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Yoruba mythology
Articles about Yoruba mythology within Africa.
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Hare
Hare occupies a modest but recognisable place in Yoruba animal folklore. In Yoruba, the animal is commonly called ehoro, although English translations may render the word as “hare,” “rabbit,” or sometimes simply “small w…
Yemaya
Yemaya is one of the best-known names associated with Yemoja, a powerful female water divinity in Yoruba religious tradition. In Yoruba contexts, the name is more commonly written Yemoja or Yemọja. She is connected espec…
Jakuta
Jakuta is a Yoruba name associated with thunder, lightning and the dangerous power of the sky. In many accounts, Jakuta is an aspect, title or earlier form of Ṣàngó (often written Shango), the Yoruba orisha of thunder an…
Morimi
Morimi, more commonly written Moremi in contemporary English-language writing, is a celebrated heroine of Yoruba tradition. She is associated especially with Ile-Ife, the ancient Yoruba sacred and political centre in pre…
Obatala
Obatala is a major orisha of the Yoruba religious tradition of West Africa. Often described as an elder among the divine powers, Obatala is associated with creation, moral authority, wisdom, purity, calmness and the shap…
Ochosi
Ochosi—written in Yoruba as Ọ̀ṣọ́ọ̀sì and known by related spellings such as Oshosi or Oxóssi—is an òrìṣà of Yoruba religious tradition. He is especially associated with hunting, the forest, tracking, accuracy and the kn…
Ogun
Ogun (also written Ògún or Ogún) is a major òrìṣà of Yoruba religious tradition. He is especially associated with iron, metalworking, hunting, warfare, clearing paths, labour, technology and the difficult work required t…
Oko
Oko, more fully known as Òrìṣà Oko or Orisha Oko, is a Yoruba deity associated chiefly with farming, cultivated land and the harvest. The name is commonly connected with the Yoruba word oko, “farm” or “farmland,” althoug…
Olorun
Olorun is a supreme divine being in Yoruba religious thought, traditionally associated with the sky, creation, life and the ultimate ordering of the universe. The name is commonly written Ọlọ́run in Yoruba, from elements…
Olokun
Olokun is a powerful divinity in Yoruba religious tradition, associated above all with the sea, its immense depths, its hidden riches and the forces that lie beyond ordinary human understanding. The name is commonly writ…
Onile
Onile is a name associated with the earth in Yoruba religious thought and folklore. It is usually understood from the Yoruba expression onílẹ̀, meaning “owner of the earth” or “owner of the land.” In some accounts, Onile…