Yoruba Culture Research Paper

The Yoruba have a culture and history that is unique in its own way and meaning. According to the oral history of the Yoruba, it is described as a myth. As the tale goes, the first kings of the land were the offspring of the creator, Oduduwa.

Over the course of my life, I have wondered about my culture. Every couple of years my understanding of culture increases. As of this year, I have come to a better idea of what the answer to culture really is. One day, during English class, our teacher tells the class about culture. We take notes and do many assignments to help us understand the topic. Culture is the way of how people live life. I believe that our friends, family members, and world as whole are greatly affected by culture, culture changes your perspective depending on where you stand.

One last preliminary question: What is a culture? What do we mean when we talk about a given people's culture? James Axtell has provided a definition of culture that, in many ways, illustrates the problems of grappling with this slippery concept:

Culture is a set of ideals and values about life that are widely shared among people and that guide specific behaviors. Differences, as well as similarities, can be seen when comparing world cultures. We communicate with each other, we feed ourselves with food, and when we sleep we often dream. However, we speak different languages, eat different types of foods, and dream different ways. We call these cultural differences. What causes them is not always obvious to the ordinary person (Nancy). I feel culture is what really sets us apart from each other and what makes us unique as individuals and families.

Culture is a behavior that consists of several critical elements, such as language, religion, race and ethnicity, clothing and politics. Culture is what one does in his/her daily life. In order to understand others, we must first keep in mind that every culture carries its own set of values and assumptions. Culture is an evolving, ever changing civilization, which includes several different groups people. For immigrants, America is a land of opportunity; for others it is just the best country in the world because of its economic success and/or its democratic political system. Americans usually value independence a lot, believe in equal opportunity, and have a direct communication style. In exploring the

In our society today, culture is not what it used to be hundreds of years ago. There is no more “pure” culture. Our culture today is enriched with many different traditions and customs that are being shared and adopted. Due to emigration and immigration, a variety of diverse customs, beliefs, and knowledge moved with every exiting and entering human being. Thus, changing and shaping the culture of many. Throughout the world, the beliefs and religious views of culture are dissimilar around the world. By taking the time to read, listen and learn about certain people’s culture, there will be knowledge and understanding that will be gained.

Culture is the characteristics of a group of people defined by language, cuisine, religion social habits music and art. There are many different types of culture including western culture, eastern culture, African culture and many more. Culture is influenced by the groups of people that make up the country (Zimmermann, 2012). The term culture was first used by an English Anthropologist named Edward B. Tyler. It was first mentioned in 1871 in his book named ‘Primitive Culture’. He stated that culture is "that complex whole which includes knowledge, belief, art, law, morals, custom, and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society”. Since then culture is the main focus of anthropology.

Culture is a large part of every person’s life, it is what makes each person unique. Within culture there are many aspects such as food, music, clothing, tradition, and many more. Since culture makes up such a large part of our day to day lives, it is almost always responsible shaping and informing our view on the world.

There are various aspects that make up a culture in today’s world, ranging from necessities needed for survival, social groups, and the unique traditions they value within the specific culture. That’s why we all are able to conclude that culture is the fluid set of traditions, customs, beliefs, values, and practices developed over time by a specific group or community.

Masking the Yoruba deities with the Catholic saints was a means of keeping the old religion alive, even if it meant giving new names to the orishas. Catholicism was the seedbed for the survival of the orishas.

“Our heritage and ideals, our code and standards - the things we live by and teach our children - are preserved or diminished by how freely we exchange ideas and feelings.” ~ Walt Disney. Culture is the collective experiences, conflicts, and meetings you have throughout your life. Everyone experiences the world differently, causing that person to be his or her own unique individual. You can explore the contemplation of culture through the literary works “Ethnic Hash”, “Two Kinds”, and “By Any Other Name”. These works show that you should always be yourself, because if anyone tries to change you it will cause conflict.

This religion takes up about 42.8% of the nation’s total population. Other religions throughout the country include Catholic, Muslim, Vodoun, and Protestant. Most adherents of the Yoruba religious group are located in the south, whereas the other African Religion beliefs are found more in the north and southeast.

Yoruba religion is based on nature worshipping and is rooted deeply on respect for the environment. Their divinities is called Òrìsà, when it work is complete they become thunderstorm with lightning. Then the formation of the river adjoining into the ocean all of these actions are classified as divinities (Abimbola 2010). All living things are considered sacred and need to be reverenced. Religion cannot be free from the influence of the culture of the people where it is established, Gaiya substantiating this view wrote that culture and religion are two sides of the same coin and that a change in one affects the other (Awoniyi 2011).One will hear words such as Ori which is the soul or the unconscious mind, Èmí-the divine breathe enclosed in our heart and Òlódùmare, our High God.. (Awoniyi 2011).

Don C. Ohadike claims that between 1900 and 1960, the colonial period, Igbos began gathering together in urban centers and discovered the similarities in their culture and language. Igbo farming communities stretched across Nigeria and were bordered by the Niger river, the Cross river, swamplands, and grasslands. Igbo religion was very prominent in their everyday life. Chukwu, they believed, was a supreme being so they didn't have any symbols of Chukwu because they didn't know what he looked like and they didn't have any shrines of Chukwu because they thought that he was everywhere. Ekwensu, the Christian equivalent of satan, supposedly made people commit crimes. Igbos also believed in life after death and that the spirits of the dead became unseen. The Igbo people had the theory that twins or triplets were abnormal and if born, they were thrown away

Yoruba culture was originally an oral tradition, and the majority of Yoruba people are native speakers of the Yoruba language. The number of speakers is roughly estimated at about 30 million in 2010.[25] Yoruba is classified within the Edekiri languages, which together with the isolate Igala, form the Yoruboid group of languages within the Volta-Niger branch of the Niger-Congo family. Igala and Yoruba have important historical and cultural relationships. The languages of the two ethnic groups bear such a close resemblance that researchers such as Forde (1951) and Westermann and Bryan (1952) regarded Igala as a dialect of Yoruba.