Robert Thompson talks extensively about his Afro-Atlantic altar concept throughout Face of the Gods, placing importance on material objects, significant locales of worship, and connection with Orishas, or deities. The Oṣun-Oṣogbo Festival taking place in Oṣogbo, Nigeria, reflects Thompson’s discussion of the altar concept in many ways. The festival incorporates many traditions into a multiday celebration and worship of Oṣun, one of the most important and powerful of the Yoruba Orishas.
Similar to traditional Afro-Atlantic altars, material objects have a supreme place in the celebration and build up to the festival. Cloth and textiles include elaborate patterns and eloquent designs, with each color corresponding to a different Orisha. Participants in the religious ceremonies of the festival will wear these outfits to symbolize their connection with their related Orisha. Two women from New York are depicted being indoctrinated into the Yoruba faith during the film, Sacred Journeys. Their multiday ceremony takes place both in public and in private, with the transformation occurring after days of seclusion with holy priests and priestesses. Upon indoctrination, the women don elaborate clothing and sacred crowns, which signify their completion of the ceremony. They then make their way to the banks of the Oṣun, where they officially become members of the Yoruba faith. Their intensive indoctrination process allows them to better understand and honor their faith.
Other material objects closely associated with the festival include ceremonial bells. Small and portable, participants will ring these bells to help connect them to the gods while praying. Similar to altars found on both sides of the Atlantic, small sacrifices of food and drink, such as fried foods, gin and cola, are offered to Oṣun.
One of the central components of the festival is the march from Oṣogbo to the Oṣun river, which surrounds a young virgin woman who carries the main sacrifice to the riverbank. The woman’s ceremonial preparation is long and intensive, she is kept sheltered away from the outside world for weeks before the ceremony. The preparation of the young woman is led by the high priestess, who lives in a temple reflecting the sacred grove of the Oṣun river. As Thompson said, “Yoruba building altars thus construct a face/surface/door, a complex threshold for communication with the other world,” (Thompson 30). The high priestess’s home and secluded staging ground for the young woman’s training is rife with symbolic connections to Yoruba faith and to Oṣun. The young woman’s connection to Oṣun is sacred and powerful after this intense ritualistic experience. In the days leading up to the festival, she, along with many other priests and priestesses, make final preparations and prayers, often in hot, crowded rooms in order to closely connect with Oṣun. These rituals, along with the ceremonial bells and intricate fabrics, help Yoruba devotees to bridge the divide between the gods and the mortal world.
In the film, host Bruce Feiler visits a Yoruba priest in order to have his prayer heard. Feiler notes the close, personal relationship induced by the environment of the Priest’s temple. Feiler also comments on the closeness of the sacred objects of the Yoruba religion, in fact, he holds these objects and touches them to his head and chest while making his prayer. This personal, tight-knit atmosphere allows Feiler and other worshippers to better focus on the divine, and connect with the gods so that they may hear their prayers.
The atmosphere of the festival is largely communal and jovial. City residents of Oṣogbo and pilgrims alike partake in a celebration full of food, music, laughter, and dance, culminating in the march down to the river. The festival includes both religious ceremonies and exciting festivities throughout its duration. The main tenets of the festival closely reflect Thompson’s altar concept, placing importance on material objects, communal worship, closeness with the divine, and an opportunity to honor and connect with Oṣun, so that she may hear one’s prayers.
Yoruba Egungun Masquerade
Ifa Divination System
Here is a short video describing the Ifa Divination System:
Adara by Orlando Julius Ekemode
Osun-Osogbo Festival Reflection
People from all over the world come to the Oṣun-Oṣogobo festival to celebrate their religion and to celebrate and honor Oṣun. The film talks about the spread of the Yoruba religion through the slave trade and the ways African-Americans are reconnecting with their heritage through religion and pilgrimage. At the beginning when the 16 lamps are being lit there is a mix of traditionalists, non traditionalists, and people who don’t practice the Yoruba religion. One of the women in the film talks about how she was labeled as East Indian as a hard to place baby and that she fought to claim her African heritage. Another of the women talks about how she grew up christian but in her house there were altars for the catholic saints who correspond to different Oriṣas. Native Africans and people of African descent gather to celebrate Oṣun during the festival.
Johnson’s idea of hybridity in African diasporic religions fits some of the women’s experiences growing up. The matching of catholic saints to different Oriṣas and the different aspects of God found in christianity and catholicism speak to the idea of a hybrid sort of religion. The ways in which people of different religions worship varies but according to the priests in the film they are all worshipping the same God.
The festival is a good example of African diasporic religion due to all the different people shown attending the festival, and all their different backgrounds. Yoruba religion is practiced all over the world and all the different people who go to the festival show that the religion is not going away anytime soon. At the beginning of the film a man says that while slaves and people of African descent may have left Africa, Africa did not leave them. That quote speaks to the ways people worship and the immense importance of the pilgrimages that people make to Nigeria to reconnect with their roots. The two African American women who are initiated as priestesses during the film talk about rewriting their destinies, and how at the end of the initiation they felt like they were at home.
