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    Myth About Sango

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    cattleyamarieleonard
    Sango was a legendary Yoruba king believed to be the god of thunder. According to myth, he was defeated in a magical contest and hung himself, later being revered as a god. Sango ruled as the fourth king of Oyo and was known for his magical powers and ability to shoot fire from his mouth. After his controversial death, he was regarded as an important deity and his cult helped secure loyalty to the rulers of Oyo. Sango's festival is still celebrated today in Oyo state and involves sacrifices, dancing, and drumming in his honor.

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    Myth About Sango

    Uploaded by

    cattleyamarieleonard
    47 views3 pages
    Sango was a legendary Yoruba king believed to be the god of thunder. According to myth, he was defeated in a magical contest and hung himself, later being revered as a god. Sango ruled as the fourth king of Oyo and was known for his magical powers and ability to shoot fire from his mouth. After his controversial death, he was regarded as an important deity and his cult helped secure loyalty to the rulers of Oyo. Sango's festival is still celebrated today in Oyo state and involves sacrifices, dancing, and drumming in his honor.

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    Sango was a legendary Yoruba king believed to be the god of thunder. According to myth, he was defeated in a magical contest and hung himself, later being revered as a god. Sango ruled as the fourth king of Oyo and was known for his magical powers and ability to shoot fire from his mouth. After his controversial death, he was regarded as an important deity and his cult helped secure loyalty to the rulers of Oyo. Sango's festival is still celebrated today in Oyo state and involves sacrifices, dancing, and drumming in his honor.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    47 views3 pages

    Myth About Sango

    Uploaded by

    cattleyamarieleonard
    Sango was a legendary Yoruba king believed to be the god of thunder. According to myth, he was defeated in a magical contest and hung himself, later being revered as a god. Sango ruled as the fourth king of Oyo and was known for his magical powers and ability to shoot fire from his mouth. After his controversial death, he was regarded as an important deity and his cult helped secure loyalty to the rulers of Oyo. Sango's festival is still celebrated today in Oyo state and involves sacrifices, dancing, and drumming in his honor.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 3

    MYTH ABOUT SANGO

    This Legendry Yoruba king’s story has been and will remain a source of wonder. According to a myth, it

    was a defeat in a magical contest that led “Sango” to leave Oyo after he hung himself.

    “Sango”-also known as “Oba Koso” is the ancestor of the Yoruba people of Nigeria believed to be the

    “god of thunder” living in the sky', who hurls thunder stones to earth, killing those who offend him or

    setting their houses on fire. His thunderbolts are prehistoric. Whenever lightning flashes and thunder

    rolls, his worshippers shout, "the king did not hang himself", a greeting that appears in one verse.

    Sango's symbol, the twin-stone ax, or “oshe Sango”, is believed to be energized with protective powers.

    It is used as a badge of membership in the cult. Sango is portrayed with a double axe on his head (the

    symbol of thunder) with six eyes and sometimes with three heads. His symbolic animal is the Ram, and

    his favorite colours are red and white, which are regarded as being holy. He has a special type of drum

    known as “BATA” while his favorite food include bitter kolanut, yam and porridge.

    In Yoruba myth, Sango once ruled as the fourth Alaafin of Oyo. Sango is said to have succeeded his

    father, Oranmiyan, as one of the early kings of Oyo, and several verses say that he became a king. He

    was noted for his magical power and was feared because when he spoke, fire came out of his mouth.

    One verse in sango’s eulogy (oriki) says there is lighting of fire in his mouth with Itufu, oil soaked fibers

    from the pericarp of the oil palm, which is used in making torches starting fires. In a state of possession,

    it is that sango worshipper may eat fire, possibly using itufu, carry a pot of live coals on his head or put

    his hand on a live coals without apparent harm.


    After his extraordinary life and controversial death, his friends revered him as a god. His cult has enjoyed

    the royal patronage of the Alaafin of Oyo, who is regarded as his descendant. Sango's cult played an

    important role in securing the people's loyalty to the Alaafin in the days of the Oyo Empire.

    History has it that he is the son of Yemoja, the mother goddess and protector of birth. Sango had three

    wives. Oya, who stole sango's secrets of magic. Oshun, the river goddess who is sango's favorite because

    of her culinary abilities and Oba, who tried to win his love by offering her ear for him to eat. He sent her

    away in anger and she became the river oba, which is very turbulent where it meets the river osun.

    Sango festival is celebrated in Oyo town in Oyo State. Sango is the Yoruba god of thunder and lightning.

    Major features of the festival are sacrifices to Sango and acrobatic dances and drummings.

    Sango's followers regard him as the embodiment of great creative potential. His dedication to power

    over life and death and to creativity is reflected in sango's reminder houses, such as the one found in the

    compound of Baalekoso (Mayor of Koso's Compound) in Oyo, which overflow with carvings, ceramics

    and other artwork.

    A well carved mortar, ritual container, figure, or dance staff is believed to be able to better focus the

    followers attention on the important attributes of the great king and to better lure the spirit to the

    shrine. Small images of twins (ere ibeji) are also often stored in the shrine, as legend states that sango

    was himself a twin.

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