Scholarly Works
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://repository.ui.edu.ng/handle/123456789/363
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Item The role of women in political activism in pre and post-colonial Yoruba history: lessons for contemporary society(2024-12) Olaleye, S. K.; Gbadamosi, O. A.Women are stakeholders in every aspect of human endeavor. Their roles can be seen in the economy, social, religion and political system of every society particularly in Yoruba society of south western Nigeria where they were/are not found wanting in the aforementioned areas of life, most especially in the political field that men often dominate. Even in the times of the gods, the role that Osun, goddess of river Osun played in the political administration of the world then for the recognition of women fold amongst the male gods sent to the earth by Olodumare, the supreme God in Yoruba belief, earned women their due respect till today. In pre-and post-colonial history of the Yoruba, Efunroye Tinubu remained politically active in both Lagos and Abeokuta. Subuola, Efunsetan Aniwura, Iyalode Ibadan and Feedge of Gbangan to mention a few were notable women in Yoruba society with political activism in the 1800s until the time Funmilayo Ransom Kuti who led the Egba women protest against taxation in Egba land. What were the secrets of their political activism? What lessons should contemporary women learn from their involvement in the politics of their time? These are some of the questions that this study tried to find answers to. The paper adopted historical, descriptive and empirical methods in its analysis.Item Iwògbè ọkàn (self-conscience): a philosophical appraisal of human behaviors as viewed by òfún méji in ifá divination system(Ümmügülsüm Kuzubaş, 2022-12) Gbadamosi, O. A.; Olaleye, S. K.; Adekoya, J. S.Humanity has grappled with different kinds of problems since antiquity ranging from natural disasters, sicknesses and diseases, famines and all sorts of problems. Unfortunately, a sizeable portion of human problems originates from fellow human beings, wars, civil unrests, frauds, corruption, rape and all sorts of evils. Nigeria, like other third world nation is bedeviled by its own array of problems given by its multi-religious and multi-cultural nature also made worse by the problem of bad leadership and mismanagement of public funds. The past decade has witnessed an unusual spike in killings and kidnapping, particularly in the menace of the Boko-Haram, Fulani herdsmen, other forms of insecurity, bad governance and blatant disregard for the rule of law. Nigeria is no doubt a religious nation. This realization makes it necessary to wonder if the populace especially the ruling class is still in possession of the individual guiding voice, judge or judgment known as conscience. Traditionally, philosophers, theologians and scientists view conscience as a unified faculty, from different perspectives, evidently this kind of conception is laden with tautologies because of the pluralistic and the subjective nature of the concept. This paper however, appraised the current realities in Nigeria especially in the area of human behaviours using the epistemic function of Iwògbè Ọkàn (self-conscience) as a philosophical tool through Òfún Méjì of the Ifá Divination System. This was done with a view to re-examining the issue of the degradation in human behaviours in order to know where Nigerians, using the Yorùbá of South-western Nigeria as a case study actually got it wrong. The study discovered that degradation in human behaviours in the contemporary Nigeria shows that the populace in spite of their obvious religiosity got it wrong because Ìwògbè Ọkàn is either lost or broken in the society. It is imperative therefore that Nigerians should make reexamination of themselves at the personal level a priority. The same way personal adjustments are made to appearance when a mirror is looked at, Ìwògbè Ọkàn should lead to changes at the individual and national level.Item Ebo (sacrifice) in Ifa religious tradition of the Yoruba, Southwestern Nigeria and its implications for public health(2025) Olaleye, S. K.; Gbadamosi, O. A.Ebo (sacrifice) is the feeding of spiritual entities such as gods, witches, and other energies believed to maintain equilibrium between the physical and spiritual worlds. It is an integral part of the Ifa divination system, a religious tradition in Yoruba society, southwestern Nigeria, which provides solutions to various problems. The materials for Ebo range from food items and animals to mineral and natural resources, including both living and nonliving things. Depending on the dictates of the Ifa oracle, Ebo can be offered at any time and placed in locations ranging from private spaces to public areas such as roadsides, rivers, gutters, or canals. Public reaction to the indiscriminate placement of Ebo is predominantly negative, except among practitioners or those offering it. This negativity stems from exposure to western education, foreign religions, and modern civilization. Common societal concerns include whether Ebo, beyond being an eyesore, contributes to air, water, and soil pollution, thus