orishas
African divine intermediaries
Orishas are divine spirits in the Yoruba religion of West Africa and its diaspora traditions, including Santería, Candomblé, and other Afro-Caribbean faiths.
Each orisha governs specific aspects of nature and human experience—Shango rules thunder and lightning, Oshun presides over rivers and love, Ogun commands iron and warfare.
Practitioners honor orishas through offerings, drumming, and ritual possession.
The singular is orisha.
Ceremonial set of actions
- altarSacred ritual table
- offeringsThings presented or given
- sacrificeGiving up something precious
- initiationFormal admission ceremony
priesthood · possession · trance · drumming · divination · libation · obi · taboo
Syncretic Afro-Cuban religion
Canonized religious figures
- CatholicPapal church adherent
- Our LadyMarian honorific title
- Saint LazarusRevived biblical figure
- Virgin MaryMother of Christ
Santa Barbara · colonial · disguised · correspondences · feast days · iconography
ritual
Ceremonial set of actions
initiation · priesthood · possession · trance · drumming · divination · libation · obi · taboo · cleansing
Santería
Syncretic Afro-Cuban religion
- VodouHaitian spirit-centered religion
- CubaCaribbean island country
- BrazilLargest South American nation
Haiti · syncretism · casa
Nigeria
West African federal republic
saints
Canonized religious figures
- CatholicPapal church adherent
- Our LadyMarian honorific title
- Saint LazarusRevived biblical figure
Virgin Mary · Santa Barbara · colonial · disguised · correspondences · feast days · iconography