21 Days of Goddesses til’ Imbolc
Day 6 — Nana Buluku (Creation, women, women’s problems, preganancy, water)
She is believed to be the most revered deity and the genesis of any form of worship and religion in West Africa.
Nana Buluku is said to have created the universe and given birth to the moon and the sun. The moon is known as the divine spirit Mawu and the sun as the Divine spirit Lisa. In many folk songs and tales that give an account of her story, Nana Buluku retired after her hard work and left the world in the hands of her twin children Mawu and Lisa. To date, because of this account, many traditional societies fear and respect twins, especially those that come as boy and girl.
Nanã Buruku is the mud and marshes. She is the oldest orixá linked with water and is the mother of death, whom she holds in the depths of the earth. She is the protector of secrets and responsible for forming the human body. She dances in a very dignified manner, demonstrating her old age and carries an ibiri rocking it like a baby, symbolizing her relationship with the deceased.
Nana Buluku can also be found within the Ewe communities in Togo and parts of Ghana as well as among the Akans. She is also strongly present and revered in Nigeria, among the Yoruba and Igbo traditional communities. Among the Fon and Ewe in Ghana, she is known as Nana Bukuulu and Nana Bukuu; and Nana Kuruku among the Yoruba of Nigeria. The Igbos of Nigeria refer to her as the Olisabuluwa. The Akans of Ghana call her Nana Buruku. Among these societies, she is still actively worshipped as the mother goddess.
During the slave trade, Nana Buluku travelled with her people on their ships. It is believed that her twins took turns in protecting the slaves, Lisa during the day and Mawu at night. The deities worked very hard with the water goddess Mame Wata to help the slaves travel safely to their new worlds.
Nana Buluku is well represented in the Carribean Islands, Haiti and Suriname societies after surviving the Atlantic slave trade and passing from generation to generation among slaves who worked hard on the cotton, sugarcane and tobacco plantations. She is also very present in Southern American communities, especially in Brazil. She is celebrated as Nana in Brazilian Candomble Jeje and Candomble Ketu where her image still remains as a very old woman and the mother of creation. Nana Buluku can also be found in the Afro communities in France and Holland and
Nana Buluku is also known to be the wisest deity who is known to keep her wisdom and the power of her twins in a calabash. Her world is represented on the adire cloth of the Yoruba, the primary design of the now popular tie-dye cloth.
the strongest and oldest deity and creator of the world blesses those that worship her to this day.
The grandmother of all Orishas, Nana Buruku is the ancient mother of the universe. Nana Buruku watches over all women. She is the protector of everything female, including pregnancy, and she takes her role as wisewoman and grandmother very seriously. She has very little patience for men and surrounds herself mainly with priestesses. Women find comfort in her knowledge and strength.
Associations:
Days: Monday and Saturday and ceremonial greeting is ”Saluba.”
Number: Seven
Nothing made of metal: Due to her volatile relationship with Ogun, Orisha of iron, Nana Buruku hates all things made from metal.
Symbols: the moon, leaves, Baobab tree and the angelfish.
Colors: Pink, blue, dark blue, lilac, purple and white.
Offerings: tobacco, coconut, coffee beans and tomatoes on a clay plate. Pour some Crown Royal rum in a small glass and add it to your other offerings.
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