She also figures prominently in the folk art of Africa, with her image adorning walls of bars and living rooms, album covers, and other items. Yemaya is the Yorùbá Orisha or Goddess of the living Ocean, considered the mother of all. Beyer, Catherine. The new environment only served to emphasize the enslaved's connection to water. The White Goddess Pantheons: African Gods and Goddesses. [3] She may also manifest in a number of other forms, including as a man. Commonly thought to be a single entity, the term has been applied to a number of African water deity traditions across various cultures. MAMI WATA: THE SACRED FEMALE AFRICAN WATER DEITY At once beautiful, protective, seductive, and potentially deadly, the water spirit Mami Wata (Mother Water) is celebrated throughout much of Africa and the African Atlantic worlds. Upon noticing the intruder, she flees into the water and leaves her possessions behind. In Nigeria, for example, she takes the blame for everything from headaches to sterility. [7], Traditions on both sides of the Atlantic tell of the spirit abducting her followers or random people whilst they are swimming or boating. "Mami Wata: Arts for Water Spirits in Africa and Its Diasporas". Mami Wata: Africa's Ancient Goddess Unveiled Mami Wata Healers Society of North America Inc.,Martinez, GA., 2006. Oshun is the seductive orisha of love and marriage and fertility, and she rules the genitals and the lower abdomen. Despite being Japanese, her skin is darkened in the Japanese ganguro style. [10][11][12] In other tales, Mami Wata is fully human in appearance (though never human). According to Bastian, Mami Wata's association with sex and lust is somewhat paradoxically linked to one with fidelity. These returnees often grow wealthier, more attractive, and more easygoing after the encounter. The woman will thus be less likely to become wealthy or attractive through her devotion to Mami Wata. She brings them to her paradisiacal realm, which may be underwater, in the spirit world, or both. "[citation needed], Van Stipriaan also believes that this period introduced West Africa to what would become the definitive image of Mami Wata. In Guiana, for example, slaves had to fight back swamp waters on the plantations they worked. Most scholarly sources suggest the name "Mami Wata" is a pidgin English derivation of "Mother Water", reflecting the goddess's title ("mother of water" or "grandmother of water") in the Agni language of Côte d'Ivoire, although this etymology has been disputed by Africanist writers in favor of various non-English etymologies, for example, the suggestion of a linguistic derivation from ancient Egyptian and Mesopota… Oya rules the dead and is involved with the ancestors, cemeteries, and the wind. The people of the Cross River area often whiten their skin with talcum or other substances for rituals and for cosmetic reasons, for example. Mamy-Wata is also the title of a satirical Cameroonian newspaper. She is associated with Our Lady of Candlemas, St. Teresa and Our Lady of Mount Carmel. She is also associated with tuberculosis and intestinal disorders. Tucker recorded a song named "La Sirene" in honor of Mami Watanabe. Myth of mermaids is popular all around the world, but the African water spirit Mami Wata remained respected and celebrated from the time before the African nations came in contact with Europe, through the ages, and even up to today where she is venerated in West, Central, Southern Africa and the diaspora in Americas. Meanwhile, Congolese and Zambian artists spread Mami Wata images throughout public places in Zambia. Anẓar, god of rain in Berber mythology. [22], According to Hounnon Behumbeza, high priest of the Mami Wata tradition in West Africa (Benin, Togo and Ghana), "The Mami Wata tradition consists of a huge pantheon of deities and spirits, not just the often portrayed mermaid". Oshun is associated with Our Lady of Charity, an aspect of the Virgin Mary focused on hope and survival, particularly in relation to the sea. Trumpeter Hugh Masekela recorded a song titled "Mami Wata", which appears on the CD version of his album The Boy's Doin' It.[36]. "Water Spirits and Mermaids: The Copperbelt Case", Mami Wata: Arts for Water Spirits in Africa and Its Diasporas, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mami_Wata&oldid=1009625211, Articles with unsourced statements from November 2020, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2018, Articles needing additional references from March 2014, All articles needing additional references, Wikipedia articles with WORLDCATID identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Water, the sea, mermaids, markets, divination, healing, luck, money, music, Maman de l'Eau ("Mother of the Water"), Maman Dlo, Mama Glo. She is the lover of Papa Bois, a nature spirit. A pipe might also represent him. According to a Nigerian tradition, male followers may encounter the spirit in the guise of a beautiful, sexually promiscuous woman, such as a prostitute. [8], Mami Wata is often described as a mermaid-like figure, with a woman's upper body (often nude) and the hindquarters of a fish or serpent. Further diffusion might have occurred during the Biafran secessionist Nigerian Civil War, which began in 1967. Orunla is most commonly associated with St. Francis of Assisi, although the reasons are not obvious. