Iyami Osoronga
Yoruba · deity · primordial · deity
The mothers are the power nobody in this tradition wants to be on the wrong side of. The name is 'my mother' said with enormous care, the praise names run to the owner of the sacred bird and the wise and formidable elders, and the whole Gelede masking tradition exists to keep them pleased. Whether Iyami Osoronga is one goddess or the collective name of many is not a question the sources answer cleanly, and the record does not force it.
Domains
- ancestors
- fertility
Sources
- Reference treatment of Iyami Aje, her names and her character.