orisha gods and goddesses pdf

These are the orishas who were mortal at first but were later deified by their descendants for the significant impact that their lives had on Yoruba culture. She holds the secrets of botany and is a master of potions and healing herbs. Shango was the third king of the Oyo Kingdom. Rather than willfully trying to misguide them, his aim is to enrich their life experience, leading them to a spiritual maturation through their transgressions. Oshun can be spiteful, Shango impatient, Esu deceitful, Yemaya wrathful, and so on. WebOshun, also spelled Osun, an orisha (deity) of the Yoruba people of southwestern Nigeria. Oshun was associated with Our Lady of Mercy. Orisha devotion became a profound influence upon the emergence of such new religions as Vodou in Haiti and Santera in Cuba. Keep reading to know more about them. Always in the middle of conflicting forces, Eshu is commonly linked to duality and contrasts. A fourth version of the myth suggests that Erinle was turned into the first elephant (its unclear by whom), and only after he had spent some time living like this, was the hunter granted orisha status. He is revered by all the hunting communities and is often employed by the Orishas as a scout, helping them to locate lost items. Mark, J. J. According to myth, these ancestors would commonly ascend to the sky or sink into the ground before turning into deities instead of dying as normal mortals would. Their number is usually given as 400 + 1 as a kind of shorthand for "without number" or innumerable. Each one represents specific ideas, objects or natural phenomena. He created the Orishas to be mediators between himself and the people. According to oral tradition, during the earliest days of humanity, Aja would share much of her herbal and medicine knowledge with the Yoruba people. Esu hurries to Olodumares realm of Orun with the news, and Olodumare stops the rains. For instance, the Yoruba are thought to have a pantheon of up to 6,000 deities.[3]. About 78% of Brazil's population are Yorubas. The World History Encyclopedia logo is a registered trademark. Yoruba gods and goddesses are worshipped in Nigeria, Cuba, and Brazil. In the Yoruba pantheon, the orishas are the deities that help Oludumare, the Supreme God, to keep cosmogonic order. In one tale, the Orishas gather to discuss how they can rid themselves of Olodumare and decide to scare him to death by inviting him to one of their huts and then releasing mice, which Olodumare was afraid of, into the room at dinner. Yemaja is a mother goddess, patron of pregnancy and children. But one concern remained in Orunmilas mind: How was he going to select who was to have which power without being perceived as unfair or arbitrary for the distribution? Her son, Orungan, raped her when her guard was down, and in grief she exploded, her self-sacrifice creating fifteen Orishas. To achieve this degree of control and interdependence, the ancestors made offerings and sacrifices. The high gods of the Yoruba are called Orishas (ancestral spirits or nature gods the Yorubas worship). Yorubas believe the Orishas continued to practice their traditional religion despite becoming Christians. As an immortal, he was unable to die, so he chose instead to descend into the earths surface, in a place named Ire-Ekiti. Initially, they represented their gods using elements of nature like rivers, storms, mountains, and forests. WebFREE DOWNLOAD Knowing The Orisha Gods Goddesses book in PDF, EPUB and Kindle format. Its said that her arrogance made her challenge Orunmila to a duel. Her first children were the cosmic twins Mawu (Moon Goddess) and Lisa (Sun God) who were said to be the first man and woman. 16 Orishas are male and the 17th, Oshun, is not only female but the youngest among them. Via the qualities of the Orishas as universal celestial powers, this way of life was attained. Their number is usually given as 400 + 1 as a kind of shorthand for "without number" or innumerable. He has been wrongfully portrayed, by early missionaries to West Africa and in the African Diaspora, as a distant but powerful God whose endeavors and dwellings are obscure. She often confers riches and good fortune on his followers. The Yoruba people occupy southwestern Nigeria. Obatala was enraged at his brother for usurping his position, but he eventually conceded to his Oduduwas divine authority. It is the orishas who are the guardians and explicators of human destiny. WebThe Orishas Gods Book PDF | Download Or Read Online The Orishas Gods This book PDF is perfect for those who love Electronic Books genre, written by Danso Tangara and published by Independently Published which was released on 11 February 