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24 

THE HUMAN PERSON IN YORUBA 

CULTURE AND PHILOSOPHY 
 

Prof. Ikechukwu Anthony, KANU (OSA) 
Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies 

Tansian University, Umunya 
Anambra State 

ikee_mario@yahoo.com 
& 

Immaculata Olu, OMOJOLA, (SSMA), Ph.D 
Department of Business Administration and Management 

Villanova Polytechnic 
Imesi Ile 

Osun State 
omojolassma@yahoo.co.uk 

& 
Mike Boni, BAZZA, Ph.D 

Department of History and International Relations 
Veritas University Abuja (The Catholic University of Nigeria) 

danbazza68@gmail.com 
 

Abstract  
The question: who is a human person? has remained a perennial 
question in the study of philosophy and religion. In spite of the fact of 
the establishment of the fact that the human person is an individual 
substance of a rational nature, different cultures continue to reflect on 
the question of the human person from the particularity and peculiarity 
of their cultural category. Thus, this paper investigates the concept of the 
human person from the perspective of the Yoruba people. The Yoruba 
believe that a human person consist of a body, which is physical, and a 
soul which is spiritual. At creation, Yoruba mythology of creation has it 
that Olodumare worked in collaboration with some gods to bring the 
human person into existence. These gods are Orisanla (God of creation) 
who was responsible for molding the body, Ogun (God of iron) was the 
beautifier; who for example cut the hands into fingers and Olodumare 
gave the soul. This paper is aimed at giving an explanation to what makes 



328 Formation of the Human Person in the 21st Century 

a human person among the Yoruba. For the purpose of this study, the 
phenomenological method of inquiry would be employed.    
 
Key words: Human Person, Yoruba Culture, Body, Soul, Olodumare, 
Orisanla, gods.   
 
Introduction 
The purpose of this work is to discuss human person in Yoruba culture. 
A human person is a living being that contains a real and existing power 
to direct its own development toward fulfillment through perfect, 
unconditional, and infinite Truth, Love, Goodness, Beauty, and Unity, 
and will do so if all the proper conditions are met. A human being is 
referred to as “eniyan” in Yoruba context, which connotes a good or 
responsible person hence the saying “kii se eniyan” that is person is not 
responsible or reliable. This by implication means that a human person 
must be dependable with total sense of readiness to be there for others. If 
a human person is not making any contributions to the community in 
which he or she is part, then to Yoruba people, he is not a human person 
per se. Although he has the features but not the competence.  This idea 
has earlier been presented by Gbadegesin (1983) that “the normative 
concept of a person evolves from the way in which man is understood in 
a given community in terms of his relations to other living beings and his 
role among other men.” Therefore human person in Yoruba context 
mean somebody that is part of the community in all ramifications. This 
is in line with the understanding of Akan people about human person. 
“In fact, a person of high moral standards or conduct would be described 
approvingly as oye onipa paa—literally; she is a real (human) person. In 
contrast, an individual who fails in his striving in the Akan community 
may be judged as onipa hun, which literally means “useless person,” an 
opprobrious expression. (Wingo 2006) 

In the lesson note of Open University on person and persons, 
there is an agreement that   “someone who has suffered some catastrophe 
that has put them in a permanent coma, a ‘persistent vegetative state’. 
Their biological classification has not altered; they are still a human 
being. They have lost something, however. In a sense, they have ceased 
to exist…. A being in a persistent vegetative state is a case of something 
human that might not be a person.” Therefore a human person must be 
alive, active and productive.  
 
Who Are the Yoruba? 
Yoruba people according to Atanda (1989) constitute one of the major 
ethnic groups in modern igeria and they effectively occupy the whole of 
Ogun, Ondo, Oyo and Lagos State and a substantial part of Kwara State. 



Section II: Philosophical Perspectives And Human Formation    329 

A considerable number of Yoruba people also inhabit the South- Eastern 
part of Republic of Benin (formal Dahomey). In agreement, Omojola 
(2015) states that, the Yoruba live in the South-western part of the 
present day Nigeria and they occupy the states of Ogun, Oyo, Osun, 
Ondo, Lagos and Ekiti. They are also found in some parts of Kogi, Kwara 
and Edo States and beyond the lower Niger northwards into Nupe land. 
They could also be found beyond the boundaries of the present day 
Nigeria in Dahomey (Republic of Benin) and Togoland. Since the result 
of the last census in Nigeria is controversial, it is difficult to give the 
accurate total population of the Yoruba people. All that is known about 
them is that they are regarded as one of the most advanced communities 
in West African in; religion, agriculture, commerce, education, art, 
intelligence, government and warfare. 

