The Irunmá»Âlẹ (Yoruba: Irúnmá»ÂlẹÃÂ) are a group of primordial divine beings, or orishas, in the Yoruba religion, a West African religion practised by the Yoruba people. á»Âbatala is the oldest Irunmá»Âlẹ, and is regarded as the king of all Orishas.
The Irunmá»Âlẹ are a group of primordial divine beings created by the Supreme Being, Olodumare and sent down to Earth to complete specific tasks. They differ from the other Orisha in that they existed from the beginning of the world, unlike humans that only became deified after death. This denotes that all Irunmá»Âlẹ are Orisha but not all Orisha are Irunmá»Âlẹ.
Although the term refers to a specific, higher class of divinities, it is sometimes used to refer to deified human ancestors who became highly revered as embodiments of primordial forces or to the Orisha in general.
The Irunmá»Âlẹ are believed to be 801 in number, though this may vary. According to the Odu Ifa, 200 Irunmá»Âlẹ reside permanently at the right side of Olodumare, 200 at their left, and 401 descended from á»Ârun. Some major Irunmá»Âlẹ include á»Âbatala (the first), á»Ârunmila, Eshu, Ogun, Olokun, á»Âbaluaye, Shango, and Yemá»Âja.
á»Âbatala is the oldest Irunmá»Âlẹ, as he was the first one created by Olodumare. He is credited with the creation of the Earth and humanity. He is a powerful divinity of creation, the sky and purity. He is regarded as the king of all orisha.
The exact etymology of the Yoruba word Irúnmá»Âlẹàis uncertain. However, it is often said to be derived from a blend of ' + ', ultimately from ' ("four hundred") + ' (âÂÂnominalizing prefixâÂÂ) + ' ("to mold, to shape") + ' ("land"), literally "The four hundred creators of the land".