Shango

He makes a detour in telegraphic wire…a storm on the knife’s edge. Once upon a time, a mighty king named Shàngó ruled the Oyo Empire, which you almost certainly did not learn about in history class. He was the sexiest man in Africa. In close combat he wielded a two-headed axe, and he could hurl a simple rock so hard it struck like a thunderbolt. Originally he was a god of divination, but traded that Purview away for drumming, dancing, and sorcery. His favorite spell let him breathe fire, which he did at any provocation, especially if you angered him. But Shàngó grew suspicious of his own most loyal, honorable officers. His schemes to turn them against one another backfired. Finally, his man Gbonka learned to counter his fire breath. After Gbonka stood up to and humiliated him, Shàngó went into the forest and… okay, we don’t really talk about what happened then. Shàngó would get upset.

Shàngó wears red and white. He has various wives, including Òshun and Oya. His incarnations are ambitious politicians, virtuoso drummers, b-boys, and (probably his favorite) baseball players. His symbols are his armaments: the two-headed wooden axe (or baseball bat) and the stones he throws like lightning. Fun fact: if you go into the 6 train stop at 110th Street and Lexington Avenue in New York, New York, there’s a huge mosaic of Shàngó on one wall (and another of Yemoja on the opposite side).

Shàngó’s Scions have been many, but they aren’t exactly known for their survivability. They tend to get their Visitations in their mid-teens, live fast, and die young. The media loves them for their tempestuous love affairs, high-profile beef, and general reality-television antics. Fortunately, Shàngó’s Scions love the media right back.