The following "Researcher Reflection" from Dr. Ayodeji Ogunnaike is part of an ongoing series where we spotlight CSWR scholars and their research.
In part as a result of discussions with others affiliated with the Center for the Study of World Religions, over the past several years I have become increasingly interested in not only the way the body is engaged in Yoruba religious practice but specifically the way Yoruba traditions can change and divinize the body. Traditional Yoruba religious and philosophical thought is inseparable from both ritual and deep engagement with the human body, even in Ifá divination, arguably the most widely practiced and celebrated indigenous African intellectual system. This is in large part because Yoruba tradition categorically resists the Cartesian dualism between body and mind or the Gnostic separation of matter and spirit that is found in many other traditions, particularly in the modern world. The best example of the integrated nature of the transcendent and imminent in traditional Yoruba thought and practice is the concept of orí which literally means “head” but also refers to a type of destiny, spirit double, or celestial self or companion. Orí is understood to exist on two planes: the orí inú (“inner” or “transcendent” head), which is chosen in heaven before entrance into the world, and the orí òde (“outer” or “imminent” head which one can see and touch). While this might seem to reinforce some type of body/spirit dichotomy, the two are ontologically linked, and consequently rituals performed on the orí òde have an effect on the orí inú. In fact, for many practitioners, several body parts are òrìṣà—or divinities—themselves and can receive prayers and ritual offerings to affect material changes in our lives. For some, the shadow is another type of soul, one’s big toe can be an òrìṣà, and even breath (ẹ̀mí) comes directly from God and is immortal.*
The rituals associated with the numerous òrìṣà traditions in the Yoruba cosmology all do more than merely help practitioners understand something about themselves or the cosmos, although they certainly do that. Rather they allow practitioners to experience the àṣẹ (agential power, energy, nature, or authority) of the òrìṣà which over time has a strong and formative effect on every dimension of the person’s being. For example, the tradition of the òrìṣà Ṣàngó is famous for its rich drumming and dancing—including and especially in the Atlantic religious diaspora, and its particular drums, rhythms, and body movements all produce, channel, and evoke a type of rapid and boisterous energy linked with Ṣàngó’s nature as thunder and lightning. The tradition of Ṣàngó’s wife Ọya—òrìṣà of tornadoes and storm winds—similarly carries and transmits the àṣẹ of swirling winds and unpredictable change. The foods associated with each òrìṣà also carrying a particular type of àṣẹ to the practitioner or the intended recipient of an offering, such as the cool liquid that comes out of a snail shell and the snail’s slow, deliberate movement all contain the àṣẹ of Òrìṣàńlá, the oldest and calmest of the òrìṣà. Even the color of clothes has its own àṣẹ which can have useful ritual purposes of invoking fear or danger as is often the case with red cloth in ààlè (a type of charm used to ward off thieves and intruders) or peace and serenity in white cloth which is again associated with Òrìṣàńlá and a number of other “cool” òrìṣà. As a result, practitioners often wear or avoid certain colors as a way of interacting with the appropriate type of àṣẹ.
Initiation can often be understood as the apex of all ritual processes because of its intensity and complexity, and during such ceremonies initiate’s bodies are acted upon in all the subtle methods mentioned above and even some that are much more direct. For example, it is quite common to have special “medicine” composed of àṣẹ-charged material literally inserted into a person’s orí/head to “seat” the òrìṣà there and cement that àṣẹ as a part of her destiny going forward. Initiate’s bodies are also frequently modified in any number of other ways from being painted, hair being shaved, or put through some form of a trial. However, one could make a case for another type of ritual representing the apex of the practice of many—but not all—òrìṣà traditions: spirit manifestation or “posession”. While conceptual accounts of precisely how this process works vary a bit amongst practitioners, all are in agreement that an òrìṣà literally becomes embodied in the practitioner, creating a type of temporary ontological unification that becomes more seamless and smooth over the course of the practitioner’s lifetime.
Observing the many ritual processes and speaking to practitioners has led me to realize that much like how married couples frequently start to look like each other, expert practitioners come to embody their òrìṣà in every sense of the word. This process of theosis and how it is actualized will be the topic of my upcoming talk at CSWR on February 20, 2024.
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*I have a brief, public-facing introduction to traditional Yoruba conceptions of the “self” that can be found here.
—by Dr. Ayodeji Ogunnaike, Visiting Scholar, Center for the Study of World Religions