However, everyone would visit him, stay a few days, and go back home. Differently from the Hindu Religion and Mythology, for example, there are no ancient books telling the foundations of its beliefs or describing the creation of the world according to them. The Orisha are spirits/deities that reflect one aspect of god. Yemaya is her mother (in some accounts they are sisters). However, since Osiris, not Anubis, rules the Land of the Dead, a more accurate Greek equivalent to Anubis would be Thanatos. Eshu was so focused on observing Obatala that he learned everything from him. People who can play Buzios are actually asking the Orishas for answers. Anut - A warrior Goddess, defender of the Sun God and protector or the king in battle. Eshu by Akili Mansa Richards. with Oy and Oshn. This was a necessity when slave-owners refused to allow slaves to practice African religion. From now on, Ill bring the Orisha list with the 12 most important ones. I write this page as a way to honor these forces. His element is wind. Shes also the wife of Obatala, the Creator. Kokou is a warrior god, renowned for his violence and ferocity. Olodumare alone is self-sustaining, not needing ashe to be provided by another source. Anyway, Orisha Omulu used to be a quiet one. gain a better understanding of them and their ways. Although she controls storms, her main element is fire. What is very important to know now is that these people shared common beliefs and customs. Kokou by Assasin Monkey Wherever he would go, his fame was already there. makes short work of a tree or a fire rage through an area, one has The orishas are the emissaries of Olodumare or God almighty. name. Shang took the form of the fourth Alafin (supreme king) of Beyer, Catherine. The exact number of orishas is not known . From Ogun, she learned how to wield the sword; From Oxaguia, she learned how to wield the shield; From Eshu, she learned how to use the magical power of fire; From Shango, she learned the power of make justice and how to use thunderbols; From Omulu, however, she wasnt able to learn anything as she couldnt seduce him. She recognises herself in the colors yellow and During the meeting, Esu took the chance to cause some mischief and told Oshumare that Nan was really guilty for his shapeshifting curse and convinced him to take revenge on her by stealing her crown and becoming the king of the Jeje people. His priests, the babalawos or "Fathers of the Orisha Sango wears red clothes and carries two double axes in his hands. In isolation he learned humility, becoming Babal-Ay. It is said he punishes all those who lie and deceive others. She usually holds a mirror in one hand. In many ways, therefore, understanding an orisha is like understanding another human being. He embodies the power of the sun, essential for the growth. has an extremely close relationship. When she offered mud, he was finally able to create perfect human beings. It is said that Omulu and Osumare are brothers. He is said to live in the forest with his Orisha brothers part of the time. For instance, you can learn much about Oshn and Beyer, Catherine. She carries an Ibiri in her hand, which is a tool capable of warding off evil spirits. Res cult was centered in Heliopolis, now a suburb of Cairo. His animal symbols were the ram and the goose. Children are the Fish" to reflect the fact that her children are Updates? It is understood that the orishas wear many masks in order for people to better understand them. Erinle is a wilderness god, associated with hunting, herbalism and animal husbandry. Though he traded the Obatal is the source of all Orisha Shango is a warrior whos always ready to fight and protect those who need it. He is most often represented by a double headed Essentially, Orishas represent the powers of nature, as well as time, life, death, and rebirth. Egyptian and Greek God Comparisons | Riordan Wiki | Fandom So, whenever you make a purchase through an Amazon link on this website, I may earn some commissions. She is a very interesting Orisha because she metaphorically defied the rules of patriarchy. Humans provide ashe through blood or other ritual actions, and the orisha becomes a conduit of ashe from Olodumare to the petitioner to assist in the petitioner's endeavors. We are also blessed from time to time in the religion with the All life started in the sea, the amneotic fluid inside the Now that you have a background, we can go on. For example, one of the most famous ones tells how the seas and oceans were created. She returned to the river where the naked and ashamed Obatala was still waiting for his clothes and delivered them back to him in exchange for the knowledge she wanted so badly. And by nothing, we can understand no knowledge at all, no job, no riches, no place to live. This name, meaning Foremost of the Westerners, was adopted by Osiris as an epithet. Soon after, she had 9 children, earning the name Ians. The person salutes the Orishas and talks to them during the session. Elegba (also referred to Eleggua or Eleggu) is the owner of the List of Yoruba deities | Religion Wiki | Fandom Africa isnt a single place with a single pantheon, and wed be fools to try and cover all that in an eleven minute video. His colors are blue and yellow. Osiris, also called Usir, one of the most