Ọramfẹ

Yoruba

Alternative forms

• Ọ̀ràǹfẹ̀

Etymology

Likely from Ọ̀rà (“Ọ̀rà hill”) +‎ Ufẹ̀ (“Ifẹ̀ town”), literally “The mighty Ọ̀rà hill of Ifẹ̀”

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɔ̀.ɾà.ŋ̀.fɛ̀/

Proper noun

Ọ̀ràm̀fẹ̀

1. An orisha and legendary figure who aided in the early establishment of the town of Oǹdó
2. In Ifẹ̀, a primordial Supreme sky deity (imọlẹ̀) associated with thunder, fire, creation, rain, royalty, and jurisprudence. He later became the chief divinity of the ancient Ifẹ̀ Kingdom between the 9th-11th centuries AD. He is a precursor to Ṣàngó and Olódùmarè

   Synonym: Ọ̀rà

3. another name for the orisha Ṣàngó (among the Ifẹ̀ people).

   Synonym: Ṣàngó

Usage notes

• While many myths identify Ọ̀ràm̀fẹ̀ as a unique figure to Ṣàngó, because of the association of both of them with thunder and virility, many Ifẹ̀ myths identify them as being different forms of the same divinity. Other Ifẹ̀ myths, identify them as distinct figures, with Ọ̀ràm̀fẹ̀ believed to be the precursor and senior divinity of the two, with Ọ̀ràm̀fẹ̀ having the power to send Ṣàngó on errands in heaven.

References

• Lawuyi, Olatunde B. MYTHICAL IMAGES, HISTORICAL THOUGHT, AND ONDO RELIGION: THE ORAMFE MYTH AS CLUE TO ONDO-YORUBA IDENTITY [1], 1990
• Awoyale, Yiwola (2008 December 19) Global Yoruba Lexical Database v. 1.0‎^[2], number LDC2008L03, Philadelphia: Linguistic Data Consortium, →DOI, →ISBN
• Blier, Suzanne P. COSMIC REFERENCES in ANCIENT IFE [3], 2012