Category Archives: Axe
Shango
Etymology: Strike from shan
Also Known As: Badé, Changó, Esango (Edo people), Hevioso, Jakuta, Nzazi, Sango, Ṣàngó, Siete Rayos, Xangô (Latin America), Sogbo or Ebioso (Fon people)
In Nigeria, among the Yoruban people and the Dahomey religion, Shango is a god or Orisha of fire, thunder, and lightning. Like many storm and thunder gods, Shango lives up in the sky where he hurls thunderstones down to the earth, killing those who offended him or setting houses on fire.
Attributes
Animal: Black Cat, Dog, Duck, Fresh Water Turtles, Quail, Ram, Sheep, Tortoise
Colors: Red, White
Day of the Week: Friday and Ojo Jakuta, the fifth day of the week in Yorubaland.
Elements: Fire
Feast Day: December 4th, same as Saint Barbara
Gemstones: Thunderstones; either meteorites or stone celts
Metal: Iron
Number: 3 and 6
Patron of: Resistance, Strength, Power
Sphere of Influence: Thunder, Lightning, Fertility, War, Truth, Intelligence, Courage, Power, Dominance, Resistance
Symbols: Stone Celt, Double-Headed Axe, Bangles, Brass Crown, any object struck by lightning
Taboo (Yoruba): Cowpea, don’t eat this.
Depictions
Statues, imagery, and other art featuring Shango show him with a double axe on his head that represent thunder. He will often be dressed in clothing that’s red and white. Sometimes Shango has six eyes and other times he has three heads. In some traditions, Shango wears a headdress with cowrie shells on it.
In the Candomblé traditions, Xangô as he is called wears red and has a brass crown.
Worship
There is a religious ritual of Shango designed to help devotees and followers of Shango to gain and have self-control. Shango beads tell the story of his essence with white beads representing Obatala’s logic alternating in balance with the red beads of Aganju’s fire and passion when pursuing a goal.
The initiation ceremony of Shango came about after his deification which preserves his memory and the prosperity he brings to his followers on a personal level just as he brought prosperity to the Oyo kingdom in life.
Altars to Shango will often have a carved image of a woman holding her bosom as a gift to Shango with a double-bladed axe sticking out of her head. The axe symbolizes the devotee as being possessed by Shango. The woman has an expression that is calm and collected, representing the attributes or qualities she has gained from her faith.
Ritual foods for Shango include guguru, bitter cola, àmàlà, and gbegiri soup. The Bata drum is also used during Shango’s worship and rituals.
Candomblé
In this religion, Shango or Xangô was the son of the Oyo king Oranyan. During the African diaspora, Xangô gained strong importance among the slaves in Brazil for his strength, resistance, and aggression. Xangô became a patron orixa of plantations and many Candomblé terreiros. In contrast, Oko, the orixa of agriculture didn’t receive as much favor among slaves in Brazil and given the circumstances, I don’t blame them.
A dish known as amalá (a stew of okra with shrimp and palm oil) is sacred to Xangô.
Santería
In the Santería religion, Shango, or Changó as he is known is the focal or center point of the religion and represents the Oyo people of West Africa. Changó is a representative of the ancestors and all who adhere to the Santeria faith.
In Latin America, there is a major initiation ceremony that has been held for the last few hundred years that is based on the Shango ceremony of the Ancient Oyo. It is a ceremony that has survived and is considered the most complete to have arrived on the Western shores.
Yoruba
There is an initiation ceremony that is also based on the Shango ceremony and is the basis for all the Orisha initiation ceremonies within the Americas.
Other Traditions
Other traditions that venerate Shango are Folk Catholicism, Louisiana Voodoo, Palo, the Portuguese Candomblé and Umbanda, the Trinidad Orisha, Haitian Vodou, and Vodun.
Royal Ancestor
Before becoming deified or an orisha, Shango was once a mortal king, the third king of the Oyo Kingdom. After his death, Shango became deified. I have other sources that say Shango is the fourth king.
The lineage of kings is as follows: Oduduwa, Oranyan, and Ajaka. In life, Shango was known as Jakuta and was the third king or Alafin of Oyo kingdom. Jakuta was the brother to Ajaka known to be more peaceful compared to Jakuta’s more violent rule who could wield supernatural forces to create thunder and lightning. Jakuta ruled for a period of seven years that was noted for constant war campaigns and numerous battles. Towards the end of Jakuta’s reign, it is said he caused the unintentional destruction of his palace with lightning. While alive, Jakuta was married to three women named Oshun, Oba, and Oya.
