Oshun is the Yorùbá Orisha (Deity) of the sweet or fresh
waters (as opposed to the salt waters of Yemaya). She is widely
loved, as She is known for healing the sick and bringing fertility and
prosperity, and She especially watches over the poor and brings them what they
need. As Orisha of love, Oshun is represented as a beautiful, charming and
coquettish young woman. In some tales She is said to be a mermaid, with a
fish's tail.
The Yorùbá clans inhabit parts of western central
Africa, in present-day Nigeria. Oshun is the Goddess of the river of the same
name, and She is especially worshipped in river-towns. During Her yearly
festival, She is said to choose one or more women dancers to descend into (much
like participants in Vodou ceremonies may be "mounted" or
"possessed" by a Lwa). These women then take new names in honor of
Oshun and are thereafter consulted as healers.
Oshun was taught divination with cowrie shells by
Obatala, the first of the created Orishas, and then She brought the teaching to
humans. She was at one time the wife of Shango, the Orisha of storms, as was Oya, the Orisha of the
winds and tempests. Oshun is also said to be the mother of the birds or fishes.
