Ọlọrun (Yoruba alphabet:Ọlọrun) (Ede language:ɔlɔrun) is the ruler of (or in)the Heavens, creator of the universe, and the Supreme Deity or Supreme Being in theYoruba religion and relatedsyncretic religions. Ọlọrun is also called numerous other names includingOlodumare (Yoruba alphabet:Olódùmarè), Eledumare and Eleduwa/Eledua. However, in some belief systems the different names refer to particular deities or aspects of the same deity.[1]
From theYoruba language, Ọlọrun's name is a contraction of the wordsoní (which denotes ownership or rulership) andọ̀run (which means theHeavens, abode of the spirits).
Another name, Olodumare, comes from the phrase "O ní odù mà rè" meaning "the owner of the source of creation that does not become empty," "or the All Sufficient".[2][3][4][5]
In Yoruba culture, Ọlọrun is credited with creating the universe and all living things. Ọlọrun is frequently perceived as a compassionate entity who protects its creations and is thought to be omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. People do not worship Olorun directly; there are no sacred areas of worship, no iconography.[6][7]
Ọlọrun's ordained are known to beOriṣa, divine beings[8] of whomObatala is King, who govern, regulate and sustain the physical realm (Ayé).[9] Olorun is outlying, distant, and does not partake in human rituals. There are no shrines or sacrifices dedicated directly to them, although followers can send prayers in their direction.[10][11]
For Yoruba traditions, there is no centralized authority; because of this, there are many different ways that Yoruba people and their descendants or orisha-based faiths can understand the idea of Ọlọrun.[10]
Historically, the Yoruba worship Ọlọrun through the agency of the oriṣa; thus there is no direct image, shrine or sacrifice for the deity.[10] It is generally believed that Ọlọrun is manifest in all of existence, and the believer is therefore bound to be grateful and loving towards all beings.[12]However, there are those who also worship them directly, believing the deity to be the origin of virtue and mortality, and bestower of the knowledge of things upon all persons when they are born. Ọlọrun is omnipotent, transcendent, unique, all knowing, good, and evil.[12] The Yoruba have adialectical view and understanding of evil, and believe its existence is necessary for cosmic balance; without evil (ìbì), there cannot be good (ìré).[13][14][15] Thus, the Yoruba thought does not face theproblem of evil. The deity's manifestations are supernatural beings, both good (oriṣa) and bad (ajogun), who represent human activity and natural forces, and who maintain universal equilibrium.[16][17]
The one supreme God in Trinidad Orisha is Olodumare, the Yoruba deity who created the Ayé, the world of the living, visible to us, and theOrun, the invisible spiritual world of the gods, spirits, and ancestors. They (Olodumare) are the Creator of the cosmology and all that exists.[18]
Santería teaches the existence of an overarching divinity, known as Olodumare, Olofi, or Olorun.[19] Practitioners believe that this divinity created the universe but takes little interest in human affairs.[20] As this creator deity is inaccessible to humanity,[21] no major offerings are dedicated to them.[22] The three facets of this divinity are understood slightly differently; Olodumare represents the divine essence of all that exists, Olorun is regarded as the creator of all beings, while Olofi dwells in all creation.[23] In taking a triplicate form, this deity displays similarities with the ChristianTrinity.[23]
Ọlọrun has no gender in theIfá Literary Corpus, and is always referred to as an entity who exists in spiritual form only.[24][25] Christian missionaries, such asBolaji Idowu, aimed to reinterpret traditional Yoruba culture as consistent with Christian theology as a way of pushing conversion. The first translation of the Bible into Yoruba in the late 1800s bySamuel Ajayi Crowther controversially adopted traditional Yoruba names, such as "Olodumare/Olorun" for "God" and "Eṣu" for the devil, and thus began associating Olorun with the male gender.[24]
^Akintoye, Adebenji (2010). "Chapter 2: The Development of Early Yoruba Society".A History of the Yoruba People. Senegal: Amalion Publishing.ISBN978-2-35926-005-2.
^Sogolo, Godwin (1993).Foundations of African Philosophy: A Definitive Analysis of Conceptual Issues in African Thought. Ibadan: Ibadan University Press.ISBN9789781212376.
^""Gods and Spirits."".Odyssey Online, Africa. Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester and Dallas Museum of Art.: Michael C. Carlos Museum of Emory University.
^Mason 1994, p. 36 sfnm error: no target: CITEREFMason1994 (help);Mason 2002, p. 8 sfnm error: no target: CITEREFMason2002 (help);Wedel 2004, p. 82 sfnm error: no target: CITEREFWedel2004 (help);Flores-Peña 2005, p. 105 sfnm error: no target: CITEREFFlores-Peña2005 (help).
^abAbímbólá, Kólá (2005). "Chapter 3: The Yorùbá Cosmos".Yorùbá Culture: A Philosophical Account. Great Britain: Ìrókò Academic Publishers.ISBN9781483535944.
^Mligo, Elia Shabani (2013). "Chapter 3: The Concept of God".Elements of Traditional African Religion. Eugene, Oregon: Resource Publications.ISBN978-1-62564-070-3.