Oral traditions tell how during Shango’s mortal reign, a subordinate chief challenged Shango’s rule. Many people were impressed by the subordinate chief’s feats and demonstration of magic, such that they went to follow this new leader. Dismayed by this public defeat and humiliation, Shango left Oyo and committed suicide by hanging.
A variation to this story I came across is that Shango was so fascinated by the use of magic that while calling down the powers of thunder and lightning, Shango accidentally set fire to his palace and killed his wives and many of his children. It is in shame from that, that Shango left the kingdom of Oyo.
When enemies and detractors of Shango were contemptuous and spreading his shame, a series of storms swept over Oyo, destroying many homes. This caused people to believe that Shango’s powers had made him a god or orisha and these storms were proof of his wrath. There are suggestions that Shango’s followers set fire to these homes.
However, those loyal to Shango said that he really ascended to the heavens by climbing a chain and that he became an orisha. Shango would gain the attributes of an earlier orisha, Jakuta who represented the wrath of the supreme deity Olorun-Olodumare. Shango’s cult and worship would continue to grow and spread throughout Oyo and Yorubaland. Even neighboring people of the Edo and Fon would adopt Shango into their religions.
Orisha
Shango is a member of the Orisha, who are either a spirit or deity. In the Yoruba religion, a nature-based tradition, it is believed that the source of everything is called Olorun or Olodumare. The Orisha themselves are regarded as being different aspects of the main deity, Olorun-Olodumare. Shango is regarded as the most powerful of all the Orisha.
With the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, the worship of Shango was brought with the slaves and is now found throughout much of the southern U.S., Latin America, and South America.
Irunmole
Much like the Hindi avatars, Shango has had many Irunmole or manifestations. The names of some of them are Airá, Agodo, Afonja, Lubé, and Obomin. All of these people are believed to have been an incarnation of Shango and like many such Irunmole, had great wisdom and power while they lived.
Parentage and Family
Father
Oranyan – The mortal king of Oyo before Shango become deified.
Mother
Yemaja – Orisha mother goddess and protector of birth.
Consort
In some traditions, Shango’s wives are said to be the rivers.
Oba – She tried to win Shango’s love by offering her ear to him to eat. In anger, Shango sent her away and she became a river goddess.
Oshun – A river goddess and Shango’s favorite as he loves her cooking.
Oya – A Storm and Mother goddess, she is also the Niger river. It is said she stole the secrets of Shango’s magic.
Siblings
Oya – Depending on the stories or tradition, Oya and Shango are brother and sister, not husband and wife.
Shango’s Wives
As noted, the main wives of Shango are venerated as Orisha. All three are associated with rivers in Nigeria. The first is Oya, connected to the Oya River. Oya would become the orisha of battle, storms, and hurricanes. Oya had once been married to Ogun but would fall in love with Shango. Together, Oya and Shango partner up when going out to battle.
Then there is Oshun who is connected to the Osun River. Oshun is the orisha associated with love, sensuality, and femininity.
Lastly, we have Oba who was forever hopelessly in love with Shango. Oba would find herself rejected by Shango after another of his wives tricked Oba into cutting off her ear to feed to him. Oba went into exile in a cemetery and become the orisha of violent storms and death. She would also become the Oba River, specifically where it meets with the Osun River.
Orisha Of Thunder & Lighting
Shango is known as an orisha of thunder and lightning.
Fire – It should come as no surprise that one of Shango’s domains is that of fire as well. After all, lighting strikes are known to cause a fire.
Oṣè – This is the name that the double axe in Yorubaland that Shango has is called. The double axe symbolizes and represents lightning.
Resistance – During the African diaspora and slavery, Shango became a very important symbol of resistance.
Thunderbolts – Stone Celt
A celt in this case is a primitive stone tool like an adze, hoe or axe. Farmers would sometimes find these primitive, prehistoric tools while out-tilling their fields. Believing these stone celts were Shango’s thunderbolts, the farmers would take them to Shango’s priests who kept these in Shango’s shrine in an inverted mortar.
Shango was renowned and feared for his powers and whenever he spoke, fire came out of his mouth.
Jakuta – When not identified as an ancestor, it is believed that Shango likely usurped the duties and aspects of an older deity by the name of Jakuta. This older deity, Jakuta was known to hurl fire stones as punishment towards people if they acted against the wishes of Olodumre, the Supreme God, or Orisha. The name Jakuta means “Hurler of stones” or “Fighter with stones.” The prefix Ja means to hurl from aloft and the suffix okuta means stone. That’s interesting to note in connection to the stone celts that farmers would find out in fields and believed to be thunderbolts. Jakuta is also associated with a fellowship of meteorites.
