The Yoruba people believe in reincarnation (atunwaye).
They actually believe that the souls of some individuals do return after death to live again in a different body.
There are different types of reincarnation beliefs among the Yorùbá.
One is the belief that someone who dies in good old age may return, out of affection for his children, grandchildren, or relatives, to be reborn into the family to live with them again.
This type of reincarnation is called ipadawaye (ancestors’ rebirth).
This is the most common and enduring belief in reincarnation among the Yoruba.
There is another belief in abiku (born to die).
The third form of reincarnation belief among the Yoruba is akudaaya (died and reappeared).
The Yoruba people believe that reincarnation may not always be completely physical, and for a long time.
The person can appear suddenly to intervene or rescue his family member from a particular problem, only to disappear after.
It can be a sudden and short reappearance that comes like a flash that leaves the person with an undeniable impression.
These reappearances are identified with cases of akudaaya.
There is another level of reappearance that occurs regularly in dreams or follows a particular pattern.
For instance, the dream appearance experienced on the anniversary of the person’s death or a regular reappearance of a husband to his widow on their wedding anniversary.
It is believed that the dead actually came back to give guidance to the living or to prove that they still exist in some forms elsewhere.
It is arguable, however, whether this is not simply a mental experience and instead of reincarnation since the dead did not take up a new physical body.
The usual emphasis is that his soul re-manifests to show its continued existence.
Akudaaya is believed to be another manifestation of reincarnation.
In this situation, the dead person is believed to live in another place different from where he used to live and died.
It is usually interpreted in relation to premature death.
It is believed that if the destiny that the ori of that person was to fulfill was terminated abruptly without fulfillment, or if he is not properly buried, he will not be qualified to enter the ancestral cult but will reincarnate in another body or the soul will keep roaming the world.
There have been reported cases of such people who appeared in another location different from where they used to live and died and continued their normal life.
In some cases, it was reported that they got married, gave birth to children, worked, and invested in the other places where they later lived.
The existence of the akudaaya is usually terminated by the discovery of someone who can recognize him to be the dead fellow or a situation that will make those who know him as the dead recognize him as living again.
However, after they have died again or disappeared, shreds of evidence abound in the relationships they have had, the children they have got, and the works they have done in their second existence.
The belief in ancestors’ rebirth (ipadawaye) is the most enduring belief in reincarnation among Yorubas.
The belief in abiku has waned, though it has not totally vanished, especially with the advent of orthodox medicine that has been able to reduce infant mortality rates and sickle cell anemia.
Perhaps, the abiku syndrome must have been a result of lack of medical care, jaundice, and especially sickle cell anemia.
The phenomenon of akudaaya is a complex one to understand.
The evidence is not easy to lay hold upon, as the akudaaya is usually said to have disappeared or is dead and buried again before he is known to be one.
What survives their disappearance and re-death (atunku) are some of the properties and relationships that they have established while they are re-living.
Aunty Dupe (like we fondly call her) narrated her own view about Akudaaya, she explains‘’Iya Risikat was a popular Ewa Agoyin seller in the whole of Brown street.
She got her fame in the street when she moved from selling ofada rice to Beans.
No okada driver or bus driver would pass by Iya Risikat’s shop without dashing to eat Ewa Agoyin and Bread.
The customers in her shop are always massive just as if the shop is a praying ground.
The rate at which the people in the locale patronize her shop is akin to how the pilgrims visit the Holy Land.
After my secondary school education, I left Ekiti State to settle down in Lagos with our eldest brother.
After my first week in Lagos, I decided to familiarize myself with my new environment.
After walking a few miles, then I saw the shop of the infamous Iya Risikat.
I dashed to the shop just to get my favorite food “Bread and Beans”.
On getting there, I saw Iya Titi; a woman with three kids who died in an auto crash accident along with her husband some years ago.
That day was a day that no one in my village would ever pray for again.
I was only seven years old when the incident happened back then.
I could not eat in that shop because I was afraid not to eat food that was prepared by a ghost.
Immediately after I got home, I narrated my ordeal to my brother in full detail and he quickly pick up his phone and called our mother in the village to tell her that “Iya Titi is not dead”.
Before he could hang up the call, my mother had already told her neighbors that Iya Titi was seen in Lagos selling Beans.
Before dusk, her relatives had already sent emissaries of five family members to investigate the assertion.
Before the emissaries could get to Lagos, the news of Iya Risikat’s death had already gone viral throughout the whole street.
The emissaries arrived in Lagos at dusk, but Iya Risikat’s body had already been laid to rest according to the Muslim rite.
When they got there, they met everyone crying including her husband and the kids.
The emissaries never believed this until when they saw a big family picture of her sitting beside her husband and children”.
After this story from Aunty Dupe, many questions that are begging for answers started popping into my mind, such as Does it mean that the Yoruba belief in Akudaaya is real?
How is it possible for a person to die and still and still be found living in another state? Does it mean that a person can die and still ressurect in the same body?.
African philosophy believes in reincarnation but western philosophy does not believe reincarnation does exist.
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