Yemọja
Yoruba edit
Etymology edit
From iye (“Mother”) + ọmọ (“child”) + ẹja (“fish”), literally “Mother of the fishes”, this etymology is also said to be a metaphor relating to the fact that Yemọja is a mother to children as numerous as all the fish of the oceans.
Pronunciation edit
Proper noun edit
Yemọja
- A powerful river orisha of creation, water, fertility, motherhood, sometimes regarded as the adoptive mother of all the orisha. She is believed to be the spirit of the Ògùn river.
Derived terms edit
- oníyemọja (“A priestess of Yemọja”)