DIVINITIES AND THE YORUBA RELIGION/PHYLOSOPHY
THE YORUBA PEOPLE -
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.
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:
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).
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.
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.
SANGO: The god of thunder, lightning, and justice
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.