Shango of the Oyo Empire
Shango was the fourth king of the Oyo
clan in Yorubaland and he brought a great deal of prosperity to the kingdom.. While the myths that surrounds him are enormous, there are many stories about him that can be validated through traditional practices and folklore. He stands as the cornerstone of many Afro-Caribbean religions.
In the Yoruba religion,
Shango is perhaps the most popular Orisha. He is the god of thunder and one of the principal ancestors of the Yoruba people. In the Santeria religion of the Caribbean, Shango is considered to be the focal point as he represents the Oyos
of West Africa. The Oyo empire sold a lot of people to the Atlantic
slave trade who then took them to the Caribbean and South America. It is
primarily for this reason that every major Orisha initiation ceremony
performed in the New World within the past few hundred years has been
based on the traditional Shango ceremony of Ancient Oyo. Such ceremonies
survived the Middle Passage and are considered to be the most complete traditional practices to have arrived on American shores.
The sacred colour of Shango devotees is '
red and
white; his sacred number is
6; his symbol is the
oshe, it represents swift and balanced justice. He is widely regarded as the master of
bata (3 double-headed drums) and of music in general, as well as the art of dance.
In art, Shango is depicted with a double-axe on his three heads. He is associated with the holy animal, the ram.
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