A Slice of African Diaspora Pie

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The film Sacred Journeys with Bruce Feiler: “Oṣun-Oṣogbo” shares with us the festival of Oṣun-Oṣogbo, and all of its extraordinary features. The work uses the perspective of both scholars and practitioners to show us what literally and spiritually happens during this event. The festival is a celebration of the Oṣun, the goddess of beauty, love and fertility. It began with the first Yoruba King swearing to protect and honor Oṣun’s grove, and in return Oṣun would bless the all that kept it safe. Now, it is a great gathering of all who follow this indigenous African faith from all around the world to renew this ancient vow.

The African Diaspora is a religion that began in Africa, but has spread throughout the world. Each movement has changed how the original religion is practiced while keeping the same idea. The first reason that this festival is an example of African Diaspora, is because the people who take part in the ceremony come from many different parts of the world. A large portion of non-native folk that attend are from the Americas. This is mostly because the slave trade that took place between the 1500’s and 1800’s brought many of the Yoruba into the Americas. Once in the “New World”, the slaves were prohibited from following any religion from Africa. To get around this rule they, “managed to establish altars to their dead even while blending with the Christian world: they coded their burial mounds as ‘graves’ but studded them with symbolic objects…”(Thompson, Overture: The Concept “Altar”). Other techniques discussed in the film involved associating certain Oriṣa with certain saints, then worshiping those saints. This secret devotion to the Oriṣa kept the religion alive in a variety of forms across the continent, which is why so many people from so many places can come together and celebrate the same Goddess Oṣun. The diversity of the history in each participant is part of why I would consider the Oṣun-Oṣogba festival an example of African Diaspora.

The next reason that this great celebration is part of the African Diaspora is because of the art involved in each item used during the ceremony. The color and pattern of each dress signifies different Oriṣa, and one would wear the colors of the Oriṣa that speak to them. Beyond the colors, the fabric itself is tradition boutique fabric and is typically used during rituals. Other symbols that reflect the African Diaspora are the altars for the different Oriṣa. The altars in the video had lots of similarities some of the altars we read about in Thompson’s article, with each item specific to the altar of the deity it is designed for. The interesting difference between the video and the readings is that no two altars are identical in that each altar is both spiritual and personal. The same holds true with the dresses and art in the festival compared to ceremonious clothing used in the Americas. There are commonalities in which each Oriṣa represent in general, but what each god represents to the individual will vary. The Oṣun-Oṣogbo altars represent the African Diaspora well because they add to the variety ways the same god can by worshiped by many individuals.

The Oṣun-Oṣogbo festival is very representative of the African Diaspora because it is another variety of how the Oriṣa can be worshiped, and how others across the world can still devote themselves the same as those native to Oṣogbo.

 

Keeping the African Diaspora Alive

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In the heat of August, tens of thousands of people crowd the streets of Osogbo, Nigeria where they plan to spend the next 12 days honoring their most important Orisha, the goddess Osun. Osun offers grace to Osogbo and ensures their lives are well as long as the people honor her and her Sacred Grove once a year. The beauty and intensity of this festival is explored by Bruce Feiler in “Osun-Osogbo” an episode of a documentary series called  “Sacred Journeys”. Feiler takes you into the heart of Osogbo to show the world how this city honors their goddess from lamp lighting ceremonies to animal sacrifice. After Feiler’s twelve day journey is over and the film has ended it is clear that the Osun-Osogbo festival is an example of the African diaspora with the memories that shape this culture, the distanced covered from a time of exile, and thousands of people returning to Osogbo every year.

The African diaspora is an idea that there are communities around the world that came from descendants of the slaves taken from Africa. Paul Christopher Johnson’s quote from his writing “Religions of the African Diaspora” best connects this idea to the Osun-Osogbo festival, “Diasporic religions are composed on the one hand out of memories about space-places of origins, about the distance traversed from them since a time of exile, and physical or ritual returns…” Two women whose journey of becoming Yoruba priestess’ in the film is the most accurate example on how this festival represents the African diaspora.

