Yemoja as a Mermaid #2 - Sao Paulo, Brazil
Posted by: Metro2
S 23° 35.046 W 046° 39.557
23K E 330678 N 7390837
This sculpture is located in the Afro-Brazilian museum in Sao Paulo's Iberapuera Park.
Waymark Code: WM12EQ9
Location: São Paulo, Brazil
Date Posted: 05/11/2020
Views: 2
Yemoja (also known as Iemanja) is depicted here as a mermaid, a form she often but not always takes. This is the second of at least three such sculptures at this museum. The museum placard indicates that it is made of polychrome wood.
The museum placard does not indicate an artist...but dates it to the 1940's and the materials are painted plaster.
Wikipedia (
visit link) informs us:
"Yemoja ... is a major water deity from the Yoruba religion. She is an orisha. She is often syncretized with either Our Lady of Regla in the afrocuban diaspora or various other Virgin Mary figures of the Catholic Church, a practice that emerged during the era of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. Yemoja is motherly and strongly protective, and cares deeply for all her children, comforting them and cleansing them of sorrow. She is said to be able to cure infertility in women, and cowrie shells represent her wealth. She does not easily lose her temper, but when angered she can be quite destructive and violent, as the flood waters of turbulent rivers.
Yemoja is often depicted as a mermaid, and is associated with the moon (in some Diaspora communities), water, and feminine mysteries. She is the protector of women. She governs everything pertaining to women; childbirth, conception, parenting, child safety, love, and healing. According to myth, when her waters broke, it caused a great flood creating rivers and streams and the first mortal humans were created from her womb."