important gods of ancient Egypt. In the Old Kingdom (c. 25752130 BCE), before Osiris rose to prominence as the lord of the underworld, Anubis was considered the principal god of the dead. According to the myth, Osiris was a king of Egypt who was murdered and dismembered by his brother Seth. During the night, Shango took the mysterious red powder and climbed to the top of a mountain. The curation of this content is at the discretion of the author, and not necessarily reflective of the views of Encyclopaedia Britannica or its editorial staff. Finally, there is Eshu, a trickster God, and patron of crossroads. He taught his followers the secrets of civilization (fire, smithing, hunting, politics, and war). Now, you. Hes the one who provides food and protection for all people. this reason all who are to be initiated as priests, no matter what "The Orishas." Creation stories are found throughout the world. Ochossi was saved! So she challenged him by saying she wouldnt use a knife anymore and her children and followers would not use them either. A central feature was the construction of the Osiris garden.. Oy is the ruler of the winds, the whirlwind and the gates of The Orisha And The 12 Gods Of Yoruba Mythology. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Osiris-Egyptian-god, Ancient Origins - The Outstanding Story of Osiris: His Myth, Symbols, and Significance in Ancient Egypt. Of course, he drinks it! The plantation was a success! Even if a priest of one orisha died, there would be others in the community trained to work with that same orisha. From about 2000 bce onward it was believed that every man, not just the deceased kings, became associated with Osiris at death. He is an extremely hot blooded and Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. One story suggests that Osumare disliked this changing nature because he couldnt have any stable relationships. creator of the world and humanity. Through the Table of If Olorun was responsible for having the idea of creating firm land. After this, she fled to the top of a mountain, but he followed her. process). Perhaps the most 'popular' of the orishas, Shang rules over He wore metal armor and he had weapons in his hands. For some reason, Oshumare was cursed to live as a shapeshifter. He was believed to have invented language and the hieroglyphic script and to serve as a scribe and adviser for the gods. Oya is married to Shango, a warrior Orisha who also has fire as an element. Its said there are over 400 different Orishas out there! While he was bathing, Eshu, the trickster, appeared and saw the situation. 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Sometimes they are depicted as once-mortal figures, often leaders, who were elevated by Olodumare to divinity. The orishas are the gods of Santeria, the beings that believers interact with on a regular basis. wife of Ogn. She proposed a deal: she would retrieve Obatalas white clothes and, in exchange, he would eventually teach her how to use Bzios for divination. But they cant figure out what animal hes supposed to be. Instead, one of the roles of the priests of Santeria is to apply applicable patakis to the situation at hand. She is Olorun who created the universe, it is Obatal who is the shortened version of Yey Omo Eja means "Mother Whose observe the orishas at work in the world and in your own lives you will Each orisha has its own distinct personality and has a wide variety of strengths, weaknesses, and interests. This way, offerings to Nana go directly to her. Seven days after, Shangos wife Oya (Ians) traveled to Eshus house to get the medicine. His wife, Isis, reassembled his body and resurrected him, allowing them to conceive a son, the god Horus. From now on, Ochossi was not only able to hunt but also capable of defending himself and others with his bow and arrows. Aganj - orisha that was a warrior king, walked with a sword as a staff, and is associated with fire. She is considered to be the mother of everything and she is associated with the seas. Obatala knocked Eshu down three times and Eshu got back on his feet after all of them. Oya is her main name. And,in her When Omulu knew that Obatala was going to his house, he fled to the forests and hid there. Oshun, who was passing by, found a naked and ashamed Obatala by the river. So he tried a bit more. It says that he initially had nothing. He is depicted as an androgynous being and is considered the union between masculine and feminine energies sometimes he is even portrayed as a woman. Ossain is calm, emotive, and has lots of intuition. His colors are green and yellow which reflect Ogn that clears the roads with his machete. The challenge, however, WAS a lie itself. It was believed that he sailed across the sky in a boat each day and then made a passage through the underworld each night, during which he would have to defeat the snake god Apopis in order to rise again. Agemo - the chameleon servant of the supreme god Olorun. Orisha Omulu, also known as Obalua or Sopona is the healer, but also the one who spreads diseases. He is the repository of ash. He tried to punish her, but she fled. From this argument, a fight started. He was also the embodiment of the divine kingship, and in some eras the reigning king was considered to be a manifestation of Horus. It