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The Orishas are the divine forces of Yoruba belief, sent by Olurun to shape the world and guide humanity. Tradition says there are four hundred and one of them; these are the most widely honoured. Their names, stories and colours vary between Yorubaland, Cuban Lucumí, Brazilian Candomblé and other traditions.
Olọ́run · Olódùmarè
The Supreme Creator
Olurun, the Owner of the Heavens, is the supreme God of Yoruba belief and the source of all creation. Olurun is above the Orishas rather than one of them: Olurun gives àṣẹ, the divine power that makes things happen, and sends the Orishas to carry out creation and guide humanity. Olurun has no shrines; prayers reach Olurun through the Orishas and the ancestors.
Ọbàtálá
Purity, wisdom and creation of the human body
The King of the White Cloth and eldest of the Orishas. Olurun gave Obatala the task of shaping the land and moulding human bodies from clay. Obatala stands for clarity, patience, justice and calm judgement, protects people born with disabilities, and is honoured with white cloth and cool, clean offerings.
Odùduwà
Ancestor of the Yoruba and founder of Ile-Ife
Honoured as the ancestor of the Yoruba people and the first king of Ile-Ife, from whom the royal lines of the Yoruba kingdoms trace their descent. In one creation story Oduduwa climbed down a chain from heaven carrying a calabash of earth and a five-toed hen; the hen scattered the earth across the waters, and the first dry land appeared at Ile-Ife. Other tellings give this task to Obatala.
Ọ̀rúnmìlà
Wisdom, destiny and Ifá divination
The witness of destiny, who was present when every soul chose its path before birth. Orunmila is the Orisha of knowledge and the Ifá system of divination, through which babaláwo priests read a person's destiny and find the sacrifices and choices that keep life in balance.
Orí
The head, the inner self and destiny
Orí means head, and it is each person's own inner Orisha: the destiny the soul chose before birth. Tradition says no Orisha can bless a person without the consent of their Orí, and that Orí alone can walk with someone all the way to their fate. Orí is honoured first, at a shrine called ibori, so that a person's head will lead them well.
Èṣù · Ẹlẹ́gbára
Messenger, crossroads and choice
The divine messenger who carries offerings and prayers between people, the Orishas and Olurun, so he is honoured first in every ceremony. Eshu guards crossroads, doorways and every moment of decision, and enforces the order of the universe. He is a trickster who tests character, never the devil he has sometimes been mistaken for.
Ògún
Iron, labour, technology and clearing the way
The warrior and blacksmith who cleared the first path through the wilderness with his iron machete so the other Orishas could come to earth. Ogun rules metal, tools, work, roads and invention, and protects hunters, soldiers, smiths, drivers and anyone who works with machines. Oaths are sworn on his iron.
Ọ̀ṣọ́ọ̀sì
The hunt, the forest and justice
The divine hunter and tracker, whose arrow never misses its mark. Oshosi lives in the forest alongside his brother Ogun, provides for the community, and stands for focus, precision and justice; those facing the courts or searching for something ask for his aim.
Ṣàngó
Thunder, lightning, fire and justice
Remembered as a powerful king of the Oyo Empire who became an Orisha, Shango commands thunder and hurls lightning stones at wrongdoers. He is the Orisha of royal power, courage, drumming and dance, and his symbol is the double-headed axe. His colours are red and white.
Ọya
Wind, storms, change and transformation
The fierce warrior queen of the winds, the hurricane and the Niger River, and a wife of Shango. Oya sweeps away the old so that the new can begin, guards the gateway between life and death, and watches over the market place. She is honoured for courage and for change that cannot be stopped.
Yemọja
Motherhood, protection and the waters
The great mother, whose name means mother whose children are like fish. In Yorubaland she is the Orisha of the Ogun River; across the diaspora, as Yemayá and Iemanjá, she rules the ocean. Yemoja protects women, children and families and is honoured with blue and white and gifts carried to the water.
Ọ̀ṣun
Love, fertility, beauty and sweet water
The Orisha of the Osun River, of love, sweetness, fertility, wealth and diplomacy. In one story the other Orishas could not make the world work without her, and only her wisdom set things right. Her sacred grove at Osogbo in Nigeria is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and her colours are gold and yellow.
Olókun
The depths of the ocean, wealth and mystery
The ruler of the deepest ocean, where light does not reach. Olokun holds great riches and hidden knowledge, and stands for the mysteries of the unconscious and of what cannot be seen. Olokun is especially honoured in Benin and along the coast.
Ọbalúayé · Ṣọ̀pọ̀nná
Disease, healing and the earth
The King of the Earth, who can bring illness such as smallpox and who also heals it. Babalu Aye, also called Omolu, is honoured with great respect and asked for health, recovery and protection from epidemics. He is shown covered in straw that hides his wounds.
Ọ̀sanyìn
Herbs, leaves and medicine
The Orisha of the forest's plants and the healing power hidden in every leaf. No ceremony can happen without Osanyin's leaves, and herbalists and healers call on him for remedies. He is often described with one eye, one arm and one leg, and speaks through a small bird.
Òrìṣà Oko
Farming, harvest and the land
The Orisha of agriculture and the fertile soil, who taught people to farm. Orisha Oko blesses crops and the harvest, settles disputes between people over land, and is honoured at the yam festival with the first fruits of the season.
Àgànjú
Volcanoes, wilderness and great strength
The Orisha of volcanoes, deserts and the untamed wilderness, and of the raw power deep inside the earth. Aganju is the ferryman who carries travellers across the river, and stories link him closely with Shango as father, brother or ally.
Ọ̀ṣùmàrè
The rainbow, cycles and continuity
The rainbow serpent who stretches from earth to sky and carries water between them. Oshumare stands for the cycles of life, movement, renewal and prosperity, and for the link between heaven and earth.
Ìbejì
Twins, joy and abundance
The sacred twins. The Yoruba have one of the highest rates of twin births in the world, and twins are seen as special blessings who bring good fortune. Ibeji are honoured with sweets and toys, and carved figures keep the memory of twins who have died.
The primordial mother, mud and the ancient past
One of the oldest Orishas, shared with the Fon and Ewe peoples. Nana Buruku is the grandmother of creation, linked with mud, swamps and the earth from which life first came, and with the passage of the dead back into the earth.
Ọbà
Devotion, loyalty and the Oba River
The Orisha of the Oba River and first wife of Shango. Oba stands for loyalty, devotion and the sacrifices made for love, and protects marriage and home.
The Yewa River, solitude and transition
The Orisha of the Yewa River in western Yorubaland. Yewa is linked with purity and solitude and, in Cuban tradition, with the cemetery and the quiet care of the dead.
Healing, hunting and the waters
A hunter, healer and Orisha of rivers, known in the diaspora as Inle. Erinle is the divine physician who knows both the forest and the water, and is honoured for health, abundance and wise guidance.
Justice, oaths and moral order
A guardian of justice honoured by the Ilaje and Ikale of Yorubaland and by their Ijaw and Edo neighbours. Tradition says Ayelala was a woman offered as a sacrifice to settle a grave dispute between communities, and that she rose as a deity who punishes wrongdoing. Oaths are sworn before her shrines, and she is called on to expose theft, adultery, lies and broken promises.
Ayé · Ilẹ̀ · Onílẹ̀
Mother Earth, abundance and the harvest
Ayé is the Yoruba word for the world, the living Earth on which everyone walks. Honoured as Mother Earth, also called Ilẹ̀ and Onílẹ̀, she feeds every living thing, receives the dead back into her body and witnesses every promise made upon her; the Ogboni society swears its oaths to her. She is thanked with the first fruits of the harvest.