Five Pillars of Islam

1. The shahadah is central to the Muslim faith because it affirms the Muslim belief that there is only one God.

2. Salat mentally helps Muslims to live in obedience to the will of Allah because it gives them time to focus on their beliefs and how they will live them out. Physically, salat requires a person to bow down into a vulnerable position, signifying that Allah is mightier than humans.

3. Zakat shows that Allah’s will is for all people to be taken care of and treated equally. Through their almsgiving, Muslims are committed to helping the less fortunate in their communities.

4. Sawm mentally allows a person to live in obedience to the will of Allah because it requires a person to fast all day; something that is hard for many to do without faith or a reason. It physically  allows a person to live in obedience to the will of Allah because it reinforces that suffering that the marginalized go through on a daily basis, thus reiterating the message of zakat.

5. I think that the hajj is a pillar of Islamic faith because it allows believers from all over the world to come together to practice their faith as a global community. I think that this is similar to the Catholic practice of going to Rome and Vatican City because of their religious significance; however, it differs because Muslims go to Mecca all at once while Catholics go to the Vatican as they please. Additionally, the hajj is required for Muslims; a pilgrimage is not required for Catholics.

6. Many of the possible challenges of living the Five Pillars stem from living in a non-Muslim country. When everyone has the same goal in mind, it is easier for a person to focus on what they need to do. However, when those practicing the Five Pillars, especially salat and sawm, are the minority, it may be difficult for one to focus on their faith.

The 99 Names Of God

I am not a firm believer in God whatsoever, so I will state the following things from my experience of Catholic education, as if I do believe in said things. I may not believe in anything I say.

God is "The Bounteous". I stated this as feminine because women are bountiful in the fact that, unlike men, they are able to carry and give birth to a child. They have the fruit of the womb. God is bountiful because of his creations. He had the ability to create the human race, and all of the earths' creatures.

God is "The Guardian". He is a guardian because He watches over his people and guides them in their life. When I believed in God, he was my moral guidance in life. He was the most important thing in my life because he truly watched over me, and made me feel like I was blessed with everything...as if these things all happened for a reason. His plan is a part of how he looks out for us.

God is "The Dominating". He is dominating because he controls everything. He needs to, and he does. He makes sure he has followers because of his leading need. If he has no believers, who is he to dominate?

God is all of these things because he is everything. It is a pretty simple concept. He is everything, and contains every type of feeling that we feel. There is no need for which is feminine or masculine ..considering they are all stereotypes/gender roles from how our society sees "feminine" & "masculine".

Islam Webquest

ONE

1) 2.1 billion

2) Afghanistan, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Gambia, Iran, Iraq

3) Morocco

4) 2,595,000

TWO

Key Beliefs:

1) There is one God who cannot be described or compared to anything.

2) Angels are the messengers of God who do his will.

3) God reveled his word to humans so that they might believe in him.

4) Prophets spread God’s message but are not divine.

5) All people will be judged when they are resurrected.

6) People have free will and are responsible for their actions and the repercussions caused by them.

Teachings of Muhammad

1) Muslims must pray 5 times a day.

2) Muslims must fast during Ramadan.

3) Muslims must try to go to Mecca at least once.

THREE

1) the last revealed word of God

2) Arabic, because that is the language that it was revealed in and translations would cause discrepancies in meaning

3) Ramadan

4) commanded him to read, when he wouldn’t, he was taught to memorize the Quran

FOUR

1) – testimony of faith

- prayer

- almsgiving

- fasting

- pilgrimage

2) they allow Muslims to put their faith into action

3) there is no way to pretend or act like you’ve done the actions if you haven’t done them

4) Catholics fast and give alms during Lent

FIVE

1) the month when the Quran was given to Muhammad

2) no eating or drinking during daylight, no smoking or sexual activities

3) lying, slander, denouncing someone, a false oath, greed

4) when the Night of Power is celebrated

5) it is celebrated with the Feast of Fast Breaking

6) month the Quran was revealed, Heaven is open, Hell is closed

7) everyone is focused on a common goal and doing the same thing

SIX

1) Islam is over 1400 years old.

2) Jesus, Moses, and Abraham are prophets.

3) Patterns are common in art.

4) People are not included in religious art.

5) Women must cover their hair from men who they could potentially marry.

6) Muslims believe that abortion is wrong.

7) Capital punishment is acceptable when a serious crime is committed.

