18:49 the wizard keeps asking my character (paraphrasing here) "i trust you're not working with dark magic, right?" like bro trust me, i'm focused on my starfruit wine empire, no time for virgin sacrifices
I love religion in videogames, it's a pretty big part of our world, having it in a game makes the game feel more real. I'm not religious but it's super interesting to learn about. :)
I wonder if Krobus is a religious minority among the shadow people, which worships Yoba rather than the void. Growing up among the majority, he has an affinity for their common cultural heritage eg void eggs, dark essences etc. However as a religious minority he’s especially devout hence why he doesn’t speak on Friday (whereas other believers do). It could also be why he’s in Pelican town since religious minorities often have to flee their homes unfortunately.
The shadow people could also believe in an extremely different version of it, like a Yoba version of Gnoticism. Schools of a single religion can diverge so widely that even a name can only tell you so much.
Krobus stays in silence in respect for Yoba, not devotion. Shadow creactures shouldnt be in the "human" plan, they were ban there, in the kingdom of light, or Yoba. He respects Yoba for letting them stay, and not, you know, exterminating them.
I have a theory that Junimo are living ancient fruits. the world doesnt have the magic it once had, so ancientfruit no longer grow into Junimo, instead being inedible fruit unless processed. It's interesting seeing the text you get if you try to plant an ancient seed in a garden pot.
I think this would make sense because the world in stardew valley has moved away from connection with the land and relying on technology (Zuzu city and Joja Corp). Nature being diminished or people losing their faith could both cause the innate magic to recede. I like to imagine the farmer uses technology in harmony with nature rather than using technology to destroy and subjugate nature, which is why the junimos ask for their help
10:15 I like to say that Krobus, despite believing in Yoba, likes void essence and void mayo because since he was a defector of his race, he might miss home, and the gifts remind him of home.
Emily being religious and also witchy or "pagan" reminds me of catholicism- I'm not sure how it's practiced in other places, but in latin america we have a lot of rituals that could be considered witchcraft by other christians. We offer things like flowers or food to God, and have rituals to cure illnesses, change the weather or protect us from dark energy. I'm sure there's other religions that do the same things but in this particular case she reminds me of my own culture and I like to think Yoba is something like that :')♡ great video btw 🥺!
There is a subset of the pagan community that does also identify as Christian. She reminds me of them, too. There are a lot of very eclectic and eccentric sects of Christianity so it makes sense to me that she'd be a little woo and also a believer in Yoba. It really reflects how there are different styles of belief and practical in a broad religious tradition.
@@blondetapperware8289 Plenty, actually. Catholicism is heavily focused on the idea that everyday needs to be sacred, that every aspect of life is sacred to God. Therefore, us Catholics like to go the extra mile to follow in the Church’s footsteps to provide a consistent continuity of traditions, ceremonies and holidays. These become especially important not just for community and educational purposes, but also for culture and accessibility as living sacramentally is what gives Catholicism great presence in Africa, Latin America and even parts of Asian. Or, for our Eastern European brethren, the Orthodox Church fulfils a similar role as our cousins. Catholicism is an initiatory order with a priesthood dedicated to mystical practice, where local churches would incorporate the customs of the locals into their fold, making Catholicism quite diverse, too.
@@LDaemontus Hello, brother! Yes I definitely agree, but I'd add that Catholicism and paganism are not on the same playing field. Not even close. Witchcraft/paganism is a distortion of what's truly good and true, even if it seems like there are similarities in some areas. And that's how evil works
I'm leaning towards the idea that the void isn't entirely straight up evil in the Yoba lore, because I don't think that'd make sense to how Krobus' beliefs work with him being a shadow person. I think some elements of the void could be evil like you pointed out with the dark shrines, but Krobus would be very self-hating if the Yoba religion demonized all associations to him, which I don't believe we'd want for our friend. :c I think the creation story leaves open the idea that light and dark are coexisting counterparts with the idea that there is no shadow without light, but that shadow isn't necessarily evil. Light and dark could be somewhat similar to the concept of Ying and Yang like in Taoism? This would explain why Krobus worships Yoba because if Yoba created the void where shadow people come from, then Yoba is as much Krobus' creator as they are human people's.
I like that idea, and it fits. If Yoba is light, then the absence of light is nothing more than the absence of Yoba. It isn't inherently evil, just as it isn't inherently good. In that case, it certainly makes it a lot easier for those who stray from the light and towards the void to become evil, which might even make it sought after by people who wish to use the void for selfish purposes. But that is not a quality of the void, simply what some use it for. Much the same, those born in the void are not barred from searching for Yoba.
Not sure if this is anything, but the Book of Yoba creation story references creation taking 11 days and the world being contained in a fruit. The only crops that take 11 days to grow are hops and tomato, both of which are on a vine (as the story says). However, despite Demetrius's cut scene with Robin, the Tomato is not classified as a fruit, but rather a vegetable. That leads me to wonder if there is spiritual significance to Hops, and if Pam's desire for a Pale Ale is less of an alcoholic's craving and more of a spiritual practice.
I 100% believe this is something you'd hear Pam saying in the saloon after one too many, trying to convince Gus she's practicing her religion by drinking another
Tomatoes are fruit, but they don't match the description in the creation story anyhow because they're soft. My brain really wanted the 11-day fruit to be ancient fruit, but obviously they take a LOT longer.
Because of the reference to tough skin, tomatoes seem more likely than hops. They don't usually have tough skin, but hops don't have a skin at all. Ultimately, I suspect Concerned Ape wasn't thinking of a specific in game crop. Maybe he was thinking of it as some mystery fruit like the 'apple' Eve eats in Genesis. We don't actually know the fruit she eats- apples are just a Sunday school stand-in. Maybe tomatos are an in-game Sunday school stand-in.
To be fair, I can name any ring "The ring of God", but it would not prove existence of God. It can be like a figure of speech or something metaphorical, like calling Higgs Boson the God particle.
@@winniefrankin4010 That's fair, but the Ring of Yoba has an effect. There is some power connected to the ring. If you called a random ring "The Ring of God" it probably won't give you any power, The Ring of Yoba, however, does.
