Home›Orisha Deities›Historicity›Not a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingBrowse ByNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingThis page groups deities by whether their existence in belief is considered fully mythological, debated, or grounded in a historical cult that can be traced. Wikipedia defines historicity as "the historical actuality of persons and events, meaning the quality of being part of history instead of being a historical myth, legend, or fiction." Browsing this way helps a visitor separate gods with a documented historical cult from ones known only through later literary retelling.FactsLearn MoreNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingConnectionsSourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0)FactsOverviewWhat Defines This GroupingWell-attestedThe orisa of the Yoruba and of the African-diaspora religions descended from them. They are held to be emanations of, or intermediaries under, the supreme being Olodumare, and are served through drumming, offering, divination and possession. These are living initiatory religions. 2Peoples and Traditions CoveredWell-attestedCandomble in Brazil, where the orisa are the orixas 3Peoples and Traditions CoveredWell-attestedLucumi, also called Santeria, in Cuba and its diaspora 4Peoples and Traditions CoveredWell-attestedThe Yoruba of present-day Nigeria and Benin, the source tradition 2OriginsOrigin of the NameWell-attestedThe Yoruba word is orisa, written òrìṣà in Yoruba orthography. The spellings orisha, oricha and orixa are English, Spanish and Portuguese transcriptions used in the diaspora, and they do not name different beings. 2DirectoryCategoryWell-attestedDeities 1AttestationVeneration TodayWell-attestedServed today in Yorubaland and across Cuba, Brazil, Trinidad and the wider Americas. 2Learn MoreThe orishas of Yoruba tradition This group holds the orishas, the deities of the Yoruba religion of West Africa and of the African-diaspora traditions descended from it, including Cuban Santeria (Lucumi) and Brazilian Candomble. The orishas are emanations of the supreme being Olodumare who govern natural forces and human affairs and are served through drumming, offering and possession. The browser will find Eshu/Elegba the trickster and messenger, Shango the thunder-king, Ogun of iron and war, Yemoja of the waters, Oshun of the rivers, and Obatala the sky-father. The atlas notes both the West African source tradition and its diaspora forms, which often pair each orisha with a Catholic saint.Not a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingFilter Results17 entriesMember OfAllThe Orishas (14)TheologyAllHenotheistic: a supreme being above served lesser divinities (16)Polytheistic: many gods (1)ArchetypeAllThe Caregiver (2)The Explorer (2)The Hero (1)The Jester (1)The Lover (1)The Rebel (1)The Ruler (2)The Sage (3)Veneration StatusAllActively venerated in a living tradition (17)Era Attested Start YearAll1741 (16)Worshipped InAllCandomblé (1)Santería (Lucumí) (1)Yorùbá Religion (Ifá) (16)Domain / FunctionAllBeauty (1)Cosmic order and truth (1)Craft, metalwork and smithing (1)Creation and cosmogony (3)Death (1)Disease and plague (1)Divine messenger (1)Fertility and generation (1)Fire (1)Guide of the dead (1)Healing and medicine (2)Justice, law and oaths (4)Kingship and sovereignty (2)Love and desire (1)Motherhood (1)Mountains (1)Prophecy and divination (1)Purification (1)Rain and weather (1)Rivers, lakes and springs (3)Sea and ocean (2)Storm and thunder (2)The hunt (1)Travel, roads and boundaries (1)Trickster (1)Vegetation and forests (1)War and battle (1)Wilderness and wild animals (1)Wind (1)Wisdom and counsel (1)GenderAllAndrogynous / dual-gendered (1)Beyond gender (1)Collective / plural, not a single figure (1)Female (3)Gender-fluid across the tradition (2)Male (9)PantheonAllOrisha (16)Show ResultsBrowseCompareSelect all 17AganjuNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingBabalú-AyéNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingEshuNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingObatalaNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingOchosiNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingOduduwaNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingOgunNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingOlodumareNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingOlokunNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingOrunmilaNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingOsanyinNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingOshumareNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingOshunNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingOyaNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingShangoNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingThe OrishasNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingYemojaNot a historical person: a divine or other-than-human beingConnectionsBelongs to TraditionCandomblé, Religions Well-attested The orishas as held in Candomble, each orixa a personal guardian revealed to the devotee through divination, named in the group article.Source Black Atlantic Religion: Tradition, Transnationalism, and Matriarchy in the Afro-Brazilian CandombleJ. Lorand Matorytier 1Santería (Lucumí), Religions Well-attested The orishas as held in Santeria's own Regla de Ocha, named in the group article.Source Santeria Enthroned: Art, Ritual, and Innovation in an Afro-Cuban ReligionDavid H. Browntier 1Yorùbá Religion (Ifá), Religions Well-attested The orishas as held in the Yoruba homeland tradition, centred on Ile-Ife, held in Yoruba cosmology as the site of the world's creation, named in the group article.Source Ifa: An Exposition of Ifa Literary CorpusWande Abimbolatier 1Sources1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Treetier 12. Olodumare: God in Yoruba Belieftier 1E. Bolaji Idowu, Longmans, 1962chs. 3-5View the Source3. Black Atlantic Religion: Tradition, Transnationalism, and Matriarchy in the Afro-Brazilian Candombletier 1J. Lorand Matory, Princeton University Press, 2005IntroductionView the Source4. Worldview, the Orichas, and Santeria: Africa to Cuba and Beyondtier 1Mercedes Cros Sandoval, University Press of Florida, 2006chs. 1-2Divinity Atlas Directory Prose, First Edition Category Descriptionstier 1Santeria Enthroned: Art, Ritual, and Innovation in an Afro-Cuban Religiontier 1David H. Brown, University of Chicago Press, 2003Ifa: An Exposition of Ifa Literary Corpustier 1Wande Abimbola, Oxford University Press, 1976Comments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.