As a Nigerian and a person from the Yoruba tribe, this video made me so happy! I never knew if you were going to discuss our rich pantheon and history. Thank you so much for this video! I'm so happy that people get to see the rich culture and religion we have in Nigeria/West Africa. Well done!
I am Nigerian and I can say you know your stuff and it is obvious a lot of research was put into this, nice video can't wait for more. Btw you butchered most of the names.
lol give the guy a break. As a Nigerian you should know that we don't all pronounce English words great. Ask an old Nigerian guy to say Cucumber "CooCoomba" ;P
It'd be cool if you mentioned the fact that Yoruba helps its followers deal with strife in present life, rather than promising a better more "heavenly" afterlife.
@@TheGreenerItGets tbf they all do that, but abrahamic religions can be dangerous cos it can promote to the oppressors the mentality that i can do anything i want and i will be forgiven for my sins whilst simultaneously telling the oppressed to turn the other cheek. There is too many examples of this in history but i will say its the way you interpret it
@mr. bones Demons are evil spirits. Orishas have a wide range of morality, some good and some evil. Wrapping them all demons simply because they aren't involved with Christianity is foolish and bigoted as well as deeming many will die in error before learning some truth that you seem to know that makes you right.
This is by far my favorite video you guys have made. I'm a black American, but my people are from West Africa. In recent years I've been trying to connect to this mythology and this is a comprehensive video. I can tell that you guys put a lot of research into this and I appreciate the tasteful display. Blessings to all involved.
This is one of my favorite lesser-discussed pantheons. I know I can't be the only one that gets a little tired of hearing about the big 4 (Greek, Roman, Norse, Egyptian), and wants more on others. More episodes like this please!
I'm Ibo (A neighboring tribe to Yoruba) but I can verify that this is spot on. Now do one about the Ibo pantheon. Also for the people saying he butchered the names. At least he tried. I wouldn't call it butchering, I'd call it the English names of Yoruba gods.
mestre12 thats because majority of Afro Brazilians came from the Yoruba kingdoms taking their traditions with them thats why in Brazil when we have carnivals we celebrate the Yoruba God's
Dominiko Santos Well, I wouldn’t say Christianity is a dangerous religion, but I’d say that the people who claim tô be Christian and do not follow the most important part of the Bible that says to respect everyone independent of their beliefs are the dangerous people. The Bible says it’s important to not be violent and some people just seem to ignore that. These are the dangerous people. If Jesus were here alongside us, these “Christians” would want him dead
You totally forgot Obatala, who is actually the creator of humans, and Oshun, the goddess of love. While I think this has a lot of potential, this has to be done over.
In Brazil there is a religion called "spiritism" where it's kind of a mix between all the Orishas stuff and Catholicism. It began with slaves that couldn't practice their religion so they made analogies between the Orishas and saints. It's pretty cool
This is one of my favorite episodes of pretty much anything ever. As someone who specialises in the history and mythology of various regions of Africa (admittedly not trained and not as a job), I always love it when people actually care and specify so thank you so so much for all of this episode, especially the bit at the beginning where you broke it down and specified and showed that you care
I really wish all of the Pantheon episodes were on less known mythologies like this rather than Greek, Egyptian, and Norse, which most people are already familiar with. Aztec, Mayan, Incan, Chinse, or Japanese all would have been cool.
Jabberwockxeno We just have to hope the series is popular enough that they do another "season" like Mythology 2.0 and get more in depth information. I would love to see an Aztec episode.
yeah, it would have been nice if they covered at least a few North and South American pantheons, like Cherokee, Hopi, or Sioux. Lithuanian mythology too, as they were the last europeans to be christianized. (whispers) it'd be nice if they covered irish mythology
I can't help but think about the "everyone wants Aphrodite" line from the Greek Pantheon video, because when it comes to the Orisha, everyone wants Oshun
I am a practicer of the Lukumi religion which is the Cuban adaptation of the Yoruba. Thank you for your very well explained video. I have always loved Lukumi stories and how well they explain the world in which we live in. Lastly, it is hard to find a religion that can add to every religion. This is why the Yoruba traditions have persisted in so many different cultures and parts of the world.
Agama, the chameleon represents wisdom in our african spirituality. That’s why orunmila has to go to the chameleon. African spiritualility is the ultimate science of nature and we believe that Nature is God. If you ever seen a chameleon, you will notice that the chameleon doesn’t step on a branch right away. He put his foot forward toward the branch as if he is going to put his foot there and then right before his foot can touch the branch, he will bring the foot back and observe the branch a second time before calmly stepping on it. Chameleon does not rush either. He walks slowly as a character of wisdom. A chameleon can step on the smallest branch without the branch breaking apart. That is another attribute of wisdom and being careful before taking action and before making decision. Chameleon doesn’t have a specific color. He changes color according to the environment. That is another attribute of wisdom. And finally, when a chameleon hunt, he doesn’t jump on the prey like a lion. Instead the chameleon stay back and send his tongue in a rapid and precise move to catch the fly. From the moment it catches the fly to the moment the fly is in his mouth is usually a split second. What the chameleon is teaching us through that action is this: i can be calm, quiet and wise but if i have to hunt, i can go it swiftly. So a God going to Agama for answer means you must take time and patience to make the right decision. Just to help people understand.
I was raised with Yoruba family, and grew up with an understanding of Orishas. My husband was not raided in the community, and is typically loss when we are given gifts, blessing, or instructions from my Yoruba family. I will share this video with him. I think this is a very respectful, entertaining, and helpful way to introduce people to the culture. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!
I feel like a lot of African-Americans don't care about West African cultures, which is a shame. I'm African-American and I love learning about my ancestors.
