Yoruba Religious Tradition In The Aladura Movement

The Yoruba people originated in the state of Nigeria, where many other people of different native tongues, traditions, and religious systems are present as well. Generally the Yoruba reside in the western part of Nigeria however, others may live in parts of Ghana, Togo, and Dahomey. Regardless of where it is that they live, the Yoruba religion and religious traditions maintain their integrity. The Aladura movement was created when the Yoruba were faced with a dilemma of choosing between two different religious systems, Islam and Christianity. Some chose one and others chose the alternative, and then there were those who established new religious forms i.e. The Aladura movement. This movement has its similarities and differences to the early Yoruba religion. Let’s take a look at some of these religious traditions of the Yoruba people, and then later compare it to the Aladura movement. …show more content…
There are many gods in the Yoruba religion. One of them is Olorun, when translated literally the name means owner of the sky, referring to the high god who lives in the heavens. It is stated on pp. 67 of our class text that an important element in the Yoruba religious system is that the destiny or fate of humankind was decided by Olorun from the very beginning, that humans have forgotten their fate, and that such knowledge can be recovered through the process of divination or as the Yoruba people call it, ifa”. Esu, and Ogun are more examples of their many