In class this week we discussed the art and spiritual beliefs of that of the Yoruba people. The Yoruba people believe in many Gods, Orisha. When talking about Orisha in class we discussed Eshu, and Shango and the art that went with these.
In the Yoruba culture a Babalawo uses a divination tray in order to call Eshu the god of the crossroads to communicate with Orunmila to decide fate. Since Eshu is the god of the crossroads and the market, his face often appears on the divination trays and bowls. The divination bowl also can have many other markings that would suggest its use. The bowl is split in the middle horizontally to signify the Yoruba’s belief in two worlds; spirit world and the physical world. With the divination tray the Babalawo will draw an ‘x’ that would signify the crossroads.
The Yoruba people also believe in Shango. Shango is the god of thunder he can either protect you or punish you. Figures of Shango have double axes on the top. During dances/rituals they use Shango to posses initiates. The way that Shango posses them would be through the ‘inner head’. The Yoruba often use the figure of Shango on the ends of dance-wands.
I enjoyed learning about the Yoruba people and their use of art to communicate their spirituality. I found the divination bowls to be the most interesting thing we discussed. I am glad that I had the opportunity to learn about a different spiritual belief and look forward to learning more.
These are good summaries--your personal "conclusion" could be more analytical and reflective (make connections to prior knowledge).
ReplyDeleteI like how specific and to the point your writing is. I think using the different God's is a very effective way of making a connection between these pieces outside of physical appearance.
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