This group of people has as part of their values collective 
community development, cultural observes reflecting in their interaction 
with others- mode of dressing and diets. They also value honesty, 
humility and diligence. And more importantly, they value communal 
life. All these are taught in their informal training beginning from home. 
According to Kanu and Omojola (2018), Yoruba values are inherent in 
their formation as they assert that “at rising, children are taught to greet 
elders, sweep the surroundings, they are also taught from time to time to 
respect elders, to have value of honesty, charity, industriousness, 
cleanness, humility, support- members helping themselves in developing 
someone’s project, as a group or people of the same trade helping 
themselves. Formation of children was even taught to be done 
collectively. Most Africans gain this knowledge ever before they grow up 
to form associations according to age groups and they begin to compete 
and use themselves as yardstick for success, development and progress. 
All these are taught through proverbs, songs, art, communal life, and folk 
tales/ lore during moonlight play. 
 
The Human Person in Yoruba Culture and Philosophy 
The understanding of human person in Yoruba culture therefore is seen 
beyond ordinary because it has to do with physical and spiritual. 
Akíntúndé and Fálọlá (2016) put it this way “Yoruba religious thought 
makes a distinction between the physical body (ara) and the spiritual 
elements that inhabit it and give it life and individuality. Still, there is the 
conception that the two are inseparable entities that make up human 
personality. The spiritual elements consist of both the head (orí, the 
inner head) and breath (èémí), which are the vital components without 
which the body dies. Orí, which is more than a physical head that carries 
human brain, controls one’s destiny and direction through the use of 
one’s ẹsẹ̀ (legs). Ese (legs) is regarded by the Yorubas as a vital part of the 



330 Formation of the Human Person in the 21st Century 

human personality make-up, both in a physical and spiritual sense. This 
is the symbol of power and activity. It is therefore an element which 
enables a man to struggle and function adequately in life so that he may 
bring to realization whatever has been marked out for him by the choice 
of ori. Makinde (1983). 

Orí also guides one’s deeds and actions; a bad and good choice 
depends on one’s choice of orí. In essence, orí is the element that 
predetermines a person’s success or failure in the world.” Therefore, 
human person consists of physical in body (Ara) and spiritual body in 
head and breathe (Orí and èémí). Abimbola (2006), added that One's ori-
inu (spiritual consciousness in the physical realm) must grow in order to 
consummate union with one's "Iponri" (Ori Orun, spiritual self).   

Makinde (1983) alludes to this by saying that “apart from the 
body and soul which, in Yoruba thought, are the two main elements (the 
physical and the spiritual) of a person, there is a third element, also 
spiritual, of a person, known as ori (inner head) whose function it is to 
determine human destiny.” Makinde went further to say that the Yoruba 
concept of the choice of destiny through ori also emphasizes the need for 
hard work to bring to fruition the potentiality for success represented by 
the choice of a good ori. This leads us to believe in ese (leg) as an 
important ingredient of human personality. This means to a very large 
extent, success determines a human person. This success in human 
person is what Yoruba people refer to as “Eniyan” not just the person 
with features of a human being. 

Reflecting on what make a human being (Eniyan) and how they 
come about, Gbadegesin (1983) is of the opinion that “eniyan” is the 
combined effort of “Olodumare”, the supreme deity, and some 
subordinates. Yoruba conception of a human person refers to all the 
tangible elements that make a person both externally and internally such 
as brain, intestine, liver, and so on. Emi (Soul) is believed to be the 
immaterial element that provides the energy without which a person is said 
to be living or being conscious.  Akíntúndé and Fálọlá (2016) in their 
attempt to draw the relationship between body, soul and head referred to Ifá 
verse that the body (ara) was molded by Òrìṣà-Ńlá, the orí (head) is provided 
by Àjàlá and the ẹ̀mí is provided by Ọlọ́run (Olódùmarè), God in Yoruba 
believe. This relationship has been grouped into physical-material and 
mental-spiritual by Gbadegesin (2003) as follows: “Ara” – body belongs to 
the first, èmí –soul, to the second, and “orí”- head and “okàn”-heart has 
physical and mental aspects.  

