REVIEWS AND EVALUATIONS OF ARTICLES

THE REALITY AND MEANING OF BEING A WOMAN IN THE YORUBA

COSMOGONIC MYTHS. AN ANTHROPOLOGIST'S CONTRIBUTION TO 0.
GBADEGESIN'S 'DESTINY, PERSONALITY AND THE ULTIMATE REALITY
AND MEANING OF HUMAN EXISTENCE: A YORUBA PERSPECTIVE' (URAM
7: 173-188).
Ultimate Reality and Meaning 1988.11:233-242.

Olatunde B. Lawuyi, Obafemi Awolowo University, /le-/fe. Nigeria

1. INTRODUCTION

Gbadegesin, a Yoruba philosopher and educator, in his article (Gbadegesin, 1984)

addressed the Yoruba world view and sought to establish the framework for
understanding the ways Yoruba conceive of their existence and of the meaning of their
life. His major interest was the philosophical inquiry into 'what is the origin of the
universe and whence do I come?' (Gbadegesin, 1984, p. 179). He treated two important
cosmogonic myths, one about creation and the other about Yoruba migration from
Arabia, as if the Yoruba male and female experience the same reality, the same meaning
of their selves. Yet myths contain important names like Olodumare, Oduduwa, Obatala,
Orisanla and Orunmila, belonging to the primordial gods and goddesses. Since the
author in his approaches leaves out the symbolic values of these names, he could not deal
properly with the logico-genetic development of what is to be taken to be ultimate. An
anthropological question is to be addressed: What are the implications of the cosmogonic
myths for social structural relations? The question is important, since the Yoruba society
is socially stratified and men and women seek to fulfill themselves differently. For
instance, the women, in theory, can become chiefs. Indeed, in the past some of them
were Queens. But this practice has since faded out. Presently, their most important
chieftaincies, such as Lobun (head of the market) and Iyalode (head of the women), are
linked to the market enterprise. The market is a domain controlled by the women, most
of whom sell their husbands' farm or hunting products. The enterprise affords them the
chance to become wealthy. But then, it has also endangered the trust between them and

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 their men. The males believe that

Women are liars;

Women are traitors;
Let no man open his mind to women. (Abimbola, 1975, p. 108)

This unfortunate belief of Yoruba men about their women probably stems from the
rivalries and suspicion endemic in their competitive relations (Abimbola, 1975, pp.
108-109). The competition is as old as human existence. And when men and women
compete for power and status in the lightly stratified Yoruba society, the chances are
that, unless they have chosen similar degrees of potentiality for success, they cannot
compete equally. That which has a higher potentiality is already sponsored for faster
social mobility by the meaning the 'world' has for its potentials. Such a meaning, as our
proposition goes, can be discovered in cosmogonic myths.
Granted that Yoruba women like other Yoruba have Ori and thus an unconscious self
which makes a free choice of one's life course before Olodumare, would Olodumare be
the one who gave men the privilege to rule? If the reality of the individual Yoruba is the
Ultimate Reality and Meaning 1988.11:233-242.

byproduct of the interaction of his Ori (destiny) and Aye (the world), do men and women
come to terms with the world so that male and female individuals' realities are shaped
differently? Our assumption is that answers can be provided from a perspective of
mythical analysis.
In the cosmogonic myths that Gbadegesin (1984) described are names and symbols
that are pertinent to the role of women, their moral ends and moral relations to the
universe and its creator. In summing up his views on the myths, Gbadegesin had noted
that 'it would seem that the fact that the universe is created should suggest that whatever
meaning the existence of man has should be traced to this creative process' (1984, p.
180). Thus, he would prefer to raise the creation myth above that of the migration story,
which indicates that Oduduwa led the Yoruba away from Arabia into their new locale,
South-West of modem Nigeria.
Our position here is that the creation and migration myths share the same theme about
the reality and meaning of Yoruba womanhood via the presence of Oduduwa, the
founder of the Yoruba race. The important factor is that if Oduduwa was present in the
creation myth as one who founded the earth and resurfaces in the migration myth as yet
another founder of the human race, there is a persisting image of the character as a
pathfinder: cutting the first route to earth, and to living. Hence, we would seek to show
that the sex of Oduduwa is female and to suggest that based on her roles in the myths she
is a pathfinder. In fact, somewhat substantiating the view that Oduduwa and other
women are pathfinders is their stereotypic images as 'bird' and 'water.' As an object that
flows, women cut new paths. However, in spite of their potentiality to lead, neither in the
myths we would consider nor in the realities of the practical demands of Yoruba social
structure can they fully express their potentials. There are two reasons for this: the
distrust of the Supreme Being, the ultimately real, of their competence and the reluctance
of the men to accept equality with them.

