Yemanjá - Goddess of the Seas

Yemanjá is the goddess of the Ocean and the Seas, one of the seven orixás. She is worshiped by African Umbanda religions, and as such, has many followers in Brazil. In representations, like the above, she is shown as a beautifull, well proportioned lady, emerging in a voluptous dress from the waves of the sea. An image not far away from a syren or mermaid... She's got my full sympathy and attention.

Being the goddess of the sea, my take is that she'll take care of sailors too. And, maybe she'll extend that goodwill to boatbuilders? And, again maybe, she has some good relations to the orixá responsible for the weather? ... Yes?

If this were the case, I would ask her to make her influence work, to improve our weather in Rio de Janeiro. It is raining around here since Sunday! Cold, rainy weather is stopping our boatbuilding works! We have to laminate to get to the next step! Turn the boat and move on!!! Goddamit!!! Oh, sorry - no swearing in this post... :-/ I'll need to prepare a feast to do some honour....


From Wikipedia:
"The goddess is known as Yemanjá, Iemanjá or Janaína in Brazilian Candomblé[3] and Umbanda religions. The Umbanda religion worships Iemanjá as one of the seven orixás of the African Pantheon. She is the Queen of the Ocean, the patron deity of the fishermen and the survivors of shipwrecks, the feminine principle of creation and the spirit of moonlight. A syncretism happens between the catholic Nossa Senhora dos Navegantes (Our Lady of the Seafaring) and the orixá Iemanjá of the African Mithology. Sometimes, a feast can honor both."