Ọlọrun

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.

Ọlọrun
Monarch of the Heavens, Supreme Monarch of Deities, Sky, Earth, Universe
Obatala Priests
Other names	Olorun, Olodumare, Olafin-Orun, Olofi, Olofin
Venerated in	Yoruba religion, Umbanda, Candomble, Santeria, Haitian Vodou, Folk Catholicism
Region	Yorubaland, parts of Latin America
Ethnic group	Yoruba
Genealogy
Children	Oluwasowjon

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^[1] of which is appointed a divine sun OlúwaṢówjon.^[2] 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.^[3][4]

Olorun has no gender in the Ifá Literary Corpus, and is always referred to as an entity who exists in spiritual form only. ^[5][6] 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.^[5]

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.^[3]

Historically, the Yoruba worship Ọlọrun through the agency of the orisa; thus there is no image, shrine or sacrifice made directly towards him. ^[3] It is generally believed that Ọlọrun is manifest in all of existence, and the believer is therefore bound to be grateful and loving towards all all beings.^[7][8] However, there are those who also worship him directly. He is the origin of virtue and mortality, and bestows the knowledge of things upon all persons when they are born. Ọlọrun is omnipotent, transcendent, unique, all knowing, good, and evil^{[clarification needed]}.^[7] Orishas, his manifestations, are supernatural beings, both good (egungun) and bad (ajogun), who represent human activity and natural forces, and who maintain universal equilibrium.^[9]

Western ideology

• Olodumare – the Lord God of the Source of Creation
  • Olorun – the Lord God of Heaven

In Trinidad Orisha, this god is known as Orun.^{[10][further explanation needed]} Creator of the cosmology and all that exists, Babalú-Ayé.^[10]

Etymology

From the Yoruba language, Olorun's name is a contraction of the words oní (which denotes ownership or rulership) and ọ̀run (which means the Heavens, abode of the spirits).

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".^{[11][12][13][8]}

In popular culture

• Olorun is mentioned in the song "The Rhythm of the Saints" from the 1990 album The Rhythm of the Saints by Paul Simon.
• Olorun appears as one of the gods in the 2014 video game Smite.
• Eledumare is mentioned in the 2018 song "Soco" by Starboy featuring Wizkid.