Narrator
The poem begins with an omniscient narrator who introduces the scene in the first stanza of the poem, describing the storm.
Unnamed Speaker
Beginning in the second stanza, an unnamed speaker begins to ask questions of the gods and talk about her experience of the storm.
Hattie
Hattie is the speaker's cousin back home.
Huracan
Huracan is the god of wind, storm, and fire in the Mayan religion who participated in the creation of humanity.
Oya
Oya is an orisha (spirit) of winds, lightning, and storms, as well as death and rebirth, in the Yoruba religion.
Shango
Shango is an orisha (spirit) of lightning and thunder, thought of as an ancestor of the Yoruba people. One of the most powerful and fearsome of the spirits.