I'm part African-American and I'm invested in learning about by my ancestors! Our history did not start with slavery. And I hate that all of this has been labelled witchcraft by colonizers and slave masters smh
That's what happens when you're brainwashed. They believe everything but what they're ancestors practiced. But this happened due to what colonizers forced our people to believe
I love this Crash course episode I watch it at least 5 times per year. and I share it with people as a sort of starter kit for Orisha. I really enjoy the fairness that is attributed to it, its not perfect but he definitely gives its just due!
One thing I love about the african people is that despite the torment and destruction we've all been subjected to and still are throughout the diaspora and the continent, we find a way to express ourselves well with our dancing, music etc. Its absolutely beautiful that some of our culture survived the transatlantic slave trades, such as cornrows, orishas etc.
As An initiated Olorisha, I loved watching this! You've included a few Orishas I've never heard of, so that's a thing. Thank you for being so respectful and delighted
WHY DO U WANT TO BE PART OF THE BLACK ORISHAS FAMILY...THEY ARE NOT YOUR ANCESTORS...YOU JUST PAID OUT YOUR MONEY FOR NOTHING...OUR ANCESTORS R NOT WORKING WITH WHITE PEOPLE...
CORRECTION: African Pantheons and the Orishas: Crash Course World Mythology #11 @CrashCourse - You stated in this video that Orisa Ogiyan is the god of crushed cassava, and did not have an ancient origin. I respectfully disagree with this statement. Ogiyan is the Orisa of Yam and an ancient to Ejigbo, Osun state in Nigeria. People need to understand that Iyan (pounded yam - Yam) and fufu or gari (cassava), are not the same, but are sometimes used interchangeably by those unfamiliar to West African culture. To be clear, yams are native to Yoruba land and they have nothing to do with the so called, “Columbia exchange,” which is a sanitized expression for the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
There is a limited amount of time in each episode, and they want to go in-depth into particular subjects. This time, it was Yoruba religion and the Orishas.
I can say, 🙏🏾 you brother. I am Panamanian. I have high Ogun energy. I am the sacrificial first born that cleared the way for my brothers and sisters. I raised them when their father left them. I love obsidian, guns, knives, axes, and surviving in the wilderness. I am bread for war and challenge. This who I am. My blood courses with the spirit of a warrior. One time I fought a robber over a gun and the MOST HIGH GUIDED ME OUT OF THAT SITUATION. I’m about love ones, success, and peace unless war is needed. I always wondered why I’m build or hard wired for war and challenge...now I know.
I found out about the reference when Gaijin Goombah did a vid on her around her release. I was hoping that CC would make another OW reference in this vid. :P
I recently stumbled upon the Orishas and became interested in them. It wasn't long until I discovered Oya. I was sold the moment article I read mentioned she used an almighty broom. I officially have a new favorite goddess.
Surprised Marvel hasn't used the Orisha in a Black Panther story. Fun fact, they actually included them in some of there older one off comics. Thor was in the same panel as Shango.
Traditional malagasy religion does not fit into the "pantheon" system very well IMHO. But you can argue that Zanahary is the creator god, there are Djiny/zanahary (spirits/gods) in trees rocks and rivers, Vazimba (ancients) in old tombs, and Razana (ancestors) are in recent tombs and treated like catholic saints. The powers of any of these can be harnessed in a Sampy (fetish or idol). The Sampy can be named and have a life of its own after it was created. The most famous Sampy in Malagasy history was Kelimalaza ("little famous one"). See here en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sampy but they were not personifications, they were more symbols of power. We also have mythical heroes like Darafify or Ibonia. They are not gods though. I'd like them to talk about malagasy myths, but it should not be in a pantheon episode.
Because most people have no idea what Yoruba means, and also there are many more people who search for "Africa" on the internet. It's the same reason why Cara Delevingne's name is on the trailers of so many movies where she appears for 5 minutes.
The Greeks& Romans were Mediterranean, the Egyptians were Mediterranean and African. Yet the Greek and Roman video is called Greek and Roman while the Egyptian video is called Mediterranean
I really liked the story of how human differences caused most of our strife. It is an impressive way to describe such a complicated and persistent struggle of humanity.
Even more impressive is that humans asked for the differences and then complain about them later. The Gods knew it would happen but respected human wishes for self-destructive and they were complaining ever since.
Aw, no mention of Anansi the Spider? I'm swedish but as a child I loved the Anansi stories because I happened to own a book that was a collection of Anansi stories.
This is a video of pretty much only Yoruba pantheons; Anansi is from a different Ghanian tribe pantheon. I am from Nigerian (I am also from the Yoruba tribe) and never heard of Anansi until I got to the Americans but have heard of most of the other pantheons.
I love your course and this was a great episode.. I must make two comments about this episode in particular. 1). Egypt is in Africa, and you had an episode on the Egyptian Pantheon. Thus calling this episode "African Pantheon" is inaccurate. 2). Given that the episode was on the Yoruba Orishas, it would have been more appropriate to have named it "Yoruba Pantheon." Africa, like the Americas (where I'm from), is a diverse continet. If Crash Course is serious about not falling for the misconception of "Africa is a country," then perhaps it should start treating Africa as a set of countries. Again, thanks for the show. Keep up the great work.
This pantheon is alive and well in Brazil actually with almost 200000 members of the Candomblé religion and many of its aspects syncretized into our Christianity. Although Obalaue is associated with medicine and healing rather than disease. Also candombé makes an important distinction between gods and orixás as there isn't actually the concept of gods. Orixás are not all-powerful, but actually immaterial infinite sources of wisdom. They don't really influence nature but are one with it and understand it to such a deep level that they can provide guidance to humanity (when politely asked) on how to deal with it. For instance, even though Obalaue is the personification of the disease itself, one does not fear him or pray for him to stay away but instead seeks out his understanding of diseases to learn how to cure. But overall it was a really great video! Congrats on the awesome job!
