Yemoja
Yemoja, (also known as Yemaja, Yemanjá, Yemoyá, or Yemayá) is the major water deity in the Yoruba religion, revered as the mother of all Orishas and humanity. Yemoja's other domains encompass nurturing motherhood, fertility, natural forces, protection, and mysteries and wisdom, making her a revered figure in Yoruba religion and beyond. Her name, a contraction of Yeye Omo Eja, meaning “Mother Whose Children are the Fish,” signifies her role as the source of all waters, including the rivers of Western Africa, particularly the River Ogun. In the Yoruba tradition, where all life is believed to have originated from the Sea, Yemoja is considered the great Mother of life itself.
As a motherly figure, Yemoja is deeply protective and nurturing, caring for all her children with love and compassion. She is believed to comfort them in times of sorrow and cleanse them of their troubles. In addition to her maternal qualities, Yemoja is also known for her ability to cure infertility in women, with cowrie shells symbolizing her wealth and abundance. While Yemoja is generally patient and gentle, she is also capable of great fury and destruction when provoked, much like the Sea in a storm. This duality reflects her role as a powerful and multifaceted deity.
Yemoja's worship has spread beyond Africa to the Americas, particularly in Brazilian Candomblé, where she is known as Yemanja or Imanje. Here, she is revered as the Sea Mother who provides sustenance to fishermen, with the crescent moon symbolizing her presence. In her aspect as Yemanja Afodo, she protects boats at sea and ensures safe passage. In Haitian Vodou, Yemoja is worshipped as a Moon Goddess, associated with the protection of mothers and their children. She is also linked to the mermaid-spirits of Lasirenn and Labalenn, who bring seduction, wealth, and the deep mysteries of the ocean.
As a water deity and major Mother goddess, she is closely associated with the Orisha Olokun, who embodies the vast black depths of the ocean and the unconscious mind, creating a balance between the seen and unseen worlds. Yemoja is also the sister and wife of Aganju, the god of the soil, and the mother of Oya, the Goddess of the winds and storms.
In various cultures, Yemoja is equated with Our Lady of Regla in Brazil and with the Virgin Mary, symbolizing the archetype of the Great Mother. Her festivals are celebrated with offerings of blue and white flowers cast into the Sea, honoring her as the Ocean Goddess and celebrating her benevolence and protection.
From her origins as the mother of all Orishas and humanity in Yoruba mythology to her modern-day worship across the Americas, Yemoja embodies the nurturing and protective essence of the divine feminine, symbolizing the interconnectedness of life, the power of the ocean, and the mysteries of the moon.