View source for Ọlọrun

{{Short description|Supreme Being in the Yoruba religion}}
{{Infobox deity
| type = Yoruba
| other_names = Olorun, Olodumare, Olafin-Orun, Olofi, Olofin
| children = Oluwasowjon
| member_of = 
| venerated_in = [[Yoruba religion]], [[Umbanda]], [[Candomble]], [[Santeria]], [[Haitian Vodou]], [[Folk Catholicism]]
| image = [[File:Obatala Priester im Tempel.jpg|Obatala_Priester_im_Tempel|230px]]
| caption = [[Obatala]] Priests
| deity_of = Monarch of the Heavens, Supreme Monarch of Deities, Sky, Earth, Universe
| color = 
| region = [[Yorubaland]], parts of [[Latin America]]
| ethnic_group = [[Yoruba people|Yoruba]]
| symbol = 
}}
'''Olorun''' ([[Yoruba alphabet]]: ''Ọlọrun'') ([[Ede language]]: ''ɔlɔrun'') is the ruler of (or in) the Heavens creator of the Yoruba. The Supreme Deity or Supreme Being in the [[Orisha#Pantheon|Yoruba pantheon]], Olorun is also called '''Olodumare''' ([[Yoruba alphabet]]: ''Olódùmarè''), Eledumare and Eleduwa/Eledua.

In Yoruba culture, Ọlọrun is credited with creating the universe and all living things. Ọlọrun is frequently perceived as a compassionate entity who protects its creations and is thought to be omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. People do not worship Olorun directly; there are no sacred areas of worship, no iconography.

Ọlọrun's ordained are known to be Obatalá<ref>{{cite book |last1=adelowo |first1=E.dada |title=rituals, symbolism and symbols in yoruba traditional religious thought}}</ref> of which is appointed a divine sun OlúwaṢówjon.<ref>{{cite book |title=ibukun Lati Olorun}}</ref> Olorun is outlying, distant, and does not partake in human rituals. There are no shrines or sacrifices dedicated directly to them, although followers can send prayers in their direction.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/godisnotoneeight0000prot|title=God is not one : the eight rival religions that run the world|last=R.|first=Prothero, Stephen|isbn=9780061571282|edition=First HarperCollins paperback|location=[New York, New York]|oclc=726921148|url-access=registration|year=2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Akintoye |first=Adebenji |title=A History of the Yoruba People |publisher=Amalion Publishing |year=2010 |isbn=978-2-35926-005-2 |location=Senegal |language=English |chapter=Chapter 2: The Development of Early Yoruba Society}}</ref>

Olorun has no gender in the Ifá Literary Corpus, and is always referred to as an entity who exists in spiritual form only. <ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Abímbólá |first=Kólá |title=Yorùbá Culture: A Philosophical Account |publisher=Ìrókò Academic Publishers |year=2005 |isbn=9781483535944 |location=Great Britain |language=English |chapter=Chapter 3: The Yorùbá Cosmos}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Mligo |first=Elia Shabani |title=Elements of Traditional African Religion |publisher=Resource Publications |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-62564-070-3 |location=Eugene, Oregon |chapter=Chapter 3: The Concept of God}}</ref> Christian missionaries, such as [[Bolaji Idowu]], aimed to reinterpret traditional Yoruba culture as consistent with Christian theology as a way of pushing conversion. The first translation of the Bible into Yoruba in the late 1800s by [[Samuel Ajayi Crowther]] controversially adopted traditional Yoruba names, such as "Olodumare/Olorun" for "God" and "[[Eshu]]" for the devil, and thus began associating Olorun with the male gender.<ref name=":0" />

For Yoruba traditions, there is no centralized authority; because of this, there are many different ways that Yoruba people and their descendants or orisa-based faiths can understand the idea of Olorun.<ref name=":1" />{{Orisa-Ifá sidebar|Deities}}