@@RatLady-mv3lx Yes, but it just as well could've been the other way around, the ring had some power, and because of that it was named The Ring of Yoba 🤷♂️
@@RatLady-mv3lx It's also a game where crops grow to maturity in just a few days, and curses, monsters, aliens, dinosaurs, alternate dimensions, shape-shifting, magic, and monsters not only exist, but are accepted as normal. I really don't think it's beyond the realm of possibility that a piece of friggin' jewelry can have an effect without it meaning god is real.
Yoba being associated with light makes it easy to imagine that there is an opposite figure associated with the dark. But since we haven't heard about one yet, maybe Yobs is also associated with the darkness in a "deities often have two sides" sort of way. Yoba is a farmer just like the player. We smooth our farm out before smoothing out other issues or puzzles in the game. The farmer is equally capable of being a jerk or a saint since dualism is inherent to human nature. Since Yoba reflects the PC this way (another dualism example) maybe conclusions can be drawn from there.
I think Yoba embodies all aspects of Existence, not just farming and cultivation. Mr. Qi implies his powers come from a similar source as the Farmer's, so he could be an aspect that represents Art and Mysteries.
On the topic of Krobus being a practitioner of Yoba. If you assume Christianity as an influence for Yoba and assume Yoba is good, & the void is bad then Krobus' dynamic becomes really interesting. My interpretation is that Krobus, while being a "void" creature, is a creature who is going against their inherit nature to pursue something they see as right. Christianity has a lot of stories and themes that revolve around a sinner or broken person persuing wholeness and sanctification (purity). And I wonder if there isn't an underlying theme in Krobus' story line.
Krobus might be a case of like a catholic vampire. One Who inherently should be of a dark nature but has since converted over to a lighter path. Krobus is the only shadow creature that we are able to talk to. I don't think it's because the others can't, but rather they choose not to.
Thank goodness this video exists. I've been wanting to make a video on yoba, but I wanted to see other interpretations of yoba. I've been extremely fascinated by it after reading an exerpt from the yoba book
It's interesting how the Yoba creation myth mentions Yoba turning the golden light into soil. Maybe that relates to the strange yet iconic mustard yellow soil of the valley.
That reference to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind really hit me. It's one of my favorite movies and I never met someone who had even heard of it. Despite the famous cast.
CA made a comics online years ago and in it we could see Yoba (as well as characters that look like the weird statues and dolls) and Yoba seems to be the same sun as the one on Emily & Haley's house! so Yoba seems to be a sun-god or something like that.
I thought this video would go more into the comics as well. I heard it mentioned in another video that explained the different statues and wanted someone go through the comics, since I don't know where to find them lol
@@mimsydreams I think CA deleted them from the website they were on. If you look carefully you still can find some pages. like a few 6 or 8 but they have a page numbers which lets think there were like several dozen of them.
the Yoba religion really rings a few bells to me as an ex-Catholic, especially with Krobus not speaking on Fridays (Catholic tradition during Good Friday, also my family never spoke on Fridays during Lent but tbh i think that's unusually dedicated) and how extravagant the chapel looks (Catholics have always been very showy with their churches if they can afford it). But the way most of the townspeople treat it reminds me more of how a lot of the local protestants in my town handle faith. Catholics can get VERY into their faith to the point of injury, but from what I've observed protestants tend to have a very lighthearted and...er... arguably healthier relationship to faith. Praying to their God when they need help, rather than ruminating on the sins and suffering of the planet. anyways idk the point of this comment just an observation. Sorry for Catholic slander lol i was traumatized
What frustrates me the most is we're never told whether Krobus' vow of silence on Fridays is something specific to Krobus or if that's an established practice in some parts of the Yoba religion
The whiplash of the Harvey slander and Emily adoration in the same video is throwing me off so much 😅😂😂 they're my two favorites so I'm just here like "but but but we can be friends!!"
Im not religious whatsoever but seeing fictional religions are so interesting to me. Like i thini its a cute detail that Krobus stays silent on fridays to honor yoba. The first time i saw him not say anything i was confused but the next time i talked to him he gave me a little nugget of info which i think is super cool to see.
This is a really interesting topic! I have always considered the cult of Yoba to be based on christianity, starting by it's symbol that also resembles the cross, but with certain practices asociated with the judaism cult as the sacrifices and also being intertwined with nature. So I have some ideas about it: -When speaking of the "vessel", I think they refer to a person important in the religion, who has never been adressed in the game, but it's not Yoba and possibly an equivalent of Jesus. -I think Emily's gems and rocks practices are not condemned by the religion but not in the customs of the religion, maybe even a little frowned upon. -The Junimos are nature spirits, also created by Yoba, but not talked about in the Book of Yoba or included in the religion's knowledge, as any nature related magic that exists in the game, not condemned but not teached about as it's not really necessary for human's lives. They don't need to interact with the nature magic realm to survive or live in a way that pleases Yoba so it's not teached about in it's book nor in the religion. -Dark magic practices and everything that's labeled dark must be from a realm that somehow developed in nature, maybe by human's sin as in the Bible or maybe by spirits' sin, opossed to Yoba's cult and practices. -Yoba's name is surealy a reference to God's name as written in hebrew. Old hebrew was written with only consonants and vocals were infered, so now we can not know for sure how it sounded. God's name was written by four consonants and the two most likely ways experts think it could be pronounced are Yahweh or Jehovah, which sounds a lot like Yoba (as a religious person, this actually bothers me a little haha, not in a bad way tho, I like beliefs systems in fiction). -The dark beings are inerently evil against Yoba's creation, humans, but Krobus has developed somehow a free will and tries really hard to be on the other side, that's why he is so loyal to Yoba. -Or maybe spirits always have had free will but most choose the dark side, as their first father choosed it, as it happens in the Bible with Satan opossing to God and the angels that followed him becoming demons. Krobus may be even looking for redention after realizing he was on the bad side. -Yoba must be a principal God but have nature spirits have power and be minor deitys, that's why you can make some offerings and get things in altars that are not dark, one example being the altar in the sewers, that must be in agreement with Yoba's cult as Krobus is okay with it being there. -I also think the religion has changed over the years and some practices, like sacrifices, are not done anymore, so the Altar in Pierre's house is surely not used nowadays but it remains as another symbol in the religion. Now, Krobus must practice an older, purest form of the religion, given than being a spirit he must been alive when that form of the religion was practised, That's why he still do customs like staying silent on fridays (a practice that must be inspired in the catholic practice of not eating meat on fridays, as every friday was seen as the holy friday in holy week), that humans believers in Yoba may not even be aware of, or those are customs that has lost importances over the years. -It's also a possibility that all the nature-magic thing was practised once in he the cult of Yoba but not written about, teached as an oral thing or maybe kept secret for priests or the like, and it's now lost knowledge for most believers. But this kind of magic seems to work in agreement with Yoba's creations and fundamentals beliefs. -Emily's rocks thing coul also be lost knowledge snd now practised in the person's discretion instead of having a guide on how to do it. -The statues that appear in the farm are also interesting, I think they must be some kind of blessing or protection, given that statues serve as teleportaton points which seems to be a practise in agreement with nature and Yoba's cult. Hope all this sounfs interesting or sparks some other ideas for you! Thanks for the video!
