Religious Experience in Ṣàngó’s Verbal Art among the Yorùbá People of Ẹdẹ
Religious Experience in Ṣàngó’s
Verbal Art among the Yorùbá People of Ẹdẹ
George
Olusola Ajibade
Credit: Prof L. O. Adewole
Yoruba for academic purpose
Introduction
This
study was born out of an exclusive interview with the adherents of Ṣàngó and experiential
participation in the worship of this deity in the traditional community of Ẹdẹ,
Osun State, Nigeria between 2007 and 2012. The main focus of this paper is to
identify the orientation of Ṣàngó
worshippers as it comes to expression in poetry. Religious poetry places the
stress on different points such as the emotional and spiritual stances and also
expresses identical ideas in different ways, in accordance with psychological
and religious profiles and experiences.
The
paper, among other things addresses how the people were practicing Ṣàngó religion in the past, the
changes that had occurred, the factors that are responsible for the changes and
kinds of power relation existing between Ṣàngó
worshippers and practitioners of other religions. Important to these questions
is the poetry produced by the worshippers to see transmogrification witnessed
by the Ṣàngó
worshippers in their various religious interactions with other people in the
community. In other words, the study examines the text of the poetry as
explicit statements of philosophical or religious doctrine and as expressions
of distinctive worshipful attitudes. This is because philosophical or doctrinal
content of the poetry (songs, chants and recitals) may determine, colour, or
codify the poet's spiritual and emotional orientation as it comes to expression
in the selected poetry. I will take as the starting point how Ṣàngó worship started in Ẹdẹ
community.
The
Begining of Ṣàngó in Ẹdẹ
Ẹdẹ
is a community that is situated on the banks of the Ọ̀ṣun River. It is a town
originally regarded as a military outpost of Old Oyo Empire (Beier, 1959:
5). The beginning of Ṣàngó
in Ẹdẹ could be traced to Timi Kofoworola Bamigbaye Ajeniju, who was said to be
born with closed fists and upon consultation with Ifa oracle it was revealed
that he was a Ṣàngó devotee from heaven. It
was added that he a message should be sent to the Mọgbà in Ọ̀yọ́ who will
perform certain rituals so that the fists might be opened. This was done as
prescribed and a small pebble (a miniature of Ẹdun àrá) was found in his right palm and a cowrie in the left. It
was then revealed that he was a Mọgbà from heaven. He grew up to become a king
in the lineage of Timi and encouraged the worship of Ṣàngó
in Ẹdẹ, making it a civil religion in this community.
Ṣàngó is
worshipped daily, weekly and annually in Ẹdẹ town. Ṣàngó
festival in Ẹdẹ is a nine day event starting with prayers at Odò Ṣàngó.
They fetch water from this brook for the ritual cleansing of Ẹdun àrá. The main chiefs in the cult of
Ṣàngó in Ẹdẹ are
Baálẹ̀ Ṣàngó, Mọgbà, Ẹlẹ́gùn Ṣàngó and Adósù Ṣàngó
who are the male chiefs while the female chiefs are the Ìyá Ṣàngó.
I was told during interviews with the cult functionaries that they create more
executive members within the cult as the need arises. The females are the
exponents of the oral art of Ṣàngó. Besides
what has been handed over to them over the years, they create more of these
oral arts both out of their religious experiences and in their response to the
prevailing situation with their religion within the community.
The Ẹlẹ́gùn Ṣàngó are the devoted
worshippers of Ṣàngó whom he has chosen to be
filled with his power to reveal certain truths and secrets to the world.
The
initiation ritual creates the deity inside the initiands. The initiate, either Ẹlẹ́gùn
Ṣàngó (the one mounted upon by Ṣàngó)
or the Adósù Ṣàngó (the one that fashioned
his or her hair style after the patter of Ṣàngó)
are joined to Ṣàngó through initiation. Hence
they are called Ìyàwó òrìṣà
(deity’s wives). These devotees join to their deity (Ṣàngó)
as husband and wife just as married women join to their husbands. Such
initiates are no longer their own but bind to the deity. Matory (1994: 175)
made a similar observation that “the verb gun (to “mount”) often implies
suddenness, violence, and utter loss of self-control-a connotation linking it
paradigmatically with Sango’s action upon his possession priests and upon the
world”. In other words, whenever Ṣàngó mounts
upon his devotees they have no will of their own and they are totally subjected
to the will of Ṣàngó. This is not totally
different from the Christians’ experience when they go into trance whereby they
prophesy or when they are possessed with the Holy Spirit and they prophesy.
