Shango (Oya) Shrine Figure with Child

Origin: Yoruba Tribe, Nigeria
Composition: wood, pigment

Within the complex Yoruba belief system, the deities Shango and Oya (his wife) are related in numerous ways, and are quite inseparable. Although the original context of this shrine figure is uncertain, the high-rise coiffure is characteristic of carvings found in shrines dedicated to Oya, the goddess of the tornado and the River Niger. Shango, to whom many shrines are dedicated, is the god of thunder and lightning. The crude double-axe motif on Oya’s coiffure is a metaphor for the thunderbolt that, according to popular belief, Shango hurls down from the sky during thunderstorms.

In popular imagination, Oya is the gale accompanying the thunderstorm, heralding the thunderous majesty of Shango. Because of the collaboration between the pair, Oya’s sacred symbol (a pair of buffalo horns) is often found in shrines to Shango, and Shango’s sacred symbol (the double-axe) is often used to adorn Oya. Like her husband, Oya is tempermental, and must be wooed with emotional intensity. As the controller of rainfall, Shango represents the dynamic, fecund principle in nature, which explains the emphasis on the female in Shango art and rituals (and in the case of this statue, the concept of maternity) (Ref: Africa: The Art of a Continent).