ORISA OYÁ – BRAZILIAN AFRICAN-DERIVED RELIGION – CANDOMBLE
Jun 2024
20
ORIXÁS or ORISHAS The deities worshipped in the Candomblé religion and brought to Brazil by abducted slaves, especially the Yoruba people. In Africa, these were kings, queens, mythical heroes and other ancestors raised to the status of gods. "Originally every group worshipped its own ancestors in Africa, and every township was bound to a local deity, often an ancestor of the local ruling dynasty, a leader of one's own clan, or a person who somehow uniquely helped and supported the group. ... Because of the changed conditions in the Diaspora, there developed a genuine pantheon of deities, in which a......