From our interaction with Ṣàngó
worshippers and many non- Ṣàngó worshippers in Ẹdẹ we discovered that Ṣàngó
is patronised by many people. Even many Christians and Muslims visit Ṣàngó
worshippers in Ẹdẹ for one help or the other. Interactions with Ṣàngó
worshippers, mainly in Ẹdẹ community revealed that Ṣàngó
is a living religion among the Yorùbá people of Southwestern Nigeria. The
worship of this deity daily, weekly and annually shows the peoples’ commitment
to this deity. It is not a gainsaying that there are genuine worshippers of
this deity who do not imbibe syncretism as found in some other
religions-traditional and domesticated. It has been observed that:
At
times, some women who are looking for the fruit of womb visit them to inquire
from Ṣàngó what we need to do and he
can tell us what we need to do so that such women can have children. In some
cases Ṣàngó can tell us to give such
women cold water called Àgbo ìdí Ṣàngó
(Concoction at the shrine of Ṣàngó).
But it sad to say that after such a woman has received her miracle from Ṣàngó, though she will come to pay her vow (Ẹ̀jẹ́) but she usually ascribes glory to
Christ if she is a Christian and to Allah if a Muslim.[1]
One
would wonder the situation with the Ṣàngó religion
in Ẹdẹ today. It was gathered from the interview with the royal monarch of Ede
town (Oba Muniru Adesola Lawal, Laminisa 1) recently that the religion is
thriving. Below is the summation of his position on Ṣàngó
religion in Ẹdẹ as reported in Vanguard
of March 10, 2013:
You cannot
remove the seat of Timi from that of Sango and that is why Sango has been one
of the major traditional festivals that we celebrate. In the last five years, I
have tried to rekindle the dampened lights of this festival. People will
testify that I have done a lot to promote the festival, but Islamic and
Christian religions have been affecting the festival. If anything happened to
an Ede person, he will shout ‘Ṣàngó
Timi’ in those days. We believe Ṣàngó
is part of Ede and Ede is part of Timi and that is why I have been trying to
promote the festival again. “People believe once you celebrate this festival
that you are no longer a Muslim or a Christian, but I am a Muslim and I know my
relationship with God. So, I have tried to raise the standard of the festival
so as to attract people from far and wide. The origin of Timi itself is Ṣàngó and one should not allow religion to blind
fold him as to close his eyes to the traditional worshippers and the culture of
the people. I know I am going to give account of my stewardship for all the
religious beliefs of my people in Ede before my creator as their burden is on
me.
The
above shows clearly that Ṣàngó religion is a living tradition
in this community. It also shows a level of religious tolerance on the part of
the royal monarch.
Mọgbà
are the friends of Ṣàngó who is regarded as the
husband of all Ṣàngó worshippers. They are well
respected in cult. They are given honour as friends to Ṣàngó.
There is a popular song sung in the public during the annual worship of Ṣàngó
especially in Ẹdẹ to honour the Mọgbà and to show their place in the worship of
Ṣàngó. The song goes thus:
Baba
Mọgbà (twice)
Ẹ
má fi baba Mọgbà ṣeré,
Baba
Mọgbà.
(Baba
Mọgbà,
Do
not joke with Baba Mọgbà
Baba
Mọgbà).
We
have gathered that Mọgbà are the non-possession priests that are officially
responsible for the initiation of possession priests and priestesses. In
addition, we gathered that in the history of deified Ṣàngó
the Mọgbà occupy a central space. The Mọgbà were the faithful friends of
Ṣàngó when he became deified. We
were told that it was these Mọgbà who heard the voice of Ṣàngó
at Koso when he (Ṣàngó) told them how he should
be worshipped. That is why up till today they are regarded as the close
associates of Ṣàngó cult wherever the latter
is worshipped.
During
the annual festivals of Ṣàngó in Ẹdẹ, the cult members
perform different types of magic to show the power and prowess of Ṣàngó.
He is regarded as a powerful and strong man; he emits fire and has a lot of
medicine. All these they show to the people in order to prove that his power is
still in us as his followers. They cut tongues with razor blade and it grows
again within some seconds. At times they put a mortar on their chests and
request hefty men to pound raw leaves into powder with pestle. In some cases
they remove one of their eye bulbs with a sharp knife and it grows back in the
socket.
This
practice could be regarded as performing of miracles in hour of Ṣàngó
by his worshippers. It instills fear in the hearts of the audience and brings
life to their worship. It shows social relevance of Ṣàngó
in this cultural milieu. The practice of magic to honour him during the
festival is the celebration of Ṣàngó’s sacred
origin. They are the ritual exponents that possess àṣẹ, the power to bring things
into existence. Through a practical mastery of performance techniques they
manipulate the perceptual world, as it is experienced daily; they play upon,
embellish, and transform reality. They bring that which is normally
inaccessible or imagined into the phenomenal world where it can be observed and
contemplated (Drewal, 1992: 90).
At
the incursion of Islam and Christianity in many Yorùbá communities; and even
after, many Ṣàngó worshippers remain
faithful to their deity notwithstanding the political influence and economic
sway.