8) Jihad is an internal struggle to live one’s faith properly,

9) Animals must be treated with compassion and kindness.

10) War is permitted as self defense.

Ancient Religions of the West

1.Zoroastrianism is one of the oldest living religions in the world and it began to flourish in ancient Iran, which was known as Persia. Zoroastrianism began in the fifth or fourth century due to the influence of the Persian Empire.

2.Zoroastrianism spread beyond the Persian Empire thanks to them being conquered by Alexander the Great and caused all aspects of Persian culture to spread.

3.An angel called Good Thought brought him as a disembodied soul before Ahura Mazda, the wise lord. Zarathustra recognized Ahura Mazda as the one true God. He went around preaching the radical message of monotheism to his polytheistic society.

4.The sacred text of Zoroastrianism is called the Avesta. The oldest part of this text is the Gathas which are seventeen hymns written by Zarathustra.   

5.Ahura Mazda is eternal and universal goodness, controlling the cosmos and the destiny of humans. Ahura is the creator of everything.

6.Ethical Dualism is the belief in universal forces of good and evil.

7.The lie is an evil cosmic force that opposes Ahura who is good.

8.Humans must choose between the truth (good) and the lie (evil).

9.Zarathustra doctrine on human destiny discusses resurrection and judgment of the dead and that a human either goes to heaven or hell depending on the choices they made.

10.The general ethical demands of traditional Zoroastrian life are caring for livestock and fields.

11.The Parsis are the followers of Zoroastrianism and the majority of them live in India today.

12.The Iliad and the Odyssey are commonly regarded as being the Bible for ancient Greeks.

13.The sentence saying the gods of Olympus are anthropomorphic means they had human attributes such as talents and limitations.

14.Aeshylus’ main contribution to the understanding of the gods was that he introduced the concept of divine justice. An example would be in the play Agamemnon he writes that suffering is a necessary part of the divine plan of Zeus.

15.An oracle is a sanctuary at which revelations of a god are received. The most famous oracle in ancient Greece is Delphi and she was consulted because Greeks sought the wisdom of Apollo through her.

16.The three basic aspects of the mystery religions are that individuals went through an initiation ceremony, the initiates experienced an encounter with a deity, and the initiates gained a spiritual renewal, which will help them in the afterlife.

17.The mystery religion that honored Demeter and Persephone was Eleusinian religion.

18.Dionysus is mainly associated as the god of fertility and is usually depicted with wine and grapes.

19.The goal of the ascetic practices of the Orphics was to lead a pure life.

20.Plato’s theory of knowledge is that we know things in this life specifically because we have experienced them in our past life.

21.Platonic dualism says that the truth of the world is independent from any bodily or material ideas in reality. Truth lies within oneself that can only be found through wisdom.

22.Jesus seemed to have much in common with ancient Asclepius because they were both revered as saviors who had a strong relationship with their followers.

23.The Numina were supernatural beings that were in charge of specific functions such as populating towns. They were able to inhabit streams, fields, and doorways.

24.The most powerful Roman deity was Jupiter.

25.The six planets of our solar system that are named after Roman deities are Neptune, Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, and Mars.

26.The Roman state considered it essential to maintain official worshiping practices so that ways they would never anger the gods and they would always be at peace.

27.The mystery religions that were the main rivals of Christianity in the later Roman Empire were Mithraism and the Cult of Iris.

28.Osiris was killed and hacked to pieces by his evil brother. His wife Iris found the pieces and mummified them, causing him to come back to life.

29.Augustus told his worshipers to worship the Roman state and his guardian spirit.

30.Christian and Roman rulers argued over emperor worship because Romans believed the main focus of worship should be the state while Catholics believed it should be God and the Romans views contradicted their religion.

