The Yoruba people of Nigeria and Benin had a rich culture with complex religious beliefs centered around Orishas, which were spirits or deities that were sometimes part human. They created sculptures and artwork to honor these Orishas using materials like wood, shells, and later bronze. Over time, their artistic styles evolved from small clay figures to more elaborate sculptures. Religion and the Orishas played a central role in Yoruba life and were depicted in their artistic traditions.

1. Religion and Art
Yoruba Empire The people of Ancient
Nigeria and Benin

2. Quick Facts

Country: Nigeria and Benin
Language: Kwa
Obsessions: Devianation
Location

3. 

4. The Orishas were basically the Yoruba
version of angels and they were the
guardians of nature and the rainforests
What were they defended the Yorubas. There are
and Orishas?
over 1700 Orishas (Which Yoruba priests
had to memorize completely) but the
most popular were Babalu-Aye, Elegua,
Obtala, Ochosi, Ogun, Oya, Shango,
Yemaya. The Orishas were sometimes
part human. The next few slides will tell
you about the Orishas in deatail.

5. Babalu Aye looks like an injured man with crutches. He
wears purple because its his favorite colour because its Elegua is a very fun loving and kind
The colour of bruises. He usually has dogs following Orisha. He likes to gamble and is
him everywhere so that they could sniff out disease The Orisha that gives second chances.
for him. He cures disease and heals people. Yorubas He likes to deliver messages too.
worshipped him by giving him presents of white wine
and popcorn.
This is Ochosa. The Orisha that created bannanas
who isn’t very friendly and tried to poison
Shokpona (a very dangerous God) Shokpona and
this angel hate each other.

6. Pictures of the Orishas
Babalu-Aye Elegua
Here are 2 recreations of the highest Orishas.

7. The Yoruba's Believed that their Gods and Goddesses were always dissatisfied with
what they had created and that’s why they always were creating things. Compared
To other Gods in other civilizations, the Yoruba belief of Gods is similar to the
Christian belief even though they had more than 1 God. Why? Because they had
‘angels’ like you’ve learned and ‘demons’ too, like you will learn at the end. The
Gods were humble and Optimistic. They rewarded and punished people as needed.
In the next few slides, you will learn about the coolest Goddesses and Gods.

8. Believe it or not, Bayanni was the Yoruba Goddess of Hats and headwear. She was extremely
important and very strongly worshipped because she lived inside the Yoruba crown.
Bayanni’s brother was an Orisha
named Shango. Bayanni was
pictured as a queen with a
golden headdress. But this
headress wasn’t the Yoruba
crown. The headress was
actually just a headress that
looked like a crown. The real
crown is a white, beaded crown.
Yoruba crown >>>>>>>

9. Mawu
Mawu was the Yoruba Goddess of the Moon. She made the first woman that ever existed who
was called Gbadu. She protects travellers and women that are brave. She created the moon so
travellers would have a light, even at night time. Her personality is nice.

11. Olokun ruled the sea. This Yoruba God Was highly respected and even
feared. It was said that if the Yoruba empire failed to please Olokun, he
would send floods. He looked like a mermaid according to a Yoruba
description, but I couldn’t find a picture so here is a fail drawing:

12. Very briefly, this slide will tell you about the Abiku who were black wolf-
like monsters that liked to eat kids at night. They were basically the Yoruba
equivelent of a demon and their eyes were on the bottom of their feet.
Imagine me
with eyes on
my feet.

13. How did their art look like?
Did it change over time?
What
Material did
they use?
How did they create it?

14. The Yorubas were amazing carvers and sculpturs. They sculpted for religeous purposes because they
usually sculpted Gods. After sclupting, they would decorate the God sculpture with feathers, precious
stones, or shells. Certain sculptures were so precious that lower class people would be fined or killed if
caught looking at them.
Yoruba art had
evolved and
changed a lot over
time.

15. 700 AD 760 AD
Tiny terra-cotta Larger,
decorative 780 AD
clay figures were 800 AD
figures of Gods Shells and
made to Bronze began to
were being wood were
recreate stories. be used on
created starting to be
used sculptures instead
of jewelry

16. The Yorubas made really realistic bronze statues using a long process.
Then the sculpture would be
Then they would After that they would heated over a fire until the middle
First a basic shape would
cover it with random cover it with more clay layer of beeswax melted. The fase
be created out of clay
beeswax until they would have a would usually be carved onto the
brown moldy thingy. sculpture now
Then the artist would pour bronze onto the thing and finish it

17. Head of a Yoruba ruler
Duplicate
and his wife Bronze of a
figure sculpure of
Shango

18.  What country did they live in?
 What language did they speak?
 What is the difference between an Abiku
and and an Orisha?

19. The Sources that made this
and
Yoruba show
http://www.uiowa.edu/~africart/toc/people/yoruba.html
Possible were: http://wysinger.homestead.com/yoruba.html
http://www.godchecker.com/
http://www.postcolonialweb.org/nigeria/yorubarel.html
http://yorupedia.com/
http://www.tribalartasia.com/Tribal%20Art%20Asia%20Afric
an%20Yoruba/African_Art_Yoruba_Ibeji.html
http://www.reference.com/browse/Yoruba?s=t
http://yorubalight.wordpress.com/tag/yoruba-light-
project/

20. THE END 4
NOW