Yemaya is the Yoruban Orisha or Goddess
of the living Ocean, considered the Mother of All. She
is the source of all the waters, including the rivers of
Western Africa, especially the River Ogun. Her name is
a contraction of Yey Omo Eja, which means "Mother
Whose Children are the Fish". As all life is thought
to have begun in the Sea, all life is held to have begun
with Yemaya. She is motherly and strongly protective, and
cares deeply for all Her children, comforting them and
cleansing them of sorrow. She is said to be able to cure
infertility in women, and cowrie shells represent Her wealth.
She does not easily lose Her temper, but when angered She
can be quite destructive and violent, as the Sea in a storm.
Yemaya was brought to the New World with
the African diaspora and She is now worshipped in many
cultures besides Her original Africa. In Brazilian Candomblé,
where She is known as Yemanja or Imanje, She is the Sea
Mother who brings fish to the fishermen, and the crescent
moon is Her sign. As Yemanja Afodo, also of Brazil, She
protects boats travelling on the Sea and grants safe passage.
In Haitian Vodou She is worshipped as a
Moon-goddess, and is believed to protect mothers and their
children. She is associated with the mermaid-spirits of
Lasirenn (Herself a form of Erzulie)
who brings seduction and wealth, and Labalenn, Her sister
the whale.
Yemaya rules over the surface of the ocean,
where life is concentrated. She is associated with the
Orisha Olokin (who is variously described as female, male,
or hermaphrodite) who represents the depths of the Ocean
and the unconscious, and together They form a balance.
She is the sister and wife of Aganju, the god of the soil,
and the mother of Oya,
goddess of the winds.
Our Lady of Regla in Brazil may be linked
to Her, and She is equated elsewhere in the Americas with
the Virgin
Mary as the Great Mother. In parts of Brazil
She is honored as the Ocean Goddess at the summer solstice,
while in the north east of the country Her festival is
held on February 2nd (a day that is also associated with
Her daughter Oya, as well as being the feast day of the
Celtic Bride),
with offerings of blue and white flowers cast into the
Sea.
Yemaya's colors are blue and white, and
She is said to wear a dress with seven skirts that represent
the seven seas. Sacred to Her are peacocks, with their
beautiful blue/green iridescence, and ducks. The number
seven is Hers, also for the seven seas.
Alternate spellings: Yemanja, Yemojá,
Yemonja, Yemalla, Yemana, Ymoja, Iamanje, Iemonja, Imanje
Epithets: Achabba, in Her strict aspect;
Oqqutte in Her violent aspect: Atarmagwa, the wealthy queen
of the sea; Olokun or Olokum as goddess of dreams
Also called: Mama Watta, "Mother of
the Waters"
