

























383 

28 

THE CONCEPT OF SACRIFICE IN YORUBA 

RELIGION AND CULTURE 
 

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 
Sacrifice occupies a fundamental place in the practice of African traditional 
religion. It is through sacrifices that the African relates to the spiritual 
beings, both good and bad, that surround him. His offerings of thanksgiving 
to the gods are offered through the making of sacrifices. When the time 
comes for the appeasement of the gods and other spiritual beings, it is 
through sacrifice that is done. However, this paper is concerned about 
sacrifice among the Yoruba people.  In the traditional Yoruba religion and 
culture, sacrifice is referred to as (Ebo). It connotes offering something to a 
particular deity or cult in other to be in communion with them or to seek 
favours. It was very common and regular because sacrifices have both 
positive and negative effects. It is believed that Olodumare-God in Yoruba 
belief has deities that are mediators between him and human beings. It is 
then very important to offer sacrifices to these gods in other to represent 
them well in the presence of Olodumare. Items for sacrifices are regularly 
prescribed by the Ifa priests and how to carry out the approved sacrifice. 
This paper therefore gives explanation about the meaning and importance of 
sacrifice in the traditional Yoruba culture. It, however, observed that 
civilization has reduced the frequency of this practice, not making an 



384 Formation of the Human Person in the 21st Century 

emphatic statement that they are no longer in practice but that they are done 
most of the time in secret. For the purpose of this study, the phenomenolo-
gical method of inquiry would be employed. 
 
Key words: Sacrifice, Concept, Yoruba, Deities, Gods, Olodumare, Ifa, 
Ebo and Appeasement. 
 

Introduction  
Sacrifice is a way of offering something to gain another thing. It has 
meaning when someone renounces or gives up something to be 
rewarded with another object. The concept of sacrifice sounds like trade 
by barter- making exchange for something.  Sacrifice is to give away 
something valuable for the possibility of gaining something of a great 
value in return. This can come in form of self-respect, trust, love, 
freedom, favours and prosperity. It may even be for the purpose of 
avoiding greater loss, which means, retaining what is of value to 
someone. “The giving up or foregoing of some valued thing for the sake 
of something of greater value or having a more pressing claim”  Nu 
(2013). It can also be the offering of food, objects or the lives of animals 
to a higher purpose, in particular divine beings, as an act of propitiation 
or worship. Therefore, sacrifice is made for the purpose of worship and 
appeasement, for avoiding loss and for attaining a better thing. When it 
comes to worship in Africa however, sacrifice is the most primary and 
basic form of ritual and Nu (2013) upholds that “The Africans believe 
that verbalization is not enough in one’s relationship with the 
supernatural. Ifa divination serves as a preamble to prayer. Via Ifa 
divination we can ascertain how to pray, to whom to pray and for what.”  

Sacrifice in African religion according to Awolalu and Dopamu 
(1979) is the act of offering the life of animal, person or object to the 
divine power or powers. Nu (2013) is of the opinion that For the 
Yoruba, divining (Ifa) serves as an approach to prayer and shows one why 
they need to pray and shows one the best procedure for elevating one’s 
prayer via some form of sacrifice. In this world of many choices, this 
complex and varied approach is still miraculously accurate and effective. 
In this world of choices, this complex and varied approach is 
necessary.The write up on Ifaglobal network in (2018) presents this 
definition to sacrifice (ebo) in Yoruba culture. “Ebo means sacrifice. Ebo 
is a ritual. Ebo is the prescription that is given within the IFA divination. 
It is the medicine used to solve problems. Ebo is a combination of 
materials that symbolically has meaning to a person' situation.”  

This is very important in every religious celebration and worship. 
Sacrifice is mainly for the purpose of contact or communion between the 
divine and man and to maintain relationship. Man has always employed 



Section III: Religious/Socio-Cultural Perspectives And Human Formation    385 

this means to pay dues to divinity, to ask for favours and to influence the 
divinity to be interested in the affairs of man. Africans hold sacrifice in 
high esteem because it is being directed to God. Blood sacrifice is the 
most important and efficacious of all sacrifices in the understanding of 
African rituals. This is evident in the offering of animal and human 
beings.  
 Human sacrifice is also predominant in Yoruba culture and religion. 
“This is a practice found in every race and culture throughout the world” 
Awolalu and Dopamu (1979).  

It has its relevance in offering the best to the divine to satisfy 
him, especially in difficult times like the loom of epidemic, drought, war, 
flood, earthquakes or calamity. Human sacrifice was also done to 
accompany the dedication of a new temple or bridge, upon the death of a 
king, high priest and great leader. The sacrificed were supposed to serve 
or accompany the deceased leader in the next life. The story of Moremi, a 
Yoruba woman is relevant here. Moremi was a very brave and beautiful 
woman who, in order to deal with the problem facing her people, 
pledged a great sacrifice to the Spirit of the river Esimirin so that she 
could discover the strength of her nation's enemies. Moremi, following 
the war she returned to her first husband, King Oramiyan of Ife (and 
later Oyo), who immediately had her re-instated as his queen. In order 
to fulfil the pledge she made to Esimirin before embarking on her 
mission, her son Oluorogbo was given in sacrifice to the Spirit because this 
is what it asked her for when she returned to its shrine.   
 