12:29 - 13:10 an interesting thing about this bit of mythos: The fruit that eventually gave birth to the world is described as being formed in 11 days. There's only a few crops in the game that take 11 days to grow, that being hops and tomatoes, which, if we learned anything from Demetrius, is a fruit. both are multi harvest crops that grow on vines. so according to this passage, the world came out of a tomato.
The comments on the runes were quite interesting as either a deliberate choice of that letter or just the ancient esque look of the rune. The yoba idea itself is clear in mirroring aspects of Christianity but focused more on a mother nature take on the world. Even as a Christian myself I honestly do avoid the signs, and do not like the eccentric take that Emily has with stones. Honestly if i were in Caroline's position I would disattach the alter room from my house.
I am going to be honest, if I lived next to a wizard, I would probably be religious. Like I am not going to denounce someone’s god, and I am definitely not going to do so when I have a totem that I can use to teleport in my back pocket
the void is used in sentences as 'hell', but also... the golden void? is yoba and/or what yoba uses to create? junimos are based on fruits, and the vesselism creation story is the world being made from a seed? gold and light are sacred, but shadows are essential to the creation of the world? the DARK shrines ALSO find gold and light-reflecting crystals sacred? they believe in an afterlife but ghosts are also just totally fully real?
honestly wrt krobus i think its really interesting for him to believe in yoba as a (physical) direct antithesis to what the pelican town residents / general lore would imply the religion stands for. its kind of.. real, in a way, especially considering how many parallels yoba has to modern day christianity
Great video. I always figured there’s one Yoba, but there are multiple ways to connect with the divine. Which way is “right?” I’m gonna say all of them, based on what the game shows us. Also, love your sense of humor
A little thing that is either very interesting or very coincidental is that Joja is just one letter of of Joba. It'd be like if a grocery chain was named Goh instead of God. I wonder if it's a marketing thing? Morris never brings it up and it's very crackpot, but it makes a weird amount of sense that a grocery store brand would brand itself as associated with the potential main religion in the SD universe
I take it as Yoba maybe being a neutral entity, meaning that light and dark both have a place and need each other to retain balance, and that “dark” in this world is not the same thing as “evil” or being “against” whatever philosophy Yoba represents. Kinda like a more witchcraft-y perspective on deity. Edit: 14:06 whoops I should have waited to comment this cause you said the same thing lol I’ve always seen the Yoba religion as being a pagan nature spirituality, and one of my favorite things about Stardew has always been the nature magic/witchcraft vibes.
I’d like to say that you can be a witch and be religious, witchcraft is merely a way that people practice their faith :) 💕💕💕 so I like the idea Emily is a little witchy and religious ;D
20:02 people have translated the mural above the volcano, and this is what it says: "our ancestors came from the sky, but made a new home beneath stone" pretty interesting, huh? I never would have thought that the dwarf people came from the sky. this is especially crazy because the implication here is that the dwarvish people either brought the worship of Yoba/Yoba religion with them and spread the knowledge of Yoba throughout Stardew Valley, or developed the religion - and Krobus, a shadow person, worships Yoba. Although my take on Krobus is that he is trying to be less evil/malicious, so he is praying to Yoba to try to change his inherit shadowy ways...
I have to add, in concerned ape's old web comic, wumbus world, Yoba is mentioned multiple times and is even presented as a sun with a face, asking for wumbus's hummus. I don't know how canon this is now but it is worth delving into. (side note the original wumbus site is down but it is on partially on internet archive)
So this is going to sound weird. The symbol of Yoba looks a lot like internal female reproductive organs (ovaries fallopian tubes etc). Also Yoba is called the vessel and we were all carried by a womb at some point.
So funny thing is, the collectors edition of this game sold by Fangamer includes a replica of the farm deed you get at the beginning of the game, and up at the top it says "Deed of Land, Ferngill Republic" and just searching what this Republic was on the wiki sent me down a massive rabbit hole. Like how is there a massive war happening in a world of magicians and forest spirits?
Thank you 😊 for puzzling the Lore pieces of Yoba together for all of us! I am also addicted to Coffee and struggle with Tiredness😮😢... May you get sone help like I did from my family and friends❤❤❤❤
Good video! Commenting for engagement, and to respond to your (funny, constructive) Harvey slander. So, why Harvey? Well... H's hobbies are cool, and his big heart event is incredibly sweet. H is also a functional adult man with a job and responsibilities, giving him a competitive edge over spouses who seem to forget all about their own dreams once they set foot on the farm, and spouses with less mature vibes. [Sam, Abigail and Alex especially make me feel like a cradle robber.] Aaaand I feel soft about the thought of him tending to the farmer when they stagger home from the accursed mine shaft. [The clinic 'service fees' go towards date nights.]
Your voice is so soothing❤ I was getting so tired and overstimulated from people on my screen screaming at me and your channel are such a nice respite from the chaos. +1 subscribers.
Yoba showed up in ConcernedApe's Wumbus webcomic, in strip 5. I'm not sure how it fits into this, but I thought I should mention it. I saw it mentioned in JunimoB's short "The Lore of Stardew Valley Goes DEEP!"
so a few minutes after i finished this video i got a recommended short from junimo b which talked about the statue of wumbus and how he stars in one of the movies in the cinema. apparently, concerned ape has an extensive 2011 comic about wumbus in which yoba appears depicted as a sun. so it seems like yoba is literally golden light, and, in yobaism, the sun existed first and created the world. yoba seems to be equivalent to other sun gods, like ra, helios, or huitzilopochtli, indicating the religion is either fully based on worshipping the sun, or polytheistic.
