NOTABLE POINTS IN RCR 225(AFRICAN PANTHEON)

COMPILE BY MIGHTY_DOXA

* The supreme God of Kono of Sierra Leone is Yaata.

* Effective incantation requires personal name of a person or things.

* Yoruba divided incantatory poetic into preventive, curative, luck- bringing and feat achieving.

* Incantation is from the Latin word "incantare"(enchant).

* Kofi Awoonor says that " my father's gods are crying for burial..........".

* Endogamous problem include STEALING, KILLING, BAD MAGIC, HUMAN TRAFFICKING........

* Exogamous problem includes CORRUPTION BY LARGER COMMUNITY, DETHRONEMENT,

VANDALIZATION, EMBEZZLEMENT, IMPEACHMENT......

* The divinities constitute a powerful nucleus in the supersensible world, aiming at relating, assisting and
helping human being.

* Idowu and Deng proposed that ATR is an UNITARY MONOTHEISM.

* Francis Deng said that the religion of Dinka people is monotheistic. The Supreme God of the Dinka is
called NHIALI( meaning: IS ONE).

* Edward E. Evan Pritchard recognized that Nuer religion should not be seen as either monotheistic or
polytheistic but as monotheistic, polytheistic and totemistics.

* In Dahomey, Mawu-Lisa is regarded as an arch-divinity who apportioned the kingdom of the sky, sea
and the earth to his six off-springs and made the seventh child called Legba, the divine messenger and
inspector general in African Pantheon.

* Benjamin Ray said "Olorun has remained aloof after delegating the care of the world to the Orisa" but
alot of scholars critize the world.

* According to Awolalu and Dopamu, the increase in the number of divinities is as a result of migration,
cultural development and fusion of culture.

* Incantation can be divided into two: good and bad incantation.

* The divinities can be described as semi autonomous agents.

* Yoruba describe Orisa-Nla or Obatala as the arch-divinity and the debuty of Olodumare.
* The Ewe say that the Vodu(divinities) are children of Mawu-Lisa who is also the twin of Nana-Buluku.

* Akan of Ghana says Abosom(divinities) are children of Nyame.

* In Edo, the highest arch-divinity is Olokun, the son of Osanobuwa.

* Ambient is derived from Latin word "ambio"(go around).

* Oloronbi vowed to give her son to riverine divinity. Moremi also promised River. Esinmirin in Ile-Ife her
son(Oluorogbo) for getting rid of the Igbo.

* Osayin is the divinity of medicine.

* Divinities are messengers and errand runners. They also acts as tutelary, divinities serving as guidans
and protector to their devotees.

* Orunmila is a witness of destiny (Eleri-Ipin), the deputy of Olodumare with regards to omniscience and
wisdom.

* When Ifa(Orunmila) left heaven, he appeared first at USI in Ekiti, then moved to Ado, then to Ilesha
and finally settled at Oke-Igbeti in Ile-Ife.

* Orunmila earthly father is named Agbonniregun.

* The divinities are describe as "gbaye-gborun"(dwellers of heaven and earth).

* Obatala or Orisa Nla is the creator of human and earth.

* Personified Divinities is identified by Awolalu and Dopamu as the personification of natural forces and
phenomena. It is an association of spirits with natural objects.

* Earth(Ile), oya, yemoja, osun, ogbese, elemi, igede-ekiti, Olokun, orosun(idanre), oke Ibadan and
olumo rock are examples of Personified Divinities.

* Sango display unique power of magic& medicine and also power&prowess.

* It was said that Sango hung himself on Ayan tree at Koso.

* Sokogba means "God's axe". Soko means God.

* Among the Igbo, Amadioha or Kamalua are synonymous with truth, morality and uprightness. They
condemn bad magic, poison and stealing.

* Amadioha punishes or visits with fire and thunder.

* Susan Wenger, an Australian woman beautify Osun Osogbo Groove, she spent 23years in the shrine as
Yeye Orisa.

* Osun was one of the wives of Sango, she had been canonized as river goddess or mother of children.
(good luck and children are associated with it).

* Sango is the fourth Alafin of Oyo.

* The theory of deification as put forward by Greek Euhemerus in connection with Egyptian and Greek
gods.

* Sango has two ministers; Timi and Gbonka. Gbonka was sent to Ede to eliminate Timi but he captured
him alive and he later defeated Timi at Oyo.

* Jakuta, the solar and thunder divinity, the one who hurls of fight with stone.

* Sonponno, the divinity represents the wrath of the Deity.

* Deified divinities is also called Baba dorisa(father turned to deities).