As
far back as 1954, Ulli Beier (Beier 1954: 16) remarked in regards to Sàngó’s
worshippers’ experience thus:
In
fact, I know a priestess of Shango who accompanies her Ọba every now and then
to church. Although she does not believe in Christianity she will yet show
respect to the God of her king.
In
a similar vein, Beier (1954) remarked that:
I
was extremely lucky that the first Oba I met was Timi Laoye of Ede. In order to
encourage his people to attend extramural classes, he joined my course for a
whole year. He also became my mentor…The exciting thing was that he was a
Christian, in fact, he had been educated by American Baptists. He went to
Church on Sundays, to the mosque on the major Moslem festivals, and celebrated
meticulously all traditional Yoruba festivals. He saw himself as the father of
all his people and as such, could not be seen to favour one religion over
another. But above all, Timi Laoye celebrated the Ṣàngó
festival more than any other. Ṣàngó
was his personal orisa.[2]
Nowadays,
the experience of Beier recorded above is not the case; still there are similar
and related incidences. For example, there are those we interviewed who are
Muslims and Christians who told us that they love the Ṣàngó
festival in the town and that they are always happy and look forward to the
month of October to witness Ṣàngó festival.
This
indicates that despite the hard onslaught of Islam and Christianity on Ṣàngó
as one of the Yorùbá traditional religions there are still many people found
devoted to this traditional religion of the people. This is in line with
Nigosian (1975: 1) who observes that:
Many
religions rose only to disappear quickly, living little or no race. Others
flourished only as long as a particular civilization or nation flourished, but
died with it. A few, however, were destined to persist as living religions to
the present era.
The
observation of Nigosian is true of Ṣàngó religion
both among the Yorúbá people of Africa and those that are off the shore of
Africa.
In
regards to African traditional religion of which Ṣàngó
is of paramount, Awolalu and Dopamu (1979: 285) summed it up thus:
Thus,
although the traditional religion has many forces militating against it and
underrating its importance, it has within it an inexplicable seed of
immortality which has been planted on a fertile soil which continues to give
nourishment to the tree resulting from the seed and under which tree men and
women come to seek refuge from time to time.
Our
summation from interviews we had with the adherents of Ṣàngó
among the Yorùbá of Nigeria, Ẹdẹ to be specific tallies with the observation of
Awolalu and Dopamu as cited above. It is evident that this religion is
surviving in the contemporary society with reformation and transformation.
This, no one has control over, because culture is dynamic and unstable; it will
continue to change. Nonetheless, the base does not change as one could evince
from the performance of the Ṣàngó poetry by the adherents in
Ẹdẹ community as shall be seen later in this work.
Similarly,
we note that the existence of Islam and Christianity have been responsible for
the crisis in people’s religious susceptibilities for which they have to assert
their indigenous/traditional religiousity. Thus, it can lead to revolution and
protest. Islam, Christianity and the global wave of globalization had and
continue to have terrible effects on Ṣàngó worship
among the Yorùbá of Nigeria. But the adherents of Ṣàngó
in Ẹdẹ community maintain that the future of this religion is bright. Islam and
Christianity are very old in this community; still they are not able to stop
this traditional religion. One of them even said during our interview with him
that, ‘though we do not know what the future holds since we are not God, but it
is certain that Ṣàngó religion cannot be
destroyed’.
Projecting
into the future is somehow difficult and unpredictable. But correlating the
past to the future of any event or scene is of great importance to forecasting
of the future.
Our
experience with some Ṣàngó worshippers on Tuesday
July 17, 2007 at Ṣàngó’s compound in Òsogbo is a
proof to the perception of Ṣàngó worshippers in the contemporary
Yorùbá society. On this day, in our bid to negotiate a forum for interview with
Ṣàngó worshippers, they did not
only decline to grant us audience but they also maintained that they perceived
that the ultimate of our research on Ṣàngó is to
snatch their Ṣàngó (motifs) away to the
Western world (ìlú èèbó, in their
word). Every effort to convince them proved futile. This experience with them
cannot be discountenanced; it is highly significant to our understanding of
religious orientation of the people during the colonial era and even after.
Fear of interference with foreign religions, Islam and Christianity, to be
specific is of great concern to the adherents of Ṣàngó.
Also, our experience with the Ṣàngó
worshippers in Ẹdẹ is a proof that most of the worshippers are afraid of being
intimidated by the domesticated religions and thereby guard their worship
jealously. It took interventions of some dignitaries before we were allowed to
make a productive interview with the worshippers.