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. In her form as the mother of salt waters, she is known as Yemaya. (2020, August 27). [21] On the other hand, white is traditionally associated with the spirit world in many cultures of Nigeria. In Southern Africa, for example, Mami Wata is sometimes said to be able to fly around in the form of a tornado, an adopted aspect from the khanyapa water spirit. Many traditions hold that Mami Wata herself is barren, so if she gives a woman a child, that woman inherently becomes more distanced from the spirit's true nature. This identification was also made by Drewal in a 2012 book chapter on Mami Wata. Mami Wata embodies the power of money, wealthy and fame acquired in the absence of ethical laws and obligations to the neighbour. Also in attendance were Benin Republic's minister of culture and several local government officials. At this point, Mami Wata possesses the person and speaks to him or her. "The Orishas: Orunla, Osain, Oshun, Oya, and Yemaya." Her name Mami Watanabe is a play on Mami Wata. She then demands his complete sexual faithfulness and secrecy about the matter. Authors who have featured her in their fiction include Wayne Gerard Trotman as Mama Dlo in his novel Kaya Abaniah and the Father of the Forest, Patrick Chamoiseau, Alex Godard, Rose Marie Guiraud (Côte d'Ivoire), Flora Nwapa, and Véronique Tadjo (Côte d'Ivoire). Nwaanyi Mara Mma: Mami Wata. She is also associated with rivers and other sources of fresh water. Yemoja is the African Goddess of the Ocean and the patron diety of pregnant women. [4] This regalia may also include a cloth snake wrapped about the waist. The Orisha are said to be manifestations of an all-powerful God, (a belief known as Pantheism). He did discover a very similar photograph titled Die samoanische Schlangenbändigerin Maladamatjaute ("the Samoan Snake Charmer (fem.) She is particularly associated with feminine beauty, as well as relationships between people in general. [3][4] Most scholarly sources suggest the name "Mami Wata" is a pidgin English derivation of "Mother Water", reflecting the goddess's title ("mother of water" or "grandmother of water") in the Agni language of Côte d'Ivoire,[5] although this etymology has been disputed by Africanist writers in favor of various non-English etymologies, for example, the suggestion of a linguistic derivation from ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian, such as the Egyptian terms "Mami" or "Mama", meaning "truth" "Uati" or "Uat-Ur" for "ocean water". In one tale, the orishas decided that they no longer needed Olodumare. The people who inhabit the coastal region from Benin, Ghana and Togo worship a vast pantheon of water deities, of which Mami Wata is most prominent. The pan-African water deity is assimilating native water spirits in this region, many of them serpent figures. They may have spread their own water-spirit beliefs with them and helped to standardise conceptions in West Africa. Water deities are common in mythology and were usually more important among civilizations in which the sea or ocean, or a great river was more important. In this second episode, Wade speculates that legends of Mami Wata in Guyana could have originated by Arapaima attacks. Mamlambo (goddess of rivers, Zulu people of South Africa) Mawu-Lisa (creator goddess, Fon people of Benin) Mbaba Mwana Waresa (goddess of the rainbow, Zulu people of South Africa) Majaji (goddess of rain, Lovedu people of South Africa) Olodumare, in response, created a great drought that none of the orishas could reverse. [33] Similar to many other depictions of Mami Wata, Lasirenn is often shown gazing at herself in a mirror, a symbolic representation of her beauty. As an indication of how revered Mami Wata is in the region, Hounnon Behumbeza's coronation as Supreme Chief of Mami Wata was broadcast[17] live on various television news programs, and featured in local newspapers. Fire, a lance, a black horsetail, or a copper crown with nine points all represent Oya, who is also associated with copper in general. Mami Wata: Water Offering Videos in Benin West Africa (c). Her origins are in Christian, African, and indigenous culture. Yoruba Childbirth Goddess Also known as Iamanjie, Yemanja, Yemayah, Yembo, Yemoja, Yemonja, Yemowo The Mother of Water and Childbirth Her stylish blue … There the spirit became a popular subject of Congolese folk painters, who placed her on the walls of bars, stores, and marketplace stalls. A water deity is a deity in mythology associated with water or various bodies of water. "Annotaties op het boek van J. D. Herlein, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Nwaanyi Mara Mma: Mami Wata, the More Than Beautiful