Depending on culture both shrines and alter can have offerings. Generally a better distinction is a shrine is usually a small structure that literally or figuratively hold something holy, thus enshrine being a word. An alter is an object of religious worship in another structure, usually but not always uses for rites of a religious nature. You get a lot of odd definitions of these words online but Shinto for example uses shrines and offerings are left at them.
19:00 The idea of Yoba granting these sorts of wishes as well is really interesting. Like, he's known as a good, benevolent embodiment of light, but he likes to have SOME fun at least! ;)
Emily's meditation and that scene where you go to some weird mystical plane make me think of transcendental meditation, the stone quest seems chakra related and the sign she makes with her hand remind me of a mudra from hinduism or buddhism (though it doesn't correlate to any that I've been able to find). CA has said that originally there was going to be something that you placed on the altar of Yoba, but that was taken out of the game.
How could you hate on my boy Harvey like that??? "Deserve better?" He _is_ the better!! D: lmfao i digress, i love your videos Salem!! I just watched your hating Mayor Lewis video, had a blast with that
I interpreted the symbol as a crucifix stand in but replaced with a shrug. Which is the perfect visual summary of religions no confirmed answers to me.
my theory is that krobus is a former believer in the possible other theology the dark mobs believe in, but converted to yoba-ism? hence his love for yoba, but compassion for the dark mobs
in the general creation mithos in Stardew yoba created the world and with it the void, if you see krobus' dialogues he says he comse from the void along with all othee shadow people so if yoba made the world and with it the void then it makes sence to see it as a god from both perspectives, probably people in Stardew see the void as hell because of general ideas around good and evil, but the void is real and probably the void is juat another place and not the equivalent of hell, but like another complementary dimension
I've been wondering about this for a while. My line of thinking was that Yobism (?) was probably descended from or related to Christianity somehow. The sign looks like an altered cross, and "Yoba" sounds to me like, given enough time and space, it could be a corruption of "Jehovah" (which is itself just an Anglicization of YHWH.) Problem is I had no idea that the sign was actually a rune lol. People in this game following some kind of earth-centric religion does fit better with the game's themes, I think.
Harvey fans like this comment for Harvey defense ☕☕☕☕ For real tho this video was well explained and very well made! Never thought to think too much with all the Yoba stuff due to religious trauma but this video was oddly comforting!
About the Void, I suspect that Sebastian's father was some sort of shadow person. Think about it, Sebastian's likes rainy/dark places(the mines) and enjoys exploring the mines and giving you presents from there. He has a persona kinda similar to Krobus, he's often misunderstood as an "edgy emo looking guy" when hes actually struggling to live a normal life when deep inside he feels like he aint really like everyody else. The only person he probally can relate better about this is...yup, you guessed. Abgail. And if you know Caroline's lore, you'll understand quite well why.
dude look onto old comics of CA (with green dude) they contain an inintial image of Yoba and his other "friends" i think they are ofren overlooked in the context of lore
18:49 the wizard keeps asking my character (paraphrasing here) "i trust you're not working with dark magic, right?" like bro trust me, i'm focused on my starfruit wine empire, no time for virgin sacrifices
But what about child dove-ing?
@@laelaps5246 We-he-hell... Those are just rumors. :|
Um... The fact that there's a statue that allows for that in their mutual basement kinda says something...
I love religion in videogames, it's a pretty big part of our world, having it in a game makes the game feel more real.
I'm not religious but it's super interesting to learn about. :)
STOP STEALING MY THOUGHTS
@@ez2427 NEVVVVERRR 🗣📢📢
@@ez2427 @Monarch_romatic both of you would have a fun dynamic as friends. but don't mind me, it's just a theory.
@@isaacalexandermila6857 that's such a nice theory
@@ez2427a game theory (sorry)
“sorry for saying circle back. this isn’t a work meeting. you’re safe. I swear. you’re ok.”
- salem
I wonder if Krobus is a religious minority among the shadow people, which worships Yoba rather than the void. Growing up among the majority, he has an affinity for their common cultural heritage eg void eggs, dark essences etc. However as a religious minority he’s especially devout hence why he doesn’t speak on Friday (whereas other believers do). It could also be why he’s in Pelican town since religious minorities often have to flee their homes unfortunately.
Yeah, that was the vibe I got
Wait that’s a cool headcanon!
The shadow people could also believe in an extremely different version of it, like a Yoba version of Gnoticism. Schools of a single religion can diverge so widely that even a name can only tell you so much.
Honestly I believe krobus comes from the void, it’s a fun theory! U should check out fiona sangsters deep dive on him to learn about it
Krobus stays in silence in respect for Yoba, not devotion. Shadow creactures shouldnt be in the "human" plan, they were ban there, in the kingdom of light, or Yoba. He respects Yoba for letting them stay, and not, you know, exterminating them.
I have a theory that Junimo are living ancient fruits. the world doesnt have the magic it once had, so ancientfruit no longer grow into Junimo, instead being inedible fruit unless processed. It's interesting seeing the text you get if you try to plant an ancient seed in a garden pot.
For anybody wondering what the text is, it's "Her roots grow very deep... She wouldn't be happy in there."
I think this would make sense because the world in stardew valley has moved away from connection with the land and relying on technology (Zuzu city and Joja Corp). Nature being diminished or people losing their faith could both cause the innate magic to recede. I like to imagine the farmer uses technology in harmony with nature rather than using technology to destroy and subjugate nature, which is why the junimos ask for their help
Omg…ur a genius…this is now an official head on an of mine
I couldn't get our new foster kitten to sleep, and he immediately fell asleep as soon as I started this video. Thank you so much
this makes me so happy 🥺🥺🥺 thank you so much!!!!
this is the best comment I've ever seen.
tell him i said meow 😭😭
@MaybeSalem ur voice is perfect for cat asmr
@@AllyInReality two months later and he's still falling asleep to this video. We decided to adopt him lol
10:15 I like to say that Krobus, despite believing in Yoba, likes void essence and void mayo because since he was a defector of his race, he might miss home, and the gifts remind him of home.