From
our interview with Ṣàngó worshippers and our
experiential participation in the festival in Ẹdẹ community, we discovered that
the verbal art is central both in the worship and in the construction of
religious experience and identity of the Ṣàngó
worshippers. Besides, “Yoruba òrìṣà
can scarcely be apprehended without taking into account the specific textuality
of the oral genres through which they are created, maintained and communicated
with” (Barber, 1990: 313). This portends that for proper capturing of religious
experience of the Ṣàngó worshippers in Ẹdẹ
community the verbal art of the worshippers must be properly taken into
account. This will lead us into appreciation of the ‘verbal ritual’
orchestrated by the adherents of Ṣàngó in Ẹdẹ
community.
Verbal Ritual to Ṣàngó
The
Yorùbá oral or verbal art can be produced in three distinct but in many
instances in interwoven forms (Babalola 1966, Olukoju 1978 and Olatunji 1982
&1984). The same observation has been made with the verbal art performed by
the Ṣàngó worshippers in Ẹdẹ
community. We gathered that the verbal art can either be in the form of a song
or chant or recital and the three can be performed together in a single
performance. Also, it was discovered that they perform the three intermingled.
It is only the performance mode that differ, in many instances the themes and
contents are very similar. Be it songs, chants or recitals, the performers are
the same. One important thing is that recitation, chanting and songs are used
to praise, worship, adore Ṣàngó but songs are usually
performed to reveal religious experience of the worshippers in their reaction
to other religions in the community.
Most
of the songs we gathered in Ede community, mainly from the Ṣàngó
worshippers during their public worship of Ṣàngó
are encomium of heroic deeds of Ṣàngó. This
reflects the sovereignty or power of the deity which eventually becomes
incorporated and understood as the people’s cultural life, the actions which
are praised and subsequently used as antecedence for making further petitions.
The interaction of Ṣàngó worshippers with other
religionists especially the Muslims and the Christians has over the years
generated the kind of songs below that we gathered during our interview with
the worshippers in Ẹdẹ.
In
their reaction to the Muslims who are attempting to convert the Ṣàngó
worshippers the latter formed this song:
Níbo
ló ní n gbé Ṣàngó mi sí o?
Níbo
ló ní n gbé Ṣàngó mi sí o?
Bàbá
oníláwàní bànbà
Tó
ní kí n gbé Ṣàngó wọ̀mále,
Níbo
ló ní n gbé Ṣàngó mi sí o?
(Where
does he want me to put my Ṣàngó?
Where
does he want me to put my Ṣàngó?
The
man with a big turban on his head
Who
said that I should drop Ṣàngó
to become a Muslim?
Where
does he want me to put my Ṣàngó?)
In
a similar vein, whenever the Sàngó adherents react to the preaching of the
Christians, all in the name of evangelism, they form the song below.
Níbo
ló ní n gbé Ṣàngó mi sí o?
Níbo
ló ní n gbé Ṣàngó mi sí o?
Bàbá
oníkọ́là lọ́rùn
Tó
ní kí n gbé Ṣàngó ṣègbàgbọ́,
Níbo
ló ní n gbé Ṣàngó mi sí o?
(Where
does he want me to put my Ṣàngó?
Where
does he want me to put my Ṣàngó?
The
man who wears a dress with collar on his neck
Who
said that I should drop Ṣàngó
to become a Christian?
Where
does he want me to put my Ṣàngó?)
Creating
and singing songs like the above attests to the fact that the Ṣàngó
worshippers though witnessing some changes arising from the wave of
globalisation in the form of infiltrations of foreign religions are negotiating
their place and space through the verbal art. Ordinarily, Ṣàngó
is usually placated with songs, dances, lyrics and sacrifices. The verbal
aspect being the verbal ritual while the material aspect could be regarded as
visual ritual; and the combination of the twain makes a complete and acceptable
ritual.
Poetry
as a form of literature makes the world appear more passionate, expressive and
momentous. Poetry is a saturated experience and this is sequel to the fact that
there is a strong link between experience and meaning; and between religious
experience, feelings and poetry. In other words, there are observable parallels
between literature and religion as literature identifies spontaneous and
self-organizing images that govern our perspectives and actions.
Connerton
(1989: 3-5) says:
Concerning
social memory in particular, we may note that images of the past commonly
legitimate a present social order…if there is such a thing as social memory…we
are likely to find it in commemorative ceremonies; but commemorative ceremonies
prove to be commemorative only in so far as they are performative;
performativity cannot be thought without a concept of habit, and habit cannot
be thought without a notion of bodily automatisms.
