In Yoruba culture, there is no such thing as ancestral worship. We pay homage just like the Muslim Arabs pays homage to Muhammad as an act of respect. Arab Muslims pray for their ancestors(Muhammad ) that died 1500 years ago.
Ancestor from Latin antecessor, from antecedere, from ante ‘before’ + cedere ‘go’.
Arab Muslims follow the Arabic benediction sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam (Peace be upon him) . This is their own way of paying homage to their own ancestor. In Yoruba culture we pay homage to the people before us, we don’t worship them. As a matter of fact, “worshipping ” in the Abrahamic context is very alien to Yoruba culture. The Yoruba translation word for worship is “sìn”. Its use in the context when we talk about Animal or Humans Animals. sìn Eluwe sìn Adiye sìn Pepeye The other usage is in the context of serving someone. E.g Ajoke sìn Oba ilaja fun Oogun Odun(Ajoke serve Oba ilaja for twenty years.) The word Serve etymology from Latin which means “to slave”. For you to know why Yoruba people doesnt worship , you need to understand their concept of the universe and Eledumare. We pay our homage in the Oju bo, just like Arab Muslim pay homage to black stone inside kabba. Kabba is their own Ojubo. Ojubo would be translated into Arabic as “احترام الطريق” (Ihtiram al-Tariq). We often hear “ojubo Esu” or “ojubo Ogun”. What does oju bo means? “Oju” means Eyes or Path “Bo” means Veneration. Another use of “Bo” is boowo For example: “Bowo fun awon Obi e” which literally translates “Respect your Parent ” The word “Bo” in Yoruba is not same as ijosin which means Worship. The Idea of Worshipping a god is alien to Yoruba Culture. Aboorisa that’s what we call the followers of Orisa not Asinoorisa.
To understand Yoruba cosmology, You need to understand the Concept of what they called the Supreme. The supreme in Yoruba is called Olodumare. Olodumare shouldn’t be synchronized with Allah or Yahweh or any other Supreme from other culture. Olodumare is Olodumare, Zeus is Zeus, Allah is Allah, Yahweh is Yahweh. In Yoruba cosmology, Olodumare is not worshipped or to be Worshipped that’s why you wont see a temple erected for him. Olodumare doesn’t have Hellfire or Paradise. There is no devil either. Olodumare is not coming to destroy the world and create a new one..
referrence https://twitter.com/animolenikun/status/1652284561433276420
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