Some of the more important deities are, of course, “Olorun” the Sky God who is responsible for creating the other deities. He himself has no worshippers and he does not interfere with the affairs on earth. “Eshu” takes any sacrifices that are prescribed by the “babalowo” to “Olorun”. “Eshu” is the divine messenger and is the youngest and cleverest deity. This deity is the trickster deity he delights in making trouble for human beings who offend or neglect the other deities.
“Ifa” as mentioned earlier is the God of divination and also a close friend of “Eshu”. This deity serves as scribe for he is the one who is thought to have taught the “babalowo” how to do the divinations and use the divining trays. “Ifa” has the power to communicate and interpret messages between gods and humans. “Ifa” than brings the messages from the “babalowo” to “Eshu”.
“Ogun” is the patron of hunters and warriors and is the God of iron. “Shango” is the God of thunder who lives in the sky and hurls thunderstorms at those who offend him either killing them or setting their homes on fire. “Odua” is the creator of earth; he was the first king of Ife. “Orishala” is the God of whiteness; he is responsible of creating the first man and woman. “Shapona”, the God of smallpox is called in to help people who are afflicted with smallpox. There are also river Gods and Goddesses one of the most important is “Oshun” who is known for her great beauty, she is responsible for brining children to her worshippers.
“Egungun” is the God who is responsible for teaching the people how to make costumes and masks that help to save the people of Ife when death and his followers were killing them. It is these masks and costumes that allow the Yoruba people to take on the role of the deities in order to conjure up their spirits and make contact with the ancestors when dancing. The dance creates an atmosphere that is needed to make contact with the supernatural powers and to express the state of the mind of the characters through the dance.
Dance is in itself a language that speaks to the audience. In Yoruba society as in other African society there is a very fine line between audience and dancer. The semiotics of Yoruba dance is very distinct because all movement to these people whether dancing or working is some form of interpersonal communication. When the dancer first appears to an audience their presence must signify a symmetrical balance. The stance the dancer takes tells the audience what the dance means to the performer and their facial expression is important in conveying this message. The posture is one that is recognizable in the Yorubas daily activities; it is low to the ground with the back kept flat.
As stated earlier when describing the dance of other African cultures, the Yoruba also use all parts of their bodies. The dancers keep a personal distance from each other and the audience there is no touching of one another in Yoruba dance. There is also no eye contact unless the dancer needs to communicate a specific message. Females tend to keep their eyes focused on the floor while males gaze straight ahead into space. Even though there is more than one style of Yoruba dances they all follow a standard for movement.
The upper torso is held forward at an angle of about 120 degrees to the rest of the body while the lower torso is flexed forward at the knees. Getting the proper posture is an important step towards the dance, since it is from this posture that the relevant various body parts start moving in a rhythmical sequence to the music.
There is no set step vocabulary for the Yoruba dancer to follow. The Yorubas feel since each person is an individual their dance should reflect that individuality. This allows the dancer to present their personality to the audience; this is also true in-group dances. There is a lot of room for the dancer to be spontaneous and to improvise.
What is very important is symmetry within the dancer. Though they are exerting themselves they must maintain a state of balanced serenity. This is also true for the group dances there must be an even number of dancers to keep balance and ensure a successful dance ceremony.
Music is another very important element in Yoruba dance; there can be no dance without some sort of music. In some parts of Africa the dance is accompanied by chanting. In the Yoruba culture drums provide the link between the dancer and the music. Dancers and drummers are able to form a competitive interrelationship. The drummer is able to change the rhythm forcing the dancer to push themselves; dancers are also able to move beyond the limits of the drummer.
