SHANGO
Nicely syncopated Spirit of Thunder, Drums and Dance
He was long ago elevated to the ORISHAS after a glorious career as fourth King and warrior hero of the Yoruba. Now he bangs the drum for his people and plays rolling rhythms on his storm clouds.
When thunder is heard, you should salute him by crying ‘Cabio Sile Shango’, or words to that effect.
SHANGO leads a full red-blooded life and likes to party. He is in great demand as a drummer and his dancing talents cause severe outbreaks of funkiness wherever perpetrated.
His special Feast Day is 4th of December and during this time he has a piper employed to play all the latest hits. His special number is six, and his favorite colors are red and white. He likes animals, particularly dogs. He also favors roosters and turtles, although we think these are more for eating than companionship. If you invite him to a feast you will need to stock up on bananas, apples, cornmeal, okra, red wine and rum.
Very much the ladies man, SHANGO does have a relationship with OYA which can at times get pretty tempestuous. He does not get on well with his brother OGUN and is not averse to a good punch-up. But on the whole he’s a great God to have on your side as he is loyal, protective and — as far as we’re concerned — extremely groovy.
BUMBA
Mighty Creator God of Vomit From the Bushongo in the Congo comes BUMBA, the African Creator God of Vomit. Yes, vomit.
In the beginning, all was dark. Then out of the darkness came BUMBA, a giant pale-skinned figure. He was not feeling well. In fact he had not been feeling well for millions of years. He was lonely, and the unbearable solitude was making him ill.
Troubled by a ballooning bellyache, he staggered, moaned and vomited up the Sun. Light burst forth into the Universe — and he choked out the Moon. The stars came next and then, with a tremendous effort, he threw up the planet Earth. We do live in a very sick world.
This nauseating display was brought to a triumphant conclusion when, as an encore, he vomited forth nine animals, an assortment of humans, and a pile of diced carrots.
Exhausted from his labors, he sat and watched as the nine creatures multiplied. After a while, they had evolved into every living thing on Earth. Which just shows that Creationism and Evolution are both right.
Apart from a pesky critter named TSETSE-BUMBA, all his creatures were friendly and respectful. His loneliness abated and finally he was content.
Then BUMBA’s three sons appeared. NYONYE-NGANA, CHONGANDA and CHEDI-BUMBA added the finishing touches and thus the world was made. BUMBA spoke kindly to his human creations before ascending to Heaven, never to be seen again. So far as we know, his stomach has never troubled him since.
OBATALA
White Cloth God and drunken creator of the human race. He is a high-ranking spirit among the ORISHAS, but in the old days he did like a drink or two. Not a good thing when you have a holy mission to perform.
His father, the supreme sky god OLORUN, gave him the mighty task of building the Earth. Unfortunately, on his way to perform this important job, OBATALA ‘accidentally’ gatecrashed a Godparty and spent the rest of the evening roaring drunk on palm wine.
Meanwhile, little sibling ODUDUWA spotted an opportunity. Why should big brother get all the fame and glory? So he stole the holy building materials and did a little planet-constructing behind his back. As you can see if you look around you, he did a pretty good job.
Chief architect and supreme deity OLORUN was so pleased with ODUDUWA’s efforts that he promoted him to God of the Earth. The drunken sop OBATALA was ridiculed, chastised and punished with a tedious punishment — he was put to work making men and women.
If you ever wondered why humans aren’t quite as perfect as they should be, here’s the answer: our Holy Maker was drunk at the time. Since that day, every deformity or disability to afflict mankind has been blamed on his fumbling alcoholic fingers.
OBATALA eventually learned the error of his ways and went very firmly on the wagon. OLORUN accepted his apologies and gave him dominion over the mortals he’d created. But only the heads. (You may think your head belongs to you, but it doesn’t. It is only on loan. In reality it belongs to an immortal ex-alcoholic demi-deity from Africa.)
With an amazing transformation he reinvented himself as the Great White God, a shining figure in resplendent white cloth. Far from encouraging alcoholic excess and bleary-eyed drunken confusion, he now promotes purity, clean living and clarity of thought. We just hope those impressive gleaming robes do not conceal a hip flask.
As top spiritual entity of the ORISHAS with roles covering fertility, childbirth and fortune, he is now enthusiastically venerated all over the world, from Africa to Brazil. He has even been remixed by Catholicism, which is always keen to borrow other people’s gods — especially ones so shiny and white as him.
OBATALA’s wife is YEMAYA. What a roller-coaster marriage she’s had.
YEMAYA
The Mother of Water and Childbirth
Her stylish blue and crystal skirts billow in wave-like motions. One of the ORISHAS, she is a sensuous, slow-moving figure, just like the water she represents. Very calm and soothing for birthing situations. But she has a curious aversion to salt — so she will float over the ocean but not in it.
YEMAYA is also a Moon Goddess and the number seven has special significance for her.
We don’t like to gossip, but her husband OBATALA has a shady past — he created mankind under less than reputable circumstances. Still, that’s all water under the bridge now.
ABASSI
Nigerian Creator God and Lord of the Sky..
On the suggestion of his wife ATAI, ABASSI invented the first humans and somewhat nervously introduced them into the wild.
As he feared, the first couple quickly discovered sex, and pretty soon were doing their own creating. This created a terrible over-population problem, and made ABASSI feel rather insecure. So ATAI gave humanity two gifts, Argument and Death, to keep the numbers under control.
ESHU
Trickster God of Opportunity, Communication and Instant Messaging.
The tremendously popular ESHU directs traffic along the Road of Life from his abode at the Crossroads of Fortune. If you’re faced with an important choice or a powerful opportunity, ESHU can offer advice to help swing things your way. A super-speedy go-between, he can carry complaints to the Gods, questions to the spirit world, and messages to any living thing.
With his connections, ESHU can be a powerful ally. But he’s also a Trickster God with a sense of humor and will often throw a spanner in the works to keep life interesting. This could explain why we don’t always get what we want. Be careful — this master of crossroads is also a master of cross-purposes. The perfect deity for the internet age.
AMADIOHA
Amadioha is one of the most popular of the Igbo deities. In fact, right after water spirits, the gods of thunder and lightning like Shango, Siete Rayos, Nzaji, etc seem to be the most well known and liked of all the deities all over Africa and its diaspora. Although he is usually referred to as Amadioha, that is not really a name, but one of his many epithets, which also include Igwe, Ofufe, and Igwekaala. The proper name of this entity would actually be Kamalu, or Kalu Akanu, and that’s the name that I use personally when referring to him.
Much of what is said about the other gods of thunder and lightning can be said about Amadioha: They serve as agents of justice, they are associated with war and aggression, and their colors tend to be red and white. People who have been accused of crimes go to their shrines to declare their innocence, less they be struck by lightning.
Unlike his fellow thunder and lightning deities, Amadioha doesn’t carry an object of power like Thor carries his hammer or like his second cousin Shango carries his axe. If he did carry something, I would assume it would be an Ogu stick, seeing as though its the symbol of justice. The ram is sacred to alot of the African thunder and lightning gods, both as a sacrifice and as a symbol. In fact, Amadioha at times appears to people in the form of a large white ram.[/b]
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