SHANGO - The story:

Mythology

When Oranmiyan died, his elder son, Ajuan, became King. But he was a weak King and could not
keep all his chiefs in order.So he was removed from the throne and his younger brother, Shango,
became king. 

SHANGO- god of Thunder & Lightnning

Shango was a brave and warlike hero and it was said that when he spoke, fire came out of his mouth and smoke from his nostrils.
He soon gained control over the chiefs and ruled them, strictly and it is said – cruelly.
Shango ruled for seven years, but his life came to a sad end. One day, he was trying to use his charms to attract lightning from the sky, and his house was struck by lightning, and his wives and children were killed.

Many of his friends came to console him, but he would not be consoled, and  so he decided to return to the nupe country, the country of his mother.
Those who were loyal to him, begged him not to go but he insisted. As he was going, his friends deserted him one by one, and in the end he had only very few people left with him.
On the other hand, he was ashamed to go on with so few people, and he could not return to Oyo, So he hanged himself on a shea-butter tree.
Some of his remaining friends, including his wife Oya, died in the same way. Later, people made him into a god and in various part of the Yoruba country, he was worshipped as the god of thunder.


                                                                    Mitologia

Quando Oranmiyan morì, il suo primogenito Ajuan divenne re, ma era un re debole e non riusciva a tenere in pugno tutti i suoi Consiglieri. Quindi fu rimosso dal trono e divenne re suo fratello minore, Shango.
Shango èra un re coraggioso e guerriero e si diceva che, quando parlava, dalla sua bocca e dalle sue narici uscivano il fuoco e il fumo.
Immediatamente ebbe il controllo dei suoi consiglieri, governandoli con rigore e crudeltà.
Shango governò per sette anni, ma la sua vita terminò in maniera molto triste: un giorno, mentre cercava di attirare i fulmini dal cielo, la sua casa fu colpita da un fulmine e le sue mogli ed i suoi bambini rimasero uccisi. Molti dei suoi amici cercarono di consolarlo, ma senza successo; così decise di tornare al Nupe, il paese di sua madre. I più fedeli lo pregarono invano di non partire. Lungo il cammino i suoi amici cominciarono ad abbandonarlo ad uno ad uno e alla fine solo pochissime persone rimasero con lui.
Shango si vergognava di proseguire con così poca gente e preferì non tornare a Oyo, ma si impiccò su un albero di burro di shea.
Alcuni amici rimasti con lui, compresa la moglie Oya, morirono nello stesso modo.
Successivamente, la gente fece di lui un dio e fu venerato come il dio del tuono e del fulmine in varie parti del paese.