List of Appendices
3.4 Purity and the Yoruba Traditional society
It is the Yoruba belief that Olodumare, the Supreme Being is the creator and owner of the society. Accordingly, the activities and actions of man in the society should be done in a manner that is pleasing to the Supreme Being. Therefore, for the wellbeing of human beings and society, people should regulate their conduct accordingly. The government of
74
the society is seen as a religious affair. It is a system of sustaining a relationship between man and the spiritual world, which comprises the Supreme Being and the pantheon. For this reason the paramount Yoruba chief establishes a link between members of the society and the divinities. Thus a law-abiding society governed by the chieftaincy is guided in ways that are in harmony with the will of the Supreme Deity. Departure from this is considered objectionable and polluting. The Yoruba society regards cleanliness as paramount to the general wellbeing of the cosmos. In all, purity is very necessary because it has so many advantages, such as, keeping things clean and maintaining a high level of hygiene. However, in agreement with Douglas, it goes beyond hygiene as it includes social integration and control and it is all encompassing. It extends beyond the physical to the metaphysical. Even to the abode of the gods. This is because the Yoruba believe that you must be pure before one can approach Olodumare or his intermediaries. To reiterate, in Yoruba traditional religion, purity is essential to approaching the gods and goddesses.
In an exclusive interview with an herbalist in Sonyindo, Sagamu Oloye Ifasan Obe, in January, 2008, the Irunmọnlệ gives rules that suggest virtues that must not be broken in the land.1
The action or conduct of one man within the community can affect the other members for good or for evil, and in order to prevent man from becoming rebellious towards the society, there are set patterns or code of behaviour for the individual and the An attempt to contravene this sanction can throw the whole community into chaos. He regarded purity as the most desirable quality that should be aspired to and maintained in Yorubaland.
With the Yoruba people issues of purity are certainly the fruit of religion. They do not make any attempt to separate the two; and it is impossible for them to do so without disastrous consequences (Idowu 1966:146). What have been named taboo took their origin from the fact that people agree and accept that there were certain things which were morally approved or disapproved by the Deity. To the Yoruba “eewo” – “things forbidden”, things not done, have special significance by assuming a quasi-personal character in consequence of which it has been given the name “A- kii-see’ meaning ‘it is not done’. Taboos are prohibited actions, the breaking of which is followed by the supernatural penalty.
1 The term Irunmolemeans “earth-spirit” possibly derives from imon-knowledge and ile-land, soil, earth, but is now used as a general term for spiritual/divine beings (cf. Hallgreen, 1988:71).
75
community as a whole. There are certain standards or norms to be observed. If one observes the norms faithfully it will be to the good of one and one’s society but if otherwise, it will bring disaster not only to oneself but also to one’s community. These norms and codes can be seen as purity codes in the Yoruba context (Awolalu and Dopamu 2005:235).
Among the Yoruba, in considering taboos, covenant also comes into focus. When one enters into a covenant with a divinity, such a covenant usually has its sanctions and demands. One has to obey all the codes of the cult and observe its taboos; each divinity usually has certain things which are peculiar taboos to him. For instance among the Yoruba, Orisa-nla is the divinity of purity and he represents the divine holiness. Hence, he enjoins his worshippers to be perfect and without stain, avoiding acts that affect their character and purity. These acts of purity are also set among people of the same vocation for example traders in iron, like hunters, drivers, blacksmiths etc have norms to follow in order to enhance the place of purity in the society and they must not swear falsely with the emblem of Ogun, the god of iron (Idowu 1966:125).
In the Yoruba Context, purity based on cults of divinities tends to narrow in its application, because worshippers of a particular divinity may not observe the taboos of other divinities. Worshippers of Orisa-nla, the god of purity must not drink palm-wine, those of Ogun drink it. The devotees of the same divinity are only bound by the same code of behaviour and each divinity punished ritual and moral offences which are within his province (Awolalu and Dopamu 2005:235).
Although every covenant has a ritualistic basis, nevertheless, the obligations which are its outcome are ethical. The Yoruba know the distinction between ritual errors which are calculated to be offences against the divinities, derelictions of official duties which may arouse the anger of the aggrieved ancestors and the breach of the Deity’s behests which is purely a moral issue. Sometimes, it is not easy to draw the line between the merely ritual and the purely ethical, as they are often involved one within other, as the ritual may be a means for the easy attainment of the ethical. For instance, abstinence from sexual intercourse, wine, flesh and bread, and the repeated ablutions before taking part in the rites, were designed to rid the worshippers of ritual impurity, but they did acquire a more ethical content in the course of time and come to have a moral and spiritual basis.
76
By and large, it is believed that each divinity punishes ritual and moral offences against themselves only (Idowu 1966:148-149).
In matter of purity in the Yoruba context, a person’s character is of supreme importance in public purity. To the Yoruba, man’s character is what Olodumare judges.
Man’s well-being depends upon his character. Therefore, purity is summed up in Yoruba by the word ‘Iwa’ which means character (Idowu 1966; Awolalu 2005): good character among other things means for them; chastity before marriage, hospitality, wholeness, condemning wickedness, observing taboos, respect, truthfulness, healthiness, etc. Anyone that does all these is regarded as pure, not only doing the will of the society, but also of God. Orisa-nla symbolizes ethical purity in Yoruba history and reflects the Yoruba belief that there is the need to be pure and of good conduct and character so that it may be well with man and his society.