The Sacred Buffalo and the Deity Oya
Among the devotees of Oya, the powerful Yorùbá deity, it is strictly forbidden to eat buffalo meat. This taboo stems from the belief that Oya is the mother of all buffalos. As such, the buffalo’s horn is often used as a sacred symbol of the deity, kept inside her calabash.
The Hunter’s Encounter
The story begins with a hunter who ventured into the bush to hunt. As he lay in ambush on a tree, he spotted a buffalo next to a termite nest. As he prepared to shoot, he witnessed an astonishing transformation: the buffalo turned into a beautiful woman, who then clothed herself and hid her buffalo skin inside the termite nest.
The Bargain
After the woman had left, the hunter descended from the tree and took the hidden skin. When the animal-woman returned to search for her skin, the hunter approached her. Pretending to be unaware of her predicament, he asked what she was searching for. Upon hearing her plight, he offered to return the skin on the condition that she agreed to become his wife. Reluctantly, she consented.
The Hidden Secret
The hunter brought his new wife home, introducing her to his existing wife without revealing her true nature. The household remained peaceful until one day, a quarrel erupted between the two women. In the heat of the argument, the senior wife taunted the junior wife with the secret of her buffalo skin, saying, “Máa je máa mu, àwò re n be lákàá” (Eat and drink, your skin is inside the barn).
The Transformation
Devastated and betrayed, the junior wife retrieved her skin, transforming back into a buffalo along with her children. They charged towards the farm where the hunter was working with another child. A fierce fight ensued, ending with the hunter’s death at the hooves of the enraged buffalo.
The Legacy
Before retreating into the wild, the buffalo left behind one of her horns on the ground as a symbol for the boy. This horn became a sacred idol, signifying the beginning of the worship of Oya among the Yorùbás. This tradition, rooted in the tale of the buffalo woman, continues to this day, preserving the reverence for Oya and her divine connection to buffalos.
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Soure: yorubablog
