A Semiotic Investigation of Philosophical Relations between Ifa and Ayo Olopon among the Yoruba People of Nigeria
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Date
2017
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Institute of African Studies
Abstract
Ifa is believed to be the foundation of Yoruba culture. This means every aspect of Yoruba life, including religion, philosophy, science, ideology, recreation, literature and so on has one link or another with Ifa. Previous works on Yoruba philosophy have neither related Ifa semiotic symbols nor elements with Ayo Olopon nor established any connection between the two. This study examines the relationship between Ifa and Ayo Olopon objects and symbols with reference to Yoruba culture. The work relies substantially on Yoruba literary texts, especially Ifa literary corpus. Semiotics, which is the science of signs, is adopted for the analysis of the data, because, symbolism underlies the Ifa divination system. It is found out that, there is a synergy between Ifa and Ayo Olopon game in terms of the use of moral code. This shows that, African philosophies are expressed through their religious and social symbols, objects and artifacts that are ancient means of Africans communication and writings.
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Keywords
Ayo Olopon, Ifa, People, Yoruba