Òrìshà, of Yorùbáland

Path Skills: Medicine, Subterfuge
Virtues: Tradition and Innovation
Scent of the Divine: Rum and tobacco, with a drumbeat

Orisha Motif

Those who understand plants can use them in magic and medicine.

This Purview is shared by the Òrìshà and the Loa, allowing them to take possession of their mortal worshippers. Through sacred drumming and dance, worshippers enter into a sacred trance state that makes room for the Gods to enter into them. The Òrìshà use the Yoruba word for this possession, Gún, while the Loa refer to it as Cheval to describe the way they “mount” the possessed person, as though they were a horse.

Orisha Signature Purview: Cheval/Gun

Òrìshà and Loa possess willing (and, rarely, unwilling) humans in order to communicate with their flocks, generally at religious ceremonies with plenty of drumming and dancing to get an Òrìshà’s, Loa’s, ancestor’s, or other spirit’s attention. Haitians say the possessed’s ti bon
anj makes way for the spirit’s, letting the spirit make use of the possessed celebrant’s language, intellect, and body to communicate matters of spiritual import — and indulge in fine tobacco and liquor, which are hard to get in Heaven. This Purview confers the power to project one’s consciousness into another, to draw a spirit into one’s own form, and to detect (and counteract) possession in others.

Cheval/Gun Innate Power
You can tell whether any mortal you see is possessed by a spirit or deity and identify the nature of the possessing entity. You can attempt to drive out a possessing enemy with a Clash of Wills using Presence + Legend against its Resolve + Legend.

VIRTUES

Tradition vs. Innovation

The sacred practices of the Òrìshà are steeped in history and Tradition, but their devotion has perpetually changed through Innovation as historical progress and colonial oppression affected their worshippers. Which is more important: the old, or the new? Are they a harmonious dialectic, or are there places where the two come into conflict?