Yemowo
Yoruba
Etymology
From iye/iya (“mother”) + Mòwó (“Mawu”), literally “Mother Mòwó”. See Măwŭ
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /jē.mò.wó/, /jé.mò.wó/
Proper noun
Yemòwó or Yémòwó
- in the ancestral Yoruba (Proto-Yoruboid) religion, a supreme creator deity/goddess regarded as the consort of the sky deity Ọbàtálá (then known as Òrìṣà). She was equivalent to Mawu in the Dahomean religion
- in the modern Yoruba traditional religion, a divinity who is the wife of the deity of purity and creation, Ọbàtálá
Usage notes
- Yemòwó's role in the modern Yoruba religion has been severely relegated compared to her role in the older form of the religion and related religions.