In another version, Makinde (1983) asserts that the Yoruba 
people believe that the human personality has two main elements: the 
physical and the spiritual body and mind (soul). And that the creation of 
the physical elements of a person by Orisanla does not include hands and 



Section II: Philosophical Perspectives And Human Formation    331 

legs. It was the duty of Ogun (the god of iron) to cut the hands into 
fingers and also cut the legs out of the shapeless trunk. The researcher 
finds this Ogun assignment as beautifier very interesting. Being the god 
of iron according to Yoruba people, he would have enough instruments 
like cutlass and others apparatuses to do the separations.  

The physical head which is said to be the first to be molded is 
regarded as the beginning of all things from which the body was made 
and Gbadegesin (2003) explained the importance of this (Ori) as follows 
“The idea of orí as a spiritual component, chosen by the individual and 
having the power of a guardian and protector over him/her, seems too 
deep-rooted in the Yoruba world-view to be given up. It is therefore the 
“ori” so chosen, with the destiny wound up in it that determines the 
personality of the individual. And though the orí is symbolized by the 
physical head, it is not identical with it. For the orí is construed as the 
inner—or spiritual—head (orí-inú).”  From these two versions of the 
creation of human persons, it can be deduced that Olodumare (God) 
worked in collaboration with some gods to bring forth man. They were 
Orisanla and Ajala according to Akíntúndé and Fálọlá. Makinde says 
Orisanla and Ogun. 

As an extension to the above concept of human person in Yoruba 
culture, Abimbola (2006), opines that Yoruba belief holds that all human 
beings possess what is known as "Ayanmo" (destiny, fate) and are 
expected to eventually become one in spirit with Olodumare. Also, the 
thoughts and actions of each person in Ayé (the physical realm) interact 
with all other living things, including the Earth itself. Each person 
attempts to achieve perfection and find their destiny in Orun-Rere (the 
spiritual realm of those who do good and beneficial things).  
 
Impact of the Community on Human Person 
Taking lead from the fact that a human person must be responsible and 
reliable, indigenous Yoruba community comes together to raise a child 
for his good and good of the community. At pregnancy, ‘Ifa’ priest is 
consulted to know the type of child that should be expected. Even at 
times, a prediction of a particular type of child may come to a family and 
how to prepare and care for such a child will be discussed along with the 
announcement before pregnancy. A woman who is carrying a future king 
will know before birth for example. At arrival, naming ceremony will be 
done to welcome the child to the community and everyone in the 
community has it as a responsibility to care for him through proper 
formation or informal education. Hence the saying in Yoruba that 
“Eniyan kan lo n bimo, igba owo lo n to” literally means that it is only 
one person that gives birth to a child and two hundred hands bring him 
up.  



332 Formation of the Human Person in the 21st Century 

In the typical Yoruba culture, a diviner must be consulted before 
any serious decision is taking because as Idowu (1966) opines …the full 
responsibility of all the affairs belongs to the Deity…through all its 
changing scenes, its joys and troubles; it is the Deity who is in control”.  
Sacrifices are used regularly to appease the gods because it is equally 
believed that evil world can change destinies. Therefore regular prayers 
in form of sacrifices are important to one Ori as will be needed in the 
mind of Abimbola (2006).  “Iwapẹlẹ (or well-balanced) meditative 
recitation and sincere veneration is sufficient to strengthen the “ori-inu” 
of most people. Well-balanced people, it is believed, are able to make 
positive use of the simplest form of connection between their Oris and 
the omnipotent Olu-Orun: an adura (petition or prayer) for divine 
support”. What happens in this type of prayer is this: “Eshu Elegbara” (a 
god) initiates contact with spiritual realm on behalf of the petitioner, and 
transmits the prayer to Ayé; the deliverer of ase or the spark of life. He 
transmits this prayer without distorting it in any way. Thereafter, the 
petitioner may be satisfied with a personal answer. In the event that he or 
she is not, the Ifá oracle of the Orisha Orunmila may also be consulted. 
All communication with Orun, whether simplistic in the form of a 
personal prayer or complicated in the form of that done by an initiated 
Babalawo (priest of divination), however, is energized by invoking ase. 
(So shall it be) Abimbola (2006) 

The community guides individual to a matured age and at times 
initiate them especially male children to a cult for support and 
protection. Human person are guided through choosing a trade that is 
suitable as dictated by the diviners. Even in marriage, the community still 
pays attention to the choice of partner. In times of trouble, they still run 
back to their family and community for solutions. In case there is any 
failure after all these efforts have been put in place, they resign to 
“Ayanmo” (Destiny or Fate) hence, the saying that “Ayanmo ko gbo 
Oogun”. (Destiny has no remedy). This is as well related to the choice of 
Ori (head), hence those with difficult cases without remedy are termed 
to be “Oloriburuku” that is, having a bad head. This however will lead us 
to whether Yoruba believe that human person lives after here, that is, the 
physical realm (heaven) that Abimbola (2006) is pointed at earlier.  