* Sango chiefs and members of his royal cult are called Baba-Mogba.

* After Gbonka was burnt alive by the order of Sango, he appeared on the third day giving Sango the
ultimatum to vacate the throne for his Infidelity.

* Among the Edo, Olokun(owner of the sea) is one of the primordial divinities, he is the son of
Osanobua. He was saddled with the responsibilities of fortune, magnetic accuracy and splendor.

* Olokun is represented by female folk by the Edo and he has a pride of place among the people.

* Ogun used his magical matche to clear the way for the other divinities for them to enter the world.

* Ogun was made the chief of all divinities " Oshin Imale"

* Awolalu and Dopamu pointed to the fact that Ogun is part of the primordial divinities while J. Olumide
Lucas and Fashade opposed it.

* Ogun is commissioned with uprightness, morality and truth.

* P. Adelumo Dopamu wrote Esu: The Invisible For of Man. Esu is both good and bad I.e AMBIDEXTROUS.

* Esu is also UBIQUITOUS i.e omnipresent (here and there). He is also the inspector general of rituals and
sacrifices.

* AKUNLEYAN, AKUNLEGBA & AYANMO are the three processes that man go through before coming to
the world.

* Ifa divinity is represented by 16 pods of strings of cowries, and there are 256 stories connected to the
Ifa divinity.

* Orunmila/Ifa was saddled with the responsibilities of foreknowledge, wisdom and prognostication. He
is a witness of destiny (Eleri Ipin) for everyman.

* Dopamu and Awolalu assert that Obatala was commissioned to mould human being. They describe
him as the deputy of Olodumare in charge of the physical earth.

* E.B Idowu describe Obatala as the creation divinity while C.A Dime describe him as the scluptor
divinity.

* Obatala is known as the arch-divinity among the Yoruba.

* Examples of primordial divinities are Obatala/Orisa-Nla, Orunmila, Esu, Ogun etc.

Categories of African Divinities: Primordial, Deified and Personified Divinities.

* Among the Akan of Ghana, the deties who are involved in Human life are called the ABOSOM.

* The Igbo practices have a much smaller Pantheon consisting of four major deties(Ala, Amadioha,
Ikenga and Ekwensu) and some minor spiritual forces.

Ala - an earth spirit.

Amadioha - a storm, thunder and sky spirit.

Ikenga - a spirit associated with men and success.

Ekwensu - a spirit associated with war and trade.

* Oya has dominion over storm.

* Sango is a ladies' man with dominion over thunder and lightning.

* Esu is a playful tricked, he has dominion over travelers, fertility, duality and the crossroads.

* The Orisas are possibly the most popular African Religion Pantheon.

* C.A Dime observe that among the Ijaw of Delta, the divinities are legion.

* Divinities are the ministers of the Supreme being saddled with various responsibilities in the
governance of the universe depending on their nature and purpose.

* Divinities are describe as a "half way in between houses" or "means to an end and not an end in
themselves".

* Awolalu and Dopamu submitted that the divinities emanated or engendered from God/Supreme
being. Divinities are not created.

* African Religion belief in divinities constitute the African Pantheon.

* In context of African Religion, Pantheon means spiritual or supersensible beings that exist in African
Religion.

* Obatala is refers to as "Orisa funfun"(White deity) referring to PURITY.

* All other religions also have supersensible or subordinate beings;

Christianity - Angels

Islam - Injils or Malaikas

Hindiusm - 330,000,000 gods outside the supreme being.

* The Akan belief system comes from Ghana, they quite familiar with folklore; example is TALES OF
ANANSI THE SPIDER.

* The Akan believe in the transcendent of God.

* The Supreme God in Igbo is called Chineke or Chukwu. (God is "Chi" and "Ukwu" is great or large in
size).

* The head God according to the Youruba has three manifestation: Eledumare/ Olodumare, Olorun and
Olofin.

* Pantheon means conglomeration of gods.

* Pantheon is from Greek, literally means "temple of all god's" or "of common to all god's". ("Pan"
means all and "theos" means god).

* Dungeons and Dragons is a kind of role-playing game or fantasy literature to imitate the concept of
Pantheon in the 20 century.

* The best known of the Pantheon structure is the Pantheon of Rome(firstly constructed by 27 BCE and
14 CE) and it was reconstructed around 126 CE and it was dedicated to all god. The building was later
renovated for use as a Christian church in 609 under Boniface IV.

* Yoruba priests are called ABORE.

NOTE: USE THE DOCUMENT WISELY.

I WISH YOU GOOD SUCCESS, AMEN.