Possession – Those who worship Shango and become possessed by him can eat fire, using oil-soaked cloth known as itufu to do so. Some may carry pots of live coal on their head or shove their hands into coals without any harm.
Fertility Orisha
As a fertility deity, particularly masculine fertility, Shango grants wealth and prosperity to his followers just as he did for the kingdom of Oyo during his mortal life and reign.
Dance – Shango’s power, seen in his ritual dances represents the dangerous side of sexual relationships. Another interpretation is a warning of the arrogancy in using military force for political gains and leadership. The bata drums are beaten to represent the sound of thunder.
War Orisha
As seen in the dances that Shango does, he is also he orisha of war as in life, he held many continuous campaigns and battles to expand his influence.
Oṣè – The double axe that represents lightning is also a symbol of military prowess and the use of violence.
Justice – There is also a close association of the use of force or might to make right and enforce justice. Shango was known for being rather harsh and strict with his subjects.
Catholic Saints
There are a few different Saints that Shango has been equated to and it varies by the religion revering him.
Saint Barbara – The Saint whom Shango is equated to in the Candomble tradition. She is the patron saint of armorers, artillerymen, military engineers, miners, and others who work with explosives. She has an old legend that connects her to lightning and mathematicians.
Saint Jerome – They are the patron saint of translators, librarians, and encyclopedists. In some traditions, he is regarded as the husband to Saint Barbara and for that reason, Saint Jerome gets syncretized or equated with Shango.
Syno-Deities
Jupiter – The Roman god of the heavens, his attributes are the lightning bolt.
Marduk – The Mesopotamian god of fertility and storms can be comparable to Shango.
Raijin – The Japanese god of thunder.
Teshub – The Hurrian god of the sky and thunder.
Thor – The mighty thunderer of Norse mythology, he is the god of thunder and war.
Zeus – The Greek god of the heavens, his attributes are the lightning bolt.
Goatman
Also Called: Goat Man
The Goatman is a figure from American Urban Folklore. It is often described as being humanoid in appearance with a goat head. It is infamous for stalking Fletchertown Road in Prince George’s County where it attacks people in cars with an axe.
The main sightings and legends of Goatman are from the state of Maryland with a few other states claiming their own Goatman cryptid. In Maryland, the Governor’s Bridge Road, Lottsford Road and Fletchertown Road in Prince George’s County along with the Glenn Dale Hospital have all become places that people claim to have seen the Goatman. The Goatman is blamed for the deaths of many pets and from time to time, hikers along with harassing people in cars or more accurately, terrorizing people in their cars with an axe. Especially on any hot spot roads claimed to be lover’s lanes.
Maryland Legend
The Goatman is a cryptid whose stomping grounds are Prince George’s County. After a number of dogs went missing or died, the Goatman was held responsible despite the evidence of passing trains being the cause.
Despite, the Goatman is popular among students and often there is graffiti reading: “Goatman was here” that can be found in various places. Even local law enforcement receives several calls claiming sightings of this creature. Most calls and reports are likely to be pranks that perpetuate this Urban Myth and Legend. The 1970’s saw a large number of sightings in Bowie.
Description: The accounts can vary, but most descriptions of the Goatman say that it is a humanoid with a relatively human face and body covered in hair. Other descriptions state that the Goatman resembles the fauns of Greek mythology with the upper body of a human and the lower body being that of a goat. Accounts vary with the creature being between four to twelve feet tall with most accounts placing a Goatman sighting at about six to eight feet tall. When riled up, the Goatman makes a high-pitched squealing sound.
Stories circulate that the Goatman makes his home somewhere in the forested, northwest region of Prince George’s County close to Bowie living in a makeshift shelter. From time to time, the Goatman comes out to kill a stray dog or beat on random cars with an axe.
Mad Science – One variation to the birth of this Urban Legend is that the Goatman was once a scientist who worked at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center. There had been an experiment with goats that backfired, and the hapless scientist mutated into a half man, half goat monster who began to attack cars in the area.
Crazed Hermit – This variation to the legend places the Goatman as a crazy hermit living in the woods. He could often be spotted walking alone at night on Fletchertown Road.
Goat Herder – This variation sees this legend as an angry goat herder who went berserk on discovering that some teens killed several of his goats.
