Yetunde Barnabas Misrepresented Yoruba Deities In Her New Film – Traditionalist

Yoruba traditionalist, Abiola Rosanwo, has blasted Nollywood actress Yetunde Barnabas over the portrayal of Yoruba deities in her forthcoming film, “Olokun Mermaid.” She recently had her say via her Facebook page, and Nigerians have been reacting.

Insisting that neither Yemoja nor Olokun should be portrayed as mermaids or fish-like beings, Abiola accused Yetunde of misrepresenting the Isese tradition.

Rossnwo further alleged that the repeated portrayal of Yoruba deities as “Mammy Water” or half-human is a distortion of indigenous beliefs.

Her words, “If the name of your movie was Ogun, can you change the name to Sango after production?

Yemoja is not Olokun. Olokun is not a mermaid. Yemoja also is not a mermaid or a fish.

Across Yoruba land, Isese is one. No one has a record of Yemoja as a fish or mermaid. Osun, Yemoja and Olokun are not the same.

Our Irúnmọlẹ̀ are not mythical half-human, half-fish creatures. They are sacred divine beings. Those who later became Òrìṣà walked the earth as complete human beings before their transition.

To replace that heritage with foreign imagery is to misinform the public and dishonour our cultural and spiritual legacy.

My concern was never directed at creativity or artistic expression. Rather, it stemmed from the responsibility we all share to protect the integrity of sacred indigenous traditions.

I write this open letter with profound appreciation and sincere gratitude to the leadership of the National Film and Video Censors Board and the leadership of TAMPAN, Remo Zone Ogun State, for your prompt response and swift intervention.”

WOW.

Nollywood is a sobriquet that originally referred to the Nigerian film industry. The origin of the term dates back to the early 2000s, traced to an article in The New York Times. Due to the history of evolving meanings and contexts, there is no clear or agreed-upon definition for the term, which has made it a subject to several controversies.

The origin of the term “Nollywood” remains unclear; Jonathan Haynes traced the earliest usage of the word to a 2002 article by Matt Steinglass in the New York Times, where it was used to describe Nigerian cinema.

Charles Igwe noted that Norimitsu Onishi also used the name in a September 2002 article he wrote for the New York Times. The term continues to be used in the media to refer to the Nigerian film industry, with its definition later assumed to be a portmanteau of the words “Nigeria” and “Hollywood”, the American major film hub.

Film-making in Nigeria is divided largely along regional, and marginally ethnic and religious lines. Thus, there are distinct film industries – each seeking to portray the concern of the particular section and ethnicity it represents. However, there is the English-language film industry which is a melting pot for filmmaking and filmmakers from most of the regional industries.