Orisha

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This article is about a type of spirit. For other uses of Orisha / Orixa , see Orisha (disambiguation).

An Orisha (also spelled Orixa and Orixá) is a spirit which reflects one of the manifestations of Olodumare (God) in the Yoruba spiritual or religious system. This religion has found its way throughout the world and is now expressed in several varieties which include Anago, Oyotunji, Candomblé, Lucumí/Santería, and the Orisa religion of Trinidad, as well as some aspects of Umbanda, Winti, Obeah and Haitian Vodou, although these last two generally follow a non-Yoruban tradition. These varieties or spiritual lineages as they are called are practiced throughout areas of Brazil, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Guyana, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, the United States, the West Indies and Venezuela. As interest in African indigenous religions (spiritual systems) grows, Orisha communities and lineages can be found in parts of Europe and Asia as well. While estimates vary, there could be more than 100 million adherents of this spiritual tradition worldwide.[citation needed]

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[edit] Beliefs and Rituals

The most common depiction of the orisha Santa Barbara Africana is derived from this variant of the sacred icon of Our Lady of Częstochowa.
The most common depiction of the orisha Santa Barbara Africana is derived from this variant of the sacred icon of Our Lady of Częstochowa.

The Orisha are multi-dimensional beings who represent the forces of nature. They have attributes and stories similar to the stories and attributes used to describe the ancient Greek and Roman pantheons. To the followers of Santeria, however, the Orisha are not remote divinities; on the contrary, they are vibrant, living entities who take an active part in everyday life. The Orisha faith believes in an ultimate deity, Olorun or Olodumare, who is removed from the day-to-day affairs of human beings on Earth. Instead, adherents of the religion appeal to specific manifestations of Olodumare in the form of the various Orisha. Ancestors and culture-heroes held in reverence can also be enlisted for help with day-to-day problems. Faithful believers will also generally consult a geomantic divination specialist, known as a babalawo or Iyanifa, to mediate in their problems. This practice is known as Ifa, and is an important part of life throughout West Africa and the rest of the diaspora world. UNESCO, the cultural and scientific education arm of the United Nations, declared Ifa a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2005. An important part of the traditional Yoruba faith is that the Yoruba believe their ancestor Oduduwa fell from the sky and brought with him much of what is now their belief system. Part of this is the belief that daily life depends on proper alignment and knowledge of one's Ori. Ori literally means the head, but in spiritual matters is taken to mean an inner portion of the soul which determines personal destiny and success. Ase, which is also spelled “Axe,” “Axé,” “Ashe,” or “Ache,” is the life-force which runs though all things, living and inanimate. Ase is the power to make things happen. It is an affirmation which is used in greetings and prayers, as well as a concept about spiritual growth. Orisha devotees strive to obtain Ase through Iwa-Pele or gentle and good character, and in turn they experience alignment with the Ori, or what others might call inner peace or satisfaction with life.

[edit] New World

Yoruba people were brought to the Americas during the Atlantic Slave Trade, along with many other ethnic nationalities from West, Central, and parts of East Africa. Yoruba religious beliefs are among the most recognizable African-derived traditions in the Americas, perhaps due to the comparatively late arrival of large numbers of Yoruba in the Americas and the conglomerative and spiritually tolerant nature of the faith. The Orisa faith is often closely aligned to the beliefs of the Gbe ethnic nationalities (including Fon, Ewe, Mahi, and Egun), and there have been centuries of creative cross-fertilization between the faith communities in Africa and in the Americas. In many countries of the African diaspora, Yoruba and Gbe beliefs have also influenced and become influenced by Catholicism and faiths which originate in the Kongo-Angolan cultural region of West-Central Africa. These include Palo in Cuba and the Dominican Republic, Umbanda in Brazil and, according to some sources, the Petro rites of Haitian Vodou.

Santeria (or Lukumĺ) is a set of related religious systems which use Catholic saints as a mask to hide traditional Yoruba beliefs. Saints and other Catholic religious figures are used as disguises for Orishas. This practice of syncretization was used to allow the indigenous Yoruba beliefs to survive in the New World.

[edit] Pantheon

The Orisha pantheon includes Aganju, Babalu Aye, Erinle, Eshu/Legba, Iemanja, Nana Buluku, Oba, Obatala, Ochosi, Ochumare, Ogoun, Oko, Olofi, Olokun, Olorun, Orunmila, Oshun, Osun, Oya, Ozain, and Shango, among countless others. In the Lucumi tradition, Osun and Oshun are different Orishas. Oshun is the beautiful and benevolent Orisha of love, life, marriage, sex and money while Osun is the protector of the Ori, or our heads and inner Orisha. The Yoruba also venerate their Egungun, or Ancestors, and Ibeji, or the orisha of Twins (which is no wonder since the Yoruba have the world's highest incidence of twin births of any group).

