A look at Orishas and their contributions

Oya is the powerful Yoruba Orisha of the winds and tempests. She is considered either the sister of the Orisha of storms Shango, or one of His three wives, with Oshun and Oba. Known by many as a passionate, fierce warrior and bringer of change in the Orisha Religion. She controls both wind and lightning. As an Orisha of change she brings the dead

wood to make room for the new, and she uses her machete or sword to clear a path for new growth. Thus whenever you one is experiencing crucial change know that this is the works of Oya. Her areas of influence is Storms, wind, lightning, tornadoes, death and the cemetery, the marketplace and business and her traditional colors are purples, reds, oranges and black.

Ogun who is a warrior and a powerful sprit of metal work, He is said to be the first to descend to the realm of lle Aiya (Earth) to find a suitable place for future human life. In Yoruba religion, Ogun is a primordial Orisha who first appeared as a hunter named Tobe Ode. He was the husdan of Oya. He is believed by his followers to have wo ile sun, to have disappeared into the earths surface instead of dying, in a place named Ire-Ekiti.

Oshun is one of the common Deites Orisha. She is the Godess of the river, love fertility and sweetness. She is the Diety of sweet water or

fresh waters (as opposed to the salt waters of Yemaya).Oshun is a vain God, she has a mirror to constantly look at herself but indeed she is a charming beautiful young woman. She was once married to the deity

'Shangoo'. In visual representations of her, she is either in pink clothing (Tinidad) or yellow (Cuba). Oshun is a Godess that is known for healing

the sick , bringing fertility and prosperity and watching of the poor. Some tales say that she is a mermaid. Some of her other titles are ;

Mother of Sweetness, The Modest one and/or Oshun Ana of Luxury and Love.

Babalu-aye

From the poem above written by Olive Senior it is evident that Babalu-aye is a powerful and feared Orisha African god who rules over illnesses as well as healing. In West Africa, though he is most feared he is most loved. Sometimes this God is referred to as the “Wrath of the Supreme God” because he punishes people for their transgression as the “Father Lord of the Earth” , as such that many opt out from even calling his name to avoid causing epidemic. As the Lord of the earth, his symbolic

colors are earthly tones brown, green, cream. In West Africa he is also divinely associated with small pox, leprosariums, influenza, Ebola & HIV/AIDS. THIS god is worshipped by the use of animal and altar sacrifices that the people believe are gifts that can be used for atonement as the grains placed outside the gate in Olive Seniors poem above.

ESHU

Eshu is one of the Orisha deities in the religion of Yoruba from the Yoruba people originating from present day Nigeria. This Orisha deity is known as the father who gave birth to Ogboni and is known to be agile and always willing to rise to a challenge. He is known as a divine messenger, a gate keeper and the owner of cross roads. He seems to appear in situations involving drugs, dirty sex or black magic since he has an understanding of both good and evil. His traditional colours are black and red. He recognizes himself and is recognized by the number 3 and 21.

SHANGO

Shango, also known as Chango or Xango or Jakuta, was the third Alafin or king of Oyo in Yorubaland. He was deified after his death. He is possibly the most famous Orisha. He is a God of thunder and lightning. He represents the orisha of justice, the viril force, the joy and the intensity of life, masculine beauty, etc. Shango is said to possess powerful magic learned from the Ibariba, his mothers’ people and used said power to rule with fear. He had two war generals, Timi and Gbonka, who also possessed great power themselves. Believing himself

to not be safe with them, he tried to turn them on one another which resulted in Timis’ death. After this Gbonka asked to be burned alive, which he was, only to return to life three days later. When he did so he had an ultimatum for Shango to leave town. Sadly, he left town and committed suicide by hanging himself in a place named Koso. However, his followers did not accept this and killed with lightning, anyone who said he died this way.

Yemanja, Yemoja, Iemanja, Yemaja, Imanja, Yemaya, Jemanja,Yemalla, Yemana, Yemayah, Yemoja, Ymoja, Nana Bukulu, Yemonja, Yemowo are just some of the many names for this Orisha deity. This deity goes by many hybrids of her own name which is Yeye Omo Eja meaning “Mother Whose children are the fish” to reflect that her children are countless. Yemanja is the divinity of the sea, the

daughter of Obatala and wife of Agayu She is the mother of all things pure, fertility and motherhood. Her colours are blue and white usually seen full skirts and layers to mimic the movement of the sea. Her number is seven because of the seven seas she watches over. When it comes to dance Yemanja’s movement always relates to water and clearing of the seas. Her movement is very fluid and can also be sultry.

After speaking to Nisha Harding the intention of our group is to further our investigation into the Egungun Festival. The festival will be held on November 29th 2015. This date is drawing near to the final presentation so another alternative may be suggested.