untitledOya is the goddess of the wind. She is the breeze that cools us, the draft that chills us and she is the fury of the tempest. Oya is the invisible movement of air in the atmosphere, whose action is reflected in the hurling of dirt, the sway of the trees, or in other like phenomena. She is the patroness of the marketplace. The marketplace is the embodiment of this ideal, for it is here that the fortunes of man change hands; poor become rich, rich become poor and both goods and people spin in a never-ending exchange. She also represents the destruction of old society making way for the new; The power to destroy cities and field, reverting them back to their original state. She accomplishes this by sending tornados, cyclones and hurricanes which destroy everything in their path, forcing mankind to rebuild new cities. Oya is queen of the cemetery. It is said that her house is the graveyard and that the spirits of the dead are her subjects. Oya is the death wind that swirls and howls in the cemetery. Oya understands death.Oya is associated with the bed, which is symbolic of repose and the final resting place. The bed is symbolic because is closest to death when one is asleep and because the bed is thought of as the most peaceful place to die and take one's last breath. Oya is the air which sustains life on earth. She is the fresh air which cools and freshen the land and she is the breath that olofi blows into man. She is also associated with the weather vane,boats, windmills, vacuum cleaners, kites, balloons, gliders and airplanes. Oya is the goddess of the Niger river. She is also represented by the buffalo. She transforms herself into a wild buffalo. Her offerings are: