The pantheon Yoruba bring together many deities common to many African countries and to the African diaspora in the world.
In the Yoruba pantheon orishas, Where orixás, are African-American deities originating from Africa, and more specifically from Yoruba religious traditions.
They are found in several African countries as well as in many American countries, where they were introduced by the slave trade, which hit the Yoruba populations in a particularly heavy way. They are revered in Africa, especially in Nigeria and Benign. Here is the list of orishas of the Yoruba pantheon.
AJA Goddess of the forest honored by the Yoruba of Nigeria. She rules over forests and medicinal herbs. She advises her worshipers on the use of medicinal herbs that they collect in African forests.
EGBERE Small beings who live in the forest.
EHI Spirit who controls the destiny of people that he determines with Osanobua before their birth.
EJI OGBE King of the deities.
ELEDA Name of Olodumare which means "creator".
ELEMII Name of Olodumare which means "the one who possesses the life"
NDE One of the three spirits of each individual, that of the vital breath.
ERE Being with a childish aspect that takes possession of a person during initiation.
ESHU God of luck, hazards and the unpredictable. As a language master, Eshu is responsible for bringing messages and sacrifices from Earth to the gods in the sky. Eshu is both good and evil and appears frequently in myths like a prankster god.
IBEJI God of twins.
IFA Prediction system given by Eshu to Men.
JAKUTA (the one who throws stones) Orisha associated with Shango and considered as a partner of Shango in the creation of thunder and lightning. In some traditions, Jakuta is simply another name for Shango.
NANA BURUKU Supreme being of both masculine and feminine faith who created at the very beginning the structure of the universe leaving it to his children Mawu-Lisa to complete it.
OBATALA God of Fertility and sculptor god. He is the son of Olorun and the brother and husband of Oduduwa or Yemoja. At Olorun's request he scattered snail droppings which he had a hen and a pigeon scrape up to form the Earth.
ODUDUWA Deified ancestor; according to Ife tradition, the first ruler of Ife town. In one myth, Oduduwa was charged by Obatala with the creation of the Earth and its inhabitants. Oduduwa has sometimes been seen as a wife of Obatala. Obatala and Oduduwa also represented the masculine and feminine aspects brought together in a single androgynous deity.
OGUN God of iron and war and therefore the tutelary deity of man whose work involved the use of iron, such as barbers, butchers, blacksmiths, hunters, and warriors.
OJIJI One of the three spirits of each person who follows her like her shadow.
OLODUMARE Supreme God and Creator God
OLOKUN (Owner of the sea) Goddess or god of the sea and swamps who rules over the liquid element that existed before the earth was created.
OLORUN (Owner of Heaven) Supreme God; also known as Olodumare (Owner of Endless Space). Olorun has been recognized as the owner of everything and the highest authority in all matters. In some traditions Olorun is androgynous.
OLU-IGBO (Owner of the Bush) Orisha of the bush and the jungle.
ORANYAN Son of Aganju or Oduduwa and Yemoja (In this version, Oduduwa is the brother of Obatala), he became the second king of the tribe
ORELUERE First man created by Olodumare
ORI God of Wisdom and Determination. He oversees the choice of fate made by each spirit Ori chooses a fate before birth.
ORI Spirit residing in each individual.
ORISHA Distant deified ancestors who were able to establish links with certain forces and phenomena of nature during their lifetime.
ORISHAKO God of Agriculture, husband of Oduduwa.
ORISHA-NLA First god, who existed before the other Orishas and from whom all Orisas originated.
ORISHA OKO Orisha of agriculture and tutelary god of farmers.
ORUN God of the Sun.
ORUN BUBURU Part of the sky reserved for evil people.
ORUN RERE Part of the sky reserved for good people.
ORUNMILA (Heaven knows those who prosper) God of Divination, Fate, and Wisdom; the oldest son of Olorun. Orunmila possesses knowledge of future events and he has the ability to speak to human beings for Olorun through oracles. He defended Men against Olokur
OSAIN God of Vegetation.
OSANYIN Orisha of Medicine and Divination.
OSHOSSI God of forests and hunting.
OSHUNMARE Snake deity.
OSUN River Goddess and Goddess of Wealth. Daughter of Oba Jumu and Oba Do, wife of Shango.
OYA River goddess and climate goddess, wife of Shango; she wore a beard.
SHANGO God of thunder and lightning, whose auxiliaries are the wind and the rainbow. Shango He is considered the fourth ruler of Oyo town and was deified after his death. His wives were Obba, orisha of the Obba River; Oshun, orisha of the Oshun River; and Oya, orisha of the river Niger.
YANSAN Orisha of the wind.
YEMOJA Orisha of the Ogun River and mother goddess, Orisha of the Ocean and Motherhood; from his body emerged fifteen gods including Ogun and Shango. In certain legends Yemoja is identified as an Ogun woman. We also find the Yemaja and Yemayah spellings.