Judaism

1. The three functions of a synagogue are to sever as a house of assembly, a house of study, and a house of prayer.
2. A synagogue is a place of worship for Jews and it has items in very specific locations. In every synagogue there are three things in it that are in all synagogue's and that is the holy ark, the ten commandments and the Torah Scrolls.  On the eastern wall there is the holy ark which contains the Torah scrolls. The ark is usually located in the front of the room on a stage. The ark is highly decorated and people use it to focus on there prayers. The Torah scrolls are covered by a cloth. The Torah is usually decorated with such objects like a crown or a breastplate. The ten commandments in synagogues are written in Hebrew and are usually located on the wall. 
3. A rabbi is a man who is appointed to teach and preach to the jewish community. To become a rabbi a person has to be Jewish, a scholar of Jewish law, fluent in Hebrew, and hired by other rabbi's to lead a congregation. A rabbi is different from a clergyman because the rabbi has not authority from god like a clergyman (priest). A rabbi is just a leader of a community who has extensive knowledge on Jewish law.
4. Shabbat is a day of rest in which a jew uses to enrich their spirit. This is observed everyday for three times a day. 
5. Torah has five books. They are
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8. Yiddish is the language of modern Jewish culture. It is mainly spoken by people who live in the West. 
9. Mazal Tov: Congratulations. Shalom: Hello/Peace/Goodbye. Mitzvah: A commandment.
10. Brit Milah is the ceremony of circumcision. On the eighth day of a babies life he is circumcised just as Abraham was told to do with his son. A Bar Mitzvah is when a boy reaches the age of 13 he assumes the full responsibility of observing the commandments.
11. 1. Rosh Hashanah known as the Jewish New Year. Yom Kippur is the most important in Jewish holidays and on this day Jew's reflect and atone for the sins they have committed throughout the year. Hanukkah is the equivalent of Christmas in Christianity however Jews light candles signifying a story in Jewish scriptures. The Passover is a holiday observed in response to the Exodus and the Jews being free from slavery.
    2. One thing i had confirmed about Jewish tradition that I knew was that Bar Mitzvah's occur when a boy has turned 13.
    3. The most interesting thing I found out is that Hanukkah is not that important in Jewish Tradition because it is one of the main holidays everyone knows about.
    4. One aspect of Judaism that is similar to my life is mariage. 
    5. One aspect of Judaism that is different from my life is Shabbat in which Jews take time to pray three times a day.

Buddhism Questions

1.Siddhartha Gautama
2.The first sight was a decrepit old man and the significance is that Siddhartha saw this fate was in store for everyone including himself. The second sight was a diseased man and Siddhartha thought people could not enjoy life when disease threatened them. The third sight was a corpse and he thought what the point of living is when everyone has to die. The fourth sight was a homeless ascetic religious man and Siddhartha thought that there is a way to salvation.
3.A basic Buddhist teaching that rejects both the pleasures of sensual indulgence and the self-denial of asceticism, focusing instead on a practical approach to spiritual attainment.
4.Siddhartha was sitting under a fig tree by a fig tree and he said he would not leave until he was enlightened. The god of death Mara did everything he could to try and stop him by frightening and tempting him from his spot. However Gautama defeated Mara and became enlightened.
5.The Sangha is the Buddhist community of monks and nuns.
6.The Three Jewels in Buddhist teachings are the Buddha, Dharma, and the Sangha.
7.Buddhism and Hinduism both regard time as cyclical and the universe is eternal. They believe that Gods and goddesses inhabit various heavens, and demons inhabit various hells.  Also they believe in samsara and liberation from life. In Hinduism it is called moksha and in Buddhism it is called nirvana.
8.He was discontented with many of the religious features of his day, especially speculative philosophy and the sacrificial rituals of the Brahmin class. Buddha did not believe that philosophical speculation regarding the nature of the world, human self, and divine were important for salvation.
9.The first mark of existence is Anatta which means no self within reality. Annicca means impermanence because existence is constantly changing. This is closely related to Anatta because existence is always changing so there is never any self in the world. Dukkha means suffering and this is a natural result of Anatta and Annicca.
10.The doctrine of anatta states that there is no self in reality because we are not attached to this world. This related to the Hindu Atman because like atman there is not specific soul because life is always changing when we are reborn.
11.A bundle of energy or the eternal self is reborn. Karma in terms of samsara is the nautre of one’s rebirth which depends on the status of one’s karma.
12.The five precepts of Buddhism are do not take life, take what is not given, engage in sensuous misconduct, use false speech, or drink intoxicants. The five precepts for monks and nuns are do not eat after noon, watch dancing or shows, use garlands, perfumes, or ornaments, use a high or soft bed, and accept gold or silver.
13.Some possible translations to the word dukkha are suffering, frustration, dislocation, and discomfort. The meaning of this word is when something is not as it should be and you know it needs to be fixed. For example if you see a crooked picture frame you know that it is not where it should be and that it should be straight.
14.Tanha is desire and it is related to dukkha because suffering is caused by desire which is one of the four noble truths.
15.To follow the eightfold path one must have the right views, the right intentions, the right speech, the right conduct, the right livelihood, the right effort, the right mindfulness, and the right meditation.
16.The different between the Buddha and the other humans who attain enlightenment is that a Buddha did not need to follow teachings or a model to be awakened because Buddha’s are able to accomplish enlightenment on their own.
17.An arhat is a person who has reached enlightenment but do not go into nirvana.
18.The literal meaning for the word nirvana is blowing out. This helps explain the concept of nirvana because a person who has reach nirvana has lost all of its desire and suffering because it has essentially been blown out.
19.The three divisions of Buddhism are Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana.
20.The main focus of Theravada Buddhism is the teachings of the Buddhism.
21.The literal meaning for the word Mahayana is way of the elders because it follows the original teachings of Buddhism strictly.
22.The Vajrayana fights fire with fire because it harnesses the energy of desire and uses it for good.
23.The Dalai Lama is the leader of Vajrayana Buddhism. The Dalai Lama is chosen by the successors of him and they use various spiritual and supernatural rituals to find the next Lama. For example if the successors find a suspected baby of being the Lama they would see if it would attract to something once owned by him.
24.The primary geographic region for Theravada Buddhism is in Cambodia, Burma, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. The primary geographic region for Mahayana Buddhism is in China, Japan and Korea. The primary geographic region for Vajrayana Buddhism is in Tibet.

