Oshumare

What it is

Oshumare is an orisha, one of the deities of the Yoruba tradition, and is described as the divine serpent spirit of the rainbow. The name in Yoruba covers two things at once: the rainbow itself, which has no physical body, and a legendary snake. Oshumare is venerated within Yoruba religion and, beyond it, in Umbanda, Candomblé, Santeria, Haitian Vodou and folk Catholicism. Worshippers treat Oshumare as a power over rainbows and serpents, and as a spirit of permanence, regeneration and rebirth. A common belief holds that this orisha is male and female together. It is also called a sign of creation and of human reproduction, and a bridge joining ordinary life to the ancestors.

Where it comes from

The python, ere, is its earthly emblem, which is why the orisha is sometimes named the celestial python. One suggestion links the name of the sky deity Olódùmarè to that same word ere, though the connection is offered as a possibility rather than a settled point. Similar figures appear among the Fon of Benin, where Ayida Wedo, also called Dan Aìdó-huedó, plays a comparable part. The Brazilian orixa Oxumare is traced directly to the Yoruba orisha, and the Haitian Damballa Aida Wedo to the Fon vodun Aida Wedo.

Tools and materials

Two visible marks stand for Oshumare: the rainbow and the snake, with the python, ere, given special place. A drum, wealth and the pairing of male with female are listed among its symbols. Purple or burgundy is the colour attached to it, along with the colours of the rainbow. Colour and animal do much of the work of a portrait here, since the orisha is a spirit rather than a figure with one carved image. At the National Folklore Festival in Olímpia, an Umbandista appeared dressed as Oshumare, so the orisha can also be worn as a costume in public performance.

What it is for

What people ask of Oshumare follows from what the orisha is held to govern. Rainbows and serpents are its charge, and with them permanence, regeneration and rebirth. The orisha is called a sign of creation and of human reproduction, so matters of fertility and new life fall within its scope. It is also described as the link between the everyday world and the world of the ancestors, which makes it a figure turned toward the dead as much as toward the living. These meanings are held as belief by devotees rather than presented as testable claims.

Peoples and places

Among the Yoruba, Oshumare is one orisha in a large pantheon. Outside Yorubaland the name changes with the place. In Brazil the orisha is Oxumare, an orixa of Candomblé and Umbanda. In Cuba, Haiti and Puerto Rico the form is Ochumaré. Haitian Vodou honours Damballa Aida Wedo, which descends from Aida Wedo of the Fon vodun in Benin, a separate line running alongside the Yoruba one. The Fon figure Ayida Wedo, or Dan Aìdó-huedó, is treated as a rough equivalent of Oshumare, sharing the traits of serpent and rainbow.

What people believe

The thinking behind Oshumare joins a sky sign to a crawling animal. The rainbow is read as a serpent stretched across the sky, and the python on the ground as its counterpart. Because one Yoruba word serves for both the arc of colour and the legendary snake, the two are not separated in speech. The orisha is said to be male and female at once, which makes it a figure of wholeness and of generation. From that pairing come the roles of creation, human reproduction and a road between the living and the ancestors. Olódùmarè, the sky deity, may share a root with ere, the word for python.

How scholars and sceptics see it

Study of Oshumare turns largely on words and on comparison. Lawal's work is cited for the python emblem and for the phrase celestial python. The possible derivation of Olódùmarè from ere is put forward as a suggestion, not a finding. The link with the Fon figure Ayida Wedo is drawn as a parallel rather than a line of descent, while the Brazilian Oxumare is described as coming directly from the Yoruba orisha and the Haitian Damballa Aida Wedo as coming from Fon Aida Wedo. These are the routes by which a West African orisha is traced into the Americas.

Compare and confuse

Readers meet Oshumare under several names, and the names point to different places. Brazil says Oxumare; Cuba, Haiti and Puerto Rico say Ochumaré. In Benin the Fon honour Ayida Wedo, also written Dan Aìdó-huedó, who resembles Oshumare without being the same figure. Haitian Vodou has Damballa Aida Wedo, which comes from the Fon Aida Wedo rather than from the Yoruba orisha. Yoruba and Fon strands thus run side by side in the Caribbean, close enough to be confused and distinct in their ancestry.

Today

Veneration of Oshumare continues across several traditions at once: Yoruba religion, Umbanda, Candomblé, Santeria, Haitian Vodou and folk Catholicism all list the orisha. In Brazil the name Oxumare carries the figure into public culture as well as temple practice. At the National Folklore Festival in Olímpia, a participant from Umbanda appeared dressed as Oshumare, which shows the figure moving into festival display. That double life is characteristic: an orisha honoured in worship and also a character in a staged, costumed celebration.

Questions people ask about Oshumare

Good reading and sources

• Oshumare on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data