Oyinkakwata
Batammariba · deity · Batammariba traditional religion; continuing · deity
Oyinkakwata, whose name is glossed 'the Rich Man Above,' is the third of the major Batammariba deities, the god of the sky and of thunder, lightning and storms. The Batammariba say that his invisible body is filled with air, while his soul reveals itself to humankind in the flash of lightning during the violent storms of the rainy season. He is a sky power distinct from the solar Kuiye and the earth goddess Butan, presiding over the turbulent atmosphere between heaven and earth. As the bringer of storm and rain he is of direct concern to a farming people of the Atakora highlands, for whom the timing and force of the rains govern the agricultural year.
Domains
- sky thunder and storm
- lightning and rain
Powers
- to command thunder, lightning and storms
- to show his soul to humans as lightning
Epithets
- Oyinkakwata ('the Rich Man Above')
Sources
- Suzanne Preston Blier, The Anatomy of Architecture: Ontology and Metaphor in Batammaliba Architectural Expression (Cambridge University Press / University of Chicago Press, 1987).
- Paul Mercier, Tradition, changement, histoire : les « Somba » du Dahomey septentrional (Éditions Anthropos, Paris, 1968).