Talk:Orisha

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God/Goddess?

I don't believe that Orishas are actually deities. If anything, they are more like saints. Remove calling them gods/goddesses of stuff? AncientNova 04:46, 11 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

No, they are African deities, although they are sometimes identified with saints in syncretic worship. Guettarda 13:55, 11 June 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Please note that the typographical treatment of words like "Orisha" is unconventional on this page, and should be corrected. A good example is the above comment. Notice that "dieties" "saints" "gods/godesses" are all in lower case, as they should be. Orisha is a category of things in the Yoruba religious culture; i.e., the word orisha is not a proper noun. It is up to the writer to decide if the word should be in italics or not (as a foreign word, or deemed already incorporated to English), but there is no justification whatever for the caps. AtomAnt 12:13, 15 June 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Since "orisha" is not the correct spelling in any language besides English, I think it should pretty clearly be considered already incorporated, and therefore not italicized. Cruxador (talk) 07:32, 24 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]

From a practitioner POV

I am an initiated Priest of Oshun. Please understand that this tradition is practiced all over the world, and everywhere it is done somewhat differently. With that said:

1) This is not Voodun, Loas are different from Orisha.

2) No Orisha are not "saints" although a few historical figures have been merged with particular Orisha, like Obakoso and Shango. Orishas can be said to be manifestations of Olodumare, which would still put them in the “God” level.

3) Ifa readings are not the only form of divination, there is also Merindilogun, throwing coco and 4-cowreis. None of these forms of divination are used to "predict the future" they are to give guidance. To claim that they are meant to predict the future trivializes them and this tradition.

4) The statement of "1 million may practice" is unfounded and clearly inaccurate. A more accurate number is more than 100 million, but the real number is probably closer to 500 million.

5) This is not an African-American tradition it is a Nigerian tradition, and these two things are not the same.

6) Why the need to claim monotheism? is it to legitimize this tradition in a christian monotheistic context? this tradition is older than christianity, so no justification are required, at least not in my mind.

Would that make the Orisha religion Panentheistic moreso than simply monotheist or even emanationist?Domsta333 (talk) 12:36, 9 March 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Orisha - spirit or religion?

It does not appear clearly from the article that Orisha is a religion (religion like Haiti Vodun for exmpl). First sentence is that it's a spirit (which is understandable) second sentence is that orisha expresses in differente religions like Santeria, Candomblé ...etc. Well what is it then? just a spirit or religion as well? Could someone make this more clear by adding into second sentence smth like "It is also a religion" or "Orisha is also a name for African religin" - stating clearly that it's a religion (if it's correct). As the sentece now goes "This religion has found its way ...and expressed in (other religion)..." - this somehow contradicts the first sentence, which states that orisha is just a spirit.Mustvalge (talk) 15:43, 8 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]
As i'm from Estonia and we do not have any Orisha followers here (based on population data), this seems unclear that how come that the Orisha is a deity and religion at the same time. This seems two different things. Could someone please explain how this can be. Or is it just because of my european way of thinking. Mustvalge (talk) 16:25, 8 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]

Umm....

Orishas are from yoruba, and ARE called orishas. Can sombody fix this? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Book Jumper (talk • contribs) 20:39, 4 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

What? Omo Obatalá ^(talk) 03:29, 9 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Not a spirit or a religion

Orishas are dieties, and there are several of them. Trust me, it's not the way you think.Book Jumper (talk) 20:43, 4 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Orishas, as with all other Afro-American and Sub-Saharan African variations (e.g., Loas, Mpungos, etc.), are spirits. Omo Obatalá ^(talk) 03:28, 9 March 2015 (UTC)[reply]

The difference between spirit, deity, and saint is only a matter of words. All are incorrect compared to just saying "orisha", but all get kind of close to the right idea and can therefore be helpful for explaining. Cruxador (talk) 07:34, 24 November 2023 (UTC)[reply]