The Return of the Mother Goddess (Part I)
Author: Oba Omi Saide aka Felix Rodriguez [a WitchVox Sponsor]
Posted: February 24th. 2008
At the heart of each religion and culture there is typically a supreme female symbol of divinity and motherhood. At times, due to the nature of the culture or the religion, it is hard to identify this symbol but, rest assured, she is always there.
Catholics view her as the Virgin Mary, Hebrews call her Shekhinah, Buddhists call her Kwan Yin and Muslims refer to her as Fatima.
To the Yoruba people of western Nigeria and their descendants the world over, she is referred to as Yemonya, Iyemalla or as she is most commonly known, Yemaya and, simply put, she is Mother Nature.
Though there are millions of Yoruba devotees around the world, her worship in the past few decades has also spread like wildfire among Wiccans and all Pagans on both sides of the Atlantic. Such is her following that the mention of her name alone in Yoruba or neo-pagan communities will conjure up deep emotional responses from both women and men.
An animistic and polytheistic faith, the Yoruba faith (also known as Orisha-worship) is filled with a host of divinities. Though there are varying theories as to the exact number of gods, or Orishas, most educated estimates place the number at 401.
The 401 divinities that comprise the Yoruba pantheon include 200 that sit to the right of God, 200 that sit to the left of God and Elegba (the Messenger of God) sits in the middle. Each one of these 401 divinities is the deification of a specific aspect of nature.
Most Orisha worshippers argue they are monotheistic and that the Orishas are not gods in the strictest sense but rather they are the fragments of the One Supreme Creator known as "Oloddumare." (The word Oloddumare translates to mean "Owner of Everything.")
Of all the divinities in this pantheon, Yemaya holds a very special place. With one notable exception, Obatala -the "Father"- she is either the mother or the grandmother of all the other Orishas. Due to her love and devotion to all her children, one well-known myth says that all the divinities conspired to give her the title of "Mother of the World."
It is in this last guise that she also becomes the mother of humanity. As she holds the title of “mother” or “grandmother” with this host of deities, it comes as no surprise that she is the ultimate personification of nature in all its complexities and intricacies.
The name Yemaya is a contraction of 3 separate Yoruba words: yeye or iya, omo and, finally, aje. "Yeye" or "iya" translates to mean mommy or mother. "Omo" means child or children and the last word, "aje", can be translated to mean planet, fish, seashells, or, interestingly enough, witches.
Though this name is commonly interpreted to mean "mother-whose-children-are-as numerous-as-fish" or as "mother-whose-child-is-the-world, " many people rarely make the connection with "mother-whose-children-are-witches."
In Nigeria and in Brazil, Yemaya is the supreme ruler of the Iyami community. The Iyami ("our mothers") community is comprised of ancestral witches and Yemaya is the patron of divinity of the ajes.
Each member of this all female community can trace their hereditary powers and titles as witches all the way back for centuries. [1]
For millennia these women held power in both cities and villages across all of Yoruba-land. Village elders, wise women, mid-wives, herbalist and, witches - they were the ones you turned to when you sought a specific charm, when you wanted a glimpse into the future, or to curse a neighbor, or needed a fertility spell.
Within this community, Yemaya's title is Iyami Oshoronga. Though few people make the connection with "mother-whose-children-are-witches" fewer still realize that "Mother Nature" has two distinct faces. The kind, warm, loving side of nature is most definitely Yemaya.
The awe inspiring and often-incomprehensible destructive side of nature is Iyami Oshoronga. As the destructive side of nature, Iyami Oshoronga is in no way evil. Rather she is the unleashed power of earth, air, water or fire that will cleanse the environment of the old and, in so doing, make way for the new once more. Much more crone-goddess than mother-goddess, she embodies and invokes the spirits of vengeance and retribution and will stop at nothing to punish the evil and the wicked.
The name Iyami Oshoronga loosely translated means "my-mother-who-will-wash-out-my-intestines." Though culture specific, the title makes sense to anyone who ever heard his or her mother tell him or her, “I will wash your mouth out with soap.”
Though often considered to be a separate divinity from Yemaya, make no mistakes; they are one and the same. As I explain later on, this type of dual nature is common in the Yoruba's social and religious concepts. This concept of duality has more to do with the polar opposites found in every aspect of nature and the human psyche than with the Western concepts of good and evil.
Unlike monotheistic and non-pagan faiths with a distinctly patriarchal system, there is no mistaking today that Yemaya along with her daughter, Oshun, hold the reigns of power within the Orisha-worshiper community. When it comes to either one of these two goddesses, whether you are mortal or immortal, you bow your head.
