Oshumare

Oshumare
  • Rainbows
  • Serpents
  • Permanence
  • Regeneration
  • Rebirth
Member of Orisha
An Umbandista dressed as Oshumare during the National Folklore Festival, Olímpia.
Other namesOṣumare or Oshumare;
Ochumaré or Oxumaré
Venerated inYoruba religion, Umbanda, Candomble, Santeria, Haitian Vodou, Folk Catholicism
Symbol
  • Wealth
  • Rainbow
  • Snake (especially the Python)
  • Drum
  • Gender Duality
Color
  • Purple or Burgundy
  • the Rainbow
RegionYorubaland, Latin America
Ethnic groupYoruba

Oshumare (known as Oxumaré in Brazil or Ochumaré in Cuba/Haiti/Puerto Rico) is an Orisha. Oshumare is the divine serpent spirit of the rainbow.

"Òṣùmàrè" in the Yoruba language signifies both the intangible "rainbow" and the mythic serpent that devours its own tail. Òṣùmàrè is also symbolically represented by the python (ere), thus also referred to as a "celestial python";. There also seems to be some connection to the Yoruba celestial deity Olódùmarè, whose name might be etymologically derived from ere (snake/python).

A common belief of the Oshumare is that it is both male and female. It is also known as a symbol of creation, human reproduction and the link between the world of the mundane and that of the ancestors.

The Oshumare of the Yoruba is somewhat equivalent to the "Dan Aìdó-huedó" (Ayida Wedo) of the Fon people of Benin, however, even closer parallels are evident in the Brazilian orixa Oxumare which derives directly from the Yoruba orisha Oshumare, and the Haitian Iwa Damballa Aida Wedo which descends from the Fon vodun Aida Wedo.

See also

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 Vega, Marta Moreno (2002). "The Candomblé and Eshu-Eleggua in Brazilian and Cuban Yoruba-Based Ritual". In Harrison, Paul Carter; Walker, Victor Leo, II; Edwards, Gus (eds.). Black theatre: ritual performance in the African diaspora. Philadelphia: Temple University Press. p. 156. ISBN 978-1-56639-944-9. Retrieved 2010-04-27.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Rush, Dana (Winter 2001). "Contemporary Vodun Arts of Ouidah, Benin". African Arts. 34 (4). Nanzan University: 45. doi:10.2307/3337805. JSTOR 3337805.
  3. ↑ Brown, David H. (2021). "3. Myths of the Yoruba Past". Santería Enthroned: Art, Ritual, and Innovation in an Afro-Cuban Religion. Taylor & Francis. p. 141. ISBN 9781000124378.
  4. ↑ Washington, Teresa N. (2010). "Nickels in the Nation Sack : Continuity in Africana Spiritual Technologies". The Journal of Pan African Studies. 3 (4): 5–28.
  5. ↑ Washington, Teresa N. (2015). Our mothers, our powers, our texts: manifestations of Àjé in Africana literature. Oya's Tornado. pp. 43–44. ISBN 978-0-9910730-5-4.
  6. ↑ Lawal (2008), p. 26.
  7. ↑ Lawal (2008), p. 27.
  8. ↑ Lawal (2008), pp. 26–27, quoted and paraphrased in Odwirafo Kwesi Ra Nehem Ptah Akhan (no date) NYANKOPON and NYANKONTON - RA and RAIT, p. 15.
  9. ↑ Black theatre: ritual performance in the African diaspora. Temple University Press. 2002. p. 418. ISBN 9781566399449.
  10. ↑ Roberts, Allen F. (April 1992). "Chance Encounters, Ironic Collage". African Arts. 25 (2): 54–63, 97–98. doi:10.2307/3337060. JSTOR 3337060.

Bibliography