Olodumare pronounced as O-lo-dù-ma-rè in Yoruba is one of the 3 manifestations of the supreme creator or god. It is also known as almighty or Ọlọrun.
Olodumare is the Supreme God, that is labelled as almighty, superior, inimitable, all-knowing, moral, and sinful. The name signifies a godly “Entity” after these traits i.e. not having a dad or mom and the one that is not bound by space.
What is the meaning of Olodumare?
The Yoruba phrase Olodumare is composed of 3 words: Odu, mare and Oni which translates to “owner of” and signifies a godly entity in the religious textbooks.
It is a well-known spiritual being that has created the Orishas but later withdrew from his creations. Orishas are the Gods of Santeria and Ọlọrun is their creator.
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It is the source of Ase or ashe or àṣẹ, which all living being’s must-have for the survival and success, including the orishas.
Ase derived from the Yoruba phrase àṣẹ is a West African ethical idea through which the Yoruba of Nigeria apprehend the control to make things occur and yield change.
It does not need ash or ashe to be provided by a different source and therefore it is completely self-sustaining.
Orishas and Humans often exchange ashe with one another by performing a variety of rites.
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Some of the common sources of ashe are sacrificial blood, which is the reason by animal sacrifice is given so importantly in the Santeria.
By performing ritual actions and using blood, humans provide ashe to Orisha, that
Humans provide ashe through blood or other ritual actions, and the Orisha becomes a duct of ashe from Ọlọrun to the asker to help in the requester’s needs.
The Yoruba trust Ọlọrun is invincible and is also liable for the design of life. The followers believe it partakes in a quiet, relaxing, rather lazy life.
He is not involved or tangled when it comes to Mortal stuff and lets other orishas, who are defined as his sons and daughters, reply human fears through insight, control, ransom and more.
Yoruba custom says all is in the fingers of God (Ọlọrun) when they are going to sleep at night.
Olodumare prayer
Morning prayers to God Olodumare
I call upon Ire from the east, the west, the north, and the south to
come and stay with me today
Olugbode is the name given to Aje
Olugbode is the name given to Aje
Aje please let me have you in my hands,
please let me have you in all my endeavors.
Because the chameleon never lacks anything in his life,
All the new good things should come and answer me today.
Whenever the sun rises, it will rise for the whole world.
There is nothing that can overpower the rising of the sun.
So all my blessings, wherever they may be, I command them to come & stay with me
Orunmila, please go to Olodumare’s house and bring me my wealth, my blessings, and my victory
I’m looking for all blessings but my hands can’t grab or reach them
Orunmila, please go to Olodumare’s house and bring me all blessings in life
Ase
History and Legends of the God of God’s
Traditionally, he was not worshipped by Yoruba, as there no unique shrine or no sacrifice was being made for the legend.
There is a paradox about whether or not Ọlọrun is directly adored due to his apathy in humanity.
The origin of Quality and Humanity is set to have derived from the Olodumare, as per the Yoruba belief system.
It is supposed to grant wisdom and knowledge to all the folks at the time of their birth.
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He is regarded as almighty, superior, inimitable, all-knowing, moral, and sinful.
As per the folklore, when all the orishas were unwilling to give their support to Yoruba, they called Ọlọrun.
The Yoruba plea on Olodumare when other gods (orishas) are reluctant to help or seem inept.
These orisa or orishas are mystic beings both good (egungun) and bad (ajogun) who signify human action and natural powers.
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Yoruba trust that the God made all other powers of the cosmos to help last the growth of the universe.
Folklore and Symbolism
The Yoruba folklore of Olodumare sitting up in the heavens and holding back the storm and rainfall just because of the misconduct done by the orishas.
If he wanted he could have easily eliminated them but he wanted to teach them a lesson via punishment and therefore he followed this route of creating drought in the valley.
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Time passed by and orishas finally realized what mistakes they have done and started begging for mercy and forgiveness.
But the god was sitting too high in heaven and therefore, could not listen to their plea.
Legends say that the smallest Orisha who came forward to do this task of conveying people’s plea to God became a peacock and flew up in the clouds.
While she kept to moving towards heaven, slowly her feathers started to burn and finally, it was will power that led to the destination.
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He saw how tired up she was and how tough she persisted and cherished her drive, bestowing her with carrying back the rain.
Later on, she became the messenger of God and the only Orisha that was permitted to visit the god in heaven.
Conclusion
If you ask the Yoruba “Who is God?” then they will reply that “He is Olodumare” or “The Ọlọrun” or even both combined.
Conferring Idowu, it is the customary name of the Supreme Creator.
Ọlọrun, usually used in prevalent languages, appears to have grown its prevailing coinage in value of Christian and Muslim effect on Yoruba life cycle and belief.
As amid some other African folks, the idea of this god is apparent from the terms, legends, axioms, and traits of God.
People Also Ask (FAQs)
Is Olodumare male or female?
Olodumare is neither a male nor a female. It is mystical, sagacious and a gender-neutral divinity. In the Yoruba tradition, it is believed to be the ONE, dissimilar to how Christians believe he is 3 in 1.
Who is the Yoruba god?
Oshun is the Yoruba god which is a seductive Orisha of affection, wedding and potency, and she rules the genitals and the lower stomach. She is reflected as one of the most influential of all orishas, and, like other deities, she owns mortal traits such as pride, distrust, and malice.
What did Yoruba call God?
Orishas are the Gods of Santeria and Olodumare is their creator in the Yoruba pantheon. It is the supreme creator, supreme being or the supreme god.
How old is the Yoruba religion?
The folks who lived in Yorubaland, at least by the 7th century BC, were not initially known as the Yoruba, although they shared a common ethnicity and language group. The historical Yoruba develop in situ, out of earlier (Mesolithic) Volta-Niger populations, by the 1st millennium BC .