Yoruba literature Yoruba literature is the spoken and written literature of the Yoruba people, the largest ethno-linguistic group in Nigeria, and in Africa. The Yorùbá language is spoken in Nigeria, Benin, and Togo, as well as in dispersed Yoruba communities throughout the world. Writing Mythology untitled The Loa (also Lwa or L'wha) are the spirits of Haitian Vodou. They are also referred to as Mystères and the Invisibles, in which are intermediaries between Bondye (Bon Dieu, or good god)—the Creator, who is distant from the world—and humanity. Unlike saints or angels however, they are not simply prayed to, they are served.
Syncretism Syncretism /ˈsɪŋkrətɪzəm/ is the combining of different, often seemingly contradictory beliefs, while melding practices of various schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merger and analogizing of several originally discrete traditions, especially in the theology and mythology of religion, thus asserting an underlying unity and allowing for an inclusive approach to other faiths. Syncretism also occurs commonly in expressions of arts and culture (known as eclecticism) as well as politics (syncretic politics). Nomenclature, orthography, and etymology Black History Heroes: Africans in Brazil: Zumbi dos Palmares Zumbi dos Palmares (born: 1655 - died: 1694) Zumbi dos Palmares was born free in the Palmares region of Brazil in the year 1655, the last of the military leaders of the Quilombo (Kimbundu word: "kilombo," of the North Mbundu Bantu language in Angola, meaning "warrior village or settlement") of Palmares.
untitled Vodou altar during a celebration for Papa Guédé in Boston. This altar has offerings to three nations (nanchons) of loa: at top right are offerings to Rada spirits; at top left are those for the Petwo family; and those at bottom are for Guédé. Haitian Vodou (/ˈvoʊduː/, French: [vodu], also written as Voodoo /ˈvuːduː/; Vodun, or Vodoun /ˈvoʊduːn/, etc.) is a syncretic religion practiced chiefly in Haiti and the Haitian diaspora. Practitioners are called "vodouists" (French: vodouisants [voduisɑ̃]) or "servants of the spirits" (Haitian Creole: sèvitè). Vodouists believe in a distant and unknowable creator god, Bondye (likely derived from the French language term Bon Dieu, or Good Lord). Alcohol in Islam Question: Why is alcohol forbidden in Islam? Answer: Intoxicants were forbidden in the Qur'an through several separate verses revealed at different times over a period of years. At first, it was forbidden for Muslims to attend to prayers while intoxicated (4:43).
untitled Contrary to popular belief, the Africans enslaved to build the economic foundation of America were not Christians.1 During slavery, African-Americans were not even allowed to worship as westernized Christians. Later, during Reconstruction, the myth that the majority of "free" Africans were devout Christians, was merely a political ploy deliberately disseminated in popular media by white Abolitionists, and black preachers, as an argument against slavery; in their naive attempt to present the enslaved masses as "civilized," and therefore “human.” The latter being embarrassed and ashamed by the African religious practices which were deemed "evil" and primitive. 2 This myth has remained unchallenged until the present. In truth, the builders of this great nation were practitioners of the various African Religions popularly known today as "Voodoo", (Vodoun) Akan, Ifa, Orisha, La Reglas de Congo, and Mami Wata.
untitled Etymology Kālī is the feminine form of kālam ("black, dark coloured"). Kāla primarily means "time" but also means "black" in honor of being the first creation before light itself. Kālī means "the black one" and refers to her being the entity of "time" or "beyond time." Kāli is strongly associated with Shiva, and Shaivas derive the masculine Kāla (an epithet of Shiva) to come from her feminine name. Why I Am Not a Muslim Why I Am Not a Muslim, a book written by Ibn Warraq, is a critique of Islam and the Qur'an. It was first published by Prometheus Books in the United States in 1995. The title of the book is a homage to Bertrand Russell's essay, Why I Am Not a Christian, in which Russell criticizes the religion in which he was raised. Outraged over the fatwa and death threats against Salman Rushdie, ibn Warraq assumes a pseudonym to pen what one critics calls "serious and thought-provoking book" using a "sledge-hammer" approach to "demolish" Islam. The author's "polemic" criticizes Islam's mythology, theology, historic achievements, and current cultural influence. Warraq, drawing largely on previous research, provides an "invaluable compilation" of Islam's shortcomings. He "makes a compelling case" that Islam is "flatly incompatible" with "individual rights and liberties of a liberal, democratic, secular state.
Why I Am Not a Christian Why I Am Not a Christian is a 1927 essay by the British philosopher Bertrand Russell hailed by The Independent as "devastating in its use of cold logic", and listed in the New York Public Library's list of the most influential books of the 20th century. History Originally a talk given March 6, 1927 at Battersea Town Hall, under the auspices of the South London Branch of the National Secular Society, it was published that year as a pamphlet and was later published, with other essays, in the book, Why I Am Not a Christian: And Other Essays on Religion and Related Subjects (ISBN 0-671-20323-1). Contents Russell begins by defining what he means by the term Christian and sets out to explain why he does not "believe in God and in immortality" and why he does not "think that Christ was the best and wisest of men", the two things he identifies as "essential to anybody calling himself a Christian". Similarly-titled works by other authors
Bahá'u'lláh Bahá'u'lláh (/bɑːhɑːˈʊlə/; Arabic: بهاء الله, "Glory of God"; 12 November 1817 – 29 May 1892), born Mírzá Ḥusayn-`Alí Núrí (Persian: میرزا حسینعلی نوری), was the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. He claimed to be the prophetic fulfilment of Bábism, a 19th-century outgrowth of Shí‘ism, but in a broader sense claimed to be a messenger from God referring to the fulfilment of the eschatological expectations of Islam, Christianity, and other major religions. Bahá'u'lláh taught that humanity is one single race and that the age has come for its unification in a global society. He taught that "there is only one God, that all of the world’s religions are from God, and that now is the time for humanity to recognize its oneness and unite."  His claim to divine revelation resulted in persecution and imprisonment by the Persian and Ottoman authorities, and his eventual 24-year confinement in the prison city of `Akka, Palestine (present-day Israel), where he died. Early and family life
Pedra do Sal History circa 1608 A group of migrants from Bahia moved to the Saúde area as where prices were cheap and the area was close to the port where the men could find work with cargo ships. The first large docks of Rio de Janeiro and warehouses were being built at this time, the alleys and streets extended to Pedra da Prainha, later known as Pedra do Sal, where there was a large slave market. History circa 1817 Egungun In the broadest sense of the word, Egungun refers to all types of Yoruba masquerades or masked, costumed figure. This same word, however, when used in its more specific, common sense, refers to the Yoruba masquerades connected with ancestor worship. Classification of Egungun types The classification of Egungun types, which might appear to be a fairly straightforward task, is in fact an extremely complex problem involving the comprehension of indigenous taxonomies. The difficulties include: the problem of distinguishing between personal Egungun names and generic terms for types; the problem of determining "sets" where one masquerader may be regarded as within several type categories simultaneously; the practice of "layering," in which a masquerader wears one costume type over another and changes these during performance; and the variety of criteria used to classify Egungun as well as the range of variations within type categories. Egungun ensembles References