The Mother and the Maiden work as a team. Their word is law and stories abound of what might befall someone –mundane or divine- who falls into disgrace with either one.
For the purpose of this piece we should concentrate on Yemaya and her evolution as Earth Mother through the ages.
* * * * *
Before trying to analyze Yemaya’s evolution through recorded history, it is important to stop and consider that a great many myths and oral history allude to the Orishas, including Yemaya, arriving from a “distant land.”
Scholarly articles and papers written by respectable anthropologist have hinted at the similarities between Yemaya and the Egyptian goddess Isis. In fact, this may be more than mere coincidence.
More than one anthropologist has theorized that the 13th tribe of Israel did not just go south during the exodus into Ethiopia but that it split into two branches. The second branch -having obviously had a disagreement regarding religion with the first branch- headed west to and settled in Nigeria.
Trying to examine cultural myths within a living culture, where names, traditions and customs, may change from region to region, town to town or, even, from house to house is not a simple task.
Were the culture extinct, it might actually be a much simpler task. After all, human beings do have a tendency to edit legends and stories to best suit their own personal points of view. In trying to make sense of the Yoruba cosmology, the only way one can catalog and validate certain myths is to compare them to actual events that occurred throughout the course of either human or planetary history.
The myths, also known as patakies, of the Yoruba faith are cataloged into a system known as the Ifa Verses or as the Book of Ifa. This system is composed of 257 possible signs that are referred to as Oddu. (Though the name “Ifá” does create confusion, it is understood and accepted that both Ifá and Orisha houses employee the exact same system for divination.)
When analyzing any one of thousands of possible myths contained within this system, one must consider that there are two distinct types of patakies: regional and universal. The regional ones may include the recounting of tales or exploits that occurred within a given geographical area to one or more local individuals. These myths based on the adventures of folk heroes or heroines in a given area may appear to contradict a universal myth.
The universal patakies are universally understood amongst all people and may, at times, even take place prior to the human race having arrived on the planet.
The patakies listing Oduwa as the universal creatrix and Yemaya as the World Mother or as Mother Nature are universal patakies. The exact names, places, supporting characters or gender, as with Oduwa, may change from one geographical area to the other but the myth will be found in all descending traditions regardless of the culture or ethnicity of its society.
A good example of these contradictions is the following comparison. It is universally understood that Yemaya is the mother of all the major Orishas with the exception of the Orisha Obatala.
However, there are patakies that will list Yemaya as Oshun’s sister.
The contradictory nature of these myths is understood when one considers that the regional myth is recounting the tale of two sisters, friends or even rivals; one a priestess of Yemaya and the other a priestess of Oshun.
Over time the true names of the characters in the story have not only been forgotten but have, in fact, been replaced by the names of the Orishas that as priestesses they represented in life.
One should always bear in mind these two distinct types of myths when studying oddu and patakies. Rather than assuming that patakies simply contradict one another, it is suggested that the student consider varying regional differences and historical facts before attempting to interpret and catalog the myth as either a regional or a universal.
* * * * *
Prior to the influx of Islamic settlers into Yoruba territory (circa 800-1000 CE) a great portion of the cities and tribes had a considerable matriarchal bias. Chief among their female deities was Oduwa. (This name translates to English as “from a warm, moist mound of female earth.”) Oduwa’s reign as the supreme feminine deity lasted until the end of the 11th Century.
It was at this time that a male war hero, Oduduwa usurped her position. Such was his popularity -and so similar were their names- that a fusion of the two -goddess and living warrior- took hold in the public mind.
In Yoruba history he is generally held to be the ancestor of all the crowned kings of the Oyo Empire.
The oral myths of the Oyo region in Nigeria recount the coming of Oduduwa from the east. Though this can be interpreted to mean the arrival of Muslims from the area of Mecca, some sources actually place his origin to be much closer to home.
In such cases, northeastern Yoruba territory or central Nigeria is singled out. Yet another theory lists his origins in Egypt.
Regardless of his origins, the fact remains that his arrival coincided with the largest influx to date of Muslims to the area.
Oduduwa left more than just confusion in his wake. As one of the founding monarchs of the kingdom of Ife, all subsequent monarchs can claim direct descent from him. With his rise to power and his usurpation of the Mother Goddess, Oduwa, it appeared evident that both the culture and the religion would take a Muslim influenced and distinctly patriarchal tone.
Upon his death the king’s popularity with the people was so great that his fusion with Oduwa, the female divinity, became complete. Oduduwa the warrior, king -now a deified ancestor- was wholly incorporated into the worship of the Mother Goddess.
Though the ground had been laid for a patriarchal system to take hold, Oduduwa had inadvertently set a series of events into motion.
