Changó!

In Yorùbá mythology, Shango (Xango, Shango), or Changó in Latin America, is perhaps the most popular Orisha; he is a Sky Father, god of thunder and the ancestor of the Yoruba. In the Lukumí (O lukumi = "my friend") religion of the Caribbean, Shango is considered to be the center point of the religion as he represents the Oyo people of West Africa. The Oyo Kingdom was sacked and pillaged and its residents brought in chains as slaves to the Caribbean and Brazil. All the major initiation ceremonies (as performed in Cuba, Puerto Rico and Venezuela for the last few hundred years) are based on the traditional Shango ceremony of Ancient Oyo. This ceremony survived the Middle Passage and is considered to be the most complete to have arrived on Western shores. This variation of the Yoruba initiation ceremony became the basis of all Orisha initiations in the West.
The energy given from this Deity of Thunder is also a major symbol of African resistance against an enslaving European culture. He rules the color red and white; his sacred number is 6; his symbol is the oshe (double-headed axe), which represents swift and balanced justice. He is owner of the Bata (3 double-headed drums) and of music in general, as well as the Art of Dance and Entertainment.Shango is worshipped in Haitian Vodun, as a god of thunder and weather; in Brazilian Candomblé Ketu (under the name Xangô); in Umbanda, as the very powerful loa Nago Shango; and in Cuba, Puerto Rico and Venezuela - the Santeria equivalent of St. Barbara, a traditional colonial disguise for the Deity known as Changó.Shango was the fourth king of Oyo in Yorubaland, and deified after his death; mythologically, he (along with 14 others) burst forth from the goddess Yemaja's body after her son, Orungan, attempted to rape her for the second time. of course there are several myths regarding the birth and parentage of Shango. He is a major character in the divination literature of the Lukumi religion. Stories about Shango's life exemplify some major themes regarding the nature of character and destiny. In one set of stories Shango is the son of Aganju and Obatala. As the story goes, Obatala, the king of the white cloth was travelling and had to cross a river. Aganju, the ferryman and god of fire, refused him passage. Obatala retreated and turned himself into a beautiful woman. He returned to the river and traded his/her body for passage. Shango was the result of this uneasy union. This tension between reason represented by Obatala and fire represented by Aganju would form the foundation of Shango's particular character and nature. In further apatkis Shango goes in search of Aganju, his father, and the two of them play out a drama of conflict and resolution that culminates with Shango throwing himself into the fire to prove his lineage. All of the stories regarding Shango revolve around dramatic events such as this one. He has three wives; his favorite (because of her excellent cooking) is Oshun, a river goddess. His other wife, Oba, another river goddess, offered Shango her ear to eat. He scorned her and she became the Oba River, which merges with the Oshun River to form dangerous rapids. Lastly, Oya was Shango's third wife, and stole the secrets of his powerful magic.
The story of Shango and Oba carries the familiar refrain, "all that glitters is not gold". As has been stated Shango had three wives, Oba, his first and legitimate wife, Oya, his second wife, and Oshun his concubine. At that time and in that place they would live in a compound. In that compound, Shango had his own house and each wife had her own house surrounding his. He would then visit his wives in their houses to eat and to sleep with them. Oba noticed that when Shango went to the house of Oshun he would eat all of the food that she prepared for him but when he came to her home he would just pick. Oba, wanting a closer relationship with her husband, decided to ask Oshun how she kept Shango so happy. Oshun, being asked this, was filled with resentment. As children of the first wife, Oba's children would inherit Shango's kingdom. Her children would not have nearly the same status, being born from his concubine. She decided to play a trick on Oba, out of jealousy. She told Oba that many years ago she had cut a small piece of her ear off and dried it. From this she made a powder she would sprinkle on Shango's food. As he ate it, she told Oba, Shango would desire the food and Oshun all the more. Oba, excited by this information, ran home to prepare Shango's amala, his favorite stew. Once it was done she decided that if a little piece of Oshun's ear produced such an effect her whole ear would drive Shango mad with desire for her and he would forget Oshun forever. She sliced off her ear and stirred it into Shango's food. When Shango came to eat he sat down and began eating without looking at his dish. When he finally glanced down he saw an ear floating in the stew. Shango, thinking Oba was trying to poison him, drove her from his house. Oba ran from the compound, crying, and fell to earth to become a river, where she is still worshipped today. As an orisha she is the patron of matrimony and is said to destroy marriages that abuse either partner.
In art, Shango is depicted with a double-axe on his three heads. He is associated with the holy animal, the ram, and the holy colors of red and white.
VIVA LA REVOLUCION!
