Who is Yemaya?

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Yemaya is an Osha of the Head's Oshas group. Yemaya is the mother of all the children in the Earth, Iyá Omo Aiyé. She represents the uterus in any specie, the source of the life, the fertility, the maternity. In the nature she is symbolized by the waves of the sea, like her dance that resembles the motion of the ocean.

Yemaya is the Orisha of the Oggùn river that runs by Òyó and Abeokutá, in the Nupe territory, transfer to territory Cover, in Abeokutá, Ibadán and Shaki. Yemaya when punishes is inflexible, she is a fortune teller par excellence, she robbed the okpele of Orula and he gave her the diloggún. She is the owner of waters and the sea, source of all the life. Queen of Abeokutá. Her name comes from the Yorùbá Yemòjá (Yeyé: mother - Omo: son - Eyá: Fish) literally mother of the fish. It is said that we all are her children, as for 9 months we swam like fish in the placenta of our mother. She always eats next to Shango, except Yemaya Okute that eats with Oggun.

She is received as a tutelar Orishaand in the Sodo Orisha her omo does not receive Oyá. Before the crowning, ceremonies are made at least 7 days before in the sea. Her otás are 7 dark or black stones that shelter there.

She is compared with the Virgin of Regla (7 of September). Her number is the 7 and its multiples. Her color is blue and its tonalities. She is greeted Omío Yemaya Omoloddé! Yemaya Ataramawa!

Family of Yemaya:

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Daughter of Olokun, for that reason she is related to the sea. She was wife of Obbatala, Orunla, Aggayu, Babalu ayé, Orisha Oko and in one of her ways of Oggun. Sister of Oshún. She was the mother of most of the Orishas and raised the others.

Diloggún in Yemaya:

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Speaks in diloggún fundamentally by Oddí (7), although also does by Irosso (4).

Tools of Yemaya:

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She lives in a sopera or tinaja of blue color or bluish tonalities that contains her otás and with water. Her attributes are 7 oars, 7 adanes (handles), a crown, rudder, boats, seahorses, fish, shells, chorales, a sun, a full moon, 1 hand of snails, a mermaid, plates, a life-guard, a star, a key, a maraca painted of blue, round fans, a pylon and all related to the sea, silver or silverplated.

Her more traditional elekes are made putting in 7 blue beads, 1 blue overseas and 7 of water.

Yemaya's tools of power.

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An agbegbe, a fan of duck pens or decorated peacock with madreper and shells. An object done with hairs of the tail of the horse with blue and white accounts. A bell to be called.

Suits of Yemaya:

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Yemaya dresses a mantle crepe in a dress navy blue, that can have adornments in blue and white. It takes small bells sewn on its. She has her agbegbe and a wide belt of cotton with a rhomboid in the stomach around her waist.

Dances of Yemaya:

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When Yemaya comes dows she arrives in outbursts of laughter. Her body moves like the waves of the ocean, one moment smoothly, then shaken by the storm. Then she begins to turn like a whirl. She can imitate to be swimming or diving in the ocean bringing the treasures of the bottom for her children. Also she can imitate to be rowing. The other dancers do a circle around her making movements like the waves that increases in speed until they begin to turn.

Offerings to Yemaya:

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She is offered yemaya's Ochinchin made with hard shrimps, capers, lettuce, eggs, tomato and beet, ekó (tamale of corn that become involved in banana leaves), olelé (frijoles of carita or porotos covered with jengibre, garlic and onion), green bananas in balls or ñame with gumbo, black porotos, dumbbells of gofio with melado of cane, coconut, black sugar, fish, watermelon, papayas, grapes, pears of water, apples, oranges, melado sugar of cane, etc. To her are inmolated sheep, ducks, hens, hens of Angola, doves, quails.

Her ewes are itamo real, white lettuce, peregun, water atiponlá, mejorana, mazorquilla, flower, meloncillo, grass indigo, watercress, verbena, malanguilla, paragüita, prodigious, fern, cockroach, malanga, golden purl, basil, good grass, gold button, grass of the girl, carqueja, ten of the day, rattan of jaiba, male ubí rattan, bitter rattan, verdolaga, jagua, the slime of sea, avocado, plum, pichona, cosmall stick of the mount, etc. are.

Crowning Yemaya. Kari-Osha:

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In order to crown this Osha one receives the warrior Orishas, then during the crowning the following.
Elegguá, Obbatalá, Oke, Yemaya, Ibeyis, Shangó, Ogué and Oshún.

Paths of Yemaya:

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Her paths are:

Characteristics of the Omo Yemaya:

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Willful, strong and rigorous. Sometimes they are impetuous arrogant and maternales or paternales, of changing character like the sea, barren moments and brave moments. The men in many occasions are mannered and of feminine attitudes and must take care of themselves of not being taken by homosexuals. They like to put on approval of their friends, are recienten of the offenses and they never forget them, although they pardon them. They love the luxury and the magnificence. They are a little too formal and have a high degree of self-esteem.

Patakies de Yemaya:

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Yemaya was married with Orula, great fortune-teller of Ifé, that made miracles and had a great ammount of customers. In those days, Orula was intimately united to the secret of the snails (Diloggun), because Yemaya, owner of the sea, fish, snails and all the sailor, communicated it to him. As well, he interpreted those secrets through the Odduns.

It happened that one day Orula had to make long and tedious trip to attend a meeting of the Awó that Olofin had summoned, and as it were delayed more than what Yemaya imagined, she got with no money, so she decided to apply to her technique and wisdom to consult those who needed aid.

When somebody came to look for Orula to consult itself, she said not worru and she threw the Diloggun. Like she was birth fortune-teller, her predictions were of great success and her ebboses saved much people.

Orula, on his way home, heard that there was a miraculous fortune-teller woman in his town. Intrigued, he disguised and started asking for the place where that woman lived, shockingly he arrived at his own house.

Yemaya, when discovering , said him:
What you thought, that i was going to die of hunger?

So, Orula, infuriated, took her in front of Olofin, who he decided that Orúnmila registered with okpele, ikines and Até of Ifá, and that Yemaya dominated the Diloggun. But he made notice Orula that when the sign of Yemaya appeared on the Atefa, all babalawos have to bow to her touching with the forehead the board and to say: Ebbo Fi Eboada.