Iansã: Meet The Orixá That Represents The Feminine Strength!

Known for its power in nature, Iansã, oya or yet Yansanis the Orixá that represents the climatic phenomena.

With the strength of the winds, Oyá is always present when water and wind rush through the sky. She is also synonymous with grit, feminine strength and independence.

Iansã is the symbol of the warrior woman, with features that make it stand out for battles. Therefore, it is common to hear stories of battles about this Orisha, as she accompanies the strongest in wars. That is, she was not born to be “from home“.

This Orisha breaks all fragile woman standards and shows how independent and warrior women can be. There are still numerous characteristics about Oyá that we will talk about next. Read on to find out all about this Orisha.

Iansã the Orisha Warrior

Who is Iansã? What does Iansã mean?

Iansã means “mother of the evening” and is the name given by Xangô to the Orixá that represents climatic phenomena. She has the strength of the winds, the claw of great warriors and is the symbol of female independence.

Oyá was not born to take care of the house, so she was always present in the big battles alongside other warriors. For all these characteristics, Orixá represents the feminine strength and the determination of women.

It is not for nothing that Iansã is represented by the figure of a great warrior. She is the ideal stereotype of a a woman who changes and takes risks without fear, in addition to facing her problems and who, in fact, is not afraid to fight her daily battles.

Oyá is always ready to help those who turn to her with a good heart. Whoever resorts to this Orisha receives in exchange a lot of courage and determination to deal with life’s obstacles and achieve various goals.

It is also important to remember that Iansã often falls in love. Whenever she finds herself lost in a new love, she gives herself completely, being a faithful companion in all her relationships. She even fell in love with Xangô, the Orisha who is considered the true passion of Oyá.

Orisha’s History

Iansã has several curious and interesting stories, but the one that stands out the most is when she met Xangô. Here’s a summary of this amazing story!

Iansã and Xangô

The story says that the Orixá helped Ogun to forge metals and other objects used as work tools. Sometimes, the Orisha also forged weapons to wage war with Ogun, and that’s how the two passionate about handling weapons and combat lived. Together, Oyá and Ogun had even adopted Logunedé, who was a lost son of Oxum.

Until one day Xangô appeared to visit Ogun, who is his brother. By the time he was ordering new weapons, Iansã saw Xangô and it was love at first sight. She abandoned Ogun and Logunedé and became one of Xangô’s wives.

After that, Orixá also started to coordinate fights alongside Xangô. she became the responsible for cleaning the world using its wind power. Another peculiar landmark about this union is that Oyá became in charge of the wind that announces the arrival of Xangô, along with thunder and lightning.

Do you remember that Iansã often fell in love? So it is, Xangô was not his only love. She also lived with Exu, Oxaguian, Obaluayê, Oxóssi.

Iansã in Catholicism – Santa Bárbara

The Orixá is represented in Catholicism by Santa Bárbara. In Catholicism, Santa Bárbara is known for the enormous jealousy that her father Dioscoro had. With the intention of protecting his daughter from all the suitors that appeared, Dioscoro locked Saint Barbara in a tower.

In the tower she was locked in, there were two windows. It was then that Santa Bárbara asked to build a third window to represent the Holy Trinity. During Santa Barbara’s christening ceremony, she managed to escape her father, but was later captured by a pastor who took her to court without any clothes on. That’s when the miracle happened: under her bare skin miraculously appeared a sumptuous cloak.

Even after the miracle, Santa Barbara’s father killed her and was punished by an immediate death caused by lightning shortly after the murder of his daughter. The death of the father through lightning is what syncretizes Santa Bárbara in Iansã, since the Orixá is the symbol of climatic phenomena.

Iansã in Umbanda and Candomblé

The Orisha is worshiped in Umbanda and Candomblé and has several characteristics in relation to its cult. Here’s some interesting information about her within these two religions!

children of Iansã

Those who are considered children of this Orisha present warrior personality, free behavior, love to travel and love nature. In addition, they are andxtroverts, love to have fun and be in contact with other people.

But also they can be authoritarian, audacious and very powerful in some circumstances. In this way, generally they don’t know how to deal with affronts, with rivals and can show vengeful behavior when contradicted or in jealous situations.

Worship of Orisha

Iansã is celebrated on December 4thbeing that your day of the week is wednesday. In their celebrations, elements in red and yellow are used. There are still the offerings to Orixá, which can be made with their favorite foods: acarajé and abará.

THE Orisha’s best known greeting is Eparrey Iansã, which is the same as “hello” with great admiration. The expression may also appear in some cases as “Eparrei”.

Prayer for Iansã

Another way to worship the Orisha is through prayer. There are numerous ways to pray to Oyá, each of which varies according to the intentions of those who resort to Orisha. Here’s an example of a prayer that can be said to Iansã!

Did you like to know more about Iansã? Take the opportunity to meet others Orixás here on the blog Restart Space:

You can also receive guidance and intercession from the Orixás through Spiritual Consultation. Schedule your appointment right now and discover the best Spiritual Work for you!