In Yorùbá mythology, Shango is perhaps the most popular Orisha; he is a Sky Father, god of thunder and the ancestor of the Yorùbá.

Shango is worshipped in Haitian Vodun, as a god of thunder and weather; in Brazilian Candomblé Ketu (under the name Xangô); in Umbanda, as the very powerful loa Nago Shango; and as the equivalent of St. Barbara in Santería, wherein he is called Chango.

Shango was the fourth king of the Yorùbá, and deified after his death; mythologically, he (along with 14 others) burst forth from the goddess Yemaja's body after her son, Orungan , attempted to rape her for the second time. He has three wives; his favorite (because of her excellent cooking) is Oshun, a river goddess. Another wife, Oba, another river goddess, offered Shango her ear to eat. He scorned her and she became the Oba River , which combines in dangerous rapids with the Oshun River . Lastly, Oya was Shango's third wife, and stole the secrets of his powerful magic.

In art, Shango is depicted with a double-axe on his three heads. He is associated with the holy animal, the ram, and the holy colors of red and white.