Glossary
Alphabetical glossary of Yorùbá terms used across the corpus, each with diacritics, a literal gloss where one is documented, a plain definition, and the section that treats it fully.
Every Yorùbá term used across this corpus, alphabetised, with full diacritics, a literal gloss where the etymology is documented, a plain-language definition, and a pointer to the section that treats it properly.
How to read an entry. The headword carries the diacritics. A phrase in parentheses is the literal gloss, showing what the Yorùbá words actually say before the meaning is smoothed. Where an etymology is proposed but not established, it is marked (etymology contested). Where a term is used differently by different sources or regions, that is noted. The section name at the end of an entry is where to go for the full treatment.
Alphabetisation. Entries are ordered by their base letters, ignoring tone marks, with subdotted letters filed alongside their plain counterparts, so ẹbọ sits under E and ọ̀run under O. This is a reader's convenience rather than the ordering a Yorùbá dictionary would use.
On glosses. Yorùbá is a tonal language with heavy compounding, and many words admit more than one plausible decomposition. Where a gloss is widely repeated but not securely established, this glossary says so rather than presenting folk etymology as fact. Yorùbá etymology is treated properly in the language section .
A
Abẹ́òkúta (under the rock). City founded around 1830 by Ẹ̀gbá refugees under Ṣódẹkẹ́ during the nineteenth-century wars, and an early centre of mission activity and Yorùbá print. History.
àbíkú (one born to die). A child understood to be born repeatedly to the same mother and to die in infancy each time, returning rather than being a new person. A concept with an associated body of naming practice, ritual and poetry, and a subject of Yorùbá literature. Cosmology, social, language.
àbọ̀rú, àbọ̀yè (may the sacrifice be accepted, may the sacrifice bring life). The greeting exchanged with a babaláwo, invoking the efficacy of ẹbọ. Ifá.
adé (crown). The beaded crown of a Yorùbá ọba, whose right to wear it is the marker of descent from Odùduwà and of the town's standing. Arts, social.
àdìrẹ. Yorùbá resist-dyed indigo cloth, produced principally by women, with named patterns and regional styles. Arts.
adóṣù. An initiate of an òrìṣà cult, marked by particular observances. Òrìṣà.
Agẹmọ. A masquerade tradition particularly associated with Ijẹ̀bú. Òrìṣà, arts.
àgbà (elder). A person of standing by age and by conduct; the basis of the Yorùbá system of deference. Social.
agbádá. The large flowing robe of Yorùbá men's formal dress. Arts, social.
Agùdà. Yorùbá returnees from Brazil and Cuba, largely Catholic, who settled in Lagos and elsewhere from the mid-nineteenth century and shaped its architecture, cuisine and music. History, diaspora.
àjẹ́. Spiritual power associated particularly with certain women, ambivalent rather than simply malevolent, and connected with the mothers, with market authority and with social control. Usually translated "witchcraft," which imports the European witch-hunt apparatus and is a poor rendering. Cosmology, social, foundations.
Àjàlá. The potter of ọ̀run who moulds the orí that people choose before birth, portrayed as sometimes careless and producing flawed heads, which is the tradition's explanation of why fortunes vary so drastically. Cosmology.
àkàrà. Fried bean cake; in the diaspora, Brazilian acarajé. Social, diaspora.
akínkanjú (courage, bravery). One of the virtues constituting ọmọlúàbí. Cosmology.
àkúnlẹ̀gbà (that which one kneels to receive). One of the three terms for how destiny is obtained, alongside àkúnlẹ̀yàn and àyànmọ́. Cosmology.
àkúnlẹ̀yàn (that which one kneels to choose). The chosen component of destiny. Cosmology.
Aláàfin (owner of the palace). The ruler of Ọ̀yọ́, constitutionally constrained by the Ọ̀yọ́ Mesì, who could compel his death. History, social.
Aláàrìnjó. The Yorùbá travelling masquerade theatre tradition, ancestor of the twentieth-century Yorùbá professional theatre and film. Arts.
Aládùrà (owners of prayer). The independent Yorùbá churches emerging from the 1920s, built on prayer, prophecy, dreams and healing in a Yorùbá idiom. History.
Aláké. The ruler of Ake in Abẹ́òkúta, made paramount over the Ẹ̀gbá sections under colonial administration. History.
àlùfáà. A Muslim cleric; also used for Christian clergy. Social, history.
àmàlà. Yam-flour or cassava-flour staple, characteristic of Ọ̀yọ́ cooking. Social.
ara (body). The physical body, one component of the Yorùbá analysis of the person. Cosmology.
Arábà. The senior title in an Ifá priesthood of a town. Ifá.
arugbá (calabash carrier). The young woman who carries the sacred calabash in the Ọ̀ṣun-Ọ̀ṣogbo festival. Òrìṣà.
àṣẹ. The power by which things are brought into effect, present in speech, in persons, in objects and in the òrìṣà, deriving from Ọlọ́dùmarè. Also said at the end of a prayer, meaning let it be so, which is the same concept applied to the utterance. Rendered aché in Cuba and axé in Brazil. Cosmology, diaspora.
iṣẹ́ àṣekára (thorough, diligent work). One of the ọmọlúàbí virtues. Cosmology.
aṣọ òkè (cloth of the top, or upper cloth). Hand-woven Yorùbá strip cloth, worn for occasions of standing. Arts.