During his reign, Oduduwa sent each one of his sons to rule over a separate area of the kingdom. It was at this time when something quite interesting happened. One son in particular, Shango, was to restore the mother goddess to her rightful place once more.
* * * * *
Among the Yoruba it is quite common to find a deified ancestor/god or goddess fusion. Yoruba theology teaches that upon one’s death the surviving soul joins, for a time, the Orisha the devotee was initiated to in life. Keeping this in mind, it becomes logical to see these fusions occurring throughout Yoruba history and even into modern times.
Due to this piece of dogma, the Oduwa/Oduduwa combination was not the first time this had happened nor would it be the last. Oduduwa’s sons were Oranmiyan, Aganyu, Dada and Shango. (Though true historical figures and kings of the empire in their own time, each has survived as a present day Orisha in his own right.)
It is quite possible that each son was the child of a different wife or concubine but it was Dada and Shango’s mother, Yemaya who would ultimately take up the popular Earth Goddess role left behind by Oduwa.
Upon his death Shango was synchronized with the thunder god, Jakuta. In all probability he was most likely an initiate of Jakuta’s cult. Once more the popular deified ancestor was confused with the deity in the minds and hearts of the people. [2]
When this type of fusion takes place, it in no way makes the original deity obsolete. Rather, the deity retains the same basic personality, characteristic and powers. However, the name does change.
This scenario is akin to a present day man or woman who will legally adopt a different name from the one given to them at birth.
The name changes but the person remains the same.
There are times when the deity may “adopt” certain characteristics that belonged exclusively to the now deified ancestor.
As mentioned above, Yemaya took up the reigns as the Mother Goddess after Shango’s death. Though by no means a certainty, patakies and surviving oral traditions do allude to Yemaya having been a queen after Shango abdicated his title in favor of his older brother, Dada.
In the Oddu Obara-Ofun, Shango gleefully hands over his crown and kingdom to his mother. In all probability, if she did become queen, it was only for a short period of time until her other son Dada returned. The stage had been set for the next step in her evolution.
Though the divinity, Yemaya, was by then already an established deity of her time, a fusion took place once more. In all likelihood, the following scenario took place. Shango’s mother was an initiate of the cult of Yemaya.
However, her name was Yemowo or, as she is popularly called today, Yembo. The other possible scenario is that Shango’s mother was an initiate of the cult of Yemaya but her “road” or “avatar” was Yemowo. [3]
In all likelihood, the latter of the two options is probably correct. Though considered a “road” or “avatar” of Yemaya today, Yemowo is also considered to be a separate and independent Orisha and, interestingly enough, very related to the worship of Oduwa. [4]
With Shango’s death and subsequent fusion with the thunder god Jakuta, his mother was fused with Yemaya but as Yemaya-Yemowo. As Shango’s popularity grew after his death so did his mother’s.
At times, her popularity began to outshine Shango’s and every other Orisha as well. After all, she had made it up the ranks from wife or, possibly, concubine of the king, to the first and only woman to rule as “king” from Oduduwa’s throne. Both her sons, Shango and Dada, had subsequently risen to the throne, as well.
Many myths which had originally contained Oduwa as a separate entity, now had her name replaced with “Yemaya” or, more accurately, with “Yemaya-Yemowo.”
* * * * *
Though the world creation myth and Yemaya’s role within that creation is listed further down, it is more fitting that we discuss the universal creation myth. This creation myth is universally understood and well documented though the gender of Oduwa, the lead character, may change depending on the source material.
From the Oddu, Ofun Meyi:
It was past midnight and the youngest son, Ejiogbe, was conversing with his mother, Oduwa, regarding the state of darkness and nothingness in the universe. It was just then that the eldest brother, Eyioco, wandered by in a very sad and sorry state.
When asked by the other two as to the reason for his troubled demeanor, he replied, “I have lost the Key to Light. The key, ” he explained, “which you entrusted me with. The key we can use to open the door for the universe to enter. I cannot find it. I had it on me before I went to bed and it was gone when I awoke.”
To this Oduwa replied, “No, it is not lost. I have it. I told your brother to take it from you and he has given it to me. Had you not been in a drunken state last night and passed out, I would have entrusted you with it. Now I see I cannot trust you and will give it back to your younger brother, Ejiogbe. He will complete the mission you were unable to.”
With that said, Oduwa took the key from the folds of her garments and handed it to Ejiogbe, who turned, placed the key into a great lock and opened a great door from which light and all creation burst forth in a great explosion.
Though the complete myth does not end there, one should consider the state of “darkness and nothingness” in the universe as described in the story. The affects of opening the door can, quite simply, be interpreted as the Big Bang.
