THE ORISHA OYA YANSA!
Oyá Yansá is the owner of winds and storms, and she brings change, wanted or not, into the lives of humans. She's the fiercest of the female Orichás, and she fights side by side with Changó in many battles. She goes into battle with two swords and, like Changó, she also uses lightening to strike down her enemies. She guards the gates of the cemetery, making sure that the boundaries between life and death are respected. She often wears a mask because she likes to protect her privacy. Oyá spends time with Oba and Yewá, female Orichás who live inside the cemetery, but Changó is her favorite companion. The patakís (sacred stories) say Oyá was married to Ogún, but Changó seduced her and took her away to live with him. Changó made a lot of enemies because he was always seducing other Orichá's wives. One night, while he was dancing at a party, some of his enemies locked him up inside a jail, and threw away the key. Oyá wondered why he didn't come home, but in a vision she saw he was being held prisoner. She called down a terrible storm and a lightning bolt broke the bars of the jail where Changó was being held. Oyá came rushing in on the gusts of the storm and rescued him. Since that day, Changó respects her abilities as a warrior. Although he isn't faithful to her as a husband, he never crosses her in battle. Oyá's army is made up of egun (spirits of the dead), and she uses violent winds to blow away everything in her path. Generally it's said that Oyá is the daughter of Obatalá and Yemú (Yembó). Yemayá and Ochún are said to be her sisters. Sometimes Oya is called by the name Yansa.