Oxumaré

The Rainbow Serpent

Domain: Rainbow, Rain & Renewal
Alignment: Neutral Good
Element: Water
Relics of Power: Cosmic Rainbow

Speak with Oxumaré

The People

People

Yoruba people

Region

West Africa & the diaspora

Period

c. 1000 AD – present

The orixás are worshipped by the Yoruba people of present-day Nigeria and Benin, with Ile-Ife as their spiritual center. Through the slave trade, their faith crossed the Atlantic and flourished in the Americas as Candomblé, Santería, and Vodou. It is today one of the most living and widespread African religious traditions in the world.

The Osun festival in Osogbo, Nigeria, draws thousands to the sacred grove of the Osun river, a UNESCO heritage site. The Ifá oracle guides decisions through the odus, and in Brazil the Candomblé terreiros honor each orixá with their own drums, dances, colors, and foods.

The Sacred Scrolls

Orixá of the rainbow, the rains, movement, and renewal, Oxumaré is depicted as a serpent that links the sky to the earth. Symbol of cycles and continuity, he carries the waters of the earth back to the clouds. Androgynous, he alternates between male and female, embodying the eternal movement and transformation. As The Rainbow Serpent, this deity occupies a position of supreme prestige in the iorubas pantheon. Their domains over Rainbow, Rain & Renewal reflect ancestral cosmic order maintained across millennia. In classical iconography, they are depicted with an aura of unshakeable majesty and sacred attributes that inspired reverence in emperors and peasants alike. Their influence extended beyond earthly boundaries, governing fates and harmony between the visible and invisible worlds. For ancient devotees, contemplating their essence was to understand the very fundamental forces of nature and human existence.

Sacred Symbols

The serpent, the rainbow, the snake biting its tail and the varied colors

Divine Lineage

Son of Nanã; brother of Obaluaê; orixá of movement and of cycles.

The Legendary Myth

Oxumaré has the task of carrying the water gathered on the earth back to the sky, ensuring the eternal cycle of rains and the continuity of life.

Legends & Deeds

A celebrated secondary legend preserved in the oral traditions of the iorubas recounts the journey when Oxumaré intervened directly in the lives of mortals.