The Orishas (DC Comics)
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The Orishas are a pantheon of fictional deities published by DC Comics, and based somewhat loosely on the genuine mythical Orishas. They first appeared in Firestorm, The Nuclear Man #95 March 1990.
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[edit] History
The Orishas are a pantheon of Elemental Yoruba deities situated in the realm of Ifé but linked to the continent of Africa. Shango first appears in Nigeria. In Ifé they live alongside and in balance with their dark opposites the Orish-Nla. Long ago their connection to Earth was severed by Ogun acting on orders from Shango after Obatala is murdered by the King of Benin while in mortal form. After the Firestorm storyline they re-established their connection with the peoples of Africa.
Shango the hotheaded storm god and younger brother of Obatala would show up again in DC Comic's War of the Gods crossover.
The Orishas are elemental gods who protect the peoples of Africa. Many of them appear to be personifications of abstract concepts such as "sweet water" or "the night sky". Shango is called "the living thunder", and Oshunmare is called "the rainbow", while Orunmilla was supposedly "the law".[1]
The origin of the DC Comics Orishas closely parallels the Orishas of myth. The legend goes something like this: The creator deity once lived on Earth, but left it for a Kingdom in the Sky (Ifé) because of some unspecified human crime against his person. Because he was no longer direct involved in human affairs he creates Lesser Gods to do all the maintenance work as well as other specific tasks. These Lesser deities are the Gods of Earth, The Rains, Water, The Winds, Fire, etc. The Lesser Gods are capable of answering human prayers and can intercede on mankind's behalf with the creator.[2]
The real world Yoruba religion of which the Orishas are a part, is estimated as having over 100 million worshippers across the globe. Its worshippers hail from Africa, South America, the Caribbean, North America, Canada, and Western Europe.
[edit] Known Orishas
- Adiremi - personification of the living wind she is a pattern in the clouds.
- Agemo - the chameleon, depicted as a male shapeshifter. In the Yoruba myths, Agemo was female and served as Olorun's messenger.
- Erinle - depicted as a living flame, needs to consume to live.
- Eshu - The trickster and maintainer of balance. very similar to Anansi.
- Jakuta - a warrior of living stone and earth. Interestingly enough, Jakuta like Shango is traditionally a thunder god known as "Thrower of Light".
- Mawu - Mawu is the mother of the gods. She is always depicted as riding the rainbow serpent Oshunmare. Mawu created Ifé the living homeland of the gods, and imbued it with Lido (her life-force). Her traditional name is Mawu-Lisa.
- Moremi - she appears to be a communally sentient flock of birds.
- Obatala, Lord of the White Cloth - Leader of the Orishas. Used to take mortal form, was killed in mortal form by the king of Benin. He is later re-incarnated as a mortal man named Doctor Efraim Ngai, with no memory of his godly origins.
- Ochun - basically a naiad, Ochun personified the "Sweet Waters" and can manifest in any body of water.
- Ogun - God or iron and the forge, sometimes referred to as He-Who-Is-Iron. The blacksmith god who was the creator of the Golden Chain linking earth to Ifé home of the gods. And he was also the one who broke the chain at Shango's request.
- Olorun - depicted as a face that took up the entire sky, Olorun is defined as "He-Who-is-the-Sky". Olorun was the first Orisha, born of Mawu into the land of Ifé. In the traditional mythology he is depicted as Obatala's father.
- Orunmilla - The lawgiver of the Orishas, and voice of Olorun. Carries an everburning torch.
- Osain - depicted as a human woman spontaneously formed from the leaves of a tree.
- Oshunmare - A giant rainbow serpent which is ridden by Mawu the goddess of creation.
- Shango - A hotheaded, war-axe wielding thunder god capable of changing his size at will, warchief of the Orishas.
[edit] The Orish-Nla
The Orish-Nla looked exactly like the Orishas except that they are made out of solid living shadow, they share the living land of Ifé with the Orishas, for good and evil must always be in balance.
[edit] Comparison Chart
Compares the comic book versions of the Orishas with the versions present in Yoruba religion as well as the traditions of Santeria and Vodun.
| Comic Book | Traditional |
|---|---|
| Adiremi | Aja |
| Agemo | Agemo |
| Eshu | Eleggua |
| Jakuta | Oduduwa |
| Mawu | Mawu |
| Moremi | Moremi |
| Obatala | Obatala |
| Ogun | Ogoun |
| Olorun | Olorun |
| Orunmilla | Orunmila |
| Osain | Oshun |
| Oshunmare | Oshunmare |
| Shango | Shango |
[edit] Trivia
- Much like Ifé the Dimension of Darkworld, was linked to Earth by a chain forged by the goddess Deedra.