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 To illustrate this we will examine the role of Oduduwa as a creative figure in the
cosmogonic myths, and the significance of the cosmogonic myths for being a Yoruba
woman.

2. THE ROLE OF ODUDUWA AS A CREATIVE FIGURE

2. l The Name 'Oduduwa'

What is striking in the name 'Oduduwa' as identity is not only that it is the rallying focus
for different Yoruba sub-identities (like Ondo, Ijesa, Oyo, Egba) but also the sole
criterion for being crowned king (Atanda, 1980, pp 3-5). Presently, a controversy exists
as to the proper meaning and sex of this person (Abiodun, n.d.). Within the controversy a
certain consensus can be discerned.
Both Idowu (1962, p. 25) and Gbadegesin (1984, p. 174) interpreted the name
Oduduwa as 'the container or author of existence' or 'that which creates existence.' The
term iwa in the polysyllabic Odu-du-iwa means existence. But it also phonically rhymes
with iwa, character. The congruence between character and existence has in fact been
stressed by another author (Abiodun, 1983). The implication of the congruence is that
Ultimate Reality and Meaning 1988.11:233-242.

existence, like character, may be a growth process. According to Akiwowo (1986)

character is a life cycle process involving igba iwa se (when character began), igba iwa
gun (when character became perfect) and igba iwa ro (when character withered). The
growth of iwa is not constrained by time or context. Individuals are expected to nurture
good character and practice it at any time and space. Indeed, character must be lived as a
creative process, requiring intelligence and imagination, not merely mechanical skill.
Given this view, the name Oduduwa, as that of a founding ancestor would refer to a time
when character began, in the primordial time and space.
It seems that ldowu and Gbadegesin' s interpretation of Oduduwa is too literal. Name
giving and taking in Yorubaland confer identity and are suited to situational events.
Individual names express a kind of relationship between the individuality of a person and
that same person's identification with historical consciousness. The people who give out
a name use it to remember either a famous forebear, a spirit, a benefactor or a worldly
event of significance in their life. Naming is an associative act.
We should note that the name 'Oduduwa' can mean both: Oduduwa the goddess
(ldowu, 1979) and Oduduwa, the devotee (ldowu, 1979). One can argue that they are
different personalities, as ldowu asserts, but they may be the same person because the
Yoruba take names like

Sangobiyi: Sango gave birth to this

Olorunfemi: God loves me
Faiola: Ifa has honor
Orisabunmi: Orisa gave me this

In these instances the prefix (i.e. Sango, Olorun, lfa, Orisa) are the names of
deities/cults. Following this pattern we would expect Odu-du-iwa to reflect the name of

235
 the cult (Odu) and then an object complement (i.e. Femi, loves me; bunmi, gives me).
Yet in our case name conferral has failed to disclose the identity conferral, an important
aspect of the Yoruba naming system.
We should also note that it is not uncommon among the Yoruba to raise human beings
to the status of a deity. They do this in two ways. First, there are gods like Sango and Oya
who were once human and possessed immense spiritual power. Some of these
personalities died outside their home towns, and their names neither reflect the
situational events that happened around their births nor are associated with that of
primordial gods. Second, there are gods like Moremi who were war heroes and heroines.
As humans, these gods were responsible for the unification of a group whose members
were under external pressures of war or internal pressures of famine, disease and
political intrigues. Again, theirnames do not project identification with primordial gods.
Oduduwa's role in Yoruba history leads to a view that the deitification could have
resulted from one or other of the combination of the naming methods mentioned before.
There is no doubt that Oduduwa's personality possessed immense spiritual powers,
hence,the association with the Yoruba pantheon. Also oral traditions indicate that
Oduduwa was involved in struggles for political ascendancy with the autochtonomous
Ultimate Reality and Meaning 1988.11:233-242.