Of
all typologies of Yoruba oral genres, oríkì
is not only central but it is germane to the understanding of the subject,
object and interactional and identity among objects and subjects (Barber, 1991,
1994a&b and 2003). The oríkì
of òrìṣà
is especially illuminating, educative and informative. This is sequel to the
observation of Barber (1990: 316) that:
In the propitiation of òrìṣà, as in other ceremonial and ritual activities, oríkì are indispensable. oríkì are performed at almost every ceremony
concerning òrìṣà. They are uttered in the privacy of early-morning propitiation at the
devotee's own domestic shrine; in the regular weekly or monthly cult meetings;
and in the cult's annual festival, which may involve a great set-piece, a
theatrical event where the performance of oríkì is a central feature. In all these contexts,
oríkì constitute a channel of
communication between devotee and òrìṣà through which reciprocal benefits flow. The
communication is opened by the making of an offering, and this is usually
supplemented by the utterance of prayers intended to direct a flow of blessings
towards the devotee. But it is in oríkì that the relationship is most fully realised
as a living engagement between a speaker and a hearer. Like all oríkì, the oríkì of òrìṣà are in the vocative case and presuppose a listening subject. The òrìṣà cannot but be there when the speaker exhorts and
appeals to it, extols it and insists on its attention in oríkì. The devotee speaks her mind to the òrìṣà, in the process constituting its personality and
powers in their fullest form.
The
above observation of Barber is true of all òrìṣà in Yorubaland. In this regard,
we shall look into the oríkì of Ṣàngó
how it shows the religious experience and commitment of the worshippers in Ede
community. The chanting of oríkì of Ṣàngó
falls into what is called Ṣàngó-pípè (calling of Ṣàngó). Welch David (1973:156) has even
noted that:
Ṣàngó-pípè is a genre of verbal art practiced at
well-defined ritual and social occasions by devotee-chanters of Ṣàngó, a
Yoruba thunder deity. In ritual context, Ṣàngó-pípè is performed in private worship and
cult ceremonies; while in the annual festival (Qdun), which involves outsiders,
the chanting mode is employed in a social context. Ṣàngó-pípè is a praising act, outwardly taking the
form of chanting and singing, which plays an integral role in Ṣàngó
ritual.
Ironically,
due to long standing and presence of Islam among the Ẹdẹ people, Islamic
identity has been conferred on Ṣàngó as the
traditional communal or civil deity. This is discernible in one of the oríkì
cited below.
Nígbà
Ṣàngó
wà ní Sálúù
Ìmàle
níí ṣe
Ẹni
tíí forí ajá jiyán,
A-forí-ẹlẹ́dẹ̀-mùkọ-àwẹ̀.
(When
Ṣàngó
was living in Sálúù
He
was a practicing Muslim
The
one who uses dog’s head to eat pounded yam
The
one who uses pig’s head to drink pap during Ramadan fasting).
In
the word of Connerton, the performance of the above is a reflection of social
memory of the people using images of the past to legitimate a present social
order through performing of oríkì poetry. From the above oríkì Ṣàngó,
one can draw a conclusion that the chanters were just satirizing Islam as one
of the domesticated religions in their midst. Pork is known to be a taboo for
the practicing Muslims, hence, if truly Ṣàngó was a
Muslim he would not contravene the Islamic injunction that forbids a devout
Muslim from eating pork.
Though
the worshippers declined that Ṣàngó
was a Muslim but there are few things we can bring out of the literature above
in relation to societal beliefs and practices. One can conclude that this
praise poem was borne out of long history of existence of Islam among the
Yorùbá in regards to religious orientation of the people in their various
interactions. Similarly, this idea is also discernible in Şàngó’s praise poetry as seen below.
Akéwú-gbẹrú-
The one who wins slaves due to his skill in Arabic
Akéwú-gbẹşin
– The one who wins horses due to his skill in Arabic
Aşàlùwàlá-ríbi-ọfà-gbé-ń-rọ̀jó- The one
who performs ablution to see the storm of arrow.
As
earlier pointed out, another thing we can say is that such literature is
created by the worshippers to ridicule or lampoon the Muslims since their
religion was domesticated by the people. This poetic idea could be seen as a
way of identity creation in which the Ṣàngó
worshippers adopt to negotiate their religious space in their interaction with
Islam in their community. Eloquently articulating the stakes around the pasts’
present in performance, Pollock (2005:72) writes:
Performance
does not merely execute what is conventional or done. To the contrary,
the tension between the act of doing and what is done suggests an
essential ambivalence in the order of things. Performance at once enacts and
contests reiterations of the past in ongoing negotiations and re-creations of what
matters now. In its amplified versions as drama, ritual, show, and
spectacle…performance thus becomes culturally salient as a way of knowing the
past, doing the present, and intervening on the future.
Formation
of oríkì Ṣàngó to reflecting Islamic
identity is also part of negotiations and re-creations of what matters now in
the contemporary society. The Ṣàngó
worshippers see that Islam has come to stay in the community and that little or
nothing could be done to eradicate it. Hence, the bargaining of religious
identity in which Ṣàngó is seen as a practicing
Muslim but with warlike attributes that are peculiarities of Ṣàngó.
