The word volcano comes from the name of the Roman god, Vulcan. Above is a picture of Vulcan and Maia. This image makes us think of the story of Agallu and Ochun and explains the deep connection between these two Orishas and why the children of Ochun have to receive Agallu when they make the Saint. Once upon a time in Africa, there came upon a king and people a terrible drought. All the crops dried up and people and animals were dying of thirst. The King called Echu and told him to take some grouds for bringing water back and not to come back until he had found water, even if he had to go to the other side of the world. Echu set off and after a while came to an enormous beautiful river with crystal clear water. There Agallu presented himself to Echu and said that he would give Echu and the king all the water that they needed, if in return he could have the king's daughter for a wife in return. Echu immediately returned to the king and told him what had happened. The king spoke with his daughter, Ochun, and she agreed to go live with the king of the river, as she did not want to be responsible for the continued misery of her people. So Ochun became the wife of Agallu and lived by the river with him and eventually had a son.
All over Europe there was a belief in river gods. This is easily seen by this picture of a statue of a river god in Europe. As we know, several of the female Orishas are associated with different rivers in Nigeria. Yemaya, Ochun and Oya are all associated with rivers. The question might be asked "How can you have river goddesses and river god at the same time?" Well, the answer is that Yemaya, Ochun and Oya are goddesses of specific rivers. Agallu is the owner of all the rivers in the world. As we have seen, Agallu did have relations with the goddesses. With Yemaya Konla, he was the father of Chango, according to some legends. We have mentioned already his relationship with Ochun, according to other legends. The personification of the forces of nature is universal, whether you examine the religious beliefs of early Europe and Asia or Africa. Perhaps our Orishas happen to have a little more personality and seem more human than it appears in other systems. Maybe this is due in part to the fact that the traditions of the Orishas have been maintained, while the pagan traditions of Europe and Asia have somewhat diminished due to the coming of other religious traditions such as Christianity and Buddhism.
