De quoi Sopona est-il le dieu ?

Il est le dieu yoruba de la variole et des maladies infectieuses. Il peut repandre l'epidemie et la folie, mais aussi apporter la guerison, ce qui lui vaut une crainte particuliere.

Pourquoi evite-t-on de prononcer son nom ?

Son vrai nom est tabou : le prononcer risquerait d'invoquer le pouvoir de la maladie. Les fideles emploient des euphemismes comme Babalu-Aye ou Omolu.

Quels sont ses autres noms et son culte diasporique ?

Dans la tradition du Dahomey, on l'appelle Sakpata ou Shakpana. Emporte par la traite, son culte s'est implante au Bresil (Candomble), a Cuba et a Trinidad, sous le nom de Babalu-Aye.

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SOPONA

ally

God

☥ SpiritYoruba →Yoruba — YorubaElder

Gender: MasculineSign: variole

Sopona is the god of smallpox and infectious diseases in the Yoruba religion. He is perceived as a fearsome facet of Obaluaye and merges, in the Afro-diasporic religions, with Babalu-Aye, also called Omolu. Master of epidemics, he can inflict sickness and madness, but also heal, which makes of him a feared and respected deity. His cult was strictly overseen by priests attached to his sanctuaries. His true name is struck with a taboo: euphemisms are preferred, so as not to awaken the power of contagion. In the tradition of Dahomey and among the Gbe peoples, he bears the names of Sakpata or Shakpana. Carried to the Americas by the Atlantic slave trade, his cult took root in Brazil in Candomblé, as well as in Cuba and Trinidad. The British colonial authorities forbade his veneration in 1907.

Powers & Attributes

smallpox

Role in the ROHO universe

Voice of its pantheon. SOPONA carries the memory of its tradition and weaves a thread into the Mabioni. Bound to the Yoruba pantheon.

Sacred Mask

An ancient ritual mask of sacred wood, old metal and black stone, engraved with symbols of smallpox, embodiment of the power of Sopona

Era

Ancient cycle

Frequently asked questions

Of what is Sopona the god?

He is the Yoruba god of smallpox and infectious diseases. He can spread epidemic and madness, but also bring healing, which earns him a particular fear.

Why does one avoid pronouncing his name?

His true name is taboo: pronouncing it would risk invoking the power of the disease. The faithful use euphemisms such as Babalu-Aye or Omolu.

What are his other names and his diasporic cult?

In the tradition of Dahomey, he is called Sakpata or Shakpana. Carried by the slave trade, his cult took root in Brazil (Candomblé), in Cuba and in Trinidad, under the name of Babalu-Aye.

Related spirits

BAYANNI EJI OGBE ELEDA ERE

Sources and references

A. B. Ellis, The Yoruba-Speaking Peoples of the Slave Coast of West Africa, 1894
Richard-Ernst Bader, Sopono, Pocken und Pockengottkult der Yoruba, Medizinhistorisches Journal, vol. 20, p. 363-390 et vol. 21, p. 31-91 (1985)
Peter McKenzie, Hail Orisha! A Phenomenology of a West African Religion in the Mid-Nineteenth Century, Brill, Leiden (1997)