In All Things..Religous

Dejo, the main character in my book A Jar of Clay, Part 1: Made In Nigeria was born in South Western Nigeria, in a fictional town called Ilobe.  South Western Nigeria is predominantly inhabited by Yorubas.

The caption of this blog comes from a book called “Olodumare, God in Yoruba belief by E. Bolaji Idowu” and published in 1962. Bolaji Idowu took a degree in Theology from Cambridge and Phd from University of London. He died in 1993. This was what Bolaji Idowu had to say about the Yorubas and their religion:

However, the real keynote of the life of the Yoruba is neither in their noble ancestry nor in the past deeds of their heroes. The keynote of their life is their religion. In all things, they are religious. Religion forms the foundation and the all-governing principles of life for them. As far as as they are concerned, the full responsibility of all affairs of life belongs to the Deity; their own part in the matter is to do as they are ordered through the priests and diviners whom they believe to be the interpreter of the will of the Deity. Through all the circumstances of life, through its changing scenes, its joys and troubles, it is the Deity who is in control.

There are a few components of the backdrop of the life of Dejo. One of those components is the culture of the Yorubas. The culture of the Yorubas is a religious one. At the time when Dejo was growing up, if you were not religious, you were swimming against the tide. Religion was every where: it was just a matter of which religion you opted for.

Much further down the line in the history of the Yorubas, Christianity and Islam came to Yoruba land. However, there were already elements of Pentecostal/ Charismatic Christianity that the Yorubas were already practising in their culture. For example, the Yoruba believes that words you speak are powerful, so they never really believe that you should say negative things about yourself. They also believe that people in position of power over you, for example your parents, should not curse you because it will come to pass. These things that are already ingrained in the Yoruba culture sat very well with Pentecostal/Charismatic Christianity doctrines.

There are several other elements in the traditional religions of the Yorubas, already absorbed into the culture that interacted with some Pentecostal/Charismatic Christianity doctrines to produce some dramatic and what some would say not so desirable outcome. The rise and rise of individuals in religious settings that were treated virtually almost like God has its root deep in the culture of the Yorubas. In Yorubaland historically, many power human beings become deities on their death. Oduduwa, the founder of the Yoruba race is one example and is worshipped in certain parts of Yorubaland. Sango, a king in Oyo, and his wives Osun, Oba and Oya are good examples of powerful individuals who eventually became deities (but not the Deity, who according to the Yorubas is Olodumare, the one God who made all things).

When you throw Pentecostal/Charismatic Christianity into this culture, you will probably understand why leaders who are reportedly doing miracles are put on so high a pedestal that their words becomes almost law and are not challenged.

The cultures of the Yorubas is a strong backdrop of the story in a Jar of Clay.