orisha
West African deity
An orisha is a deity or spirit in the Yoruba religion of West Africa and its diaspora traditions, including Santería, Candomblé, and other Afro-Caribbean faiths.
Each orisha governs particular aspects of nature and human experience—Shango rules thunder and lightning, Oshun presides over rivers and love.
Practitioners develop relationships with orishas through offerings, rituals, and devotion: She was initiated as a daughter of Yemaya, the orisha of the sea.
Also spelled orixa or orixá in Brazilian Portuguese contexts. (Capitalized Orisha may appear at the beginning of sentences or when treated as a proper religious term.)
Ceremonial set of actions
- ceremonyFormal event marking occasions
- divinationForetelling through mystical means
- cowrieGlossy marine gastropod shell
- sacrificeGiving up something precious
drumming · chant · dance · trance · possession · feast · cleansing · initiation
Nigerian people and language
- SanteriaSyncretic Cuban Yoruba-Catholic religion
- deityWorshipped supernatural being
- spiritSoul, mood, or liquor
- divinitySacred nature or nougat-like sweet
pantheon · worship · devotee · shrine · altar · offering · sacred · initiation
Small pierced ornaments for stringing
- colorsVisual spectrum variations
- thunderStorm's acoustic aftermath
- lightningAtmospheric electrical discharge
- riverLarge flowing watercourse
ocean · iron · white · red · blue · yellow · green · machete
ritual
Ceremonial set of actions
- ceremonyFormal event marking occasions
- divinationForetelling through mystical means
- cowrieGlossy marine gastropod shell
sacrifice · drumming · chant · dance · trance · possession · feast · cleansing · initiation · oracle
Yoruba
Nigerian people and language
- SanteriaSyncretic Cuban Yoruba-Catholic religion
- deityWorshipped supernatural being
- spiritSoul, mood, or liquor
divinity · pantheon · worship · devotee · shrine · altar · offering · sacred · initiation · possession
beads
Small pierced ornaments for stringing
- colorsVisual spectrum variations
- thunderStorm's acoustic aftermath
- lightningAtmospheric electrical discharge
river · ocean · iron · white · red · blue · yellow · green · machete · mirror
thunder
Storm's acoustic aftermath
wisdom · crossroads · wind · hunt
saint
Canonized holy person
- CatholicPapal church adherent
- syncretismFusion of different beliefs
- diasporaScattered population sharing origins
Cuba · Brazil · Trinidad · Haiti · Caribbean · African · transatlantic · slavery · survival · adaptation
- African folkloreAnansi, folktales, ancestors, spirits, trickster stories
- Latin American ReligionCatholic Church, Catholic schools, Catholic festivals, patron saints, Our Lady of Guadalupe
- Tribal Spiritualityspirit animal, spirit animals, totem, totem poles, ancestor spirits
- West AfricaNigeria, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Senegal
- YorubaOyo Empire, Lagos, talking drums, aso oke, Nigeria
- Yoruba Wordsbaba, aso oke, fufu, pounded yam, dodo