ABSTRACT
The Yoruba Religion consists of a conceptual system with ideas of destiny, reincarnation and a cosmology, that places human beings at the center of a nexus of forces and a complex ritual system that consists of divination, sacrifice and a rich system of ceremonies. This chapter focuses on the Yoruba Religion in Nigeria and the United States. It examines the complex of meanings attached to eight of the most common Orisha. The Yoruba concept of destiny or predestination contrasts strongly with the Calvinist doctrine of predestination where destiny is the inscrutable and unchangeable choice of God. The Yoruba believe that although one chooses her destiny in Heaven that this choice is forgotten when the person is born into this world. The Yoruba conceive of the universe with the metaphor of a closed calabash. The calabash can be seen as a container for the interaction of forces.
