Sogbo
A bochio or ritual statuette, by Fon artist (n.d).
Afrika Museum Berg en DalCC BY-SA 4.0Overview
In the Fon religion of West Africa, Sogbo (also known as Hevioso) is the chief deity of the thunder pantheon. In some traditions, he is also regarded as the head of the sea pantheon. He is the second-born son of the creator god, Mawu-Lisa.
Sogbo is first and foremost the vodun (god) of lightning, thunder, rain, and fire, giving birth to the other gods of the thunder pantheon.[1] However, he is also considered the god of justice, punishing criminals and evildoers by striking them down.[2] In some accounts, he is portrayed as androgynous, with both male and female aspects.
Pronunciation
English
Fon
Sogbo Sogbo Phonetic
IPA
[SOHG-boh] /sog.bo/
Sogbo Withholds the Rain
A Representation of Hevioso (Sogbo) in the Musée Honmè photographed by Rachad Sanoussi, (2019).
Wikimedia CommonsCC BY-SA 4.0
After the creation of the universe, Mawu-Lisa, the androgynous creator god, gave birth to the other gods of the Fon pantheon. The first-born son was Sakpata, closely followed by Sogbo and five other vodun. Mawu-Lisa then divided the realms of the world among their seven children.
As the eldest child, Sakpata tried to claim the greatest domain: the earth. Sogbo, however, was unhappy with this claim. Undeterred, Sakpata moved to the earth to occupy it as his new kingdom, but he forgot to take the rain with him. As an act of vengeance, Sogbo claimed the rain before his brother could.
In his anger, Sogbo withheld the rain from his brother’s domain, causing a terrible drought and immense fires.[3] Though Sakpata pleaded for mercy, Sogbo ignored his brother’s requests for assistance.
Sakpata finally prayed to Mawu-Lisa for aid. Seeing that the conflagration on earth was threatening the sky—the home of the gods—Mawu-Lisa intervened: they ordered Sogbo to release the rain so that the earth (and sky) would not be destroyed.[4] The brothers eventually made peace, and Sogbo now releases the rain whenever the earth requires it.[5]