The term is actually spelt “orisha”. It is of southern Nigerian origin. The word can be used in reference to any of the minor deities in the area. The word has travelled quite a bit, too. It’s not confined to southern Nigeria. It has been used in South America and in the Caribbean in many of those nations for the same meaning.
The word gets around in cultures that have multiple gods and goddesses. It originally was a Yoruba word, part of the Yoruba language of the people of the same name. In the Yoruba culture, there are 401 orisha. This number varies by culture, though, so 401 isn’t the number in all the cultures that use the word “orisha”.
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