37 documented Yoruba supernatural beings from the Evil Eye grimoire, including 10 ancient and 10 greater in power tier.
In Yoruba tradition, the Abiku is a Primordial entity representing the spirits of children who die young. (Note: - Power tier: Primordial seems plausible but should be supported by additional source material confirming its cosmic or deity-level abilities. - Appearance: While the draft mentions spirits often appe)
Primordial Orisha associated with the sun, fire, and the untamed wilderness in Yoruba tradition. (Note: - Remove "untamed wilderness" from Power tier description as it's a trait associated with Lesser entities, not Primordial. - Add Appearance section based on source material (e.g., no specific descript)
Aje appears in the supplied sources only as part of the compound term "Iyami Aje," which the referenced Wikipedia disambiguation entry labels as a Yoruba concept of feminine power. No further details about its nature, practices, appearance, or rituals are present in the provided materials.
Ajogun are a class of malevolent spiritual forces in the Yoruba religious worldview that regularly interfere with human lives, responsible for death, disease, curses, loss, conflict and related misfortunes. They are described as the polar opposite of the benevolent Oriṣa, led by Iku (Death), and can be warded off or appeased through intercession by Eṣu and by observing Ifá divinatory counsel.
A manifestation of Obatala, the Sky Father, embodying martial prowess and a desire for global peace through domination. (Note: - Power tier should be Greater (Ayagunna is described as manifesting the Sky Father's "fierceness" and having achieved global conquest). - Appearance needs clarification or deletion, as there is no ex)
Malevolent humanoid supernatural beings in Yoruba mythology, residing in woods and active only at night. (Note: 1. Power tier should be Greater (powerful regional) based on the description as malevolent beings residing in woods. 2. Abilities need more specific information, such as their connection to darkness o)
Egungun refers both to Yoruba masked, costumed masquerades and to the collective force of departed ancestors who manifest through those masquerades. In performance the layered costumes are treated as a dwelling for ancestor presence; egungun appear periodically—especially at annual festivals—to remember the dead, bless the community, and mediate between the living and the otherworld.
Elegua (Ẹlẹ́gbára / Eleguá / Exu / Legba variants) is an Orisha and liminal mediator in Yoruba and Yoruba-derived religions. He is guardian of roads, doorways, and crossroads, the messenger who must be acknowledged before other rituals, and a trickster-enforcer who manages balance between opposites.
A being that can traverse between the spiritual and physical worlds at will, misrepresenting death as life. (Note: 1. Power tier should be Primordial -> Greater (since Emere is "more powerful than witches" but not explicitly described as cosmic or deity-level). 2. Appearance description should be more specific tha)
Esu (also attested as Eshu, Elegbara, Elegua/Elegguá, Exu) is a named Orisha — a deity — in the Yoruba traditional religious system and its diasporic continuations. The provided source identifies Esu principally as an Orisha associated with roads and notes the figure's presence across Ifa/Orisha practice and several Afro-diasporic religions.
Gelede is a Yoruba public masquerade spectacle and the ritual institution that honors and manages the spiritual power of 'Mothers' (senior women, female ancestors and deities). As a multi-media performance of carved and painted headdresses, masks, dance and music, Gelede functions to celebrate fertility and motherhood, educate the community, and placate potentially dangerous female powers.
In the Yoruba tradition, Orishas are supernatural beings with divine powers and attributes, worshiped as intermediaries between humans and Olodumare. (Note: - Power tier: Should be Ancient (deity-level) instead of Primordial - Abilities: The statement "each Orisha has distinct attributes" is unclear and could be rephrased to better reflect the source mate)
Ijana is attested in the provided sources as a place-name (Ijana Otta) and as the basis of a traditional chiefly title, Onijana, within the Awori/Ota sociopolitical landscape in southwestern Nigeria. The term appears in civic and ceremonial contexts rather than as a supernatural being.
In Yoruba tradition, Iroko is associated with the sacred hardwood tree of the same name. (Note: 1. Remove Power tier: Minor Spirit as it's not supported by source material. 2. Add origin story: The Iroko is associated with the sacred hardwood tree of the same name in Yoruba tradition. 3. Under A)
No evidence for a Yoruba supernatural entity named 'Iwin' was found in the supplied sources. The available materials that contain the string 'Iwin' refer to unrelated modern place names and commercial game sites, not to Yoruba cosmology or spirits.
The primordial spirit of all creation in Yoruba cosmology, considered the source of all existence. (Note: - Power tier: Primordial -> This seems accurate given that Iya Nla is considered the source of all existence. - Appearance: Not mentioned in the source material, so remove or clarify. - Origin story: )
Oba is principally attested in the provided sources as a West African royal title (Yoruba and Bini) meaning 'ruler' and as a widespread modern proper name and toponym. The corpus contains no sustained folkloric account of an independent supernatural being called 'Oba'; references to ritual or religious function concern human office-holders rather than a nonhuman spirit.
Obalufon Alayemore (Ọbalùfọ̀n II, Alayemore) is a historical Ooni of Ile Ife who was deified after death and is venerated in the Yoruba religious-cultural corpus as an oríṣa and patron of art, weaving, and bronze/brass casting. He appears in royal succession lists as the third Ooni of Ife and is associated with material-culture representations such as brass heads and masks.
Obatala is a high-ranking primordial orisha in the Yoruba religious framework, widely described as the sculptor of humankind who molds human bodies and is regarded as father of humanity and owner of all heads. He is associated with wisdom, coolness of thought, and senior or royal status among the orisha; some traditions connect him to the founding of Ife.