Hinduism Review

1.Moksha is a release from the confines of the reality and an entrance into the realm of the divine.

2.The doctrine that says all reality is ultimately one is called Monism. An analogy would be all rivers, lakes, and streams all flow into one ocean. Rivers, ponds, lakes and oceans appear to be quite distinctive, yet the share a common essence; they are all made up of water.

3.Brahman is a belief in which all things that make up the invisible and visible reality have something in common and are connected to the universe. Atman is the ultimate reality within the self. These two are related because the universe is connected with the eternal self and the eternal self is connected to the universe. These two terms are the same.

4. The General Function of Hinduism’s many deities is to serve as a connection between reality and the divine reality sense it is beyond the reach of mere humans.

5. The Doctrine of Samsara states that an individual is reincarnated from one life form to another until the individual can reach Moksha.

6.The name of Hinduism's most popular sacred text is the Bhagavad-Gita.

7.In Hinduism the two principles that connect the divine world to this world are karma and dharma. Karma is a moral law that states every action produces response which justifies the action committed. Dharma is a set of moral rules of life which must be achieved to reach Moksha.

8.The four caste systems are the Brahmin which are the priest, the Kshatriya which are warriors and administrators, the Vaishya which are the farmers, merchants, and artisans, and the Shurdra which are servants and laborers.

9.Krishna encourages Arjuna to engage in war because it is Arjuna’s sacred duty to engage in war. Arjuna was born to battle as a warrior because it is a part of her dharma.

10.The first stage is that of a student in which one does intensive study if the Vedas and other sacred literature. This stage last until marriage. The second stage is Householder and in this stage a person pursues a career and raises a family. The third stage is the forest dweller (The stage ensues after the birth of a grandchild) and in this stage a man takes retreat to fully engage in a spiritual quest. The fourth stage is sannyasin and in this stage the forest dweller is ready to come back to society however he is completely detached from the material things this world ensues.

11.The first goal of life is sensual pleasure (Karma) and this is a legitimate aim to pursuit pleasures in one’s life. The second goal is Artha and this is an attempt to reach material success, social power and prestige that accompanies it. The third goal is Dharma and this is when a person tries to achieve living a moral and ethical life. The fourth goal is Moksha and in this the goal is to achieve the infinite being, awareness and bliss of liberation.

12.The three paths to liberation are the path of works, the path of knowledge and the path of devotion. People who are engaged into day-to-day task of earning a living and raising a family prefer the path of the works. People who have a talent for philosophical reflection and reasoning should follow the path of knowledge. People who get emotionally attached easily are best perceived to follow the path of devotion.

13.The three most important schools in Hinduism philosophy are Vendanta, Sankhya and Yoga. The basic task that concerns all three is that the attainment of knowledge is needed to rid oneself of the ignorance that binds the self to Samsara.

14.Three important gods and goddesses are Vishnu who is the preserver of the world, Shiva who is the god known for destruction, and Kali who is known for being a violent destroyer to her enemies.

