ORISHA
Orishas (singular: orisha; plural may also be orisha) are divine spirits that play a key role in the Yoruba religion of West Africa and several religions of the African diaspora that derive from it, such as Haitian Vodou, Cuban Santería and Brazilian Candomblé. The preferred spelling varies depending on the language in question: òrìṣà is the spelling in the Yoruba language (both singular and plural), orixá in Portuguese, and orisha, oricha, orichá or orixá in Spanish-speaking countries. In the Lucumí tradition, which evolved in Cuba, the orishas are syncretized with Catholic saints, forming a syncretic system of worship where Yoruba deities were hidden behind Christian iconography. This allowed enslaved Africans to preserve their traditions under colonial religious persecution.
According to 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 Ọ̀rún (the spirit realm) and then incarnated as humans on Earth. These orishas are called Irúnmọlẹ̀. The Irunmọlẹ took upon human identities 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 Quimbanda, among others. The concept of òrìṣà 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.
In diasporic communities, the worship of orishas often incorporates drumming, dance, and spirit possession as central aspects of ritual life. These practices serve to strengthen communal bonds and foster direct spiritual experiences among practitioners.
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