In Yoruba mythology, Oya is the orisha associated with wind, storms, and the Niger River.
Oya is one of the major female orishas of Yoruba religion. Her command of powerful winds and storms makes her a deity of movement, sudden change, and transformation. She is also connected with lightning, thunder, and the boundary between life and death, giving her a particularly dynamic place in Yoruba religious thought.
Oya is traditionally regarded as the patroness or queen of the Niger River, known in Yoruba as the Odò-Oya. She is also remembered as a fierce warrior and as the wife of Shango, the orisha strongly associated with thunder and lightning. Some traditions describe her as able to transform into a water buffalo, an animal that became one of her important symbols.
Oya is sometimes confused with Oshun because both are female river-associated orishas. Oshun is especially connected with the Osun River, love, beauty, fertility, and sweetness, while Oya’s imagery centers on wind, storms, warfare, the Niger, and the spirits of the dead. In the Americas, she is widely known by names such as Iansã.