What is my orisa?

Prior to a novice being ordained into the priesthood of their patron deity, that deity must be identified. This process of identifying a tutelary orisa is done through what is known as a bahada or the bringing down of an orisa to speak to make this determination. The bahada is a special divination that is performed and is done to identify the orisha that has chosen to walk with the devotee down their spiritual path. The bahada is similar to a regular divination but the sole purpose is to identify a devotee's tutelary orisha and to provide them with advice towards their spiritual development. At Ile Oro, this process is performed by our Oriate and Great Elder- Ilari Oba, as he will be the Head of Ceremonies to perform the ordination ceremony of the devotee into the priesthood. Baba uses the shells of the orisha and performs a the divination to determines the orisha, the details of their spiritual journey, and how there life is to be carried out from that day forth. Once this reading is done, the orisha identified will be a special part of the devotee's personal pantheon of orisha. Many devotees that turn to the tradition are eager to know their tutelary orisha and it is important that this reading is not done until the devotee is ready to make a serious commitment to the orisha. By performing this reading it puts the devotee on the path of initiation as it may be confirmed in the conversation of the consultation. The primary reason why a godparent would identify a godchild's tutelary orisha is to determine the necessary rituals needed to start the initiation process.