OLODUMARE I

When we ascend into the Yoruba religion, We must first look at the source of all living
creatures within our universe and beyond. Thus it brings us to Olodumare , Oló-dú-ma-
ré [Olo-run, Elédumare] meaning . Owner of the universe, supreme god.

"Olodumare was transferred into Olorun. Literal meaning: ‘owner’. The head of the
Yoruban pantheon, which contains 1,700 divinities. He is Olofin-Orun, ‘lord of
heaven’; also he is Olodumare, ‘almighty’ and ‘supreme’. To the Yoruba of Nigeria,
this sky god is the discern-er of hearts—‘he who sees the inside and the outside of man’.
Active in celestial and terrestrial affairs, Olorun is able to do all things; he is the enabler
of all who achieve any ends. No one has ever seen this ‘king who cannot be found by
searching’, yet as Olodumare he is omnipotent : a mighty, eternal rock, forever constant
and reliable.

Olorun created the universe, appointed night and day, arranged the seasons, and fixed
the destiny of men. When ever a misfortune befalls a bad person, the Yoruba say ‘he is
under the lashes of god’.

Death was his creation too. At first men did not die. They grew to an immense size,
after which they shrank into feeble old people. Because there were so many of them
around, men prayed to Olorun, begging him to free them from long life, and in this way
the old ones died." defined by the

World Mythology Dictionary

There are several stories to the creation myth of the Yoruba People of Nigeria
depending on the area that one would travel and which cities they heard the stories.
Complicated by the oral traditions of the Regla of Osha from the Cuban People.

I am going to re-account a Itan of the creation myth told by those of Ile Ife , the holy
city and womb of creation in Nigeria; later on in my blog . Which says to us that
Olodumare transferred his spirit into a new soul that he named "Oddua" (eldest path ,
avatar of the Orisa Nla Obatala ).

But first we must define who is OLODUMARE and what is his role within the African
Nigerian Religion "Osha" ( way of the saints )

Olodumare

Olodumare is the Yoruban supreme being , creator of Heavens and earth - time and day
and night. He is the creator that has existed since the beginning of time itself.

He is a impartial God who controls the destinies of mankind in his palm. It is widely
accepted that the Orisa are the ones that punish mankind when natural laws are broken;
However it is Olodumare who judges man on his innermost feelings , his Iwá Pélé (
good character) and his personality. For he knows a mans utmost desires, feelings and
innermost thoughts . Olodumare is the judge of mankind that at the end of their life ,
they stand before him and he judges the mans soul on his morality and one does receive
his just rewards, in his end.

By the same token, Olodumare is the supreme regent in the kingdom of the heavens and
earth and thus he is as well the judge of the Orisa themselves. Nothing can be done
against his will since it is because of him that the elements and the everyday life on
earth is controlled.

The major difference between the Orisa and Olodumare , is that Olodumare is the
supreme being ( natural force, elemental; principal ) and therefore represents a more
pure abstract concept of human nature and human qualities.

Historians of the Yoruba Mysteries have always contemplated and debated the subtle
differences between Olodumare and the Orisa. Not able to understand the the
significance that Olodumare holds over our religion . Olodumare was utmost the
complex spiritual being of our religious lives. Compared to the Ancient Egyptians the
concepts of Olodumare where very similar to those of the people rooted in the northern
Sudan or Northern territories of the Egypt, that under the First Dynasty of Egyptian rule
, they abandoned the Sudan and brought with them the Cosmetology of Religion to the
Egyptian people in the cities of Thebes and Waset ( Noted: that the city of Thebes was
also called the "city of Amun" Affiliated with the sun god "Amon-Ra" in the late New
Kingdom, as noted: from the text of the bible in the story of Moses )

Thus bringing fourth a account that supreme deity within the Yoruba accounts could
derive the thoughts and a possibility that a Supreme Being revealed itself before to
other people besides the Israelite Jews.

As, I had accounted before Olodumare is also known as Olorun, and he allows himself
to be seen in the heavens during the daylight hours in his highness ( references to the
sun and why this plays a important role in all Yoruba ceremonies of giving reverences
to Olorun with the mid-day sun : i.e.; Liberation).

The African Cubans and Americans have brought him closer to mankind with the title
and name of "Olofi".

This name Olofi-Olofin is the most common name used by the African Cubans for God,
the origins of this name is obscure. Santeros make a distinction between Olodumare
and Olofi. Olodumare is a transcending being, who is the essence of all there is and
more. Olofi is the creation Manifesto itself, rather than the creator .
He is Olodumare, manifested through Olorun, the true creator. Olodumare , Olorun
and Olofi are different aspects of the same spiritual being. Olodumare is the divine
essence, the creative will; Olorun is the creative act, and Olofi is the creation.
Eledá, is the God spirit manifested in mankind . Orí, is the driving force, and the
awareness of that spirit . - Migene González-Wippler - 1994 - Body, Mind & Spirit

This deity has no temples of worship nor is does he have consecrated priests, But all
priests may give offerings and should give reverences to him. The most qualified priests
to Interpret his will and words are through the Oracle of IFA , which he conveys his will
 and order to the children consecrated to the deity of Orunmila.

The Black Afro-American population, who grew up in the churches and christian beliefs
in the late 60's and 70's. Who turned to the "Motherland"- Nigeria in "the awakening" of
the civil right movement in the United States, perceived the religion from their own
point of view.

For them it was easy to base the presence of a remote supreme being of high
spirituality and always willing to help man in exchange for offerings and prayers. It
was not difficult to start adoring the Supreme being, and this humanized him to the
extreme that in some houses of Orisa , he is worshiped as any other deity of the
Pantheon Yoruba. (O.Ecun)

Thus Olodumare, the creator essence brings us the story of the creation myth and how
he formed our world and the spirits therein and the spirits "Iborá"/Irunmole spiritual
forces -demi gods children of the creator came to be on the earth (Ode Aye) .