YOURUBA / CANDOMBLÉ/ ASHE / ORISHAS: Yemanja, Oshun, Ogun, Eshu, Others - Super Interesting and Amazing Pictures
YOURUBA / CANDOMBLÉ
Yoruba religion is a blend of indigenous beliefs, myths and legends, proverbs, and songs, all influenced by the cultural and social contexts of the western portion of Africa. The Yoruba religion includes the concept of Ashe, a powerful life force possessed by humans and divine beings alike; Ashe is the energy found in all natural things.
OLODUMARE / OLODUM
Olodumare also known as Ọlọ́run is one of the manifestations of the Supreme Creator God in Yoruba religion. The name 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"
ASHE
Ase or ashe (from Yoruba àṣẹ) is a Yoruba philosophical concept through which the Yoruba of Nigeria conceive the power to make things happen and produce change. It is given by Olodumare to everything — gods, ancestors, spirits, humans, animals, plants, rocks, rivers, and voiced words such as songs, prayers, praises, curses, or even everyday conversation. Existence, according to Yoruba thought, is dependent upon it.
In addition to its sacred characteristics, ase also has important social ramifications, reflected in its translation as "power, authority, command." A person who, through training, experience, and initiation, learns how to use the essential life force of things to willfully effect change is called an alaase.
Rituals to invoke divine forces reflect this same concern for the autonomous ase of particular entities. The recognition of the uniqueness and autonomy of the ase of persons and gods is what structures society and its relationship with the other-world.
ORISHA
The orisa are spirits that play a key role in the Yoruba religion of West Africa and several religions of the African diaspora that derive from it, such as Cuban and Puerto Rican Santería and Brazilian Candomblé. The preferred spelling varies depending on the language in question; òrìṣà is the original spelling, coming from the Yoruba language; orishá or orichá in Spanish-speaking countries, and orixá in Portuguese
According to the teachings of these religions, the orisha are spirits sent by the supreme creator, Olodumare, to assist humanity and to teach them to be successful on Ayé (Earth). Rooted in the native religion of the Yoruba people, most òrìṣà are said to have previously existed in òrún - the spirit world - and then became Irúnmọlẹ̀ - spirits or divine beings incarnated as human on Earth. Irunmole took upon a human identity and lived as ordinary humans in the physical world, but because they had their origin in the divine, they had great wisdom and power at the moment of their creation.
Some believers and practitioners of the Ifá religion, where the pantheon system of òrìṣàs originates, believe that òrìṣàs are a different class of divine beings who became deified, divinized or transformed after their departure from their human state on Earth. These practitioners believe the òrìṣàs to have been ordinary humans who were deified upon their death due to the lives they lead, their outstanding spiritual growth an extraordinary feats accomplished in their lives while on Earth.
The òrìṣàs found their way to most of the New World as a result of the Atlantic slave trade and are now expressed in practices as varied as Santería, Candomblé, Trinidad Orisha, Umbanda, and Oyotunji, among others. The concept of òrìṣà is similar to those of deities in the traditional religions of the Bini people of Edo State in southern Nigeria, the Ewe people of Benin, Ghana, and Togo, and the Fon people of Benin.
Yemoja
Yemanjá is a major water spirit from the Yoruba religion. She is the mother of all Orishas. She is an orisha, in this case patron spirit of rivers, particularly the Ogun River in Nigeria; and oceans in Cuban and Brazilian orisa religions. She is often syncretized with either Our Lady of Regla in the Afro-Cuban diaspora or various other Virgin Mary figures of the Catholic Church, a practice that emerged during the era of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. Yemanjá is motherly and strongly protective, and cares deeply for all her children, comforting them and cleansing them of sorrow. She is said to be able to cure infertility in women, and cowrie shells represent her wealth. She does not easily lose her temper, but when angered she can be quite destructive and violent, as the flood waters of turbulent rivers.
OSHUN
Ọṣun, is an Orisha, a spirit, a deity, or a goddess that reflects one of the manifestations of the Yorùbá Supreme Being in the Ifá oral tradition and Yoruba-based religions of West Africa. She is one of the most popular and venerated Orishas. Oshun is an important river deity among the Yorùbá people. She is the goddess of divinity, femininity, fertility, beauty and love. She is connected to destiny and divination.
OGUN
Ogun or Ogoun is a spirit that appears in several African religions. He attempted to seize the throne after the demise of Obatala who reigned twice, before and after Oduduwa, but was ousted by Obamakin and sent on an exile - an event which serves as the core of the Olojo Festival. Ogun was a warrior and a powerful spirit of metal work, as well as of rum and rum-making. He is also known as the "god of Iron", and is present in Yoruba religion, Haitian Vodou, and West African Vodun.
ESHU
Èṣù is an Òrìṣà/Irúnmọlẹ̀ in the religion of the Yoruba people. Èṣù is a prominent primordial Divinity (a delegated Irúnmọlẹ̀ sent by the Olódùmarè) who descended from Ìkọ̀lé Ọ̀run, and the Chief Enforcer of natural and divine laws - he is the Deity in charge of law enforcement and orderliness. As the religion has spread around the world, the name of this Orisha has varied in different locations...
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