Woman", Modernity and mystery: Mami Wata in African art, "Hounnon Behumbeza Appointed Supreme Chief of Mami Wata", "Ethnographies of new clinical encounters: immigrant's emotional struggles and transcultural psychiatry in Portugal", "Ghana: Des scientifiques ghanéens percent le mystère de "Mamy Water, Trajektorien einer Ikone, Hans Himmelheber und die Erforschung des Mami Wata-Kults, "Beauteous Beast: The Water Deity Mami Wata in Africa". Ostara (Celtic) Painted eggs and white rabbits are sacred to Ostara, the Celtic Goddess of Spring, fertility and rebirth. Catherine Beyer is a practicing Wiccan who has taught religion in at Lakeland College in Wisconsin as well as humanities and Western culture at the University of Wisconsin, Green Bay. Maladamatjaute") in the collection of the Wilhelm-Zimmermann Archive in Hamburg. She is referred to again in the "Body Snatcher" episode set in Guyana. In the mid-1950s, traders imported copies of The Snake Charmer from Bombay and England and sold them throughout Africa. Oya. My introduction to the teaching of the Dagara people was through two books written by Malidoma Patrice Some – ‘Of Water and the Spirit‘ and ‘The Healing Wisdom of Africa‘.Somé, a Dagara shaman, shares his vision for connecting with nature through rituals based on the five Dagara elements. Her mirror represents a movement through the present and the future; her devotees are able to create their own reality through an imaging of themselves in their own recreation of Mami Wata's world. [1] People began creating Mami Wata art of their own, much of it influenced by the lithograph. [18], As other deities become absorbed into the figure of Mami Wata, the spirit often takes on characteristics unique to a particular region or culture. [32] Lasirenn is often depicted as a half-fish, half-human being, but is occasionally portrayed as a whale. Followers dance to the point of entering a trance. Oya rules the dead and is involved with the ancestors, cemeteries, and the wind. Hare Ke (West African) Goddess of the sweet waters fed by the spring rains that brought fertility back to the land. Visual artists especially seem drawn to her image, and both wealthier Africans and tourists buy paintings and wooden sculptures of the spirit. This led to a new level of standardisation of priests, initiations of new devotees, healing rituals, and temples.[3]. She is often associated with queer relationships among Black women. Images of women with children often decorate shrines to the spirit.[4]. Orunla, or Orunmila, is the wise orisha of divination and human destiny. It may have to do with Francis's common depiction of holding rosary beads, which resembles Orunla's divination chain. Juno is the Roman goddess most associated with marriage and fertility. She also has a tattoo of a snake on her body and receives a watch and a mirror as gifts in the series, two items generally associated with Mami Wata. He is forced to use a twisted tree branch as a crutch, which is a common symbol for him. Retrieved from https://www.learnreligions.com/orunla-osain-oshun-oya-and-yemaya-95923. Africa has many interesting stories and legends, especially Zambia. Her worship is as diverse as her initiates, priesthood and worshippers,[16] although some parallels may be drawn. She is honored not only in Africa but in Brazil. She is also a warrior, sometimes depicted as putting on pants or even a beard to go to war, particularly at Chango's side. Their perceived wealth may have helped establish the spirit as one of good fortune. Pisces, the final sign of the zodiac, is normally depicted as two fish swimming in opposite directions. Mami Wata often carries expensive baubles such as combs, mirrors, and watches. Olodumare relented and returned the water to the world, and the peacock transformed into a vulture. Fans, seashells, canoes, coral, and the moon all represent her. Mami Wata spirits are usually female, but are sometimes male. [4], Another prominent aspect of the Mami Wata deities is their connection to healing. The character Mami Watanabe from the comic book Factionalists is the physical manifestation of the spirit entity Mami Wata. She is inevitably grooming herself, combing her hair, and peering at herself in a mirror. Most of these were regarded as female. Her colors are white and blue. Ted Soqui/Getty Images. The story of her search for a husband is well known, and recently appeared in a beautifully illustrated children's book. The Orishas: Aganyu, Babalu-Aye, Chango, and Eleggua, The God of Wealth and Other Deities of Prosperity and Money, Key Nature Goddesses From Around the World, Satanic Infernal Names of Biblical and Hebraic Origin, The Five Element Symbols of Fire, Water, Air, Earth, Spirit, Geometric Shapes and Their Symbolic Meanings, Maman Brigitte, Loa of the Dead in Voodoo Religion, M.A., History, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. She is the personification of the Niger River and has the power to shapeshift into a water buffalo (and in some stories, other animals in the wilderness). The orishas are the gods of Santeria, the beings that believers interact with on a regular basis. In the creation myths of the Yoruba, the creator Olodumare first created a mortal god … He is most often associated with Pope St. Sylvester I, but he is also sometimes associated with St. John, St. Ambrose, St Anthony Abad, St. Joseph, and St. Benito. Most African cultures, if not all, believe in a Supreme Creator in one form or another. [4], In fact, barren mothers often call upon the spirit to cure their affliction. The pan-African water spirit is assimilating native water spirits in this region, many of them serpent figures. Modern DRC, Lesotho, South Africa, and Zambia today form the current boundary of the Mami Wata cult, albeit a blurred one. ... A Feminine, Mutable Water Sign. [2], The appearance of her hair ranges from straight, curly to kinky black and combed straight back. She is the source of all the waters, including the rivers of western Africa, especially the River Ogun. These African cultures were often matriarchical and though "Mami Wata" can refer to both male and female deities, they are most typically thought of as feminine and most often take on a female form in artistic representations. [7], Historical evidence for such a deep antiquity of the goddess's tradition has never been offered. Art: (photos & sculptures of Mami Wata) Museum-Fuer-Voelkerkunde Kunst. Later, an antagonist interprets another alien in female form as Mami Wata and surrenders to her seduction, accompanying her into the sea to be transformed. Working toward one's destiny is to promote harmony. Another important focus of worship of water deities were springs or holy wells. Hounnon Behumbeza Appointed Supreme Chief of Mami Wata February 15, 2020(c) Behumbeza. Yemaya is a mother goddess, the goddess of home, fertility, love and family. https://www.learnreligions.com/orunla-osain-oshun-oya-and-yemaya-95923 (accessed March 2, 2021). Singer-songwriter S.J. [6] While the exact context of the etymology has been challenged, the purpose of Mami Wata's name derived from pidgin English is to both distinguish her "otherness" and connection with the African and African diaspora. She is described as a strong-willed, sensual siren who possesses the ability to drown those enticed by her. Learn Religions, Aug. 27, 2020, learnreligions.com/orunla-osain-oshun-oya-and-yemaya-95923. She is also often understood to be the older sister of Oshun, who oversees the rivers. ... She was also a water goddess and goddess of childbirth. Furthermore, a relative lack of freedom compared to their African brethren prevented the homogenisation that occurred with the Mami Wata cult across the Atlantic. When Winti was outlawed in the 1970s, her religious practices lost some of their importance in Suriname. She thus has many priests and mediums in Africa, America and in the Caribbean who are specifically born and initiated to her. Some examples are the Congolese-Zambian chitapo or nakamwale, the South African umamlambo, and the Sotho mamolapo or mamogashoa. The ships of traders and slavers often had carvings of mermaid figures on their prows, for example, and tales of mermaids were popular among sailors of the time. This is a list of African spirits and/or deities found within the traditional African religions.This list also covers spirits and/or deities found within the Afro-American religions—which mostly derives from traditional African religions. Mermaid Terms From Around the World . A God behind the Gods, a Supreme God who created everything. [29], Slaves worshipped the spirit by dancing and then falling into a trancelike state. Jill Salmons argues that the mermaid image may have come into being after contact with Europeans. An inspiring exploration of the goddesses of the West African spiritual traditions and their role in shaping Yoruba (Ifa), Santeria, Haitian Vodoun, and New Orleans Voodoo. In Cameroon, for example, Mami Wata is ascribed with causing the strong undertow that kills many swimmers each year along the coast. African mythology. … [25] Despite exotic claims of her nationality, she was later identified as one Émilie Poupon of Nantey, France. Mami Wata appeared in the second season of the Canadian television show Lost Girl on Showcase Television. She is the creator goddess of the Yoruba tribe. Some examples are the Congolese-Zambian chitapo or nakamwale, the South African umamlambo, and the Sotho mamolapo or mamogashoa. Let’s have a look at some of their water elementals. Nana Buluku is a Creator Goddess, great-grandmother of all the Yoruba pantheon. In the original African belief system from which Santeria originates, there are hundreds of orishas. A list of deities from African mythology. Acceptance means wealth and fortune; rejection spells the ruin of his family, finances, and job. die or harm them otherwise. In Nigerian-American author Nnedi Okorafor's 2014 speculative fiction novel Lagoon, an alien spaceship appears beneath the waters of Lagos Lagoon and the new arrivals cause transformations in the