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To: Froufrou
Shango is a man of the cloth

Shango is not a "man of the cloth." He is a god in Nigerian/South American/Caribbean mythology.

Some background info on Shango:

Shango is the deity, orisha whose power is imaged by thunder and lightning. As the legendary fourth king of the ancient kingdom of Oyo, Shango's rule was marked by capricious use of power. One account asserts that Shango was fascinated with magical powers. He inadvertently caused a thunderstorm and lightning struck his own palace killing many of his wives and children. In repentence he left his kingdom and travelled to Koso where he hung himself. When his enemies cast scorn upon his name, a rash of storms destroyed parts of Oyo. Shango's followers proclaimed him a god and that the storms were Shago's wrath, avenging his enemies. All of the stories concerning Shango represent the theme of power-capricious, authoritative, procreative, destructive, magical, medicinal, and moral power. Shango's staff visualizes the unpredictable and violent power of the deity. This power is personified through dance. At the annual festival for Shango, an entranced devotee, the elegunshango, dances to the piercing, staccato rhythms of the bata drum and waves the staff, oshe, with violent and threatening gestures and then suddenly draws it to himself in a motion of quiet composure. In one account regarding the oshe shango, the female figure who balances the ax, the sign of Shango's power is equated with the "caprice and creative experience of human sexuality." Shango's power is compared to the libidinal drive which may prove dangerous to the possibilities of creatvie sexual relationships. This interpretation may again reinforce racial stereotypes of African male sexual prowess. Perhaps the Shango cult may instead be veiwed as awarning of the arrogant use of military power to political leadership.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shango

In Yorùbá mythology, Shango is perhaps the most popular Orisha; he is a Sky Father, god of thunder and the ancestor of the Yorùbá. 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 as the equivalent of St. Barbara in Santería, wherein he is called Chango. Shango was the fourth king of the Yorùbá, 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. He has three wives; his favorite (because of her excellent cooking) is Oshun, a river goddess. Another wife, Oba, another river goddess, offered Shango her ear to eat. He scorned her and she became the Oba River, which combines in dangerous rapids with the Oshun River. Lastly, Oya was Shango's third wife, and stole the secrets of his powerful magic. 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.

FWIW

1,950 posted on 08/02/2005 8:16:15 AM PDT by twigs
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To: Admin Moderator

Admin moderator please lock this thread. Thank you for your assistance.


1,951 posted on 08/02/2005 8:26:56 AM PDT by TexKat (Just because you did not see it or read it, that does not mean it did or did not happen.)
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To: twigs
Shango is a man of the cloth

I think what she means is the poster using the name Shango is a man of the cloth.

1,953 posted on 08/02/2005 8:54:50 AM PDT by Dark Skies ("The sleeper must awaken!")
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