Who are the Yoruba? 
Yoruba people according to Atanda (1989) one of the major ethnic 
groups in modern Nigeria and they effectively occupy the whole of 
Ogun, Ondo, Oyo and Lagos State and a substantial part of Kwara State. 
A considerable number of Yoruba people also inhabit the South- Eastern 
part of Republic of Benin (formal Dahomey). In the same vain, 
Ogunyemi (2015) affirms that Yoruba, one of the three largest ethnic 
groups of Nigeria, concentrated in the southwestern part of that country. 
Much smaller, scattered groups live in Benin and Northern Togo. The 
Yoruba numbered more than 20 million at the turn of the 21st century. 
Yoruba people have shared a common language and culture for centuries. 

Most Yoruba men are farmers, growing yams, corn (maize), and 
millet as staples and plantains, peanuts (groundnuts), beans, and peas as 
subsidiary crops; cocoa is a major cash crop. Others are traders or 
craftsmen. Women do little farm work but most of them sell produce 
from their husband’s farm and they also do other trades like weaving, 
dyeing and midwives. Each community has leaders generally known as 



386 Formation of the Human Person in the 21st Century 

Oba or Kabiyesi with his chiefs. These people are held in highest honour 
and in some cases, they are ritual leaders.    

Yoruba as a group dwell in a world of myths, metaphors, poetry, 
and they strongly belief in Ifa divination system, which guides their steps 
and decisions. “Yoruba philosophy is best understood as a folk 
philosophy, a set of narratives and cultural practices that attempt to 
explain the causes and the nature of things affecting the corporeal and 
the spiritual universe.’ Ogunyemi (2015) .Yoruba people are community 
people; this is visible in their interaction with others especially during 
celebrations. Their communal life is also visible in their mode of 
dressing uniformly and sharing of common diets. Ogunyemi (2015) 
explains their communal life thus “the Yoruba also have several kinds of 
voluntary associations, including the egbe, a male recreational association; 
the aaro, a mutual-aid association of farmers; and the esusu, whose 
members contribute a fixed amount of money and from which they can 
receive loans.” Iwofa was also a practice among Yoruba people where a 
son or daughter is used as collateral until loan is paid. They also value 
honesty, humility, respect for others and diligence. All these are 
transmitted from generation to generation through oral traditions.  
 

Yoruba Concept of Sacrifice 
Sacrifice known as Ebo is very common in indigenous Yoruba culture. 
Indeed, is it part of their daily activities and likely items like: sheep, goat, 
food, fruits, eggs and any other prescribed stuff by the priest of the 
particular god to offer sacrifice to are used for sacrifices. After all, the 
write up on Ifaglobal network in (2018) shows that “all of the ebo 
materials come from the Odu Ifa that was cast, each condiment represent 
an important part of solving the clients problems, there is no condiment 
that should be left out. Basic condiments that are always present during 
any ebo i.e Cool water (omi tutu), honey (oyin), and gin (oti). Each one 
of these condiments are agents that supports the ebo, each condiments 
has its roll that it plays in the ebo ritual.”  

These sacrifices are either exposed in the shrines, cross-roads, 
market places, some may even been buried, at times Yoruba eat or share 
sacrifices together with friends or community. However, how to go 
about the presentation of a particular sacrifice depends on the 
prescription of the diviner.  These gods have their taste and taboos as 
well.  Sacrifice is offered everyday by individual families so as to be in 
communion with the divinity. Community sacrifices are equally 
preformed regularly.  

It is part of the belief of Yoruba that one’s a sacrifice is offered for 
a given purpose, through the consultation with Ifa that the solution is 
provided for the problem in question. Sacrifice must be offered regularly 



Section III: Religious/Socio-Cultural Perspectives And Human Formation    387 

both in good and bad times. Akíntúndé and Fálọlá (2016) carefully 
explain this as follows: “In a culture with strong beliefs in fairies and 
mystical causation, protective rituals and sacrifices are regularly 
performed. People must be protected from the wrath of fairies, and fairy-
human social relationships must be harmonized. Therefore, whenever 
any misfortune occurs in Yorùbá society and the source remains unknown, 
both humans and invisible spirits are subjects of divination by the people 
concerned. To complete any divination process, there is always a prescribed 
sacrifice. Whether the prediction of the divination is good or bad, the client 
must always offer a sacrifice. If the prediction is good, a sacrifice will 
quicken a positive outcome; if the prediction is evil, a sacrifice will help 
dispel the ill effects.”  

