LATEST UPDATE:
Legends Of Africa
Sango of the Oyo Empire
Sango was the fourth king of the Oyo clan in
Yorubaland who brought prosperity to the
Empire he inherited. Many stories have been
told about him, and several myths surround
him. He stands as the cornerstone of a good
part of Afro-Caribbean religion and worship.
In Yorùbá mythology , Sango (Xango , Shango ),
or Changó in Latin America, is perhaps the
most popular Orisha. He is a Sky Father, spirit
of thunder and one of the principal ancestors of
the Yoruba people. In the Lukumí (O lukumi =
"my friend" or "one who joins with me"
religion
of the Caribbean, Sango is considered to be
the focal point as he represents the Oyos of
West Africa. The Oyo empire sold a lot of
people to the European slave dealers who took
then to the Caribbean and South America. It is
primarily for this reason that every major Orisha
initiation ceremony performed in Cuba , Puerto
Rico and Venezuela within the past few hundred
years has been based on the traditional Sango
ceremony of Ancient Oyo. Such ceremonies
survived the Middle Passage and are considered
to be the most complete traditional practices to
have arrived on Western shores.
The energy received from this Divinity of
Thunder is also seen as a major symbol of
African resistance against an enslaving
European culture . Sango rules the colors red
and white; his sacred number is 6; his symbol
is the oshe , which represents swift and
balanced justice. He is owner of the Bata (3
double-headed drums) and of music in general,
as well as the Art of Dance and Entertainment.
Sango is venerated in Haitian Vodou, as a god
of thunder and weather; in Brazilian Candomblé
Ketu (under the name Xangô ); in Umbanda, as
the powerful loa Nago Sango ; in Trinidad as
Sango Lord Of Thunder, drumming and
dance ; and in Cuba , Puerto Rico and Venezuela
- the Santería equivalent of St. Barbara, [1] a
traditional colonial disguise for the Divinity
known as Changó .
In art , Sango is depicted with a double-axe on
his three heads. He is associated with the holy
animal, the ram , and the holy colors of red and
white.
Legend also states that he initiated the style of
plaiting men's hair. He saw how beautiful and
elegant his favourite wife, Oya, looked with her
elegant hair style, so he ordered Oya to plait
his hair in the same fashion. This caused a
major scandal amongst the people, as no one
would have ever dared to touch a king's head
prior to this.
Emblem of Sango, the Yoruba god of
thunder.
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Legends Of Africa
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