Ọlọrun

Olorun (Yoruba alphabet: Ọlọrun) is the ruler of (or in) the Heavens in the Yoruba religion. The Supreme God or Supreme Being in the Yoruba pantheon, Olorun is also called Olodumare (Yoruba alphabet: Olódùmarè).

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. Humans do not worship Olorun directly; there are no sacred areas of worship, no iconography, nor ordained person. 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.

Olorun has no gender in the Ifá Literary Corpus, and is always referred to as an entity who exists in spiritual form only. 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.

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.

Historically, the Yoruba worship Olorun through the agency of the orisa; thus there is no image, shrine or sacrifice made directly towards Olorun. There is some controversy about whether Olodumare is directly worshiped, due to their aloofness from humanity. 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. These orisa or orishas are supernatural beings, both good (egungun) and bad (ajogun), who represent human activity and natural forces.