Sources have reported that the Bini are linked to the Yoruba (Egbe Omo Oduduwa of Mid-Missouri 2001; Folk Art & Craft Exchange n.d.; Ethnic Groups Worldwide 1998, 158). According to Ethnic Groups Worldwide "The peoples of the western bank of the Niger River, particularly the Bini and the Urhobo, are culturally close to the Yoruba. However, they maintain a separate sense of identity, and the Bini, in particular, use the glory of the former Benin Kingdom as an anchor for their ethnic identity" (ibid.). With respect to Yorubaland, Egbe Omo Oduduwa of Mid-Missouri writes that "Bunnu (Bini)" is one of several Yoruba dialects, and that the geographical region of the Yoruba is "most of Oyo, Ogun, Ondo and Lagos states, parts of Kwara State, Borgu, Ilorin, Moro, Asa, Ifelodun, Oyun, Irepodun, Oyi, and Kogi LGA's. Also in Benin and Togo" (2001). On its Website, Folk Art & Craft Exchange reports, with respect to Yrouba [sic]: "a region of Nigeria having a great cultural history, and comprising a number of peoples who have contributed much to Voudoun: the Bini, Fon, Ibo and Nago people, among others" (n.d.). For other information on the Bini please consult NGA31557.E of 19 April 1999 and NGA8619.E of 22 May 1991.

Shango, is known as the God of Thunder, or God of Thunder and Lightning, within the Yoruba ethnic group (Clark n.d.; Albuquerque Journal 16 Jan. 1998; Batadrums.com n.d.; Easley n.d.; Ulrich 1996). Ogun is known as the God of War, the hunt, and or ironworking (Conner n.d.; Clark n.d.; Ulrich 1996). Olokun is known as the sea god (Easley n.d.; Rolando n.d).

With respect to "traditional Yoruba religion" Conner, an instructor of African art history at Indiana University School of Continuing Studies writes that it:

is centered around a pantheon of deities called orisha. When a child is born, a diviner, or babalawo, will be consulted to determine which orisha the child should follow. As adults, the Yoruba often honor several of these deities. According to oral tradition, the high god, Olorun (Olodumare), asked Orishala to descend from the sky to create the first Earth at Ile-Ife. Orishala was delayed and his younger brother, Oduduwa, accomplished the task. Shortly afterwards, sixteen other orisha came down from heaven to create human beings and live on Earth with him. The descendants of each of these deities are said to have spread Yoruba culture and religious principles throughout the rest of Yorubaland.

Respecting the ritual primacy of the holy city of Ife legitimizes both a royal hierarchy and the basic pantheon of Yoruba gods, estimated variously at 201, 401, 601, or more. Some divinities are primordial, having existed when Oduduwa was creating the Earth, and others are heroes or heroines who left an important impression on the people. Divinities may also be natural phenomena, such as mountains, hills, and rivers that have influenced the peoples' history and lives. Of the hundreds of gods worshipped by the Yoruba, the most popular ... are Sango (god of thunder and lightning), Ifa ( also known as Orunmila, god of divination), Eshu (the messenger and trickster god), Ogun (god of iron and of war), (n.d.)

Ulrich, writing in Lore, the magazine of the Milwaukee Public Museum, says:

Religion is equal in importance to kinship and politics for the structure of Yoruba society. Though both Christianity and Islam have made deep inroads, many forms of traditional religious expression persist and remain very much a part of Yoruba daily life. There are at least 401 recognized Orisha, or gods, in the Yoruba pantheon. Many of these Orisha are localized ancestral spirits or nature gods and are worshiped in relatively small areas. Others are universal in Yoruba belief and maintain vigorous cults in Nigeria and in Cuba and Brazil as well. The most powerful Orisha include Olorun, the creator god; Shango, god of thunder who has the power to bring wealth; Ogun, the god of iron and war who is the modern patron of truck drivers; Oshun, the Yoruba "Venus," and Ibeji, the god of twins.

A 7 June 2000 article from The Boston Globe on American adherents to Yoruba religious practices included comments from a Yoruba academic teaching at Boston University. According to the article:

Yoruba devotees believe in one high god, Olodumare (oh-LOH-dumare), explains Abimbola, but the cosmos is filled with other entities as well. The good divinities, or orisas, come in the form of trees, forests, mountains, or metal. The ajogun (a-joe-gun), or bad spirits, represent death, deceit, imprisonment, or disease.

