Oxumaré: Orisha of the Rainbow, Renewal and Transformation
Arroboboi, Oxumaré! Look at the sky after the rain, when the sun breaks through the clouds and an arc of colors stretches from one horizon to the other. That rainbow is Oxumaré — the serpent Orisha who links earth to sky, who carries the water back to the clouds, who renews the world with every cycle. Oxumaré is movement, transformation, the promise that everything renews itself.
Oxumaré is one of the most beautiful and enigmatic Orishas of the Yoruba pantheon. Serpent and rainbow at once, masculine and feminine, of the earth and of the sky — Oxumaré is the deity of the duality that does not oppose, but completes. Where others see contradiction, Oxumaré shows continuity.
Who Is Oxumaré? Meaning and Origin
Oxumaré (in Yoruba: Òṣùmàrè) is the Orisha of the rainbow and the serpent. The meaning of his name is literal: Òṣùmàrè is the very Yoruba word for rainbow. He is represented as a great snake stretching from earth to sky, or as the serpent biting its own tail, forming an eternal circle — a symbol of the infinite cycle of life, of continuous renewal.
Oxumaré is the son of Nanã, the oldest Orisha, and brother of Obaluaiyê. Together, mother and two sons form the earthly triptych — three deities bound to the earth, to ancestry, to death and renewal. But within that triptych, Oxumaré is the element of elevation: where Nanã is the mud of the depths and Obaluaiyê is the earth that receives the dead, Oxumaré is the arc that rises to the sky and brings hope.
The Sacred Duality
Oxumaré's most striking characteristic is his dual nature, expressed on several levels:
- Snake and rainbow — crawls on the earth and shines in the sky
- Masculine and feminine — in many traditions, Oxumaré is masculine for six months of the year and feminine for the other six; or is a deity who transcends the gender binary
- Earth and sky — connects the two worlds, transporting the water between them
- Movement and permanence — always in transformation, yet the cycle is eternal
Because of this fluidity, Oxumaré has become, in contemporary readings, a powerful symbol of inclusion and fluid identities. For many LGBTQIA+ people within African-matrix religions, Oxumaré represents the sacredness of diversity — proof that, in Yoruba cosmology, duality and transition are not deviations, but expressions of the divine.
The Myth of Eternal Movement
It is told that Oxumaré has the mission of carrying the water of the earth back to Orun, the spiritual world, and bringing back the rain that fertilizes the world. It is he who ensures that the cycle of the waters never stops — that the rivers feed the sea, that the sea evaporates into clouds, that the clouds rain upon the earth, that the earth returns the water to the sky.
Without Oxumaré, the cycle would stop, and the world would die of drought or drown in deluge. It is his ceaseless movement, rising and descending between earth and sky like a luminous serpent, that keeps the balance of life.
It is also said that Oxumaré holds up the world: he is the great serpent coiled around the earth, keeping it from falling apart. When he needs to rest, he lays his head upon his tail — and that is the moment when we see the complete rainbow in the sky.
This myth makes Oxumaré the Orisha of continuity and renewal. He teaches that nothing in life is static: everything moves, everything transforms, everything returns. Difficult phases pass, just as the rain passes and the rainbow appears. The wheel always turns.
Sacred Attributes
- Colors: green and yellow (the colors of the serpent and the rainbow); in some houses, all the colors of the rainbow
- Main symbol: the serpent, especially the one biting its own tail; the bradjá (a cowrie-shell necklace in serpent form worn by his children)
- Domain: the rainbow, snakes, cycles, wealth and continuity
- Votive food: batá (a kind of porridge), beans, sweet potato, eggs
- Day of the week: Tuesday (in some traditions, Monday, together with Nanã's family)
- Elements: water in motion, the rain, the rainbow
- Greeting: Arroboboi!
Oxumaré is also associated with wealth and fortune. Because he links sky to earth and moves by "bringing and carrying", he is invoked for prosperity that circulates, for abundance that renews itself. Wherever Oxumaré passes, they say, he leaves a trail of plenty.
Oxumaré in Dahomey, Cuba and Brazil
In the Fon/Ewe roots of old Dahomey (present-day Benin), Oxumaré corresponds to Dan (or Dangbé), the sacred serpent, one of the most revered deities. The rainbow-serpent Dan is seen as the support of the world and a symbol of continuity and wealth. The cult of the sacred serpent in Ouidah, Benin, remains alive to this day.
In Cuba, Oxumaré appears in the figure of Osumare or is associated with paths of other deities, his cult being less widespread than in Brazil.
In Brazil, Oxumaré is revered especially in Jeje and Ketu Candomblé. He is syncretized with Saint Bartholomew (whose day, August 24, is celebrated as Oxumaré's day in many houses). His children-of-saint are known for versatility, capacity for transformation and an energy of constant movement. The image of Oxumaré — the colorful serpent linking the worlds — is one of the most visually celebrated in the entire tradition.
Oxumaré and Personal Transformation
Oxumaré's message is deeply relevant to modern life. He is the Orisha who teaches that changing is not failing — it is living. In a culture that often demands we always be the same, coherent and fixed, Oxumaré reminds us that transformation is sacred.
The snake sheds its skin to grow. The rainbow only exists because rain and sun coexist. Water only renews itself because it is in motion. Oxumaré invites you to embrace your own transformations — the phases, the changes of direction, the reinventions — not as betrayals of who you were, but as expressions of who you are becoming.
How to Honor Oxumaré
- Embrace transformation. When life demands change, remember Oxumaré. Changing phase, mind or path is part of the sacred cycle, not a failure.
- Watch the rainbow. Next time you see a rainbow, stop and contemplate. It is the visible manifestation of Oxumaré, the bridge between the worlds. A moment of gratitude for the beauty of the cycles.
- Honor diversity. Oxumaré is the Orisha of fluidity and inclusion. Respecting and celebrating diversity — of gender, of identity, of ways of being — is living his energy.
- Trust the cycles. Every rain passes. Every winter ends. When you are in a difficult moment, Oxumaré reminds you that the wheel turns and renewal always comes.
- Cultivate prosperity that circulates. Oxumaré teaches that true wealth is the kind that moves and renews itself — shared, not stagnantly hoarded.
"The serpent rises to the sky and becomes a rainbow; the rainbow descends to earth and becomes a serpent. Nothing is only one thing. Everything transforms, everything returns, everything renews. Whoever understands the cycle never fears change."
Arroboboi, Oxumaré! May the serpent of the rainbow bring renewal to your cycles, beauty to your transformations, and the serene certainty that after every rain comes the arc of a thousand colors.
Want to discover what Oxumaré's energy of transformation and the Orishas reveal for your life cycles? The wisdom of the 256 Odus of Ifá awaits you.
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