I'm so glad you decided to make this video, I honestly knew nothing about the pantheons of Africa, until now. I'm so glad you made such an interesting and fun video explaining so much! It was honestly really interesting! Please continue to make more of these great videos, we still have a lot of that map to cover!!
I stole this comment from someone else in this section "lol give the guy a break. As a Nigerian you should know that we don't all pronounce English words great. Ask an old Nigerian guy to say Cucumber "CooCoomba" ;P"
Geat video I wish they could make a part 2 of the african patheon featuring Southern african myths, I'm from the south and our oral traditions are not that redundant!
MY favorite African god story is when Anasazi the Spider finds a huge wonderful pumpkin and makes a small hole and climes in and he eats all of it's insides but then gets stuck cause he's to fat and has to starve himself for like a month and then almost dies trying to get out.
My cat's name is Xangó, after the "Thunder God" you called Shango, but we took it from the Brazilian Orixás, who are clearly spelled differently (the 'x' in Portuguese in these contexts sounds like an 'sh'), and I knew him as the god of war and masculinity. And the Godess Yemoja is analogous to the Orixá "Iemanjá", I would think, who in Brazilian and Uruguayan Orixá tradition is the Orixá of the sea. I remember being in Uruguay and seeing people dressed in white send flowers on tiny boats into the sea on Iemanjá's day, and there's a beautiful song by Rubén Olivera about Iemanjá. I knew the Orixás originally came from Africa, but I thought it was interesting to recount my experience with them here in South America, how they developed and adapted.
As a former practitioner of and student of Santeria I am familiar with this particular African Pantheon. Nice work. Can you do the Nubian Warrior Scholars the Montu next?
Ifa is monotheistic and the orishas are characteristics of Olorun which is primordial Chaotic energy/Universe, which created Olodumare ordered Universe, who created Eshu (messenger) and Orumila (divine word) and so on.
I loved your video! I am Brazilian and I belong to the Candomblé religion, the Afro Brazilian cult that was brought by slaves to Brazil where we worship orixás / voduns and nkissis. Your video covers several aspects about Yoruba mythology that are extraordinary! congratulations!
yes he separated Africa and Egypt most likely because Egypt is more well known and separating then into two videos can work better than having one be twice as long. also he may have mispronounced the names but that's okay because we all mispronounce things even in our own language so give the man a break.
This was nice to see that my heritage was expressed in a very tasteful manner. My heritage as an American with African bloodline is very complex. I like that the video explained the deities in a way based on cultural and regional location. It helped to explain how and why some of or if any of the beliefs survived from the TransAtlantic Passage to the Americas. Well done and nice to see that people are finally taking an interest in African art and religion again. Very nice.✌️
I'm Brazilian and Orishas are a important part of our culture. We hear about it all the time but I didn't know so much about it because people prefer to talk about other mythologies and religions that are a part of our culture as well. So thanks for that
Bradley Smythe Not exactly a pantheon, perhaps ancestral/spirits. Yoruba Pantheon is equivalent to Egypt, Sumer, Greece, Ancient Rome, Norse and Hindu Pantheon.
Even though I am not a believer ,here in Bahia state , especially in Salvador city ,Brazil , the cult to the orixás (orishas) is very strong. Many things here are written in Yoruba as well. This cult is known as candomblé . Here we use many yorubá names: Orixás Olorun/ Olodum / ododumaré Yemanjá Oshum Ogum Omolú Obaluaê Oxalá Xangô Babalaô/ babalorixá Ilê axé Olubajé Ajeum Ijexá And there are other names used but from bantu languages group related to this religion such as : Dandalunda Pomba gira Cangerê Zambi Etc.
Okay, first off, this is a very impressive crash course on the Yoruba mythology, I'm Nigerian and didn't know about some of these until now. However, The Yoruba is one tribe amongst many others in Nigeria with the other two major tribes being the Ibo and hausa. The Ibos also have a huge pantheon of gods and myths, it'll be Exciting to compare what similarities could be found between Such closely relative neighbouring Tribes. The Hausas are rooted Deep in Islam, haven't heard stories of their Own gods or anything... Great Video by the way, please, More crash courses on African myths!!!
Many of the Orishas that people are asking about here actually belong to the religion of Santeria, which did directly evolve from the Yoruba pantheon when the slave trade brought the Yourba people to Latin America (including Brazil) and other Carribean colonies. The important thing to remember is that there was an evolution of these dieties, and as in most oral traditions geographical location has affected this. Also, you have to take into account the influence that Catholicism and the colonizers language had. That being said, not all of the Orishas in Santeria, voodoo, or even within tribes for that matter, will necessarily directly corolate in name, spelling, or attributes to the ones mentioned in this video. I do feel that not mentioning Santeria was a bit of an injustice to the history because in Cuba (I'm sure elsewherebut I can only speak from my personal experience) many practicioners still speak some of Yoruba language and feel pride and a very strong connection to their African heritage. Hence, the term "Afro-Cuban" or "Afro-Cubano".
The conversation between Zeus, Thor, and Shango wouldn't be electrifying. It would be en-lightning
Wow, the Mayan god of lightning would be Shaak-ed.
add susanoo to the mix and its whole storm
I really enjoyed this pun.
This pun was met with thunderous applause
Ha! Enlightened! That's hilarious!
Glad to see Yoruba getting some attention on RUclips.
ReligionForBreakfast love ur videos:)
And now I know of your existence...
Subscribed.
Maybe we should get a Yoruba mythology movie.