The
chanters of Oríkì Ṣàngó among our respondents
demonstrated their dexterity in the orchestration of Oríkì Ṣàngó
in their verbal propitiation of the òrìṣà
as seen below.
Lílé: Atóóbájayé
Ègbè: Baálé mi ò!
Lílé: A-bó-sí-gbangba-dámọ-lẹ́jọ́
Ègbè: Baálé mi ò!
Lílé:
Túúláàsí
ọkùnrin
5
Òjálé-onílé-bọ-tirẹ̀-lẹ́yìn
Ègbè: Baálé mi ò!
Lílé: Òun ní ń já tirẹ̀ bọlé
onílé.
Ègbè: Baálé mi ò!
Lílé: Ọkọ mi má mà jálé olódì
bọ tèmi 10
Ègbè: Baálé mi ò!
Lílé: Èsù Òdàrà má mà jẹ́ n
ríjà Sàngó
Ègbè: Baálé mi ò!
Lílé: Ọ̀sán gangan níí gbégií
wọ̀lú
A-pani-bí-ọtí
15
Lílé: A-kọ̀-má-tòsíká-lẹ́yìn
A-kò-má-gbẹbọ-èké
Ègbè: Baálé mi ò!
Lílé: Àlejò kan ò bá ọ
lẹ́jafùú rí
A-gbé-sàasùn-tọọrọ-fálágbe
20
Aṣàlejò-èèyàn-bẹ́-ẹni-mọ̀-tẹ́lẹ̀.
Ègbè: Baálé mi ò!
Lílé: Arábánbí,
A-rígba-ọta-ṣẹ́gun,
A-bọ̀bẹ-gbòòkàn-lákọ̀.
25
Ègbè: Baálé mi ò!
(Solo: The one who is worthy to
be associated with
Chorus: My husband!
Solo: The one that judge the victim
in the public
Chorus: My husband!
Solo:
A tough
man
5
The one that
joins somebody else house to his
Chorus: My husband!
Solo: It is he that joins his
house to that of somebody
Chorus: My husband!
Solo: My husband don’t join my
enemy’s house to mine 10
Chorus: My husband!
Solo: Èṣù
Ọ̀dàrà prevent me from the wrath of Ṣàngó
Chorus: My husband!
Solo: He takes tree to the town
in the noonday, 15
The one that
makes somebody behave as if he is intoxicated with wine
Chorus: My husband!
Solo: The one that refuses to
support wicked people,
The one that
refuses to accept sacrifice from a dubious person
Chorus:
My
husband!
20
Solo: The one that is ever
ready for all visitors,
The one that
gave the whole pot of soup to the beggar,
The one that
entertains visitors as if he had been informed
Chorus: My husband!
Solo: Arábánbí,
The one that has
plenty thunderstone to defeat his enemies, 25
The one that has
hefty knifes in his quiver.
Chorus: My husband!)
The
above excerpt from the praise poetry of Ṣàngó is very
important in that as a form of folklore, it is the expression of deeply-felt
emotions of the people where the social, religious and cultural lives of the
people are embedded. Decoding the multiple layers of meanings encoded in the
poetry as such is germane to the understanding of the religious experience,
orientation and power relations of the people and with other religions within
the community respectively. Hence, it is worthwhile to discuss the implications
of the oríkì for the worship of Ṣàngó in Ẹdẹ
community in this cultural milieu.
Something
that cuts across the whole performance is the idea of referring to Ṣàngó
as husband by the devotees. Of course, ‘women are the principal communicators, that
they establish and create the òrìṣà
through oríkì, and that the fragmentation and merging of òrìṣà cannot be properly understood
except through the specific disjunctive and labile textuality of oríkì’ (Barber
1990: 317).
In their performance of the above oríkì, the
qualities and powers of Ṣàngó are brought into the
limelight. As earlier mentioned, this is an expression of total submission,
reverence and unswerving loyalty to Ṣàngó. As a
religious poetry, it is an outburst of emotions in creating a religious
identity. Of course, religion is the sacralisation of identity and
sacralisation is an emotionally welding of an identity which, sudden or not,
consolidates and stabilizes that identity. This identity is also crucial to
societies and groups: estrangement and relegation occur if changes in society
pale out identities before the originals adapt sufficiently. Poetry is made
from words, but it also expresses an outlook or vision; makes experiences out
of events, and such experiences are also real to believers.
The
poem also talks about the power and the prowess of Ṣàngó
as a warrior, fierce, tough and generous person. He is one of the deities of
justice and fairness in the Yorùbá pantheon, that is why he is depicted as “The
one that refuses to support wicked people, and as the one that refuses to
accept sacrifice from a dubious person”. The performance of this oríkì genre of
Ṣàngó does not only bespeak the
adherents ‘faith and fate in him but it is also an insignia to the future of Ṣàngó
religion among the Yorùbá people, especially in Ẹdẹ.