Awìṣẹ / Àwíṣẹ Awo Ni Àgbáyé. Title of the world spokesperson for Ifá and Yorùbá religion, held by Wándé Abímbọ́lá. Ifá.
awo (secret, mystery, the initiated). The restricted knowledge of a cult, and by extension its holders. Compounded in babaláwo and ìyáláwo. Ifá, òrìṣà.
Awùjalẹ̀. The ruler of Ijẹ̀bú-Òde. History, social.
ayé (the world). The visible domain of the living, paired with ọ̀run as the two halves of the cosmos. Cosmology.
àyànmọ́ (that which is chosen and affixed, from yàn to choose and mọ́ to fasten). Destiny, what was allotted before birth; in some usages specifically the unalterable portion, as against àkúnlẹ̀yàn and àkúnlẹ̀gbà. Cosmology.
Àyàn. The òrìṣà of drumming, and the lineage name element carried by drumming families: Àyànléke, Àyàntúndé, Àyàngalú. Arts, òrìṣà.
Aàrẹ. A senior chieftaincy title; compounded in Aàrẹ Ọ̀nà Kakanfò. Social.
àbùkù (blemish, disgrace). Damage to a person's or a lineage's standing, a central concept in Yorùbá reputational ethics. Social, cosmology.
àdìmú. A bloodless offering, food or drink placed for an òrìṣà. Òrìṣà.
àdúgbò (neighbourhood, quarter). The territorial division of a Yorùbá town below the level of the town itself. Social.
afẹ́fẹ́ (wind, air). Cosmology.
àfọ̀ṣẹ. Speech held to bring about what it says by its own power, an incantatory form. Language, cosmology.
àgbàlagbà (elder, aged person). Social.
agbẹ̀dẹ (forge, smithy). The blacksmith's workshop, associated with Ògún. Arts, social.
àgbo. A herbal decoction. Social.
Àgbọnnìrègún. A name of Ọ̀rúnmìlà in the Ifá corpus. Ifá.
ajẹ̀lẹ̀. A resident political agent posted by a dominant power to a subordinate town, particularly in the Ìbàdàn system. History.
Ajé. The òrìṣà associated with wealth, particularly wealth from trade; also the ordinary word for money or profit. Distinct from àjẹ́, which is a different word with different tone. Òrìṣà, social.
akápò. The assistant and apprentice of a babaláwo, who carries the bag. Ifá.
akéwì. A poet or reciter, particularly of rárà and ìjálá. Language, arts.
àkúdàáyá. A person understood to have died and to be living elsewhere unrecognised. Cosmology.
Alágbàá. The head of an egúngún society. Òrìṣà.
alájọbí (the relationship of shared birth). The bond of kinship understood as itself having sanctioning power, so that a wrong done within a lineage brings consequence by the kinship itself. Social, cosmology.
alárinà. An intermediary, particularly in marriage negotiation. Social.
aláṣọtẹ́lẹ̀ (one who says the cloth beforehand). A prophet or foreteller; the term used in Yorùbá Christian usage. Language, history.
alùbàríkà. Blessing; from Arabic baraka, entering Yorùbá through Islam. Language, social.
Apènà. A senior Ògbóni title, the officer who speaks. Social.
apẹ̀tẹ̀bí. The wife of a babaláwo, holding a defined role in Ifá practice. Ifá.
aró. Indigo dye, and by extension the dyeing craft; aláró, the dyer. Arts.
arọ́kin. The court historian and reciter of dynastic ìtàn at Ọ̀yọ́. History, language.
àtúnwáyé (coming to the world again). Reincarnation within the lineage, the understanding that ancestors return in descendants, expressed in names such as Babátúndé and Ìyábọ̀. Cosmology, social.
àwòrò. A priest of an òrìṣà, in some regional usages. Òrìṣà.
B
babaláwo (father of the secret; from bàbá father, ní having, awo secret). The Ifá priest and diviner. UNESCO renders the title "the priest's father" Ifá.
bàbálórìṣà (father of the òrìṣà). A male priest of an òrìṣà cult; babalorixá in Brazil. Òrìṣà, diaspora.
Babalúayé (father of the world). Also Ọbalúayé; the òrìṣà associated with smallpox and with epidemic disease, treated with great caution and often addressed by circumlocution. See Ṣọ̀pọ̀nnọ́n. Òrìṣà.
Bàṣọ̀run. The head of the Ọ̀yọ́ Mesì and the most powerful office in Ọ̀yọ́ after the Aláàfin; the office that Gaha used to force four Aláàfin to suicide in 1754. History.
bàtá. A double-headed drum ensemble associated particularly with Ṣàngó, with a repertoire that speaks Yorùbá tonally. Carried into Cuba, where it is central to Lucumí practice. Arts, diaspora.
D
dùndún. The Yorùbá hourglass tension drum, whose pitch is varied in performance to reproduce the tones of speech, the basis of the talking-drum tradition. Arts.
dídì. The wrapping or tying technique in àdìrẹ resist dyeing. Arts.
dífá / dáfá (to cast Ifá). To perform Ifá divination. Ifá.
E and Ẹ
ẹbọ (offering, sacrifice). What is given in response to what a divination prescribes: ordinarily kola nut, palm oil, water, cooked food, cloth or money, sometimes a fowl or a goat. The logic is reciprocity, not appeasement. Cosmology, Ifá, òrìṣà.
ẹdan Ògbóni. Paired brass figures joined by a chain, the emblem of Ògbóni membership and authority. Arts, social.
eewọ̀ / èèwọ̀ (taboo, prohibition). What a person, lineage, cult or office is forbidden. Cosmology, social.
