Ayyaana

Oromo · numen · Oromo traditional religion (Waaqeffanna); continuing · Recorded classification

Ayyaana is one of the central theological concepts of the Oromo and is best understood as the manifestation-spirit of Waaqa. In Oromo philosophy everything that exists emanates from Waaqa in the form of ayyaana, the immaterial principle that gives each individual entity its particular essence; through the ayyaana the creator, in the formulation of the scholar Gemetchu Megerssa, propels himself into becoming his own opposite and comes to dwell within what he has created. Conceived as intangible spirits living near human dwellings, often by holy groves, the ayyaana are attached to clans and persons and act as intermediaries between Waaqa and humankind, shaping a person's fortunes in proportion to their observance of the moral order safuu. Because the ayyaana is an emanation of and wholly dependent upon Waaqa, it is treated here as a distinct but subordinate divine principle rather than an independent god.

Parentage

parent: Waaqa

Domains

divine emanation
mediation
destiny and essence

Powers

to manifest Waaqa within created things
to mediate the relationship between Waaqa and human beings

Relations

subordinate to: WaaqaThe ayyaana is an emanation of and wholly dependent on Waaqa, the principle through which the supreme being acts in the world.Megerssa, Gemetchu. Knowledge, Identity and the Colonizing Structure: The Case of the Oromo of East and Northeast Africa. PhD thesis, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 1993. (secondary)

Sources

The ayyaana is the manifestation-spirit and emanation of Waaqa in Oromo thought, the immaterial principle determining the essence of all beings and mediating between Waaqa and humanity.: Megerssa, Gemetchu. Knowledge, Identity and the Colonizing Structure: The Case of the Oromo of East and Northeast Africa. PhD thesis, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 1993. (secondary); Megerssa, Gemetchu, and Aneesa Kassam. Sacred Knowledge Traditions of the Oromo of the Horn of Africa. Fifth World Publications, 2020. (secondary)

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