Yemoja is mother of the orisha and of waters — a river deity in Nigeria who became the ocean in the diaspora, which is a direct trace of the Middle Passage. She is Yemayá in Cuba and Iemanjá in Brazil, where millions gather on beaches each New Year's Eve to float offerings of flowers and candles out on the waves. She is among the most widely worshipped African-derived deities on earth, and her association with motherhood, protection, and the sea holds across every variant.