Yoruba Glossary: 60+ Essential Terms from Ifá and Candomblé

Mo júbà! Anyone who begins studying the Yoruba tradition dives, first of all, into a sea of new words: Odu, Aché, ebó, babalawo, patakí. And each word arrives spelled in two or three ways, because it crossed the Atlantic more than once — the spelling of Brazilian Candomblé, of Cuban Santería, of Nigeria.

This glossary gathers more than 60 essential terms, organized by theme and in alphabetical order. Each entry summarizes what our articles explore in depth — with the link for whoever wants to go further.

An honest note before we begin: Yoruba is a tonal language — the same syllable changes meaning with its tone. That is why we do not invent pronunciation guides. We give the most common spellings and leave the sound to those who teach it in person, as the tradition has always done.

The Traditions

• Candomblé — the Afro-Brazilian religion that preserved the worship of the Orishas; organized in nations, each with its own liturgy. The full history →
• Ìṣẹ̀ṣe — the name of the Yoruba tradition practiced in Nigeria, the land of origin.
• Lucumí — the name the Yoruba and their descendants received in Cuba; it also names the ritual language of Santería.
• Nation — in Candomblé, the liturgical lineage of origin: Ketu (Yoruba), Jeje (Fon/Ewe), Angola (Bantu).
• Regla de Ocha — the proper name of the Cuban tradition of the Orishas, popularly called Santería; the Regla de Ifá is the branch of the Ifá priesthood.
• Umbanda — a Brazilian religion born in the 20th century, joining Yoruba, Catholic, Spiritist and Indigenous elements.

Deities and Beings

• Egun — the spirits of the ancestors. Iansã is the Orisha with authority over them.
• Exu (in Cuba, Elegguá) — the divine messenger, lord of the crossroads and of communication. He is not the devil — that association is colonial inheritance. Full article →
• Iansã (Oyá; in Cuba also Yansá) — Orisha of the winds, storms and transformation. Article →
• Iemanjá (in Cuba, Yemayá) — the queen of the sea, the great mother. Article →
• Irunmole — the primordial divinities who took part in the creation of the world.
• Logunedé (Logun Ede) — the young Orisha of hunting and fishing, son of Oxum — and of Oxóssi in Brazil, of Erinlé/Inle in Nigeria and Cuba. Article →
• Nanã Burukú — the oldest Orisha, lady of the primordial mud. Article →
• Obá — the warrior Orisha of the river Obá, symbol of rebuilt dignity. Article →
• Obaluaiyê (Omolu; in Cuba, Babalú-Ayé or, in the Arará line, Asojano) — the lord of the earth, of disease and of healing. Article →
• Obatalá (in Brazil, Oxalá) — the Orisha of creation, peace and the color white. Article →
• Ogum (in Cuba, Ogún) — the lord of iron, war and open roads. Article →
• Olodumare — the Supreme Being of Yoruba cosmology, the source of all existence.
• Olofin — the name by which the Cuban tradition refers to a manifestation of Olodumare.
• Olokun — the divinity of the deep ocean and its mysteries.
• Orisha (in Brazil, Orixá; in Cuba, Ocha) — the Yoruba divinities: forces of nature and archetypes of human life.
• Orunmilá (in Cuba, Orula) — the Orisha of wisdom, witness of destiny and lord of the Ifá oracle.
• Ossain (in Cuba, Osain) — the lord of the leaves and their secrets. Without leaf, there is no Orisha. The sacred leaves →
• Aroni — Ossain's servant, who speaks for him: in the tradition, Ossain keeps the secrets and does not speak.
• Oxóssi (in Cuba, Ochosi) — the hunter of a single arrow, king of Ketu. Article →
• Oxum (in Cuba, Ochún) — the lady of the sweet waters, of love and diplomacy. Article →
• Oxumaré — the rainbow serpent, cycle and transformation. Article →
• Xangô (in Cuba, Changó) — the king of justice, thunder and fire. Article →

Philosophical Concepts

• Aché (Ashé, Àṣẹ) — the vital energy that runs through everything alive; also said as confirmation: "ashé!", so be it. What is Aché →
• Aiyé — the physical, visible world; our plane.
• Ibi — the obstacle, the warning — the opposite of ire.
• Ire — the blessing, the favorable path.
• Itan — the sacred narratives of the Yoruba oral tradition, keeping the memory of the Orishas and the Odus.
• Ìwà Pẹ̀lẹ́ — good character: for Ifá, the highest value of a life. Article →
• Odu — each of the 256 signs of the Ifá oracle; every Odu holds verses, stories and counsel. What is Ifá →
• Omoluo — in the Cuban tradition, each of the 240 derived Odus, born from the combination of two different Mejis.
• Orí — the "inner head": the personal destiny each of us chose before birth. Orí and responsibility →
• Orun — the spiritual world, from which everything comes and to which everything returns.
• Osogbo (osobbo) — in the Cuban tradition and in Candomblé, the name of ibi: the path that asks for care.
• Patakí — the Cuban tradition's name for the stories of the Odus and the Orishas.
• Sùúrù — patience: in the itan of Ìwà, the firstborn of Olodumare.

