African Deities
For all the African witchies here.
Abassi - Creator and Lord of the Sky (Nigerian)
Abuk - Goddess of women and gardens (Sudan)
Achimi - Buffalo Goddess (Algeria)
Adro - God of Destruction (Uganda)
Adroa - God of Creation (Uganda)
Ahia-Njoku - Goddess of Agriculture and Farming (Nigeria)
Aje-Shaluga - God of Riches (Nigeria)
Ajok - Rain God (Sudan)
Akongo - Creator God (Congo)
Ala - Fertility Goddess of the Earth (Nigeria)
Alouroua - Creator God (Ghana)
Amma - Creator of the Universe and Sky (Mali)
Anansi - Trickster God (West Africa)
Andriamahilala - Goddess of the Moon (Madagascar)
Asa - God of Protection (Kenya)
Atai - Creator Goddess (Nigeria)
Babalu-Aye - God of Healing (Nigeria)
Banga - God of Water (Congo and Central Africa)
Bomazi - God of Ancestors (Congo)
Buk - Goddess of Rivers and Streams (Sudan)
Buku - God of the Skies (West Africa)
Bumba - God of Creation (Congo)
Cagn - God of Transformation (Kalahari)
Candit - River Goddess (Sudan)
Chedi-Bumba - God of Birds (Congo)
Chiuta - Rain God (Malawi)
Chonganda - God of Vegetation (Congo)
Chuku - God of Creation (Nigeria)
Dada - God of Abundance (Nigeria)
Deng - Creator God (Sudan)
Ditaolane - Hero God (Lesotho)
Domfe - God of the Wind (Kurumba)
Dongo - God of Thunder (Songhai)
Dziva - Creator Goddess (Zimbabwe)
Ebore - Sky God (Nigeria)
Edinkira - Goddess of the Trees (Africa)
Egungun-Oya - Goddess of Divination (Nigeria)
Evus - God of Mayem (Gabon)
Elegua - God of Mischief (Nigeria)
Elusu - Goddess of Water (Africa)
Engai - God of the Skies (Kenya)
Enekpe - Goddess of Fate (Africa)
Eseasar - Goddess of the Earth (Nigeria)
Eshu - Trickster God (Nigeria)
Fa - God of Fate (Nigeria)
Faro - God of Creation (Mali)
Gamab - God of Death (Namibia)
Gaunab - God of Evil (South Africa)
Ghekre - God of Judgement (Ivory Coast)
Gu - Blacksmith God (Benin)
Heitsi-Eibib - God of Nature (South Africa)
Haiuri - God of the Underworld (South Africa)
Hare - Trickster God (Nigeria)
Huveane - God of Creation (Lesotho)
Hyel - Supreme God (Nigeria)
Imana - Creator God (Rwanda)
Itherther - Buffalo God (Algeria)
Jakuta - God of Lightening (Nigeria)
Jok - Rain God (Uganda)
Juok - Creator God (Sudan)
Kaang - God of Creation (Botswana)
Kabundungulu - Heroic God (Angola)
Kaka-Guie - Death God (Ivory Coast)
Kalumba - God of Creation (Congo)
Kanu - God of Creation (Guinea)
Katonda - Creator God (Uganda)
Khonvoum - Creator God (East Africa)
Khuzwane - God of Populating (South Africa)
Kwoth - God of the Mysterious (Sudan)
Le-Eyo - God of Death (East Africa)
Legba - God of Mayhem (Benin)
Leza - Rain God (South Africa)
Libanza - God of Creation (Congo)
Maori - God of Creation (Zimbabwe)
Massim-Biambe - God of Reincarnation (Congo)
Mawu-Lisa - Unisex Double Gods of Creation (Benin)
Mbaba-Mwanna-Waresa - Goddess of Beer (South Africa)
Mbere - God of Creation (Congo)
Mbokomu - Goddess of Ancestry (Congo)
Mboya - Goddess of Motherhood and Fertility (Congo)
Mebeghe - God of Creation (Gabon)
Minga-Bengale - God of the Hunt (Africa)
Minona - Goddess of Prophecy and Divination (Benin)
Modimo - God of Creation (South Africa)
Morimi - Goddess of Fire (Nigerians)
Muluku - Creator God (Zambesi)
Mulungu - God of Creation (Tanzania)
Musso-Koroni - Goddess of Discord (Mali)
Mwambwa - Goddess of Lust and Desire (Namibia)
Mwari - Unisex Creator Gods (Zimbabwe)
