Contextualizing the Supreme Being in Yoruba and Chinese Cultures A Symbolic Relationship (original) (raw)

2022, LASU Journal of African Studies (OPANBATA), A Publication of African Languages, Literature & Communication Arts, Lagos State University, Ojo, Lagos State, Vol.10 No. 4, ISSN:1111-1311.

This paper intends to examine the Yorùbá and the Chinese context of a Supreme Being within the framework of their cultures. In Yorùbá culture, the Supreme Being is connoted as Olódùmarè, Oló-dú-ma- ré, Olú-o run or Eléd ̣̀ ùmarè. He signifies one thing, the owner of the universe and the Supreme God. In Chinese culture, the highest deity is called Shangdi 上帝 or Di 帝. He is the High God or Clan Ancestor as postulated in the earliest-known religious system of the Han Chinese people. The term has different connotations, while some can perceive or translate him as the "Emperor or Sovereign Above,” others see him as "Lord on High, “Highest Lord," "the Supreme God," or the "Celestial Lord."