Ẹ̀gbá. One of the Yorùbá subgroups, whose refugee population founded Abẹ́òkúta. History.
ẹgbẹ́ (association, society, age-set). The Yorùbá voluntary association, organised by age, occupation or purpose, and a central institution of town life. Social.
Egúngún (related to egun, bone). The ancestral masquerade: the ancestors returning in costumed, danced and voiced form, controlled by a masquerade society, with judicial functions in some of its forms. Òrìṣà, arts.
Èkìtì. A Yorùbá subgroup and region in the eastern hills, historically many small kingdoms rather than one state. History.
Èkìtìparapọ̀ (the Èkìtì joined together). The confederacy formed against Ìbàdàn in the Sixteen Years War at Kiriji. History.
Ẹlẹ́gbára / Ẹlẹ́gbá (one who has power to seize). A name of Èṣù; Eleguá or Elegguá in Cuba. Òrìṣà, diaspora.
Elérìí ìpín (witness to destiny). Epithet of Ọ̀rúnmìlà, referring to his presence when destinies were chosen, which is the basis of Ifá's claim to know what was chosen. Ifá, cosmology.
ẹ̀mí (breath, spirit). The life principle, associated with Ọlọ́dùmarè as its source, one component of the Yorùbá analysis of the person. Cosmology.
ẹnìyàn (person, human being). Used in ethical contexts in an evaluative sense, so that being biologically human and being a person in the full sense are not the same category. Cosmology.
ẹsẹ (leg, foot; here a verse). An individual verse of the Ifá corpus, attached to an Odù, typically narrating a precedent case: who consulted Ifá, what was prescribed, whether it was done, and the outcome. UNESCO gives roughly 800 ẹsẹ per Odù with the total unknown and increasing . Ifá.
Èṣù (also Ẹlẹ́gbára, Ẹlẹ́gbáa, Láàróyè). The messenger and enforcer: carries ẹbọ from ayé to ọ̀run, stands at the crossroads and the threshold, tests and disrupts, enforces reciprocity, and is required for Ifá to function. Not the devil; the identification with Satan was made by Bible translators in the mid-nineteenth century. Òrìṣà, foundations.
ètùtù. A propitiatory or corrective rite, distinguished in some usages from ordinary ẹbọ. Cosmology, òrìṣà.
ẹwà (beauty, what is fitting, what is well-made). In Yorùbá aesthetics inseparable from moral judgment, as in the proverb ìwà l'ẹwà, character is beauty. Arts, cosmology.
ẹ̀bà. Cassava-flour staple eaten with soup. Social.
ebora. A class of powerful and often dangerous spiritual beings, distinguished in some usages from òrìṣà. Òrìṣà, cosmology.
ẹ̀bí. Kin, the extended family. Social.
ẹ̀dá (creature, created thing, a person's constitution). Cosmology.
ẹgbẹ́ àárọ̀ / ẹgbẹ́ ọ̀run (the companions of ọ̀run). The heavenly companions a person is understood to have left behind at birth, a concept associated with àbíkú. Cosmology.
ẹ̀gbọ́n (elder sibling). Paired with àbúrò, younger sibling; the pair structures Yorùbá address and deference within a generation. Social, language.
ẹ̀jẹ̀ (blood). Cosmology, òrìṣà.
ẹkùn ìyàwó. The bridal lament, a genre performed by a bride before marriage. Language, arts.
ẹlẹ́gùn (one who is mounted). A person who becomes possessed by an òrìṣà in ritual context, a trained and socially managed role. Òrìṣà.
ẹlẹ́yẹ (owner of birds). A circumlocution for those holding àjẹ́, avoiding the direct term. Cosmology.
Ẹ̀ṣà. A poetic genre performed for egúngún. Language, arts.
èsùsù. A rotating savings and credit association, a long-established Yorùbá financial institution. Social.
ètùtù. A propitiatory rite; see also the main entry above. Cosmology.
ewé (leaf, herb). Leaves as medicine and as ritual material; the knowledge of ewé is a specialism in its own right, associated with Ọ̀sanyìn. Social, òrìṣà.
F
fújì. A twentieth-century Yorùbá popular music genre developing out of Muslim ajísàrí and were traditions. Arts.
G
gángan. A talking drum of the dùndún family. Arts.
gèlè. The Yorùbá women's head-tie. Arts, social.
Gẹ̀lẹ̀dé. A masquerade tradition honouring the spiritual power of women, particularly the mothers, associated with the Kétu and western Yorùbá area and inscribed by UNESCO. Òrìṣà, arts.
gbẹ̀du. A large drum associated with royal and Ògbóni contexts. Arts.
Gbénàgbénà (carver). The wood sculptor, a named professional role with recognised individual masters such as Olówè of Ìṣẹ̀ and Bámgbóyè. Arts.
gòjé. A bowed single-string instrument. Arts.
gúdúgúdú. The small kettle drum of the dùndún ensemble. Arts.
I and Ì
ìbejì (twins). Twins, regarded as bearing particular spiritual significance, with associated naming (Táíwò and Kẹ́hìndé), ritual and the carved ère ìbejì figures. Yorùbá populations have among the highest recorded twinning rates in the world. Social, arts.
ìbọrí (feeding the head). Ritual attention to one's own orí, directed at oneself rather than at an external power. Cosmology.
Ìbàdàn. City founded in the 1830s by a mixed force of war refugees, which became the dominant Yorùbá military power of the nineteenth century, and later the site of the university that produced the Ìbàdàn school of history. History.
ibò. Small objects held in the client's hands during divination to give binary answers to the diviner's questions, used to narrow down which ẹsẹ applies. Ifá.
