View source for Ọya

{{Short description|Spirit of the Yorùbá religion}}
{{Other uses|Oya (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox deity
| type = Yoruba
| other_names = Oyá '''or '''Oiá'''; '''Yàńsàn-án''' or '''Yansã'''; and '''Iansá''' or '''Iansã
| member_of = [[Orisha]]
| venerated_in = [[Yorùbá religion]], [[Umbanda]], [[Candomble]], [[Quimbanda]], [[Santeria]], [[Haitian Vodou]], [[Folk Catholicism]]
| image = Iansã.jpg
| caption = Iansã Sculpture at the Catacumba Park, [[Rio de Janeiro]], [[Brazil]]
| deity_of = Storms, wind, thunder, lightning, the dead
| color = purple or red/burgundy, the rainbow
| region = [[South West (Nigeria)|Nigeria]], [[Benin]], [[Latin America]]
| ethnic_group = [[Yoruba people|Yorùbá]]
| symbol = lightning, the sword or machete, the flywhisk, water buffalo
| spouse = [[Shango]]<p>[[Ogun]]</p><p>[[Oko (orisha)|Oko]]</p>
}}
'''Ọya''' ([[Yorùbá language|Yorùbá]]: ''Ọya'', also known as '''Oyá '''or '''Oiá'''; '''Yàńsàn-án''' or '''Yansã'''; and '''Iansá''' or '''Iansã''' in [[Latin America]]) is an [[Orisha]] of winds, lightning, and violent storms.<ref name="ad"/> As a river deity she is also regarded as a deity of children, able to provide children to her devotees or those who come to her banks at the [[Niger river]].
== Beliefs ==
Ọya lived on Earth as a human from the town of Ira, in present day [[Kwara state]], [[Nigeria]], where she was a wife of the [[Alaafin of Oyo]], [[Shango]]. In [[Yorùbá language|Yorùbá]], the name Ọya is believed to derive from the phrase coined from "ọ ya" which means "she tore," referring to her association with powerful winds. She was believed to have the power to [[shape-shift]] into a [[African buffalo|buffalo]], and is often depicted as one in traditional Yorùbá poetry. As such, the buffalo serves as a major symbol of Ọya, and it is forbidden for her priests to kill one.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p52Envn3rLkC&q=%22oya+means%22+yoruba&pg=PA8 |title=Sexuality and the World's Religions |editor1= Machacek, David W. |editor2=Melissa M. Wilcox |publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]] |date=2003 |isbn=9781576073599|access-date=24 September 2012}}</ref> She is known as '''Ọya Ìyáńsàn-án, '''the "mother of nine", because of the nine children she gave birth to with her third husband [[Oko (orisha)|Oko]], after suffering from a lifetime of [[barrenness]]. She is the patroness of the [[Niger River]] (known to the [[Yorùbá people|Yorùbá]] as the Odò-Ọya).<ref>[http://mixbrasil.uol.com.br/cultura/especiais/yansa/yansa.asp A Bahia de Santa Bárbara] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051122233643/http://mixbrasil.uol.com.br/cultura/especiais/yansa/yansa.asp |date=22 November 2005 }}</ref>
In the [[Yoruba religion]], Ọya was married three times, first to the warrior orisha [[Ogun]], then [[Shango]], and finally, another hunting and farming deity, Oko.
Oya was traditionally worshipped only in the areas of [[Yorubaland]] once under the control and influence of the [[Oyo Empire]]. Because of the [[Atlantic slave trade]], many of her followers of [[Oyo Empire|Oyo]] origin were kidnapped and sold to the New World, where her worship became widespread. Oya worship has also spread to other parts of Yorubaland.