is said she had some children, but two of them symbolize opposite aspects of life. The stone was actually a thunderstone known as edum ar. One day, in the depths of the forest, he eventually meets Ossain who gives him a potion to drink. Olorun agreed and gave Obatala a shell to help fashion this new world. People would wait for him to heal them. In any form, hes a wise one. allowed to witness the creation of the universe by Olorun and bears Sky Woman: The Overlooked Iroquois Influence on America. She took the less ferocious form of a domestic cat in the first millennium BCE. Madonna. her children by watching the rivers and streams she rules over and themselves and are recognised through their different numbers and They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Sometimes these Orishas would go down from the sky using spiderwebs to play in the water. Greco-Roman authors connected Osiris with the god Dionysus. In some traditions, Aganju is seen as the father or brother of Shango, god of thunder and lightning. Both in Umbanda and Candombl, as well as in other religions derived from the Yoruba, its common to call spells and magical works macumba. Obatal is the kindly father of all the orishas and all Cookies collect information about your preferences and your device and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. offerings and come to our aid. At Memphis the holy bull, Apis, was linked with Osiris, becoming Osiris-Apis, which eventually became the name of the Hellenistic god Serapis. All metals and weapons belong to Ogun, the blacksmith Orisha. orisha rules their head, must go to the river and give account of what To get Oya, Shango entered a battle against Ogun. He just observed how Obatala used to work, how he used to create humans from clay. It started when Orunmila, a powerful Orisha related to prophecies and divination, assigned Ossain with lots of tasks as if he was his slave. In this story, we have Obatala (the Sky) and Odudua (the primordial earth) this is a similar motif found in many other mythologies such as the story of Gaia and Uranos in Greek Mythology and Nut and Geb and Egyptian Mythology. An Orisha is a God or a Goddess from the Yoruba Religion and Mythology. He recognises To start, Yoruba is a name that encompasses a group of people who live in the region of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo in West Africa. Omulu is considered to be ugly and Oshumare is the most beautiful being in the world. A priest could only be dedicated to that single orisha of the city, and that orisha was honored above all others. Irish Morrigan appears to have been a goddess of battle, strife, and sovereignity, although she was not referred to as a goddess in the mythology. 1630 bce) the gods festivals consisted of processions and nocturnal rites and were celebrated at the temple of Abydos, where Osiris had assimilated the very ancient god of the dead, Khenty-Imentiu. His color is Because the festivals took place in the open, public participation was permitted, and by the early 2nd millennium bce it had become fashionable to be buried along the processional road at Abydos or to erect a cenotaph there as a representative of the dead. Some say Shango had 3 wives. Oshun went after Eshu and, when she found him, she asked the clothes back. Osiris was not only the ruler of the dead but also the power that granted all life from the underworld, from vegetation to the annual flood of the Nile River. numbers four and six. Anyway, Oshun wanted to learn at all costs, but Obatala always said no to her. One powerful talisman of Polish Catholicism. (2021, March 4). This way, Ossain was capable of identifying them easily. Ogun always wears dark blue clothes and may also wear pieces of armor. almost always used first for war. People asked him to calm down and forgive Oya. There, she cried and formed the rivers that flooded the earth and created the oceans. Identity. and profound lakes she is deep and unknowable. Historically, If (aka Ile-Ife) showed advanced urbanism and is one of the most urbanized centers of ancient Africa. Firstly because of the eb she prepared to become a mother. In many ways, therefore, understanding an orisha is like understanding another human being. These supernatural entities usually referred to as deities are actually emanations or avatars of the supreme being Olodumare. Id like to remind you that there are more than 400 Orishas out there and different places may highlight others as the main ones. In the New World, Africans from many city-states were thrown together into common slavery. As such, the orishas came to be regarded as roughly equals as cultures mixed. Thanks for reading! One day, Obatala and Eshu argued about who was the oldest Orisha of all. Some Orishas are worshiped as gods in their own right and they include top names such as Babal Ay, Elegua, Obatala, Ochosi, Ogun, Oya, Shango and Yemaya. Over the course of Egyptian history hundreds of gods and goddesses were worshipped. Bastet - Wikipedia He is the owner of all So we can say West Africa, specifically Nigeria, Benin, and Togo form the place where Yoruba is located. From her death, many Orisha children were born (now comes the conflicting information): I said there is conflicting information because there are several stories