ìdílé (lineage, family). The descent group, the basic unit of Yorùbá social organisation. Social.
Ifá. The Yorùbá divination system, its literary corpus, and by extension Ọ̀rúnmìlà. Inscribed by UNESCO in 2005 and 2008 as making use of "an extensive corpus of texts and mathematical formulas" Ifá.
Ilé-Ifẹ̀. The city that the traditions name as the origin of the Yorùbá world and of kingship, and the site of the classical sculptural corpus in copper alloy and terracotta. History, arts.
ìgbá (calabash). The gourd container, and the image used for the structure of the cosmos: two halves fitted together, ọ̀run above and ayé below, meeting at a seam. Cosmology.
Ìgbàlé. The sacred grove of the egúngún. Òrìṣà.
ikin. The sixteen sacred palm nuts used in the older and more formal Ifá divination method. Ifá.
ilé (house, home, compound, lineage, ground, land). One of the most load-bearing words in the language, covering the physical compound, the family in it, the lineage that owns it, and the ground itself. Social.
ìmàle. Yorùbá Muslims; the term used for the Muslim community from the period of Islam's spread through the northern Yorùbá towns. History.
ìpín (portion, lot). A person's allotted destiny; compounded in Elérìí ìpín. Cosmology.
Ìrèmọ̀jé. Funeral poetry of hunters, performed at the death of a hunter. Language, arts.
ìrókò. A large hardwood tree of religious significance, and the timber taken from it. Arts, cosmology.
ìrúnmọlẹ̀ / irúnmalẹ̀. In some usages the primordial divinities, as distinct from òrìṣà who were once human; the vocabulary is not consistent across sources or regions. Òrìṣà.
ìsọmọlórúkọ (giving the child a name). The naming ceremony, held on a fixed day after birth and involving prescribed substances each with a stated meaning. Social, language.
ìtàn (narrative, account, history). The narrative genre covering what English splits between history, myth and story, without the split being marked. History, language.
ìtẹfá / ìṣẹfá. Initiation into Ifá, of which there are stages. Ifá.
ìtẹríba (respect). One of the ọmọlúàbí virtues. Cosmology, social.
ìwà (character). A person's character or moral quality, the central concept in Yorùbá ethics, held in the Ifá corpus to matter more than wealth, sacrifice or destiny. Cosmology.
ìwàpẹ̀lẹ́ / ìwà pẹ̀lẹ́ (gentle character, good character). The Yorùbá ethical ideal; the subject of Wándé Abímbọ́lá's essay of that title. Cosmology.
ìwà rere (good character). One of the ọmọlúàbí virtues. Cosmology.
ìwà ìrẹ̀lẹ̀ (humility). One of the ọmọlúàbí virtues. Cosmology.
ìyáàlù (mother drum). The lead drum of an ensemble, the one that speaks. Arts.
Ìyáàmi / Ìyámi (my mother). Honorific address to the mothers, the collective spiritual power of women, approached with great care and by circumlocution. Cosmology, òrìṣà.
ìyáláwo / ìyánífá. The titles for women in Ifá. Whether women may take the highest levels of Ifá initiation is actively contested, particularly as the tradition has grown in Cuba and the United States. Ifá.
Ìyálóde. The senior women's title in a Yorùbá town, carrying real authority over trade and representing women in council; the office was broken by colonial indirect rule's dealings with male chiefs only. Social, history.
Ìyálọ́jà (mother of the market). The head of the market women, holding governing authority over the market. Social.
ìyálórìṣà (mother of the òrìṣà). A female priest of an òrìṣà cult; ialorixá or mãe de santo in Brazil. Òrìṣà, diaspora.
ìyẹ̀rosùn. The fine powder spread on the ọpọ́n Ifá, in which the diviner marks the Odù. Ifá.
ìbúra (oath). Oath-taking, a central judicial procedure, administered particularly by Ògbóni and on Ògún's iron. Social.
ìdána. The marriage payment and the ceremony at which it is made. Social.
ìdọ̀bálẹ̀. The full prostration by which a younger man greets an elder; the corresponding form for women is ìkúnlẹ̀, kneeling. Social.
Ìgálà. A people and language closely related to Yorùbá, sharing a common ancestor in Proto-Yorùbáoid. History, language.
ìgbàgbọ́ (belief, faith). The word used for religious faith in Yorùbá Christian usage; onígbàgbọ́, a Christian. Language, history.
ìgbìn. The edible land snail, an offering particularly associated with Ọbàtálá, and the name of a drum type. Òrìṣà, arts.
ìjálá. The chanted poetry of hunters, associated with Ògún, a major Yorùbá oral genre. Language, arts.
Ìjẹ̀ṣà. A Yorùbá subgroup and kingdom centred on Ilésà. History.
ìlàrí. Royal messengers and officials of the Aláàfin, marked by a distinctive shaved head. History, social.
ìlẹ̀kẹ̀ (beads). Beads, carrying òrìṣà affiliation, rank and initiation status, and a major Yorùbá art form. Arts, òrìṣà.
ilé kíkọ́ / ilédì. The Ògbóni meeting house. Social, arts.
ìmọ̀ (knowledge). Cosmology.
Ìmọ̀lẹ̀. A term used both for the primordial divinities and, in a homophone, for Islam and Muslims; the two are distinguished by context and tone. Òrìṣà, history.
