•
Olodumare •
Irunmole •
Orisha •
Oku (
Ancestors) •
Alaye (
Human) •
Animal,
Plant, etc.
Olódùmarè Olódùmarè is recognized in Yorùbá belief as the Supreme Being and the ultimate source of all creation. Everything that exists—Òrìṣà, human beings, animals, nature, and spiritual forces—originates from Olódùmarè. As the divine architect of the universe, Olódùmarè holds the highest authority and is the giver of àṣẹ, the sacred energy that sustains and empowers all life. Olódùmarè is the most important "state of existence". Perhaps one of the most important human endeavours extolled within the
Odu Ifa is the quest to improve one's "Ìwà" (character, behaviour). In this way the teachings transcend religious doctrine, advising as they do that a person must also improve their civic, social and intellectual spheres of being; every
Odu (stanza) of the sacred Ifá corpus has a portion covering the importance of "Ìwà". Central to this is the theme of righteousness, both individual and collective.
Creation Adherents of the Yorùbá religion regard
Olodumare as the principal force of creation. According to one of the Yorùbá accounts of
creation, at a certain stage in the process, the "truth" was sent to confirm the habitability of the planets that were newly formed. The
earth, being one of these, was visited but considered too wet for conventional living. After a successful period of time, a number of divinities led by
Obatala were sent to accomplish the task of helping the earth develop its crust. On one of their visits to the realm, the arch-divinity Obàtálá took to the stage equipped with a
mollusc that concealed some form of
soil, winged beasts, and some cloth-like material. The contents were emptied onto what soon became a large mound on the surface of the water and soon after, the winged beasts began to scatter this around until the point where it gradually made into a large patch of dry land; the various indentations they created eventually becoming hills and valleys. Ọbàtálá leapt onto a high ground and named the place
Ife. The land became fertile and plant life began to flourish. From handfuls of earth, he began to mould figurines. Meanwhile, as this was happening on Earth, Olódùmarè gathered the gases from the far reaches of space and sparked an explosion that shaped into a fireball. He subsequently sent it to Ifẹ̀, where it dried much of the land and simultaneously began to bake the motionless figurines. It was at this point that Olódùmarè released the "breath of life" to blow across the land, and the figurines slowly came into "being" as the first people of Ife.
Irunmọlẹ The
Irunmọlẹ are the original entities sent by
Olorun to complete given tasks, often acting as liaisons between
Òde Ọ̀run (the invisible realm) and
Ilé Ayé (the physical realm). The Irúnmọlẹ̀ can therefore best be described in English as the highest ranking divinities; whereby such divinities are regarded as principal Orisha. The Irúnmọlẹ̀ or Imalẹ̀ are the primary foundational divinities or divine entities. In summary, all Imalẹ̀ are also Òrìṣà, but not all Òrìṣà are Imalẹ̀.
Oku In Yoruba religion and culture, Oku is a complex and multifaceted concept that encompasses various aspects of death, the afterlife, and the relationship between the living and the dead. Oku is often translated as "the dead," but it carries a deeper meaning that goes beyond the physical act of dying. Oku refers to the transition of a person from the world of the living to the world of the dead and the subsequent journey of the deceased to the afterlife. Oku is a natural part of life, and death is seen as a transition to a new stage of existence rather than an end. The Yoruba people believe that the dead continue to play an active role in the lives of their descendants and that they can influence the living in various ways. Thus, Oku is also associated with the concept of "ara orun," which refers to the spiritual realm or the world of the dead. The Yoruba people believe that the dead reside in this realm, where they continue to live and interact with the living. Furthermore, an earthly representation of the Oku is the
Egungun, which embodies the spirits of the ancestors and is often used to communicate with the dead and to honour their memory. The
Egungun is the physical representation of the Oku tradition, which is focused on honouring and paying respects to the ancestors. The
Egungun possesses spiritual powers and to be able to communicate with the ancestors, an Oku tradition of seeking the blessings and protection of the dead or ancestors. However, it is worth noting that
Egungun traditions are not simply a representation of Oku, but rather have their own unique characteristics and significance, depending on the context. Egungun can have its own set of rituals, ceremonies, and practices that are separate from the Oku tradition, although the two are connected and closely intertwined. Therefore, Yoruba people may refer to Egungun as "Oku ara orun," which means "the Oku of the heavens" or "the Oku of the spirits." This name reflects the close connection between Egungun and the Oku tradition and highlights the role of Egungun as a representation of the ancestors and the spiritual realm. ==The Orisha and Ajogun Pantheon==