How the Yoruba formed the Olodumare plus what they have in mind when calling him

It is widely believed that the word "Olodumare" is the indigenous pronunciation of God in the Yoruba race. The fact that the Yorubas are people who for no reason give names to things without no meaning makes them an ethnicity which am proud to be of. 

The question here is; How did the Yoruba formed the Olodumare? What do they always have in mind when they call this name?. With the help of the book "Olodumare, God in Yoruba Belief" by late E.Bolaji Idowu, answers were given to this question. Read below:

The name is made up of two words, with a prefix, thus; OLODUMARE.
The prefix Ol results from the elision of the vowel 'i' from Oni, which means 'owner of' 'lord of' , 'one who deals in'. Oni, in one or other of its modified forms, is a prefix which occurs frequently in Yoruba to denote ownership or one who deals in a trade or profession. For example, we have the words Oloko (Ol-oko) meaning 'the owner of the farm', Oni- 'bodé,: (Oni-bode ) 'one who keeps the town's gate' or (on-igbå-nso): 'one who mends broken calabashes'. This prefix has also other characteristics which may be mentioned.

Of the two main components of the name Olodumare, the key one is ODU. What word the three letters signify depends on which tone marks are placed upon its vowels. Thus it may be Odü which is a substantive meaning 'a main heading of chapter' as in the corpus of Ifa recitals, 'chief head' or 'chief' as in the title Odugbede which means 'The Chief of the smiths', 'sceptre', or 'authority'. Or it may be odu, also a substantive meaning 'very large and deep not (container), 'Thc full cell in the board of ayö from the analogy of which it is said of a person Odu- re-kan 'His Odu is full', meaning that 'He has blessing in abundance', 'Fortune smiles on him ' , Odu is also used as an adjective with the meaning 'very large' , 'very extensive', 'very full', 'of superlative quality and worth'. Thus we speak, for example, of odu Òya—'a very large grass-cutter' , Odu ayo—'the full cell in the board of ayo, odu aso--—'a cloth of superlative quality and worth'. Hence odu also means 'superlative in greatness, size, or quality and worth.'

There is, however, no way of knowing by the tone marks whether the component as it stands in the full name of the deity is odù or òdù as there is only one traditional way of pronouncing Olódùmarè, the tone marks on the vowels of which arc not affected whichever of the two words it may convey.

Odu taken together with the prefix in either case is therefore Olodu and means that the name indicates either someone who is a supreme head, one who possesses the sceptre or authority; or one who 'contains' the fullness of excellent attributes, one who is superlative and perfect in greatness, size, quality and worth.

Now we come to the difficult part of our task. The component—mare in 016dümare confronts us with some etymological difficulty, and we ca do no more, at the moment, than look at some explanatory attempts on the matter, and then draw our own conclusion.
The word is said to be a contraction of the phrase-name Olodu-om-erè— 'Olodu’ the offspring of the boa'. This suggestion is based upon a myth which derives from the natural phenomenon of the rainbow. The Yoruba believe, generally, that the rainbow is produced by a very large boa: the reptile discharges from its inside the sulphureous matter which sets all its surroundings aglow and causes a reflection, which is the rainbow (Osumare), in the sky. the matter which is so discharged is known as Imi Osumare ('rainbow-excrement') and is considered very valuable for making people wealthy and prosperous. It is the Yoruba equivalent of the 'philosopher's stone'! Whosoever could lay hold of it would never want for material possessions. 

It is, however, very rarely obtained, in spite of the fact I-hat it is so much earnestly sought after, one reason being that anyone who approached the spot at the moment when it is on the ground would be consumed forthwith; and another that the reptile itself has the misery habit of swallowing it all up again when the ritual is over! Rumors abound that some strange individuals do come by bits of it occasionally but such rumors have really never come to anything more than the swindler's bait!

Now, what has this got to do with the deity? It is this. The myth has it that the name of this personage which is above was originally Olodu. He was the offspring of the large primordial boa, and was a prodigy from birth. Very early he acquired a reputation-for prowess and goodness. For some reason, the earth could no longer contain him, and so he went to dwell in heaven. There he exceedingly increased in all good and divine qualities. But before he went up; both he and his parent had entered into a covenant that they would always remember, and from Lime to Lime communicate with, each other. The rainbow which occurs in the sky is the sign of that age-long covenant and communion between Olodu and the boa, a sign that the covenant remains for ever.

This myth, by the way, may easily be the Yoruba way of expressing the same conception as the one in the Biblical story which has it that God set the rainbow in the sky as a sign of the covenant which He made with the world! Anyway, it appears to be the Yoruba way of explaining the rainbow rather than explaining 016dümaru The real truth enshrined in this is the fact of eternal significance that there is communion between heaven and earth.
Secondly, —maré may be really two words which form the imperative Má ré. This imperative means 'Do not go', 'Do not proceed'. The phrase may also be a descriptive adjective meaning 'That does not go', 'that does not move or wander', 'that remains' 'that remains' 'that continues'. If it combines both senses in Olodu-mare, the implication is that Olodumare, the Deity, who possesses superlative qualities has also the added attribute of remaining stable, unchanging, constant, permanent, reliable.

Thirdly, the name may be taken as Ol-odu-mare, which written in full, is Ol-odu-mo-Aré— 'One who combines odu with Are' — Olodu-cum-Arè is the symbol of uniqueness fixed on the original crown worn by each successive Ooni (king) of Ile-Ife to emphasise his succession to the spiritual headship over the Yoruba people. No other king of Yorubaland may wear the same kind of crown, as it is a sign of supreme headship. Olodumare thus describes the Deity as one who possesses in addition to the sceptre, the unique Crown which no one else may wear. That is, He is Head and Overlord of all in heaven and on earth; indisputably, absolutely unique and beyond comparison in majesty and fullness of attributes.

Fourthly, the name may be originally Ol-odu-kari.  Kari is more often than not used to describe the perfectly full cell in the board of the ayo game. When we speak of Odu-kari, we mean that the cell has reached its perfect fullness; if then any one counter is added to it, the perfectness is spoilt. Olodu-kari, as the name of the Deity, means that He is One who is absolutely perfect in superlative qualities.

Now, the question is, all together. We have arrived at the conclusion, not only by looking at the name alone, but also by a careful study of the liturgies and the Odu corpus in particular, and the oral traditions in general. l What the Yoruba have in mind when they speak the name Olodumare, call upon the Deity in prayers, or approach Him in worship, is expressed by all the descriptions taken together. The name Olodumare has always carried with it the idea of One with Whom man may enter into covenant or communion in any place and at any time, one who is supreme, superlatively great, incomparable and unsurpassable in majesty, excellent in attributes, stable, unchanging, constant, reliable.

Source: E.Bolaji Idowu (1962) Olodumare (God in Yoruba Belief). Longman Nigeria. Lagos Nigeria.