ᐈ Oshun and Shangó 【History, War, Pact and MORE】

Within the santera religion there are a large number of stories, love, war, passion among other things characterize these stories. One of the best known is the Oshun and Shango Do you know her? Well, in this article you will find all the details about this story and its outcome.

If you want to know more about Oshun, I invite you to review the article about this Orisha

Oshun and Shango: History

The marriage between Oshún and Shangó can be seen summarized among the various pataki or patakies, Words that translate as history or stories about what their relationship was like. Within all this universe of narratives, it can be generally deduced that their love story was like any other couple. That is, they had good moments and conflicts.

To understand a little better about the story that will be told later in the article, it is necessary to establish a clear concept about these legends.

What is a Pataki?

The Yoruba religion uses short stories as a method of telling about various situations, they are usually parables or metaphors of things they wanted to convey in reality. In addition, it can be confused that in various stories, some Orisha has multiple forms.

This is because the priests who interpret these stories have different perspectives and views on the stories.
If you want to know more about oshun Be sure to see these articles about this Yoruba Goddess:

Since we know what a pataki is, its interpretations and meaning, we will be able to understand the meaning of the most representative and conflictive story between Oshún and Shangó.

War

The story of war and conflict between these two deities begins as follows:

A long time ago in the fields of «Akore»These were difficult times, since it was very difficult for people to meet their basic needs, misery abounded in the area. There were also no good Samaritans to help them, perhaps no one rescued them from their situation because they did not count on the “ascension to the throne.” The inhabitants of the area were completely unaware of the rules or customs of religion.

The goddess Oshun, one day, noticed the state of those people and decided to help them. She built works for them and performed the Osha for several villagers. All this under the condition of implementing the rules of Osha itself. There was no inconvenience, what’s more, the situation improved.

The town slowly recovered from that terrible situation, in fact, it began to generate wealth and prosper. That help that the people received from Oshún was not reported to Shangó, since he had reason to be upset.

So when he found out that the town was recovering, his anger awoke. Shangó was enraged mainly because it was he who destined the town to misery. After confirming the event, he openly declared war on Oshun. Furthermore, he went immediately to that town, with the purpose of murdering everyone who had the Osha, since he knew that the only way they had it was through the help of Oshún.

So it was, he began to kill the people of that town. Oshun after seeing that scene of horror, decided to immediately beg Olofin (representation of the God Olodumare) to stop the war. Olofin responded affirmatively to the call.

He invoked the presence of both, and told them: “Oshún, you did well helping the people, therefore, you will continue doing so.” and he exclaimed: “Shangó, you who were ruining the town, you must stop immediately.” Finally, He decided to punish them in a way that is remembered to this day. He forbade both of them to maintain formal relations between their children.

We can then see through this story the main reason for his punishment. Shangó did wrong, he carried out his actions from his ego, since due to his position as a saint, he wanted to ruin a town. However, hope in the world always exists, and as they say, it is the last thing to lose. We can see how the goddess Oshún saved the integrity of the people, intervening for them. It is a fight of good against evil, where both, due to the love they contracted, were hurt in some way.

Daughters of Oshun and Shango

The guides of both Orishas have and have distinctive features. This is why you have to differentiate them.

Children of Shango

The children of this saint embody the people who, through Ifá, take part in the behavior and spiritual feeling of Shango. Therefore, they can proudly say that they differ from the other santeros in this sense, since they have unique characteristics.

Shango as a maximum figure of Yoruba culture, it is not strange that their children are required to have distinctive physical and mental qualities, among them we find: Creativity, generosity, comical, sociable, bosses and positive.

Very cheerful, they like parties, dancing and the good life. The notable physical and clothing features of the children of Shango are: Clean, they dress in the colors of the deity and carry the ax and the sword because they are warriors.

Children of Oshun

The descendants of this deity stand out for being physically handsome and nice to people. In the Yoruba language They are called “Omo”, which translates as son/daughter. They like order even if they don’t like the idea of ​​cleaning a place.

Oshun’s children they should be initiated into religion as priests, despite the fact that another deity has control of his mind . They must frequent streams and rivers to realize and realize what they will do. Within the cult there are two ways to recognize a son or daughter of Oshun, these are:

Through Ifá. Through Osha.

Children of Oshun and Shango, can they be together?

This proposition It’s been a topic of conversation for a long time.. The babalawos or Yoruba priests, whenever the issue comes to light, try to clarify this story, rescuing the most important points of the story.

History dictates that by the presence of the sign of «Obara Bogbe in Ifá» establishes the prohibition that the children of Oshún cannot have babies with the children of Shangó and vice versa.

Despite what the priests profess and what history says, Today the reality is very different. In various forums about Santeria they have touched on this topic, and the conclusion is almost always the same. Despite how immoral and unethical -out of respect for the history of religion- it can be. People, generally those who are in love, ignore this legendary rule.

At the end of the day, it is up to the devotees to decide what they want more, respect their religion, or the love of their fiancée. Although they must be patient and take the relationship calmly, because the prophecy says that eventually they could end up like Oshun and Shango, enemies and hating each other.

Covenant

The pact that Oshun and Shango have is to maintain peace between them and their children. Since since Olofin’s sentence, these have been strictly prohibited from being together. On the other hand, in another pataki It is explicitly read how Shangó and Oshún reached a mutual agreement in order to have the same power to settle the testa of the children of the holy Agayú.

Ilde Oshun and Shango

The Oshun and Shangó ilde is a kind of bracelet with brightly colored beads, in this case yellow and red, thus symbolizing the colors and tones of these Orishas. are usually handmade by followers of Santeria, who know the history and implement their knowledge to make santero amulets.

Oshun and Shango Religion

Both deities belong to the Yoruba religion, which has been around for a long time and has adapted to the cultures of other countries. Like Santería in Cuba or Candomblé in Brazil. These syncretize from Catholicism and often refer to deities of African culture. Both Oshun and Shango They are one of the most important deities of this cult, since in due time, they were the most powerful couple of Orishas. From here it is inferred why they are so popular among Santeria people.

In broad strokes we were able to appreciate the story of two very influential deities in their religion and how a misunderstanding could end their religion and, even worse, affecting their children to this day! We hope you have enjoyed this representative and important story of culture santera!