á»Âlá»Ârun (Yoruba alphabet: á»Âlá»Ârun) (Ede language: ÃÂlÃÂrun) is the ruler of (or in) the Heavens, creator of the universe, and the Supreme Deity or Supreme Being in the Yoruba religion and related syncretic religions. á»Âlá»Ârun is also called numerous other names including Olodumare (Yoruba alphabet: Olódùmarè), Eledumare and Eleduwa/Eledua. However, in some belief systems the different names refer to particular deities or aspects of the same deity.
From the Yoruba language, á»Âlá»Ârun's name is a contraction of the words onà(which denotes ownership or rulership) and á»ÂÃÂrun (which means the Heavens, abode of the spirits).
Another name, Olodumare, comes from the phrase "O nàodù màrè" which could mean "the owner of the source of creation that does not become empty," "or the All Sufficient".
An alternate proposition, by the Odu Ifá, is that Olodumare comes from the phrase "Oni odù-ikoko ti n tan oṣumare" which means "the owner of the pot from which the rainbow shines", an etymology referencing the events of the creation myth attested in the literary corpus.
In Yoruba culture, á»Âlá»Ârun is credited with creating the universe and all living things. á»Âlá»Ârun is frequently perceived as a compassionate entity who protects its creations and is thought to be omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. People do not worship Olorun directly; there are no sacred areas of worship, no iconography.
á»Âlá»Ârun's ordained are known to be Oriá¹£a, divine beings of whom Obatala is King, who govern, regulate and sustain the physical realm (Ayé). 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.
For Yoruba traditions, there is no centralized authority; because of this, there are many different ways that Yoruba people and their descendants or orisha-based faiths can understand the idea of á»Âlá»Ârun.
Historically, the Yoruba worship á»Âlá»Ârun through the agency of the oriá¹£a; thus there is no direct image, shrine or sacrifice for the deity. It is generally believed that á»Âlá»Ârun is manifest in all of existence, and the believer is therefore bound to be grateful and loving towards all beings. However, there are those who also worship them directly, believing the deity to be the origin of virtue and mortality, and bestower of the knowledge of things upon all persons when they are born. á»Âlá»Ârun is omnipotent, transcendent, unique, all knowing, good, and evil. The Yoruba have a dialectical view and understanding of evil, and believe its existence is necessary for cosmic balance; without evil (), there cannot be good (). Thus, the Yoruba thought does not face the problem of evil. The deity's manifestations are supernatural beings, both good (') and bad ('), who represent human activity and natural forces, and who maintain universal equilibrium.
The one supreme God in Trinidad Orisha is Olodumare, the Yoruba deity who created the Ayé, the world of the living, visible to us, and the Orun, the invisible spiritual world of the gods, spirits, and ancestors. They (Olodumare) are the Creator of the cosmology and all that exists.
SanterÃÂa teaches the existence of an overarching divinity, known as Olodumare, Olofi, or Olorun. Practitioners believe that this divinity created the universe but takes little interest in human affairs. As this creator deity is inaccessible to humanity, no major offerings are dedicated to them. The three facets of this divinity are understood slightly differently; Olodumare represents the divine essence of all that exists, Olorun is regarded as the creator of all beings, while Olofi dwells in all creation. In taking a triplicate form, this deity displays similarities with the Christian Trinity.
á»Âlá»Ârun 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 "Eá¹£u" for the devil, and thus began associating Olorun with the male gender.