ìrànà. A rite performed to open the road for the dead. Cosmology, social.
ìróké. The tapper used by a babaláwo to strike the ọpọ́n and call Ifá's attention, itself a carved art object. Ifá, arts.
ìrùkẹ̀rẹ̀. The horsetail fly-whisk carried as a marker of authority. Social, arts.
ìsìnkú (burial). Funeral rites, one of the two occasions where Christian, Muslim and traditional practice most often come into direct conflict. Social.
ìṣẹ̀ṣe (custom, tradition, the source practice). The term increasingly used by practitioners for Yorùbá traditional religion itself, preferred to the English labels. Òrìṣà, foundations.
ìtàdógún. The seventeen-day interval at which Ifá is consulted in the ritual calendar. Ifá, social.
ìtìjú (shame, a sense of shame). Treated as a virtue rather than a defect: the capacity to be ashamed is part of good character. Cosmology, social.
ìwàrèfà. The six senior officers of an Ògbóni lodge. Social.
ìwọ̀n (measure). Language.
Ìyámàpó. An òrìṣà associated with pottery and with women's crafts. Òrìṣà, arts.
J
Jàkúta (one who fights with stones). An older thunder divinity, whose attributes were largely absorbed into Ṣàngó. Òrìṣà.
jùjú. Two distinct uses. As a colonial-era English word for African religious objects, first attested around 1860, with the standard but uncertain etymology from French joujou, toy . As the name of a twentieth-century Yorùbá popular music genre. Foundations, arts.
K
Kabíyèsí (usually analysed as ká bí ì yẹ sí, no one questions him; etymology contested). The formal salutation to an ọba. Social.
Kakanfò / Aàrẹ Ọ̀nà Kakanfò. The generalissimo title of Ọ̀yọ́, held by Àfọ̀njá at the time of his rebellion in 1817. History.
Kétu. A Yorùbá kingdom in what is now Benin, and the name of the Yorùbá-derived nation within Brazilian Candomblé. History, diaspora.
kólánut / obì. Kola nut, the standard offering, the standard gift of hospitality, and the material of a simple form of divination by casting its segments. Social, cosmology.
L
Lucumí / Lùkùmí. The Yorùbá-derived tradition in Cuba, and the term used there for Yorùbá arrivals. Diaspora.
Láàróyè. A praise name of Èṣù, used in salutation. Òrìṣà.
lágídígba. Beads made of palm-nut shell, associated with particular òrìṣà. Arts.
M
mágùn (do not climb). A preparation held to punish adultery, and the subject of a well-known Yorùbá film. Social.
méjì (two). Doubled; an Odù in which both halves of the figure are the same, as in Èjì Ogbè and Ọ̀yẹ̀kú Méjì. The sixteen méjì are the senior Odù. Ifá.
mẹ́rìndínlógún (sixteen; literally four subtracted from twenty). The sixteen-cowrie divination system, simpler than Ifá and more widely practised, and the diloggún of Cuba. Ifá, diaspora.
mọ̀gbà. A priestly grade in the Ṣàngó cult. Òrìṣà.
Mọ̀remí. A figure of Ifẹ̀ tradition remembered for delivering the town from raiders at the cost of her son, and a major subject of Yorùbá drama and monument. History, arts.
N
Nàgó. The term for Yorùbá people and their tradition in Brazil and in the Francophone Atlantic. Diaspora.
nàná. An honorific for a senior female figure, used of certain òrìṣà. Òrìṣà, diaspora.
O and Ọ
ọba (king, ruler). The sacred ruler of a Yorùbá town, historically constrained by councils that could refuse, remove or in Ọ̀yọ́ compel his death, and made more powerful and less accountable under colonial indirect rule. Social, history.
Ọbàtálá (also Ọ̀rìṣà-nlá, the great òrìṣà). In the most widespread account, the òrìṣà given the shaping of human bodies, associated with whiteness, cool restraint and moral rectitude; Oxalá in Brazil. Òrìṣà.
òbì. See kola nut.
Odù. The 256 signs of Ifá, each a binary figure of eight positions and each the address of a body of verse; sixteen principal Odù combining in pairs to give 256. Also the name of a figure in the tradition associated with the Ifá corpus itself. Ifá.
Odùduwà. In the dominant tradition, the founder of kingship at Ilé-Ifẹ̀, from whom the crowned rulers descend. No independent dating exists; versions conflict, and Robin Law has argued the charter spread over time as a political device. History.
odún (year, festival). Both the year and the annual festival, which is how the calendar and the ritual cycle are the same object. Social.
Ògbóni (also Òṣùgbó). The society holding judicial and religious authority in Yorùbá towns, administering oaths and able to sanction rulers; treated as a rival jurisdiction by colonial administration and by mission Christianity. Social, history.
Ògún. The òrìṣà of iron, the forge, war, hunting and the clearing of paths, and by extension of every trade that uses metal. Oaths sworn on iron carry weight in Yorùbá practice into the present. Òrìṣà.
Ògúndá, Ogbè, Ọ̀yẹ̀kú, Ìwòrì, Òdí, Ìrosùn, Ọ̀wọ́nrín, Ọ̀bàrà, Ọ̀kànràn, Ọ̀sá, Ìká, Òtúrúpọ̀n, Òtúrá, Ìrẹtẹ̀, Òṣé, Òfún. The sixteen principal Odù of Ifá, in the commonly given order of seniority. Regional orderings differ. Ifá.
ojúbọ (place of worship, shrine). Òrìṣà.
