Shango was, by tradition, the fourth king of the Oyo empire — a historical ruler, deified after his death — and he holds thunder, lightning, fire, justice, drumming, and male vitality. His double-headed axe and his red and white colors are among the most recognizable Yoruba religious images in the world, and his worship crossed the Atlantic intact: as Changó in Cuba, Xangô in Brazil, and identified with Saint Barbara under slavery.