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Shango
From Outcyclopedia, the free and queer encyclopedia. Shango, also called Chango, Sango or Xango, is one of the most important deities, or Orisha, in the African diaspora religions, especially Santeria and Palo. Shango is a god of thunder and fire, who is also associated with male sensuality and sexual power. He is the husband of Oya, goddess of the wind and storms, Oshun, the goddess of love and wealth, and Obba, a goddess closely associated with death. His mother is Yemaya, or Yemoja, the goddess of the sea, and his father is Aganyu, the sun. A proud and even arrogant god, Shango is believed to hurl thunderbolts on those who offend him, or set fire to their homes. He is also a fierce warrior, wielding a double-edged ax and a sword, and is often invoked to drive away enemies and troublesome spirits. Various legends exist regarding Shango. In one legend, Shango is being pursued by his enemies when he happens upon the house of his wife Oya. To help her husband elude his enemies, Oya gives him her red crepe dress to wear. This cross-dressing disguise, together with the association with lightning and fire, may be why Shango is traditionally syncretized in Santeria with the female St. Barbara, whom many Catholics believe can protect homes from fire and lightning. (The Vatican no longer recognizes Barbara, a completely legendary figure, as an official saint.) While the status of homosexuals is a matter of great controversy among followers of the African diaspora in the Americas, largely due to the influence of the Ifa religion and its less tolerant attitudes towards gender ambiguity, many of the priests of the Orishas in the Oyo region of Nigeria where Shango's worship began were often sexually ambiguous and even homosexual, and even those who were married and had children often dressed and acted as women, being considered the "wives" of Shango. This practice may also be related to the story of Shango donning women's clothing to elude his enemies. Shango is believed to be based on an actual person, one of the early Yoruba kings of Oyo, who lived in the seventeenth century and was believed by his subjects and enemies to be a powerful sorcerer. Shango greatly expanded the borders of the Oyo empire, but his hot temper proved his undoing and he was overthrown. After losing his throne, Shango went in exile to the town of Koso, where he hanged himself from a tree. When a storm erupted and lightning ignited and burned the homes of his enemies, Shango was believed to have ascended to the level of an Orisha. The worship of Shango spread from Africa to the Caribbean and South America after Oyo was attacked by the Fon and other neighboring peoples and the Yoruba of Oyo were captured and sold into slavery to the Spanish and Portuguese. Like the other Orishas, Shango has many different avatars, or caminos, each with his own attributes and personalities. Among these are Obba Dimeyi, father of Taiwo and Kehinde, or the Ibeyi, the twins Shango fathered with Oshun. As Sango-Addim, he is a warlock who rides a broom made of palm fibers and rains balls of fire on his enemies. Very similar to this avatar is Eyeleo, a shape-shifter who also flies on a broom and often appears as a woman in a palm fiber skirt. Alafin-Chango is the King above all other kings, who recognizes only Olufin, the Supreme Orisha, and Eshu, who controls the flow of energy through the cosmos, as greater than he. Jakuta is a warrior on a white horse who hurls red-hot stones at his opponents. As Obbaina Shango is the god of thunder, whose voice speaks through the rumble of bata drums. Obba-Aye is "the homeless king," the form Shango took when he was driven from his throne. Obbara is also Shango as the homeless king, engaging in trickery and doing whatever is necessary to survive. This form of Shango is said to have been helped by Olufin, who bestowed riches upon the poor king in exchange for his loyal and obedient service, so that he eventually retook his throne. Obbara is an expression of the denial by some followers that Shango took his own life, as expressed in their traditional saying when hearing a clap of thunder, "The king did not hang himself." Olufina is a curious avatar, as this form of Shango is an ally of Oggun, Orisha of metals and war, who is usually spoken of as Shango's greatest enemy. Olufina may be an acknowledgment that Oggun's metals cannot be smelted or shaped without the assistance of Shango's fire. Obanyoko is Shango as an old man, having finally mastered his temper and now counseling his followers with his great wisdom and healing them with his vast knowledge of herbal medicines. Obanyoko is the ideal which Shango's followers strive for, gaining control of their anger and passions and achieving a state of calm repose. Other names and avatars include Vumi, Oluoso, Yimi, Yobera, Lari, Ladde, Obabi, Izu, Sabeyi, Azakuta, Teddum, Feyu,Omogoddo, Madgala, Obbagayu, Alabaloke, Alua o mi, Ebbo era da, Kasiero, Okannani, Obbatola, Obakoso, and Asa beyi. Whatever names Shango may be known by or in which form, Shango is generally agreed to have certain distinctive attributes. He is associated with the colors red and white, and the numbers 4 or 6. His birthday is celebrated on the feast day of St. Barbara, on 4 December. Red foods, such as apples, and red wine are favorite offerings, as are yams, okra soup, cornmeal, roosters, rams, lambs, and bullocks. A horse may be sacrificed to him for help in removing a very powerful curse or changing an oracle predicting death. On his altars Shango is usually represented by a figure of a kneeling woman with a double-edged blade balanced on her head, or sometimes simply by a double-edged ax covered with red and white beads. Also on the altars are symbols or images of his siblings Dada and Bayani, together with the Ibeyi and Aina, the goddess of fire. Like all the Orishas, Shango is believed to select certain mortals to be his "children" and placed under his special protection, much like the Christian traditions of guardian angels and patron saints. Children born with a cross pattern on their tongues are believed to be under Shango's protection and to have the gift of prophecy. Known as Bamboche, such children must never have their hair cut before their twelfth birthday, lest they lose their prophetic power. External links: Image of Shango at Voice of Thoth Catholic Encyclopedia: St. Barbara Entry revised 8 January, 2004. All text is available for use under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (see Copyrights for details). DISCLAIMER: This is not an adult site, and does not contain any pornographic images or material. Any references to sex or other adult material or behavior is made from a purely academic standpoint. Images used on this site are credited whenever possible, and any whose copyright status is in dispute will be gladly removed or credited upon request. Not all persons listed on this site are or were openly homosexual, but reasonable conclusions about their sexuality may and has been made from diaries, letters, and other writings and accounts made by them and/or those who knew them. Several others are heterosexual and are included here for the impact, whether positive or negative, they have made on queer culture and history. |
