The Òrìṣà
17 names, cited.
Held in their own care — the Òrìṣà of the Nigerian Yorùbá tradition. Each entry below names the Òrìṣà, their domain, and the primary sources we draw from.
The Supreme
The Primordial Òrìṣà
Èṣù
divine messenger; arbiter of àṣẹ at every crossroads; enforcer of cosmic balance; opener of the way
Read →Ọ̀rúnmìlà
oracle; witness to creation and to each person's destiny (ìpín); custodian of the 256 Odu Ifá
Read →Ọbàtálá
sculptor of human bodies; arch-Òrìṣà of purity, patience, calm, cool wisdom; senior of the white-cloth Òrìṣà
Read →Ògún
iron, war, blacksmithing, labor, oaths, surgery, vehicles, the cutting edge in every form
Read →Deified Kings
River Òrìṣà
River and Wind
Ocean
Forest
The Herbal
Twins
Earth and Disease
Wealth
Ancestral Masquerade
Personal Divinity
On sources
Primary sources cited per entry — Idowu (1962), Abimbola (1976), Olupona (2011), and the Ifá corpus itself. Confidence levels are visible on entries that are contested or draw on sources outside the Nigerian Tier-1 list.