Historically, the Yoruba worship Olorun through the agency of the orisa; thus there is no image, shrine or sacrifice made directly towards Olorun, since Olorun is known to BE everything, and everywhere. <ref name=":1"></ref> There is some controversy about whether Olodumare is directly worshiped, due to their aloofness from humanity, or due to the belief that Olorun already is ALL manifestation of life and existence, and the believer is bound to be grateful and loving towards all existence, and all beings, since Olorun IS everything.<ref name=":2">Bewaji, John (1998). "Olodumare: God in Yoruba Belief and the Theistic Problem of Evil" (PDF). ''African Studies Quarterly''. </ref><ref name=":4" /> However, there are those who also worship Olodumare directly. Olodumare is the origin of virtue and mortality, and bestows the knowledge of things upon all persons when they are born. Olorun is omnipotent, transcendent, unique, all knowing, good, and evil.<ref name=":2" /> These ''orisa'' or orishas are supernatural beings, both good (''egungun'') and bad (''ajogun''), who represent human activity and natural forces, all at the same time, and is all harmonious, all possessed of equilibrium and worth.<ref>Peel, JYL (2016). "The Three Circles of Yoruba Religion". ''University of California Press'': 214–232.</ref>

==Western ideology==
* Olodumare – the Lord [[God]] of the Source of Creation
** Olorun – the Lord [[God]] of [[Heaven]] 

In Trinidad Orisha, this god is known as Orun.<ref name=":03">{{Cite book |last=Salamone |first=Frank A. |title=Encyclopedia of Religious Rites, Rituals, and Festivals |publisher=[[Routledge]] |year=2004 |isbn=0-415-94180-6 |editor-last=Levinson |editor-first=David |location=New York |pages=24}}</ref>{{Further explanation needed|reason=More explanation is needed on his role and the first letter of his name has a grave and a dot below it, and I can't find a Unicode character that matches that|date=May 2023}} Creator of  the cosmology and all that exists, [[Babalú-Ayé]].<ref name=":03" />

== Etymology ==
From the [[Yoruba language]], Olorun's name is a contraction of the words ''oní'' (which denotes ownership or rulership) and ''ọ̀run'' (which means the [[Heaven]]s, abode of the spirits).

Another name, Olodumare, comes from the phrase "O ní odù mà rè" meaning "the owner of the source of creation that does not become empty," "or the All Sufficient".<ref>Ayegboyin, Deji; Olajide, S. K. (2009), "Olodumare", ''Encyclopedia of African Religion'', Sage Publications, Inc., {{doi|10.4135/9781412964623.n306}}, {{ISBN|9781412936361}}, retrieved 2019-10-10</ref><ref name=":5">Cynthia Duncan, Ph.D. [http://www.aboutsanteria.com/ About Santeria]</ref><ref name=":3">Mobolaji Idowu (1994), ''Olódùmarè God in Yorùbá Belief'' Longman Nigeria {{ISBN|9780582608030}}</ref><ref name=":4">Ekundayo, Adejuwonlo; Ekundayo, Olugbemiga (2020), ''Spirituality and Mental Health: An Ifa Overview'', INARC Corp, U.S., {{ISBN|978-0-9815-674-0-2}}, Kindle Edition {{ASIN|B08FCVVKYG}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
* Olorun is mentioned in the song "The Rhythm of the Saints" from the 1990 album ''[[The Rhythm of the Saints]]'' by [[Paul Simon]].
* Olorun appears as one of the gods in the 2014 video game ''[[Smite (video game)|Smite]]''.
*Eledumare is mentioned in the 2018 song "[[Soco (song)|Soco]]" by Starboy featuring [[Wizkid]].

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{Refbegin}}
* [http://www.myebook.com/index.php?option=ebook&id=41149 Ogumefu, M. I.], ''Yorùbá Legends'', London, The Sheldon Press, 1929.
* [[Bolaji Idowu|Idowu, E. Bôlaji]]., ''[[Olodumare|Olódùmarè]]: God in Yorùbá Belief'', London, Longmans, 1962.
* Adebola Omolara Adebileje, ' [http://www.academypublication.com/issues/past/tpls/vol03/10/05.pdf "A Comparative Description of Affixation Processes in English and Yoruba"]
* Asante, Molefi K. and Ama Mazama, editors. ''Encyclopedia of African Religion''. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc., 2009. Sage Knowledge, 13 Apr 2023, {{doi|10.4135/9781412964623}}.

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