2021 with total hardcover pages 128. The heaven realm is the domain of Olorun, a sun god. It is possible the Ajogun are Orisha tricksters, but whatever they are, they cannot be considered 'evil' or 'demonic' in a Christian sense. In the original African belief system from which Santeria originates, there are hundreds of orishas . His rule lasted for seven years and ended when Shango was dethroned by one of his former allies. The Yoruba religion emphasizes continual feeding and supplication to the Orishas, and the community respects the words of the possessed. They must be honored through remembrance and invoked to do so by living humans, however, and so fall lower on the hierarchy than the living. In themselves the cowrie shells symbolize wealth, because they were once a medium of economic exchange. She is kind and generous to her followers, but when brought to anger she can cause untold destruction. In some tales, she is said to be a mermaid. She used these magical tools to create the cosmos, including the human race. As a Yoruba myth explains, back when the world was completely covered with water, Olodumare assigned Obatala with the task of giving shape to the land. The archaeological evidence from the West African sites states that Orishas developed between 500-300 BCE. They are not demons, however, because according to Yoruba belief, all things in creation natural and supernatural are possessed of the aspects of positivity (ire) and negativity (ibi) and so nothing can be understood as wholly good or completely evil. An Orisha is a God or a Goddess from the Yoruba Religion and Mythology. His most notable role is that of the psychopomp (guardian of the dead). These West African faiths may also have the most intricate theologies. Via the qualities of the Orishas as universal celestial powers, this way of life was attained. Help us and translate this definition into another language! The Yoruba people are based in Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. St. Peter may have established the Church but still denied Christ three times, just as Ogun may have been understood as a source of strength and healing but still tried to rape Oshun in one of the stories where she is rescued by Yemaya. 12 African Gods and Goddesses: The Orisha Pantheon Syed Rafid Kabir | African History , Ancient Civilizations , Gods and Goddesses | January 9, 2023 July 2, 2022 Lions, elephants, vast stretches of the jungle with venomous snakes, or an endless sea of sand stalked by nefarious scorpions. They are also venerated by the Edo of southeastern Nigeria; the Ewe of Ghana, Benin, and Togo; and the Fon of Benin (who refer to them as voduns). Everything that went into forming these witnessing objectsfrom leaves, earth, metal, pottery, or animal bones to the incantations and sacrifices that praised and coerced the orishas many powers to lodge in one placebecomes part of the objects (and the orishas) secret. and Loss. She is married to Shango, the sky god, who favored her for her excellent cooking and skills in bed. Oshun turns herself into a peacock and flies to Orun but, passing too close to the sun, loses most of her feathers and, because the journey was so long, arrives exhausted and ill but still delivers the message of the Orishas contrition. He can see into the distant past and the far-flung future, granting him with a profound wisdom. The Orishas attend religious celebrations by possessing believers and making them go into a trance. We contribute a share of our revenue to remove carbon from the atmosphere and we offset our team's carbon footprint. The head also has other values associated with it that derive from the hierarchical nature of Yoruba social life. After being defeated, Iku lost her status as an orisha, however, Yoruba practitioners still regard her as one of the primordial forces of the universe. Belief in the Orishas is thought to have developed between 500-300 BCE but is most likely much older, as this dating is supported by archaeological evidence and there are many West African sites still unexcavated. Please select which sections you would like to print: Associate Medical Professor, City College of New York. Plants and animals, though at the bottom of the ladder, are not considered of less value than humans or ancestors, only less capable of agency. Mawu was also a creative goddess, who was tasked with fashioning all other life on Earth. Back and forth Esu went between the deity and humanity, trying to reason with the people, attempting to convince them of how good they had it in a world where their every desire was met and no one went hungry, but the people demanded change and differentiation and so Olodumare granted their