Encyclopedia of African Religion

designedtoelevateandtransformsociety.InAfrica
and the diaspora, past and present, the spoken
Word dominates communication culture. This is
partofthecontinuitywiththeancientAfricanpast.

Adisa A. Alkebulan

See alsoNommo

Further Readings

Bodunde, C. (2001).Oral Traditions and Aesthetic
Transfer:Creativity and Social Vision in
Contemporary Black Poetry. Bayreuth, Germany:
Bayreuth University Press.
Dasylva, A. (1999).Classificatory Paradigms in African
Oral Narrative. Ibadan, Nigeria: Ibadan Cultural
Studies Group, University of Ibadan.
Okpewho, I. (1979).Epic in Africa:Toward a Poetics of
the Oral Performance. New York: Columbia
University Press.

ORI

Ori refers to the physical head among the Yoruba
of Nigeria; it is the symbol of Olodumare, the
creator, and of the essential personality—the soul
of each individual. Ori is that spiritual essence
that wields the greatest influence on a person’s
life from birth to the grave. For the Yoruba, this
means that one’s life is predetermined by the type
of Ori chosen or the one affixed by Olodumare.
Theessentialpartofthisprincipleisthatevents
happening in the individual’s life are not due to
chance, but to the type of Ori that the individual
choosesinHeavenbeforeentryonEarth.Oriisthe
spiritual “head” that a person chooses fromOrun
(Heaven)afterbeingmouldedbyAjala.Thechoice
ismadeinanyofthefollowingways:Akunleyan—
that which is received kneeling; Ayanmo—that
which is affixed; Adamo—that which is affixed
at creation; orAkomo—that which is written and
sealed.Afterthechoicehasbeenmade,theportion
is doubly sealed, first by Olodumare through con-
ferment and then by Onibode, the keeper of
the gate between Heaven and Earth. This choice
is unalterable once it is made and is sealed by
Olodumare and the Onibode.

After acquiring an Ori, the individual begins

the journey to Earth. On arrival on Earth, those

who have chosen good Ori will quickly prosper,

whereas those who have chosen bad Ori will

be condemned to failure. However, the Yoruba

believe in having a good character—iwa rere—for

a good Ori to come to fruition. Most events in an

individual’slife—forinstance,ifapersondiespre-

maturely or becomes rich or possesses a special

skill—are all traced by the Yoruba to the person’s

Ori.ThebeliefoftheYorubainOriasthesymbol

of predestination is manifested in their sayings;

for example:

Eni t’o gbon

Ori e lo ni o gbon

Eniyan ti o gbon

Orii re lo ni o go j’usu lo

He who is wise

Is made by his Ori

He who is not wise

It is his Ori that decrees that he should

be stupid.

Without Ori, human experiences and our

understandingofthemandofthecontinuousinter-

play of experience and understanding is not com-

plete. However, it should be noted that Ori is not

Ayanmo; Ori is believed to represent the structure

of destiny.

The content of Ori is Ayanmo; it is Ayanmo

thatisrevealedindestiny,andOriisofthehuman

creator. As the Yoruba would say,Ori l’o ni se,

eda la’ ayanmo: Ori is the creator, the human

being is its fulfillment. Ori is a fundamental

concept of the Yoruba thought. It provides the

Yoruba a means of resolving some of the signifi-

cant puzzles of the human condition for which

there are no explanations.

Kunbi Labeodan

See alsoDestiny

Further Readings

Idowu, E. B. (1977).Olodumare:God in Yoruba Belief.

London: Longman Group.

500 Ori