15.Avatars are incarnations or living embodiment of a deity. Two important Hindi avatars are Kirshnu and Rama.

16.The text that is most closely associated with Bhakti Marga is the Bhagavad-Gita.

17.The three aspects of Hindu devotional life are household and village rituals, pilgrimage to holy places and veneration of cows.

18.Mahatma Gandhi influenced Hinduism by stating that all wisdom lights the way to the divine.

19.The significant changes that took place in the caste system in the 20th century were the Indian government forbade the discrimination of any outcast and the government also instituted affirmative action plans that promote economic and social rights of the outcasts.

20.A sati is the suicidal burning of a widow because her death is seen as a sign of virtue for her love of her husband. Since 1829 sati has been forbidden however it still rarely occurs in some places in India.

21.The significant development that occurred between Hindus and Muslims in 1947 was that the Muslim community created the country of Pakistan during the partition of India so that way Muslims could have a homeland in which they could live in without the fear of being discriminated against by the Hindus. This caused a bloody civil war and many followers of both religions were killed because most were forced to move out of their homes.

Primal Religions Packet

1.      Forms of religion are considered primal because they existed prior to the universal or formal religions such as Christianity or Hinduism. Primal religions exhibits the basic feature found in all religions. Some characteristics of primal religions originated first,  they are usually traditions of non-literate people, they tend to be used by small groups of people, and they are very diverse because not all primal religions will be the same.

2.      During the period of dreaming the Ancestors created landscapes, various forms of life, and the first humans. They organized humans into tribes and gave them each specific languages, social rules, and customs.

3.      The spiritual essence of the Ancestors remains in the various symbols they left behind.

4.       A totem is a natural entity that symbolizes an individual or group and has special significance to the religious life of a group or individual. Taboo is the prohibition of certain behaviors or objects for fear of dangerous contact with spiritual powers.

5.      For Aborigines, ritual is essential if life is to have meaning because it is only through ritual that Dreaming can be accessed and experienced.

6.      The rituals originated from the Ancestors who created the world during dreaming and each ritual is a reenactment of a myth of the certain actions an Ancestor did during Dreaming.

7.      Initiation rituals awaken young people to the spiritual identity and redefine their social identify in a tribe.

8.      Two acts of the Dieri initiation ritual that symbolize death are the initiates two lower middle teeth were knocked out and buried in the ground, and the initiate is circumcised.

9.      The Yoruba live in the western regions of Africa including Nigeria, Benin, and Togo.

10.   The city of Ife has always been the center of Yoruba religion because the Yoruba believe that the god Orish-nla first began to create the world in Ife.

11.  Yoruba cosmological view of the world depicts reality being divided into two separate worlds which were heaven and earth. Human beings are descended from gods and earth is also populated by deviant forms of human beings call witches and sorcerers who can cause chaos. The purpose of this religion is to maintain balance between the gods and humans and also to keep the sorcerers and witches from doing evil deeds.

12.   Olorun is the supreme god of Yoruba religion and is the primary original source of power in the universe.    

13.  Orishas are lesser deities than the supreme Olorun however they can harm or help human beings depending on how a ritual is carried out. Orishas function as a mediator between Olorun and human beings.

14.  One Orisha is Orish-nla and Yoruba believe that he created the earth. Another one is Ogun, the god of war and iron who was once a human but then died and became a god.

15.  A trickster figure is a type of supernatural being who tends to disrupt the normal course of life.

16.  Family ancestors gained supernatural status by earning a good reputation and living to an old age. They are worshipped by their own families.  Diefied ancestors were important human figures in Yoruba society who are now worshiped in large numbers.

17.  The role of ritual practitioners is to mediate between the gods and ancestors in heaven, and human beings on earth.

18.  Divination is the use of various techniques for gaining knowledge about an individual’s future or about the cause of a problem. Divination is important because knowledge of one’s future is essential for determining how to proceed in one’s life.

19.  According to scholars human being came to North America either 20,000 or 30,000 years ago by migrating from Asia to the Bering Strait. They gradually spread out and inhibited both North and South America.

20.  The religion of the plains Indians is of vital interest among native peoples because their religion represents Native American religion in general.

21.  Wakan Tanka is the Lakota name for supreme reality and means most sacred. Wakan Tanka represents sixteen separate deities.

