- Also called:
- Chango
- Related Topics:
- god
Shango
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Who is Shango in Yoruba religion?
Shango is a major deity in the Yoruba religion of southwestern Nigeria, also present in the traditions of the Edo and Fon people. He is both a deified ancestor and a natural force.
The ancestral Shango was the fourth king of Oyo. According to oral tradition, he had a powerful voice like thunder and a mouth that spewed fire. Shango was defeated by a subordinate chief and committed suicide. His followers claimed he ascended to heaven and became an orisha, taking on attributes of Jakuta, a deity representing God's wrath.
Shango is associated with fire and lightning. His ritual symbol is the oshe, a double-headed battle-ax, also used by his priesthood. The bata drum is played for him to summon storms. Shango's worship was reestablished in the Caribbean and South America by enslaved Yoruba, Bini, and Fon people during the 18th and 19th centuries.
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What is Shango the god of?
Shango is a major deity in the Yoruba religion of southwestern Nigeria, also present in the religions of the Edo and Fon people of southeastern Nigeria and Benin, respectively. He is both a deified ancestor and a natural force, with both aspects linked to a cult and priesthood.
As a natural force, Shango is associated with fire and lightning. His ritual symbol is the oshe, a double-headed battle-ax, which symbolizes war and the slaying of enemies. Shango selected the bata drum to be played for him and used them to summon storms; his devotees continue to use them for this purpose.
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What special symbols or objects are connected to Shango?
Shango, a major deity in Yoruba religion, is associated with specific symbols and objects. As a deified ancestor and a natural force, Shango's most prominent ritual symbol is the oshe, a double-headed battle-ax, often depicted emerging from the top of his head in statues, symbolizing war and the slaying of enemies. Shango's priests also use the oshe, holding it close or swinging it during dances for protection.
Additionally, Shango selected the bata drum to be played for him and is said to have used them to summon storms; his devotees continue to use them for this purpose.
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How do people honor or worship Shango?
Shango, a major deity in the Yoruba religion, was the fourth king of Oyo. Shango's followers honor him through rituals using the oshe, a double-headed battle-ax, which is his prominent ritual symbol. Statues often depict the oshe emerging from his head, symbolizing war and the slaying of enemies, and priests use it in dances for protection or to ward off evil.
The bata drum is also central to Shango's worship, as he used it to summon storms. Devotees continue to use the bata drums for this purpose. Shango's worship is present in the Vodou religion of Haiti, the Santería tradition of Cuba, and the Candomblé cult of Brazil.
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What stories or myths are told about Shango’s powers?
Shango, a principal deity in the Yoruba religion, is known for his might. Oral tradition describes him as a powerful king of Oyo with a thunderous voice and a mouth that spewed fire.
Stories recount that Shango could summon storms using bata drums, which are still played by his devotees. He is also associated with fire and lightning, embodying the wrath of God. Statues often depict him with a double-headed battle-ax (oshe) emerging from his head, symbolizing his attributes of war and the slaying of enemies.
After his death, his followers claimed he ascended to the heavens on a chain and transformed into an orisha (divinity). Today, Shango is worshipped in religions like Vodou in Haiti, Santería in Cuba, and Candomblé in Brazil.
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How has Shango influenced cultures outside of West Africa?
Shango, a Yoruba deity, has significantly influenced cultures outside West Africa, particularly in the Americas, due to the transatlantic slave trade during the 18th and 19th centuries. Enslaved Yoruba, Bini, Ewe, and Fon people carried their religious beliefs with them, re-establishing the worship of orishas in the Caribbean and South America.
Shango's worship is evident in several religious traditions, including Vodou in Haiti, Santería in Cuba, and Candomblé in Brazil. Additionally, new religious movements like Trinidad Shango (also known as Shango Baptists) and the Afro-Brazilian cult Xangô in Recife also bear his name. The worship of Shango is also associated with the worship of other Yoruba deities, known as orishas.
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Shango, major deity of the religion of the Yoruba of southwestern Nigeria. He also figures in the religion of the Edo people of southeastern Nigeria, who refer to him as Esango, and in the religion of the Fon people of Benin, who call him Sogbo or Ebioso. Like all of the Yoruba gods (orishas), Shango is both a deified ancestor and a natural force, both aspects being associated with a cult and a priesthood.
The ancestral Shango was the fourth king of the town of Oyo. Oral tradition describes him as powerful, with a voice like thunder and a mouth that spewed fire when he spoke. When a subordinate chief challenged his rule, many townspeople were impressed by the subordinate’s feats of magic and deserted Shango. Defeated in the eyes of the majority of his subjects, Shango left Oyo and committed suicide by hanging himself. His faithful followers, however, claimed that he really ascended to the heavens on a chain. They claimed that his disappearance was not death but merely the occasion of his transformation into an orisha. He later took on some of the attributes of a preexisting deity, Jakuta, who represented the wrath of God and whose name continues to be associated with Shango in Cuba. Shango’s followers eventually succeeded in securing a place for their cult in the religious and political system of Oyo, and the Shango cult eventually became integral to the installation of Oyo’s kings. It spread widely when Oyo became the centre of an expansive empire dominating most of the other Yoruba kingdoms as well as the Edo and the Fon, both of whom incorporated Shango worship into their religions and continued his cult even after they ceased being under Oyo’s control.
The natural forces associated with Shango are fire and lightning. His most prominent ritual symbol is the oshe, a double-headed battle-ax. Statues representing Shango often show the oshe emerging directly from the top of his head, indicating that war and the slaying of enemies are his essential attributes. The oshe is also used by Shango’s priesthood. While dancing, priests hold a wooden oshe close to their chests as protection or swing it in a wide chest-high arc. During Shango’s reign, he selected the bata drum as the specific kind of drum to be played for him. Shango is said to have played bata drums to summon storms; they continue to be used by his devotees for that purpose.
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During the 18th and 19th centuries, thousands of Yoruba, Bini, and Fon people were enslaved and transported to the Americas. In some locations in the Caribbean and South America, African slaves and their descendants were able to reestablish Shango’s worship. In the early 21st century, Shango was worshipped in the Vodou religion of Haiti, the Santería tradition of Cuba, and also in the Candomblé cult of Brazil. Two new religious movements also bear his name: Trinidad Shango (also known as the Shango Baptists) and the Afro-Brazilian cult Xangô, most prominent in the city of Recife.