List of Yoruba deities

The following is a list of Yoruba orisha (òrìṣà), or deities.

Supreme being

The Supreme God has three manifestations:

  • Ọlọ́run- the Supreme Creator
  • Eledumare - the ruler of the lower Heavens
  • Olofi - the conduit between Orún (Heaven) and Ayé (Earth)

Metaphysical personifications or spirits
  • Orunmila - spirit of wisdom, divination, destiny, and foresight
  • Ori - personification of one's spiritual intuition and destiny

Àwọn òrìṣà okunrin (male orishas)
  • Àganjù - orisha of the volcanoes, of the wilderness and of the earth
  • Ọbalúayé - orisha of the Earth and strongly associated with infectious disease and healing
  • Erinlẹ̀ - a elephant hunter and physician to the gods
  • Èṣù - Èṣù is the orisha of crossroads, duality, beginnings and balance
  • Ibeji - twin orisha of vitality and youth
  • Lògúnẹ̀dẹ - a warrior and hunter
  • Ọbàtálá - creator of human bodies; orisha of light, spiritual purity, and moral uprightness
  • Odùduwà - progenitor orisha of the Yorubas
  • Ògún - orisha who presides over iron, fire, hunting, agriculture and war
  • Okó - a hunter and farmer
  • Osanyin - orisha of the forest, herbs and medicine
  • Oṣùmàrè - divine rainbow serpent associated with creation and procreation
  • Ọ̀ṣọ́ọ̀sì - orisha of the hunt, forest, strategy and of the knowledge
  • Ṣàngó - orisha of the thunders and lightnings
  • Akògún - a warrior and hunter, wear straw

Àwọn òrìṣà Obinrin(Female Orishas)
  • Ajé - orisha of wealth
  • Ayao - orisha of air
  • Yewa - orisha of the river Yewa. of the maternity and of the children
  • Nàná Bùkùú - orisha of the river and of the earth
  • Ọbà - first wife of Ṣàngó and orisha of domesticity and marriage
  • Ọtìn - orisha of river, she is hunter and wife of Erinlẹ̀
  • Olókun - orisha of the seas
  • Ọ̀ṣun - orisha who presides over love, intimacy, beauty, wealth, diplomacy and of the Ọ̀ṣun river
  • Ọya - orisha of the Niger River; associated with wind, lightning, fertility, fire, and magic
  • Yemọja - a mother goddess; patron deity of women and of the Ogun river
  • Yemowo - wife of Ọbàtálá and of the water

Difference between Yoruba òrìṣà worship and what is practiced among Afro-Hispanics

There are seven primary òrìṣàs, called orishas/orichas in Spanish and orixas in Portugués, and pronounced the same. Depending upon the country and what was passed down during the slave-trade era, the "Seven Powers" or "Siete Potencias" consist of the following òrìṣàs (the Spanish pronunciation is used):

  • Elegua, Yemayá (Yemọja), Oshún (Ọ̀ṣun), Changó, Obatalá, Oya, and Ogún. (missing: Elegba and Oshosi),

or:

  • Elegba, Yemayá (Yemọja), Oshún, Changó, Obatalá, Oya, and Oshoshi. (missing: Elegua and Ogún)

As one can see, Babalú-Ayé (whom "Ricky Ricardo" sings to in his famous song) is a very lesser deity in Afro-Hispanic worship.

Orisha worship, sometimes referred to as Santería, is still widely practiced in Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Panama, Venezuela, Colombia, Tobago/Trinidad and Brazil, most practitioners are Yoruba descendants. The Yorubla language is still spoken ceremoniously and is referred to as Lukumí. Due to 200 years of separation from the motherland, Lukumí is considered a Yoruba dialect. Similar orisha worship can also be found among the Afro-Franco populations of Haiti and the US state of Louisiana.

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