My personal theory is that he left (or maybe was kicked out) because the other shadow people didn't approve of this belief in Yoba.
Emily being religious and also witchy or "pagan" reminds me of catholicism- I'm not sure how it's practiced in other places, but in latin america we have a lot of rituals that could be considered witchcraft by other christians. We offer things like flowers or food to God, and have rituals to cure illnesses, change the weather or protect us from dark energy. I'm sure there's other religions that do the same things but in this particular case she reminds me of my own culture and I like to think Yoba is something like that :')♡ great video btw 🥺!
i thought the same thing, it totally reminds me of catholicism!
There is a subset of the pagan community that does also identify as Christian. She reminds me of them, too. There are a lot of very eclectic and eccentric sects of Christianity so it makes sense to me that she'd be a little woo and also a believer in Yoba. It really reflects how there are different styles of belief and practical in a broad religious tradition.
Same in my culture. Mostly we worship Mary and put her statues in cave shrines all over the island.
@@blondetapperware8289
Plenty, actually. Catholicism is heavily focused on the idea that everyday needs to be sacred, that every aspect of life is sacred to God. Therefore, us Catholics like to go the extra mile to follow in the Church’s footsteps to provide a consistent continuity of traditions, ceremonies and holidays. These become especially important not just for community and educational purposes, but also for culture and accessibility as living sacramentally is what gives Catholicism great presence in Africa, Latin America and even parts of Asian. Or, for our Eastern European brethren, the Orthodox Church fulfils a similar role as our cousins.
Catholicism is an initiatory order with a priesthood dedicated to mystical practice, where local churches would incorporate the customs of the locals into their fold, making Catholicism quite diverse, too.
@@LDaemontus Hello, brother! Yes I definitely agree, but I'd add that Catholicism and paganism are not on the same playing field. Not even close. Witchcraft/paganism is a distortion of what's truly good and true, even if it seems like there are similarities in some areas. And that's how evil works
1.7 patch that is just yoba lore drop
it seems like a fusion of early christianity, taoism, and paganism/wicca, which is VERY fitting for the setting.
Okay but the fact that the forge has the sign of the vessel is wild because the forge was made by dwarves and in universe dwarves are aliens
Didn't the Pope say he'd introduce aliens to his religion if they wanted to?
@@tarniabook3076but this is saying the aliens may have introduced the religion
I'm leaning towards the idea that the void isn't entirely straight up evil in the Yoba lore, because I don't think that'd make sense to how Krobus' beliefs work with him being a shadow person. I think some elements of the void could be evil like you pointed out with the dark shrines, but Krobus would be very self-hating if the Yoba religion demonized all associations to him, which I don't believe we'd want for our friend. :c I think the creation story leaves open the idea that light and dark are coexisting counterparts with the idea that there is no shadow without light, but that shadow isn't necessarily evil. Light and dark could be somewhat similar to the concept of Ying and Yang like in Taoism? This would explain why Krobus worships Yoba because if Yoba created the void where shadow people come from, then Yoba is as much Krobus' creator as they are human people's.
I like that idea, and it fits. If Yoba is light, then the absence of light is nothing more than the absence of Yoba. It isn't inherently evil, just as it isn't inherently good. In that case, it certainly makes it a lot easier for those who stray from the light and towards the void to become evil, which might even make it sought after by people who wish to use the void for selfish purposes. But that is not a quality of the void, simply what some use it for. Much the same, those born in the void are not barred from searching for Yoba.
Not sure if this is anything, but the Book of Yoba creation story references creation taking 11 days and the world being contained in a fruit. The only crops that take 11 days to grow are hops and tomato, both of which are on a vine (as the story says). However, despite Demetrius's cut scene with Robin, the Tomato is not classified as a fruit, but rather a vegetable. That leads me to wonder if there is spiritual significance to Hops, and if Pam's desire for a Pale Ale is less of an alcoholic's craving and more of a spiritual practice.
Sadly, hops are also vegetables. I love this take regardless!
I 100% believe this is something you'd hear Pam saying in the saloon after one too many, trying to convince Gus she's practicing her religion by drinking another
Tomatoes are fruit, but they don't match the description in the creation story anyhow because they're soft. My brain really wanted the 11-day fruit to be ancient fruit, but obviously they take a LOT longer.
Because of the reference to tough skin, tomatoes seem more likely than hops. They don't usually have tough skin, but hops don't have a skin at all. Ultimately, I suspect Concerned Ape wasn't thinking of a specific in game crop. Maybe he was thinking of it as some mystery fruit like the 'apple' Eve eats in Genesis. We don't actually know the fruit she eats- apples are just a Sunday school stand-in. Maybe tomatos are an in-game Sunday school stand-in.
Tomatoes are vegetables AND fruit, so game mechanics aside it could still work
The ring of yoba exists and has a noticeable effect, meaning yoba is canonically real and probably lives inside a ring
To be fair, I can name any ring "The ring of God", but it would not prove existence of God. It can be like a figure of speech or something metaphorical, like calling Higgs Boson the God particle.
@@winniefrankin4010 That's fair, but the Ring of Yoba has an effect. There is some power connected to the ring. If you called a random ring "The Ring of God" it probably won't give you any power, The Ring of Yoba, however, does.
@@RatLady-mv3lx Yes, but it just as well could've been the other way around, the ring had some power, and because of that it was named The Ring of Yoba 🤷♂️
@@RatLady-mv3lx It's also a game where crops grow to maturity in just a few days, and curses, monsters, aliens, dinosaurs, alternate dimensions, shape-shifting, magic, and monsters not only exist, but are accepted as normal. I really don't think it's beyond the realm of possibility that a piece of friggin' jewelry can have an effect without it meaning god is real.
@@WobblesandBean The inverse could, of course, also be true.
Yoba being associated with light makes it easy to imagine that there is an opposite figure associated with the dark. But since we haven't heard about one yet, maybe Yobs is also associated with the darkness in a "deities often have two sides" sort of way. Yoba is a farmer just like the player. We smooth our farm out before smoothing out other issues or puzzles in the game. The farmer is equally capable of being a jerk or a saint since dualism is inherent to human nature. Since Yoba reflects the PC this way (another dualism example) maybe conclusions can be drawn from there.
In the self-indulgent Stardew fic I'll never finish, I said that farming was traditionally associated with Yoba because of the creation myth.