The story goes on to list Ejiogbe’s sadness at his brother’s loss of status. He pleads with his mother, Oduwa, to reconsider her judgment of him. After careful consideration she entrusts him as the keeper of darkness and night and all things, which are hidden from view.
The relationship between Oduwa (Ofun), Ejiogbe and Eyioco is a complex one, it is suggested that the reader remember that Oduwa is the “mother” in this pataki and Ejiogbe and Eyioco are her sons. (Though Oduwa’s gender can be questioned, there are no references to either Eyioco or Ejiogbe ever being females. They are always male.) Though some versions of this pataki list Oduwa as the “father” there is no reference to a “mother” for “his” children.
There are various interpretations and countless patakies that disagree with one another as to the actual lineages and generations within the Orisha family. However, most sources will present the following family tree.
To begin with, Oloddumare, or God, as listed earlier, means, “The Owner of Everything, ” and is the source from which Obatala and Oduwa spring to life. Though many people confuse Oduwa, the female Orisha, with Oduduwa, the male human warrior, in actuality Oduwa is most distinctly female or should be considered as such.
The pataki that describes the descent to Earth by Obatala and Oduwa in the oddu Ejiogbe Meyi finds them within the confines of a whole calabash that splits in two. (Both halves form the whole.)
The underlying significance of this imagery becomes apparent if one considers the Oriental ying-yang symbol.
Each side, both black and white, combines to form a whole. Each one contains a piece of the other within itself; masculine and feminine combined, male and female united, positive and negative charges repelling and attracting all at the same time.
With the above representation in mind, if Oduwa descended to Earth with Obatala, within a calabash, it is hard to imagine Oduwa having been a male. Also interesting is the fact that both these Orisha have both male and female “roads” or “avatars”. Obatala, the primarily male aspect, has some female roads and Oduwa has both male and female roads.
If we take this into consideration, keep in mind that Obatala and Oduwa are the original “couple”. Their offspring, Aganyu and Yemaya, brother and sister, are the first two born on the planet.
Then it is necessary to take one more step in order to best analyze the next generation. With the first generation on Earth, Yemaya and Aganyu, are now seen as extremes of their parents. That is, the dual nature to a certain extent has now split as Aganyu is most definitely a “male” Orisha and Yemaya is a most distinctly “female” Orisha. With each successive, the dual nature of God, black/white, male/female, masculine/feminine and positive/negative has become more defined.
In this evolutionary pattern what had been the duality contained within Oloddumare has now split and with each successive generation each “half” of the original whole has defined itself into a wholly separate and distinct gender.
When they mature, Yemaya and Aganyu marry and have a son, Oranmiyan. When he becomes mature he finds himself alone on the planet with only the company of his parents. Over time he begins to lust after his mother and eventually overpowers and rapes her in crazed moment.
Yemaya, in shock and horror at what her beloved son had done to her, tries to run away from him and in the process trips and falls. When she hits the ground, her body splits open and from her womb a river gushes forth containing no less than sixteen offspring Orisha.
These sixteen Orishas, in no particular order, include Shango (the spark of life and thunder), Oya (transformation, lightning and wind), Oshun (the human heart and civilization), Dada (life in the womb), Obba (transmigration of the soul), Oggun (will, force, cause), Oshosi (animals, karma, consequence), Osayin (plants), Aye Shaluga (wealth), Olokun (ocean), Olosa (lagoon), Sopono (disease and entropy), Orisha Oko (agriculture), Oke (mountain), Osu or Oshupa (moon) and, finally, Orun (sun).
The concept of a son being the progenitor of an entire generation with the physical aid of his mother is a distasteful notion in Western culture. One should bear in mind that the Great Mother, or the Great Goddess, throughout ancient lore in many cultures, often turned to her son, as often he was the only other person present.
This is not to say the matriarchal Yoruba society condoned incest or engaged in its practice but rather that they saw the representation of such acts in nature and used them to better understand and analyze the workings of nature through anthropomorphism.
One should remember that these symbolic acts are emblematic of the mysterious workings of nature. It is interesting to note that Yemaya has dominion over all the world’s oceans.
The volcano symbolizes Aganyu and, finally, Oranmiyan is said to be the lava that flows out of the volcano and comes from the molten center of the planet.
As any grade school science student will tell you, life on this planet originated in the oceans. The chemical reaction between the volcano’s lava and ocean water created the first building blocks of life.
The above myth is fragmented and varying parts of the story take place between four oddu: Odí Meyi, Odi Ejiogbe, Odí Osá and Odí-Ofun.