...ORISA IS ALL OVER THE U...BUT YOU WOULD NEVER BE REFERRED TO THE DISTINCTIONS WITH THIS PLAY VIDEO...
@@Crusader-Ramos45 no dont disrespect my belief
As a Nigerian and a person from the Yoruba tribe, this video made me so happy! I never knew if you were going to discuss our rich pantheon and history. Thank you so much for this video! I'm so happy that people get to see the rich culture and religion we have in Nigeria/West Africa. Well done!
@ANDY27 Nigeria has many different ethnic groups which includes Yoruba but also the Igbo, and Hausa
Me too
Yoruba Ethnic Group! Not Tribe
I am Nigerian and I can say you know your stuff and it is obvious a lot of research was put into this, nice video can't wait for more. Btw you butchered most of the names.
lol give the guy a break. As a Nigerian you should know that we don't all pronounce English words great. Ask an old Nigerian guy to say Cucumber "CooCoomba" ;P
I guess you have a point
eon001 lmao.
eon001 lmaoo
LOL @ the way he says "Yoruuuba". LOL
It'd be cool if you mentioned the fact that Yoruba helps its followers deal with strife in present life, rather than promising a better more "heavenly" afterlife.
exactly, it leads you!
Don't a lot of others do that?
@@TheGreenerItGets tbf they all do that, but abrahamic religions can be dangerous cos it can promote to the oppressors the mentality that i can do anything i want and i will be forgiven for my sins whilst simultaneously telling the oppressed to turn the other cheek. There is too many examples of this in history but i will say its the way you interpret it
❤💓
@mr. bones Demons are evil spirits. Orishas have a wide range of morality, some good and some evil. Wrapping them all demons simply because they aren't involved with Christianity is foolish and bigoted as well as deeming many will die in error before learning some truth that you seem to know that makes you right.
This is by far my favorite video you guys have made. I'm a black American, but my people are from West Africa. In recent years I've been trying to connect to this mythology and this is a comprehensive video. I can tell that you guys put a lot of research into this and I appreciate the tasteful display. Blessings to all involved.
This is one of my favorite lesser-discussed pantheons. I know I can't be the only one that gets a little tired of hearing about the big 4 (Greek, Roman, Norse, Egyptian), and wants more on others. More episodes like this please!
Yoruba tradition is very demonized wrongfully in my opinion. I’m glad someone can explain the belief in a exciting and interesting way.
I'm Ibo (A neighboring tribe to Yoruba) but I can verify that this is spot on. Now do one about the Ibo pantheon. Also for the people saying he butchered the names. At least he tried. I wouldn't call it butchering, I'd call it the English names of Yoruba gods.
I'm Ijaw. I wanna research and find out stuff about my region.
I know nothing of the IGBO RELIGIONS. SHOULD BE INTERESTING
It is IGBO not Ibo. Thanks.
So you want a white man to tell you about you. Interesting
@@coolkid845 actually, I learned a lot from this white man😂
All thunder/lightning gods should get together, Shango, Zeus, Thor, Tlaloc, Chaac, and Raijin
And Zapdos.
"Thunder House Party! BYOB" (Bring your own bolts)
Indra
Antonio Galarza omg what ever happens don't let them fight that's gonna be the end of like, a whole country
I suggest u play Smite
This was great. African Mythology is often overlooked so I did not know a lot of this.
searche about Umbanda (not just candomblé)!
N.L. B. Probably because it's so confusing because there are like a million different versions of every story and many tribal(?) Groups.
It is not mythology. It is a religion. Look up “Ifa”.
N.L. B. That’s cause we’re in the western 🌎
Western myth is the world's truth.
I like you man. Africa is not a country!
I cannot see how there's ANYONE dumb enough to think Africa is a single country.
phenox spartan you’d be surprised.
@@rl4708 To be fairly honest, I wouldn't be surprised at this point.
let's not applaud fish for swimming
Africa is gay
In Brazil, there people that follow this yoruba Dvines. They are know has Orixas, the Brazillian portuguese translation of Orisha
mestre12 thats because majority of Afro Brazilians came from the Yoruba kingdoms taking their traditions with them thats why in Brazil when we have carnivals we celebrate the Yoruba God's
The largest descended African population outside of Africa is Brazil.
Emir Terra Menkure El-LeNoir The largest African populated City outside of Africa is in Brazil a place called Salvador
dd14ization I’ve been to Salvador once. It’s a great place! I’d like to visit that city again
Dominiko Santos Well, I wouldn’t say Christianity is a dangerous religion, but I’d say that the people who claim tô be Christian and do not follow the most important part of the Bible that says to respect everyone independent of their beliefs are the dangerous people.
The Bible says it’s important to not be violent and some people just seem to ignore that. These are the dangerous people. If Jesus were here alongside us, these “Christians” would want him dead
My uncle is a babalawo, (Yoruba priest), and I have a lot of African Yoruba influence on my fathers side, so this was helpful
good to hear but not something to be proud of.especially if you are from Nigeria.
@@sadiqsuleiman what's wrong with it?
sadiq zero why shouldn’t he be proud
Sadiq zero , tell him not to be proud! I am a babalawo , tell me your surname and I let sango visit you!! Lol
Tell him to give me some money
You totally forgot Obatala, who is actually the creator of humans, and Oshun, the goddess of love. While I think this has a lot of potential, this has to be done over.
Yes I am trying to understand why this is first comment about this...but still very affirming comments. Please help me figure this out sister?
In Brazil there is a religion called "spiritism" where it's kind of a mix between all the Orishas stuff and Catholicism. It began with slaves that couldn't practice their religion so they made analogies between the Orishas and saints. It's pretty cool
I'm Yoruba this was a nice video there's stuff here I didn't know but he got all the pronunciations wrong
Yeah. He butchered a lot of the Hindu pronunciations also.
