What is Yoruba? Anitta talks about jumping into religion after recovering from mystery illness that left her feeling like she was going to die

Brazilian singer-songwriter Anitta recently had a conversation with Today.com and opened up about the health issues she had to navigate through in 2022. She mentioned that she had to spend about five months in hospital and thought she was "going to die."

In the interview, the singer stated that after her illness, she started paying more attention to her spirituality. She mentioned that she follows the Yoruba religion and that it made her "feel peace."

According to Britannica, the Yoruba community is one of the three largest Nigerian ethnic groups. The community is mostly concentrated in the southwestern part of the country.

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Brazilian singer-songwriter Anitta on following Yoruba religion

The Yoruba name of the indigenous religion is "Ìṣẹ̀ṣẹ." The word comes from "Ìṣẹ̀" meaning root origin or source and "ìṣe," meaning tradition or practice. Hence, Yoruba can be roughly translated to "original tradition."

Britannica states that the traditional Yoruba religion followed a hierarchy of deities. This hierarchy included a creator and about 400 lesser gods as well as spirits, which are mostly linked to their cults and priests.

According to an article by the Penn Museum, the higher gods of this religion are called orisha, while the highest is called Olorun. As per the teachings of this religion, every action of a person in this world is linked to a supreme power.

The Yoruba language consists of comprehensive literature of proverbs, stories, and poetry. Anitta spoke about this religion in the interview and said:

"After my health issues, I started taking better care of my spirituality. I follow Yoruba religion, and I had to jump into that. I dove into myself, and everything that makes me feel peace."

The artist shed light on the issues she faced in 2022 and said that she contracted COVID-19, after which she began experiencing "crazy symptoms." Anitta revealed that she felt "physically ill" and couldn't work. While doctors ruled out cancer, lung issues, and other complications, they were unable to determine the cause of her illness.

She then decided to travel to Mount Everest with the aim of exploring healing practices alongside shamans. As per the publication, she mentioned that this helped her a great deal. Her illness acted as a "big wake up call" for her as she realized that she had to take care of her health.

The singer then spoke about the importance of healing and told Today.com:

"I realized how important it was for me to get to know my karmas, my traumas, the things that I need to work on in myself in order to heal. When I started looking at these things, I just felt better physically. I will never be able to explain it, but it’s true."

In the interview, the singer-songwriter stated that she came up with her album Funk Generation while in hospital and added:

"I made ('Funk Generation') in the hospital ... I was like, I want an album like this — in case I die I’m going to leave an album that I'm proud of."

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Brazilian singer Anitta opened up about her future plans in the same interview

Anitta is currently in the middle of her tour, Baile Funk Experience. It began on May 18, 2024, and will continue till July 8, 2024. In the same interview, she was asked about her plans after the tour, and the 31-year-old singer stated that she likes to live in the moment. She added that things happen in her life according to her energy.

"Today, I might feel like one thing; tomorrow, another. I think more people should operate like this," she said.

Apart from singing, Anitta has also been working as an actress. She is best known for playing Jessica in Élite. In the interview, she revealed that she was quite serious about acting and that she loved being on the Netflix show. The Brazilian singer added that he would love to "put more effort into acting," and added:

"I loved the little experience I had. I definitely want to put more effort into acting, because it’s something I really enjoy."

However, she stated that she wished to focus on the album and tour for now. She added that she would later think about possibly being part of movies or even writing a book. Anitta added that she just wanted to "feel proud" of whatever she was doing.