Being supernatural forces, the Orishas influence the course of a person's life. Generally practiced in Yoruba religion, they exist and are greatly celebrated in other religions such as Lucumi, Candomble, Santeria, etc. However, the creation of the Orishas is deeply rooted in the Yoruba version of creation. Contrary to the western belief of a god or a supreme creator, the Yoruba culture believes that all of creation was carried out by Obatala, a subordinate of the Supreme Being, Olodumare. Ran than Olodumare carrying out the task, Obatala sought permission from Olodumare and was ultimately granted the task. Olodumare, the lord of the skies, at first created just the skies above and waters below--there was no middle ground. Given the creation of these two spaces, Olorun ("the head or chief of heaven") took charge of the sky realm, while his counterpart Olokun ("the head or chief of the deep waters") controlled the water realm beneath the stars.
Creation Myth
Obatala was inspired to create a middle ground, habitable for creatures to live in. He sought permission from Olorun, which was granted; however, more was needed. Obatala would need the longest gold chain ever in order to reach the surface of the waters below. He would also need to fill a snail's shell with sand from the sky realms and go with a white hen, black cat, and a palm nut on his journey to the water's surface. The chain wasn't long enough to reach the water's surface, so Obatala called on Orunmila who responded by instructing him to pour out the sand from the snail's shell and then release the white hen. Obatala did this, and the white hen landed on the poured sand and began scratching, causing the sand to spread out to different areas. Wherever the sand landed, it turned into dry land with certain spots possessing bigger piles of sand that turned into mountains and hills or, those with less, turned into valleys. Thus, Obatala created dry land!
He dropped to one of the hills created and named it Ife, an ancient Yoruban city located in Nigeria. After residing here for a while (with only a black cat as a companion), Obatala began forming human figures from clay, breathing life into them. The lives of these new figures intrigued gods, who would come to the earth to visit the humans. These beings became what we know as the Orisha, signifying their divine status and capacity to help or influence human lives.
Classes of Orisha (Yoruba)
First Class -- beings of divine origin, the orun
Obatala
Olodumare
Orunmila
Obaluaye
Esu (Elegba)
Osanyin
*also known as Natural Elements & Other Spiritual Entities, the irunmole
*except Olodumare
Deified Mortals, strictly human
Men
Women
Kings
Warriors
Hunters
Healers
*Not all powerful mortals are deified
Ancestor Worship
A structure for connecting with the accumulated knowledge, wisdom, and power of our dead blood relatives. Energy cannot be created or destroyed, and therefore, our ancestors are connected with and available to us. We are connected through a road of energy and power that is available to those who know and practice the rituals.
Divination
Through these connections, there is also the belief that destinies and/or life patterns are established prior to birth into this world. And through the act of divination, practitioners of Yoruba are able to understand their futures and the outcomes of their undertakings. Divination, therefore, does not only offer the opportunity to see and know your future, but the ability to change it. The practice of divination allows its practitioners to live life as a continuum.
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