YEMOJA

Orisha

Yemoja is the orisha of the waters, of motherhood and of the protection of children in the Yoruba religion. Her name comes from the Yoruba expression Yeye omo eja, the mother whose children are fish, an image of her inexhaustible fecundity. In Yoruba country, in the south-west of present-day Nigeria, she is associated with the Ogun river, and her historical cult is particularly alive at Abeokuta, where a festival is consecrated to her. Mother of many orishas according to several traditions, she watches over women, pregnancy, the newborn and the secrets of the waters. Her attributes are fresh water then, in the diaspora, the sea, the colours white and blue, shells and the round fan. The Atlantic slave trade transformed her cult: become the deity of the ocean in the Americas, she is one of the most beloved figures of the Afro-diasporic religions. In Cuba, Santería honours her under the name of Yemayá, associated with the Virgin of Regla, protector of the bay of Havana. In Brazil, Iemanjá is celebrated on 2 February at Salvador de Bahia, where thousands of the faithful carry flowers and offerings to the sea, as well as at the New Year in Rio de Janeiro. Her cult remains a living religious practice on both sides of the Atlantic.