YORUBA DIVINITIES

 

 

   DIVINITIES AND THE YORUBA RELIGION/PHYLOSOPHY

   THE CULTURE, AND MYTHOLOGICAL BELIEFS OF

   THE YORUBA PEOPLE -  by Ben Oduwole.

 1).     OLÓDUMARÈ.  2).   CREATION.  3).   DIVINITIES.  4).   YORUBALAND

 5).     BIRTH/IBI – a). Isoruko/ Naming ceremony,  b).Ori- kadara / Destiny

 6).     OTHER CEREMONIES  7).   DEATH.  8).   RINCARNATION.                                                                                              

 OLODUAMARE:

 Olódumarè is the Yoruba supreme God; the creator of heaven and earth, and like many other religions around the world, He is the only God. He is also known as Olorun, that is ‘The owner of heaven’, where he resides.

In the Yoruba bible, He is called with the name Oluwa (the living God). The name Olódumarè, is probably related to ‘osumare’ which is the Yoruba name for the rainbow; the sign that Olódumarè gave to assure the people, that he will never again destroy the earth with flood.

Olódumarè: The one who assures with (osumare) or Rainbow that the world will never again be destroyed with water. In the Yoruba philosophy or religion, there are about four hundred (400) divinities chosen by Olódumarè and charged with various tasks in different capacities.

In the Yoruba philosophy, these divinities or ‘orisas’ as they are popular known among the Yoruba, are also the-go-between humanity and Olódumarè.

 CREATION:

According to the Yoruba belief, Olodumare lived in heaven, and in the beginning, the earth was nothing but water flood and marsh and when  Olódumarè (the supreme God) decided to create the earth, he created it in Ile-Ife;  today the sacred city of the Yoruba people. To start with, he sent down a pigeon to fly the length and breadth, to see what was out there. The bird came back to report the presence of only water.                                          

Then Olódumarè sent down his messenger Obatala to perform the task of creating the earth. He asked Obatala to carry with him a calabash full of sand, a hen, and a chameleon. Obatala descent to earth from above, at Ile-Ife.

There are many versions regarding the creation; some story carried it that it was Sango that was sent down by Olodumare to create the earth, but the common denomination in all these different stories was that Ile-Ife was where the earth was created.

THE YORUBA PHYLOSOPHY: 

 In Yoruba belief, the orisas (the gods) or divinities, were created by Olódumarè, (Olorun), the Yoruba supreme God, to represent all his dominions on earth. In the mythology many primary divinities are mentioned, and are divided into two fundamental classes, one related to the cult of the celestial element and the other to the terrestrial on earth.   lief, the orisas (the gods) or divinities, were created by Olódumarè, (Olorun), the Yoruba supreme God, to represent all his dominions on earth. In the mythology many primary divinities are mentioned, and are divided into two fundamental classes, one related to the cult of the celestial element and the other to the terrestrial one.

THE DIVINITIES (ORISAS).

 Olódumarè, the Yoruba high God, charged each one of these divinities with a particular function to be performed on earth, for example, Ifa (otherwise known as (ÒRÚNMILÀ), was put in charge of divination because of his great wisdom which he acquired as the result of his presence by the side of Olódumarè when the latter created the universe. Hence his praise-name (Akerefinuşogbon - the small one, whose mind is full of wisdom).

 In the pantheon of the Yoruba religion, there are about four hundred (400) divinities, known as Orisas; (literally, ‘head of guardians’) and are considered as ministers and intermediaries between Olódumarè and humanity.

They are known as Orisha in santeria of (Cuba) and Orixa in Candoblé, of (Brazil), and Voodoo in Haiti. It is not possible to mention all the Orisas and their duties, but some most important ones will be mentioned.

IFA: was one of the four hundred divinities who came from Òrun (heaven) to Aiyé (Earth) and was the only Orisa that was present with Olódumarè during creation of the universe.

 ELLEGUA or ÈȘÙ: He was the keeper of the ÀŞĘ; the divine power with which Olódumarè created the universe and maintained its physical laws.

He is also the universal ‘policeman’ of the other divinities; making sure that they do their duties very well. He is strict and harsh with humanity who misbehaves, and for this reason, he is feared, and his name creates panic among people.

 OGUN: was put in charge of all things related to war, hunting and the use of iron and metallic implements.

 OBATALA: (otherwise known as Oosaanla (ORISA-NLA): A senior divinity was charged with responsibility for modeling human beings with clay, after creating the solid earth from water and marsh with the calabash full of sands he brought from heaven.

 SANGO:  The god of thunder, lightning, and justice

 YEMOJA: The goddess of all seas

 OSAYIN: god of medicine and magic, with knowledge of all herbs to cure.   

 OSUN: The goddess of Osun river

 OYA: The goddess of river Niger

 ȘOPONA: The divinity associated with smallpox

 OLOKUN: The god of the oceans Catholic tradition, giving life to a syncretism and a transcultural phenomenon.

The fusion of rites, beliefs, practices varied according to the place of formation, and it is referred to as Candomblé in Brazil, Santeria in Cuba and Voodoo in Haiti.  This complex and diversified form of spirituality has spread from their African origin states: Nigeria, Benin, Togo to other nations; among which include: Brazil, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, United States, and Venezuela.

 They are known as Orisha in santeria of (Cuba) and Orixa in Candoblé, of (Brazil), and Voodoo in Haiti. It is not possible to mention all the Orisas and their duties, but some most important ones will be mentioned.

 ELLEGUA or ÈȘÙ: He was the keeper of the ÀŞĘ; the divine power with which Olódumarè created the universe and maintained its physical laws.

He is also the universal ‘policeman’ of the other divinities; making sure that they do their duties very well. He is strict and harsh with humanity who misbehaves, and for this reason, he is feared, and his name creates panic among people.

 OGUN: was put in charge of all things related to war, hunting and the use of iron and metallic implements.

 OBATALA (otherwise known as Oosaanla (ORISA-NLA): A senior divinity was charged with responsibility for modeling human beings with clay, after creating the solid earth from water and marsh with the calabash full of sands he brought from heaven.

SANGO:  The god of thunder, lightning, and justice

 YEMOJA: The goddess of all seas

 OSAYIN: The god of medicine and magic, has the knowledge of all herbs to cure.

 OȘUN: The goddess of Osun river

 OYA: The goddess of river Niger

 ȘOPONA: The divinity associated with smallpox

 OLOKUN: The god of the oceansnd a transcultural phenomenon.

The fusion of rites, beliefs, practices varied according to the place of formation, and it is referred to as Candomblé in Brazil, Santeria in

Cuba and Voodoo in Haiti.