The Farmer is a Vessel of Yoba
@@q.s.w.9074must be fun seeing yourself on other people's houses, lol
I think Yoba embodies all aspects of Existence, not just farming and cultivation.
Mr. Qi implies his powers come from a similar source as the Farmer's, so he could be an aspect that represents Art and Mysteries.
On the topic of Krobus being a practitioner of Yoba. If you assume Christianity as an influence for Yoba and assume Yoba is good, & the void is bad then Krobus' dynamic becomes really interesting. My interpretation is that Krobus, while being a "void" creature, is a creature who is going against their inherit nature to pursue something they see as right. Christianity has a lot of stories and themes that revolve around a sinner or broken person persuing wholeness and sanctification (purity). And I wonder if there isn't an underlying theme in Krobus' story line.
I’ve literally been looking for a video on Yoba that’s more than just “oh yeah Yoba is referenced in other CA games” so this is perfect
slander of my house husband in the first 30 seconds this video is already great 10/10
the deadpan delivery of your jokes is done so well lmao
Krobus might be a case of like a catholic vampire. One Who inherently should be of a dark nature but has since converted over to a lighter path. Krobus is the only shadow creature that we are able to talk to. I don't think it's because the others can't, but rather they choose not to.
Thank goodness this video exists. I've been wanting to make a video on yoba, but I wanted to see other interpretations of yoba. I've been extremely fascinated by it after reading an exerpt from the yoba book
I’m happy I came here solely for the phrase “pocket yobe”
Excuse me, Harvey is a kind and gentle lover and he owns my heart forever
0:16 OMG THAT LAST TIKTOK IS MINNEEEE HELPPPPP WHAT
missed opportunity for an npc to say oh my yosh instead of oh my gosh in the game. just aying
Headcanoning this now forever and it's your fault
It's interesting how the Yoba creation myth mentions Yoba turning the golden light into soil. Maybe that relates to the strange yet iconic mustard yellow soil of the valley.
That reference to Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind really hit me. It's one of my favorite movies and I never met someone who had even heard of it. Despite the famous cast.
This is so impressive, I thoroughly enjoyed this video and I love your sense of humour!! Fuck it we ballin!!!
despite the harvey disdain I am falling in love w the channel
CA made a comics online years ago and in it we could see Yoba (as well as characters that look like the weird statues and dolls) and Yoba seems to be the same sun as the one on Emily & Haley's house! so Yoba seems to be a sun-god or something like that.
I watched the whole video waiting for this to be mentioned and it was a missed opportunity
@@Em-nq5ey unfortunatly
I thought this video would go more into the comics as well. I heard it mentioned in another video that explained the different statues and wanted someone go through the comics, since I don't know where to find them lol
@@mimsydreams I think CA deleted them from the website they were on. If you look carefully you still can find some pages. like a few 6 or 8 but they have a page numbers which lets think there were like several dozen of them.
the Yoba religion really rings a few bells to me as an ex-Catholic, especially with Krobus not speaking on Fridays (Catholic tradition during Good Friday, also my family never spoke on Fridays during Lent but tbh i think that's unusually dedicated) and how extravagant the chapel looks (Catholics have always been very showy with their churches if they can afford it).
But the way most of the townspeople treat it reminds me more of how a lot of the local protestants in my town handle faith. Catholics can get VERY into their faith to the point of injury, but from what I've observed protestants tend to have a very lighthearted and...er... arguably healthier relationship to faith. Praying to their God when they need help, rather than ruminating on the sins and suffering of the planet. anyways idk the point of this comment just an observation.
Sorry for Catholic slander lol i was traumatized
You know you can believe in God without practicing right?
@@zerotodona1495 i know
What frustrates me the most is we're never told whether Krobus' vow of silence on Fridays is something specific to Krobus or if that's an established practice in some parts of the Yoba religion
The gold part of the return septor looks like the symbol just tilted
surprised the lil guy that comes up in carolines tea cutscene isnt here
The whiplash of the Harvey slander and Emily adoration in the same video is throwing me off so much 😅😂😂 they're my two favorites so I'm just here like "but but but we can be friends!!"
Im not religious whatsoever but seeing fictional religions are so interesting to me. Like i thini its a cute detail that Krobus stays silent on fridays to honor yoba. The first time i saw him not say anything i was confused but the next time i talked to him he gave me a little nugget of info which i think is super cool to see.
This is a really interesting topic! I have always considered the cult of Yoba to be based on christianity, starting by it's symbol that also resembles the cross, but with certain practices asociated with the judaism cult as the sacrifices and also being intertwined with nature. So I have some ideas about it:
-When speaking of the "vessel", I think they refer to a person important in the religion, who has never been adressed in the game, but it's not Yoba and possibly an equivalent of Jesus.
-I think Emily's gems and rocks practices are not condemned by the religion but not in the customs of the religion, maybe even a little frowned upon.
-The Junimos are nature spirits, also created by Yoba, but not talked about in the Book of Yoba or included in the religion's knowledge, as any nature related magic that exists in the game, not condemned but not teached about as it's not really necessary for human's lives. They don't need to interact with the nature magic realm to survive or live in a way that pleases Yoba so it's not teached about in it's book nor in the religion.
-Dark magic practices and everything that's labeled dark must be from a realm that somehow developed in nature, maybe by human's sin as in the Bible or maybe by spirits' sin, opossed to Yoba's cult and practices.
-Yoba's name is surealy a reference to God's name as written in hebrew. Old hebrew was written with only consonants and vocals were infered, so now we can not know for sure how it sounded. God's name was written by four consonants and the two most likely ways experts think it could be pronounced are Yahweh or Jehovah, which sounds a lot like Yoba (as a religious person, this actually bothers me a little haha, not in a bad way tho, I like beliefs systems in fiction).
-The dark beings are inerently evil against Yoba's creation, humans, but Krobus has developed somehow a free will and tries really hard to be on the other side, that's why he is so loyal to Yoba.
-Or maybe spirits always have had free will but most choose the dark side, as their first father choosed it, as it happens in the Bible with Satan opossing to God and the angels that followed him becoming demons. Krobus may be even looking for redention after realizing he was on the bad side.