The two women who traveled to Osogbo with Bruce Feiler tell him what life was like growing up. They both practiced the same religion depicted in the festival but in the Americas; their only real connection to the Yoruba people was through memories of their families. This example from the film is a key representation of the African diaspora because the Yoruba traditions were kept alive in small communities across the world through memories from their African descendants passed down from generation to generation.

Not only did the women practice their religion from memories passed down, but they understood how their small religious community in the Americas came to be. During the slave trade most slaves came from the coast of Nigeria, bringing their culture with them. The forced journey corresponds with Johnson’s idea of the African diaspora, “…the distance traversed from them since a time of exile…”. This idea made the two soon-to-be Yoruba priestess’ and many others feel the need to come back to the festival  to experience what was taken from them and many other generations. Their physical returns due to a past time of exile truly captures the African diaspora in the Osun-Osogbo festival.

While the idea of the African diaspora is not one known to everywhere this is definitely a film worth watching. It is truly amazing to see a culture that has been spread all over the world stay connected through memories, which in turn gives them the desire to return to the heart of their culture, the Osun-Osogbo festival.

The African Diaspora on Display

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In the film Sacred Journeys with Bruce Feiler: “Oṣun-Oṣogbo,” two women from America journey to Oṣogbo, Nigeria to become priestesses to the river goddess Oṣun. They witness and take part in the Oṣun-Oṣogbo festival in an effort to find their roots, rediscover themselves, and re-pave their path in life. Although understanding their past and where they came from was their primary goal, the girls also wanted to visit Nigeria and show the people and practitioners of Orisha that their culture was still known and valued in other parts of the world, especially because Orisha was under attack in it’s home of Oṣogbo. The Oṣun-Oṣogbo festival demonstrates the way that the African diaspora religions have traveled, changed, and come full circle back to their birthplace though people, events, and objects.

Scholars such as Thompson and Johnson all define the African diaspora religions a little bit differently. Johnson believes that “. . . religions like Vodou, Santeria, Rastafari, and Candomble became doubly diasporic, as their practitioners in New York, Paris, London, or Miami not only look to Africa but also to the Caribbean as powerful homelands from which they are displaced.”  Johnson’s definition speaks more closely to the idea that diasporic religions were shaped by the forced and unnatural nature of the environment they were subject to, i.e. the Atlantic slave trade. During the slave trade, people all over the African continent were ripped from their homes and families, stripped of their traditions and culture, and brought to the Americas to perform slave labor. Many of these people managed to hold onto different aspects of their Yoruba culture/religion and did what they could to practice it in the Americas. The two women who visited Nigeria in this film, Alafia and Oni, have ancestors who did just that. These women represent the journey of the Orisha religion. Although the girls’ ancestors suffered immeasurably, they were able to save bits and pieces of their Yoruba culture–enough to evoke a curiosity and longing in Alafia and Oni to visit Nigeria and immerse themselves in the culture that their ancestors grew up with.

In scholarly articles about the Yoruba religion, animal sacrifices are discussed in depth as a typical offering to Yoruba deities. In the film, a chicken was sacrificed to the river goddess Oṣun. A chicken was slaughtered and the blood was poured over the head of a young man standing at the foot of the Oṣun River. He washed the blood over his head as it fell into the water as a sacrifice to Oṣun. As a final offering, the young man threw the body of the chicken into the river. Sacrificing animals is a staple of diasporic religions and the film showed a great example of a natural offering to the Orisha.

In the Oṣun-Oṣogbo festival, soundscapes and movement are a large part of the atmosphere and ritual. The rhythmic drumming, chanting, and dancing serve as veneration to the Orisha. Soundscapes are a large part of the African diaspora–music in these religions went through a great formative period during the Atlantic slave trade. Slaves used music as a way to connect to each other and get in touch with the culture they were forced to leave behind in Africa. Slaves didn’t have access to instruments so vocals became increasingly important in diasporic religions, as demonstrated in the Oṣun-Oṣogbo festival.

