Yoruba Traditionweapon
Oshe of Shango
- Thunder
- Lightning Strike
- Royal Authority
The double-headed axe of Shango, orisha of thunder and kingship. It channels lightning and asserts just rule, a symbol of power that must not be abused.
About Oshe of Shango
Double axe of thunder
Ṣàngó (Shango), orisha of thunder and lightning and a remembered Aláàfin of Oyo in Yoruba tradition, is danced with the oshe, a double-headed wooden axe. Lightning is spoken as his justice. Ifá and praise-poetry (oríkì) are oral; colonial and later writers set them on paper. The oshe is a ritual staff and dance-attribute, not a unique palace relic with a forging scene. Kingship at Oyo and the storm are the two claims the axe carries.
Origin
Emblem of Shango's reign as a legendary king of Oyo who became an orisha.
Sources and further reading
Source notes
These references are recorded in the catalog. Their passage wording and translation have not been checked, so quotations are not displayed here.
- Yoruba Ifá / oríkì of Ṣàngó (oral; recorded in later ethnography)
About this entry
By Elizabeth Stein for Mythos Atlas. About the author. Editorial notes are grounded in the site's cited sources and can be challenged through the contact page.
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