Ile-Ife – The sacred city of Ile-Ife was almost completely submerged – Yoruba mythology
And when he said that he is saying what is happening in the present is the same as the Celts were describing in 17th century Scotland as the Hawaiians were describing in the stories of the Mu centuries ago, as you can hear in African stories from out of Nigeria from the Yoruba people, the Edo people, the Efik people, the Dogon people of Mali, they all have these stories of contact with rulers in the past who are nonhuman and the suggestion is there.
It stands alongside the Vedas of Hinduism; it stands alongside the Popol Vuh of the Mayan tradition; it stands alongside traditions we have from the Epic people in Nigeria, the Yoruba people, Edo people of Nigeria, the Dogon people of Mali, West Africa.
In Yoruba mythology, Mami Wata is one of the principal deities in the pantheon, alongside other water deities like Oshun, the goddess of love and rivers, and Olokun, the god of the sea.
Africans were brought mainly from West Central Africa (e.g., Kongo, Angola) and West Africa (e.g., Yoruba, Ewe-Fon, Akan regions).
In Yoruba mythology, Mami Wata is one of the principal deities in the pantheon, alongside other water deities like Oshun, the goddess of love and rivers, and Olokun, the god of the sea.
Among the Fon (close neighbors of the Ewe in Benin), Mami Wata (or related water deities like Yemoja in Yoruba tradition) is credited with saving devotees from drowning.
In Yoruba cosmology, Isis is related to Yemoja or Yaya, the queen of the Mami Wata pantheon.
Source: Yoruba oral tradition, as recorded in ethnographic studies (documented 19th–20th century, translated).
In some West African languages, including Yoruba and Igbo, traces of vigesimal counting exist in traditional numerical systems.
Yemoja, also spelled Yemaya, is one of the most revered deities in Yoruba mythology and the Afro-Caribbean traditions derived from it, such as Santería, Candomblé, and Vodou.
Oceanic Domain: Though often associated with rivers in Yoruba land, in diasporic traditions, she is connected to the vastness of the ocean.
These tales vary across Yoruba mythology and the Afro-Caribbean traditions that honor her.
In Yoruba mythology, Yemoja is often described as the mother of all Orishas, the divine beings who govern aspects of the natural and spiritual worlds.
Yemoja (Yemaya): In Yoruba mythology, Yemoja is a mother goddess of the sea often portrayed with mermaid-like characteristics.
Yoruba (southwest Nigeria):At the beginning of time, there was only the sky, ruled over by the orisha (god) Olorun, and the waters below, ruled by the female deity Olokun.
New Yoruba myth from Courlander.
Host Paco Agua introduces a new episode of "Yoruba Spirituality" by posing profound questions about humanity's origins and the beginning of the universe.
Throughout the episode, he addresses the answers provided by Ifá, Yoruba’s traditional corpus, and explains this cultural perspective on creation.
With over 20 years of experience in the Yoruba spiritual path and formal training in Cuba, the babalao discusses his outreach work started in 2017 through the "Yoruba Spirituality" podcast, a platform dedicated to sharing the Orisha traditions and Ifá philosophy with a wider audience.
According to the tradition, the solar system follows an anti-clockwise rotation pattern, which is also mirrored in Yoruba ceremonial rituals.
The different lineages represent a spectrum of human experiences, skills, and perspectives that collectively enrich the Yoruba worldview.
In it, she explores the similarities and differences between Socrates and Òrúnmìlà, an orisha and philosophical figure in Yoruba culture.
Òrúnmìlà is both a historical figure, believed to have lived 500 to 600 years BCE, and a deity within the Yoruba cosmology, where he is associated with wisdom, knowledge, and the teachings of the Ifá divination system.
In Yoruba culture, Òrúnmìlà is revered as a divinity linked to wisdom and knowledge.
He holds an important role in Ifá, a spiritual and philosophical tradition rooted in Yoruba culture, and his teachings are also reflected in Candomblé and Umbanda, Afro-Brazilian religious traditions.
Obàtálá, another revered figure in Yoruba cosmology, tasked Òrúnmìlà with creating the most delicious and most unpleasant dishes.
Yoruba cosmology, as articulated by Òrúnmìlà’s teachings, emphasizes a unique worldview, which can be understood through sensory experience.
Òrúnmìlà’s emphasis on self-awareness contributes to Yoruba psychology, examining how interactions with natural elements shape human psychology and relationships.
Òrúnmìlà’s insights on harmony, self-knowledge, and elemental balance remain integral to the Yoruba worldview and offer valuable insights for contemporary discussions on identity and purpose.
Òrúnmìlà’s philosophy continues to inspire those interested in Yoruba traditions, self-knowledge, and the relationship between language and reality.
In Yoruba mythology, the Great Flood is a significant event that marks a divine intervention by the Orishas, the gods of Yoruba culture.
Olorun (also known as Olodumare), the supreme god of the Yoruba pantheon, decided to create the earth.
This newly formed land was named Ile-Ife, the sacred city that would become the center of Yoruba culture.
The Yoruba religion (Yoruba: Ìṣẹ̀ṣe), also known as West African Orisa (Òrìṣà) or Isese (Ìṣẹ̀ṣe), consists of the traditional religious and spiritual practices of the Yoruba people.
Its origins lie in present-day Southwestern Nigeria, covering the majority of Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, Kwara, and Lagos states, along with parts of Kogi state and adjacent areas of Benin and Togo, collectively known as Yorubaland (Yoruba: Ilẹ̀ Káàárọ̀-Oòjíire) [coordinates n="7.9465" e="3.3869" z="6"].
Yoruba religion shares similarities with Vodun practiced by the neighboring Fon and Ewe peoples to its west and the religion of the Edo people to its east.
The Yoruba belief system has also given rise to several religions in the New World, including Santería, Umbanda, Trinidad Orisha, and Candomblé.
Yoruba beliefs form a part of Itàn, encompassing the songs, histories, stories, and other cultural elements of the Yoruba society.
The term Ìṣẹ̀ṣe is the Yoruba name for the indigenous religion, which also encompasses the traditions and rituals of Yoruba culture.
The Yoruba people have developed a comprehensive cosmology.
Olupona explains that the core of Yoruba belief, known as "Ase," represents "the empowered word that must come to pass," the "life force" governing movement and activity in the universe.
The Yoruba religion is characterized as a complex form of polytheism, with Olodumare as the Supreme but distant creator force.
In the Yoruba belief system, Olodumare holds ase over all existence, thus considered supreme.
The Odu Ifá constitutes the sacred texts of the Yoruba religion.
Central to Yoruba teachings is the cultivation of Ìwà (character and behavior), which is deemed essential for both individual and collective righteousness.
In the Yoruba creation story, Olodumare is the principal force of creation.
The Orisha (Yoruba: Òrìṣà) are deities that reflect the manifestations of Olodumare.
They act as "warriors" against humanity, embodying the Yoruba duality of existence: Ire (Goodness) and Ibi (Evil).
The Yoruba people of Nigeria consider the gourd a sacred symbol linked to the origin of the universe.
In one Yoruba creation myth, the god Obatala used a gourd to descend from the heavens and create the land.
Indigenous Narratives: Stories from the Iroquois, Yoruba, Edo, and Zulu people, which describe advanced beings shaping and populating Earth with life.
The Aziza are a beneficial fairy folk in the mythology of the Fon and Yoruba people.
Iemanjá — Yemayá (or Iemanjá), Afro-Brazilian deity (Yoruba origin), orisha of the sea, often linked to the moon through tides and feminine cycles.