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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:An existentialist study of individuality in Yoruba culture
Author:Ogungbemi, S.ISNI
Year:1992
Periodical:Orita: Ibadan Journal of Religious Studies
Volume:24
Issue:2
Pages:97-110
Language:English
Geographic term:Nigeria
Subjects:man
individualization
Abstract:The author recognizes the importance of the corporate nature of man in Africa, and particularly in the culture of the Yoruba of Nigeria, but not to the extent that society overshadows the individual. Even though the Yoruba are not as industrialized as Western Europeans and material on their concepts of individuality is scanty, there is substantial evidence of an individuality that is pervasive in Yoruba culture. Yoruba belief in individuality is embedded in the Yoruba myth of human creation. Man has a soul/mind, without which he cannot exist. By his mind, man performs various operations, for example being conscious and self-conscious. To the Yoruba, to be self-conscious is to be aware of oneself. Being self-conscious allows a person to reflect on the meaning and purpose of life, questions which are fundamentally existential and subjective, and not corporate. The Yoruba believe that self-consciousness entails freedom, a freedom akin to the Western existentialist notion of freedom, namely freedom of choice, freedom of action, and responsibility. In Yoruba society desires are not imposed on individuals and because everyone is different, the desires of individuals also differ. One of the spurs to success in Yoruba culture is the desire to be commemorated as an individual. Ref.
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