that suggest Yemaya, Oshun, and Oya are sisters too. This If kingdom is utterly important for us here. Ill start with some history, so you can be situated, and then Ill enter the mysterious and magical realm of the Orishas. roads. The god Seth was considered the murderer of Osiris and adversary of Horus. Yemay lives and rules over the seas and lakes. Were going to focus on a dozen or so. lightning, thunder, fire, the drums and dance. But not a river or an ocean. Osiris was one of the most important gods of ancient Egypt. The orishas are often best understood by observing the forces of nature In her path of Okutti He didnt want to dance, mainly because he had a wooden leg and he couldnt dance like the others. He is ocanani with Elegba, meaning She uses this transformation to attack those who threaten her children and the ones she protects. He tried to create humans from air (his element), from wood, and from many other types of material, but he was not successful. mother's womb is a form of sea where the embryo must transform and According to the form of the myth reported by the Greek author Plutarch, Osiris was slain or drowned by Seth, who tore the corpse into 14 pieces and flung them over Egypt. These macumbas can be done with the energies of the Orishas too, though this is not a requirement. Archaeologists discover 24 new lines at Nazca, DNA Results Show The Elongated Paracas Skulls Are Not Native American, Ancient people knew that the Earth was round 2000 years before Columbus. Rituals invoking his spirit require the rapid beating of drums, which often cause his followers to fall into a deep trance. Today we can find them, alongside branches of their cult and worship practices, outside from Africa. Each region has their own main Orishas and stories may also vary. Their tales and beliefs are as old as time, predating our common era. From about 2000 BCE, it was believed that every man, not just the deceased kings, became associated with Osiris at death. Possible Greek/Roman Equivalent (s) Other. The next step was the creation of all life. 2023 All Rights Reserved. Even knives must be made of wood. ALA baniase: He who gives fourth and takes This name given for his great powers. Everything consists of songs, stories, and practices. As the god of wisdom, Thoth was said to possess knowledge of magic and secrets unavailable to the other gods. He rules over the fire element, but hes also related to storms and thunderbolts, like his wife Ians (Oya). She is the youngest of propitiated and always called first before any other orisha as he opens Ogn out of the forests using her feminine wiles. Orisha Ogun is the blacksmith, the one who creates weapons for the other Orishas. done in either world without his permission. Obatala became aware of the situation and decided to punish Omulu for spreading the disease among the Orishas. After his death, he was deified as an orisha. Luckily, Obatala exiled him to the wilderness, where he has lived as an outcast. I also wrote about it, focusing on the aspect of life and death, in the article Orishas and the Balance Between Life and Death for Folklore Thursday. The orishas are the gods of Santeria, the beings that believers interact with on a regular basis. If means something like the large abode and it was the first land created by Obatala, the Creator Orisha. He wears light-green and light-blue clothes and he also has the seven colors of the rainbow around him. Amaunet - The Ogdoad Goddess of the North wind, this carried the rain, she was the female form of the originally androgynous God Amun. (Sincerely, I would have done the same!). He also taught humans agriculture. Interestingly, most of them share things in common in one way or another. An Orisha is a God or a Goddess from the Yoruba Religion and Mythology. they are about to do. Eventually, Isis and her sister Nephthys found and buried all the pieces, except the phallus, thereby giving new life to Osiris, who thenceforth remained in the underworld as ruler and judge. As a spirit of Chaos and Trickery, he frequently tempts mortals from their moral path. He represents the power of fortune. Obatal is also the only orisha that has both male Even if he needs to fight Ossain in his realm, he wants his brother back. Olorun by Sanjana Baijnath Hes also the one whos responsible for work in general. His reign ended when he inadvertently destroyed his palace with lightning. Shango asked her if Eshu gave instructions on how to use that powder. https://www.britannica.com/list/11-egyptian-gods-and-goddesses, largest and most complex pantheons of gods. If you wish to support me,please use the button below and buy me a ko-fi! The shell contained a magical soil and a divine cloth. Eshu used to roam free with no destination at all. Just like a storm. One day she asked a Babalawo for some advice and she was told she would have children if he made an eb (food offering) with lamb. The earth which was inside the seashell fell on it and covered a small space. They recognise themselves and are recognised through their different numbers and colors which are their marks, and each has their own favorite foods and other things which they like to receive as offerings and gifts. To perform it, Obatala was given a shell full of earth, a five-fingered hen, and a pigeon.