ᐈ Oya 【Who is, Offerings, Children and much MORE】

The world of Yoruba religion is very deep. It has around 400 deities, but today there are only a few main ones. The Orisha Oya It is one of them and in this article you will learn everything related to this deity. So if you are interested in knowing everything about Oyá, stay in this article.

hey: who is it

We will start by answering the question of who is it? Well, she is one of the first female Orishas who managed to enter the Batuque wheel. In addition, the Orisha Oyá represents all the strong winds in the world. It is she who, through her powers, manages to make storms and uproot everything bad from the planet and take it away.

His power is such that he is one of the few deities who have the ability to control and command non-living spirits or better known as egguns. This ability was given to him by the Orisha Babalú Ayé.

Oya’s love life is well marked by her marriage to Oggún. Since this was his best-known relationship until she left the work saint for Changó. This caused a stir in his time. However, it is to be expected coming from an Orisha who has great character, capable of dominating her partner and maintaining sensuality at the same time.

Oyá is also known within Santeria as Oya Yansa. This is because she is the mother of nine dead spirits. Which she can handle and send at her pleasure. Since she has a very special spell to be able to do this.

Oya Santeria

Within the santero cult or Yoruba religion it is well known. Since she is one of the few female deities and is part of the Yoruba pantheon. In addition, within the Catholic religion, she syncretizes with the Virgin of Candelaria or, failing that, with Saint Teresa of Jesus.

In turn, along with other male deities such as Orula, Eleguá, Obatalá dominate the gusts of wind that are felt throughout the planet. Within Santeria, he had love affairs with Oggún and Changó.. These were the best known, the first for the way to end their relationship. With the last one because she followed him everywhere, including all the wars she had.

sons of oya

According to expert santeros and devotees to the santera religion. Oyá’s children are usually scarce. These are chosen through the coronation ritual, where the deity most corresponding to them is attributed. It is there when the link between Oyá and her children or guides arises.

Characteristics of their Children

All the children of the Orishas have qualities similar to those of their parents. That is why the sons and daughters of Oyá have similar characteristics, in this case, to their mother. Mainly they stand out for being quite calm and quiet, such as a spring wind.

However, because they are very involved with the wind, they do not like to be in your house. That is, they need to go out and feel free like a breeze. Since in this way they can feel in total comfort. As for love, it is said that they are very faithful and in turn very jealous with their partners.

His character is marked by the winds. That is to say, they are not looking for problems but if you provoke them you will have to face all the fury of the gales. Their fidelity makes them very delicate with respect to betrayals. So you must be careful if you plan to betray a son or daughter of Oyá.

How to attend to it?

Attending to your Orisha guide is very important. It is because of that If you are the son of Oyá and you want to know how to care for her, So pay attention to the following tips.

Firstly, to be able to have their attention and affection. You should wear their favorite colors when you are going to perform a ceremony in their name. Usually they are the shades with brown and red (wine). You can attend her on Fridays constantly to keep her in a good mood. You can also do this on February 2 and October 15. Days in which his figure is celebrated both throughout the world and in Cuba.

Generally, to attend to it, you must light several candles. To be able to enter a good environment of spirituality. Later, you can begin to dedicate both prayers and offerings. However, the offerings will be deepened in the next section.

Some foods you like are:

EggplantPotatoBeansCornCoconut

Offerings to Oya

The offerings to the Orishas can be very varied.. These depend entirely on the tastes of the deity. In the case of offerings to Oyá, they can range from prepared meals to some flowers.

As for the meals, Oyá likes a gastronomy that contains rice, beans and something prepared with corn. On the other hand, the fruits are varied, they can range from pomegranate, melons to grapes, well-ripened bananas or coconuts.

Offerings as you can see can contain multiple items. This is also the case for the animals that you can offer. You could start with chickens, pigeons, goats, or roosters. The accompanying vegetables range from potatoes, eggplants and cucumbers.

Because Oyá is an Orisha who likes medicine. The herbs or plants that can be offered have some medicinal component. This is the case of caimitillo, cherimoya and artemisa.

Last but not least these offerings must be on an altar. Generally dedicated to your mother Oyá. This is because it increases the effectiveness of your offering. You must be accompanied by elements such as a candle and colors alluding to the Orisha.

Likewise, the dances are part of the offerings that are made to him. You can do them to be able to clean the bad vibes of the environment.