The orisa and ajogun "are eternally set against each other," says Abimbola, dressed in a traditional outfit of long embroidered tunic and pants. "It's sacrifice that brings balance."

Unlike many who worship in Western faiths, Yoruba followers don't attend weekly services. When a practitioner has a problem, he or she confers with a babalawo (BAH-BAH-LAH-woah), or priest, who provides counsel, makes sacrifices, creates herbal remedies, or performs divinations that analyze individual problems.

How does the religion work in daily life? Walter Clark, 45, a Yoruba devotee who lives in Jamaica Plain, gives an example as he sits in the Ile, located in a house painted blood red to represent the divinity of thunder, Shango. About a year ago, Clark started a job working as a welder. On his second day of work, he got hit by a car and fractured a leg.

Clark's problems - the car accident, the cracked bone - were traced to Ogun, a divinity of iron.

"People had to remind me, 'Look, you're doing your god's work and you haven't acknowledged it,' " says Clark, who then gave an offering of a yam to Ogun (oh-GOON). "I went back to work and had two pay raises."

That yam offering brings us to Yoruba's bete noire: sacrifice. In Yoruba, explains Abimbola, "sacrifice is a code of communication. We don't think that verbalization is enough. It's our own myopia and arrogance that makes us think that every divinity will hear us."

The perception of followers killing goats and chickens has made the religion controversial among organizations concerned with animal protection. What people don't understand, says Abimbola, is that a sacrifice can consist of liquid, clothes, food (like Clark's yam), or animals. Of the latter form of sacrifice, Abimbola notes, "there is not a preponderance of it. And 99.9 percent of the animals that are sacrificed are eaten by us" (ibid.).

A 23 August 2000 article from This Day described a Yoruba cultural festival in Osun State and referred to Yoruba mythology including Sango. According to the article:

One strong complaint critics make about cultural festivals is that they depict idol worshipping. But the so-called obnoxious traditions that characterise the festivals are a gesture of appreciation to the gods and goddesses. Indeed, the appreciative gesture is extended to royal fathers, who, as the custodians of culture, are eulogised every year for a peculiar impressive performance. ...

The trend is not likely to be arrested despite the ascendancy of Christianity and other alien religions. ... In spite of the general apathy some people seem to show about these festivals, interest remains high about the family values and culture by the government and Blacks in the Diaspora. Indeed, those believed to have been taken away from Nigeria appear most keen on promoting the cultural heritage of the people. This has become imperative as Africans in the Diaspora are increasingly tracing their steps to their roots. For instance, Yorubas known to be in Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago and West Indies, among other Latin American countries are ready for a fresh commitment to cultural ideas as well as establishing links and mutually beneficial relationships with their ancestral kith and kins in Nigeria

Recounting the celebrations in Osun State the article reported:

At the Osun Grove, the Oba Iyaloja Matanmi 11, the Ataoja of Osogbo, must have realised the confusion of visitors and aptly captured the essence of the festival.

"Osun-Osogbo festival is a modest celebration and commemoration of the source of Osogbo as a settlement. This is why the festival comes up annually with pomp and pageantry characterised by eating, drinking, drumming, dancing and eulogising the noble strides of the forebears of Osogbo," says the middle-aged traditional ruler who was said to have resigned his appointment as a bursar in 1976 in a foremost institution of higher learning to occupy the exalted position.

Indeed, the indigenes, no matter how highly placed in the society, participated in the exciting drama that took place at the forecourt of Osun Grove. Acrobatic displays, music, dance and traditional circus took centre-stage while groups comprising daughters and wives of each ruling house paid their respect. Also, friends and associates of the town came to pay their allegiance to the royal father. They were all presented with cash gifts after rendition and histrionics. A first time visitor may be surprised to see a group of men who danced in frenzy after flogging their opponents mercilessly. The dexterity with which they did this displayed their prowess before the Oba. After the show of power, he acknowledged the group with nods.

However, at a point, Oba Arugba, Iya Osun and their loyalists went to the temple to render prayers and sacrifices for the physical and spiritual rejuvenation of their people. This could be the climax of the festival as the mood and tempo of the celebration changed. The moment the Oba and his entourage came out from the temple, the people knew it was time to pay adoration to Osun.

