Gods & Stories from West African Mythology

In this lesson, you will become familiar with some of the more popular figures in the pantheon of Yoruba mythology. This lesson will also cover the lasting influence these figures have today in the African Diaspora religion of Santeria.
Yoruba Religion & Santeria
During the years of slave trading, many West African slaves were sent to Cuba and Haiti. Not wanting to completely abandon their religious beliefs, the slaves associated their gods and goddesses with Christian saints, thereby masking their beliefs from their masters.
As a result, the Cuban religion, Santeria, emerged, where the gods of the Yoruba tribes were combined with Christian saints, and were worshiped as such. Here, we will discuss the Yoruba gods and goddesses, or orisha, who would become the popular figures in both religions.
Creation Gods
Nana-Buluku
Nana-Buluku is a creator god. Sometimes Nana-Buluku was described as being a female, grandmother figure, and in others as a genderless creator god. Nana-Buluku realized that all of creation could not be supported and might tip over. To prevent this, her pet serpent, Da, curled up under the earth by biting its own tail to form a cushion to keep the earth in place.
Nana-Buluku created the ocean to keep Da cool, and tasked monkeys to keep it fed with iron bars. Eventually, that iron will run out and Da will become so hungry, it will eat itself until there is nothing left and the earth will tip over.
Obatala
Obatala is the son of the sky god, Olorun, who tasked Obatala with creating the world. Obatala found some gods having a party on his way to do this job, and stayed at the party instead, getting incredibly drunk.
Oduduwa
Obatala’s younger brother, Oduduwa, took advantage of this situation, stole Obatala’s supplies, and created the world himself. Olorun was disappointed in Obatala, and instead decided to give him the job of creating humans. Obatala did this drunk too, hence why humans are so imperfect. Obatala later turned his act around becoming the Great White God, a figure surrounded by a white cloak who encourages purity among people.
Olorun
Olorun, in many regards is the Zeus or Jehovah of the Yoruba pantheon. He is the god of the heavens and creator of the world. In reality though, he is more of the planner of the world, as he gave the task of creation to his son Obatala.
Yemaya
Yemaya is the goddess of childbirth and water. As queen of the oceans and the seas, she is the highest reigning water god in the Yoruba tradition. She was married to Obatala and is considered the mother of gods, as Shango is her son. She’s also sometimes goddess of the moon.
Gods of Nature
Oba
Oba is the goddess of rivers, and sometimes marriage. Oba represents not just the literal rivers, but also the rivers and waters of life. In some stories, she’s the wife of the god, Shango, and is jealous of his mistriss Oshun. Oba asks Oshun how she makes Shango so happy. Oshun, jealous that it is Oba’s children who will inherit Shango’s kingdom, lies and tells Oba that a long time ago, she cut off a piece of her ear and used it as an ingredient in her cooking, making Shango desire her more than that of Oba or Oya.
Oba goes home and tries this, but Shango spots the ear in his meal, and thinking she was trying to poison him, drives her away. She came down to Earth and became the Oba river, which crosses the Oshun river, indicating their rivalry.
Oko
Oko is the god of agriculture and fertility. He came to Earth and lived on a small farm, growing some of the most beautiful and delicious fruits and vegetables. One day, he simply vanished, leaving nothing but his staff sticking in the ground.
When the people saw this and realized his gift with agriculture, they knew then he must have been a god. The staff later became a phallic symbol, representing fertility, and Oko has a holiday just before the rainy season devoted to him where men are encouraged to be a little more friendly with the local women.
Osanyin
Osanyin is a lesser god of herbs and small plants. He is missing a leg, an arm, and is blind in one eye. He was once given a task by his brother to pull all the weeds from the garden. When his brother returned, he found Osanyin weeping because he could not find any weeds in the garden. All of the plants there had a use, he explained, and therefore, he could not complete his task. He soon passed on his knowledge of all the uses of the plants to the other gods.
Olokun
Olokun is the Poseidon of the Yoruba gods, as he is the god of the seas. Like many mythologies, Olokun factors into a myth about a great flood. One day, humans annoyed Olokun so much, he was prepared to wipe them all out with a flood. Thankfully, this flood never happened as Obatala came down and chained Olokun up before he could do anything.
Oya
The goddess of storms and strong winds is Oya, one of the wives of Shango. She’s also known as a guide to the dead and is the only Orisha who has one foot in the world of the living and one in the world of the dead. She helps remind the living of the ancestors from which they came. She is also goddess and protector of the marketplace. Oya has had and lost nine children, and she wears nine different colored scarves in memory of them. She once stole Shango’s secret of creating lightning and knows he’s afraid of the dead.
 
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