Wicked's Elphaba and The Wind on Her Tongue's Oya 'Defy the Gravity of Social Norms and Expectations' (Exclusive)

What is a witch if not a powerful woman who dares to defy the weight of social norms and expectations? In the film adaptation of Gregory Maguire by Jon M. Chu WickedElphaba — played by the incomparable Cynthia Erivo — embodies the struggles that many rebellious female figures throughout history have faced: isolation, misjudgment, hatred and violence. Often the end of the story for such women was bleak – burning at the stake, fiery punctuation of their defiance.

In my upcoming novel, The wind on her tongueI present another powerful, misunderstood figure. This time, the focus turns to African mythology and religion, highlighting Oya, the Yoruba Orisha of wind and storms. As a second sequel Daughter of three waters trilogy, this stand-alone novel reimagines Oya’s story by building on the foundation laid in my debut, Shallow waters. These works are my attempt to bring ancient African mythology and spirituality to light, reclaiming stories that have been distorted or buried for centuries.

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Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande attend the UK premiere of Wicked: Part One at The Royal Festival Hall on November 18, 2024 in London, England.

Gareth Cattermole/Getty

Oya is a deity of immense power, commanding the forces of nature and guarding the gate between life and death. Like Elphaba, Oya’s powers appear at first glance to be fueled by rage. In its original cultural context, it was revered as a symbol of power and change. Yet centuries of colonialism and religious discredit have demonized figures like Oya, attempting to erase the respect they once commanded.

The religions and folklore that enslaved Africans in early America carried with them were often labeled as demonic. Under brutal systems of oppression, they were stripped of their gods, languages ​​and stories in deliberate acts meant to break them. Characters like Oya allow us to reclaim more than mythology; we are reclaiming parts of our history, resilience and ourselves.

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IN The wind on her tongueOya is reimagined as a young woman in 1870s America, struggling with her identity in a tense and complex society. Born in Cuba to the Yemaya family — a character introduced in the Shallow waters — Oya inherits supernatural powers from her Yoruba lineage. While Yemaya represents healing and nurturing, her daughter Oya commands the stormy force of storms, a power that is both awe-inspiring and destructive.

Oya’s journey takes her to New Orleans, where she hones her skills under the mentorship of two historical figures: Marie Laveau and Mary Ellen Pleasant. Both are similarly maligned in history and pop culture as “wicked witches” — just like Elphaba! — and together with Oya, Laveau and Pleasant defy the labels imposed on them.

Both Wicked and The wind on her tongue highlight the transformative power of female friendship. Although their personalities clash Wicked — Glinda’s sparkling charm contrasted with Elphaba’s fiery independence — their relationship ultimately changes them both. Glinda learns compassion and depth, while Elphaba finds comfort and strength in a world that constantly misunderstands her.

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Similarly, in The wind on her tongueOya’s relationships with Marie Laveau and Mary Ellen Pleasant provide her with leadership, solidarity, and a shared sense of purpose. These women, each fighting their own battles, teach Oya that strength doesn’t have to mean loneliness. Together they face the social forces that want to diminish them, finding power in unity.

I was not quite prepared for the flood of emotions that arose when I found out that Elphaba would be played by a black woman. Suddenly, I couldn’t listen Defying gravity without my throat tightening and my eyes filling with tears. The layers of fate stacked against this historically green witch became painfully familiar.

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As I thought about Elphaba’s story, the connections between her and Oya became glaringly obvious. Both are symbols of resistance, challenging authority and social norms that seek to diminish them. Both are dismissed as “evil” because their power threatens those in charge. And both, ultimately, find the courage to rise above the weight of those labels, inspiring others to do the same.

Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo on the “Journey Through Oz” tour to celebrate the Australian premiere of “Wicked” at the State Theater on November 3, 2024 in Sydney, Australia.

Don Arnold/WireImage

These stories are not just about their characters; they speak to all of us who have ever felt misunderstood, undervalued or limited by the world’s expectations. They remind us that true strength lies in resisting gravity—whether it’s tradition, prejudice, or fear—and in daring to rewrite the stories we’ve been told about ourselves.

An interesting fact about Elphaba and Oya is that they are both avid readers. At a secret book club meeting, we got a peek at their reading list. See what they’re reading below.

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Oya and Elphaba’s reading list

Wild seed by Octavia Butler

‘Wild Seeds’ by Octavia E. Butler.

Grand Central Publishing

Wild seed is a science fiction novel by Octavia Butler, the queen of black science fiction. The main character, Anyanwu, is an African woman who can heal, shapeshift and seemingly live forever. Anyanwu finds a man named Doro who has his own set of powers and wants to use Anyanwu to breed a super race.

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I, Tituba, the Black Witch of Salem by Maryse Condé

‘I, Tituba, the Black Witch of Salem’ by Maryse Condé.

University of Virginia Press

I, Ttitubaa French novel by Maryse Condé, based on the story of an enslaved Caribbean woman who was tried for witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts. Tituba learns the power of herbs and healing from a wise elder in Barbados, and her knowledge of the natural world leads to her eventual accusation of witchcraft in America. Angela Davis wrote the foreword to the English translation and described the work as “a historical novel about the Black Witch of Salem”.

Kirk by Madeline Miller

‘Circe’ by Madeline Miller.

Little, Brown and Company

KirkMadeline Miller’s extremely successful novel reimagines the story of Kirka, the daughter of Helios, the sun god. Unfortunately, she doesn’t seem to possess the power of the gods, until she discovers sorcery. As Wicked and The wind on her tongue, Kirk tells the story from the witch’s perspective.

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Women Who Run with the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype written by Clarissa Pinkola Estés

‘Women Who Run with the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype’ by Clarissa Pinkola Estes.

Ballantine’s books

Women who run with the wolves should be on every list of books by feminists and women. This collection of myths and stories emphasizing the transformation of women into their natural, wild, instinctive selves was all the rage in the early 90s. One idea that stuck with me over the years was when Clarissa claimed that the more meek a woman was, the more wild she was inside.

A woman is a school by Céline Semaan

‘The Woman is the School (Books for Collective Liberation)’ by Celine Semaan.

A slow printing plant

A woman is a school the memoir is also a cultural anthropological book by the founder of Slow Factory, Céline Semaan, who shares the endangered and discredited ancestral knowledge of her family in Lebanon. Like Oya and Elphaba, Céline tells her story from the perspective of the persecuted. The book follows the tradition of the hakawati, storytellers of the Levant, sharing its culture of resistance and love.

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Source: HIS Education