In addition, the rendition is
mythical. One of the functions of myths is that they describe the behaviour of
deities to each other, their treatment of human beings and their adventures on
this earth and beyond. In spite of their immortality, the gods are
anthropomorphic, exhibiting human passions. The language of myth is closed and
self-supporting, not easily translated or transferred from one culture to
another. Meaning is formed by acts of communication, and has to be recreated in
those acts time and again.
Gender
issue is also discernible in the above oríkì of Ṣàngó.
It is evident from the chorus of the above poem rendered that Ṣàngó
is referred to as the performers’ husbands; of course the performers are mainly
women. Besides, references to Ṣàngó as the
husband reveals the patriarchal ideology of the Yorùbá people regarding male
gender as superior to female gender. From our interview with the Ṣàngó
worshippers and our observation in Ẹdẹ, we gathered that females are the main
performers of Ṣàngó religious poetry; although
that is not to say that men do not partake. The drummers who drum to songs
render to Ṣàngó are men. In other words,
women have been central in the Ṣàngó cult in Ẹdẹ
community at least partly because it is
they who control the vital passages of communication with the Ṣàngó through their mastery of the verbal art of
the òrìṣà,
especially the oríkì. Also, they are very sensitive to the sociocultural
changes that the practice of Ṣàngó religion
is witnessing and this is resulting into adaptability of the religion to these
changes and creativity of new oral genres to situate the worship of their òrìṣà within the larger context. The women actually operate the 'praising'
mechanism through which the flow of spiritual forces is directed and through
which, ultimately, the multiple personalities of the òrìṣà are constituted (Barber 1990: 329).
In
a bid to proof that Ṣàngó religion is a living
tradition regardless of the waves of colonialism and globalisation, the worshippers
sang some songs as seen below.
1. N ó bá Sàngó sagbaja lọ (Twice)
Tí
mo bá wèyín tí mo rí Sàngó
Ma
múra síṣẹ́
N ó bá Ṣàngó ṣagbaja lọ.
(I
will accompany Ṣàngó in his outings (Twice)
Whenever
I look back and see Ṣàngó sordidly behind me,
I
will continue to work for him,
I
will accompany Ṣàngó in his outings).
2.
Ṣàngó lá máa bọ ò e e e e e e e
Ṣàngó lá máa bọ ò à á à á à à à
Àwa ò ṣègbàgbó o o o o o o o
Ṣàngó lá máa bọ
Àwa ó kírun o o o o o o o
Ṣàngó lá ó máa bọ
(We
shall continue to worship Ṣàngó
We
shall continue to worship Ṣàngó
We
are not Christians,
We
shall continue to worship Ṣàngó
We
are not Muslims,
We
shall continue to worship Ṣàngó)
3.
Ṣàngó báramu ò e e e e e e e
Ṣàngó báramu ò à à à à à à à
Àwa ò gbàgbọ́ o
Ṣàngó báramu.
Àwa ó kírun o
Ṣàngó báramu.
(Ṣàngó suits us,
Ṣàngó
suits us
We
are not Christians,
Ṣàngó
suits us
We
are not Muslims,
Ṣàngó
suits us).
4. Ṣàngó lèmi ń kí/2x
Ẹni
ba wù kó máa kírun
Ṣàngó
lèmi ń kí ọ jàre
(It
is Ṣàngó that I am
worshipping/greeting/2x
Anyone
who likes can be practicing Islam
It is Ṣàngó
that I am worshipping)
These
three songs out of many that were rendered are cryptic with meanings. But the
main theme in them is that nothing can remove the allegiance of the worshippers
of Ṣàngó to their god from them.
They are confident, consistent and resolute in their absolute trust and faith
in Ṣàngó. A Yorùbá aphorism says, “Bí Ògún ẹni bá dáni lójú se ni à fi ń gbárí”.
That is, if one is certain of the support of one’s deity (Ògún) one can boast
of such deity. They are sure of Ṣàngó’s
support; they do not only rely on him but they are proud of him. This points to
the fact that to them Ṣàngó is a living tradition or
religion.
The
first song shows the adherents’ joy and confidence in Ṣàngó.
They are bold to identify with Ṣàngó, not
only in the private but also in the public sphere. Their belief is that in
whatever they are doing they have the backing of Ṣàngó. Ṣàngó is the
only real actor in the above songs, while the singers had, as they themself say
that they can do nothing without Ṣàngó's help,
hence, what they pray for is that Ṣàngó should
surround and protect them.
