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18-622: Baba Adinni is a Yoruba chiefly title. It is often conferred by local obas in Nigeria's Yorubaland region, usually to Muslim men who have contributed to society or government in some fashion. This article about government in Nigeria is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Oba (ruler) The title is distinct from that of Oloye in Yorubaland, which is itself used in like fashion by subordinate titleholders in

36-563: A human identity and lived as ordinary humans in the physical world, but because they had their origin in the divine, they had great wisdom and power at the moment of their creation. The orishas found their way to most of the New World as a result of the Atlantic slave trade and are now expressed in practices as varied as Haitian Vodou , Santería , Candomblé , Trinidad Orisha , Umbanda , and Oyotunji , among others. The concept of òrìṣà

54-682: A key role in the Yoruba religion of West Africa and several religions of the African diaspora that derive from it, such as Haitian Vaudou, Cuban, Dominican and Puerto Rican Santería and Brazilian Candomblé . The preferred spelling varies depending on the language in question: òrìṣà is the spelling in the Yoruba language , orixá in Portuguese , and orisha , oricha , orichá or orixá in Spanish-speaking countries . According to

72-448: Is divine energy that comes from Olodumare, the creator deity , and is manifested through Olorun, who rules the heavens and is associated with the Sun. Without the Sun, no life could exist, just as life cannot exist without some degree of ashe. Ase is sometimes associated with Eshu , the messenger orisha. For practitioners, ashe represents a link to the eternal presence of the supreme deity,

90-758: Is similar to those of deities in the traditional religions of the Bini people of Edo State in southern Nigeria, the Ewe people of Benin , Ghana , and Togo , and the Fon people of Benin. Yoruba tradition often says that there are 400 + 1 orishas, which is associated with a sacred number. Other sources suggest that the number is "as many as you can think of, plus one more – an innumerable number". Different oral traditions refer to 400, 700, or 1,440 orishas. Practitioners traditionally believe that daily life depends on proper alignment and knowledge of one's Orí . Ori literally means

108-481: Is the life-force that runs through all things, living and inanimate, and is described as the power to make things happen. It is an affirmation that is used in greetings and prayers , as well as a concept of spiritual growth. Orìṣà devotees strive to obtain Ase through iwa-pele , gentle and good character , and in turn they experience alignment with the ori, what others might call inner peace and satisfaction with life. Ase

126-700: The Orisha sects in his or her domain. Although most of the day-to-day functions of this position are delegated in practice to such figures as the arabas, certain traditional rites of the Yoruba religion can only be performed by the oba, and it is for this reason that the holders of the title are often thought of as being religious leaders in addition to being politico-ceremonial monarchs. ỌBA , s. king, monarch, lord, prince, liege, master. Ọba , n. king; monarch; lord; prince; liege; master; sovereign. Orisha Orishas (singular: orisha ) are divine spirits that play

144-438: The Yoruba homeland, which encompasses large swathes of Benin, Nigeria, and Togo, are those with obas who generally wear beaded crowns; the rulers of many of the 'second generation' settlements are also often obas. Those that remain and those of the third generation tend to only be headed by the holders of the title "Baálẹ̀" ( lit.   ' King of the land - Oba-Ilẹ̀ ' ), who do not wear crowns and who are, at least in theory,

162-518: The class of royal chiefs by the titled dynasts of their royal families. The three other ranks, who traditionally provide the membership of a series of privy councils , sects and guilds , oversee the day-to-day administration of the Yoruba traditional states and are led by the iwarefas , the arabas and the titled elders of the kingdoms' constituent families. There are two different kinds of Yoruba monarchs: The kings of Yoruba clans , which are often simply networks of related towns (For example,

180-489: The contemporary Yoruba chieftaincy system. The following items or accessories of office often accompany the position of Obaship in Yorubaland . The Yoruba chieftaincy system can be divided into four separate ranks : royal chiefs, noble chiefs, religious chiefs and common chiefs. The royals are led by the obas, who sit at the apex of the hierarchy and serve as the fons honorum of the entire system. They are joined in

198-520: The head, but in spiritual matters, it is taken to mean a portion of the soul that determines personal destiny . Some orishas are rooted in ancestor worship; warriors, kings, and founders of cities were celebrated after death and joined the pantheon of Yoruba deities. The ancestors did not die but were seen to have "disappeared" and become orishas. Some orishas based on historical figures are confined to worship in their families or towns of origin; others are venerated across wider geographic areas. Ase

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216-479: The intuition of royal ancestral force, the revelation of great moral insight in the person of the king, and the glitter of aesthetic experiences." The Oba is the custodian and protector of the culture,tradition and heritage of the Edo/Benin people. He is said and believed to be God representative on earth. As a sacred ruler, the oba is traditionally regarded by the Yoruba as the ex officio chief priest of all of

234-494: The non-royal chiefs, when themselves titleholders in their own right, tend to use the honorific "Ìyálóyè" ( lit.   ' Mother who owns a title ' ) in their capacities as married chieftesses. The bead-embroidered crown with beaded veil, foremost attribute of the Oba, symbolizes the aspirations of a civilization at the highest level of authority. In his seminal article on the topic, Robert F. Thompson writes, "The crown incarnates

252-581: The oba of the Ẹ̀gbá bears the title " Aláké " because his ancestral seat is the Aké quarter of Abẹ́òkúta , hence the title Aláké, which is Yoruba for One who owns Aké . The Ọ̀yọ́ ọba, meanwhile, bears the title " Aláàfin ", which means One who owns the palace ) and the kings of individual Yoruba towns, such as that of Ìwó — a town in Osun State — who bears the title "Olúwòó" (Olú ti Ìwó, lit.   ' Lord of Ìwó ' ). The first-generation towns of

270-504: The orishas, and the ancestors. The concept is regularly referenced in Brazilian capoeira . Axé in this context is used as a greeting or farewell, in songs and as a form of praise. Saying that someone "has axé" in capoeira is complimenting their energy, fighting spirit, and attitude. The orisa are grouped as those represented by the color white, who are characterized as tutu "cool, calm, gentle, and temperate"; and those represented by

288-420: The reigning viceroys of people who do. All of the subordinate members of the Yoruba aristocracy, both traditional chieftains and honorary ones, use the pre-nominal "Olóyè" ( lit.   ' Lord of a title - Olu-óyè ' , also appearing as "Ìjòyè" meaning conglomerate of titles) in the way that kings and queens regnant use 'Ọba'. It is also often used by princes and princesses in colloquial situations, though

306-408: The teachings of these religions, the orishas are spirits sent by the supreme creator, Olodumare , to assist humanity and to teach them to be successful on Ayé (Earth). Rooted in the native religion of the Yoruba people , most orishas are said to have previously existed in òrún —the spirit world—and then became Irúnmọlẹ̀ —spirits or divine beings incarnated as human on Earth. Irunmole took upon

324-454: The title that is most often ascribed to them officially is "Ọmọba" ( lit.   ' Child of a Monarch ' , sometimes rendered alternatively as "Ọmọọba", "Ọmọ ọba" and "Ọmọ-ọba"). The wives of kings, princes and chiefs of royal background usually make use of the title " Olorì " (the equivalent of Princess Consort ), though some of the wives of dynastic rulers prefer to be referred to as "Ayaba" (the equivalent of Queen Consort ). The wives of

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