Modern Folklore
Barry Pearson, a folklorist from the University of Maryland, says the Goatman legends began long ago…
The first reports for the Maryland Goatman began in August 1957 in Upper Marlboroa and Forestville of Prince George’s County. A young couple were spending an evening at a popular lover’s make-out spot, just off the road at dusk. They were interrupted by a loud banging on their car hood. The couple looked up to see a large hairy horned beast wielding a double-bladed axe. The creature ran into the woods shortly after.
A few nights later, another couple living nearby reported seeing a hairy wild-man rummaging through their trash. The Upper Marlboro Fire Department and local hunters organized a search for this mysterious creature to no avail. More sightings would come in the following weeks, but eventually the authorities would declare it all a hoax.
Some few years later, another young couple in their car, near Zug Road in Huntington would report having seen a similar creature staring at them from the woods. The creature was described as having a tall, ragged animal with human features.
The Goatman legend would continue throughout the 1960’s with Teenagers being warned against parking in the woods at night lest they have an encounter with the ax-weilding Goatman. Sightings and claims of encounters would continue.
The Goatman would begin to gain popularity in 1971. More accurately, the first story to feature the Goatman was on October 27th, 1971 in the Bowie area of Prince George’s County News. An article written by Karen Hosler used information found in the University of Maryland Folklore Archives that mention the Goatman and some ghost stories centered around Fletchertown Road. Later, Karen Hosler would write another article titled: “Residents Fear Goatman Lives: Dog Found Decapitated in Old Bowie.” This article would relate the story of a family searching for their missing puppy, Ginger. Unfortunately, Ginger would be found days later near Fletchertown Road decapitated.
To sensationalize the article, the Goatman was connected to the story with a group of teenage girls claiming they had heard strange noises and had seen a large creature the night that Ginger vanished. Nor did it help that the article reported how sightings of a large animal-like creature walking on hind legs were increasing for Fletchertown Road.
Increasing Goatman’s notoriety, the Washington Post would run an article on November 30th titled “A Legendary Figure Haunts Remote Pr. George’s Woods.” The article goes into detailing the men who found Ginger. The article continues with local police commenting how they’re getting more sightings of Goatman. How teenagers perpetuate and keep Goatman legends going by repeating stories of this creature attacking people in their cars, especially on the local lover’s lane. Of which, Fletchertown Road is one of them.
Other Goatman-esque Cryptids
The legend of the Goatman has become very widespread through the U.S., reaching a number of states that all claim some variation of the Goatman legend or at least a giant, hairy Bigfoot cryptid.
Old Alton Bridge, Texas
Also known as Goatman’s Bridge, this has been a location for many sightings of this cryptid in Texas. The bridge connects Denton and Copper Canyon. The Goatman of this region is known to wander the surrounding forest.
The origins of this story are tragic. As the tale goes, there had been a black goat farmer who lived with is family on the north side of the bridge. He was well liked and known for his honesty and dependable-ness. Locals began to call the farmer the Goatman and he posted a sign on the bridge reading: “This way to the Goatman.” The success of a black farmer brought the ire of the local Klansmen who showed up at the farmer’s home, kidnapping him and hanging him from the Old Alton Bridge. When they looked to see if the farmer had died, he was gone. The Klansmen panicked and returned to the farmer’s home to murder his wife and children.
This Goatman legend continues with locals warning how if you want to see the Goatman, park your car on the bridge, turn off the lights and honk the horn three times and he will appear. Like any ghost story, people tell stories of being touched, grabbed and having rocks thrown at them.
The “Goat Man Of Texas” legend tells the story of how the Goatman of Marshall and Denton, Texas is essentially sex crazed and goes after anyone, man, woman or beast for sex.
Lake Worth Monster, Texas
Another Goatman urban legend and cryptid from Texas. In July of 1969, people began to believe in and report some half-goat, half-man creature with fur and scales. This Goatman has been known to jump on cars denting them, to throw tires at people, of which a group of ten witnesses testified to that event.
A Tommy Burson reported that this goatman cryptid jumped on his car after leaping from a tree and causing an 18-ince long scar on the side of the vehicle. Burson uses this scar as proof his story and the local police investigated the matter.
It is after Burson’s report, the next night that people report a similar creature hurling a tire from a bluff over a group of people. Debrah Grabee claims possesion the only photograph taken by Allen Plaster who took it in October 1969 during the thrown tire incident.
