Growing up as a kid, when there’s a power failure, my dad will call us outside the house and share with us many stories. This particular one I will be sharing is actually a Yoruba myth in the southwest part of Nigeria.

The story is about a powerful god in Yoruba land they call “Shango”. He’s the god of thunder and lightning. He had many wives, but among them, two were the most pretty and were notable for their deep love for their husband. One name is “osun”, a river goddess and she symbolizes fertility and love and the other ones name is “oba”, also a river goddess but more fierce and competitive, always striving to be the favorite wife. As a result of their competition to win their husbands love, their jealousy and hate grew for another. Their rivalry knew no bounds.

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Oba in an attempt to gain a competitive advantage over osun, went to seek for advice from friends on how she can become the undisputed favorite of her husband, Shango. She got a shocking advice that instructed her to cut off her ear and prepare a meal for her husband and when he sees it, he’ll be so touched by this sacrifice his wife had done just to please him and make her his favorite. Oba saw it as a good idea and went ahead with the plan.

Unfortunately, Shango was so mad and disgusted by the act she displayed. Osun after seeing how far oba could go just to win Shango’s love, left the house for good. She transformed back into a river. Her water symbolizes her enduring love for her husband and the sorrow she felt each time she had to fight to win his attention. This river still flows till this moment , reflecting her nurturing and loving nature.

Oba, on the other hand, who was also tired of being rejected by her husband despite how far she goes to make her husband feel loved, left the house, filled with grief as well, decided to transform into a river as well. But in her own case, the river was different. It is always filled with turbulent, showing the through nature of oba.

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Till today, this two rivers flows side by side in the southwest of Nigeria and occasionally meets but they never mix with each others. According to the Yorubas, it symbolizes their conflict and unresolved rivalry between this two goddesses.

The legend of this two goddess is more than just a mere story because they are been celebrated in some parts of Yoruba. It has been passed down from generations. Like the ”osun-osogbo” festival is a very big celebration among the Yoruba’s that attracts thousands of people including tourists from different parts of the states. Oba festival isn’t really too popular but it’s also remembered in various cultural traditions.

I will be inviting @echuku, @dannyben39 and @effyb for this contest