{{Orisa-Ifá sidebar}}
==Candomblé==
In [[Candomblé]], Oya is known as Oiá, lyá Mésàn, or most commonly, Iansã, from the Yoruba ''Yánsán''.  Iansã, as in [[Yoruba people|Yoruba]] religion, commands winds, storms, and lightning. She is the queen of the [[Niger River|river Niger]] and the mother of nine. She is a warrior and is unbeatable. Attributes of Iansã include great intensity of feelings, sensations, and charm. Another ability attributed to Iansã is control over the mysteries that surround the dead.<ref name="oba"/> Iansã is syncretized with [[Saint Barbara]].<ref name="henry"/> In the Candomblé ''nação'' (association) of Angola Congo, Iansã is associated with the color red.<ref name="b"/>
===Characteristics===
* Salutation: "Eeparrei!", or "Epahhey, Oia!"
* Consecrated day: Thursday
* Colors: red, purple and rainbow, burgundy
* Symbols: "Buffalo tail" ''eruquerê'', a ritual object; or a copper sword
* Prohibitions: pumpkin, stingray, and mutton
* Food: [[Akara|acarajé/àkàrà]]<ref name="abc"/>
===Ritual foods===
[[Acarajé]] is a spherical patty made with peeled, crushed black-eyed peas, stuffed with small shrimp, okra, crushed peanuts, and other savory, piquant spices. The ball-like patty is fried in dendê oil ([[red palm oil]]). It's a traditional Afro-Brazilian dish that is also a traditional offering to Iansã in the [[Candomblé]] tradition. A simple, unseasoned form of acarajé is used in rituals and a version served with various condiments is sold as a common street food in [[Bahia]] in the northeast of Brazil. Ipeté and bobo de inhame are also associated with Iansã.<ref name="b"/>
In Yorùbá, her food is [[Àkàrà]]. Eggplant, mulberries, pudding, and dark chocolate are also foods for Oya.
==See also==
* [[Egungun-oya]]
{{portal|Traditional African religion}}
==Bibliography==
* Judith Gleason, ''Oya'', San Francisco: Harper, 1992 (Shamballah, 1987), {{ISBN|0-06-250461-4}}
* Charles Spencer King, ''Nature's Ancient Religion'', {{ISBN|978-1-4404-1733-7}}
==References==
{{reflist|30em|refs=
<ref name="abc">{{cite book | last = Araujo | first = Carlos de | title = ABC dos orixás | publisher = Nordica | location = Rio de Janeiro, RJ | year = 1993 | isbn = 9788570072252 | language = pt | pages = 72–74}}</ref>
<ref name="ad">{{cite book | last = Adeoye | first = C. L. | title = Ìgbàgbọ́ àti ẹ̀sìn Yorùba | publisher = Evans Bros. Nigeria Publishers | location = Ibadan | year = 1989 | isbn = 9781675098 | pages = 303 | language = yo}}</ref>
<ref name="b">{{cite book | last = Barbosa | first = Ademir | title = Dicionário de Umbanda | publisher = Anubis | location = São Paulo | year = 2015 | isbn = 9788567855264 | pages = 108–109, 240}}</ref>
<ref name="oba">{{cite book | title = Obaràyí : babalorixá Balbino Daniel de Paula | publisher = Barabô Design Gráfico e Editora | location = Salvador, Bahia, Brasil | year = 2009 | isbn = 9788562542008 | page=568}}</ref>
<ref name="henry">{{cite book | last = Henry | first = Clarence Bernard | title = Let's Make Some Noise: Axé and the African Roots of Brazilian Popular Music | publisher = [[University Press of Mississippi]] | location = Jackson, Mississippi | year = 2008 | isbn = 9781604730821}}</ref>
}}
{{Orisa-Ifá}}
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[[Category:Brazilian deities]]
[[Category:Death goddesses]]
[[Category:Santería]]
[[Category:Sea and river goddesses]]
[[Category:Sky and weather goddesses]]
[[Category:Thunder goddesses]]
[[Category:War goddesses]]
[[Category:Wind goddesses]]
[[Category:Yoruba goddesses]]
[[Category:Afro-American religion]]
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