wishes but told them upfront that, once the change was made, it could not be reversed. The Yoruba religion comprises religious & spiritual concepts/teachings, the Yoruba mythology/history, and the people's practices. When associated with the latter, Eshu is the deity of mischief. People felt they could talk to the Orishas freely because the Orishas understood their problems, weaknesses, pains, and fears. WebOrishas (singular: orisha) are spirits that play a key role in the Yoruba religion of West Africa and several religions of the African diaspora that derive from it, such as Cuban, Dominican and Puerto Rican Santera and Brazilian Candombl. The number of orishas varies among believers. Once possessed by his spirit, the devotee experiences a frenzied blood-lust. The orishas protected humans, going to Orunmila (Oludumares oldest son and god of wisdom) to seek advice from him, every time a mortal would ask them for help. The Yoruba were able to continue practicing their religion by nominally becoming Catholic as the saints served the same purpose in Catholicism as the Orishas did in their native faith, as intermediaries between a believer and the supreme deity. Oshun is the goddess of love, intimacy, and marriage. Top 10 Obas in Yorubaland: Interesting facts about the rulers. Plants and animals are understood as possessing the same divine spark as human beings. orisha, also spelled orixa or orisa, any of the deities of the Yoruba people of southwestern Nigeria. The earth begins to die as crops fail and lakes and rivers dry up, and the Orishas wail their repentance, but Olodumare does not hear them. The third king of the Yoruba Oyo Empire, Shango was considered a violent ruler, but also one with notorious military achievements. Eshu is also considered the embodiment of change, and as such, the Yoruba people believe he could bring them both happiness and destruction. Aganju was the next Orisha to manifest on earth. They can be counted on, however, to deliver the messages of mortals to Olodumare and so they came to be associated with the saints of Catholicism when the Yoruba people were brought as slaves to the so-called New World. Finally, there is Eshu, a trickster God, and patron of crossroads. WebThe Orishas Gods Book PDF | Download Or Read Online The Orishas Gods This book PDF is perfect for those who love Electronic Books genre, written by Danso Tangara and published by Independently Published which was released on 11 February 2021 with total hardcover pages 128. Copyright Ancient Code. He understands the secrets of dreaming, meditation, psychic ability and healing. The Orishas then huddled by the great baobab tree that provided them with everything they needed and refused to use their powers for creation, preferring to satisfy their own needs. WebOrishas (singular: orisha) are spirits that play a key role in the Yoruba religion of West Africa and several religions of the African diaspora that derive from it, such as Cuban, Dominican and Puerto Rican Santera and Brazilian Candombl. Similar worship of African deities can also be found among the Afro-Franco populations of Haiti and the US state of Louisiana. With your support millions of people learn about history entirely for free, every month. Ogun by Eran Fowler These Are The 10 Avatars Of Vishnu, One Of The Main Ancient Hindu Deities, 14 Massive Monoliths Of The Ancient World, Sky Cars Are Here and Some Look Like a Flying Saucer. To stop the orisha from accomplishing his purpose, Obatala chained him to the bottom of the sea. Retrieved from https://www.worldhistory.org/Orisha/. License. An orisha, therefore, is a complex multidimensional unity linking people, objects, and powers. This is the case of Yemoja, also called Yemaya, who is considered both a primordial deity and the personification of a natural force. The number of orishas varies among believers. Two gods rule over both these primordial realms. His youngest son, Obatala, asked if he could create a new realm made of earth. Generally, Yemoja exhibits a comprehensive character, but she can turn temperamental quickly if she perceives that her children are being threatened or mistreated. WebIn the Yoruba pantheon, the orishas are the deities that help Oludumare, the Supreme God, to keep cosmogonic order. Eshu, a trickster God, to keep cosmogonic order Shango impatient, Esu deceitful, Yemaya wrathful and... Magical tools to create the cosmos, including the human race the people 's practices lasted for seven and! Once possessed by his spirit, the Supreme God, and patron of crossroads are! She often confers riches and good fortune on his followers people felt they could talk the. 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