Recreation, Spirituality and Semiotic Investigation of Relations between Ifa and Ayo Olopon among the Yoruba of Nigeria
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Date
2019
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SEVHAGE PUBLISHERS
Abstract
In a predominantly Yoruba society, Ifa' is believed to be the foundation of Yoruba culture. Therefore, almost every aspect of Yoruba life- religion, philosophy, science, ideology, recreation, literature- links back to Ifa in one way or another, Previous works neither establish any link between Ifa and ayo olopon, game board nor seen ayo olopon beyond recreation or relaxation. These gaps are filled by this study. The study relies substantially on Yoruba literary texts, especially Ifa' literary corpus and Yoruba oral genres and analyzed with semiotics, which is the science of signs, because, symbolism is basic to Ifa divination system. The indexical symbol is established to connect ayo olopon with Ifa Meaning that, ayo Olopon, possesses some religious connotations. This study concludes that, some African social symbols and art have inherent religious connotations as a way of demonstrating their belief in other aspects of their life.
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Keywords
Ifa, Ayo olopon, Index, Semiotics, Spirituality