Image of Osanyin

Osanyin

Ọsanyin is the orisha who has the omniscient knowledge of leaf, herb and matter. He is also known for healing and displaying magic and creating technological tools, and is popularly considered as a herbalist, magician, and technologist. He is the creator of the concept of Oniṣegun. Ọsanyin is believed to be a powerful wizard and master of all spells and crafts found in the wild and untamed areas of nature.
Alias Òṣanyìn
Real Names/Alt Names Ọ̀sanyìn (Yoruba), Osaín/Ossain/Ossaím (Latin America), Ague or Age (Fon)
Characteristics Antihero, African Traditions, Deity, Plant-themed, Power: Immortality, Power: Spellcasting, Power: Clairvoyance, Prehuman Epoch, Public Domain
Creators/Key Contributors
First Appearance Yoruba mythology
First Publisher
Appearance List The voice of Africa v. 1 (1913) by Leo Frobenius — valued for early observations and visual documentation despite controversial diffusionist interpretations of African civilization [Smithsonian]; The history of the Yorubas : from the earliest times to the beginning of the British Protectorate (1921) by Rev. Samuel Johnson, Paster of Oyo; ed. Dr. O. (Obadiah) Johnson, Lagos [Internet Archive]; Os africanos no Brasil (1932) by Raymundo Nina Rodrigues; The Religion of the Yorùbá (1948) by J. Olumide Luca; Candomblés da Bahia (first ed. 1948; 2nd ed. 1954) by Edison Carneiro; West African Religion (1949) by Geoffrey Parrinder; Dieux d’Afrique (1954) by Pierre Verger (original edition; later reissued); Olódùmarè: God in Yoruba Belief (1962) by E. Bolaji Idowu; Three Yoruba Plays (1964) by Duro Ladipo; The Shango Cult in Trinidad (1965) by George Eaton Simpson (monograph; first ed. 1965); African Religions in Brazil (French: Les religions africaines au Brésil, 1960) by Roger Bastide; Ifa Divination: Communication Between Gods and Men in West Africa (1969) by William Bascom; Yoruba Beliefs and Sacrificial Rites (1979) by J. Ọmọṣade Awolalu.
Sample Read Yoruba Beliefs and Sacrificial Rites (1979) [Internet Archive]
Description Ọsanyin is the orisha who has the omniscient knowledge of leaf, herb and matter. He is also known for healing and displaying magic and creating technological tools, and is popularly considered as a herbalist, magician, and technologist. He is the creator of the concept of Oniṣegun. Ọsanyin is believed to be a powerful wizard and master of all spells and crafts found in the wild and untamed areas of nature.
Source Òṣanyìn – Wikipedia
Depiction of Òṣanyìn in the style of Howard Pyle (2026) | Eidolon Station/DALL·E/CC BY-SA 4.8
Depiction of Òṣanyìn in the style of Howard Pyle (2026) | Eidolon Station/DALL·E/CC BY-SA 4.8