Nasilele - Goddess of Creation (Zambesi)
Nzame - God of Creation (Congo)
Njambi - God of Creation (Namibia)
Ndriananahary - God of Creation (Madagascar and Nigeria)
Ngai - Creator God (Kenya)
Ngewo-Wa - God of Creation (Sierra Leone)
Nyalitch - Supreme God (Sudan)
Nimba - Fertility Goddess (Guinea)
Ninepone - Fertility Goddess (Gabon)
Nommo - Unisex Gods of All (Mali)
None - God of Populating (Gabon)
Nyaliep - Goddess of the River (Sudan)
Nyambe - God of Creation (Zambesi)
Nyame - Supreme God (Ghana)
Nyaminyami - God of Streams and Rivers (Zambesi)
Nyankopon - Supreme God (Ghana)
Nyiko - Hero God (Cameroon)
Nyokonan - God of Spiders (Cameroon)
Nyonye-Ngana - God of Ants (Congo)
Obassi-Osaw - God of Creation (Nigeria)
Obatala - God of Purity (Nigeria)
Ochosi - God of the Hunt (Nigeria)
Odomankomo - Creator God (Ghana)
Odudua - Goddess of the Earth (Nigeria)
Ogo - God of Mischief (Mali)
Ogun - God of Weaponry (Nigeria)
Oko - God of Farming and Agriculture (Nigeria)
Olorun - Supreme God (Nigeria)
Olokun - God of the Seas (Nigeria)
Onile - Goddess of Blacksmithing (Nigeria)
Orunmila - God of Wisdom (Nigeria)
Osanyin - God of Vegetation (Nigeria)
Oshe - God of Storms (Nigeria)
Oshun - Goddess of Love (Nigeria)
Oya - Goddess of Destruction (Nigeria)
Qamata - God of Creation (South Africa)
Rugaba - Creator God (Uganda)
Ruhanga - God of Creation (Uganda)
Ruwa - God of Creation (Kilimanjaro)
Sagbata - God of the Earth (Benin)
Sakarabru - God of Justice (Guinea)
Shadipinyi - Drunken God (Namibia)
Shakpana - God of Disease (Namibia)
She - God of Thunder (Nigeria)
Soko - Supreme God (Nigeria)
Somtup - God of Masculinity (Guinea)
Sopona - God of Disease (Nigeria)
Sudika-Mbambi - God of Thunder (Angola)
Thixo - Sun God (South Africa)
Tilo - Creator God (Zambia and Malawi)
Tore - God of the Hunt (Zaire)
Tsetse-Bumba - Goddess of Lightning (Congo)
Uhlanga - Swamp Goddess (South Africa)
Umvelinqangi - Creator God (South Africa)
Unkulunkulu - Creator God (South Africa)
Waaqa - Supreme God (Ethiopia)
Woyengi - Goddess of Population (Nigeria)
Wulbari - Ruling God (West Africa)
Wuni - Creator God (Ghana)
Yansan - Goddess of the Wind (Nigeria)
Yasigi - Goddess of the Festival (Mali)
Yeban - God of the Underworld (Mali)
Yurugu - God of Chaos (Mali)
Zanahary - Unisex Creator Goddess (Madagascar)
Okay so I need to clarify some of these deities because many of them are waaaay to generalized. Especially in Nigeria. There are over 210 ethnic groups within Nigeria and many of these Nigerian deities don’t belong to the same groups. Many of them are not called gods, they are called Òrìṣà (Orisha) and they belong to the religious practices of my ancestors, the Yoruba. They are:
• Aje: female Òrìṣà of wealth and prsoeperity
• Babaluaye (traditional name O̩balúayé): male Òrìṣà of pestilence and disease, as well as healing
• Egungun (sometimes just called Egun): embodiment of our ancestors spririts and guidance (Ọya is a sesperate Òrìṣà who guards and nurtures Egungun; see Ọya)
•Èṣù-Elegba: You have this Òrìṣà listed as two separate deities, Eshu and Elegua, when in reality, they are two aspect of the same Òrìṣà. Elegua is the name for this deity only in Santeria. His traditional Yoruba name is Elegba, Èṣu (Eshu), or Èṣù-Elegba. He is the Òrìṣà of the crossroads, keeper of às̩e̩, and the trickster.
