DragonsFaeriesElves&theUnseen : Shango African God of Fire

Wednesday, July 1, 2015

SHANGO OF FIRE THUNDER AND LIGHTING

Shango African God of-
Fire,Thunder & Lighting...

Shango is the orisha of fire, thunder and lightning, and he can be invoked to bring revenge upon enemies. He is an arrogant, violent and risk-taking Orisha. Those who cross him risk death by fire or electrocution. He can be a source of both vengeance and justice, of representing both raw rage and channeled strength. It is said that he was a passionate womanizer & thus is also associated with male sexuality, fertility and virility too. Shango had a long-standing feud with the African God Oggun his brother Ogun the African God of War & Iron of the Yoruba people of West Africa. It seems that Ogun and the other Gods had climbed down to earth on a spiderweb. This is at least what I discover about Sango brother. When creation was completed the gods realized that the people needed to clear more land in the forest where they lived. Unfortunately, the only tools

Ogun African god & brother
to Shango of Fire, Thunder
and Lighting...
These two brothers didn't
get along

available were made of soft metal, which wasn't suitable to cut down trees. However, The god Ogun had been given the secret of Iron by Orunmila a son of the supreme God Olorun. So he was able to use an Iron ax to clear the forest for the people. Ogun later shared the secret to iron with the other Gods and the humans too. He showed them how to shape them into weapons to defend themselves. In short it seems to me he was a kind and helpful God. He also cared about the humans and his own people the Gods. Though he is a very fierce god he was not evil & would help those who would pray to him. So I could see why the two brother don't get along and that is why they have had a long-standing feud with each other. Mostly Shango with his brother Ogun. So as in the World of the God Shango nothing is every made of iron or can be associated with it. This could be one of the problems between the brothers in my opinion. As for his brother God Ogun who rules with metal, in particular, this may have caused the conflict between the brothers.

Statue of Shango

Shango history dates back many centuries ago. He was the fourth king of the ancient Oyo Empire of the West African culture & politics for the Yoruba people. The Oyo Empire thrived from the 15th century until 1835. Today there are only about 30 million of the Yoruba decedents of his people in the Western Africa, mostly in Nigeria. I discovered that Shango beside a powerful god was also a powerful king, but some of the people in Oyo Empire thought he was an unfair King. It seems when two of his ministers challenged him for the throne, Shango fled into the forest. The King Shango wandered in the forest for quite a long time they say! In time, they have said he hung himself from a tree. [note I am getting this from history that I found on the great king and I don't know if it is actually true, I am just writing down what I find...Wendy] I guess after the great King Shango died his enemies houses were set on fire, it was said it was by Shango's friends and loyal severities. However, there is another tale of this story, some believed that the King Shango had gone into the heavens & was sending fire down upon the Earth. This is how he became the God Shango of thunder, lighting, and fire. The God Shango of thunder, lightning, and fire slowly increases his powerful energy of these elements within the heavens and becomes a very powerful African God. In later years in Africa, there are folks that often depict him in artwork with a double ax on his head as a symbol of the Thunderbolt. Shango's thunderous energy became a symbol of the resistance of the Yoruba people during the 19th century when many of the Yoruba people were taken from their home Africa to America to be slaves. So Many of these African Gods bring hope to the people of Africa and strength. I hope that you all enjoyed the history or the African God