The Oṣun-Oṣogbo festival brings people together, whether they’re practitioners of the religion or not, and to those who are it holds an incredibly special meaning. It is obvious that no one is against the ways that African diasporic religions mixed or the way that Yoruba religion mixed with Christianity. Johnson talked about the use of the word “hybrid” in relation to religion throughout history and how different scholars used it negatively, however, the hybridity of African diasporic religions is not a bad thing. The vast diversity seen in the people attending the festival shows the ways in which the Yoruba people worship and how aspects of the religion are similar to those of other religions and yet the ways in which they worship are incredibly different. One of the women initiated as a priestess talks about how she tends to pray quietly but that it feels good to pray loudly so her prayers can be heard and how the bells force her to pray loudly. The Oṣun-Oṣogbo festival brings out aspects of African diasporic religions that are beautiful and interesting while showing how the Yoruba peoples’ rituals during the Oṣun-Oṣogbo festival affect the atmosphere in the town and how they affect all the people in the town, whether they are practitioners, traditionalists, non traditionalists, or people who are just there to celebrate Oṣun.
Osun-Festival Reflection
Greg Doyle
TAP: Altars of the Black Atlantic
Professor Brennan
9/15/17
Reflection
In the recent weeks of class, we have discussed the religions of the African continent, their cultures and traditions, and how they came to the Americas during the Mid-Atlantic Slave Trade. Specifically, we have been talking about Syncretism/Hybridism and how it has became apparent in many of both the practitioners and hybrid traditions in many African religions, mainly the Yoruba tradition. In many of our readings, we have discovered that many traditions originated on a specific continent, such as the Yoruba Tradition, in Africa, or Santeria, or Candomble, have been traveling from their original place of creation, to new lands, and even blend with existing religious traditions in these “new lands”. The prime example of this process, referred to as hybridization is described by Steve Engler as: “The way in which social boundaries that are activated and reworked within system of religious beliefs and practices, and how they reflect, retract, and combine with homologous boundaries present in a given society”. Many practitioners of Yoruba culture, were taken to the America’s, and despite the fact that they left their home, the memories of culture and sacred traditions never left their memories and hearts; as one practitioner stated in the video we watched: “Although we left Africa, Africa never left us”.
This blending of religious practices, can be understood as a process of evolution, in faith, almost a renaissance, as described in the video. A renaissance in essence, is a rebirth. With the blending of these religious practices amongst people of different backgrounds, ethnic belongings, lifestyles, etc. These religions which were long thought to have been laid to rest once the practitioners were taken and sent away from their homes of worship, are now beginning to see the light of a new dawn, a new day. These religions are growing, in strength and numbers each and every day, because their practitioners are now seeking safe, and nurturing places to practice their newly formed faiths, and to introduce their cultures to the world and the rest of its inhabitants. An emphasized example, of the blending of many religious traditions, is in the Osun-Osogbo festival, as seen in the video required for this assignment.
We can observe the Osun-Osogbo festival, that occurred in the video, and identify certain aspects of the ritualistic traditions occurring, and how we can relate the aspects of this particular tradition to other traditions of separate religious practices. For example, although not in the actual festival itself, there is a ceremony, where a child is taken to the side of a river and ran water over their heads and asked blessings from the goddess Osun. This ceremony is incredibly similar to the tradition of Baptism in Christianity/Catholicism, where a child is bathed in holy water and receives God’s blessings. Also, during the festival, candles, incense, and bells are used to both call the attention of the goddess into a ritualistic space, but also to center her attention amongst two initiate priestesses of the Osun tradition. Third, there are many instances where altars are sed to place various objects, offerings, statues, etc. That call the attention of the divine, and create a space to worship their presence and their influence. Again, in many modern monotheistic and polytheistic religions, altars are used to worship a god (s) or goddess (es).
Oṣun-Oṣogbo Festival Reflection
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 first reason that this festival is an example of African Diaspora, is because the people who take part in the ceremony, come from many differents 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. There are commonalities in which each Oriṣa represent in general, but the gods representation 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.
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 African diaspora religion was stripped from its roots during the slave trade. Communities were forced out of their homeland and shipped all over the Americas. This forceful movement of these people stripped individuals of their origins and identity. Practitioners of the African diaspora religion tend to look past the wrongfulness of their movement and look for a much more positive mindset; their religion and culture has managed to spread all over.
Oṣogbo is the largest city in Africa and is the heart of the African diaspora religion. It is known as Yoruba land and brings thousands of pilgrims every year to the Oṣun-Oṣogbo festival which celebrates Oṣun. This festival is held every August and welcomes everyone. Practitioners and nontraditionalists pack the streets of Oṣogbo learning and joining in on traditions of the African diaspora.
The festival begins with the welcoming of local Orisha. This is done with personal offerings to your personal Orisha. One may have a shrine with various items and offerings to your Orisha. As a community, the lighting of an ancient lamp represents the welcoming of Oṣun in the Yoruba kingdom. A significant part of the lighting ceremony is when the King and other political leaders come together to dance around the fire to welcome Oṣun. The presence of the King and political leaders represents the union between political powers and spiritual powers.
