Oshun’s Flight

Once, long ago, the world fell into silence. The rivers dried, crops failed, and the laughter of the earth faded into stillness. The Orisha tired from honoring Olodumare, the Supreme Creator, and the balance of creation began to wither.

The Orisha gathered to decide what should be done. Someone had to go to Olodumare to beg for mercy on behalf of humankind. But Olodumare lived beyond the heavens, in a realm no ordinary being could reach. The air was too thin. The sun burned too hot. The journey itself was a trial by fire.

One by one, the Orisha looked at one another. None stepped forward. The risk was too great.

Then Oshun, goddess of sweetness, beauty, and love, rose to her feet. She spoke softly but with conviction: she would go.

Her words were met with laughter. Some of the Orisha mocked her. “You? The river goddess? You’re too delicate, too concerned with your beauty. How could you ever make such a journey?” They didn’t believe she could endure what lay ahead. But none of them offered themselves either. So finally, they shrugged and told her, “Then go ahead. Try.”

Oshun transformed herself into a peacock, her feathers dazzling with greens and golds, her wings radiant under the sun. She rose into the sky, shining like hope itself. But as she climbed higher, the heat grew fierce and her shimmering feathers began to burn.

Still, she flew.

When she could no longer withstand the fire, Oshun made a choice. She transformed herself into a vulture, a bird of survival. A creature who can fly where others cannot. Her radiant feathers blackened. Her elegant tail became tattered. But her heart burned brighter than the sun itself.

Higher and higher she flew, her skin blistering, her wings battered. Through the burning air, Oshun pressed on out of love and hope for humanity

At last, scorched and trembling, she reached the palace of Olodumare. She carried no jewels. She brought only her sacrifice — the proof of her love for the people.

Olodumare saw her. He saw what the others did not: her strength, her heart, her willingness to lay down beauty and comfort for mercy and life. Moved with compassion, Olodumare took pity on her and lifted Oshun into the palace of the heavens.

Divine attendants came forward. Her burns were washed with cool water. Her skin was soothed. Her blackened feathers were tended with gentle hands until her strength returned. Olodumare, moved by her love and loyalty, granted her plea: rain fell once more, rivers began to sing, and humanity was given another chance.

Note on oral tradition: In some tellings, Oshun begins as a peacock and becomes a vulture; in others, she remains a peacock; in others still, she takes the vulture’s form from the start. This retelling honors the version where she ascends as peacock and transforms into vulture to endure the heat, and where Olodumare receives her with compassion and restores her.