group in Yorubaland. The role of Oduduwa in resolving the political instability and in
imposing a Yoruba rule would be sufficient, given the historical process of deitification,
to cast the personality as a god.
In any case, we can say that the creator of the universe is a goddess that is known as
Oduduwa and that the belief in her is implicated in the myth of Oduduwa, the devotee,
the founder of the Yoruba race.

2.2 YORUBA COSMOGONIC MYTH

In Gbadegesin's version of the creation myth there were three principal deities that were
featured in the creative process: Olodumare, Orisanla and Orunmila. However, in the
version provided by Olupona (1983) there were Olodumare, Obatala and Oduduwa.
Olodumare's presence is a common factor in all myths. The variations one finds is in
regard to the presence of Obatala, Oduduwa and Orunmila; Elsewhere, Idowu hinted
that we should regard Oduduwa and Orisanla as playing the same role in the creation
process:

As Oduduwa became established in the land, he would of course make people learn their revised article
of belief namely, that his own goddess was strongest and supreme: that it was she, and not Orisa-nla,
who created the earth. (ldowu, 1979, p.28)

The existing literature shows that Orisanla is a female god whereas Orunmila is a male
(Idowu, 1979). Also, whereas Obatala is the Chief male god, Oduduwa is the Chief
female god (Lucas, 1948 p.93). Olodumare, the Supreme deity, whose abode is in the
sky (hence his other name Olorun - meaning owner of the heaven or sky) decided to
create a solid earth. Rather than do it all by himself, he commissioned his deputy,
Orisanla (the arch-divinity- our Oduduwa) to do the job. To carry out his task, Orisanla

236
 came down, threw the loose earth on a spot on the mass of water, let go the hen and the
pigeon to scatter the loose earth all over the mass of water. This is how a very large
portion of the water now constituted the solid earth. On the completion of the initial task
of creation Orisanla reported to the Supreme deity who then sent a Chameleon to see the
state of things on earth. After two visits, Chameleon confirmed that the earth was dry
enough for occupation. Then followed the task of populating the earth with things and
human beings. Again the responsibility was given to Orisanla, accompanied by
Orunmila, the wise counsellor. They had instructions to plant the palm tree for the
purpose of drink, food and oil, while the hen and pigeon were to be left on earth to
multiply and provide meat.
In Olupona's (1983) version, Oduduwa had performed the same role ascribed to
Orisanla above: they were both responsible for creating the earth, the Yoruba world of
reality. The role of allocations and performances in the myths, while casting insight into
a hierarchical structure dominated by Olodumare, reveal the power relations between the
sexes. A woman, whether as Orisanla or Oduduwa, was a deputy to Olodumare. In this
position she was superior to other gods, particularly the male gods with whom, as in the
situation below, there was rivalry for power:
Ultimate Reality and Meaning 1988.11:233-242.

On his way to carry out Olodumare's assignment, Obatala met some other divinities who were
drinking, joined them, got drunk, and fell asleep. Another divinity, Oduduwa, who overheard
Olodumare's message, seeing Obatala fast asleep, picked up the earth given to Obatala and went forth
with it to perform the task of creating the world ... When Obatala woke up, he discovered that Oduduwa
had carried out Olodumare's assignment. He was ashamed of himself ... (and) engaged in an argument
(with Oduduwa). (Olupona, 1983, pp. 92-93)