Prayer to Oya

The prayer is a manifestation of respect and devotion carried out by the followers of the Orisha Oya. In addition, it is the best way to establish direct contact with her. Since with prayer an emotional bond is created and maternal between the guided and his mother. Therefore, if you want to have more contact with your mother Oyá, then you must dedicate the following prayer to her.

“Hey, you have several children and you never abandon them. Handle the winds of the universe and place next to a gentle wind. Make us fall into your nets with your movement bringing us joy.

Orisha of the winds. Provide my life with courage, love and your blessing. You just have to direct the winds towards our home. I trust you and that you will not fail me. Blessed be you. Ashe».

Prayer to Oya for Love

Oyá’s children are very faithful as far as love is concerned. That is why they expect their companion to be the same. If this is not the case, they can go to their mother. The prayer to oya for love begins as follows:

«Powerful Orisha, Oyá, you who know war very well. As well as divine justice. Oh, and you are brave like no other woman has been. Implacable against your enemies, and the best lover.

I (full name) beg you for the love of (name of the beloved). I want him to be as faithful as I am to you mother, I need him to always think of me and to be completely delivered into my arms.

To you Oyá, great feminine Osha, to your figure I dedicate these prayers. Protect me from darkness and divert all the negative from my routes.
Take care of me and my beloved, my mother. Thanks, Oya! Ashe»

Shango and Oya

There are many stories that narrate the relationship between Oya and Shango, one of them tells us that Shango was walking through a forest and observed how a beautiful woman turned into a deer, so he tried to follow her to see where she lived.

When he saw where the woman left her skins, he took them and took them home. Logically, Oyá had to follow him to look for her skins. Later they drank and ate together. They got to the point of falling in love and had twin sons. Then, these children were a lot of responsibility for Oyá.

She tried to run away, but Shango convinced her to stay by her side. Since then their relationship has been unbreakable and they have stayed together. In fact, they participated in multiple large-scale conflicts, with Oyá being her most faithful warrior. These symbolize the history of an exemplary couple both inside and outside the Santeria religion.

Their paths

The paths are those that allow any devotee of Oya to obtain the highest degree of spiritual, emotional and material benefit. These are broad and specific enough, for which each devotee can decide based on the things that limit him. Below is a brief and numbered list with the most popular paths of Oyá within Santeria:

Oyá Yansá Bí Funkó.Dumí Bumí.Bomi.Oyá Nira.Oyá Igbalé. Nike. Tolá.Oyá Dira. Funké. Oyá Iya Efon.

Each of these trails have different qualities that make them unique. They also represent multiple facets of the original Oriha.

Pataki of Oya

The patakies are short Yoruba stories. The purpose of which is to leave a moral or reflect things of everyday life. In this case, the best-known story of Oyá has Oggún and Shangó as protagonists.

The story begins with the Oyá’s infatuation with Shangó despite being married to Oggún. For this reason, Shangó did not resist and kidnapped her. At this point, what is known as the battle between the Orisha Oggún and Shangó arises. This, however, did not have much relevance.

Later, at a party, Shango had too many drinks and was locked up in a cell. Hey, he was worried since being in a cell without food he was going to be physically wasted. He used his powers to see what Shango was doing and saw him imprisoned.

began to sing the famous song known as: “Sparkle that bá bené I suberela rises, Twinkle that bá bene I rises up stick.” After this, he invoked the number seven and broke the lock of the cell by means of a great spark that fell from the heavens. Shango was stunned by such an act. That is why he decided to free her from her and start living with her much more. Respect and love flourished much more than before.

Your Colors

The colors of the Orisha Oyá are very varied and not very specific. That is, this one relates well to all the shades you can imagine. With a single exception, the absence of light, that is, the color black. Howeverexpert santeros of the Yoruba religion comment that the preferred tones over all the others of Oshá are those that contain brown.

Prohibitions for the Children of Oya

The children of Oyá, as already mentioned, are few. That is why they are very special to their mother. One of the myths that was generated within Santeria is that they are not allowed to perform Ifá. Or, they don’t need it. This is mainly due to a pataki or ancient story.

This story says that Oyá with one of his children insisted too much that Ifá be performed on him. Orunmila refused to do so., and boasted that only he would be the most important in Ifá. However, Oyá persevered and that son was fulfilled. He couldn’t stand the ritual and passed away. So it is rumored that since then the children of Oya have been prohibited from performing this ceremony.

If you want to know more Orishas in Depth, you can not miss the following articles: