Yoruba homes are very distinct. They are essential to the culture of orisa lifestyle. Research the regional variations of housing in Yorubaland. How do they differ from region to region? How is it the same?
Yoruba people everywhere grow food. Find out how the Yoruba people farm in two or three different regions or even between countries, like Nigeria and the Republic of Benin. How does farming affect their environments? How are farming tools and other methods different from one region to the next?
Pick a place where orisa lifestyle is different from your own - perhaps Benin City, Haiti or Trinidad. Look around your home and shrine. What items would you have to live without? What items would you need instead?
Orisa temples are all different. Research the physical accommodations of orisa shrines around the world. What are some differences and similarities in the shrine construction of Benin, Cuba, Nigeria, Trinidad and Brazil?
Make a list of foods that you typically eat in a day. Research where these foods are grown, how they are farmed, how they are transported. Then make a products map that shows where things are manufactured, how they are shipped and what happens when they are disposed of.
What foods are associated with the different orisa? What kinds of medicinal or healing properties are associated with these foods?Find out how the foods and the recipes reflect the climate and the geography of West Africa. For example, people in many hot climates cook very spicy dishes. Why? Spicy food makes you sweat, which makes your body cool off in the hot weather. Spicy food also purifies the blood.
Become a geography observer in your community. Do this alone or with others. Try to look at the following: • The kinds of crops and trees you see • How much land is empty and how much is used • What is on the land that is used
How do different living environments compare? Look at living in an apartment building, single-family home, farmhouse, mobilehome,ormodularhome.Howare thingsdifferentincities,suburbs,villages,andruralareas? In your spiritual community or family, find a way to show your "dream environments" - your favorite types of homes in your favorite types of communities.