Apparently so sure of himself, Obatala ignored the challenge of the powerful female
competitor. The confidence cost him an opportunity to create. He lost the chance of
creating the world and turned his irresponsibility to anger by contesting Oduduwa' s right
to capitalize on his weakness. Thereafter, suspicion and distrust surfaced in the 'sex
relations. The same suspicion characterized the relationship between Olodumare and his
deputy. He would not allow Orisanla to go back and confirm that the earth was dry
enough for habitation. Rather he sent Chameleon, an animal that changes its colour,
symbolically has no steady position, and hence is able to manipulate as well as to adjust
to any situation. In the Chameleon, Olodumare could hear whatever he wants to hear.
Indeed, choosing Orunmila to accompany Orisanla in her second journey to earth, is
to imply that Orisanla was not wise enough for performing the commissioned task. It is
clear that through the creation, the worlds of the divinities and of men merged, and a
relationship was established between creative forces and creation itself. One of the
creative forces is the goddess Oduduwa, a character that is denoted as capable of
politicizing the ritual order of the gods. Although her obedience to the centralized
authority, Olodumare, is unquestionable, her relationship to the other gods, the male
ones especially, is projected as technical and instrumental as she sought to express her
creative ability.
Her role in the cosmogonic myths raises the problem of selfhood, of woman's place in
the universe, and of the structure of authority. She is a pathfinder. Without her the human

237
 reality is incomplete. The effort to formulate a phenomenology of experience and sketch
its ontological features must take into cognizance her emergence on the creative scene
and the attempt to distance her from the structural process. Her experience in the
primordial presentment of the myths is not a mere collection of sensations and images.
The images were not scrambled up for the purpose of telling any kind of story; rather,
they make meanings in terms of the present Yoruba social structure: the women's sub-
sidiary roles. As a way of a more positive and specific explication of the relevances of
the primordial images, it needs to be said that experience is configurative and multi-
dimensional. It is multidimensional because actors take on different posturings in time.
Yet, it is configurative because these posturings are denoted by concepts in which time
and space seem to fuse. In these concepts reside 'the originary character of experience
as an organic unity of experiencer and perceived objects, encountered persons, attendant
values, and situations of involvement' (Schrag, 1969, p. 18).

2.3 Key Symbols in the Myth

Key symbols in the creation myths include water, bird (hen and pigeon), sky, land, and
palm tree. Water and land contrast as earth and sky. The bird is a liminal figure that can
Ultimate Reality and Meaning 1988.11:233-242.

transverse fixed positions (Turner, 1969, p.95). One of these birds is a female (the hen)
whereas the other is a symbol of peace, of communication, and of easy manipulation by
others. We can see a similarity between the pigeon and chameleon: both can be
manipulated. The hen would seem to be different, because it does not change its colour
like Chameleon and is not a simpleton like pigeon.
The significance of the palm tree lies in its productive capability as a food source. But
since it provides the palm wine that Obatala drank and led him into forgetting his
mission, the palm tree represents the potential for order and disorder, performance and
lack of it, work and leisure. We may in fact consider it as symbolizing male weakness.
For in Abimbola's view (1975, p.106), palm-oil as a chief ingredient from the palm tree
is used for cooking. 'But it is also an important ritual article believed to be sacred to the
witches. Among the Yoruba, women are the witches and very old women are feared
because of the suspicion that they might be witches.' (Abimbola, 1975 p.106). The
conclusion that can be drawn from Obatala' s relationship to the palm tree is that he drank
of the women power and was completely overwhelmed to a point of inaction. In general
though, what comes from the myths is that even after the world was created there could
be no perfect stability as a result of the ambiguity of the bird and the desire to manipulate
them either by 'pigeon' or other sources. This same message about women being
pathfinders, powerful and resourceful, is revealed in Yoruba world views and
stereotypes.

3. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE COSMOGONIC MYTH FOR BEING

A YORUBA WOMAN

The women in the Yoruba world view appear as 'water' (reminding us of the primordial
water) and as 'bird' (pointing up the primordial hen or pigeon). The women as /ya mi
Osoronga, refer to the witches who are known to possess birds ( eleiye) and are in control

