Which traditions do they belong to?

Both belong to the African Traditions.

Side by side

Oshun vs Yemoja

Oshun and Yemoja are recorded in a parent-and-child line within the African Traditions.

At a glance

African Traditions

tradition

African Traditions

love, beauty, rivers, fertility, prosperity

domains

ocean, motherhood, fertility, protection, fish

mirror, honey, gold, peacock feathers, river water

symbols

ocean waves, seashells, fish, crescent moon, blue and white beads

Oxum, Ochun, Osun

also called

Yemaya, Iemanja, Yemanja

Where they meet

Both are gods of fertility.

Where they part

Oshun alone

love, beauty, rivers, prosperity

Yemoja alone

ocean, motherhood, protection, fish

How each was worshipped

Oshun

Cult sites: Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove.

Festivals: Osun-Osogbo festival.

Honey, brass, and the river. UNESCO listed the grove because the cult is still there. Beauty as power, not as decoration.

Yemoja

Cult sites: River and ocean shrines; Brazilian Iemanja on the shore.

Festivals: Yemoja festival; New Year offerings to the sea in the diaspora.

Mother of many orisha, salt or sweet water depending on the house. The cult is the water's edge and children.

Oshun

African Traditions

The Orisha of love, beauty, fresh water, and fertility. Oshun embodies feminine grace, sensuality, and the life-giving power of rivers.

Oshun emerged from Olodumare as the embodiment of sweet water, love, and feminine power. She was given dominion over all fresh waters, particularly the river that bears her name in Nigeria.

Oshun is perhaps the most beloved of all Orishas, embodying beauty, love, fertility, and the life-giving power of fresh water. Her river, the Osun, flows through southwestern Nigeria and remains a site of pilgrimage.

Read the full Oshun entry

Yemoja

African Traditions

The Orisha of the ocean and motherhood. Yemoja is the great mother of many Orishas and all sea creatures.

Yemoja was created by Olodumare as the embodiment of maternal waters. Originally dwelling in the Ogun River in Nigeria, she accompanied her children across the Atlantic, becoming the goddess of the ocean itself.

Yemoja is the great mother Orisha, whose name means 'Mother whose children are fish.' Originally associated with the Ogun River in Nigeria, she became the goddess of the ocean during the Middle Passage, as enslaved Africans prayed to her during the horrific Atlantic crossing.

Read the full Yemoja entry

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At a glance

African Traditions

tradition

African Traditions

love, beauty, rivers, fertility, prosperity

domains

ocean, motherhood, fertility, protection, fish

mirror, honey, gold, peacock feathers, river water

symbols

ocean waves, seashells, fish, crescent moon, blue and white beads

Oxum, Ochun, Osun

also called

Yemaya, Iemanja, Yemanja

How each was worshipped

Oshun

Cult sites: Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove.

Festivals: Osun-Osogbo festival.

Honey, brass, and the river. UNESCO listed the grove because the cult is still there. Beauty as power, not as decoration.

Yemoja

Cult sites: River and ocean shrines; Brazilian Iemanja on the shore.

Festivals: Yemoja festival; New Year offerings to the sea in the diaspora.

Mother of many orisha, salt or sweet water depending on the house. The cult is the water's edge and children.