In the second, third and fourth songs, the adherents of Ṣàngó make reference to
the two other religions-Islam and Christianity that are also observed by the
people in the Ẹdẹ community. They opine that they are contented with Ṣàngó and that they are
not ready to be converted into either Islam or Christianity. These songs, born
out of their religious experience and orientation within the community are
clear expressions of their wishes and aspiration in regards to their religious
affinity and identity. The songs are expressions of absolute trust in their
deity. Ṣàngó is regarded as
the centre of its own devotee's world, and is not seen as subordinated by them
to any other òrìṣà, be it traditional
or domesticated. The Ṣàngó worshippers hold other religions within the community as
rivals and competitors; hence they are upholding their òrìṣà reputation at the
expense of others as discernible in the above songs. The third song reveals
that the worshippers are satisfied with what Ṣàngó offers them since all òrìṣà have to be able to offer benefits and certain
qualities in terms of being benevolent by bestowing children, wealth and long
life; and ferocity, in order to empower, protect the devotee and destroy his or
her enemies (Barber, 1990).
The main idea reflected in the above four
songs and some of the oríkì is in line with the observation of what Karin
Barber (1990: 318) calls inconsistency,
fragmentation and merging in the personalities of òrìṣà among the Yorùbá
people of south-western Nigeria.
She maintains that there is ‘inconsistency, because
the cults are in competition and each presents its own òrìṣà as the centre of its own world, ignoring others or relegating them to
subordinate positions’. Fragmentation is implied ‘because the intense personal
nature of the bond is enhanced if each devotee or small group of devotees
within a cult has its 'own' version of the òrìṣà’. She maintains that it is merging, for ‘the exclusive character of the
relationship means that each òrìṣà has to be all things to its own devotees.’
Conclusion
This
study, among other things has proved that Yorùbá religion within itself is
based on tolerance. This is because, in each of the Yorùbá community there are
various religious cults, all co-existing peacefully without significant open
confrontation or opposition as obtained among people of different religious
groups in other part of Nigeria. There was and there is no unhealthy rivalry
between different traditional religious groups based on the principle of
complementarities essence inherent in the worshippers; since no single road
leads to the market (Ònà kan kò wọjà).
They hold the belief that their concerted efforts will bring peace and harmony
to the community. Most of the verbal art created by the adherents of Ṣàngó
were created in their responses to both Islam and Christianity as novel religions
in Yorùbá communities. This is in conformity to Yorùbá proverb that, “Jọ mí jọ mí, òkúrorò níí sọni ín dà”.
Literally, the effort one makes of forcing another to be like one makes one to
become an unpleasant person. The Ṣàngó
worshippers opine that both Islam and Christianity are unfair in their
treatment of Ṣàngó religion by their failure
to recognise that Ṣàngó is another system and
religion through which one can be vital both here on earth and in the life to
come. Hence, they resort to verbal dialogue in or der to give room for
religious tolerance. A critical appraisal of the religious poetry of Ṣàngó
worshippers reveals their religious experience and orientation amidst other
religions in the community. It also shows that the performance of the oral art
of this deity is an avenue for deeper communication between the devotee and the
deity and it is also an avenue for power flow, empowerment and enablement.
Likewise, the Yorùbá view of gender balance is equally discernible in this
study. Both men and women have their roles to play in the Ṣàngó
cult; men have their roles to play as the Mọgbà and Adóṣù while women are the Ìyá Ṣàngó,
the preservers of verbal ritual tradition.
Oral Source
Chief Ṣàngódòkun,
Male, Jagun Ṣàngó of Ẹdẹ, 100 years,
interviewed on August 3, 2007 at the Ṣàngó
palace shrine, Ẹdẹ. Mr Sàngókànmí, Agbájere of Ẹdẹ, 55 years, interviewed on
August 3, 2007 at the Ṣàngó palace shrine, Ẹdẹ.
Mr Ọyáwọlé Ọlóya, member of Ṣàngó cult, Ẹdẹ, 65 years, interviewed on August 3,
2007 and October 2012 at the Ṣàngó
palace shrine, Ẹdẹ.
Mr Ọláyíwọlá, member of Ṣàngó cult, Ẹdẹ, 80 years, interviewed on August 3,
2007 at the Ṣàngó palace shrine, Ẹdẹ.
Mrs Ṣàngóládùn,
Àwóò’s compound, Ẹdẹ, 75 years, Female Jagun, interviewed on August 3, 2007 at
the Ṣàngó palace shrine, Ẹdẹ.
Mrs Bóláńlé Ọyáníyì, member of Ṣàngó religion, Ẹdẹ, 60 years, interviewed on
August 3, 2007 at the Ṣàngó palace shrine, Ẹdẹ.
Mrs Àkànké Ṣàngóníyì, member of Sàngó religion, Ẹdẹ, 40 years, interviewed on August 3, 2007 and
October 2012 at the Ṣàngó palace shrine, Ẹdẹ.
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[1]
This experience was revealed to us by some Ṣàngó worshippers during interview with them at the palace in 2007.
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