OYA RELIGIOUS GROUP IN OYO

Oyo people are a distinct linguistic group among the Yoruba race. They had one of the strongest military among the Yoruba prior to colonial rule. They held strongly to their traditional religious views which, as they claimed, helped in their successful military campaigns. They are found in present day Oyo state, Nigeria. Their population is about 471,000. From oral history, the town was founded by Oranmiyan the last son of Oduduwa, the great ancestor of the Yoruba people. Generally, the religious and political history of the people can be traced to their migration from Ile-Ife. But more specifically, they have a ritual tradition which is spectacular. It is attached to Sango and Oya festivals. Oya was the wife of Sango during his life time. In cosmological understanding of Orisa belief, she was such an outstanding figure among the female deities. Her imposing pedigree therefore makes her group to be unique. The group showcases her festival with Bata drum as it makes it distinct for ritual practices. This unique ritual practice of the Oya group is shared with the Sango group. Oral tradition has it that Oya was one of the deities sent to the earth by Olodumare for creation and earth-remodelling. She is reputed for her fearlessness and believed to live in or inhabit the wind. Oya is known for her reputable character as a warrior and as a mother that loves children. Oya is a goddess that professes love in her character. This is seen from the way she stood with her husband, Sango, in the time of crisis. She is a mother who protects her children from any form of danger because she accords wealth to them and does not support hypocritical acts and betrayal. Rather, she loves people who are truthful and those who possess a pure heart. A mythical narrative made it clear that Oya was so faithful to to Sango, her husband that she alone of all his wives accompanied him in his flight towards Nupeland in his time of crisis. Oya, according to the myth could not bear the pain of her husband's disappearance after his death that she committed suicide. This act was her way of sharing in her husband's destiny. she died in her hometown, Ira and was thus deified. The Oya group has a well developed religious cult on the River Niger in Nigeria to symbolize her heroic acts. The cult is still devoted to their practices till today. While Sango is recognized as the spirit of thunder and lightning, Oya is known to be the spirit of wind. Sango is acknowledged for fierce tornadoes and intense thunderstorm while Oya is reputed for her windstorms which uproot trees and destroy houses. Oya is seen as a deified heroine and never spoken of as dead. Her votaries still belief that she is still living. She is not dead as she is both a deity and an ancestor who protects and watches over her living children or followers. The Indigenous religious festival, Ìṣẹ̀ṣe is performed by her group. This has been incorporated into some new religious traditions among some African groups in the Diaspora.