There is a persistent myth
Homosexuality as un-African
A Western imposition
Alien to African identity
But queer orishas are eternal
Spirits guarding thresholds
Managing elements
Empowering queer descendents
Orishas are Yoruba deities
Their spirits traversed the middle passage
Evident in black traditions in the Americas
Santeria, Vodou, and Candomble
Fused syncretically with Christian faith
Ogun orisha of iron and war
Did he bless generals and their warrior lovers?
Obatala sculptor human bodies
Imbuing our people with power
Blessing us with trasgressive erotic energy
In truth it was homophobia that was the imposition
Colonizers brought Victorian ideology
Imposing bigotry through toxic religion
Before conquest
Gender fluidity permeated
There were gods both male and female
Queer and trans Africans
Seen as gatekeepers to spiritual worlds
I immortalize these ancestors
Naming them orishas
Spirits honoring lineage
Bridging ancient acceptance
With our contemporary predicament
Our spectrum of sexualities
Utterly sacred
The fire of connection burns
Unconfined by gender
The transatlantic slave trade
Robbed the Yoruba people by the millions
But spirits smuggled onto slave ships
Emblazoned in minds striving to resist
This is my fantasy
This christening of queer orishas
This is newborn mythology
Inspiring and empowering our people
Oludomare the god of source
Did queer fire burn within
Who can create without hybrid sexual energy
This liberation is our destiny
A sacred mission to restore a radical legacy
art by @Miboso on X
–BYPO PHOENIX c)2025
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