Is Yemaya a mermaid?
From the Yoruba religion, Yemaya was brought over to the New World by enslaved Africans as early as the 16th century. Often depicted as a queenly mermaid, Yemaya is considered the Ocean Mother Goddess in Santería, an Afro-Caribbean religion practiced around the world.
What is Yemanja?
Yemanja is a powerful sea goddess from the Brazilian religion known as Macumba or Candomblé. Many practitioners of this religion see Yemanja as similar to the Blessed Virgin Mary in Roman Catholicism. In some regions of the country and in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil’s capital city, people celebrate Yemanja on January 1.
Who is the orisha of the ocean?
Yemaya
Yemaya is the orisha of the surface of the ocean. She is the other half of Olokun, sometimes a sister and sometimes a wife (sometimes, both deities are androgynous). While Olokun is the Keeper of Secrets and rules over the depths of the ocean, Yemaya presides over the surface waters.
What do mermaids do?
In some cultures, the mermaid signifies life and fertility within the ocean. In others, she embodies the destructive nature of the water, luring sailors to their deaths — serving as an omen for storms, unruly seas and disaster.
What are Yemaya colors?
Yemanjá is motherly and strongly protective, and cares deeply for all her children, comforting them and cleansing them of sorrow….
| Yemọja | |
|---|---|
| Day | 2 February 31 December 8 December 7 September |
| Color | Blue and White/Crystal beads |
| Region | Yorubaland, Brazil, Cuba |
| Ethnic group | Yoruba people, |
Who is the strongest orisha?
Ṣàngó
Ṣàngó is viewed as the most powerful and feared of the orisha pantheon. He casts a “thunderstone” to earth, which creates thunder and lightning, to anyone who offends him.
Is Yemaya jealous?
She is considered one of the most powerful of all orishas, and, like other gods, she possesses human attributes such as vanity, jealousy, and spite. Oshun, being one of the original 17 sent to Earth, was the only female deity.
Who is the god of Africa?
There is no single God of Africa, as each region has its own supreme God and other Gods and Goddesses based on their practices. In different countries of Africa, there are different Gods and Goddesses from different African mythologies that are worshipped.
Is it true that Yemaya is a mermaid?
Yemaya is also often depicted as a mermaid. But symbols and iconography have a way of grounding the spiritual into something more tangible so that we can better understand it. And Yemaya exists outside narrow boxes of classification, outside of iconography. She takes all forms, yet we strive to put a face to her.
Who is Yemaya the goddess of the ocean?
As one of the eldest children of Olodumare, the Supreme Being or Creator of the Universe, Yemaya is one of the most widely worshipped of the Orishas or “demi-gods” associated with different elements or forces of nature.
When did Yemaya come to the New World?
The History of Yemaya, Santeria’s Queenly Ocean Goddess Mermaid From the Yoruba religion, Yemaya was brought over to the New World by enslaved Africans as early as the 16th century. By Amber C. Snide r July 9, 2019
Who is the goddess of water and mermaids?
Mermaids can be found from every culture and from all continents. There once was a goddess who is believed to be the inspiration to all the mermaids stories that have been told around the world for thousands and thousands of years. This goddess was Assyrian goddess Atargatis.