Olódù. A senior Ifá title, and in some usages the holder of the full Odù. Ifá.
Ọlọ́dùmarè (etymology contested; commonly analysed as containing olú, chief or owner). The supreme being, source of existence and of àṣẹ, without images, temples, priesthood or sacrifice. Whether the resulting structure is monotheism is contested. Cosmology.
Olókun (owner of the sea). The òrìṣà of the sea and of wealth; also the name of the Ifẹ̀ site Igbo Olókun where the glass industry was excavated. Òrìṣà, history.
Ọlọ́run (owner of the sky, from oní + ọ̀run). Name of the supreme being, and the term used for God by Yorùbá Christians and Muslims. Cosmology.
Olúwo. A senior Ifá title, the head of a body of babaláwo. Ifá.
ọmọlúàbí (commonly analysed as ọmọ tí Olú-ìwà bí, the child begotten by the chief of character; etymology contested). The person of full moral standing, the Yorùbá ethical ideal. Cosmology, social.
onísègùn / oníṣègùn (owner of medicine). The herbalist and traditional healer, a role distinct from that of the babaláwo though the two often overlap. Social.
Ọ̀ọ̀ni. The ruler of Ilé-Ifẹ̀, and by the logic of Ifẹ̀'s standing a figure of particular authority among Yorùbá rulers. History, social.
ọ̀pẹ̀lẹ̀. The divining chain, eight seed halves on a cord, cast to produce a complete Odù in a single throw; the faster of the two Ifá methods. Ifá.
ọpọ́n Ifá. The carved wooden divination tray on which the ìyẹ̀rosùn is spread and the Odù marked, itself a major genre of Yorùbá sculpture. Ifá, arts.
ọpọlọ pípé (soundness of mind). One of the ọmọlúàbí virtues. Cosmology.
orí (head). The inner head, a person's individual destiny and the personal spiritual principle carrying it, distinguished from orí òde, the physical head. No òrìṣà can help a person against their orí. Cosmology.
orí inú (inner head). The destiny-bearing head as against the physical one. Cosmology.
oríkì (from orí, head, plus kì, to praise or salute). Praise poetry attached to a person, lineage, town, òrìṣà or animal, dense and allusive, performed rather than recited, and a primary historical source. Language.
òrìṣà. The powers standing between Ọlọ́dùmarè and human beings, each with a domain, a body of narrative, a priesthood, festivals and shrines. Orixá in Brazil, oricha in Cuba. Òrìṣà.
orílẹ̀. The lineage or clan name element carried in oríkì, identifying descent group and place of origin. Language, social.
òrìta (crossroads). The junction, and one of the principal ritual sites, associated with Èṣù. Cosmology, òrìṣà.
ọ̀rọ̀ sísọ (saying the word, competent speech). One of the ọmọlúàbí virtues, and evidence that speech is treated as a moral capacity rather than a social grace. Cosmology, language.
Orò. A men's society associated with a particular sound and with judicial functions, during whose observances women are required to stay indoors. Social, òrìṣà.
Ọ̀rúnmìlà. The òrìṣà of Ifá, present at the choosing of destinies and therefore able to say what was chosen; Elérìí ìpín. Ifá, òrìṣà.
ọ̀run (the beyond, the sky-domain). The invisible domain of Ọlọ́dùmarè, the òrìṣà, the ancestors and the unborn, joined to ayé rather than opposed to it. Not heaven in the Christian sense. Cosmology.
ọ̀run àpáàdì (the ọ̀run of potsherds). A negative condition in ọ̀run, whose relationship to Christian hell and whose pre-missionary development are contested; not a place of eternal torment and not the destination of the unconverted. Cosmology.
ọ̀run rere (good ọ̀run). The favourable condition in ọ̀run. Cosmology.
Ọ̀sanyìn. The òrìṣà of herbal medicine and of the knowledge of leaves. Òrìṣà.
Òṣùgbó. The name used in the eastern and coastal Yorùbá areas for the society called Ògbóni in the west. Social.
Ọ̀ṣọ́ọ̀sì. The òrìṣà of hunting; Oxóssi in Brazil. Òrìṣà.
Ọ̀ṣun. The òrìṣà of the river at Ọ̀ṣogbo, associated with fresh water, fertility, wealth, beauty and the arts; Ochún in Cuba, Oxum in Brazil. The Ọ̀ṣun Sacred Grove is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Òrìṣà.
òtító / òtítọ́ (truth). One of the ọmọlúàbí virtues. Cosmology.
òwe (proverb). The Yorùbá proverb corpus, deployed in argument, judgment, teaching and negotiation as compressed reasoning. Òwe lẹṣin ọ̀rọ̀: the proverb is the horse of speech. Language.
Ọ̀wu. A Yorùbá state destroyed in the war of 1817 to 1822, the first major Yorùbá conflict decided by European firearms. History.
Ọya. The òrìṣà of wind, storm, the river Niger, transformation and the boundary of death; a warrior in her own right. Òrìṣà.
Ọ̀yọ́. The dominant Yorùbá empire of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, built on cavalry, with the Aláàfin at its head and the Ọ̀yọ́ Mesì as constitutional counterweight. History.
Ọ̀yọ́ Mesì. The council of seven at Ọ̀yọ́, led by the Bàṣọ̀run, holding the formal power to reject an Aláàfin, who was then required to take his own life. History.
Obalúfọ̀n. An Ifẹ̀ ruler in the tradition, associated in art history with the copper mask bearing his name and with the introduction of particular crafts. History, arts.
