CASA PAI ROGERIOCarapicuíba/SPOxumarê: meaning, history and traditions in Umbanda and Candomblé
The rainbow serpent, joining heaven and earth and associated with transformations and life cycles.
Who Oxumarê is
Belief / interpretationThe name comes from Yoruba and means "rainbow". Oxumarê is the cosmic serpent, connected with mobility and the force that keeps everything in motion. He is represented by a snake biting its own tail, a symbol of cycles.
Teaching of a house or traditionIn the tradition of many houses, he is described as Nanã's son and Obaluaiê's brother. There are also interpretations in which he spends half the time as a serpent and half as a rainbow. These images vary by nation.
Material elements
Documented historyThe necklace called brajá, of interwoven búzios in the shape of scales, is associated with Oxumarê in different traditions. The rainbow serpent is a figure recognized in other cultures, as studies of African and African-American religions show.
One interpretation in Umbanda Sagrada
Teaching of a house or traditionAn Umbanda Sagrada organization presents this Orixá, associating it with renewal of the affective field. This is one tradition's interpretation, not a confirmed foundation of CASA PAI ROGERIO. It should not replace Yoruba narratives or be treated as a universal correspondence.
Belief / interpretationThe source page also presents colors, stones and herbs of its tradition. We do not reproduce them as a table of recipes. A plant's common name, religious association and safety of use are different questions; a correspondence does not authorize ingestion or healthcare treatment.
Traditional narrativeOlodumarê and the blindness
One narrative recounts that Olodumarê fell ill and became blind, and was healed by Oxumarê. Fearing he would lose his sight again, he kept Oxumarê beside him in Òrun, from where he visits Earth from time to time, appearing in the sky as a rainbow. The story explains why the rainbow ends the rain.
Narrative retold in summary, in the site's own words. Variations exist among houses and traditions; the bibliographic attribution, when available, appears at the end of the page.
Frequently asked questions
Is Oxumarê a male or female Orixá?
Traditions describe him in different ways. Some versions speak of an alternation and others prefer to treat him in a non-binary way. The site does not impose a single reading.
Bibliographic references
- PRANDI, Reginaldo. Mitologia dos orixás. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 2001.