Privately, priests come together in a sacred ceremony to bless new priests. These newly blessed individuals are asked to give their hair to their Orisha as a way to symbolize all the negative powers leaving and the new growth to be positive and blessed. The Ifá, which is the scripture of the Yoruba people, contains the history, practices, beliefs, and traditions written. Priests foretell the future using the Ifá allowing individuals like the new priests to rewrite their story and pray for the things that they want.
Throughout the festival, an important site of worship is Oṣun’s sacred grove. Many shrines are placed here and it contains the sacred river where many sacrifices are made to Oṣun. A tradition of the African Diaspora is to worship history. At Oṣun’s sacred grove in Oṣogbo, Nigeria, it is the origin of Oṣun’s power. This is why during the Oṣun-Oṣogbo festival this grove is the spotlight of worship. Another part of history they worship is their past kings. The ceremony of the crowns involves the crowns of the past 18 kings that have ruled Oṣogbo. Each is blessed by the community and by Oṣun.
An important component of the African diaspora religion is clothing fabrics. It is believed that the patterns and colors of one’s clothes are associated with your Orisha. Those who take part in making the clothing, like those who make indigo clothing, are seen as Oṣun’s disciples.
All these traditions bring the African diaspora give the community a sense of being active and engaged with their beliefs. Simple objects like prayer bells bring traditions to life and allow the worshipers to connect with their Orisha. Humans and Orisha’s are meant to be connected and the Orisha’s goal is to help reinforce humanity’s role that humans and animals thrive and survive.
Examples of the African Diaspora in the Oṣun-Oṣogbo festival
In the film Sacred Journeys with Bruce Feiler: “Oṣun-Oṣogbo,” two women from America journey to Osogobo, Nigeria to become priestesses to the river goddess Oshun. 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 Osogobo. 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 that we have read in class such as Thompson and Johnson all define the African diaspora religions a little bit differently. 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, 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 several of our class readings, animal sacrifices were discussed in depth–animals are a typical offering to Yoruba deities. In the film, a chicken was sacrificed to the river goddess Oshun. A chicken was slaughtered and the blood was poured over the head of a young man standing at the foot of the Oshun River. He washed the blood over his head as it fell into the water as a sacrifice to Oshun. 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. (Reshma)
Sacred Journey- “Osun-Osogbo” Reflection
Sacred Journeys Reflection
Seth Epling
African Diaspora is a term that is used to describe the mass movement of african culture and religion during the slave trade. During this time, the colonists who were taking away the slaves freedom, names, and life, did not take away their religion and belief. The religion of Yoruba was able to spread to so many different areas on the atlantic coast during this time and with this came populations who brought their own, new culture to the religion. In this documentary, Sacred Journeys with Bruce Feiler: “Oṣun-Oṣogbo”, it follows two American girls journey to Nigeria in order to become priestess. The documentary is able to tell a story of thousands of people by following these two young adults.
The main story follows two students, Alatin Stewart and Oni Yebiye Hinton, and their journey to Oshogbo, Nigeria. It starts off with the back streets of the biggest city of Nigeria, Lagos. This is an compelling start because the images in the video show a part of town that is run down, dirty and has stray animals running everywhere. Then, a gate open for these two americans to show a beautiful altar. It shows the connective power that this religion holds. Later in the documentary, these Americans go to a sacred festival called Oshun-Oshogbo. This is an incredible, passionate festival in where anyone is welcome. It starts in the streets, where everyone is trying different foods provided by different types of people and culture. One of the most interesting parts about this festival is the shear number of people that the are not only African Diaspora followers. This is incredible because of the history. These people were forced out of their land and pushed to change religion. As the priest said towards the end of the film, “We left Africa, but Africa never left us.” This is an important detail in this religion that makes it a African Diaspora religion. They were able to spread out all over the globe hundreds of years ago, and each year are able to make it back to where their ancestors once lived and celebrate unity.
“Diasporas are social products that must be rehearsed, represented and refreshed; they do not spring up or endure automatically; rather they demand continuous long-enduring effort.” (Johnson, 515) This quote comes from an excerpt from “Religions of the African Diaspora” written by Paul Christopher Johnson. This quote explains that the African Diaspora religion needs to be constantly practiced to ensure that the long history of the religion won’t be
forgotten. This is shown in the film by this festival. This festival is done often and most things about it do not change. These people are continuing to practice this religion over and over again and barely changing anything about it. This is in agreement with Johnson because these people are constantly keeping their religion in mind and making sure that the little aspects and traditions are being kept generation after generation. This is also an example of what Johnson said because this religion did not spontaneously arise. It has been worked on from the slave trade to present day and will continue growing. This religion will be around for awhile because the people who follow and believe are accepting. They are not secluded, lots of the followers are also Christian and Muslim and they are able to integrate aspects of both religions into their own beliefs. This festival is a perfect example of why this is a African Diaspora religion.