• Obatala: Male Òrìṣà of purity, of justice, and of the white clothe. The creator of humans.
• Ọ̀ṣọ́ọ̀sì (Ochosi): Male Òrìṣà of the hunt and of the wilds
• Oduduwa: NOT a goddess, a male Òrìṣà. He is the creator of land and the earth. The first to come from heaven to the earth. Personified in our ancestor, Oduduwa, who was an actual living being.
• Ògún: Male Òrìṣà of war, of technology, and of iron.
• Oko: the Òrìṣà of agriculture and the harvest.
• Olorun: The supreme Creator of the universe; father of all Òrìṣà. Also called the sky father.
• Olokun: androgynous Òrìṣà of the deep ocean, secrets, and prosperity
• Orunmila: Òrìṣà of wisdom, divination, and foresight; manifested in Orunmila, an actual living prophet of the Yoruba
• Ọ̀sanyìn: male Òrìṣà of the forest and of herbs
• Ọṣun: Morher Òrìṣà of freshwater rivers, love, beauty, and fertility.
• Ọya: To say that Ọya is simply the goddess of destruction is an egregious oversimplification. Ọya is the Òrìṣà of violent storms, winds, and transformation, not destruction. What is destroyed clears the way for new and better growth. She is a warrior Òrìṣà who protects the resting place of our ancestors. You’ve also separated Ọya from her other name, Yansan. Yansan is simply the name given to Ọya in the African diaspora. They are the same deity.
• Shakpana: Male Òrìṣà of Small Pox
Excluded from your list but very prominent Òrìṣà in the Yoruba tradition are:
•Aganjú: Òrìṣà is desserts and volcanic activity; father/brother to Ṣàngó)
• Erinle: male Òrìṣà of physical fitness, health, and medince
• Ibeji: The sacred twins
• Ọbá: female Òrìṣà of marriage and domesticity
• Òṣùmàrè (Oshumare): The androgynous Òrìṣà of direct action and movement; the Òrìṣà of the “Kundalini”; guardian of children and controller of the umbilical cord
• Orí: literally means head; the metaphysical manifestation of ones destiny and spiritual intuition.
• Ṣàngó (Shango): The male Òrìṣà of fire and thunder (you have oshe listed as a god in your list, whereas Oshe is the name given to the double sided axe that Ṣàngó carries); manifest in a once living Yoruba king, Ṣàngó.
• Yemọja: the mother of all Òrìṣà, the Òrìṣà of salt water lakes, the ocean, motherhood, and the womb.
Most of the Òrìṣà in your list are oversimplified and misgendered, and simply putting (Nigeria) next to them doesn’t denote the cultural practice they belong to, the Yoruba. Not all Nigerians revere the Òrìṣà, as not all Nigerians are Yoruba.
I’d like to remind anyone reading this list that the Òrìṣà are the deities of a CLOSED religion of the Yoruba people and other Yoruba-based traditions (i.e. Santeria). If you wish to invoke their names and aspects you must be initiated. At the very least, research them so that you don’t oversimplify or generalize them. To do otherwise is to appropriate my culture.
-Às̩e̩
I was gonna do this after reading this post but you took care of it, thank you. Asé
