Sources

Olodumare: God in Yoruba Belief

Citation Formats

General Reference

Divinity Atlas. "Olodumare: God in Yoruba Belief." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://dev-divinity.interactiveatlas.org/sources/olodumare-god-in-yoruba-belief.

APA Style

Divinity Atlas. (n.d.). Olodumare: God in Yoruba Belief. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://dev-divinity.interactiveatlas.org/sources/olodumare-god-in-yoruba-belief

BibTeX

@misc{divinityatlas-olodumare-god-in-yoruba-belief,
  author = {Divinity Atlas},
  title = {Olodumare: God in Yoruba Belief},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://dev-divinity.interactiveatlas.org/sources/olodumare-god-in-yoruba-belief},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

E. Bolaji Idowu wrote as a Yoruba theologian and scholar, giving this foundational study a documented standing within Yoruba intellectual tradition as well as in academic religious studies, centered on Olodumare and the wider Yoruba cosmological and ethical system including the concept of ase. This record states an honest limit plainly: later scholarship has refined some of Idowu's own comparative theological framing since 1962, a revision this atlas notes rather than treating the book as unrevised settled fact. Use it for established facts about Yoruba cosmology and the Ifa literary corpus as this foundational study presents them; a claim needing the most current comparative theological framing should be checked against more recent scholarship alongside it.

Facts

Assessment

Reliability Tier

E. Bolaji Idowu's foundational scholarly study of Yoruba religious belief, written by a Yoruba theologian and scholar, giving it standing within Yoruba intellectual tradition as well as academic religious studies.

Notes

E. Bolaji Idowu's foundational scholarly study of Yoruba religious belief centered on Olodumare (God) and the wider Yoruba cosmological and ethical system, written by a Yoruba theologian and scholar. Use for established facts about Yoruba cosmology, the concept of ase and the Ifa literary corpus as this study presents them; a foundational mid-twentieth-century work, and later scholarship has refined some of its comparative theological framing.

Citation

Author

E. Bolaji Idowu

Publisher

Longmans

Publication Year

1962

URL

https://archive.org/details/olodumaregodinyo0000idow

Source Type

Ethnography

Claims Backed By This Source (452 claims)

This source backs 452 claims across the atlas. As facts: 308 well-attested, 1 scholarly debate. As cited relationships: 39 holds, 20 connected. Plus 84 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.

Disposition By Topic

Articles, 127 claims: 82 well-attested, 20 connected, 25 general references.
Figures, 126 claims: 98 well-attested, 1 scholarly debate, 14 holds, 13 general references.
Deities, 90 claims: 68 well-attested, 6 holds, 16 general references.
Rituals, 12 claims: 8 well-attested, 1 holds, 3 general references.
Practices, 10 claims: 5 well-attested, 3 holds, 2 general references.
Religious Roles & Titles, 10 claims: 5 well-attested, 3 holds, 2 general references.
Sacred Sound, 9 claims: 6 well-attested, 2 holds, 1 general references.
Subcategories, 9 claims: 7 well-attested, 2 general references.
Colors, 8 claims: 4 well-attested, 4 general references.
Realms, 8 claims: 6 well-attested, 1 holds, 1 general references.
Sources, 8 claims: 8 well-attested.
Sacred Objects & Ritual Items, 7 claims: 4 well-attested, 1 holds, 2 general references.
Cultures, 5 claims: 1 well-attested, 3 holds, 1 general references.
Animals & Totems, 4 claims: 1 well-attested, 2 holds, 1 general references.
Subtle Energies, 4 claims: 2 well-attested, 1 holds, 1 general references.
Doctrines, 3 claims: 3 general references.
Scriptures & Texts, 3 claims: 1 well-attested, 1 holds, 1 general references.
Body Parts, 2 claims: 1 well-attested, 1 general references.
Holidays & Festivals, 2 claims: 1 holds, 1 general references.
Regions, 2 claims: 2 general references.
Virtues, 2 claims: 1 well-attested, 1 general references.
Cities, 1 claims: 1 general references.