Queequeg’s small idol in Moby-Dick is called Yojo.
Yojo is described as Queequeg’s small, dark or ebony wooden god. Queequeg carries out private religious practices involving the idol, including making a small ceremonial fire and offering food. Ishmael initially views these customs through the assumptions of a nineteenth-century Christian sailor, but the novel presents Yojo as an important part of Queequeg’s identity and daily life.
Yojo also influences the plot. In the early chapters, Queequeg tells Ishmael that Yojo has directed him to let Ishmael choose the ship on which they will sail. Ishmael then selects the Pequod, bringing both men into Captain Ahab’s doomed voyage.
The idol is easy to confuse with names from other mythologies, such as Moloch or Dagon, but neither belongs to Queequeg’s religious world in the novel. Yojo is not a major speaking character; instead, the idol functions as a compact symbol of Queequeg’s faith, cultural independence, and the story’s recurring tension between chance and destiny.