I believe the Oṣun-Oṣogbo festival and its portrayal in the film is a prime example of diasporic religion. It’s a wonderful demonstration of the African diaspora that offers stunning visuals and soundscapes that help viewers understand the essence of Yoruba religion. The film includes great examples (within the Oṣun-Oṣogbo festival) of objects and concepts that are typical in diasporic religions such as the journey of the Orisha religion, the sanctity of animal sacrifice, and the importance of singing, dancing, and playing music together.

A Melting Pot of Religions: How Yoruba Practices Represent Other Faiths

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Some of the aspects of the Oṣun-Oṣogbo festival as seen in “Sacred Journeys” may seem familiar to the American viewer who has little experience with Afro-Atlantic religion, and for good reason. Religious mixture includes traditions of different types of religions and cultures all mixed together. Due to the influence of the slave trade, a lot of these mixtures have aspects and traditions that someone who is unfamiliar with many religions will still be able to recognize. Nigeria was a central country in relation to the slave trade, and many slaves from Nigeria were sent to South, Central, and North America. Practices from all around these areas mixed with practices brought over from Nigeria, and modified versions of religions spread around the world. “Sacred Journeys” may be about viewing and understanding Yoruba culture, but there are still plenty of aspects that are recognizable to someone who doesn’t know much about Afro-Atlantic religion.

One example of religious mixture is when the two young women being inducted into a Yoruba-centric culture shaved their heads and washed with holy water as a way to symbolize their induction into a new life and religion. This is similar to the idea of Christian baptism, in which someone, often a child, has holy water sprinkled on their head to represent entering a new life. These rituals are incredibly similar, and are an example of one of several very familiar aspects of the festival that a viewer is likely to recognize, even if they haven’t studied Afro-Atlantic religions.

Another example would be the animal sacrifice. During the induction of the two young women, several people that are practiced in performing traditional rituals sacrifice a goat. This is somewhat similar to a religion such as Satanism, in which one of the most recognizable aspects to a modern viewer would be the sacrifice of an animal, often a goat. Although this isn’t the most glamorous of comparisons, it is worth noting that animal sacrifice, no matter the reason why, is a very real aspect of both of these religious practices, and could be evidence of more mixing of cultures.

It’s important to recognize the effects of the slave trade on Yoruba culture, and how it ties into some of the examples of Yoruba religion sharing characteristics with other religions. Johnson’s thoughts that “even cultural losses, and the responses to loss, continued to inform the experience of a new territory and generate new practices both among the colonized and the colonizers” (“Syncretism and Hybridization”, 759) shares an idea that is relevant to the effects of the slave trade. Even through losing followers, the Yoruba culture has gained a lot, in that it now has traditions and practices that encapsulate some of the culture and practices of other religions and religious mixtures. Without the loss of followers, Yoruba religion wouldn’t have developed to share aspects of more cultures and religions and to grow into a new, more diverse religion.

While Yoruba religion exists on its own, it can be easy to recognize the influences of other religions on the traditions of Yoruba religion. The strong influence of the slave trade brought diversity from many different places into practice in Yoruba culture. The mixing of different cultures, religions, and rituals all ended up merging into a beautiful and diverse festival, and having a meaningful impact on not only Yoruba, but other religions as well.

Religious Mixture: Christianity’s Overshadowing of Yoruba Religion

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Noah Stommel

After watching the film, Sacred Journeys with Bruce Feiler: “Oṣun-Oṣogbo,” it became apparent that there are many ways in which the religious practices of the Yoruba people of Nigeria have undergone mixing with non-African culture over the centuries. Of course, mixing of Oriṣa religion began on a grand scale with the slave trade, beginning in the 15th century, as part of the larger African diaspora. With the forced immersion of Yoruba people into European-dominated cultures in the New World, Orisa religion obviously faced mixing with Christianity. Through this fusion of Yoruba religion and Christianity, the traditions of African-originating religion were often obscured and oppressed by that of domineering Europeans.