22.  Inktomi is means spider and is the Lakota trickster figure taught the first human beings their ways and customs.

23.  The Lakota believe that when someone dies one of their four souls goes on a journey along the spirit path of the Milky Way. The soul is judged and either becomes an ancestor or a ghost on earth. The remaining parts of the soul are reborn into new bodies.

24.  The primary goal of a vision quest is for an individual to gain spiritual power to ensure greater success in hunting and warfare.

25.  A sweat lodge is a dark hut made of saplings and covered in animal skins. The Lakota built it to represent the universe and they believe the sweating leads to purification.

26.  The vision arrives in the form of an animal, an object, or a force nature. A message is often communicated in these visions and the individual tells the medicine man who then explains the vision.

27.  In the Blackfeet tribe a woman with outstanding moral character presides over the Sun Dance.

28.  An axis mundi is an entity such as a tree or mountain that connects the heavens and earth. The axis mundi in the Sun Dance is the cottonwood tree.

29.  The participants of the Sun Dance believe that their bodies is the only true thing they own so body mutilation is the only suitable sacrifice one can offer to the supreme being

30.  The Aztec Traditions defy the description of a primal religion because they were highly developed and populated civilization with a population of about fifteen million. However the Aztecs were like other primal religions because they emphasized the interrelationship between myths and rituals.

31.  The geographical area of Mesopotamia included most of present day Mexico and extended south ward to present day Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.

32.  The Aztec god who created and ordered the world was Quetzalcoatl. The ancient city Teotihuacan is said to be the origin of the entire cosmos.

33.  Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl is the god’s earthy devotee and he ruled as a priest-king. Quetzalcoatl is significant to the Aztecs because they believed he presided over the golden age of Aztec cultural brilliance and he provided the Aztecs a perfect role model for their own authority figures. 

34.  The Aztecs called their present age the Age of the Fifth Sun and they anticipated that their sun would be destroyed like the other four suns.

35.  The Aztecs understood the special world as having four quadrants extending outward from the center of the universe, which connected the earthly realm to the heavenly and underworld realm.

36.  Aztecs regarded each human being as a sort of axis mundi because the head and the heart are regarded as potent for the nourishment for the sun and the cosmos. This potency creates a link between the earthly and heavenly realms.

37.  The “Knower of Things” could communicate with the gods and make offerings through language which provided an alternative to sacrifice.

38.  The historical coincidence that contributed to the fall of Tenochtitlan was that in 1519 the Aztec king Quetzalcoatl was supposed to return. The general of the Spanish army Hernan Cortez arrived that same year in a feathered helmet and the Tenochtitlan believed that Cortez was the return of Quetzalcoatl. However they were severely disappointed when Cortex began to conquer them.

39.  The day of the dead shows the survival of Aztec religious culture because during this celebration modern day Aztecs set aside time each year to perform similar rituals devoted the same basic principle the ancient Aztecs used to practice.

40.  Three themes that are shared by the primal religions studied in this chapter are boundaries between the supernatural and human worlds are thin and easily crossed, religion is encompassing in every aspect the primal religions society, and lastly primal religions are always changing.

The Yoruba

Major Rituals
A newborn infant is sprinkled with water to make it cry. No word may be spoken until the infant cries. Also, no one younger than the mother should be present at the birth. The infant then is taken to the backyard. The umbilical cord is bound tightly with thread and then cut. The placenta is buried in the backyard. On the placenta burial spot, the child is bathed with a loofah sponge and rubbed with palm oil. The child is held by the feet and given three shakes to make it strong and brave. After a specified number of days, a naming ceremony is held. Relatives attend and bring small amounts of money. Male and female circumcision are usually performed in the first month.

Marriages are arranged. A man must negotiate with the girl's father. If he is approved he must bring the family a payment called a bride wealth, paid in three installments. Wedding ceremonies begin at the bride's house after dark. There is a feast to which the groom contributes yams. The bride then is taken to the groom's house. There she is washed from foot to knee with an herbal mixture meant to bring her many children. For the first eight days after marriage she divides her time between her husband's and in her parents' compounds. On the ninth day she moves to her husband's home.

Burials are performed by the adult men who are not close relatives but belong to the clan of the deceased. The grave is dug in the floor of the room where the deceased lived. After the burial there is a period of feasting. Many of the rituals associated with burial are intended to insure that the deceased will be reborn again.