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 of world events. They are known as alaiye, the owners of the world. This world is a
market in the aphorism aiye ni oja, orun ni ile (the earth is a market, heaven is home). In
the Yoruba life style, the home belongs to men whereas the women principally control
the market. The Yoruba would say tie ba ri aiye, e sa, if you see the world, and by
implication the women, you run. There is, evidently, a male consciousness that the
women have the ability to dominate the world. Therefore, while they are in the world,
they are locked in a power struggle with the women. They approach the space, as the
'pigeon' does, with the intention of manipulating the women to their own advantage. For
men, life is lived primarily forward because struggles define realities of potentialities,
mark out social boundaries and establish dominating influence.
When a woman is labelled a witch, she is cast in the image of a power superior. She
can bring about negative social mobility by affecting the chances of attaining success in
any given task. She is ostracized and dealt with according to appropriate social
sanctions, since she is a threat to the social order.
Among the Yoruba there is a tendency to characterize women as an object that flows.
A witch can tum up as a bird and appear in dreams. Also, the Yoruba women can tum up
as goddesses of rivers. The principal rivers such as Oshun, Oya and Okun, have
Ultimate Reality and Meaning 1988.11:233-242.

goddesses. The women, as rivers, can flow across spaces and leave indelible marks in
time (Olabimtan, 1974). According to Yoruba beliefs, water is the essence oflife. So is a
woman who brings forth children. She ensures the continuity of the life of the lineage and
of the community. A woman who aborts is greeted with 'omi lo danu, agbe ofo, only
water is lost, the keg (i.e. womb) remains intact. The water can be contained in a keg yet
has a force of its own. To this force is ascribed greatness, superiority, affluence and
immortality (Olabimtan, 1974).
From a position of strength, water commands respect by sweeping objects along its
course. It finds out and defines its own path. It has the power of tossing objects up and
down, moving them sideways, casting them off its path or even breaking them up. Part of
dealing with her superiority is to cover it with immovable objects and force her to st~p or
divert its course. Indeed, a Yoruba incantation implores those seeking success, strength
and superiority to stay on top of water:

Oju-Oro ni ileke omi

Osibata ni ileke odo
Eji-Ogbe, iwo ni baba ifa
Emi lagbaja ni ki ngleke oso
ki ng'leke aje
ki ngleke adahunse to npe ori mi ni'bi.
Oju-oro leaf grows above water
Eji-Ogbe, you are the Lord of the Odu (divination)
Let me (so - and - so ) have victory over wizards
Let me have victory over witches
Let me have victory over medicine men
planning evils against me.

Any object that flows is a threat to established order, whether geographically

conceived as in the case of water, biologically construed as in the case of birds (they can

239
 eat up some farm products) or socially conceived as in the case of women's menstrual
period. A Yoruba woman in menstruation is an outcast, a danger to established order.
She must not touch the food others should consume or be seen near the ritual objects. Her
path is restricted because any object she touches will lose its potency. Ironically
however, the only time when the menstrual blood is used in native medicine is when a
new king is crowned (Obaleke, 1985). The king will not lose his political or spiritual
power. Rather the 'flow' is dangerous only because it represents that which has power
that is symbolically proportional to that of a king. There cannot be two kings in a society.
One must give way to the other. In a political struggle, you could render the chances of a
competitor weak by giving him or her a negative label.
Of course, all objects that flow are energetic and active. And 'to be active is to be
potential; to be active-potential is to be temporal, and all these are distinctions in unified
mentality' (Bertocci, 1983, p.39). When Yoruba place an active person outside the
power structure, they have removed a potential symbol of change to a place where it
no longer constitutes a threat to the established order.
The established order is Aiye, the place where individual existence is linked with the
purpose of social existence. Aiye is a community of persons. It is not a mere aggregate of
Ultimate Reality and Meaning 1988.11:233-242.

