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The god of smallpox: aspects of Yoruba religious knowledge

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 December 2011

Anthony D. Buckley
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Extract

The idea that the knowledge of an individual is an articulation of a culturally shared paradigmatic framework of concepts is now familiar in anthropology. It is one derived from the work of T. S. Kuhn (1962), who argued that, for natural scientists, the definitions and solutions of problems normally take place within an existing framework provided by the paradigmatic work of a great scientist. Since then several attempts have been made to indicate that, in fields other than the strictly scientific, the knowledge which people have of their physical and social environments is similarly an articulation of paradigmatic ideas (Ardener, 1971, 1978; Barnes, 1969; Buckley, 1976, 1982, 1983; Willis, 1967, 1972, 1978). This article will attempt to develop this methodology in the field of Yoruba religion. Its focus will be Sònpònnó, the Yoruba god of smallpox, a ferocious and vindictive god who not only causes smallpox, but who is also responsible for a form of madness.

Résumé

Le dieu de la variole: aspects de la connaissance religieuse yoruba

Sonponno, le dieu yoruba de la variole, est appelé ‘Terre chaude’ et est mis en colère par ceux qui renverse de l'eau sur la terre. Il est responsable non seulement de la maladie de peau qui porte son nom, mais encore d'une sorte de folie. Il est offensé par les pratiques de danse et le son des tambours. Ces traits bien connus de Sonponno sont présentés dans cet article comme les articulations d'un paradigme de connaissance.

Selon ce paradigme, la culture consiste en un équilibre délicat entre secret et révélation. Dans le corps humain, et également dans le cosmos, les substances rouges et blanches sont normalement cachées sous une-surface noire. Elles ne sont révélées que sous forme accompagnatrice du danger. Dans le culte de Ifa, l'oracle, cet équilibre entre secret et révélation est tout spécialement bien maintenu. Le contraste, mais aussi l'affinité, entre Ifa et Sonponno est capturé dans un mythe. En poussant cette comparaison plus loin, il est possible de voir exactement pourquoi il est propre de considérer Sonponno comme l'agent instigateur de la folie. Alors que Ifa est un culte de secret qui pourtant révèle ses secrets et par conséquent apporte la mort, Sonponno est un dieu sans vergogne qui dépouille le monde, la terre, les plantes, les corps humains et la culture elle-même de leurs façades dissimulantes.

Type
Research Article
Information
Africa , Volume 55 , Issue 2 , April 1985 , pp. 187 - 200
Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 1985

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