Thunder God of the Storm

The Ewe thunder god is properly So/Sogbo (Anlo: Heviesso, Xebieso), deliberately listed under the Ewe tradition and kept distinct from the Fon Vodun Xevioso/Hevioso. The English word leads name.primary; native forms in `term`/alt. Spirit-class deity per schema (typed deity, explained here).

Parentage

• parent: Twofold Creator Pair

Domains

• thunder and lightning
• rain
• divine justice
• justice and oaths

Powers

• hurls the thunderbolt as a stone axe
• sends the rains that fertilize the land

Epithets

• Heviesso Ewe · Heviesso · cultAnlo name of the thunder-voduRosenthal, Possession, Ecstasy, and Law in Ewe Voodoo (1998) (secondary)

Relations

• sibling: Earth Lord of SmallpoxFellow great vodu child of Mawu-Lisa.Herskovits, Dahomey (1938); Parrinder, West African Religion (1961) — Sogbo (So), Sakpata, Gu, Age, and Legba are the great vodu children of Mawu-Lisa (secondary)
• sibling: Vodu of Iron and WarFellow great vodu child of Mawu-Lisa.Herskovits, Dahomey (1938); Parrinder, West African Religion (1961) — Sogbo (So), Sakpata, Gu, Age, and Legba are the great vodu children of Mawu-Lisa (secondary)
• sibling: Vodu of the Bush and the HuntFellow great vodu child of Mawu-Lisa.Herskovits, Dahomey (1938); Parrinder, West African Religion (1961) — Sogbo (So), Sakpata, Gu, Age, and Legba are the great vodu children of Mawu-Lisa (secondary)
• sibling: Trickster-Linguist of the CrossroadsFellow great vodu child of Mawu-Lisa.Herskovits, Dahomey (1938); Parrinder, West African Religion (1961) — Sogbo (So), Sakpata, Gu, Age, and Legba are the great vodu children of Mawu-Lisa (secondary)
• equated with: SogboThe same West African deity under its Gbe/Yoruba reflex (So/Sogbo/Shango).West African vodun/òrìṣà cognates: the same deity across the Gbe (Ewe, Fon) and Yoruba traditions (M. Herskovits, Dahomey, 1938; G. Parrinder, West African Religion, 1961; P. Verger, Notes sur le culte des Orisa et Vodun, 1957) (secondary)
• equated with: ShangoThe same West African deity under its Gbe/Yoruba reflex (So/Sogbo/Shango).West African vodun/òrìṣà cognates: the same deity across the Gbe (Ewe, Fon) and Yoruba traditions (M. Herskovits, Dahomey, 1938; G. Parrinder, West African Religion, 1961; P. Verger, Notes sur le culte des Orisa et Vodun, 1957) (secondary)

Sources

• So (Sogbo; Anlo Heviesso/Xebieso) is the Ewe thunder-and-lightning vodu, a child of the creator pair, who brings rain and punishes wrongdoers with the thunderbolt.: Spieth, Jakob. Die Religion der Eweer in Süd-Togo. Leipzig, 1911. (secondary); Herskovits, Melville J. Dahomey. 1938, vol. 2, pp. 150-155. (secondary)
• The Ewe thunder cult is organized as the exclusive Yewe (Yeʋe) fraternity, whose initiates receive new names and serve the thunder deities.: Gilbert, Michelle. "The Sudden Death of a Millionaire: Conversion and Consensus in a Ghanaian Kingdom." Africa 58, no. 3 (1988). (secondary); Rosenthal, Judy. Possession, Ecstasy, and Law in Ewe Voodoo. 1998. (secondary)