The piece “Overture: The Concept ‘Altar,’” by Robert Farris Thompson, showed how African practitioners of Oriṣa religions were disallowed by Europeans to continue their rituals. According to legend, Cuban police on one occasion “confronted four men calmly seated with Panama hats in their hands. Other men were standing. Two European dolls, apparently for children, reclined against a wall. The police could do nothing. There were no ‘pagan instruments’ for them to seize and take away, no signs of a black religion for them to persecute, as they were wont to do in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries” (Overture: The Concept ‘Altar’, page 21). As soon as the police left, the objects seemingly strewn around resumed their purpose in a ritual religious practice. The hats became drums, and the dolls became used again as spiritual icons. This example demonstrates aspects of transculturation, in which the process of integrating into the New World called for the adaptations of the Yoruba people’s religious practices.

It was also mentioned in Sacred Journeys that certain Catholic saints have parallel figures of significance in Yoruba culture. Certain valued religious aspects infused into Oriṣa religion from Christianity clearly shows the syncretization, or simply the combination, of Old and New World religion that has taken place over the centuries. As elaborated upon in the film, slave traders did not destroy the Yoruba religion, but rather transplanted it into other corners of the world, allowing it to grow on its own, which ultimately resulted in these hybridized beliefs and practices, with Christianity especially, that we see today.

The film also highlighted the fact that there is mixing of Oriṣa religion not just in the New World, but also still in parts of Nigeria, where Islam and Christianity clash with traditional Yoruba culture. The film mentions the fact that the presence of more globalized religion in Nigeria is threatening traditional Oriṣa practices. The public is inundated with religious propaganda that argues the benefits of converting to Christianity. The youth of Nigeria are even proselytized in school, where mainstream Christianity tries to drown out the reverence for Oriṣa.

Ultimately, this film broadened my insights into how Oriṣa religion continues to be influenced by other religions, chiefly Christianity, on both sides of the Atlantic, and how, despite the fact that Christianity exists in force both in the New World and the Old, the Oriṣa-oriented culture can be affected differently. Perhaps most importantly, this film helped to further my understanding of the resiliency of Yoruba culture throughout the recent centuries, and the lasting significance that preserved practices still have on people of all corners of the world touched by West-African influence.

 

The African Diaspora: Modern Yoruba Religious Practices

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Nigeria has a culture that has been constantly impacted by change from many things such as slavery, colonization, and war. Now Nigeria is going through a state of massive amounts of growth and modernization. This modernization in many other countries has resulted in more secular life that isn’t the case in Nigeria. Hybridization and syncretism have changed and shaped The Yoruba religion and evidence of this is in the Osun-Osogbo festival and in the religion’s regular practice as well.

The Yoruba Holy book Efa is known as The Encyclopedia of Yoruba Knowledge because it not only acts as a holy text but also as a way to tell the future, history, genealogy, herbal medicine,and has elements of psychology. Efa uses information from the past and is read using natural objects including sand. The practice of telling the future and the concept of viewing things in the lens of time is an integral part of Yoruba and more broadly most diasporic religions according to Paul Christopher Johnson, a professor at University of Michigan in Afro-american and African studies. Additionally, opening the mind and being open are very important in the religion according to the Yoruba priest who performs a ritual on Bruce Feiler in the . That same priest lives next to a church and feels as though he is praying to the same one god that his neighbors are worshiping even though they practice a different way. The opening of the ceremony with a beaded necklace is very similar to Rosary beads in the Catholic faith which seems to be another example of the diasporic process influencing the Yoruba tradition. However the historical significance of beads in Africa which were often times used as a commodity to trade with by the European slavers for slaves makes me question if this was a practice used before the slave trade due to the possible very negative connection associated with the beads.

