Determinism in Traditional Yoruba Concepts of Ori: A Soft-Determinist Perspective
Abstract
For the traditional Yoruba, the idea of Ori, which metaphysically-speaking translates as human destiny is rife. However, there are various discussions suggesting that since it is possible for an entity to have either been given or chosen an Ori, before coming into this world, such an entity can neither be praiseworthy nor blameworthy for their agency during physical existence. The underlying implication that undergirds
the discourse on Ori is the lack of justification, any attempt to amend a destiny that had been pre-natally chosen or affixed upon an entity. Through the method of critical analysis, this research argues that on the one hand, all traditional Yorubas believe in the idea of an unalterable destiny, which informs agency. On the other hand, they do not shy away from the attempt to amend a bad destiny for a good one via efforts
such as rituals. As a way of showing that the idea of a preordained destiny persists as well as that attempts to improve a bad destiny, this study argues that a soft-deterministic approach to the traditional discourse on destiny is more fitting over the hard deterministic or fatalistic interpretations that it has garnered over the years.