SANTERIAN Gods and Goddesses

AGAYU The volcano. Agayu grants protection from violence and chaos. His colors are brown, red and green. Identified with St. Christopher.



BABALU AYE A god of health and healing, who concerns himself with the poor. His colors are black, purple, and brown. Identified with St. Lazarus.



CHANGO Also SHANGO, XANGO Ruler of thunder and fire, a god of passion, power and music. A hero in shining armor who uses lightening to increase the fertility of the earth and his worshippers. Chango was an actual historical figure who ruled as the fourth chieftain of Oyo, a city in modern Nigeria. His colors are red and white. Identified with St. Barbara.



ELEGGUA Also PAPA LEGBA, EXU, ELEGBA A trickster. A god of travelers and small children. The one who opens the way for seekers, the keeper of the crossroads between the natural and supernatural worlds. Eleggua pushes or tricks us beyond the limits of mundane existence, teasing and daring us to greater heights. His colors are black and red. Identified with St. Anthony.



OBATALA Also OXALA, BATALA "The Old Man of the Mountains, "Chief of the White Cloth." A god of mercy, purity and spirituality. King of peace. One turns to Obatala for ethical guidance. His color is white. Identified with the crucified Christ.



OCHUN Also OSHUN, ERZULIE, OXUM The River. Goddess of love, marriage, art, joy, beauty, laughter, generosity, abundance, the erotic. Her colors are yellow, amber and coral. Identified with Our Lady of Caridad.



OGUN Also OGOU-FERAILLE, OGUM A god of iron and machines, work, war and death. A blacksmith, a soldier, a politician. The patron of truck drivers. The civilizer, the one who clears the way through the wilderness with his ever-present machete. His colors are green, red and black. Identified with St. Anthony and St. Peter.



OLOKUN God of the ocean depths. God of the unconscious. His colors are aqua, coral and crystal. Identified with La Diosa del Mar.



ORULA Oracle of the Ifa faith, concerned with human destiny. His colors are green and yellow. Identified with St. Francis.



OYA Also YANSA, MAMAN-BRIGETTE Goddess of wind, justice and the dead. Her symbol is the cemetary. Oya is sudden change, the whirlwind, revolution, the huntress. Lightening and rainbows signal her presence. Her colors are brown, wine, purple and black. Identified with St. Catherine and St. Theresa.



YEMAYA Also YEMONJA, LA BALIANNE "Mother of the Fishes." Ruler of the ocean's surface, she works closely with Olokun, ruler of the ocean's depths. Yemaya's love sustains life, her compassion comforts children in crises and turmoil, her waves wash away all sorrow. Her colors are blue, white, and crystal. Identified with Mary.