likened to a weapon of a babalawo to conquer death.

Professor Drewal is well accustomed to West African art, as he apprenticed a sculptor in Nigeria during his time spent there. With an interdisciplinary specialization in African art history, Drewal’s perspective can be seen as accurate due to the fact that he has primary exposure to the topics he discusses, not just a view from afar. Professor Thompson, a ritual performance ethnographer, has also studied ritual performances of West Africa in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries. Both professors seem to write with the goal of informing those who are foreign to specific objects and symbols found in an Ifa Diviner’s shrine. The objects found in the shrine are representative of universal concepts in Yoruba art.

Okediji, Moyo. “Art of the Yoruba.” Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies 23, no. 2 (1997): 165-98. doi:10.2307/4104382.

The source was found using JSTOR, a database of digital articles, books, and primary sources. The key words “art” and “Yoruba” were used to pinpoint the source. In this article, the historical context of art in Yorubaland is explained using a time scale that starts with Kingdom flourishment in Western Africa. The abstract and realist characteristics of Yoruba art are explicitly outlined in the article, and the writing style caters to individuals who are unfamiliar with orisha tradition. This source acts as a term bank for research, as many of the concepts explored in the work such as the bird motif are relevant to the Opa Osun.

Professor Okediji studied fine arts of the University of Ife, as well as the University of Benin. He has shadowed several African artists working in the creation of sacred Yoruba sculpture and design. These accolades partnered with his teaching experience in Nigeria make his work appropriate to apply to research findings. He acknowledges that the audience he is writing to is relatively new to the concept of Yoruba art, so he is careful with his use of terminology without proper explanation. Direct contact with the content he describes creates an insightful article for readers to learn about the complexity of West African art.

Jamie Bottino

Opa Osun

My research will be centered on the Opa Osun staff of fate, an artifact that represents the destiny of an Orisha worshipper. A staff of this nature is commonly placed in front of one’s home to enrich the life of its owner. Composed of mostly iron, the staff is approximately 30 inches tall and 10 inches in diameter. The staff must always remain upright; placing the object horizontally on the ground is considered to be an act of ill will specifically felt by the owner. The object itself consists of two levels that resemble the ring around Saturn. On each level there are many small birds circling the stalk of the staff, however the lower level differs because it contains a large bird surrounded by the smaller ones. Birds are critical to Yoruba culture for they are associated with the importance of the head. By focusing on the object in context, I would like to reveal whether or not the object was placed in front of an Orisha follower’s home, and how it has become a museum artifact. In addition to this, I hope my findings allow me to learn if the staff is still activated in the sense that the same rules apply when it was utilized by its owner.

The elements of Yoruba culture that give the Opa Osun meaning have been discussed in several readings covered in the course curriculum. “Ase: Verbalizing and Visualizing Creative Power through Art”, presented by Professor Abiodun, discusses the vital force of Ase. Ase is said to be present in all facets of Yoruba art, including objects such as staffs. Analyzing the essence of Ase from the reading will give insight to the question of whether or not the Opa Osun is still activated in the context of the museum. If the staff does in fact remain activated, the measures that are taken to prevent foul placement will be detailed. The Opa Osun contains visual sculpted birds, which are emphasized in Yoruba culture because a bird’s head is the front facing part of its body. The critical role of the head is explained in “Yoruba World”. “It is the site of one’s spiritual essence, the place through which divine forces enter during possession trance, and a kind of visible oriki conveying a person’s dignity and pride in positive achievement” (Drewal, Pemberton, Abiodun 15). By analyzing the prominence of one’s head in the reading it is hoped to reason why birds were incorporated in a staff that represents the fate and destiny of its owner.

In order to learn more about the origin of the Opa Osun staff in the exhibit, I will enlist help from the library staff to possibly find reports of similar staffs in Nigeria. By doing so I hope to find the region where this staff was located which will help me determine if the staff once belonged to a practitioner and was misplaced. Another source I intend to use to further understand the questions put forth will be articles that include iron staffs in Yoruba culture and the treatment by owners to prevent ill will. Using the library’s Gale database tool, I will be able to focus on peer reviewed scholarly journals relating to the topic. Another potential resource I can use to answer my questions is some sort of film that incorporates the pertinence of birds in Yoruba culture. A film or documentary that explicitly describes the concept of the larger bird surrounded by lesser birds is preferred to benefit my understanding of the Opa Osun staff.

• In what way is Oṣun-Oṣogbo festival an example of an African diaspora religion? What specific people, events, or objects make you think that?

The Osun-Osogbo festival is an event where Yoruban peoples and descendants alike come together for a celebration of good fortune under the goddess Osun. The festival lasts for a duration of 2 weeks in August in Osun State of Nigeria, where people of all cultural backgrounds and preferences come to honor the goddess through a series of traditions and practices. First to understand the festival in context, individual parts of it must be analyzed.

The festival begins with the lighting of an ancient lamp that represents the goddess Osun and the kingdoms that persist in the heart of Yoruba land. The town surrounds the lamp in the form of glee, dance, and music under Osun. The excitement expressed by traditionalist and non-traditionalists alike is just a hint at the festivities that are to come. The lighting of the lamp is the first example of how the Osun-Osogbo festival is an example of African diaspora religion. The gathering of people who share a love of Osun are not all necessarily avid practitioners of the Yoruban lifestyle. In fact, the people who attend originate from a multitude of places including the United States. However, their exposure to the religion in their respective countries brought them to the festival in Western Nigeria. Professor Badejo of the University of Baltimore remarks during the ceremony that, “You don’t have to be Catholic to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day”. This parallel offers insight to the varying degrees of people who take part in Osun-Osogbo.

A further example of Osun-Osogbo festival’s diasporic characteristics is the story of Alafia and Oni, two college graduates who make their first pilgrimage to the sacred Yoruban land to gain status as priestesses. In days, they transform themselves into a “bridge” between the real world and the goddess Osun. They use various objects such as the Bell of Osun in prayer beside the grove where the final day of the festival commences. The bell is just one of many instruments and tools that carry spiritual significance used by the Yoruban people to call to their desired deity. Prospective practitioners of this specific culture attend the festival to revive hopes and dreams that may have dimmed over time. Johnson’s second definition of diasporic religions relates to the reasoning behind attending the event. That being diaspora as an internalized conversion of consciousness (pg. 518 para 3). Alafia and Oni traveled to Nigeria to take part in a conversion of their mindset, an adoption of a new way of life. In essence, they embody the very definition of diasporic religion.

The Osun-Osogbo festival is a symbol of resilience among other religions that dominate the worship community. The contagious energy of the celebration is a reminder that African culture is very much alive and experiencing a sort of renaissance. The Yoruba tradition is very welcoming, more so than other religions are to it, which represents a struggle felt by African traditionalists in history. Set aside your pre-conceived notions of religion, and it is easy to see the complex devotion and awesomeness that exists among Yoruban people.