Yoruba is comparable to Christianity and in fact has influenced the practice of the religion in many ways showing the diasporic nature of Yoruba as a religion. They are comparable due to in christianity there being three traditional aspects of the one god in the Father, Son, and Holy spirit and in Yoruba there is one main God, Olorun, however there are 401 aspects of the deity according to Lloyd Weaver a Yoruba Priest from the united States. As another example of how Christianity, more specifically Catholicism, and the concept of saints in the catholic church is very similar to Yoruba tradition according to Sandy Placido who teaches at American University. Having specific days for saints like saint Patrick’s day, saint Michael’s day, and many more have Yoruba counterparts of specific days of worship for specific Orisha. However, It is much different in that there are specific months for specific deities. While this may seem somewhat different than Christianity it really isn’t, when you compare the Catholic calendar it begins to look somewhat similar with ther. Yoruba has a separate calendar for the gods with 13 months and 4 days a week and a separate calendar for day to day business which is the same as the Gregorian Calendar. The usage of the Gregorian calendar is due mostly to European Christian influence and is evidence of the hybrid nature of the Yoruba culture.

The Osun-Osogobo festival’s focus on the water, cleansing, and the head all relate to the idea of being baptized in Christianity. During the Osun-Osogobo festival the is a pilgrimage to the nearby river. The crowd of people walk down to the river while walking, they all do a motion over their head in order to cleans themselves. This act of cleansing is similar to how a priest would bless a person who is being baptized before putting them into the water. Then once the crowd reaches the water they cover their heads in water and some even drink from the water in an effort to cleanse themselves. This is comparable to the act of baptizing someone except there isn’t a priest blessing everyone. The task of cleansing is done individually which differs from the Christian tradition despite the two religions having a very similar tradition. However, just because these two religions have a lot in common that doesn’t mean that they are anywhere near the same and the practices being similar shows the syncretic properties of the Yororuba religion. Paul Christopher Johnson wrote in his book “Syncretism and Hybridization” “we can agree that everything is mixed without conceding that all religions are mixtures in just the same way” (767) which illustrates the hybrid properties and syncretism that all religions display. Many religions are considered to be hybrid and the diasporic Yoruba religion certainly is quite a good example of a religion that displays many hybrid properties.

The hybrid and inclusive nature of Yoruba religious tradition is tied to many different factors however many of those factors seem to be of European origin. Despite the many European influences, the Yoruba religion still remains incredibly unique. The focus on time and change are integral to the religion and differentiate it greatly from many other religions

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                          Osun-Osogbo Festival:

          A Tradition Shared Across the High Seas

 

   The Osun-Osogbo festival is an event where Yoruba people and descendants alike come together for a celebration of good fortune under the goddess Osun. In Yoruba culture, many different gods and goddesses are worshipped for their critical role played in guiding life. Osun is the goddess of sweet water, love, and giving. The festival honoring her lasts for a duration of 2 weeks in the western part of Nigeria, where people of all cultural backgrounds and preferences come to pay homage to Osun. With that being said, the festival is known as an African diaspora religion due to the mix of individuals present as well as their unique experiences with the Yoruba religion.

   African diaspora is the result of the mass movement of African people to the New World during the years of the Atlantic slave trade. The new communities formed in the Americas from this event created what is known as African diaspora religion, or religion that stems from several related traditions brought together by the people who practiced them. The Osun-Osogbo festival is littered with traces of African diaspora because of the idea of syncretism. Syncretism is a matter of organization and unity that occurs following the displacement of differing cultures.

The Osun Osogbo festival commences 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. Mass excitement expressed by traditionalists and non-traditionalists alike is awe-inspiring. The lighting of the lamp is the first instance of how the Osun-Osogbo festival is an example of African diaspora religion. That is due to the fact that the gathering of people who share a love of Osun are not all necessarily avid practitioners of the Yoruba lifestyle. Amazingly, the people who attend originate from several different continents! Their exposure to the religion in their respective countries brought them to the festival from near and far. Professor Badejo is a participant who traveled from the University of Baltimore in the United States. She remarks during the ceremony that, “It’s like St. Patrick’s Day, you don’t have to be Catholic to enjoy it”. The professor’s statement is telling of a diasporic nature about the festival, further proving that Yoruba culture influences people from all parts of the world.

