Orixá
/oɾiˈʃa/noun
A deity or sacred spiritual being in Yoruba-derived religious traditions, especially Candomblé and related Afro-Atlantic religions.
Did you know?The Portuguese spelling “orixá” uses x to represent the “sh” sound, while English commonly preserves the Yoruba-derived form “orisha.”
Etymological Timeline
Precolonial period
Yoruba
òrìṣà
“A deity, sacred power, or divine spiritual being in Yoruba religion.”
Early modern period
Yoruba
òrìṣà
“The established Yoruba term used for members of a broad pantheon of divine beings connected with nature, ancestors, and human destiny.”
16th–18th Century
Portuguese
orixá
“A Portuguese rendering of Yoruba òrìṣà, transmitted through contact on the West African coast and the Atlantic slave trade.”
18th–19th Century
Brazilian Portuguese
orixá
“A central religious term in Candomblé and related Afro-Brazilian traditions.”
20th Century
English
orisha
“An English form used in scholarship and popular writing for a Yoruba or Yoruba-derived deity.”