Introduction
The culture of Yoruba has several types according to the geography of its spread. Lucumi is one of its manifestations in Cuba. It has specific features which are its singling out factors. Yoruba as well as Lucumi are connected with visual representation of the beliefs and traditions. There are several branches of art in which one can observe certain realizations of Yoruba and Lucumi traditions. Basically, objects of Yoruba art and culture implied religious and cult content. Art historian Robert Farris Thompson devoted his research to the analysis of three basic principles Yoruba culture lies on. According to Thomson, one may distinct such concepts as itutu, or coolness, ashe, or command, and iwa, or character as main aesthetic pillars which support the whole philosophy of Yoruba Art (Thompson and Wight 214).
The art and culture of Lucumi reflects ideas of the nation about the great beyond. Itutu concept is considered as the most influential and overarching idea which unites all other canons. In fact, the itutu philosophy “goes well beyond self-control and nonchalance; it is a positive attribute which combines notions of composure, silence, vitality, healing and social purification” (Pountain and Robins 35). Thereby, the concept of coolness presented the way of spiritual development and definitely influenced Yoruba culture, as long as Africans life was inseparably connected with their religion. Of course, if we take a look at other parts of the Lucumi culture, we may see some other spheres which represent Lucumi traditions and beliefs. For example, blue color, as the colour, highly associated with itutu concept, is a symbolical one. That is why it is represented in different aspects of Lucumi culture. We can see it in clothes of Lucumi people, we can find it in Lucumi poem, etc.
Moreover, Yoruba notions about Ashe are also complicated ideas of spiritual, philosophical and culturally-conditioned ideas. Firstly, it may be interpreted as the energy of the universe, universal power; for Africans ashe is the representation of the world as a kind of a dynamic system (Clark 32).. A connection between a human being and ashe energy is achieved by the means of rhythm (Peru Negro). Thereby, dance culture of Yoruba people implied not only earthy but also philosophical and mystical meaning.. “The instrumentation of the songs and dances of Lucumi origin would eventually represent some of the strongest musical influence of the Yoruba legacy in Cuba and form part of the Cuban national identity” (Falola and Childs 118). The dance is the part of religion and culture, it is the vision of the world. Still, dancing for Lucumi people is an inseparable from rhythm notion. That is why the infusion of drums is one of the inalienable parts of the Lucumi culture. The dance is the expression of a community’ desire, a wish expressed to the supreme power. That is why dances in Lucumi cultures are performed in groups of people.
The notion of a character in Yoruba culture is also an of humans’ inner development. One should remember a discussion about the nature of beauty, presented in a Yoruba poem:
A man may be very, very handsome
Handsome as a fish within the water
But if he has no character
He is no more than a wooden doll (Pountain and Robins 36).
The image of a “fish within the water” is connected with the coolness concept, but still, as we can see from the poem, inner power and strong character are more important for Yoruba people, than outer wellbeing and beauty of this world.
Works Cited
Clark, Mary Ann. SanterĂa: Correcting the Myths and Uncovering the Realities of a Growing Religion. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007. Print.
Falola, Toyin, and Childs, Matt. The Yoruba Diaspora in the Atlantic World. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2004. Print.
“Peru Negro”. YouTube.com. YouTube. 2007.
Pountain, Dick, and Robins, David. Cool Rules: Anatomy of an Attitude. London: Reaktion Books, 2000. Print.
Thompson, Robert Farris, and Wight, Frederick. African Art in Motion: Icon and Act in the Collection of Katherine Coryton White. California: University of California Press, 1979. Print.