Varying patakies will list Oggun, and not Oranmiyan, as the individual who lusts after and rapes his mother. It is as Yemowo in the oddu Odí-Ofun that she curses Oggun -who has also cursed himself to work day and night throughout eternity. From this point, Yemowo refuses to ever use metals (which Oggun owns) in any of her ceremonies.
A.B. Ellis documented another creation myth, or, a continuation of the ones already covered, in his work, “Yoruba-Speaking Peoples of the Slave Coast of West Africa” [1894] with the following excerpt:
According to the myth, the sun, moon, and stars came from the body of Yemaya. Orun, the Sun, and Oshu, the Moon, are gods, but the stars do not seem to have been deified. The worship of the sun and moon is, moreover, now very nearly obsolete, and sacrifices are no longer offered to them, though the appearance of the -new moon is commonly celebrated by a festival.
The stars are the daughters of the sun and moon. The boys, or young suns, on growing up tried to follow their father in his course across the sky to where the sea and the sky meet, and which, say the Yorubas, is the place where the white men go and find all the things with which they fill their ships; but he, jealous of his power, turned upon them and tried to kill them.
Some of them sought refuge with Olosa, some with Olokun, and the remainder with their grandmother, Yemaya, who turned them into fish. Thus all the sons were driven out of the sky, but the daughters remained with their mother and still accompany her by night. This myth is virtually the same as that current among the eastern Ewe-tribes, who have almost certainly learnt it from their Yoruba neighbours.”
The above listed pataki is from the oddu, Odí-Ofun. With this reference in mind, one is once more struck by the fact that the images of Yemaya as the world mother, in this case the “grand-mother” of the stars and mother to the Sun and Moon is quite old and goes back hundreds, if not thousands of years.
Though Shango was never considered a very good king and was actually more of party animal and, apparently, a bit of a “mama’s boy, ” the fact remains that he was very popular.
Over time the worship of son and mother spread throughout Western Africa. As his status grew so did her status. In many parts of Yoruba-land if a priest/priestess was initiated to the cult of Shango he or she would also be initiated to the cult of Yemaya, as well. The attributes and sacred stones of both would reside within the same vessel.
Interestingly enough, the opposite would not always hold true. That is, if you were initiated to Yemaya’s cult it was not common to be initiated to Shango’s cult, too. The reason behind this becomes apparent when one considers that only a mother knows how to keep her son in check.
For almost 4 centuries the Mother Goddess, Yemaya, withstood wave after wave of Islamic and, later on, Christian settlers. Wars rose, raged and died. Still, Yemaya stood her ground and ruled the Yoruba tribes and their surrounding territories as the Supreme Mother.
She did this for 370 years and her authority was without question. Then in 1471 the slave-traders hit the shores of West Africa and slowly the trafficking of slaves began. What had been an ideal seat of power for Yemaya was suddenly overturned as throngs of her worshippers were thrown into chains and shipped off to the New World in the cargo holds of ships.
Never one to be held down for long -and certainly not about to abandon her children to their own fates, Yemaya boarded the ships with them. As she sailed to the New World in the hearts and minds of her devotees, she prepared for the next stage in her evolution.
Yemaya was about to step onto the world-stage for the first time.
Footnotes:
[1] Interestingly enough, a male could inherit both the title and the power of an aje but would never be able to pass it on to his offspring. The bloodline would end with him. However, a female would more than likely always pass the power and the title to her female daughters and occasionally a male child though he would be unable to join the all-female sisterhood.
[2] The confusion left by the Oduwa/ Oduduwa fusion, is he a he or is he really a she, still exists to this day. In fact, today though most practitioners do not realize it, there are two distinct deities that are worshipped within the community. The male version strictly belongs to houses of Ifa. The female version is the deity of Orisha houses only. Interestingly enough, it is the same deity and both branches of the faith will hotly contest publicly that their version is of the correct gender. However, upon closer inspection and with a little nudging, most knowledgeable Ifa priests will admit under their breath that Oduwa is really “a girl but don’t tell anyone.”
[2] This scenario is all too common and repeats itself once the Orishas arrive on Western shores. It is at that time that the fusion then takes place once more. However, this time it occurs with Catholic saints.
[3] “Roads” or “avatars” of Orishas are used by the Orishas to alter their own personal names, tastes or, even, taboos among their worshippers. The road of Yemaya-Yemowo had already been at that time closely associated with the Oduwa.
[4] (Interesting to note is the fact that even today Yemowo has a taboo with metal and with the male Orisha Oggun. This taboo appears today to be a vestigial influence of a pre-iron age matriarchal society.
Copyright: © 2007 Star Sparks, Felix Rodriguez