natural and human world. "Watramama/Mami Wata: Three centuries of creolization of a water spirit in West Africa, Suriname and Europe". [4], Van Stipriaan speculates that Liberian traders of the Kru ethnic group moved up and down the west coast of Africa from Liberia to Cameroon beginning in the 19th century. Hounnon Behumbeza Elected President of The Association of Mami Wata Adepts (c) Icône TV. [4][13][14][15] Traders in the 20th century carried similar beliefs with them from Senegal to as far as Zambia. O-ya means “she tore” in Yoruba. Journals and Research by Drewal, Gore and others. She is a goddess of transitions and change. An entire hierarchy of the Mami Wata priesthood exist in this region to officiate ceremonies, maintain the shrines, conduct healing rituals, and initiate new priests and priestesses into the service of various Mami Wata deities. Instead, he is consulted through various divination methods. [26], This image—an enticing woman with long, black hair and a large snake slithering up between her breasts, ambiguous if she is human or mermaid beyond the image—apparently caught the imaginations of the Africans who saw it; it was the definitive image of the spirit. This goddess went with the members of the Yoruba tribe when they were captured and taken to various areas in the world as slaves. His colors are green, red, white and yellow. van Stipriaan, Alex (2005). Behumbeza goes on to say that "true knowledge and understanding of Mami Wata is shared with those initiated into the priesthood of Mami and with those who hear the calling for initiation into her mysteries. [16] The Mami Wata shrines may also be decorated in these colors, and items such as bells, carvings, Christian or Indian prints, dolls, incense, spirits, and remnants of previous sacrifices often adorn such places. [3] Should she allow them to leave, the travellers usually return in dry clothing and with a new spiritual understanding reflected in their gaze. Like water she represents both change and constancy--bringing forth life, protecting it, and changing it as is necessary. Ogboro-Cole, Oluwgbemiga (2009). To save the parched world Oshun transformed into a peacock and ascended to Olodumare's realm to beg his forgiveness. Thus Orunla has the knowledge of the ultimate destiny of each soul, which is an important facet of Santeria practice. Zimbabwe Shona language Njuzu, Ndebele NoMlambo, "Mamy-Wata" redirects here. She is associated with Our Lady of Regla, the protector of sailors. Donning a flowing yellow Roberto Cavalli dress, gold jewelry and bare feet, Beyoncé channels … I only read about her recently and I was amazed how much influence she had in my life. The author utilized a number of features to convey this. He is also the only orisha to not manifest through possession in the New World (although it does sometimes happen in Africa). In Nigerian popular stories, Mami Wata may seduce a favoured male devotee and then show herself to him following coitus. West African traders moved her to Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in that same decade. Tefnut (Egyptian)Tefnut is the Egyptian Goddess of water, rain, dew, moisture, moist air and fertility. The most visible evidence of this absorption is that many of these creatures are today viewed as mermaids rather than snakes, their traditional form. A large snake (symbol of divination and divinity) frequently accompanies her, wrapping itself around her and laying its head between her breasts. An elemental Goddess – Air, Fire Water – She incorporates all of them into Her. [citation needed], It is believed that all of ancient Africa possessed a multitude of water-spirit traditions before the first contact with Europeans. … Social disparities in West Africa diffused the belief of individual contracts with spirits as the cause of the personal wealth and success in the earthly life. In Nigeria, devotees typically wear red and white clothing, as these colors represent that particular Mami's dual nature. [4] More broadly, people blame the spirit for all sorts of misfortune. In Igbo iconography, red represents such qualities as death, destruction, heat, being male, physicality, and power. "The Orishas: Orunla, Osain, Oshun, Oya, and Yemaya." [19] She was first mentioned in Dutch Guiana in the 1740s in the journal of an anonymous colonist: .mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 40px}.mw-parser-output .templatequote .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;padding-left:1.6em;margin-top:0}, It sometimes happens that one or the other of the black slaves either imagines truthfully, or out of rascality pretends to have seen and heard an apparition or ghost which they call water mama, which ghost would have ordered them not to work on such or such a day, but to spend it as a holy day for offering with the blood of a white hen, to sprinkle this or that at the water-side and more of that monkey-business, adding in such cases that if they do not obey this order, shortly Watermama will make their child or husband etc.