The provenance file on Ṣàngó
Provenance record 220 · Ṣàngó · one temple, fully accounted for.
Provenance
1. The attestation. —, from the tradition's own record. On record: Bascom, Ifa Divination, Johnson, The History of the Yorubas, Law, The Oyo Empire c. 1600–c. 1836, Mason, Four New World Yoruba Rituals.
2. The preserved evidence. a → à (Grave on a); o → ó (Acute on o) — absent from the ASCII form shango, present in the restoration, verifiable against the sources above.
3. The narrative record. The Fourth King of Oyo — Ṣàngó was the fourth Aláàfin (king) of Oyo. The traditions disagree about his end: some say he hanged himself after a political defeat, others that he was consumed by his own fire and ascended to heaven. Ṣàngó and his Wives — Ṣàngó is linked to several powerful female orishas. Ọya is said to have been his favourite companion in war, learning the secrets of fire from him.
4. The physical record. The Ṣàngó cult centre at Koso (near Oyo, Nigeria) preserves ritual memory of the deified king, while pre-colonial and colonial-era collections hold thunderstones (prehistoric stone axes identified as Ṣàngó's weapons), brass double-headed axes, and bàtá drums. Diaspora museums and religious houses conserve his red-and-white bead necklaces, carved dance wands, and thunderstone shrines.
5. The current holding. The temple at /sites/shango/, classified Tier 1. The restoration preserves more than the ASCII form can express — stress, length, or a letter the Latin keyboard lost — which places it, mechanically, in Tier-1.
6. The documented resonances. Meteorology & Weather Intelligence, Faith & Spiritual Organizations, Leadership, Governance & Public Administration — seats argued and weighted in the pattern atlas, read through the myths in this temple's Resonance File.
7. The primary sources. Nigerian Studies — The Orisha Myths — the library this file answers to, open at the Sacred Texts collection.
8. The continuing record. Ṣàngó is one of the most recognisable orishas in the African diaspora. His image appears in Caribbean and Latin American art, music, and festival; his bàtá drumming has influenced jazz, salsa, and contemporary world music.
At a Glance
- Restored name: Ṣàngó
- ASCII form: shango
- Meaning: "He who strikes"
- Domain of influence: Thunder, Fire, Justice
- Pantheon: Yoruba
- Classification: Tier 1
- Original script: —
- Series: The Restoration Files, No. 220 of 271
The File Continues
Read the founding dispatch for the name's full story, the Resonance File for the archetype at work — or the whole archive in one sitting.
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The Restoration Files are written from the same canonical record as the temples themselves: the lexicon, the lore catalog, the pattern atlas, and the cited scholarly sources. If a file ever disagrees with its temple, the temple is right — tell us, and the file will be corrected.