Location

The Yoruba homeland is located in west Africa. It stretches from a savanna (grassland) region in the north to a region of tropical rain forests in the south. Most Yoruba live in Nigeria. However there are also some scattered groups in Benin and Togo, small countries to the west of Nigeria. The occupations and living conditions of the Yoruba in the north and south differ sharply.
Current census figures are difficult to obtain. The Yoruba population is estimated to be 5.3 million.

Primary Cosmology
According to a Yoruba creation myth, the deities (gods) originally lived in the sky with only water below them. Olorun, the Sky God, gave to Orishala, the God of Whiteness, a chain, a bit of earth in a snail shell, and a five-toed chicken. He told Orishala to go down and create the earth. Orishala approached the gate of heaven. He saw some deities having a party and he stopped to greet them. They offered him palm wine and he drank too much and fell asleep. Odua, his younger brother, saw Orishala sleeping. He took the materials and went to the edge of heaven, accompanied by Chameleon. He let down the chain and they climbed down it. Odua threw the piece of earth on the water and placed the five-toed chicken upon it. The chicken began to scratch the earth, spreading it in all directions. After Chameleon had tested the firmness of the earth, Odua stepped down. A sacred grove is there today.

Tabus


Sacred Symbols


Totems/Fetishes


Sacred sites/Locations

The dense forest of the Osun Sacred Grove, on the outskirts of the city of Osogbo, is one of the last remnants of primary high forest in southern Nigeria. Regarded as the abode of the goddess of fertility Osun, one of the pantheon of Yoruba gods, the landscape of the grove and its meandering river is dotted with sanctuaries and shrines, sculptures and art works in honour of Osun and other deities. The sacred grove, which is now seen as a symbol of identity for all Yoruba people, is probably the last in Yoruba culture. It testifies to the once widespread practice of establishing sacred groves outside all settlements.


Religion-Good, bad, trickster gods?
As many as 20 percent of the Yoruba still practice the traditional religions of their ancestors.
The practice of traditional religion varies from community to community. For example, a deity (god) may be male in one village and female in another. Yoruba traditional religion holds that there is one supreme being and hundreds of orisha, or minor deities. The worshipers of a deity are referred to as his "children."

There are three gods who are available to all. Olorun (Sky God) is the high god, the Creator. One may call on him with prayers or by pouring water on kola nuts on the ground. Eshu (also called Legba by some) is the divine messenger who delivers sacrifices to Olorun after they are placed at his shrine. Everyone prays frequently to this deity. Ifa is the God of Divination, who interprets the wishes of Olorun to mankind. Believers in the Yoruba religion turn to Ifa in times of trouble. Another god, Ogun (god of war, the hunt, and metalworking), is considered one of the most important. In Yoruba courts, people who follow traditional beliefs swear to give truthful testimony by kissing a machete sacred to Ogun. 

Shango (also spelled Sango and Sagoe) is the deity that creates thunder. The Yoruba believe that when thunder and lightning strike, Shango has thrown a thunderstone to earth. After a thunderstorm, Yoruba religious leaders search the ground for the thunderstone, which is believed to have special powers. The stones are housed in shrines dedicated to Shango. Shango has four wives, each representing a river in Nigeria.
The Yoruba who practice other religious are divided about evenly between Muslims (followers of Islam) and Christians. Nearly all Yoruba still observe annual festivals and other traditional religious practices.

Role of Shamin


Images that reflect art of the people 

 

 

Vocabulary

1. Axis Mundi- turning point of the world : line through the earth's center around which the universe revolves

2. Taboo- A custom prohibiting or restricting a particular practice or forbidding association with a particular person, place, or thing.

3. Totem- A natural object or animal believed by a particular society to have spiritual significance and adopted by it as an emblem.

4. Trickster- a cunning or deceptive character appearing in various forms in the folklore of many cultures.

5. Vision Quest- an ongoing search for the meaning and purpose of life.

6. Divination- the act of obtaining secret knowledge, especially that which relates to the future, by means within the reach almost exclusively of special classes of men. 

7. Pantheism- A doctrine that identifies God with the universe, or regards the universe as a manifestation of God.

8. Polytheism- the belief or worship in more than one god

9. Monotheism- The belief in only one God

10. Transcendence- extending or lying beyond the limits of ordinary experience

11. Empathy- most often defined by the metaphors of 'standing in someone else's shoes' or 'seeing through someone else's eyes'.

12. What does Revelation have to do with religion?

"usually used to indicate the supernatural origin of a set of beliefs or sacred texts.(Victor Gunasekara)"