Where does “Yemọja” come from?

Yemọja (Yoruba) comes from Yoruba iyè, from Proto-Indo-European yé-, from Chichewa iye — he, she.

Yemọja (Yoruba): A powerful river orisha of creation, water, fertility, motherhood, sometimes regarded as the adoptive mother of all the orisha. She is believed to be the spirit of the Ògùn river

Definitions

  1. A powerful river orisha of creation, water, fertility, motherhood, sometimes regarded as the adoptive mother of all the orisha. She is believed to be the spirit of the Ògùn river

Ancestry of “Yemọja”, step by step

Yemọja traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Yoruba iyè

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Yorubaiyè
2Proto-Indo-Europeanyé-
3Chichewaiyehe, she

via Yoruba ọmọ

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Yorubaọmọchild
Every word from Chichewa iye