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 any of the following ways: Akunleyan—that which is received kneeling; Ayanmo—that which is affixed; Adamo—that which is affixed at creation; or Akomo—that which is written and sealed. After the choice has been made, the portion is doubly sealed, first by Olodumare through conferment and then by Onibode, the keeper of the gate between Heaven and Earth. This choice is unalterable once it is made and is sealed by Olodumare and the Onibode.

After acquiring an Ori, the individual begins the journey to Earth. On arrival on Earth, those who have chosen good Ori will quickly prosper, whereas those who have chosen bad Ori will be condemned to failure. However, the Yoruba believe in having a good character—iwa rere—for a good Ori to come to fruition. Most events in an individual's life—for instance, if a person dies prematurely or becomes rich or possesses a special skill—are all traced by the Yoruba to the person's Ori. The belief of the Yoruba in Ori as the symbol of predestination is manifested in their sayings; for example:

Without Ori, human experiences and our understanding of them and of the continuous interplay of experience and understanding is not complete. However, it should be noted that Ori is not Ayanmo; Ori is believed to represent the structure of destiny.

The content of Ori is Ayanmo; it is Ayanmo that is revealed in destiny, and Ori is of the human creator. As the Yoruba would say, Ori l'o ni se, eda la' ayanmo: Ori is the creator, the human being is its fulfillment. Ori is a fundamental concept of the Yoruba thought. It provides the Yoruba a means of resolving some of the significant puzzles of the human condition for which there are no explanations.