 
Human Person and After Life 
Primarily, Africans believe in life after here or live beyond here or 
Ancestral World. In the explanation of  Abanuka (1994), that “ Ancestors 
are an aspect of the African experience of the universe… the dead are not 
considered as very far removed from the living, and those who are still 
living are conscious of their journey to join those who have gone before 
them to the land of the dead”. In the mind of Mbiti (1969) however, “A 



Section II: Philosophical Perspectives And Human Formation    333 

person dies and yet continues to live: he is a living- dead, and no other 
term can describe him better than that”. To the family members, the 
diseased continues to live as and remembered as if he travels. Keeping 
the dead in the temporal sight by his loved ones is what Mbiti describes 
as the cult of the living –dead in all African societies. Ige (2006) added 
that they even move round and “It is only those who possess special 
power or medicine that can notice their presence.”   

Being particular about Yoruba people, Mbiti insists that “they are 
uncertain about the final lot of the departed: some are put in a good 
place, others in a bad place; the first group meets relatives and lives more 
or less as the people did in this life, but the second group is thought to 
suffer without end.” This is the story of the ancestral world that the 
researcher heard in the oral tradition of Yoruba people. The second group 
may not be able to survive and they disappear without attention hence, they 
emphasize good relationship here on earth so that they can reunit with the 
ancestors and continue to live here after. Also, Yoruba believe that after a 
while, the diseased will leave the ancestral world and return to their families 
to live again or to fulfil some uncompleted assignments hence they have 
names like- “Yetunde”, “Yejide”, “Yewande” or “Iyabo” – mother has 
returned, and “Babatunde” “Babajide” or “Babade” – father has returned. In 
the mind of Idowu (1966), ancestral world exist and there is an annual 
festival in their honour especially for those that have been deified. 
Remembrance of the Ancestors is not only particular to the deified members 
because that is what is being celebrated annually in “Egungun” festival as 
opposed the idea of Idowu (1966). Ige (2006) attests to this that “communal 
ceremonies are done in honour of the ancestor and to remind the people of 
the great deeds of their ancestors. Some of these festivals include ‘Oro’ and 
‘Egungun’”.  Apart from this, Ige continues “The ancestors have shrines 
where sacrifices and prayers are offered to them. Among the Yoruba it is 
called Igbo Igbale’.  There are priests and priestesses attached to the 
shrines.  The priests and priestesses are usually the most elderly men and 
women in the family. It is however not a woman married into the family. 
The above consequently establish the fact that human person continues 
to live here after. It implies that life is not end by death as Mbiti (1969) 
affirms “Death stands between the world of human beings and the world 
of the spirits, between the visible and the invisible.” 
 
Conclusion  
An attempt had been made in this paper to discuss the understanding of 
human person in Yoruba culture and Philosophy. The physical element 
of a person is collectively known as ara (body), a creation of Orisanla (the 
Yoruba God of creation) who is charged by Olodumare (God of Heaven) 
with the responsibility of molding human beings out of clay, with  Ogun 



334 Formation of the Human Person in the 21st Century 

(god of iron) to beautify the body while Olodumare gives the breath 
“Eemi”. In the analysis, “ara”, (body) “Ori” (head), “Emi” (Spirit), and 
“Eemi’ (Breath) form a human person. Prayer to one's Ori- Orun is 
important regularly as it produces an immediate sensation of joy. This 
must work directly with “ese” legs to bring to fulfillment all that one has 
been destined to achieve. It was equally established that the community 
in which one is part must have influence on human person from the 
beginning to the age of maturity for his good and the good of the 
community at large. However, even after death, a human person lives on 
in Yoruba land especially those who have lived well and they are 
regularly celebrated as ancestors. Finnally, in the Yoruba belief system, 
Olodumare has ase (Final say) over everything hence, it is considered 
supreme. 
 
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