MAMI WATA
Mami Watastands for a pantheon of water deities
found primarily in the Vodun tradition practiced
in Benin and Togo. However, manifestations and
variations of Mami Wata, particularly as a female
water deity, along with her devotees, are found in
at least 20 African countries, the Caribbean, and
North America.
Among the Igbo, she isEzenwaanyi(“Queen or
Chief of Women”),Nnekwunwenyi(“Honorable
Woman”),Ezebelamiri(“Queen who lives in the
Waters”), Nwaanyi mara mma (“More than
Beautiful Woman”), or Uhamiri, “which has
mmiri, or water as its root.” In parts of former
Zaire, she isMamba Muntu, “Crocodile Person.”
In the diaspora, she is known as Watramama in
Suriname and Guyana; Mamadjo in Grenada;
Yemanya/Yemaya in Brazil and Cuba; La Sirène,
Erzulie, and Simbi in Haiti; and Lamanté in
Martinique. This entry offers a description of the
Mami Wata and looks at their impact.
Descriptive BackgroundThe name Mami Wata is thought to derive from
the English wordmommyormammyandwater,
or “mother of the waters.” Devotees in this
ancient tradition trace the origin of the name back
to ancient Egypt:maormama, meaning “truth”
or “wisdom,” anduatifor “water.” Also, in many
Sudanic languages,watorwaatis “woman.” The
spread of the specific name Mami Wata has been
attributed to the Kru of Liberia who, at the end of
the 18th century, traveled extensively along the
west coast of Africa on behalf of European traders
and took Mami Wata with them.
Mami Wata deities are both male and female,
but are nonhuman and have never been human.
Mami Wata spirits are born of Nana Buluku, the
great mother of the mountain, and head a sub-
pantheon of deities known as Vodun. Other inter-
pretations place Mami Wata deities below the
rainbow serpent pair of Dan Aido Wedo. As part
of a pantheon, each Mami Wata deity has a spe-
cific ceremony, food, drink, taboo, color, and
sacred day. In addition, there are beads for each
deity, calleddanmi, or “excrement of the rainbow
serpent.” The color, order, and material of the bead
indicate a specific deity. Those worn on the left
hand represent a male spirit, and those on the
right are a female spirit.
Mami Wata deities are the source of Earthly
wisdom, human creativity, genius, divine inspira-
tion, and sacred paths to enlightenment.
Priestesses are mamisii, mamissi, mamaissii, or
mammisi.Mammisimeans “motherhood temple”
in ancient Egypt and could indicate a relationship
with Isis. People enter into a relationship with
Mami Wata by having an encounter as described
earlier or through Ifa divination or dreams. In
recent times, future devotees often experience a
crisis that requires the assistance of a mamisii. In
the past, villages would initiate a young girl who
would then be responsible for maintaining their
shrine to Mami Wata.
As a specific deity, Mami Wata appears as a
beautiful creature, half woman, half fish, with long
hair and a light brown complexion, and she lives
in an exquisite underwater world. She is often
depicted with a snake around her waist or across
her shoulders or with a comb and a mirror. The
snake is the immortal messenger of deities and a sym-
bol of divination, which is important to devotees
andmamisii. The comb and mirror are symbols of
her beauty or vanity. Mami Wata’s colors are red
and white, which reflect her dual nature as aggres-
sive and yet healing and nurturing. She kidnaps
people who are swimming, riding in boats, or
walking along the shore and takes them to her
underwater world. If a man walking along shore
comes across, she will quickly return to the water
leaving her comb and mirror behind. She will
return to the man in his dreams demanding her
items. If he returns them, promises to keep their
encounter a secret, and swears to be a faithful
lover, she will make him rich. If he does not, she
will bring misfortune or death to him and his
family. Mama Wata can also appear among
humans disguised as a beautiful woman. Hence,
her most popular associations are water and beau-
tiful women.Impact of Worship
The deities’ association with water was a major
influence on the manifestation of Mami Wata404 Mami Wata