Pope Lick Monster
A Goat-Sheepman found in the state of Kentucky. It is believed to live beneath a Norfolk Southern Railroad trestle over Floyd’s Fork Creek, Louisville. Claims for sightings of this cryptid began in the 1940’s and early 1950’s. Where the Goatman of Maryland could described more as a satyr, the Goatman of Kentucky has a fur covered body like a human and goat head. The earliest versions of this legend hold it responsible for cattle mutilations while in later stories, it is a foul tempered beast that seeks only to be left alone and other legends say that the screams of the Goatman are in imitation of the train that passes through its territory that extends to the Jefferson Memorial Forest to the South.
The trestle over the Pope Lick Creek is unfortunately a hotspot for many teens who will dare each other to cross the trestle that rises some 90 feet in the air and spans over 700 feet. Due to the lack of sound carrying in the area, many people don’t hear the on coming train in time and have either been struck by the train or jumped to their death.
Proctor Valley Monster
Not so much a Goatman, but more like some deranged cow-like animal that stands seven feet tall. This creature is blamed for numerous cattle mutilations.
Australian Goatman
I came across one version of a Goatman who appears in Australian urbans who appears to help people who have gotten lost or lead them to water.
Sasquatch
Or Big Foot, many people tend to categorize sightings of Goatman in the same vein as this legendary cryptid. Especially with height comparisons of six to seven feet tall, humanoid and hairy as all get out.
Also known as the White Thing is a cryptid found in West Virginia folklore that is often described as a being bear-like or canine in appearance with goat or sheep horns. If people are looking at the goatman as a cryptid with the horns, Sheepsquatch also comes to mind.
Waterford Sheepman
This is a cryptid found in the small town of Waterford, Pennsylvania during the 1970’s. It too has been called Goatman given the descriptions. This creature was often seen running across roads into farm fields.
Wisconsin Goatman
Part Urban Legend, part Ghost Story, the Goatman of Washington County, Wisconsin appears to date back to mid-nineteenth century. The story goes that a Civil War veteran was traveling along Hogsback Road with his new bride when the wagon they were in broke an axle. The veteran got out to go look for help. While she waited, the bride heard the sound of sniffing and growling outside the wagon. When the bride looked out, she was terrified of a dark, hairy creature with the body and head of a goat that walked upright like a man. She hid within the wagon until the creature was gone. The bride went running off in the direction her husband had gone. She followed muddy footprints until she came across his bloody body hanging from a tree with hoof prints all around the base.
Urban legends continue today warning travelers along Hogsback Road to be wary as the Goatman preys on unsuspecting drivers.
Urban Legend Vs Mythology
The cryptid and Urban Legend known as the Goatman is not completely unique. When we go back far enough into mythology, we can see that other cultures have had their own versions of a Goatman or Goat Deity.
Bocánach – A type of goblin or spirit described as being hairy humanoids with goat heads in Irish mythology known for haunting battlefields.
Glaistig – Hailing from Scottish mythology, the Glaistig is a ghost who appears in the form of a woman with the lower half of a goat, much like satyrs. Depending on the story she appears in, determines if she’s good or bad. Sometimes she lures men in with song and dance in order to drink their blood. Other stories have her throwing stones at people.
Naigamesa – Either a Deer or Goat-Headed deity of fertility worshiped in India among both Jain and Hindu beliefs. Naigamesa is a protector of children in Jainism while in Hinduism, he is feared and worshipped to ward off evil.
Pan – A goat deity of fertility worshiped in ancient Greece. Early depictions of Pan show him as a black goat with later descriptions giving him the familiar half-man, half-goat appearance.
Ptah – An Egyptian gods worshiped in Mendes. Ptah is a creator and fertility deity depicted with the body of a human and goat head. Male goats were sacred to the Mendesian mystery cult where they were involved in fertility rituals.
Púca – A spirit or fairy found in Celtic/Irish Folklore. The Púca are known tricksters and shapeshifters. One of the forms they would take is that of a goat.
Satyr & Fauns – These are the most notable and immediate that come to mind with half-man, half-goat creatures from Roman and Greek myth, respectively. With this claim and connection for Goatman, the earliest sightings can then go back to 520 B.C.E.
Folklorist Barry Pearson thinks that the inspiration for Goatman comes from students studying Greek mythology and the stories of Satyrs and the god Pan who is half goat, half human.
Yang Jing – This is a somewhat obscure Chinese Goat God whom mountain villages would offer sacrifices to, to ensure and protect their livestock and harvest.
Brickthology 