The Orishas are mediators between the human and spiritual realm, and are the major source of communication with the Supreme Being. Originally in Yorubaland—the cultural region of the Yoruba people in West Africa that spans modern day Nigeria, Togo, and Benin–many Orishas were worshipped.
Who are the 7 Orishas?
Another common initiation is the intitiation into the Seven African Powers (Elegua, Obatala, Oggun, Chango, Yemaya, Oshun, and Orunmilla). Devotees from Cuba often replace Orunmilla with Babalu-Aye. The Seven African Powers are consecrated into one eleke.
How many African orishas are there?
Yoruba tradition often says that there are 400 + 1 orisha, which is associated with a sacred number. Other sources suggest that the number is “as many as you can think of, plus one more – an innumerable number.” Different oral traditions refer to 400, 700, or 1,440 orisha.
Who are the Orisha people?
Orisha, also spelled orixa or orisa, any of the deities of the Yoruba people of southwestern Nigeria. 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).
How many orishas can you have?
No one is allowed to touch the follower aside from family members or lovers. Every follower is assigned to an orisha who will guide him or her throughout life. There are around 400 orishas, but only 20 are regularly worshiped in Cuba.
Who is the most powerful Orisha?
Ṣàngó is viewed as the most powerful and feared of the orisha pantheon. He casts a “thunderstone” to earth, which creates thunder and lightning, to anyone who offends him.
Which Orisha helps with money?
Olokun is believed to be the parent of Aje, the orisha of great wealth and of the bottom of the ocean. Olokun is revered as the ruler of all bodies of water and for the authority over other water deities. Olokun is highly praised for their ability to give great wealth, health, and prosperity to their followers.
Who is the oldest Orisha?
Obatalá (also known as Ochalá or Oxalá; Orichalá or Orixalá) is the oldest “orisha funfun” (“white deity”), referring to purity, both physically and symbolically as in the “light” of consciousness. In Santería, Obatalá is syncretized with Our Lady of Mercy and Jesus Of Nazareth.
Who is the Orisha of death?
Ọya (Yoruba: Ọya, also known as Oyá or Oiá; Yansá or Yansã; and Iansá or Iansã in Latin America) is an orisha of winds, lightning, and violent storms, death and rebirth. She is similar to the Haitian god Maman Brigitte, who is syncretised with the Catholic Saint Brigit.
Are Oshun and Yemaya the same?
Yemaya is the orisha of the surface of the ocean. She is the other half of Olokun, sometimes a sister and sometimes a wife (sometimes, both deities are androgynous). While Olokun is the Keeper of Secrets and rules over the depths of the ocean, Yemaya presides over the surface waters.
What is Ashe in Yoruba?
Ase or ashe (from Yoruba àṣẹ) is a West African philosophical concept through which the Yoruba of Nigeria conceive the power to make things happen and produce change. … Existence, according to Yoruba thought, is dependent upon it.
Where did Orisha originate?
Originating in Nigeria, Orisha combines elements of African religions (notably Yoruba), Catholicism, Hinduism, Protestantism Spiritual Baptist, and Kabbalah.
How many Yoruba gods are there?
There are at least 401 recognized Orisha, or gods, in the Yoruba pantheon. Many of these Orisha are localized ancestral spirits or nature gods and are worshiped in relatively small areas.
Is Santeria illegal?
Based on a mixture of West African religions and Catholicism, Santeria has long been controversial, chiefly because of rituals that call for the sacrifice of animals, usually goats and chickens. … Yet, sacrifices performed humanely are legal, said Lt.
Is IFA a voodoo?
Ifa is one of an interrelated network of religions with African roots, including Vodou, Santeria and Sango Baptism, that appear to be gaining popularity in the United States, including in Maryland, as some African-Americans seek a spiritual experience firmly grounded in their own cultural heritage.
What does Ori mean in Yoruba?
The term ori literally means “head,” that is, the physical human head, which, as Oyeronke Olajubu (2003, 33) explains, “is conceived by the Yoruba as a representation of the inner essence in humans; it symbolizes the individual’s essential nature”—the person’s ori-inu, or “inner head,” as distinct from the physical, or …