Yemọja Chunky Shell Bracelet

Yemọja, the Caribbean derivative of the Yoruba water goddess Yemaya, is the nurturing embodiment of the Divine - the oceanic Mother of All Life and the most influential female Orisha (Yorubian deity/ divine messengers of the creator Olodumare).

Patron of intelligence and motherliness, she has authority over women’s affairs and protects the creative endeavours that women bring to life. She is affectionate, nurturing, larger-than-life, and a stunning beauty, often depicted as a twin-tailed siren (female temptress). Shells are her currency. Whether untamed or serene, she ripples her body like the waves, giving birth to the first 14 orishas, humans, the sun, and the moon.

Yemọja journeyed from the Ogun River in Nigeria to accompany her enslaved children during the middle passage of the Atlantic slave trade. Her omnipresence circling the Caribbean was a constant source of comfort and hope. In Cuba, she is depicted as Yemayá, dressed in a flowing blue and white skirt with seven layers. In Brazil, she reappears as Yemanja or Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, ruling as the ocean goddess of the crescent moon. In Trinidad, her name is Emanjah. Her Christian counterpart is St. Anne, the mother of Mary.