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Olorun (Yoruba alphabet: Ọlọrun) (Ede language: ɔlɔrun) is the ruler of (or in) the Heavens creator of the Yoruba. The Supreme Deity or Supreme Being in the Yoruba pantheon, Olorun is also called Olodumare (Yoruba alphabet: Olódùmarè), Eledumare and Eleduwa/Eledua.
In Yoruba culture, Ọlọrun is credited with creating the universe and all living things. Ọlọrun is frequently perceived as a compassionate entity who protects its creations and is thought to be omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. People do not worship Olorun directly; there are no sacred areas of worship, no iconography.
Ọlọrun's ordained are known to be Obatalá of which is appointed a divine sun OlúwaṢówjon. Olorun is outlying, distant, and does not partake in human rituals. There are no shrines or sacrifices dedicated directly to them, although followers can send prayers in their direction.
Olorun has no gender in the Ifá Literary Corpus, and is always referred to as an entity who exists in spiritual form only. Christian missionaries, such as Bolaji Idowu, aimed to reinterpret traditional Yoruba culture as consistent with Christian theology as a way of pushing conversion. The first translation of the Bible into Yoruba in the late 1800s by Samuel Ajayi Crowther controversially adopted traditional Yoruba names, such as "Olodumare/Olorun" for "God" and "Eshu" for the devil, and thus began associating Olorun with the male gender.
For Yoruba traditions, there is no centralized authority; because of this, there are many different ways that Yoruba people and their descendants or orisa-based faiths can understand the idea of Olorun.
Historically, the Yoruba worship Olorun through the agency of the orisa; thus there is no image, shrine or sacrifice made directly towards Olorun, since Olorun is known to BE everything, and everywhere. There is some controversy about whether Olodumare is directly worshiped, due to their aloofness from humanity, or due to the belief that Olorun already is ALL manifestation of life and existence, and the believer is bound to be grateful and loving towards all existence, and all beings, since Olorun IS everything.Bewaji, John (1998). "Olodumare: God in Yoruba Belief and the Theistic Problem of Evil" (PDF). African Studies Quarterly. However, there are those who also worship Olodumare directly. Olodumare is the origin of virtue and mortality, and bestows the knowledge of things upon all persons when they are born. Olorun is omnipotent, transcendent, unique, all knowing, good, and evil. These orisa or orishas are supernatural beings, both good ( egungun) and bad ( ajogun), who represent human activity and natural forces, all at the same time, and is all harmonious, all possessed of equilibrium and worth.Peel, JYL (2016). "The Three Circles of Yoruba Religion". University of California Press: 214–232.
In Trinidad Orisha, this god is known as Orun. Creator of the cosmology and all that exists, Babalú-Ayé.
Another name, Olodumare, 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".Ayegboyin, Deji; Olajide, S. K. (2009), "Olodumare", Encyclopedia of African Religion, Sage Publications, Inc., , , retrieved 2019-10-10Cynthia Duncan, Ph.D. About SanteriaMobolaji Idowu (1994), Olódùmarè God in Yorùbá Belief Longman Nigeria Ekundayo, Adejuwonlo; Ekundayo, Olugbemiga (2020), Spirituality and Mental Health: An Ifa Overview, INARC Corp, U.S., , Kindle Edition
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