Orunmila the Deity
Orunmila is the God of Wisdom and Destiny
Like the other Deities, Orunmila existed before man and is the only Orisa to witness
creation. Orunmila therefore has the knowledge concerning the fate of every man,
woman and child. Orunmila is the youngest Deity out of all the Deities created by
God before the creation of the earth. This circumvents the position for Orunmila to
be the final manifestation of virtue for man to follow.
Orunmila sojourned to earth on various occasions to assist man at the crossroads.
The crossroads I speak of are the moments we come to in life that require major
decisions or points we get to in life that will affect the rest of our lives. Esu,
the Deity that sits at the crossroad, is forever indebted to Orunmila and has vowed to
serve and assist Orunmila like non other (Ogbe-Di).
Orunmila, through the sheer power of wisdom, sacrifice and patience became the
commander and prosper of all Orisa (Irete-Wori).
The expansion of man all over the earth and the frequent needs for Orunmila to
sojourn to earth for the benefit of mankind became cumbersome and frustrating for even
Orunmila, this great God of Wisdom. So Olodumare (God) endowed upon Orunmila a means
for mankind to communicate with Orunmila to reveal ones individual fate. This means
is called Ifa. Ifa is the embodiment of Orunmila and is also another name for
Orunmila. Ifa is a literary corpus that entails the fate of man and all of his
accomplishments and transgressions. Only priests of Orunmila have the authority to
sound the voice of Ifa. These priests are called Babalawo. Orunmila vowed to
serve man in spirit with his infinite wisdom and the Babalawo hold the same secrets to
creation and the fate of man that Orunmila held through the medium of Ifa.
Orunmila the Deity represents the power of wisdom to overcome misfortune.
Orunmila the Deity represents the power of Divination to analyze our past, reveal our
present and forecast our future.
Orunmila the Deity represents the power of sacrifice to achieve what would other wise
be impossible.
Ase O!