Lol it doesn't really matter though I was just being nitpicky
Afrotron I'm also Yoruba this is a great video
Bless his oyinbo heart at least he tired lol
Most people misspronounce most foreign words.
This is one of my favorite episodes of pretty much anything ever. As someone who specialises in the history and mythology of various regions of Africa (admittedly not trained and not as a job), I always love it when people actually care and specify so thank you so so much for all of this episode, especially the bit at the beginning where you broke it down and specified and showed that you care
I really wish all of the Pantheon episodes were on less known mythologies like this rather than Greek, Egyptian, and Norse, which most people are already familiar with. Aztec, Mayan, Incan, Chinse, or Japanese all would have been cool.
Jabberwockxeno We just have to hope the series is popular enough that they do another "season" like Mythology 2.0 and get more in depth information. I would love to see an Aztec episode.
Same! Love the Greek and the Norse gods but there's so much material on them available in the English language already.
Well, about 2 billion people here in Asia knows about Chinese and Japan mythology so I don't think our myths are "lesser known".
+GuyWithAnAmazingHat That's a good point! I guess I meant from an american or european perspective.
yeah, it would have been nice if they covered at least a few North and South American pantheons, like Cherokee, Hopi, or Sioux. Lithuanian mythology too, as they were the last europeans to be christianized.
(whispers) it'd be nice if they
covered irish mythology
What about Oshun and Yemaya?
I can't help but think about the "everyone wants Aphrodite" line from the Greek Pantheon video, because when it comes to the Orisha, everyone wants Oshun
Also wondering where was Oshun! I even went back to see if I missed her mention.
me too my guardian angle is oshun ☺
I think Yemaya was mentioned, but spelled "Yemoja". Both are the same.
Also Nancy
I am a practicer of the Lukumi religion which is the Cuban adaptation of the Yoruba.
Thank you for your very well explained video.
I have always loved Lukumi stories and how well they explain the world in which we live in.
Lastly, it is hard to find a religion that can add to every religion. This is why the Yoruba traditions have persisted in so many different cultures and parts of the world.
This could be the basis for a badass anime, actually.
Aaron Moody
Maybe
but this is a sacred religion
centuries to millennia old
that has been demonize in many places.
I wouldn't do that.
Isaac Diakité Bâ
A religion older than judaism and is still practice today.
Isaac Diakité Bâ still it would be nice if others knew about it in some way in a positive light
There’s a good book about this ; “children of blood and bone”.
the archetypes for anime, comics, and pantheons are similar
FYI Yemoja, with her two fish tails and star crown is on the Starbucks logo. The Starbucks people may have mistook her for a siren.
Angelo Gopaul yep
Yep
Oyo Empire was amazing.
I'm
50%Fulani
25%Yoruba
25%Ashanti
I just gotta say, my favorite part of this series is the design of the gods. They manage to make every god look distinct and unique, it's so creative.
Agama, the chameleon represents wisdom in our african spirituality. That’s why orunmila has to go to the chameleon. African spiritualility is the ultimate science of nature and we believe that Nature is God. If you ever seen a chameleon, you will notice that the chameleon doesn’t step on a branch right away. He put his foot forward toward the branch as if he is going to put his foot there and then right before his foot can touch the branch, he will bring the foot back and observe the branch a second time before calmly stepping on it. Chameleon does not rush either. He walks slowly as a character of wisdom. A chameleon can step on the smallest branch without the branch breaking apart. That is another attribute of wisdom and being careful before taking action and before making decision. Chameleon doesn’t have a specific color. He changes color according to the environment. That is another attribute of wisdom. And finally, when a chameleon hunt, he doesn’t jump on the prey like a lion. Instead the chameleon stay back and send his tongue in a rapid and precise move to catch the fly. From the moment it catches the fly to the moment the fly is in his mouth is usually a split second. What the chameleon is teaching us through that action is this: i can be calm, quiet and wise but if i have to hunt, i can go it swiftly. So a God going to Agama for answer means you must take time and patience to make the right decision. Just to help people understand.
1 thing.....Orunmila reads PALM nuts(seeds) not pine nuts .There are no pine trees in Osogbo
That joke about the thunder gods was shocking!
I was raised with Yoruba family, and grew up with an understanding of Orishas. My husband was not raided in the community, and is typically loss when we are given gifts, blessing, or instructions from my Yoruba family. I will share this video with him. I think this is a very respectful, entertaining, and helpful way to introduce people to the culture. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!
I feel like a lot of African-Americans don't care about West African cultures, which is a shame. I'm African-American and I love learning about my ancestors.
Emagination Productions go subscribe to from nothing if you want to learn more
I'm part African-American and I'm invested in learning about by my ancestors! Our history did not start with slavery. And I hate that all of this has been labelled witchcraft by colonizers and slave masters smh
That's what happens when you're brainwashed. They believe everything but what they're ancestors practiced. But this happened due to what colonizers forced our people to believe
Yess Africa is so amazing and there's so much history and culture!
Do you guys think that this is kind of an addendum to education in school systems?
I love this Crash course episode I watch it at least 5 times per year. and I share it with people as a sort of starter kit for Orisha. I really enjoy the fairness that is attributed to it, its not perfect but he definitely gives its just due!
One thing I love about the african people is that despite the torment and destruction we've all been subjected to and still are throughout the diaspora and the continent, we find a way to express ourselves well with our dancing, music etc. Its absolutely beautiful that some of our culture survived the transatlantic slave trades, such as cornrows, orishas etc.