òbe / ọbẹ̀. Soup or stew; the component eaten with a starch staple. Social.
òdí. One of the sixteen principal Odù; also, as a separate word, the outskirts or the rear. Ifá.
Ọdọ́fin. A senior chieftaincy title in many Yorùbá towns. Social.
ọdún (year, annual festival). See odún. Social.
òfin / òfin ilẹ̀. Law, and specifically the law of the land as administered by the ọba in council and by Ògbóni. Social.
ọfọ̀. Incantation, spoken formula held to be efficacious by the àṣẹ of the words themselves. Language, cosmology.
Ògbóni ẹdan. See ẹdan Ògbóni.
oògùn (medicine, preparation). Prepared substances for healing, protection or effect; the domain of the oníṣègùn and the term most often translated as "charm" in colonial writing. Social.
òjìji (shadow). The shadow as a component of the person in some analyses. Cosmology.
Ọjọ́ (day). The four-day Yorùbá week, Ọjọ́ Awo, Ọjọ́ Ògún, Ọjọ́ Jàkúta and Ọjọ́ Ṣàngó in the traditional reckoning, structuring market and ritual cycles. Social.
Ọlọ́fin. A title of high kingship, used of Odùduwà and of certain rulers. History, social.
olórí (head, leader; literally owner of a head). A leader; also a senior wife. Social.
Olóojà / ọlọ́jà (owner of the market). A ruler's title in some towns, reflecting the market as the basis of the town. Social.
ọmọ (child, offspring, member). Compounded throughout Yorùbá vocabulary: ọmọdé, a child; ọmọ ìyá, a sibling by the same mother. Social, language.
Ọ̀ràngún. The ruler of Ìlá, one of the crowned rulers in the Odùduwà dispersal traditions. History.
Ọ̀rànmíyàn. A figure of Ifẹ̀ and Ọ̀yọ́ tradition, credited with founding Ọ̀yọ́ and connected in tradition with Benin. History.
orogún. A co-wife; the relationship between co-wives in a polygynous household, with its own extensive vocabulary and proverb literature. Social.
orúkọ (name). Yorùbá names are sentences and are analysable; orúkọ àmútọ̀runwá, names brought from ọ̀run and given by the circumstances of birth, are distinguished from orúkọ àbísọ, names given at the naming ceremony, and ìnagijẹ, nicknames. Language, social.
òsùn. Camwood powder, red, used ritually and cosmetically; distinguished by tone from Ọ̀ṣun the òrìṣà. Òrìṣà, arts.
Ọ̀ṣùmàrè. The rainbow òrìṣà; Oxumaré in Brazil. Òrìṣà.
ọ̀tún and òsì (right and left). The paired chieftaincy divisions found across Yorùbá title systems. Social.
P
pákó / pẹpẹ. The shrine platform or shelf on which òrìṣà objects are kept. Òrìṣà.
R
rárà. A chanted praise genre, slower and more sustained than oríkì performance in its usual form. Language, arts.
S and Ṣ
Sàró. Yorùbá people liberated from slave ships and settled at Freetown, Sierra Leone, many of whom returned to Lagos and Abẹ́òkúta from the 1830s bringing Christianity, literacy and capital. History.
Ṣàngó. The òrìṣà of thunder and lightning, in the tradition a former Aláàfin of Ọ̀yọ́ deified after death; associated with the double-headed axe and with royal authority. Xangô in Brazil, Changó in Cuba. Òrìṣà.
ṣẹ̀kẹ̀rẹ̀. A gourd rattle covered in a net of beads or shells. Arts.
Ṣọ̀pọ̀nnọ́n / Ṣọ̀pọ̀ná. The òrìṣà associated with smallpox; see Babalúayé. Colonial administration proscribed the cult in 1917. Òrìṣà, history.
sùúrù (patience). A virtue frequently named in the Ifá corpus and in proverb. Cosmology.
sákárà. A Yorùbá Muslim popular music genre. Arts.
sányán. A prestigious beige aṣọ òkè woven from the silk of a wild moth. Arts.
sàráà. Alms or a charitable offering; from Arabic sadaqa, entering through Islam. Social, language.
ṣáṣá / ṣùkú. Named hairstyles, part of a substantial vocabulary of women's hair design treated as an art form. Arts.
Ṣódẹkẹ́. The Ẹ̀gbá leader who founded Abẹ́òkúta around 1830. History.
Ṣóyínká, Wọlé. Yorùbá dramatist, poet and essayist, awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1986, whose work draws extensively on Yorùbá cosmology and particularly on Ògún. Arts, language.
T
Táíwò (usually analysed as tọ́ ayé wò, taste the world). The name of the first-born of twins, understood as sent ahead by the second. Social, language.
Kẹ́hìndé (the one who comes last). The name of the second-born of twins, understood as the senior. Social, language.
Ìdòwú. The name given to the child born after twins. Social, language.
Táíyéwò. A variant of Táíwò. Social, language.
tẹfá / ìtẹfá. Ifá initiation; see ìtẹfá. Ifá.
tútù (cool, cold, calm). Coolness as a positive spiritual and ethical quality, associated particularly with Ọbàtálá and with water; the opposite of the heat of anger and disorder. Cosmology, arts.
W
were / wéré. A Muslim pre-dawn Ramadan music tradition, ancestral to fújì. Arts.
Additional entries
àdámọ̀. Something innate or inborn. Cosmology.
àgbébọ̀ adìẹ. A mature hen, a common ẹbọ item. Òrìṣà.
