Oya In Yoruba mythology , Oya ( Alternative spellings : Oiá , Iansã , Iansan ) , is the Undergoddess of the Niger River . Oya has been syncretized in Santería with the Catholic images of the Virgin of Candelaria . Aspects . She is seen in aspects as the warrior - spirit of the wind , lightning , fertility , fire , and magic . She creates hurricanes and tornadoes , and guards the underworld . She is the spirit of tornadoes ( which are said to be her whirling skirts as she dances ) , lightning , and any kind of destruction . Beyond destruction , Oya is the spirit of change , transition , and the chaos that often brings it about . she own the marketplace , the Yorubas as a said " Life is a Marketplace and our true house is in heaven ( araorun ) at so she is also the giver of life . She live at the gates of cemeteries ( as opposed to the entire underworld ) , reveals her in her aspect as facilitator of transition . Oyá , when danced , often has a horse tail . Her clothes have all the colors but black . She has a face expression of really big and open eyes , and she breathes and blows up her chins , and often screams . Oya ' s close association with the passage from life into death also means she is one of the few Orishas which are worshiped alongside the Egun ancestors , whose cult is most often distinct from that of the Orishas . The reason she is worshipped with Egungun is because the Egungun are her children . In the stories of the faith , she can transform herself into a water buffalo . One of her preferred offerings is the eggplant . Name . In Yoruba , the name Oya literally means " She Tore " . She is known as Oya - Iyansan , Oya - the " mother of nine . " This is due to the Niger River ( known to the Yoruba as the Odo - Oya ) traditionally being known for having nine tributaries . In Brazil , in Candomblé , she is generally saluted with the phrase " Èpa heyi ! " while in Cuban - derived Yórùbá traditions , the faithful often salute her by saying " Hekua hey Yansa . " Connection to Other Orishas . She is closely associated with many Orisha s , but most especially Chango , Oggun , Oba ( Obba ) , Yewá / Euá and Ochún / Oxum . Oya is believed to have been Shango ' s favorite wife . She is also called " the one who uses air as her cutlass " , " the one who wraps herself in fire , like a cloth " , " the one who puts on pants to go to war " , and " the one who grows a beard to go to war " . She was known to lead Shango in battle , which makes sense physically as Oya is the Orisha of lightening , and Shango is the Orisha of thunder ( lightning always precedes thunder ) . As the deity of the wind , Oya manifests in Creation in the forms of sudden and drastic change , strong storms , and the flash of the marketplace . Her representation of natural disasters and death is not as arbitrary as it may seem , these factors often serving as a means of creation for her . Oya is said to have a sister named Ayao who is received by some of her initiates . The ritual and existence of Ayao is questionable , and it is hard to trace her origins outside of the Lukumi system . Ayao is mentioned in books by Lydia Cabrera and surfaced in the United States in the mid - nineties ( 1994 – 1995 ) . Syncreticism . Oya has been syncretized in Santería with the Catholic images of the Our Lady Of Candelaria ( Saint Patron of the Canary Islands in Spain ) and St . Therese of Lisieux , and her feast day is February 2 . In some places of Brazil like Salvador , Oya , also known as " Iansan " or " Yansã " , belongs to the mystical cast of the religion Candomblé and has been merged with the Catholic figure of Saint Barbara . Thus , as the saint , she is celebrated on December 4 . In Pop Culture . In Octavia Butler ' s dystopian Parable series , the heroine bears the name Lauren Oya Olamina . Lauren founds a religion called Earthseed , with the main tenet " God is change . "