As An initiated Olorisha, I loved watching this! You've included a few Orishas I've never heard of, so that's a thing. Thank you for being so respectful and delighted
WHY DO U WANT TO BE PART OF THE BLACK ORISHAS FAMILY...THEY ARE NOT YOUR ANCESTORS...YOU JUST PAID OUT YOUR MONEY FOR NOTHING...OUR ANCESTORS R NOT WORKING WITH WHITE PEOPLE...
CORRECTION: African Pantheons and the Orishas: Crash Course World Mythology #11
@CrashCourse - You stated in this video that Orisa Ogiyan is the god of crushed cassava, and did not have an ancient origin. I respectfully disagree with this statement. Ogiyan is the Orisa of Yam and an ancient to Ejigbo, Osun state in Nigeria. People need to understand that Iyan (pounded yam - Yam) and fufu or gari (cassava), are not the same, but are sometimes used interchangeably by those unfamiliar to West African culture. To be clear, yams are native to Yoruba land and they have nothing to do with the so called, “Columbia exchange,” which is a sanitized expression for the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
Shout out to my fellow Nigerians!
*whispers* they never got Ethiopian....
They'll probably cover it when they get to the East African cultures, it'd be hard to cover all of Africa in one episode.
They never got Vietnam
Num Num Tasty pretty sure Orthodox Chrtistianity came to Ethopia before it came to Europe
Bill Wurtz is the best, brah. ;)
There is a limited amount of time in each episode, and they want to go in-depth into particular subjects. This time, it was Yoruba religion and the Orishas.
When your parents are cuban so you knew all the Orishas
THE ORISHAS ARE BLACK
who here is Yoruba too?
i am tho im lost cause i grew up in a westernized country
Yep
Holler
Me too
From Illinois usa my mom is a major madrina in the religion huge community going to other people houses.
Man i love Africa, it is filled with so many treasures
I can say, 🙏🏾 you brother. I am Panamanian. I have high Ogun energy. I am the sacrificial first born that cleared the way for my brothers and sisters. I raised them when their father left them. I love obsidian, guns, knives, axes, and surviving in the wilderness. I am bread for war and challenge. This who I am. My blood courses with the spirit of a warrior. One time I fought a robber over a gun and the MOST HIGH GUIDED ME OUT OF THAT SITUATION. I’m about love ones, success, and peace unless war is needed. I always wondered why I’m build or hard wired for war and challenge...now I know.
I'm Yoruba and I learned so much! There were many pronunciation errors but he got the ideas across.
honestly as an african who lives in america if one more person sings that song at me I will loose my mind
Orisha... So that's how Orisa from Overwatch got her name.
correct :)
I found out about the reference when Gaijin Goombah did a vid on her around her release. I was hoping that CC would make another OW reference in this vid. :P
Oliver Burke another?
ISmokeSkittles no
Orisa comes from OR-15 bot, which she is one of. ORISA -> ORI5A -> OR15A -> OR-15A -> OR-15
Imagine being the god that caught the cassava power. lol
I recently stumbled upon the Orishas and became interested in them. It wasn't long until I discovered Oya. I was sold the moment article I read mentioned she used an almighty broom. I officially have a new favorite goddess.
Surprised Marvel hasn't used the Orisha in a Black Panther story. Fun fact, they actually included them in some of there older one off comics. Thor was in the same panel as Shango.
Could you talk about the Malagasy deities? I have heard they are exclusive only to Madagascar and it would be cool to hear more about them
Mjaucast Renzhion This.
Traditional malagasy religion does not fit into the "pantheon" system very well IMHO. But you can argue that Zanahary is the creator god, there are Djiny/zanahary (spirits/gods) in trees rocks and rivers, Vazimba (ancients) in old tombs, and Razana (ancestors) are in recent tombs and treated like catholic saints. The powers of any of these can be harnessed in a Sampy (fetish or idol). The Sampy can be named and have a life of its own after it was created. The most famous Sampy in Malagasy history was Kelimalaza ("little famous one"). See here en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sampy but they were not personifications, they were more symbols of power.
We also have mythical heroes like Darafify or Ibonia. They are not gods though.
I'd like them to talk about malagasy myths, but it should not be in a pantheon episode.
rakotoendor are you Sakalava?
I love you guys for this, you don’t know how much means to me as a Nigerian seeing this. I could not stop smiling!
Africa got more history than any other place on earth.
WE ARE #1
This is interesting but if it's exclusively talking about Yoruba mythology, than why does the title say African and not Yoruba?
Because most people have no idea what Yoruba means, and also there are many more people who search for "Africa" on the internet. It's the same reason why Cara Delevingne's name is on the trailers of so many movies where she appears for 5 minutes.
I think people know what Yoruba means. Overwatch helped popularize the culture a bit
in Brazil I'm pretty sure anyone know the word "yoruba" but everybody knows the word "Orixa"
because they aren't going to do another video on africa
The Greeks& Romans were Mediterranean, the Egyptians were Mediterranean and African. Yet the Greek and Roman video is called Greek and Roman while the Egyptian video is called Mediterranean
It would be so interesting for an author to write a young adult book series about the Orishas and voodoo like Rick Riordan wrote for Greek mythology
Check out Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi
I really liked the story of how human differences caused most of our strife. It is an impressive way to describe such a complicated and persistent struggle of humanity.
Even more impressive is that humans asked for the differences and then complain about them later. The Gods knew it would happen but respected human wishes for self-destructive and they were complaining ever since.
I finally realized you were saying Yoruba, and I'm a Yoruba.
Babalu Aye' is my favorite Orisha. Most people didn't know that Ricky Ricardo was singing about an African/Nigerian/Yoruba God.