àìkú (deathlessness, long life). One of the standard goods asked for in prayer, alongside ire, good fortune. Cosmology.
àlàáfíà (peace, well-being). From Arabic āfiya; a standard greeting and one of the standard goods sought. Language, social.
àlọ́. The folktale, a distinct genre from ìtàn, including the àlọ́ àpamọ̀, riddle, and the tortoise cycle centred on Ìjàpá. Language.
Àtàrí. The crown of the head, the point at which ẹbọ for the orí is applied. Cosmology.
bàbá (father) and ìyá (mother). The base kinship terms, compounded throughout titles and address. Social, language.
Balógun (owner of war; from baba ológun). The war chief title, the senior military office in most Yorùbá towns. Social, history.
bọ (to feed, to propitiate). The verb behind ẹbọ, ìbọrí and ojúbọ. Cosmology, language.
ẹ̀tọ́. What is right or due; a person's entitlement. Social.
Igbó Ìgbàlé. The sacred grove where egúngún prepare and to which women are not admitted. Òrìṣà.
ìdí. The base or foundation, and in Ifá the seat of an Odù. Ifá.
Ilé Ògbóni. See ilédì.
ìran. A generation, and also a spectacle or masquerade display. Social, arts.
ìrè. Good fortune, blessing; the class of goods a divination seeks. Also Irè, the town associated with Ògún. Cosmology, òrìṣà.
Ìṣẹ̀yìn, Ògbómọ̀ṣọ́, Ìkirun, Ẹdẹ, Ìwó. Northern Yorùbá towns of the Ọ̀yọ́ orbit, several of them early centres of Yorùbá Islam. History.
Ìtàpá. A festival at Ilé-Ifẹ̀ enacting the conflict between Ọbàtálá and Odùduwà traditions. Òrìṣà, history.
kìjìpá. A coarse hand-woven cloth. Arts.
Modakẹ́kẹ́. A settlement adjoining Ilé-Ifẹ̀ founded by Ọ̀yọ́ refugees, and the site of a long-running conflict with Ifẹ̀. History.
mọ́ínmọ́ín. Steamed bean pudding. Social.
òkè (hill, top, upper). Compounded in aṣọ òkè. Language.
Olúmọ. The rock at Abẹ́òkúta that sheltered the Ẹ̀gbá and gave the town its name. History.
ọ̀pá. A staff; ọ̀pá Ọ̀ṣun, the iron staff of the Ifá priest. Ifá, arts.
Ọ̀ràmfẹ̀. An Ifẹ̀ divinity associated with thunder, in some accounts the Ifẹ̀ counterpart of Ṣàngó. Òrìṣà.
òòṣà / òrìṣà. Variant forms of the same word. Òrìṣà.
oyè (title, chieftaincy). The title system; ọlọ́yè, a title-holder. Social.
Òyótúnjí. The African Village in South Carolina, founded in 1970, a North American Òrìṣà community modelled on Yorùbá town organisation. Diaspora.
ṣaworo. Small metal bells attached to costume and to drums. Arts.
ṣẹ̀gi. A type of prestige bead. Arts.
Cross-referenced entries
Èjì Ogbè. The senior Odù of Ifá, both halves showing the same figure. Ifá.
Ẹ̀gún / egún. The ancestors, and the masquerade; see Egúngún. Òrìṣà.
Èjìogbè, Ọ̀yẹ̀kú Méjì, Ìwòrì Méjì and the other méjì. The sixteen doubled Odù, senior to the 240 combinations. Ifá.
Ìyáláṣẹ (mother who holds àṣẹ). A senior women's title in some cults and towns. Òrìṣà, social.
Ọlọ́wọ̀. The ruler of Ọ̀wọ̀. History, social.
Ọṣemawé. The ruler of Ondó. History, social.
Àtàọ́ja. The ruler of Ọ̀ṣogbo. History, social.
Ògògà. The ruler of Ìkẹrẹ́ in Èkìtì. History, social.
Olúbàdàn. The ruler of Ìbàdàn, an office created under colonial administration in a city that had had none. History, social.
Ọlọ́fà. The ruler of Ọ̀fà. History, social.
Terms not Yorùbá, used in the corpus
Candomblé. The Afro-Brazilian religion, internally divided into nations, of which Ketu is the Yorùbá-derived line, alongside Jeje with Fon derivation and Angola with Kongo derivation. Diaspora.
fetish. From Portuguese feitiço, from Latin facticius, made by art, artificial . Applied by Portuguese traders to West African religious objects from the fifteenth century, entering the coastal trade pidgin as fetisso and formalised as fétichisme by Charles de Brosses in the eighteenth century . Not a Yorùbá category and not neutral; the verdict is in the etymology. Foundations.
Santería (way of the saints). A name for the Lucumí tradition in Cuba, sometimes disfavoured by practitioners who prefer Lucumí or Regla de Ocha. Diaspora.
Vodún. The religious system of the Fon and Ewe of southern Benin, Togo and southeastern Ghana, related to Yorùbá òrìṣà religion through long interaction but distinct from it; the word means spirit or deity in Fon. Diaspora.
What is not in here
Personal names, place names and the names of individual scholars are not glossed here except where they carry a term of art. The language section treats Yorùbá naming, including what the common name elements mean, which is the file most readers want when they arrive here looking up their own name. Regional and dialect vocabulary appears in the section that uses it. Terms belonging to a single òrìṣà cult, and terms whose content is initiate-held, are named where the corpus names them and are not expanded beyond what is publicly attested.