Babalú-Ayé
Sign in to saveBabalú-Aye (from Yoruba Obalúayé; also called Oluaye, Omolu, Ṣọpọna, Ayé in Trinidad Orisha, or Obaluaiye) is one of the Oriṣa or manifestations of the Supreme Deity Olodumare in the Yoruba religion of West Africa. Babalú-Aye is a spirit of the Earth and is strongly associated with healing and illness.
Key facts
- Deity.type
- Yoruba
- Deity.other_names
- Ọbaluaye or Sopona
- Deity.member_of
- Orisha
- Deity.venerated_in
- Yoruba religion, Candomble, Santeria, Haitian Vodou, Folk Catholicism
- Deity.image
- ObaluaiyeFestival.jpg
- Deity.caption
- Babalu-Ayé manifested in a human at the Obaluaye Festival in Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria.
- Deity.deity_of
- Healing and disease
- Deity.region
- Nigeria, Benin, Latin America
- Deity.ethnic_group
- Yoruba
via Wikipedia infobox
Article
11 sectionsContents
- In Africa
- Yoruba
- Fon
- Ewe
- In Latin America
- In Ifá and Dilogun divination
- Relationship to other orisha
- Themes in the worship of Babalú
- See also
- Citations
- General and cited references
Babalú-Aye (from Yoruba Obalúayé; also called Oluaye, Omolu, Ṣọpọna, Ayé in Trinidad Orisha, or Obaluaiye) is one of the Oriṣa or manifestations of the Supreme Deity Olodumare in the Yoruba religion of West Africa. Babalú-Aye is a spirit of the Earth and is strongly associated with healing and illness.
He promotes the cure for illnesses. He is always close to Iku (the force responsible for taking life), as he promotes healing for those who are close to death. However, some fear Obaluaye because he is believed to bring disease upon humans, including smallpox, for which he is known as Ṣọpọna.