Titles and Priesthoods

• Awo — "mystery"; it also names one initiated into the mysteries of Ifá.
• Babalawo — "father of the secret": the priest of Ifá, who reads the Opele and the Ikin. How it works →
• Babalorixá — the priest who leads a Candomblé terreiro; the "father of saint".
• Iyalorixá — the priestess who leads a terreiro; the "mother of saint". Her oracle is the merindilogun — an office distinct from the babalawo, not a version of it.
• Ìyánífá — in Nigerian Ìṣẹ̀ṣe, a woman consecrated in Ifá who works the oracle; not every lineage recognizes it, and the debate is alive. Who may be →
• Omo Awo — "child of the mystery": one who has passed through Itefá.
• Padrino / Madrina — in the Cuban tradition, the godfather or godmother who initiates and guides the godchild; the bond that structures the lineage.

The Oracle and Its Instruments

• Ikin — the 16 consecrated palm nuts: the oldest and most sacred instrument of Ifá.
• Ikofá — in the Regla de Ocha, the reception of Orunmilá by women.
• Itefá — the initiation ceremony that reveals the birth Odu — once in a lifetime. It is not a consultation. The birth Odu →
• Iyerosun — the sacred powder spread over the opón, where the babalawo marks the signs of the Odu.
• Mão de Orunmilá (Awofakán) — in the Cuban tradition, the first reception of Orunmilá by men.
• Merindilogun — the cowrie-shell oracle of the Orishas, cast by iyalorixás and babalorixás. It is not the Ifá oracle — they are distinct offices.
• Obí — the obí oracle: the kola nut (or coconut) split into segments, for direct questions.
• Opele — the Ifá chain with eight seed halves: the babalawo's working instrument. How it works →
• Opón Ifá — the wooden divination tray of Ifá; its border carries the face of Exu, who carries the messages back and forth.

Ritual, Worship and Votive Foods

• Abadô — toasted corn, votive food of Obaluaiyê.
• Aberém — a steamed corn cake wrapped in banana leaf — food of Nanã and of Obaluaiyê. It is not popcorn.
• Acarajé — a black-eyed-pea fritter fried in dendê oil, food of Iansã; from Yoruba àkàrà + jẹ, "to eat àkàrà". The story →
• Adimú — a simple food offering, without sacrifice.
• Amalá — the okra dish, votive food of Xangô. Article →
• Atotô — the salutation of Obaluaiyê: a call for silence and reverence. Article →
• Axoxô — corn cooked with coconut, food of Oxóssi.
• Dobúru — the sacred popcorn of Obaluaiyê, popped in sand: the flowers that cover the wounds. Article →
• Ebó — the offering or ritual action the oracle prescribes to rebalance a path. Prescribing it is the priest's office — always.
• Ilê / Terreiro — the house of worship; ilê is "house" in Yoruba.
• Omolocum — black-eyed peas with eggs, food of Oxum.
• Oríkì — the praise poetry that sings the names and deeds of an Orisha.
• Ofó — the song of enchantment that makes a leaf work. Without its ofó, a leaf is only a plant.
• Xirê — the circle of songs and dances that opens the public Candomblé celebration, saluting the Orishas in order.

A Living Vocabulary

None of these words is a museum piece. They are spoken every day — in Lagos, in Havana, in Salvador, and in the houses of the diaspora around the world. That is why the spellings vary, and will keep varying: the same root wears different clothes depending on the century and the shore of the Atlantic where it landed.

When you find one of these words written another way — in a book, in a terreiro, in a conversation — it is not a mistake: it is the history of the word. This glossary follows the spellings used on this site and points to the most common variants; the rest is the richness of a tradition that never stopped speaking.

May every new word be a door — and behind every door, may you find the respect this tradition deserves.

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What you have read here is rooted in the 256 Odus of Ifá — the corpus we study verse by verse. Read them as contemplation: real divination belongs at the table of a consecrated babalawo.

Explore the Odus of Ifá →