SUPERSTITION AND CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY: A THEOPHRASTEAN ANALYSIS OF YORÙBÁ TABOOS

Abstract

Superstition, a pervasive and abiding cultural phenomenon, has long shaped human history. While previous studies on Yorùbá taboos have emphasised their sociological and religious functions, little attention has been given to their psychological dimensions or cross-cultural parallels. This paper addresses that gap by employing social identity theory and a thematic qualitative analysis of C.O. Thorpe’s Àw?n Èèwò Il?? Yorùbá (The Taboos of the Yorùbáland), situating Yorùbá practices alongside Theophrastus’ Superstitious Man from Characters. Ten taboos are selected to examine how taboos reinforce group identity, regulate behaviours, and serve as coping strategies against fear of misfortune, illness, and death. To illustrate this dynamic, the selection criteria emphasised how taboos (1) indicate clear psychological motivations such as fear, avoidance, or control, (2) establish social regulatory functions, and (3) show connection to superstition. Their background, the ‘reasons’ behind them, and the psychological foundation driving these beliefs are discussed to show how taboos operate beyond mere tradition, influencing behaviours and societal norms. By comparing Yorùbá and Greek traditions, the study extends Yorùbá taboo scholarship beyond ethnography into cultural psychology, revealing universal mechanisms of ritual appeasement and anxiety management. Theophrastus archetype is a timeless framework for interpreting Yorùbá practices, and the mode of analysis underscores superstition’s cross-cultural nature and its enduring psychological power to shape cultural practices. This paper, through a novel psychological analysis of Greek and Yorùbá traditions, demonstrates how superstition and taboos, despite contextual differences, depict the deep-seated patterns of fear management, social regulation, and the quest for control.