Home
My
Orisha Folktale
| Curriculum Area: | Language Arts, Reading |
| Materials: | African Deities Chart (provided) |
| Activity: | Writing |
Procedure:
1. The teacher will review the African Deities Chart. The teacher will discuss the names of the Orishas and their corresponding powers.
ORISHAS
Ellegua--God of the Crossroads
Obatala--Sky God and Goddess
Yemaya--Ocean Goddess
Oya--Goddess of Lightning, Wind
Ogun--Love Goddess
Shango--Fire Goddess
Ogun--God of Iron
2. The teacher will explain that, in the Yoruba religion, each god or goddess is responsible for specific elements of nature.
3. The teacher will ask students to compare the Orishas with the gods of Greek mythology. Examples: Zeus, Jupiter, Aphrodite, et al.
4. As a final activity, the students will write a folktale incorporating the Orishas and their corresponding powers.
Alternatively:
1. Students will prepare a book with drawings about the Orishas and use sentences to explain each drawing.
2. Students will conduct a discussion based on the following questions:
Q.1 What is the basis of the Yoruba religion?
A.1 Yoruba religion is based on the worship of the forces of nature and the divination of natural forces, e.g., water and wind.
Q.2 What are the Orishas?
A.2 Orishas represent forces of nature in divine form.
Q.3 What are the Orisha's responsibilities?
A.3 Orishas are responsible for specific elements of nature and for all human life.
Q.4 What is the role of human beings according to the Yoruba religion?
A.4 The role of human beings is to understand and do the will of the Orishas and to live in harmony with the natural elements of the universe.
Q.5 Why is it important that human beings live in harmony with the natural elements of the universe?
A.5 It is important because these forces are responsible for our personal and social well-being.
Q.6 What is the meaning of Candomble?
A.6 Candomble is an Afro-Brazilian religion, the real spiritual basis of Bahian life.
Q.7 Why is food an important part of the Yoruba religion, Candomble?
A.7 The Orishas love to eat and must be fed by their subjects in order to maintain their strength and thus their ability to help their devotees.
Q.8 Why do you think soul food is very well liked by the Orishas?
A.8 Answers will vary.
Q.9 Are there any comparisons between some elements of the religion Candomble and African American religions in the U.S.?
A.9 Answers will vary. They may include:
(a) The Catholic saints and the Orishas. Candomble has Orishas that correspond to the Catholic saints and their colors.
(b) The Orishas temporarily inhabit the bodies of selected human beings, and in African-American churches people become "filled with the Holy Ghost," moving their bodies and being controlled by a higher power as they "get happy" and "shout."
Q.10 Why do you think Africans continued the practice of this form of religion once they arrived in the New World?
A.10 They continued the practice as a form of resistance and to maintain some of their traditional ways of life.
Q.11 How does the religious practice you are most familiar with relate with the Candomble religion?
A.11 See Q&A.10. Please elaborate.
Janet Miranda