Oriṣa

Yoruba

Alternative forms

• Ọ̀rị̀ṣà (Ekiti, Ife)

Etymology

The etymology of the term is unknown (perhaps from Proto-Yoruboid *ò-rìsà, Proto-Yoruboid *ɔ̀-rɪ̀cà, or Proto-Yoruboid *ò-rìcà). May have originally referred to the sky or rainfall, a sense which is still used in some contextes but is rare.

Several folk etymologies exist, the main one suggesting it comes from orí (“head, conscience, destiny”) +‎ ì- (nominalizing prefix) +‎ ṣà (“to be selected, to choose”), literally “The head that is specially selected”. (This is unlikely, however, as this term only fits the Yoruba definition of òrìṣà, but not the cognate versions in other languages or even in other Yoruba dialects.)

Historically among the ancient Yoruba, and likely their Proto-Yoruboid ancestors, Òrìṣà referred to a specific arch-divinity of the sky and creation (now known as Òrìṣàńlá and Ọbàtálá). See cognates Itsekiri Òrìtsẹ̀, Igbo Òlìsà, Urhobo Oyise, Yoruba Ọ̀rìṣà, Edo Osa, Oisa, Ebira Oricha, and Fon Lisà. In these related languages and Eastern Yoruba dialects of the Yoruba language (see Ọ̀rị̀ṣà) as well as old Yoruba songs, Òrìṣà has retained a proper noun definition, referring to a specific high-ranking androgynous divinity associated with the sky, creation, and government.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ò.ɾì.ʃà/

Proper noun

Òrìṣà

1. (historical, obsolete) the supreme being and deity associated with the sky, rainfall, and weather. Equivalent to what is now regarded as Olódùmarè, this meaning is still used in the Ekiti Yorùbá equivalent Ọ̀rị̀ṣà, Àbarị̀ṣà.

   Synonyms: Olódùmarè, Ọlọ́run

2. (rare) Synonym of Ọbàtálá, a primordial sky deity or imọlẹ̀ associated with rain, creation, and purity regarded as the oldest of the deities and the creator of humanity. Probably originally equivalent with Sense 1. The deity traditionally was regarded as being androgynous. Their worship combined with the ancestral deification of a figure known as (Ọbàtálá), forming into the Yoruba deity Ọbàtálá and Òrìṣàńlá.

   Synonyms: Òrìṣàńlá, Ọbàtálá

Derived terms

• Òrìṣàńlá
• òrìṣà

Related terms

• imọlẹ̀, ẹbọra, irúnmọlẹ̀