In addition to this, Obara-meji (2014) affirms that “It is important 
that the sacrifice be given on time, as a matter of fact immediately, as it is 
prescribed. Ifa says, “There is no difference between the person that refuses 
to offer sacrifice on time and the one that did not offer at all”. The write up 
on Ifaglobal network in (2018), settle for this in attempt to respond to what 
happens if Ebo is not done after consultation with the oracle? “Then you 
run the chances of making another problem occur stronger than your first 
problem you started with. It is not advisable to delay your ebo process 
especially when the odu has appeared. You should follow the guidance 
and wisdom of IFA and your IFA Priest who did the consultation. Once 
you have done IFA Divination you must always know that you have to 
do ebo, they both work hand in hand together. The ebo helps to shift one' 
circumstance to a balanced outcome.”  
 
Types or Categories of Sacrifice 
There are seven types or categories of sacrifice in Yoruba culture as 
Idowu (1969) affirms, this was later re-echoed by Awolalu and Dopamu 
(1979) as follows: Meal and Drink sacrifice is offered daily by individual 
and families to continue to appreciate the deity or divinity and to be in 
communion with the god. The head of the family is responsible for 
coordinating this sacrifice which can be termed as Morning Prayer for a 
particular household. Libation is poured here and prayers are offered. 
Individual present or interested members may be asked to add some 
intentions while all in attendance respond in resounding amen. This is 
equally done at feast days where food and drinks are prepared for 
sharing; all present must partake in it. There is no prearranged food; it 
depends on whatever the community can afford.   

The second type is thanks –offering. This is done whenever a 
favour is received, like at the arrival of a new baby or one escaped from a 
misfortune or danger.  This type of sacrifice can also be performed when 
one is asking for a particular blessing. Items like animal, fruits, vegetables 



388 Formation of the Human Person in the 21st Century 

or articles that may be useful in the shrine are presented for sacrifice. At 
annual festival however, this is important as everybody would be 
encouraged to come with voluntary items for sacrifice.  

The third one is votive offering. In the process of making a 
request, one may make a vow. This vow is an agreement between the 
god and the receiver of gift. In Yoruba culture, any vow made must be 
paid, if not the receiver may not be able to cope with the consequences. 
The case of Oluronbi can be applicable here, who in the process of asking 
for a child promised to return this child to Iroko tree after a while. Her 
request was eventually granted with the gift of a handsome baby boy 
which she did not want to release as promised. One day according to this 
story, as she was returning from the market in the company of this boy, 
passing under Iroko tree, the boy disappeared and was nowhere to be 
found. It was latter interpreted that Iroko tree claimed what was its own 
and Oluronbi went home sorrowful.   

Another category of sacrifice is propitiation or expiation. This is 
done when the fury of the divinity is at its peak. Sacrifice here is offered 
to appease the god in pacification. Asking for forgiveness of past sins and 
promising to live a better life. It has its purpose in gaining back the 
favour of the deity. Sacrifices offered here are not shared! It is mainly for 
the divinity and must be treated as the divinity instructs. After the 
sacrifice has been duly offered, the person in question is relieved from 
the anger or chastisement of the divinity.  

The fifth category of sacrifice is substitutionary sacrifice or 
offering. This is done as soon as a person is marked to die or there is a 
revelation that a particular person will die. An animal is used to 
substitute for the person. Other agreed items may be added. The items 
are rubbed against the body of the person in this situation and parked 
like a corpse for burial. This takes the place of the person that this type of 
sacrifice is prescribed for. It is then understood that the person is dead as 
pronounced. Obara meji (2014) gives a beautiful analysis of this type of 
sacrifice using his personal example thus:  “When  I did my  initiation to 
Ifa  (Itefa) I was told that my father would die, this was many years ago, 
this came out on the seventh day of my initiation which is called Ije, this 
is when all the Babalawos gather around and each of them tell you 
something from the Odu, your destiny, which comes out for you during 
initiation, I was told that in order for the death to be removed from my 
father, a female Goat had to be given as sacrifice to Orunmila otherwise 
known as Ifa. It was given and accepted. The life of the Goat was given 
instead of the life of my father. I would say that was a fair exchange.” 

In the preventive sacrifice, it is done to avert sudden attack on a 
person or a community. An oracle may predict this beforehand or it may 
come through a consultation with the oracle when there is a problem like 



Section III: Religious/Socio-Cultural Perspectives And Human Formation    389 

epidemic or a chain of adversities. A preventive sacrifice is performed to 
stop it. The last is foundation sacrifice. This is done at the start of any 
important step or stage in one’s life, for example, at birth, at puberty, 
during weeding, starting a building, settling down in a new town or 
when a new object has just been purchased. This type of sacrifice is to 
request for peace and progress in this new phase of life.  