persons. It is also a lived experience. Aiye can accentuate positive personal feelings or
may conspire with the malevolent gods to intercept a favorable destiny (Gbadegesin,
1984). In a sense, the community, its nature of interactional processes, can limit desires.
A woman can, figuratively speaking, be an Aiye; so can a man. As Aiye, she limits
male desires. The concept invokes reactions which range from fear to one of appreciation
of an immense, malignant, power, Aiye Toto. (What an extraordinarily unimaginable
development or event!). Aiye is a power superior that must be begged: Aiye e ma binu wa
(world do not be angry with us), lest personal fate be altered: Aiye e ma pa kadara wa da
(world do not change our fate). In the aphorism Eyin Aiye (You of the world) individuals
are labelled as cunning, dubious and unpredictable in their social relationships. The term
could also be a subtle notion for time: Laiye Babalola (In Babalola's time) and for
morality: Aiye daru (the world has no order, no sense of morality). That time and space
are so blurred in the concept indicates, we believe, its metaphysical significance. Those
who know of the origin of this 'world' (i.e. women) partake in its metaphysics.
However, Orun (sky) contrasts with the world in issues of peace and relative stability
of cosmic order. The sky belongs to the spirits and their creative inventiveness. The
spirits, as in the Judeo-Christian world view, can fly like birds. But when they come to
earth, they change their form to that of human beings.
What can be said of Aiye can be used also to objectify the ideas of bird, water and
menstrual flow. Aiye is a space that flows: Aiye nyi a nto (the world rotates and we
follow). The powerful women who are objectified as Aiye, water and bird, can flow and
the men watch or follow. When one examines these concepts, the women's primordial
experiences are raised in the concreteness of new and dynamic relationships. Their fate
on earth is cast in the idea of power inequality, in suspicion of potentials, in tension with
the freedom of mankind as against grace and predestination. Full success in the world
presupposes a situation which, from the viewpoint of our mythical analysis, requires the
intervention of Olodumare and a willingness to cooperate with men. The myth of Ondo -
Yoruba origin, variants of which are summarized by Olupona ( 1983, pp. 27-33) reveals

240
 a similar point. The story goes that
the Ondo migrated from Ile-Ife. The migratory team included Pupupu, the daughter of Oduduwa, the
first king in Ile-Ife, the cradle of Yoruba civilization. Pupupu became the first Osemawe of Ondo and
ruled until, at old age, the people asked her to give them a substitute and she named her first son, Airo
(i.e. !I replacement). Soon after the replacement there was chaos and confusion. The women were
barren and without homes. Disasters of unimaginable proportions destroyed homes and created family
rifts. Overwhelmed and perplexed by the complexity of change, Airo sought help from Oramfe, a
primordial deity in Ile-Ife that is associated with the wrath of Olodumare. (Olupona, 1983, pp. 27-33)

What Airo did was to identify with a powerful god in order to sustain himself in power.
Since the gods were against the transfer of power to men, the men's appeal must go to
Olodumare. The women might as well want to appeal to God to create the transition for
their re-entry into political power - that is, after they might have sought a way of dealing
with men's reluctance to acknowledge their superior leadership qualities.

4. CONCLUSION: CHALLENGES AHEAD

Ultimate Reality and Meaning 1988.11:233-242.

The Yoruba cosmogonic myths contain expressions of social stratification and of the
inequality in power distribution within the social structure. Those who are creative
(Oduduwa or Orisanla) are not trusted with responsibilities. And although they may go
on and exert their personality and influence, such would merely accentuate distrust, may
provoke a fight or lead to negative stereotypes as 'birds' or witches. The name calling
reflects the tension between the sexes. The tension has been since time immemorial.
Consequently, it has entered into consciousness as verbal expressions in which time and
space are fused. Because time and space are fused in them they assume metaphysical
significance.
The stereotypic images of Yoruba women do not tell of how they lost power to Yoruba
men. In myths and rituals, high energy potential is attributed to women. In this wise they
can destabilize the order created by those of lower energy, the men. They are, therefore,
isolated, mystified, and negatively stereotyped.
But the reality remains that only those of high energy potential can perform their work
quickly, if not efficiently. As such they act as pathfinders. If only the women could
understand that their leaders, Oduduwa or Orisanla, were once pathfinders they would
not only be answering the questions about the origin of the universe and whence they
come, but also realize the challenges ahead of them in the patrilineal Yoruba society.
All in all, it is not likely that the women would cease to have the intrinsic power to
lead. For the bird will continue to fly, the river will continue to flow and the menstrual
period will not stop. The challenge ahead is what to make of the power.

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