-Yoba must be a principal God but have nature spirits have power and be minor deitys, that's why you can make some offerings and get things in altars that are not dark, one example being the altar in the sewers, that must be in agreement with Yoba's cult as Krobus is okay with it being there.
-I also think the religion has changed over the years and some practices, like sacrifices, are not done anymore, so the Altar in Pierre's house is surely not used nowadays but it remains as another symbol in the religion. Now, Krobus must practice an older, purest form of the religion, given than being a spirit he must been alive when that form of the religion was practised, That's why he still do customs like staying silent on fridays (a practice that must be inspired in the catholic practice of not eating meat on fridays, as every friday was seen as the holy friday in holy week), that humans believers in Yoba may not even be aware of, or those are customs that has lost importances over the years.
-It's also a possibility that all the nature-magic thing was practised once in he the cult of Yoba but not written about, teached as an oral thing or maybe kept secret for priests or the like, and it's now lost knowledge for most believers. But this kind of magic seems to work in agreement with Yoba's creations and fundamentals beliefs.
-Emily's rocks thing coul also be lost knowledge snd now practised in the person's discretion instead of having a guide on how to do it.
-The statues that appear in the farm are also interesting, I think they must be some kind of blessing or protection, given that statues serve as teleportaton points which seems to be a practise in agreement with nature and Yoba's cult.
Hope all this sounfs interesting or sparks some other ideas for you! Thanks for the video!
I like the idea of Krobus being so old he still follows lost religious practices!
This was a really cool read, love your thoughts! :)
@@cassidyschramm2884 thank you!
Awesome video. Thank you for taking the time to make and share
12:29 - 13:10 an interesting thing about this bit of mythos: The fruit that eventually gave birth to the world is described as being formed in 11 days. There's only a few crops in the game that take 11 days to grow, that being hops and tomatoes, which, if we learned anything from Demetrius, is a fruit. both are multi harvest crops that grow on vines.
so according to this passage, the world came out of a tomato.
The comments on the runes were quite interesting as either a deliberate choice of that letter or just the ancient esque look of the rune. The yoba idea itself is clear in mirroring aspects of Christianity but focused more on a mother nature take on the world. Even as a Christian myself I honestly do avoid the signs, and do not like the eccentric take that Emily has with stones. Honestly if i were in Caroline's position I would disattach the alter room from my house.
I am going to be honest, if I lived next to a wizard, I would probably be religious. Like I am not going to denounce someone’s god, and I am definitely not going to do so when I have a totem that I can use to teleport in my back pocket
the void is used in sentences as 'hell', but also... the golden void? is yoba and/or what yoba uses to create? junimos are based on fruits, and the vesselism creation story is the world being made from a seed? gold and light are sacred, but shadows are essential to the creation of the world? the DARK shrines ALSO find gold and light-reflecting crystals sacred? they believe in an afterlife but ghosts are also just totally fully real?
honestly wrt krobus i think its really interesting for him to believe in yoba as a (physical) direct antithesis to what the pelican town residents / general lore would imply the religion stands for. its kind of.. real, in a way, especially considering how many parallels yoba has to modern day christianity
21:03 I love this channel omg, something about your voice and writing just hits the perfect spot
Great video. I always figured there’s one Yoba, but there are multiple ways to connect with the divine. Which way is “right?” I’m gonna say all of them, based on what the game shows us.
Also, love your sense of humor
A little thing that is either very interesting or very coincidental is that Joja is just one letter of of Joba.
It'd be like if a grocery chain was named Goh instead of God.
I wonder if it's a marketing thing? Morris never brings it up and it's very crackpot, but it makes a weird amount of sense that a grocery store brand would brand itself as associated with the potential main religion in the SD universe
I take it as Yoba maybe being a neutral entity, meaning that light and dark both have a place and need each other to retain balance, and that “dark” in this world is not the same thing as “evil” or being “against” whatever philosophy Yoba represents. Kinda like a more witchcraft-y perspective on deity. Edit: 14:06 whoops I should have waited to comment this cause you said the same thing lol
I’ve always seen the Yoba religion as being a pagan nature spirituality, and one of my favorite things about Stardew has always been the nature magic/witchcraft vibes.
I am now a devout follower of yoba
I’d like to say that you can be a witch and be religious, witchcraft is merely a way that people practice their faith :) 💕💕💕 so I like the idea Emily is a little witchy and religious ;D
20:02 people have translated the mural above the volcano, and this is what it says:
"our ancestors came from the sky, but made a new home beneath stone"
pretty interesting, huh? I never would have thought that the dwarf people came from the sky.
this is especially crazy because the implication here is that the dwarvish people either brought the worship of Yoba/Yoba religion with them and spread the knowledge of Yoba throughout Stardew Valley, or developed the religion - and Krobus, a shadow person, worships Yoba.
Although my take on Krobus is that he is trying to be less evil/malicious, so he is praying to Yoba to try to change his inherit shadowy ways...
You are one of the funniest stardew valley creators I’ve seen. Your dry humor is hilarious, just subscribed!
i love your videos so much, your voice and the effort you put in makes them so endearing
9:10 Wait... does that have anything to do with "Void Chickens"?
I love you for making this video because this will help so much with what I'm going to write. Thank you maybe: salem my beloved
I have to add, in concerned ape's old web comic, wumbus world, Yoba is mentioned multiple times and is even presented as a sun with a face, asking for wumbus's hummus. I don't know how canon this is now but it is worth delving into. (side note the original wumbus site is down but it is on partially on internet archive)
Awesome video and done with such great emphasis on the Yoba/Religion! Right up my alley. Bravo and keep up great work! Definitely got my sub!
harvey catching strays is crazy 😂
i’ve been WAITING for a video like this
This was an awesome video! Well done and thank you
So this is going to sound weird.
The symbol of Yoba looks a lot like internal female reproductive organs (ovaries fallopian tubes etc). Also Yoba is called the vessel and we were all carried by a womb at some point.
So funny thing is, the collectors edition of this game sold by Fangamer includes a replica of the farm deed you get at the beginning of the game, and up at the top it says "Deed of Land, Ferngill Republic" and just searching what this Republic was on the wiki sent me down a massive rabbit hole.
Like how is there a massive war happening in a world of magicians and forest spirits?