endangering public health. This paper aims to address the public health implications of Ebo placement. To explore these issues, interviews were conducted with 10 Babaláwo-Ifa priests, 10 men, and 10 women in Ibadan who had participated in offering Ebo. The content analysis of their responses revealed no consensus. Opponents of Ebo offerings cited speculative dangers, religious sentiments, and western education as factors shaping their views. This study highlights the complex interplay between traditional practices, modernity, and public health concerns, calling for further dialogue and solutions to mitigate potential risks.Item The influence of African traditional religion on modernity: a case study of Ifá divination and contemporary gospel music in Yorùbá society, Nigeria(Ümmügülsüm Kuzubaş, 2023-12) Olaleye, S. K.; Gbadamosi, O. A.This paper seeks to examine the influence of African traditional religion on modernity in relation to music which is a universal language that everyone, old and young understands. Regardless of the population, every community in the world can boast of one form of music or the other especially traditional music. It is a social and religious activity that fosters and reinforces communal unity. Unfortunately, the attitude the contemporary Yorùbá people are displaying towards traditional music is not favourable enough, most especially gospel music in Yorùbá society. They are either unaware or pretending to be unaware that elements of these African traditional music form the basis of and can still be found in their music, particularly Ifá music and verses. However, the most unfortunate aspect of the issue is that if these songs are rendered by the traditionalists, they are frowned at but nothing seems bad if they are found and sung in gospel music. The questions one may ask then are: why the critique that these songs are ‘Orin ayé’ [worldly music] when these same songs are found or sung in a different forms and atmosphere? Are they not passing same message across to the same audience? These are some of the questions that this paper tries to address. Textual analysis of some selected Ifá verses and songs were done. Also, ten Ifá priests and ten gospel singers were interviewed and their responses content-analysed. The study discovered that, though music is in multicolour form (different religious perspectives), yet, it should be realised that music, regardless of its background is out to achieve the goal of communicating moral teaching and educate the society in diverse ways beyond entertainment as shown in some of the examples cited in the paper.Item Contextualising Darwin’s theory of evolution in the Yorùbá human concept(Global Journal Inc., 2019) Olaleye, S. K.; Gbadamosi, O. A.This paper discusses African cosmology as seen in the indigenous religion of the Yoruba. The focus of this paper is creating a framework of how the theory of evolution can enhance further understanding of some Yoruba beliefs, chiefly, its concept of human. This is done by tracing the history of the theory of Evolution. This is necessary because Charles Darwin must have been influenced by the works of some scientists before him. Several arguments that humans descended from the Apes were also discussed in this paper. These are premised on the implication of such notion on world religions which suggest creationism notably that of a perfect human being which is at odds with the conclusion of evolution. This paper discusses also the Yoruba concept of human, a notion that is clearly different from the western one. The relationship between human being and nature in Yoruba understanding and its link to the theory of evolution forms a major fulcrum in this research. This paper concludes that Olódùmarè the creator endows humans with enormous power that can be used at will transforming to suit the prevailing situation, thereby making room for the theory of evolution.Item A philosophical analysis of the role of indigenous religion in the growth and expansion of Christianity in Africa(Department of Religious Studies, Faculty of Arts, University of Ibadan, Nigeria, 2019) Olaleye, S. K.; Gbadamosi, O. A.Religion plays a dominant role in the life of the average African. Long before the advent of Christianity, Africans have been actively practising their indigenous religion. Several scholars have focused on various aspects of the history of Christianity in Africa with little attention paid to the contributions of the Indigenous religion to Christianity, especially in the area of its growth and expansion. This paper seeks to address this lacuna with the view to providing answers to questions on the influences of the indigenous religion of the people on Christianity in Africa. The interaction of Christianity with the indigenous religion often leads to the attitude of skepticism, especially in Christian circles. Contrary to the erroneous belief that African indigenous religion is anti-Christianity, it has actually contributed to its growth and expansion in Africa. This study adopts Descartes ’s methodological skepticism which has its roots in epistemology, in its analysis of the contributions of the Indigenous religion to Christianity.