What does Yemayá represent in Santeria? Mother and mistress of the 7 seas (2024)

May your waters wash away the evils of the world, Mother Yemayá!

They are the clear waters of the sea, an element of purification and rebirth.

And this is also how Yemayá is seen, the deity that represents the seas, motherhood and that love of a mother for her child.

She is the mother par excellence of all, Orishas and men, and thus devotion is rendered to her and her protection and advice is requested.

Yemayá belongs to the Yoruba religion, also known as Rule of Ocha-Ifá or SanteriaShe was the first orisha in the universe, since she was born when Olofi decided to create the world, and she arrived just to put out with water the fire that had been released and devastated the planet.

It is said that from Yemayá and Obbatalá, the other orishas of the Yoruba pantheon were born.

That is why Yemayá is seen as the mother of all and represents:

• Fertility,
• purification,
• motherhood and
• The origin of life.

Legend has it that your uterus is the most fertile of all, and functions as a source of life for all living beings.

For this reason, Yemayá is a symbol of fertility and is the owner of the ability to have children in women.

6 Beautiful qualities that define the Goddess Yemayá:

1. The goddess symbolizes the salt water of the seas, she is the mother of all living beings, the owner of the 7 seas.
2. Protect your children and devotees from all kinds of dangers and belly-related conditions involving sickness or death through water, rain or humidity.
3. She exerts influence and control over various organs of the human body such as: the buttocks, the uterus, the liver and the chest.
4. Its name derives from the contraction of the Yoruba expression Yèyé omo ejá, which translates into Spanish as «Mother whose children are fish».
5. Devotees flock to her for her great capacity for miracles and her mercy.
6. On numerous occasions they pray to her in syncretism with the Virgin of Regla, seen in the Christian religion as the patron saint of sailors and in Cuba, considered the guardian of the coastal city of the same name.

Yemayá is also a symbol of wisdom

Yemayá is a fortune teller par excellence, the Yoruba legend tells that she stole the okpele from Orula and this then gave her the snails (diloggún).

For this reason it is also said that she is the goddess of wisdom and a symbol of intelligence and cunning.

She knows how to judge people and how to act taking into account the capabilities and characteristics of each of her children.

The seas, the moon and Yemayá Why is the goddess associated with the moon?

The Pataki tells that the Sun was exhausted at the beginning.

Since the creation of the world he had never slept and he shone on the Earth day and night, so he was already on the verge of extinction, of being erased.

In addition, with its eternal brilliance, Olorun, the Sun, mistreated the Earth, causing everything to burn to death.

The Orishas were concerned about this situation and met to find a way out.

It was Yemayá who brought the solution. She had tucked some rays of sunshine under her skirt.

Thus, the goddess projected onto the Earth the rays that she had saved and sent the Sun to rest, to later shine again. The faint rays of light formed another star.

In this way it was stipulated that the Sun would rest to regain its strength and in the meantime Oxu, the Moon, would reign.

Its cold light would cool the Earth and human beings would not perish in the heat.

Thus, thanks to Yemayá, the Sun can sleep and at night, the stars watch over its sleep, until dawn brings another day.

In addition, Yemayá decided that through the moon and its phases together with the force of the wind, which shakes the waters, it would control the tides.

With attentions we raise our prayers to the Queen of the Seas

To pray to Yemayá, let us know that we can do it on the seashore or from the waters, so we will speak with our mother Orisha with tranquility and in her own natural temple.

Of course, we can also do it in our house, in front of an altar made to venerate it and adorned with the tones and elements representative of the sea.

Some of the items offered to you are:

• Ochinchin de Yemayá made with shrimp, capers, lettuce, hard-boiled eggs, tomato and chard,
• flowers like white roses and gladioli
• white or blue sails like the sea that represents it
• ekó (corn tamale that is wrapped in banana leaves),
• olelé (face beans made into a paste with ginger, garlic and onion),
• green bananas in balls or yam with okra,
• black beans and whole fish,
• Gofio palanquetas with c molassesaña,
• sweets such as burnt coconut, molasses of caña and black sugar
• fruits such as water melon or watermelon, pineapples, papayas, grapes, water pears, apples, oranges, etc.

The prayers that we dedicate to Yemayá can be very varied, usually they have a specific reason.

There are, for example, prayers for money, fertility, love, health, among others.

We must pray with all devotion, with faith and from the heart. We always tell him about our difficulties with immense confidence in his powers and in his decisions.

With this prayer we can pray to the owner of the sea Yemayá

O Osha Yemayá you who reign the waters, which cover all your children!

My Divine Mother, save our bodies and minds, purify us with your immense seas

spreading respect within our hearts, responding with great reverence

to the great force of nature that you embody and allow your waters to protect and protect us.

See Also

Frases De Yemaya - FrasesParaCopiar

We beg you great Yemayá, Queen of the waters, please listen to this desire to obtain.

With all love and justice, I beg you to give me the strength, give me the necessary energy to be able to bear everything.

In your kingdom the sea and under your harmony I want to live.

Protect my loved ones from all evils and dangers.

Blessed be your figure always. So be it

Phrases that remind us of the Orisha Water:

Many people who follow the Yoruba religion, remember some phrases or precepts related to Yemayá and applied to life.

For example:

• "A son of Yemayá should never rest until he gets what he wants."
• "I surrender to the current of life transporting me to where I need to be"
• "Giving up many times does not mean giving up nor is it giving up"
• "The only surrender must be to openness and trust"
• "I will teach you to withstand the blows of life, as rocks withstand the waves of the sea"
• "Children let everyone laugh, the last laugh is released by me"
• "Try to be humble in this life, because he who rises like a palm falls like a coconut."

We share some works for the Goddess Yemayá:

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