Ori

Ori refers to the physical head among the Yoruba of Nigeria; it is the symbol of Olodumare, the creator, and of the essential personality—the soul of each individual. Ori is that spiritual essence that wields the greatest influence on a person's life from birth to the grave. For the Yoruba, this means that one's life is predetermined by the type of Ori chosen or the one affixed by Olodumare.

The essential part of this principle is that events happening in the individual's life are not due to chance, but to the type of Ori that the individual chooses in Heaven before entry on Earth. Ori is the spiritual “head” that a person chooses from Orun (Heaven) after being moulded by Ajala. The choice is made in ...