Ashe

In the sacred creation narratives of the Yoruba nation, in the spiritual tradition of Ifa, Ashe (Axe, Ase) refers to the heavenly and godly force, also called Olodumare, used to bring about the universe. In renderings of traditional Yoruba cosmology, the first spiritual power that existed was the energy of Ashe. Ashe, using thought, determined to take material form, thus becoming the Creator, Olodumare. As God, Ashe then exists at the center of all that is and all that will be in the world. Olodumare thus willed itself into being from its own divine essence (the self-existent being). Olodumare uses its Ashe, which lies at the core of its being, to create all things. Olodumare infused this original force into the whole of creation, including ...