Aggayú Solá

Aggayú Solá is the oricha of the volcano, the desert wilderness, and the fire that burns within the earth, the deep counterpart to Changó's lightning in the sky. He is above all the ferryman of the great river, a figure of immense strength who bears crushing burdens and carries travelers across the water, and he is invoked by those who must cross a hard passage in life. His emblems are a wooden staff and oars, nine-colored beads, and the bull; his throne is a painted mortar. Cuban patakí most often name him as the father of Changó, the thunder-king whom Yemayá bore and raised, though the houses of Ocha differ, some making Aggayú the elder brother or a warrior double of Changó rather than his father. In Cuba he is syncretized with Saint Christopher (San Cristóbal), the giant who carried the Christ child across the river, patron of the city of Havana.

Children

• Changó

Domains

• volcano and earth fire
• river crossing and wilderness

Powers

• ferries travelers across the river
• erupts the fire of the earth

Epithets

• Aggayú Solá Kinigua — praise-name of the ferryman-orichaBolívar Aróstegui, Los Orichas en Cuba (1990) (secondary)

Relations

• child: ChangóCuban patakí name Aggayú as the father of Changó, though some houses reverse the relation or make the two brothers.Bolívar Aróstegui, Los Orichas en Cuba (1990) (secondary)

Sources

• Aggayú Solá is the oricha of the volcano, the wilderness, and the ferry across the river, named in Cuba as the father of Changó and syncretized with Saint Christopher.: Natalia Bolívar Aróstegui, Los Orichas en Cuba (1990) (secondary); Lydia Cabrera, El Monte (1954) (secondary)
• Sources differ on Aggayú's relation to Changó, casting him variously as father, elder brother, or a warrior double of the thunder-king.: George Brandon, Santeria from Africa to the New World (1993) (secondary)