The Nobel Laureate emphasised the creative and non-violent nature of Orisa worship, which resonated with him more than the other two major religions.
“I was fortunate to be born in two worlds – the Christian world and traditional Orisa worshippers. My grandfather, until he – poor man – also got converted – he was an Orisa person and a chief, and his (grandfather’s) side (of Orisa) fascinated me a lot more,” Soyinka shared during an interview with CNN’s Larry Madowo.
He added, “For me, it (Orisa worshipping) was more artistic, creative, and also more mysterious. I don’t find much of the mysterious in Christianity and even less in Islam and that is for a simple reason that I didn’t grow up in a Muslim environment.”
Soyinka also reflected on the openness of Orisa, saying, “Orisa is open, and very ecumenical and that is why these foreign religions were able to penetrate it and even distort the truth.
“Because of the generosity of this spirit (Orisa), it is not violent. It is one of those African religions which eschew violence.”
Rejecting mainstream religious beliefs, he said, “I don’t believe in the Islamic or Christian God and for the adherents of these religions if that makes me an atheist, so I say, I am an atheist.
“I insisted that all human beings have a certain spiritual core in their being, I believe myself to be a more spirit-sensitive person.”
He also mentioned his discomfort in seeing his life adapted into film, saying, “Let me put it this way, turning anything in my life into what other people can watch pains me.
“It makes me extremely uncomfortable. It’s wrong to say it’s terrific, let me just say I’m detached from it.”