Although Nu (2013) states in contrary to the above that “The 
variety of sacrifice includes time, song, dance, money, change and life 
force offerings.” This may not be totally acceptable in Yoruba context in 
the mind of the researcher. Nu’s ideas are more of actions that 
accompany worship and celebrations rather than what sacrifice (Ebo) 
means in Yoruba perspective. Except if variety in his definition does not 
denote types and categories. Considering the write up of Ifaglobal 
network in (2018), it has been concluded that types of Ebo has no 
perimeter as against the assertion of Idowu (1969), Awolalu and Dopamu 
(1979) above that agree on seven types or categories. “There are ebo for 
long life, prosperity, wealth, victory, health, money, peace of mind, 
honour, and respect and so on; there is no limit to ebo.”  

In general, sacrifices are means of existence for Yoruba people. It is 
part of their belief that some spirits control the world. They must constantly 
and regularly connect to these spirits so that the world will be a peaceful 
place for human beings to stay. Regarding this, Akíntúndé and Fálọlá (2016) 
remark that “Broadly speaking, four forces are at play in Yorùbá ritual: gods, 
ancestors, witches and other supernatural powers, and human beings. The 
function of sacrifice is to enlist the support of these four forces to achieve 
the desired ends and to ensure that none of the forces work against one’s 
purpose.” Human beings must be part of it because most of the food 
prepared for sacrifices will be consumed by them and they must be rewarded 
for being witnesses at the shrine.    

At whatever time a sacrifice is prescribed by a deity through the 
priest or priestess, how to carry it out and items to be used will be 
recommended as well. This is particular to individual situation or in relation 
to those concerned. At times, ifa priest may carry out the sacrifice himself 
while the person drops money or items. It may be that the person should 
carry the sacrifice to a particular place to be accompanied by the priest. It 
could be the mother or friend of the person in question that would be 
asked to do it. There is no fixed person for this. Ifa must guide and the 
priest or priestess who is interpreting the mind of the deity must lead and 
see that it comes to a success.  
 
Conclusion   
This paper on sacrifice in Yoruba culture gives the meaning, types and 
importance of sacrifice (ebo) to the people and community. It is very 



390 Formation of the Human Person in the 21st Century 

important to offer sacrifice since the world is being ruled by spirits and 
gods according to their belief and these spirits and gods must be regularly 
appeased so as to gain favour from Olodumare. Within the traditional 
African worldview in general, you are mainly responsible for your own 
self-improvement. If you want to change your condition you must make 
sacrifice. Since the deities guide the steps of the indigenous Yoruba 
people, they must make consultations before taking any decisions. After 
consultation with ifa, the next step is to prescribe a type of sacrifice that 
will march the request of the one in quest of insight. This sacrifice must 
be performed to avoid calamities.  

Worship in Yoruba culture attracts a lot of, singing, drumming, 
and dancing especially during festivities. Worship can be a private affair 
whereby an individual venerates his or her personal deity, or it can be a 
public one, which was very common. Blood sacrifice was considered to 
be the uppermost hence the need to offer human beings and animals in 
the past. People would be ritually killed in a manner that was supposed 
to please or appease a god or spirit. Nowadays, human sacrifice is not 
very common since civilization has considered it as a murder. This has 
been replaced by animal sacrifice. Sacrifice is not celebrated as before 
either, this not to say that it is no longer in practice, but that it is not as 
popular as ever. We still have cases of seeing Ebo at cross roads and in 
front of some shines that are not hidden, without seen the person that 
put them there. Diviners are even consulted in secrets today; unlike 
before that it was done as a life style. In this age of civilization, ebo in 
Yoruba culture is done in secret. 
 

References 
Akíntúndé A and Fálọlá T. (Eds) (2016).  Encyclopedia of the Yoruba.  Bloomington, IN. 

Indiana University Press. Questia, a part of Gale, Cengage Learning. 

www.questia.com 

Awolalu P.A and Dopamu J.O (1979). West African Traditional Religion. Nigeria. 

Onibonoje press and Book Industries (Nig) Limited. 

Idowu E.B. (1969). Olodumare: God in Yoruba Belief. London and Beccles. William Clowes 

and Sons Ltd. 

IFAGlobal Staff Writer.  https://www.ifaglobalsite.com/single-post/2018/12/11/What-Is-

The-Importance-Of-Ebo 2018. 

 Nu R. (2013). Ebo/Sacrifice Guarantees Success. https://africanspiritualitynow. 

wordpress.com/2013/05/13 /ebosacrifice/ 

Obara Meji (2014). Ifa- The Tradition of Sacrifice. Www.Embracingspiritulity.Com  

Ogunyemi Y.D. (2015). The Philosophy of the Yoruba. https://www.britannica.com 

/topic/The-Philosophy-of-the-Yoruba-2006354 

 