[edit] Partial list of Orishas

  • Olorun (Olodumare, Olodum) - strictly speaking, not an orisha but God in unmanifest form, creator of the universe, sky father and father of Orunmila and Obatala
  • Nana Buluku (Nana) - female deity of creation, old sky mother and primordial swamp spirit, associated with the moon and often identified with Iemanja
  • Olofi - manifestation of Olorun's power or ashe, governs material universe, compassionate towards humanity, peacemaker associated with fishermen and often syncretized with Jesus Christ
  • Olokun - guardian of the deep ocean, the abyss, and signifies unfathomable wisdom, also patron of African diaspora
  • Obatala (Obatalá, Oxalá, Orixalá, Orisainlá) - father of orishas and humankind, deity of light, spiritual purity, and moral uprightness
  • Orunmila (Orunla, Ifá) - deity of wisdom, divination, destiny, and foresight
  • Eshu (Eleggua, Exú, Esu, Elegba, Legbara, Papa Legba) - Eshu is the messenger between the human and divine worlds, god of crossroads and beginnings, and also a phallic and fertility god. Eshu is recognized as a trickster and child-like, while Eleggua is Eshu under the influence of Obatala.
  • Ochumare (Oshumare, Oxumare) - rainbow-serpent deity, orisha of movement and activity, guardian of children and associated with umbilical cord
  • Iemanja (Yemaja, Imanja, Yemayá, Jemanja, Yemalla, Yemana, Yemanja, Yemaya, Yemayah, Yemoja, Ymoja, Nanã, La Sirène, LaSiren, Mami Wata) - divine mother goddess, divine goddess of the sea and loving mother of mankind, daughter of Obatala and wife of Aganju
  • Aganju (Aganyu, Agayu) - Father of Shango, he is also said to be Shango's brother in other stories. Aganju is said to be the orisha of volcanoes, mountains, and the desert.
  • Shango (Shangó, Xango, Changó, Chango, Nago Shango) - warrior god of thunder, fire, sky father, represents male power and sexuality
  • Oba (Obba) - Shango's jealous wife, goddess of marriage and domesticity, daughter of Iemanja
  • Oya (Oyá, Oiá, Iansã, Yansá, Iansan) - warrior goddess of the wind, sudden change, hurricanes, and underworld gates, a powerful sorceress and primary lover of Shango
  • Ogoun (Ogun, Ogúm, Ogou) - deity of iron, war, labour, sacrifice, politics, and technology (e.g. railroads)
  • Oshun (Oshún, Ọṣun, Oxum, Ochun, Osun, Oschun) - goddess of rivers, love, feminine beauty, fertility, and art, also one of Shango's lovers and beloved of Ogoun
  • Ibeji - the sacred twins, represent youth and vitality
  • Ochosi (Oxósse, Ocshosi, Osoosi, Oxossi) - hunter and the scout of the orishas, deity of the accused and those seeking justice or searching for something
  • Ozain (Osain, Osanyin) - Orisha of the forest, he owns the Omiero, a holy liquid consisting of many herbs, the liquid through which all saints and ceremonies have to proceed. Ozain is the keeper and guardian of the herbs, and is a natural healer.
  • Babalu Aye (Omolu, Soponna, Shonponno, Obaluaye, Sakpata) - deity of disease and illness (particularly smallpox, leprosy, and now AIDS), also orisha of healing and the earth, son of Iemanja
  • Erinle (Inle) - orisha of medicine, healing, and comfort, physician to the gods
  • Oko - orisha of agriculture and the harvest
  • Osun - ruler of the head, Ori


Eshu/Eleggua

Iansan/Iansã, Orixá of wind, change

Nanã, The oldest Orixá in Candomblé

Pair of Ibeji

Babalu Aye/Omolú

Iansan/Iansã

Ogoun/Ogum

[edit] Further reading

  • John Mason, Black Gods - Orisa Studies in the New World
  • John Mason, Olokun: Owner of Rivers and Seas ISBN 1-881244-05-9
  • John Mason, Orin Orisa: Songs for selected Heads ISBN 1-881244-06-7
  • Lydia Cabrera, El Monte: Igbo-Nfinda, Ewe Orisha/Vititi Nfinda ISBN 0-89729-009-7
  • [Chief Priest Ifayemi Elebuibon], Apetebii: The Wife of Orunmila ISBN 0-9638787-1-9
  • [J. Omosade Awolalu], Yoruba Beliefs & Sacrificial Rites ISBN 0-9638787-3-5
  • Baba Ifa Karade, The Handbook of Yoruba Religious Concepts
  • William Bascom, Sixteen Cowries
  • David M. O'Brien, Animal Sacrifice and Religious Freedom: Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah
  • James T. Houk, Spirits, Blood, and Drums: The Orisha Religion of Trinidad. 1995. Temple University Press.
  • Raul Canizares, Cuban Santeria
  • Robert Farris Thompson, Flash of the Spirit
  • S. Solagbade Popoola, Ikunle Abiyamo: It is on Bent Knees that I gave Birth. 2007. Asefin Media Publication
  • Jo Anna Hunter, “Oro Pataki Aganju: A Cross Cultural Approach Towards the Understanding of the Fundamentos of the Orisa Aganju in Nigeria and Cuba.” In Orisa Yoruba God and Spiritual Identity in Africa and the Diaspora, edited by Toyin Falola, Ann Genova. New Jersey: Africa World Press, Inc. 2006.

[edit] External links

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