Hitchhiker's Guide to Religion
Yoruba

Olodumare / Olorun

The Source of All Ashe

Yoruba All creation, Ashe (divine energy), the totality of existence
Portrait of Olodumare / Olorun
Attribute Value
Combat
ATK 100
DEF 100
SPR 100
SPD 100
INT 100
Rank Supreme God / Absolute Source
Domain All creation, Ashe (divine energy), the totality of existence
Alignment Yoruba Sacred
Weakness None. Olodumare is beyond weakness -- but is also beyond direct approach. This is not a limitation but a theological principle: the infinite God works through intermediaries
Counter None. There is no force that opposes Olodumare. Even death and chaos operate within the divine will
Key Act Created the universe and all Orishas. Breathed Ashe into all living things. Delegated authority over aspects of existence to the Orishas. Remains the ultimate source and final authority to whom even the Orishas answer
Source Yoruba oral tradition; Ifa literary corpus (Odu Ifa); Bolaji Idowu, *Olodumare: God in Yoruba Belief* (1962)

“No one can know the full nature of Olodumare. The sky is not high enough to tell His story. The ocean is not deep enough to contain His wisdom.” — Yoruba proverb

Lore: Olodumare (also called Olorun, “Owner of Heaven,” or Olofi in Cuban Lukumi) is the supreme God of Yoruba theology — the uncreated creator, the source of all Ashe (the divine energy that permeates everything that exists). Olodumare is not worshipped through direct sacrifice or possession the way the Orishas are. There are no shrines to Olodumare, no specific rituals addressed solely to the supreme God. This is not neglect but profound theology: Olodumare is so vast, so beyond human comprehension, that approaching the divine directly would be like staring into the sun. The Orishas exist as intermediaries — fragments of Olodumare’s power delegated to govern specific aspects of creation, approachable by humans, capable of riding (possessing) devotees in ceremony.

Parallel: The theological structure is strikingly close to multiple traditions in this compendium. The Ein Sof in Kabbalah is the infinite, unknowable God who works through the Sefirot. The Christian Trinity positions God the Father as approached through Christ and the Holy Spirit. Islam’s 99 Names of Allah describe attributes of a God whose essence remains beyond human grasp. Brahman in Hinduism is the formless ultimate reality who manifests through the devas. The pattern is universal: the supreme God is too vast for direct human contact, so intermediaries carry the divine energy to the human world.


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Combat Radar

ATK DEF SPR SPD INT
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