“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 gravity of societal norms and expectations? In Jon M. Chu’s film adaptation of Gregory Maguire’s Wicked, Elphaba — portrayed by the incomparable Cynthia Erivo — embodies the struggles faced by many rebellious female figures throughout history: isolation, misjudgment, hatred and violence. Often, the end of the story for such women has been grim — burning at the stake, a fiery punctuation to their defiance.

In my upcoming novel, The Wind on Her Tongue, I introduce another powerful, misunderstood figure. This time, the focus turns to African mythology and religion, spotlighting Oya, the Yoruba Orisha of wind and storms. As the second installment of the Daughter of Three Waters trilogy, this standalone novel reimagines Oya’s story while drawing upon the foundations laid in my debut, Shallow Waters. These works are my attempt to bring ancient African mythology and spirituality into the light, reclaiming stories that have been distorted or buried over centuries.

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Oya is a deity of immense strength, commanding natural forces and guarding the gates between life and death. Like Elphaba, Oya’s powers on first look appear to be fueled by rage. In her original cultural context, she was revered as a symbol of power and change. Yet, centuries of colonialism and religious discrediting have demonized figures like Oya, attempting to erase the respect they once commanded.

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

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In The Wind on Her Tongue, Oya is reimagined as a young woman in 1870s America, grappling with her identity in a fraught and complex society. Born in Cuba to Yemaya — a figure introduced in Shallow Waters — Oya inherits otherworldly powers from her Yoruba lineage. While Yemaya represents healing and nurturing, her daughter Oya wields the tempestuous force of storms, a power both awe-inspiring and destructive.

Oya’s journey takes her to New Orleans, where she hones her abilities under the mentorship of two historical figures: Marie Laveau and Mary Ellen Pleasant. Both of them have been similarly maligned in history and pop culture as "wicked witches” — much 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. Though their personalities clash in Wicked — Glinda’s effervescent charm contrasting with Elphaba’s fiery independence — their bond ultimately transforms them both. Glinda learns compassion and depth, while Elphaba finds solace and strength in a world that constantly misunderstands her.

Related: Love Wicked? Learn More About the Novel That Inspired the Movie — And Gregory Maguire’s Other Oz Books

Similarly, in The Wind on Her Tongue, Oya’s relationships with Marie Laveau and Mary Ellen Pleasant provide her with guidance, solidarity and a shared sense of purpose. These women, each fighting battles of their own, teach Oya that strength doesn’t have to mean solitude. Together, they confront the societal forces that seek to diminish them, finding power in unity.

I wasn’t quite ready for the torrent of emotions that came when I learned Elphaba would be played by a Black woman. Suddenly, I couldn’t listen to Defying Gravity without my throat tightening and my eyes welling up with tears. The layers of fate stacked against this historically green witch became painfully familiar.

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As I reflected on Elphaba’s story, the connections between her and Oya grew glaringly apparent. Both are symbols of resistance, challenging authority and the societal norms that aim to diminish them. Both are dismissed as “wicked” 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.

These stories are not just about their characters; they are about all of us who have ever felt misunderstood, underestimated or confined by the world’s expectations. They remind us that true strength lies in resisting gravity—whether it’s the pull of 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 coven meeting we took 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 Seed is a science fiction novel by Octavia Butler, the queen of Black Sci-fi. 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, Black Witch of Salem by Maryse Condé

I, Ttituba, the French novel by Maryse Condé, is based on the story of the enslaved Caribbean woman who was tried for witchcraft in Salem, Mass. 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.”

Circe by Madeline Miller

Circe, the wildly successful novel by Madeline Miller reimagines the story of Circe, the daughter of Helios, the god of the sun. Unfortunately, she doesn’t seem to possess the power of the gods, until she discovers witchcraft. Like Wicked and The Wind on Her Tongue, Circe tells the story from the perspective of the witch.

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

Women Who Run With the Wolves should be on every feminist and womanist booklist. This compilation of myths and stories that highlight the transformation of women into their natural, wild, instinctual selves was all the rage in the early 90’s. One concept that stayed with me for years was when Clarissa claimed that the meeker a woman seemed to be, the wilder she was on the inside.

A Woman is a School by Céline Semaan

A Woman is a School is a memoir and cultural anthropological book by Slow Factory founder, Céline Semaan that shares endangered and discredited ancestral knowledge from 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, the storytellers of the Levant, sharing her culture of resistance and love.

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