Aw, no mention of Anansi the Spider? I'm swedish but as a child I loved the Anansi stories because I happened to own a book that was a collection of Anansi stories.
This is a video of pretty much only Yoruba pantheons; Anansi is from a different Ghanian tribe pantheon. I am from Nigerian (I am also from the Yoruba tribe) and never heard of Anansi until I got to the Americans but have heard of most of the other pantheons.
rattis I'm African I know Anansi stories by heart... It's fun, right?
Anansi is not an orisha.
I love your course and this was a great episode.. I must make two comments about this episode in particular.
1). Egypt is in Africa, and you had an episode on the Egyptian Pantheon. Thus calling this episode "African Pantheon" is inaccurate.
2). Given that the episode was on the Yoruba Orishas, it would have been more appropriate to have named it "Yoruba Pantheon."
Africa, like the Americas (where I'm from), is a diverse continet. If Crash Course is serious about not falling for the misconception of "Africa is a country," then perhaps it should start treating Africa as a set of countries.
Again, thanks for the show. Keep up the great work.
Lorenzo Blanco
Real talk.
Yoruba is untouched by outsiders. It is original, straight up African.
Africa isn't a Country,but.......
*ENGLAND IS MY CITY*
...
Hassham Habib city is my england
What's the point?
This pantheon is alive and well in Brazil actually with almost 200000 members of the Candomblé religion and many of its aspects syncretized into our Christianity. Although Obalaue is associated with medicine and healing rather than disease. Also candombé makes an important distinction between gods and orixás as there isn't actually the concept of gods. Orixás are not all-powerful, but actually immaterial infinite sources of wisdom. They don't really influence nature but are one with it and understand it to such a deep level that they can provide guidance to humanity (when politely asked) on how to deal with it. For instance, even though Obalaue is the personification of the disease itself, one does not fear him or pray for him to stay away but instead seeks out his understanding of diseases to learn how to cure. But overall it was a really great video! Congrats on the awesome job!
Thanks for this! I'm reading Children of Blood and Bone right now and so I'm really interested in learning more about Yoruba culture and religion!
I'm so glad you decided to make this video, I honestly knew nothing about the pantheons of Africa, until now. I'm so glad you made such an interesting and fun video explaining so much! It was honestly really interesting! Please continue to make more of these great videos, we still have a lot of that map to cover!!
I love my black heritage! 💜💜💜
Omg had to cringe at the pronunciations lml
I stole this comment from someone else in this section "lol give the guy a break. As a Nigerian you should know that we don't all pronounce English words great. Ask an old Nigerian guy to say Cucumber "CooCoomba" ;P"
that's not the half of it. that's not counting the "gba"'s and other letter not covered normally
Everytime!
Geat video I wish they could make a part 2 of the african patheon featuring Southern african myths, I'm from the south and our oral traditions are not that redundant!
arao junior yes! I'm from South Africa and I was raised with traditional folklore and its fascinating.
arao junior Bantu southern or actual southern myths?
lol, afrikan myths are in the bible
Pretty sure Olodumare can't be said to be a "father" since it is not a man or worman.
MY favorite African god story is when Anasazi the Spider finds a huge wonderful pumpkin and makes a small hole and climes in and he eats all of it's insides but then gets stuck cause he's to fat and has to starve himself for like a month and then almost dies trying to get out.
Shoutout Naptown 💕 African American with Nigerian roots here
Kind of disappointed that there wasn't even a mention to candomblé
Renato Ribeiro exactly
Or Santería...
Is he the god of safe sex?
he hints at Yoruba tradition in the Americas and Caribbean, which would include Santeria and Candomble, but only mentions Vodu.
Mas ele falou de quase todos os orixás. Mas focou no público que fala inglês (EUA - Nigéria)
My cat's name is Xangó, after the "Thunder God" you called Shango, but we took it from the Brazilian Orixás, who are clearly spelled differently (the 'x' in Portuguese in these contexts sounds like an 'sh'), and I knew him as the god of war and masculinity.
And the Godess Yemoja is analogous to the Orixá "Iemanjá", I would think, who in Brazilian and Uruguayan Orixá tradition is the Orixá of the sea. I remember being in Uruguay and seeing people dressed in white send flowers on tiny boats into the sea on Iemanjá's day, and there's a beautiful song by Rubén Olivera about Iemanjá.
I knew the Orixás originally came from Africa, but I thought it was interesting to recount my experience with them here in South America, how they developed and adapted.
Did you guys know that the Yoruba now are part of the Rick Riordan books?
In the lastest book about Apollo, they have a Yoruba character.
I don't know, witch buck is that?
AegonSnow
Which one?
Hope it's Ogun
he could throw hands with Zeus.
Op as hell!
Never read the comments.
Amen!
so much hate lol
such wisdom
How are we supposed to do that if we can't read this comment?
Good advice. I’ll stop here before my blood pressure raises any more.
As a former practitioner of and student of Santeria I am familiar with this particular African Pantheon. Nice work. Can you do the Nubian Warrior Scholars the Montu next?
Ifa is monotheistic and the orishas are characteristics of Olorun which is primordial Chaotic energy/Universe, which created Olodumare ordered Universe, who created Eshu (messenger) and Orumila (divine word) and so on.
How the hell was this not turned into a movie or an anime....this is insane. I will change this. I'm Yoruba btw
I loved your video! I am Brazilian and I belong to the Candomblé religion, the Afro Brazilian cult that was brought by slaves to Brazil where we worship orixás / voduns and nkissis. Your video covers several aspects about Yoruba mythology that are extraordinary! congratulations!
