Aganju (known as Agayú, Aggayú, Aganjú or Aganyú in Spanish speaking counties) is an

Orisha Orishas (singular: orisha) are divine spirits that play a key role in the Yoruba religion of West Africa and several religions of the African diaspora that derive from it, such as Haitian Vaudou, Cuban Santería and Brazilian Candomblé. The p ...

. He is syncretized with

Saint Christopher Saint Christopher (, , ; ) is venerated by several Christian denominations. According to these traditions, he was a martyr killed in the reign of the 3rd-century Roman Empire, Roman emperor Decius (), or alternatively under the emperor Maximin ...

in the Cuban religion known as Santería. Aganju is strongly associated with

Shango Shango (Yoruba language: Ṣàngó, also known as Changó or Xangô in Latin America; as Jakuta or Badé; and as Ṣangó in Trinidad Orisha) is an Orisha (or spirit) in Yoruba religion. Genealogically speaking, Shango is a royal ancestor of th ...

. As king of Oyo, he was described as Shango's nephew, son of his brother Ajaka. Thus, both Shango and Aganju were, at one time, rulers of the Oyo empire who became deified.

Yoruba religion

In the Yoruba areas of

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

and

Benin Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its po ...

Republic, Aganju is known as a deified warrior king from the town of Shaki in the present-day

Oyo State Oyo is a States of Nigeria, state in South West (Nigeria), southwestern Nigeria. Its capital is Ibadan, the List of Nigerian cities by population, third most populous city in the country and formerly the second most populous city in Africa. Oyo ...

of Nigeria. He was said to walk with a sword and is said to fight by shooting fire, as opposed to Sango who fights with thunderstones and lightning. Shaki is in the savannah area of northern Yorubaland that has monoliths and boulder outcroppings.

Santería (Lucumí/Regla de Ocha)

In Cuba, Aganju is a

volcano deity A volcano deity is a deification of a volcano. Volcano deities are often associated with fire, and are often represented as fire deities as well. The following is a list of volcano deities: Africa, Near East and Spain * Yahweh, in pre-Judaic ...

for the practitioners of Santeria/Lucumi religion. But there are no volcanoes in either Cuba nor Yorubaland, nor is Aganju associated with volcanoes among the Yoruba people. However, the Biu Plateau in the highland area of Northeastern Nigeria contains a number of extinct volcanoes. Biu Plateau is about from Abuja, the capital of Nigeria and about from Oyo, Nigeria. These extinct volcanoes have long been extinct and they are also far from Yorùbáland geographically. It is most likely that the association of Aganjú with volcanoes in Cuba is not older than the last century among creoles. And this is due to Aganjú's supposed temperament coupled with the relationship with Oroíña of Cuban Orisa faith (Ọ̀rànmíyàn in Yorùbá language).

Candomblé

In the

Afro-Brazilian Afro-Brazilians (; ), also known as Black Brazilians (), are Brazilians of total or predominantly Sub-Saharan African ancestry. Most multiracial Brazilians also have a range of degree of African ancestry. Brazilians whose African features are mo ...

tradition of

Candomblé Candomblé () is an African diaspora religions, African diasporic religion that developed in Brazil during the 19th century. It arose through a process of syncretism between several of the traditional religions of West and Central Africa, especi ...

, Aganjú is worshiped as a manifestation or quality of the Orisha

, often called ''Xango Aganjú''. Aganjú represents all that is explosive and lacking control. He is also nicknamed "Xangô menino" among Candomblé practitioners.

Yoruba religion

Santería (Lucumí/Regla de Ocha)

Candomblé

Further reading