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He’s the great king of the Universe and the glorious pinnacle of Yoruba mythology. Like the Christian Jehovah he is also a three-in-one trinity god — comprising OLORUN the Lord of Heaven, OLODUMARE, the Ultimate Creator and OLOFI the Messenger. Excellent value.
In OLODUMARE mode he’s surprisingly good at passing the buck. His wonderful blueprints for planet Earth were amazingly ambitious. But he prudently decided to delegate the job to someone else. It wouldn’t do for the Master of All to get his hands dirty.
So he summoned his son Obatala, greatest of the Orishas, handed over the Chicken of Creation and told him to get on with it.
This led to all kinds of embarrassing complications before life as we know it was achieved. See Obatala’s entry for the whole story.
As supreme deity, Olorun’s fame has spread as far afield as the Caribbean. But rumors persist that he’s secretly leading a secret double life as windy Yansan. You can’t trust everything you hear. Perhaps we should ask his trusty messenger Elegua.