Fraternite, Egalite, et Liberte!
I live, work, and breathe in the bombed-out crater that used to be New Orleans. There's a lot of us here now, and I dare any muthafucka to question my sincerety in my passion for this amazing place.
I also dare any rat bastard to ask me why I would return.
Just in case, here's a few reasons.
Top reasons why I love New Orleans
or
Why they'll have to drag me out of here next time.
1 Driving is unnecessary.
2 People look you in the eye and greet you as you pass them on the street.
3 Say brah, I'm born and raised, ya heard?
4 Rocky's and Carlo's is coming back.
5 I live half a block from Hubig's. (I cried when I had my first one post-K)
6 The architecture is amazing.
7 I am constantly surrounded by art and beauty.
8 The weather is (mostly) temperate.
9 I live nowhere near a strip mall.
10 I know most of my neighbors.
11 All of the necessities for urban living are within a few blocks of my house.
12 I live on the Desire streetcar line.
13 There is no food on earth like the food here.
14 Living through Mardi Gras and being part of it.
15 Being from Atlantis is cool.
16 I live in a pirate culture.
17 I live in the northernmost capital of the Caribbean.
18 Every New Orleans musician is accessible.
19 New Orleans is the only place in the New World where african slaves were allowed to congregate and dance. This fusion of cultures gave way to the birth of jazz.
20 I can go to Congo Square and feel the energy.
21 Vaughn's
22 Brass Bands make me feel alive.
23 Irma Thomas is here (well, in Gonzalez, but she tryin' to get back)
24 The transexual cashier at Walgreen's who used to be my tranny cashier 6 years ago at the Shell station in mid-city. She used to give me free packs of cigarettes back in the day, 'cuz I sat and talked to her.
25 City Park.
26 I can hear some of the best music on the planet on any given night, usually for free.
27 I never feel the urge to watch television.
28 My house is 166 years old.
29 No one is judged for their vices.
30 The lines between race and class are infinitely blurred here.
31 Ingrid Lucia and her beautiful family (Dwight and Eva).
32 Cafe au lait
33 Beignets
34 Music bubbles up from the street and oozes from our pores.
35 DJ Soul Sister
36 Streetcars are here.
37 If vampires and pirates are still around, this is where they live.
38 Our city is organically structured. (few of the streets go in a straight line for long)
39 A crawfish boil is a wonderful thing.
40 Mardi Gras Indians are here.
41 Everyone in New Orleans is pretty much a freak, so it's constantly entertaining.
42 Mimi's
43 I can drink outside at 10am on a weekday and nobody gives me a second glance.
44 The only true american bohemia is alive and well in New Orleans.
45 New Orleanians, by their very nature, are sensualists.
46 Every American literary great "did time" in New Orleans, from Bukowski to Tennessee Williams.
47 I can go swimming year round.
48 Huge bugs don't disturb me at all.
49 Random street parties are not only commonplace, they are encouraged.
50 I've lived here my entire life and no one has ever told me to turn my music down.
51 There's usually live music at every gathering.
52 People here sing in public, often while at work.
53 Everybody knows everybody.
54 Public nudity is generally well tolerated.
55 There are incredible churches here.
56 Plan B/The Bike Project.
57 The most beautiful beaches are only 4 hours away.
58 I constantly see parrots here.
59 For once, people here are politically charged.
60 If revolution ever comes, it will start in a place like this.
61 I'm friends with a Hubig's employee.
62 I've never signed a lease or had a background check to rent an apartment.
63 Being shady is not only acceptable, it's expected.
64 I speak in the only original patois in the USA.
65 My dog can come drinking with me.
66 I'm allowed to paint my apartment obnoxious colors.
67 I'm judged by my character here and not by the color of my skin.(mostly)
68 I grew up thinking Mardi Gras was a national holiday.
69 Rocky and Carlo's is re-opening. I'm free to get food poisoning whenever I want.
70 I can go swimming outdoors in January.
71 A passion for life is my birthright.
72 I won't get locked up for diving to the ground and thrusting my pelvis as long as there's music playing.
73 In New Orleans, I'm never alone.
74 Sarafina's and watermelon slices.
75 Streetcars, even when they hit me.
76 Jambeaux, the wonder of St. Bernard.
77 Flora's and the revolutionaries.
78 Pain perdu stuffed with strawberries and cream cheese at Elizabeth's.
79 Uncle Lionel.
80 Seeing a horse drawn buggy from my window.
I'll add to this list. Eventually I want to have 1000 reasons.
I'm interested in love too, but I usually tend to fall for the emotionally unavailable.
Knowing is half the battle, right?
AMDG