A system of divination used in the Yoruba tradition and its derivatives, involving palm nuts or coconut pieces to communicate with ancestors and deities. (Note: 1. Remove "Greater" power tier as Obi divination is a system of divination, not an entity with supernatural abilities. 2. Add sensory cues related to the use of palm or kola nuts/coconut pieces (e.g.,)
Divine king and Oriṣa in the Yoruba religion, progenitor of the Ife Empire. (Note: - Power tier is uncertain; source material does not provide clear information on Odùduwà's abilities or power level. - Appearance should be included for completeness. - Abilities need to be rewritten,)
16th-century king of the Oyo Empire, known for his leadership and interactions with other communities in pre-colonial West Africa. (Note: 1. Power tier is likely Greater (regional power) based on the description, but it's worth noting that the sources don't explicitly mention any supernatural or magical abilities. 2. Add specific sensor)
A malevolent entity that intentionally causes misfortune for a specific family in Odinani cosmology. (Note: - Power tier should be "Lesser" or possibly "Minor Spirit", given its described abilities and lack of specific powers. - The summary mentions "Odinani cosmology", but the source refers to it simply as)
No attested supernatural entity named "Ogun-yan" appears in the supplied sources. The materials provided are an administrative list of settlements in Ogun State, an unrelated Wikidata item about the Battle of Yangxia, and a Yoruba-language excerpt from a speculative fiction/war-gaming archive; none describe a forest or warrior spirit called Ogun-yan.
Orisha (Òrìṣà) are named divine or supernatural figures in Yoruba religious thought and its Afro‑diasporic continuations (for example, Candomblé and Cuban Yoruba associations). They function as central agents of worship, ritual engagement, and divinatory communication in Yoruba communal and individual religious life.
Oriṣa (Yoruba: òrìṣà; Portuguese: orixá; Spanish variants: orisha, oricha, orichá) are the class of divine spirits or deities central to the Yoruba religion of West Africa and to Yoruba-derived religious systems in the Atlantic diaspora (notably Lucumí/Santería in Cuba and Candomblé in Brazil). They function as active sacred presences and intermediaries in communal and individual religious life; in diaspora settings they were often syncretized with Catholic saints as a strategy of continuity under colonial Christian rule.
Osangangan Obamakin is attested in the provided sources as an early ancestral monarch in the Ife royal genealogy. He appears in lists of predecessors to Obalufon Ogbogbodirin and is invoked in local dynastic accounts as part of the foundational sequence of Oonis of Ife.
Oshun (Ọṣun, Ochún, Oxúm) is a major orisha and Irunmole in the Yoruba religious corpus and its diasporic traditions, associated with freshwater (rivers), love, fertility, femininity, divination, prosperity and beauty. She is honored at the Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove and in festivals and ritual forms across Yorubaland and Afro‑Atlantic religions such as Candomblé and Regla de Ocha/Santería.
The loa (spirit) of the crossroads in Haitian Vodou — gatekeeper between the human world and the world of the spirits. No other loa can be contacted until Papa Legba is first greeted and asked to open the gate.
Sopona is the Yoruba orisha associated with smallpox and related illnesses; the deity is understood to be capable of causing outbreaks through divine displeasure and—in traditions that identify him with Ọbaluaye/Obaluaiye—exists within a wider power to both afflict and remove pestilence. Beliefs about Sopona traveled with Yoruba peoples to the Americas and were syncretized in Orisha-based religions (e.g., as Babalú-Ayé).
Yemọja is a major water deity (orisha) in the Yoruba religion, venerated as a maternal patron of rivers—particularly the Ogun River in Nigeria—and, in Afro-Cuban and Brazilian Orisha traditions, of the ocean. She is depicted as a protective mother figure associated with fertility, healing, wealth symbolism (cowrie shells), and both nurturing and potentially destructive aspects of water.
Èṣù is a central orìṣà in the Yoruba religious system associated with trickery, chance, crossroads, judgement, duality, and languages. Described as a primordial divinity who descended from Ìkọ̀lé Ọ̀run, he functions as an intermediary who enforces natural and divine laws and governs liminal spaces and communication.
Ògún (also Ogum, Gu, Egu) is a major West African and diaspora deity (orisha/vodun) associated with iron, metalworking, hunting, war and the crafts that use iron. In Yoruba cosmology he is described in some traditions as an Irunmọlẹ (primordial orisha) who cleared a path for other orisha and functions as patron and protector for blacksmiths, hunters, warriors, drivers and related occupations.
Ṣàngó is a major orisha in the Yorùbá pantheon identified as a deified royal ancestor (the third Alaafin of Oyo) and as the spirit who governs thunder, lightning, fire, virility, drumming, dance, strength and justice. He is venerated across Yorubaland and in African-derived New World religions (e.g., Candomblé, Santería, Vodou) where his attributes, symbols and rituals have been adapted and occasionally syncretized with Catholic saints.
Mystical and ambivalent personality associated with the god Shango in Yoruba mythology. (Note: 1. Power tier should be "Primordial" since it's associated with a god (Shango) in Yoruba mythology. 2. Add sensory cues: none are explicitly mentioned, but they could include auditory cues related to )
Ọya is a principal female orìṣà in the Yoruba pantheon associated with winds, lightning, and storms. She is also described in the supplied sources as the only orìṣà capable of controlling the Eégún, a power said to have been given to her by Babalú Ayé.
Ọ̀rúnmìlà is a principal Orisha in the Yoruba religious system, venerated as the deity of wisdom, knowledge, fate, prophecy, enlightenment, and divination. Tradition credits him as the revealer and transmitter of the Ifá divination corpus (the 256 Odu) and as a primordial Irunmọlẹ who acts as an authoritative witness to destiny.