Qui est Olodumare dans la religion yoruba ?

Olodumare, aussi appelé Olorun, est le Dieu suprême de la religion yoruba, créateur de l'univers et source de toute existence. Transcendant, unique et omniscient, il ne possède ni temple ni image de culte : les Yoruba l'honorent à travers les orishas, divinités intermédiaires qu'il a créées et qui gouvernent le monde en son nom.

Pourquoi Olodumare n'a-t-il ni temple ni statues ?

La tradition yoruba tient Olodumare pour trop élevé pour être enfermé dans une image ou un sanctuaire. Le culte passe par les orishas, divinités intermédiaires qui reçoivent prières et sacrifices et les transmettent au Dieu suprême. Le théologien E. Bolaji Idowu a décrit cette organisation comme un monothéisme diffus, où le Dieu unique gouverne le monde par délégation.

Olodumare, Olorun et Olofi désignent-ils le même dieu ?

Olorun, le maître du ciel, est un autre nom du même Être suprême, qui souligne sa royauté céleste. Olofi appartient au vocabulaire de la santería cubaine, où le Dieu suprême se conçoit sous trois aspects : Olodumare, Olorun et Olofi, ce dernier étant l'aspect qui communique avec les orishas et gouverne la terre.

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OLÓDÙMARÈ (OLORUN)

ally

Supreme principle, ase

☥ SpiritYoruba →Afrique de l'Ouest — Nigéria / BéninElder

Gender: Beyond genderSign: Lumière / ciel

Olodumare, also called Olorun, the lord of the sky, is the Supreme Being of Yoruba religion. Unique, transcendent and omniscient, he is the source of ase, the vital force that animates the universe, and the giver of the breath of life, emi, which he breathes into every human being. According to the creation narratives, he entrusts Obatala with the shaping of human bodies and sends the orishas to organise the world, while Orunmila attends the creation as witness to each person's destiny. A remarkable feature of his worship: Olodumare has no temple, no image, no priests of his own. The Yoruba address him through the orishas, intermediary deities who convey prayers and sacrifices. The Nigerian theologian E. Bolaji Idowu, author of the reference study Olodumare: God in Yoruba Belief, described this structure as a diffused monotheism, in which the one God governs by delegation. In the divinatory corpus of Ifa, Olodumare appears as the ultimate authority who sanctions the order of the world and judges souls after death. The diasporas born of the Atlantic slave trade preserved his figure: Cuban Santería names him Olodumare, Olofi or Olorun, a conception of the supreme God under three aspects, and Brazilian Candomblé acknowledges him as the source from which all the orixás emanate. A living religion, this mediated monotheism is practised today in Nigeria, in Benin and across the Americas.

Powers & Attributes

supreme principlease

Role in the ROHO universe

Emanation of Onionkupón's celestial principle, regulator of the movement of the stars.

Sacred Mask

A translucent celestial mask shot through with a bluish gleam — a symbol of order and of the breath of Onionkupón.

Era

10,000–8,000 BCE — Cycle of Origins

Spiritual Lesson

To discover the wisdom of cosmic order and the necessity of delegating in order to keep the balance.

Words of the Spirit

“The spirit crosses what the body cannot.”

Frequently asked questions

Who is Olodumare in Yoruba religion?

Olodumare, also called Olorun, is the supreme God of Yoruba religion, creator of the universe and source of all existence. Transcendent, unique and omniscient, he has neither temple nor cult image: the Yoruba honour him through the orishas, intermediary deities he created, who govern the world in his name.

Why does Olodumare have neither temple nor statues?

Yoruba tradition holds Olodumare too exalted to be enclosed in an image or a sanctuary. Worship passes through the orishas, intermediary deities who receive prayers and sacrifices and convey them to the supreme God. The theologian E. Bolaji Idowu described this organisation as a diffused monotheism, in which the one God governs the world by delegation.

Do Olodumare, Olorun and Olofi name the same god?

Olorun, the lord of the sky, is another name of the same Supreme Being, underscoring his celestial kingship. Olofi belongs to the vocabulary of Cuban Santería, where the supreme God is conceived under three aspects: Olodumare, Olorun and Olofi — the last being the aspect that communicates with the orishas and governs the earth.

Related spirits

ORÚNMÌLÀ OBÀTÁLÁ ÈṢÙ (ESHU)

Sources and references

E. Bolaji Idowu, Olodumare: God in Yoruba Belief (1962)
Wande Abimbola, Ifá: An Exposition of Ifá Literary Corpus (1976)
Pierre Fatumbi Verger, Notes sur le culte des Orisa et Vodun à Bahia, la Baie de tous les Saints, au Brésil et à l'ancienne Côte des Esclaves en Afrique (1957)