This vibrant celebration on folklore, mythologie, music and art reveals the many manifestations of Oya, one of the most dynamic and vital Frican Goddesses.

Oya manifest in powerful forms of nature: the great river Niger, strong winds and tornadoes, lightning and fire, and the African buffalo. Firts worshiped by the Yoruba, Oya offers special protection and encouragement to Yoruba market women and is considered the patron of feminine leadership, persuasive charm, and magical powers. Combining art, poetry, storytelling, cultural criticism, and autobiographical narrative, Judith Gleason illuminates every aspect of Oya and the feminine symbolism she represents. Sche explores how Oya's varied aspects and incarnations reflect the ambivalence with which womankind has traditionally been regarded, as well as the pervasive fear of the potentially overwhelming nature of female passion. Mysterious, unseen, destructive, gifted, ä woman who has àjé [the occult power to do good or evil] won't admit it.... In true womanly fashion, she'll contain it." Cinfined and exluded by male structures of thought and language, Oya is the goddess of the edges, secrecy, infiltration, transformation, and quicksilver vanishing.
With scholarly passion and exuberant engagement, Gleason traces Oya's trail from Africa to the New World, Brazil, the Caribbean, and New York City. The result is at once a thought-provoking resource and jubilant celebration