Additionally, diasporic characteristics are found surrounding the festival from the story of Alafia and Oni. They are graduate students who make their first pilgrimage to the heart of Yoruba 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 Sacred Grove to implement their newly founded devotion. The Grove is a spiritual spot set in a dense forest intersected by a meandering river, which thousands line on the final day of the festival to cement good fortune for the coming year. The bell used by Alafia and Oni is important because in order for their prayers to be heard, they must do so loudly by ringing it. Like the two graduates and many more, practitioners of this specific culture are present at the festival to revive hopes and dreams that may have dimmed over time. Professor Paul C. Johnson, an expert on African studies from the University of Michigan, provided a definition of diasporic religion that relates to the explained reasoning behind attending. That being, diaspora as an internalized conversion of consciousness among those involved. (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 diaspora.

The Osun-Osogbo festival is a symbol of resilience among other religions that dominate the worship community. The diasporic aspects of the extended ceremony can be realized through analyzing the specific people who attend from all corners of the world. The contagious energy of the celebration is a reminder that African culture is very much alive and experiencing a sort of renaissance. Set aside your pre-conceived notions of religion, and it is easy to see the complex devotion and awesomeness that exists among Yoruba culture.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oṣun-Oṣogbo and the Creation of a Diasporic Legacy

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The African Diaspora has been defined by many, and in many different ways. The definition I find that connects with the Oṣun-Oṣogbo Festival best would be the how Professor Christopher Johnson, a professor of Religion, the African Diaspora, Atlantic studies and more from the University of Michigan, defines it in Chapter 30, “Religions of the African Diaspora” from the book “A Companion to Diaspora and Transnationalism”. “Diasporic religions are composed on the hand out of memories about space- places of origin, about the distances traversed from them since a time of exile, and the physical or ritual returns imagined, […] diasporic religious agents recollect the past through territorial and temporal ways of seeing, and from particular sites.” This idea of the rituals returns is clear in the film, Sacred Journeys: With Bruce Feiler “Oṣun-Oṣogbo”, as the Oṣun-Oṣogbo Festival occurs every year in August and hundreds of thousands of people make the trip to return to Africa and to Oṣogbo for the festivities. Alathia Stewart and Oni Yipiay-Henton are two young women that we met in the film who came to Africa to be initiated as priestesses of the Yoruba religion. They said that coming back felt like they were taking back all that had been taken from them when their ancestors had been stolen from their homeland, and from their religion. During their time in slavery they weren’t allowed to practice their religion freely, they were forced to hide it and keep it veiled behind Catholicism and Christian ideas. This can be seen in Cuban Santería, which can be traced back to Yoruba religion, as many of the gods and goddesses of religion are also associated with Catholic Saints. The goddess Oshun is associated with Our Lady of la Caridad del Cobre (Our lady of Charity) and each god or goddess has their own Catholic counterpart. In the film they also talked about how many of the traditions in the religions’ homeland haven’t changed in hundreds of years, and that most of them survived through the toll that the African Slave trade took on the people and country of Nigeria. They kept the memories of Africa and these religions alive, which is a key part of being a diasporic religion, because they are composed of these memories. It’s the memories that keep the religion alive in the population. This is such an important part of diasporic religions; the whole festival of Oṣun is based off of a memory. That being the memory of how the goddess Oṣun became the patron oriṣa, deity, of Oṣogbo, the reason being, because the first king of Oṣogbo chopped down a tree in Oṣun’s Sacred grove, breaking her personal dye pots, in an attempt to fix what he had done and to repair this relationship between his kingdom and the goddess, he promised her sacrifices and a festival every August. I think this film gave me a better understanding into diasporic and Yoruba religions, because being able to see part of the festival gave me a better understanding of how large of a religion it actually is. I wasn’t aware that it was in the top 10 largest religions, so to see how many people traveled to come participate in this festival, and knowing from Robert Farris Thompson’s book “Face of the Gods: Art and Altars of Africa and African Americas” chapter on the festival celebrating Yemoja, another deity of the water in Yoruba religion, in Brazil really helps to demonstrate how large of a religion it really is. As well as showing how popular of a religion it is, the film also showed us more into the intimate parts of the religion. When we saw Bruce Feiler, the host of the film, go in and speak with the priest and watch a bit of a ritual, or when we got a look into the process of how the young girl was chosen to carry the sacrifices for Oṣun down to the river, we got to actually see a very important part of the religion that we normally do not get to see in the articles that we read. Through this film we are able to see into the religion and make the connection between Yoruba religion and between the African Diaspora. At the same time though, we didn’t get to truly understand what the rituals truly are, and the meaning behind them, because we are only outsiders peering into something that we cannot even begin to understand because the film shows us an American’s view into this African Diasporic religion.

African Diaspora: An Unbreakable Bond Between Mortal and Divine.

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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)

The Power Of Religion

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Alyssa Falco

The African Diaspora is something that is practiced very actively in Nigeria and other parts of Africa. Throughout a video of the Osun-Osogbo annual festival, is was always stated how the people of Africa were forced away from their homeland and now they chose to come back. This idea of them coming back gives them the power back as to what they may have lost by leaving. However, I believe that if you wish to practice something you do it at your own will. Even when the slaves were brought over from Africa, they still continued to practice their religion even if it was in secret. The idea of there being one God or many Gods, and depending on what that God or Gods may represent, whether you are Catholic and worship God and Jesus or you worship Osun, it is a person’s choice. In the movie the priest said “we left Africa but Africa didn’t leave us.” I find this very powerful that he has that kind of spirit and faith in his religion. The evidence is in the festival and the worship they show year round and at all times.They were given a choice when they left africa and they chose to follow or continue practicing their religion.

The Osun-Osogbo festival allows other non practicing people to be a part of their religion and to see for themselves what it means to the people who practice it. The festival is a huge part of explaining what the African Diaspora is and what it can mean. Just by watching this video and seeing how people worship Osun you can tell that they put their faith in her. The people have a sacred river that they use at their altar for the God, Osun. Here there offer animal sacrifices as a sign of their respect for Osun. This is their “temple”, where they can practice their religion and be as one with Osun. The king even comes and worships with them during the festival at this sacred river. Again allowing outsiders to know that this is their way of life and this is what these people put their faith in. In the reading “Intro to Philosophy of History” by Hegel, a philosopher who looked at the African Diaspora religion, says “Religion begins with the consciousness that there is a being higher than man.” (92). No matter how cruel Hegel may have been by threatening this religion with his words stating this religion really isn’t its own, that it was just combinations of others. This quote logically makes sense and it is very well seen that that is exactly what takes place in Africa. These people too, believe there is a higher being than man and Hegel himself is saying that that itself is a religion.

Towards the end of the video the question kept arising, “how can a church be next to a temple and coexist with one another?” How can they not is my response. Look at America, for example, we are a mix of all cultures mushed into one area. Where I grew up, in a small Vermont town, there are 3 different kinds of Christian and Catholic churches within 5 miles of each other. In the next town over there is a Jewish center across the street from a Christian church. This happens all over America. Yes, some religions may be more popular than others, however no brawls broke out in my town about what religion you prefer or what religion you practiced. The people who worship Osun have numbers, not even that, they have people who support their religion that don’t even practice it. This then makes it possible for them to be a community and live by what they believe. Along with every religion comes the idea of wanting to make yours bigger because you may be so passionate about your religion you want everybody to be a part of it, so you ask people to join and ask them to give it a try. But it shouldn’t matter who comes knocking at your door, you can chose to believe in what you wish and these people of the African Diaspora are doing just that. Their festival is known worldwide. People are aware of them, people respect them. Not only that but they believe in themselves, they worship a higher being and they will worship their being until they can’t any longer. That’s all a religion needs, followers, people who believe.