Ọbà (known as Obá in

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

) is the

Orisha Orishas (singular: orisha) are spirits that play a key role in the Yoruba religion of West Africa and several religions of the African diaspora that derive from it, such as Cuban, Dominican and Puerto Rican Santería and Brazilian Candomblé. T ...

of the River Oba whose source lays near Igbon where her worship originates. During the wars of the 19th century, her centers of worship moved to the more secure town

Ogbomosho Ogbomosho (also Ògbómọ̀ṣọ́) is a city in Oyo State, south-western Nigeria. It was founded in the mid 17th century. The population was approximately 454,690 in the 2006 census. It is the second largest city in Oyo State and also among ...

. She is traditionally identified as the

senior wife Great Wife, otherwise appearing in West Africa as Senior Wife, is an honorific applied to contemporary royal and aristocratic consorts in states throughout modern Africa (e.g., Mantfombi Dlamini of eSwatini, who once served as the chief consort of ...

Shango Shango (Yoruba language: Ṣàngó, also known as Changó or Xangô in Latin America; and as Jakuta or Badé) is an Orisha, a deity in Yoruba religion. Genealogically speaking, Shango is a royal ancestor of the Yoruba as he was the third Alaafin ...

(the third king of the

Oyo Empire The Oyo Empire was a powerful Yoruba empire of West Africa made up of parts of present-day eastern Benin and western Nigeria (including Southwest zone and the western half of Northcentral zone). It grew to become the largest Yoruba language, ...

and an

). Oba was tricked by Oya or

Oshun Ọṣun, is an orisha, a spirit, a deity, or a goddess that reflects one of the manifestations of the Yorùbá Supreme Being in the Ifá oral tradition and Yoruba-based religions of West Africa. She is one of the most popular and venerated ...

into cutting off her ear and trying to feed it to Shango. She is syncretized with

Saint Catherine of Siena Catherine of Siena (Italian: ''Caterina da Siena''; 25 March 1347 – 29 April 1380), a member of the Third Order of Saint Dominic, was a mystic, activist, and author who had a great influence on Italian literature and on the Catholic Church. ...

Worship in Ogbomosho

At her center of worship in Ogbomosho, Oba is described as the partner of Ajagun and is praised as "Oba, who owns parrot tail feathers and fights on the left".

Myths of Oba's Ear

Oba's humiliation by a rival co-wife is one of the most well-known tales associated with this Orisha. While William Bascom's study identified several unusual variations of it, the most popular myth found in West Africa, Brazil, and Cuba has Oba cutting off her ear to serve to her husband Shango as food, because one of her co-wives (most often Oshun) has convinced her this will secure Shango's attention. Once Shango sees the ear and realizes Oba has mutilated herself, he chases her from his house and into permanent exile. Bascom notes that though this story is known in many parts of Yoruba country, it was not recognized by her priest in Ogbomosho. There are a few variations of the myth in Cuba where Oya rather than Oshun tricks Oba. Another Cuban variation excludes the wifely rivalry entirely, explaining Oba's self-mutilation of both ears as an effort to feed Shango after they run out of goat and he is in need of food for his struggle against Ogun. By comparison, in the verses of

Ifá Ifá is a Yoruba religion and system of divination. Its literary corpus is the ''Odu Ifá''. Orunmila is identified as the Grand Priest, as he revealed divinity and prophecy to the world. Babalawos or Iyanifas use either the divining chain kno ...

, the story is inverted somewhat. Oba cuts off her ear at the advice of Ifá and the measure successfully ties Shango to Oba, until Orunmila himself steals Ọba from Shango.

Relationship to other Orishas

Santería

González-Wippler, in her study of

Santería Santería (), also known as Regla de Ocha, Regla Lucumí, or Lucumí, is an African diaspora religions, African diasporic religion that developed in Cuba during the late 19th century. It arose through a process of syncretism between the tradit ...

, describes her as the daughter of Yemoja and one of the consorts of Shango. She is said to have given her husband her ear to eat, an event which led to her eventual flight from his presence. Grieving, she became the Oba river which intersects with the Oshun river (Oshun was another wife of Shango and is believed to have been the one who tricked her into the giving of the ear) at turbulent rapids, a symbol of the rivalry between the two wives.González-Wippler 1994 The Oba River flows through Iwo, that is why the Iwo people are called the children of the River Oba (''Iwo Olodo Oba'').

References

Bibliography

*Bascom, William. "Ọba's Ear: A Yoruba Myth in Cuba and Brazil" in ''Research in African Literatures'', Vol. 7, No. 2 (Autumn, 1976), pp. 149–165. *Brown, David H. 2003. ''Santería Enthroned: Art, Ritual and Innovation in an Afro-Cuban Religion''. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. *González-Wippler, Migene. ''Santeria: The Religion''. Llewellyn: 1994. {{portal, Traditional African religion Yoruba goddesses Sea and river goddesses