At 3:46, in the background on the African continent, the drawing of the man in blue, did he turn his head or am I... nvm 🤔
yes he separated Africa and Egypt most likely because Egypt is more well known and separating then into two videos can work better than having one be twice as long. also he may have mispronounced the names but that's okay because we all mispronounce things even in our own language so give the man a break.
Sarah Martin Yeah but it would've been nice if he'd labelled the Egyptian video as Africa as well. More accurate that way.
Jem TS their belief systems are so different, it would be pointless to group them together since they have little to do with each other.
MissPronounced Depends. Sudan and Egypt shared God's and culture. They were the closest civilizations to Egypt.
Agreed, who cares if he had a bit of mispronunciations
Egypt is an African country. Egyptian Gods are African gods as well
This was nice to see that my heritage was expressed in a very tasteful manner. My heritage as an American with African bloodline is very complex. I like that the video explained the deities in a way based on cultural and regional location. It helped to explain how and why some of or if any of the beliefs survived from the TransAtlantic Passage to the Americas. Well done and nice to see that people are finally taking an interest in African art and religion again. Very nice.✌️
I'm Brazilian and Orishas are a important part of our culture. We hear about it all the time but I didn't know so much about it because people prefer to talk about other mythologies and religions that are a part of our culture as well. So thanks for that
lol I'm half igbo and half yoruba so it was pretty funny hearing how he pronounced the names, but at least he tried lol
Also glad to see Yoruba getting some attention on RUclips. Yoruba religion is also practiced in Cuba. There, it is called "Santería".
I noticed a Masai woman in red at 6:44, thought we were in West Africa?
selexie
Absolutely. She looked like a Masai.
Why call it "African" and have all of those disclaimers when he could have just titled it "Yoruban"?
N T "Yoruba", not Yoruban, also Yorubas are the only black Africans, with a sophisticated pantheon of Gods.
KarlinRex Nah, what about Igbo
Bradley Smythe what Pantheon of gods do Igbos have? That weren't recently made up....thought Igbos were Jews...¯\_(ツ)_/¯
KarlinRex They have Odinani with the Alusi
Bradley Smythe Not exactly a pantheon, perhaps ancestral/spirits. Yoruba Pantheon is equivalent to Egypt, Sumer, Greece, Ancient Rome, Norse and Hindu Pantheon.
Haitians also call it voodoo, and being Haitian I always get surprised when Haiti gets mentioned
Stanley Dougé Stanley Dougé the spelling of the word voodoo is mainly used when referring to New Orleans Voodoo.
I like how he used the word "Eschew" directly after talking about Eshu.
IN my country we practice the yoruba culture is part of what ancestors teach us in fact works a lot depend how you use them always to do good.
Yo my ancestry on my moms side is Yoruba 👌
Mary Morken Mines Igbo on my mums side
Welcome! 😂
How can a person know that? I always wanted to know about what mine is
Joy Empress african ancestry
I was born in cuba and the orisha relegion is all over the place.
Even though I am not a believer ,here in Bahia state , especially in Salvador city ,Brazil , the cult to the orixás (orishas) is very strong. Many things here are written in Yoruba as well. This cult is known as candomblé . Here we use many yorubá names:
Orixás
Olorun/ Olodum / ododumaré
Yemanjá
Oshum
Ogum
Omolú
Obaluaê
Oxalá
Xangô
Babalaô/ babalorixá
Ilê axé
Olubajé
Ajeum
Ijexá
And there are other names used but from bantu languages group related to this religion such as :
Dandalunda
Pomba gira
Cangerê
Zambi
Etc.
I always love how chill African gods were compared to the gods from other mythologies.
So happy you featured Yoruba mythology! The pronunciation was quite off😅 but loved the work that y’all put into each of these videos!
Lol i didn't even know he was talking about Yoruba, he butchered it so much🤣🤣🤣
Okay, first off, this is a very impressive crash course on the Yoruba mythology, I'm Nigerian and didn't know about some of these until now. However, The Yoruba is one tribe amongst many others in Nigeria with the other two major tribes being the Ibo and hausa. The Ibos also have a huge pantheon of gods and myths, it'll be Exciting to compare what similarities could be found between Such closely relative neighbouring Tribes. The Hausas are rooted Deep in Islam, haven't heard stories of their Own gods or anything... Great Video by the way, please, More crash courses on African myths!!!
I found out my African Ancestry is Yoruba.
Diana Jackson welcome to the club 😂
the way he pronounces these names oh my lord... but I'm still satisfied because he's putting our culture out there.
I feel like you should've added Eleggua. I believe he's brothers with Eshu. But, he's also a trickster, but he's the Orisha of crossroads
that Eleggua is the spanish influence
Eshu, Elegba, the additions of extra (ggs and dd in the lukumi language will mybe faded with time
elegba .not eleggua like you latins say it
Many of the Orishas that people are asking about here actually belong to the religion of Santeria, which did directly evolve from the Yoruba pantheon when the slave trade brought the Yourba people to Latin America (including Brazil) and other Carribean colonies. The important thing to remember is that there was an evolution of these dieties, and as in most oral traditions geographical location has affected this. Also, you have to take into account the influence that Catholicism and the colonizers language had. That being said, not all of the Orishas in Santeria, voodoo, or even within tribes for that matter, will necessarily directly corolate in name, spelling, or attributes to the ones mentioned in this video. I do feel that not mentioning Santeria was a bit of an injustice to the history because in Cuba (I'm sure elsewherebut I can only speak from my personal experience) many practicioners still speak some of Yoruba language and feel pride and a very strong connection to their African heritage. Hence, the term "Afro-Cuban" or "Afro-Cubano".
Africa is not a country but a continent, as wondrously diverse and varied as the stars in the heavens.
Hello! I am a descendant of the yoruba tribe, thank you for helping guide me back to my ancestors