Thank you 😊 for puzzling the Lore pieces of Yoba together for all of us! I am also addicted to Coffee and struggle with Tiredness😮😢... May you get sone help like I did from my family and friends❤❤❤❤
Good video! Commenting for engagement, and to respond to your (funny, constructive) Harvey slander.
So, why Harvey? Well... H's hobbies are cool, and his big heart event is incredibly sweet. H is also a functional adult man with a job and responsibilities, giving him a competitive edge over spouses who seem to forget all about their own dreams once they set foot on the farm, and spouses with less mature vibes. [Sam, Abigail and Alex especially make me feel like a cradle robber.]
Aaaand I feel soft about the thought of him tending to the farmer when they stagger home from the accursed mine shaft. [The clinic 'service fees' go towards date nights.]
Your voice is so soothing❤ I was getting so tired and overstimulated from people on my screen screaming at me and your channel are such a nice respite from the chaos. +1 subscribers.
Yoba showed up in ConcernedApe's Wumbus webcomic, in strip 5. I'm not sure how it fits into this, but I thought I should mention it. I saw it mentioned in JunimoB's short "The Lore of Stardew Valley Goes DEEP!"
so a few minutes after i finished this video i got a recommended short from junimo b which talked about the statue of wumbus and how he stars in one of the movies in the cinema. apparently, concerned ape has an extensive 2011 comic about wumbus in which yoba appears depicted as a sun. so it seems like yoba is literally golden light, and, in yobaism, the sun existed first and created the world. yoba seems to be equivalent to other sun gods, like ra, helios, or huitzilopochtli, indicating the religion is either fully based on worshipping the sun, or polytheistic.
As a linguist, not the TikTok guy though, really really great job!
If that carving in the volcano dungeon was made by dwarves, it has implications, since dwarves are from space.
Depending on culture both shrines and alter can have offerings. Generally a better distinction is a shrine is usually a small structure that literally or figuratively hold something holy, thus enshrine being a word. An alter is an object of religious worship in another structure, usually but not always uses for rites of a religious nature. You get a lot of odd definitions of these words online but Shinto for example uses shrines and offerings are left at them.
Your voice is very calming
I’m so glad I got you recommended to me you speak the way I do I love your stuff
19:00 The idea of Yoba granting these sorts of wishes as well is really interesting. Like, he's known as a good, benevolent embodiment of light, but he likes to have SOME fun at least! ;)
i hope you post more videos of the lore or explain the stardew valley timeline- im making a comic of it so these videos help alotttt
Emily's meditation and that scene where you go to some weird mystical plane make me think of transcendental meditation, the stone quest seems chakra related and the sign she makes with her hand remind me of a mudra from hinduism or buddhism (though it doesn't correlate to any that I've been able to find).
CA has said that originally there was going to be something that you placed on the altar of Yoba, but that was taken out of the game.
Hi Salem Love your channel your amazing keep up the great work
Harvey fan slander in the first 30 seconds 😂😂😂 I’m gonna love it here (as a Harvey fan)
I like that right after Pam has a mental breakdown in front of you you can just be like “gods not real idiot”
How could you hate on my boy Harvey like that??? "Deserve better?" He _is_ the better!! D:
lmfao i digress, i love your videos Salem!! I just watched your hating Mayor Lewis video, had a blast with that
Krobus is a demon, a former angel who sauntered vaguely downwards but still has a good heart. 😍😇🐍🦆
I interpreted the symbol as a crucifix stand in but replaced with a shrug. Which is the perfect visual summary of religions no confirmed answers to me.
isnt yoba that little green guy from star wars
finally someone asks that question! I will watch it now
I finally got the garbage hat on my forest perfection farm! Now I'm trying to get all the hats, especially the very rare living hat.
For the longest time playing this game I kept getting Yoba and Yoda mixed up. Can’t tell which is more awesome.
you forgot the most important detail, yoba was born from an egg and that is why the towns folk celebrate eggs every year
it reminds me a lot of celtic druidry!!! im a casual practicer but it def holds a lot of similarities!
"A stick with arms with a New York accent" 😂
why the harvey hate he’s my number one cutie
my theory is that krobus is a former believer in the possible other theology the dark mobs believe in, but converted to yoba-ism? hence his love for yoba, but compassion for the dark mobs
i love finding another emily lover/harvey hater in the wild, thanks for making me feel safe 🫶🏻
i think it’s because it looks similar to a cross without using a cross, which could be divisive
in the general creation mithos in Stardew yoba created the world and with it the void, if you see krobus' dialogues he says he comse from the void along with all othee shadow people so if yoba made the world and with it the void then it makes sence to see it as a god from both perspectives, probably people in Stardew see the void as hell because of general ideas around good and evil, but the void is real and probably the void is juat another place and not the equivalent of hell, but like another complementary dimension
I've been wondering about this for a while. My line of thinking was that Yobism (?) was probably descended from or related to Christianity somehow. The sign looks like an altered cross, and "Yoba" sounds to me like, given enough time and space, it could be a corruption of "Jehovah" (which is itself just an Anglicization of YHWH.) Problem is I had no idea that the sign was actually a rune lol.
People in this game following some kind of earth-centric religion does fit better with the game's themes, I think.
Harvey fans like this comment for Harvey defense ☕☕☕☕ For real tho this video was well explained and very well made! Never thought to think too much with all the Yoba stuff due to religious trauma but this video was oddly comforting!
My mustached husband forever ❤
6:20 HAD ME ROLLING OMG 😭
Honestly having Yoba be a more pagan-esque deity falls in line with the whole vibe of the game really well and makes a lot of sense
I think Krobus likes void essence in the doom slayer kind of way. Just wants evidence of the slayings of their enemies.
About the Void, I suspect that Sebastian's father was some sort of shadow person.
Think about it, Sebastian's likes rainy/dark places(the mines) and enjoys exploring the mines and giving you presents from there. He has a persona kinda similar to Krobus, he's often misunderstood as an "edgy emo looking guy" when hes actually struggling to live a normal life when deep inside he feels like he aint really like everyody else. The only person he probally can relate better about this is...yup, you guessed. Abgail. And if you know Caroline's lore, you'll understand quite well why.
dude look onto old comics of CA (with green dude) they contain an inintial image of Yoba and his other "friends" i think they are ofren overlooked in the context of lore
close enough, welcome back matpat