They found their way to the river-bank where they made supplication and meditation. Food was poured into the river as sacrifice after the necessary incantations. A particular woman and her grown-up children knelt by the river and rent their hearts before Osun, Iya Omo Oyoyo (goddess of many children) who gives children. The traditional society believes the inability to worship the goddess will incur her wrath. In a corner, an initiation of children was carried out by traditional priests assisted by white ladies who appeared to be enjoying themselves.

During this time, the worshippers seemed to be oblivious of their physical being as they were united in spirit and soul with Osun who lives in the grove. Some of the worshippers were transformed into higher consciousness as they meditated, gazing fixedly into space. The temptation to scoop the water into containers was irresistible to some of the worshippers. Others simply bathed in the river without caring a hoot. The water is believed to have efficacy of healing. After this ritual, all roads led to the Oba's Palace where there was merriment galore.

The indigenes no doubt enjoyed the cultural festival. For them, it is better experienced than described. This explains why it is referred to as a pilgrimage. In local parlance, it is referred to as the traditional Christmas and sallah of the people.

This social aspect is what many find attractive. The social appeal is such that people use the opportunity to marry new wives. ...

This cultural festival, ever since Susan Wenger, a German, took interest in promoting it in 1989, has become an international tourist attraction .

She did not only give her life to Osun. Wenger, who still lives in Osogbo, took interest in giving architectural appeal to the grove as her works which date back to decades are displayed along the grove.

Internationalising the festival led to an influx of people to Osogbo, a commercial town due to the railway system. People make regular trips to Osogbo to visit the grove, a tourist haven (ibid.).

For further information on Yoruba traditional religious practices please consult CUB13116.E of 15 February 1993; NGA35353.E of 4 October 2000; NGA34954.E of 26 September 2000, NGA34311.E of 17 May 2000, NGA34442.E of 16 May 2000, NGA34215.E of 13 April 2000, NGA33815.E of 3 March 2000, and NGA12388.E of 26 November 1992.

No further information on a religion that worships Ogun, Olukun (Olokun), and/or Shango (Sango) and may be called "Olokun Ogun Shango"could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

Albuquerque Journal. 16 January 1998. Tracy Dingmann. "Troupe Shares Tales of Creation." (NEXIS)

Batadrums.com. n.d. "Shango and Bata and Dilogun Divination Verses." http://www.batadrums.com/background/yoruba.htm [Accessed 14 Feb. 2001]

The Boston Globe. 7 January 2000. Vanessa E. Jones. "New Faith I Old Gods Thousands in the US Have Turned to the African Religion Yoruba." (NEXIS)

Clark, Malcom, Professor of Religion, Butler University. n.d. "Yoruba Gods." http://trevor.butler.edu/~wclark/yorubgod.html [Accessed 28 Nov. 2000]

Connor, Michael. n.d. "Cutting to the Essence." http://www.fa.indiana.edu/~conner/yoruba/cut.html [Accessed 16 Feb. 2001]

Easley, Larry J., Associate Professor of History, Southeast Missouri State University. n.d. "The Names Given African Religious Cosmologies Reflect European, not African, Realities." http://www2.semo.edu/easley/ui304/myth/religion.htm [Accessed 15 Feb. 2001]

Egbe Omo Oduduwa of Mid-Missouri. n.d. "Yorubaland." http://omo-oduduwa.missouri.org/Yoruba_Land/yoruba_land.html [Accessed 16 Feb. 2001]

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Folk Art and Craft Exchange, Sunnyvale, California. n.d. "Voodoo Glossary." http://www.folkart.com/voodooshop/glossary.htm [Accessed 15 Feb. 2001]

Rolando, Gloria. n.d. "The Secrets of the Sea." http://www.agate.net/~ile/oba/olokun.html [Accessed 16 Feb. 2001]

This Day [Lagos]. 23 August 2000. Justina Okpanku. "Nigeria; The Thriills and Frills of Osun-Osogbo Festival." (Africa News/NEXIS)

Ulrich, George. 1996. "Thunderchildren: Yoruba Twin Figure Carvings from Nigeria." http://www.mpm.edu/collect/yoruba.html [Accessed 14 Feb. 2001]