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Food for the Orixas
The Orishas or Orixás,are a pantheon of deities in the traditional Yoruba religion of Nigeria and in Yoruba-derived religious traditions in the African diaspora. The name for these deities is spelled differently depending on language and culture areas — orisa in Yoruba, orixá in Portuguese, and orisha in Spanish — and they are also often known colloquially as santos, or saints.
The orishas are not equal to the sky god (Olodumare) nor do they supplant him, but rather they are semi-independent divinities capable of working their own will with or without the propitiation (which often takes the form of the delivery of offerings to) or supplication of human beings. They are believed, however, to act in accordance with the wishes of Olodumare, but they often appear autonomous in their behavior and in how they are worshiped and propitiated. Although their names are the same in all areas, they are spelled differently. For reasons of consistency, this essay uses the most common Cuban-derived spelling, unless otherwise indicated.
The orishas are not equal to the sky god (Olodumare) nor do they supplant him, but rather they are semi-independent divinities capable of working their own will with or without the propitiation (which often takes the form of the delivery of offerings to) or supplication of human beings. They are believed, however, to act in accordance with the wishes of Olodumare, but they often appear autonomous in their behavior and in how they are worshiped and propitiated. Although their names are the same in all areas, they are spelled differently. For reasons of consistency, this essay uses the most common Cuban-derived spelling, unless otherwise indicated.
The religion based on the worship of the orishas is known by several names. In urban Brazil, especially Bahia, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo, one form is called Candomblé and another Umbanda. There is a significant difference between these two in that Umbanda incorporates a great deal of the spiritism, or European philosophy developed by the French writer known as Alan Kardec, with a complicated pantheon of spirits that are not orishas. Spiritism is a type of spiritual practice which originated in France in the mid-nineteenth century, and which combines the summoning of disincarnated spirits, healing, and the practice of charitable activities.
Further, in Umbanda, humans negotiate neither with God nor with the orishas, who are considered too remote, but rather with a cohort of lesser spirits. Farther north in Brazil, in Recife, the religion is known as Xangó, as in Trinidad, where the same term is spelled Shango. Both Xangó and Shango refer to a specific orisha, Changó (see below). In the United States and Cuba, the orisha religion is called Santería, which is a colonial term imposed by the Spanish and maintained in academic and journalistic literature. Terms more frequently used by practitioners in the United States and Cuba are Regla de Ocha, or Ocha, or simply, "the religion."
Divination forms one of two primary activities in the orisha religion. The divination system most frequently used is the 16-cowrie shell system (dilogun). It is through this system that the orishas speak and their will can be determined. Typically the diviner throws the cowrie shells onto a special tray. Then, depending upon their position and upon whether they land with the cowrie shell's opening up or down, he determines the significance of the toss. Each orisha corresponds to a specific number and sign, which is determined according to how the cowrie shells fall. In this way, the diviner ascertains the problem or situation facing the practitioner, what is causing the problem, and which orisha will help.
Another more complicated system of divination is called Ifa, which is the tool of the high priests, the babalawos. Ifa divination contains 256 signs, or odu, and each sign contains hundreds of verses, each potentially pertaining to the individual's destiny. Here the position of the cowrie shells, or often the position of several necklaces tossed onto a sacred tray, determines which odu is to be interpreted and applied to the particular question or problem put to the babalawo. Ifa divination is consulted in all major life changes, such as birth, marriage, and death. Ifa divination can be used for everyday consultations, but also for determining the destiny of the person in a ritual called Mano de Orúnmila (Hand of Orúnmila) for men and Kofa for women. Ifa divination relays the words and advice of the orisha Orúnmila, who also is in charge of the 16 cowries. Orúnmila never comes to earth, however, and speaks only through Ifa divination. Apparently, Orúnmila was insulted by the youngest of his 16 sons, who refused to bow to his father (the appropriate greeting to a senior family member in Yoruba culture) and who believed himself as wise and talented as his elder. Orúnmila removed himself to heaven and refused to come back. After being entreated by his children to return to earth, Orúnmila sent instead 16 palm nuts, which would speak in his absence. The palm nuts became the system of divination known as Ifa.
After finding out the origin of the petitioner's problem and which orisha to propitiate, through further divination the diviner determines what type of offering should be given to the orisha to ensure his or her help. An offering is called an ebo. This cycle of divination and ebo represents the fundamental, daily praxis of worship in the orisha religion. Since the orishas are manifestations of energy and the embodiment of the forces of nature, it is this energy that is harnessed through ebo to work on behalf of the practitioner.
The other major activity in the orisha religion is possession. Here, the orishas visit the earth and, to do so, they must borrow the body of a devotee who has been ritually prepared and trained to receive them. Mediums can enter a trance state and begin channeling the orisha at any time, whenever the orisha wants to come, but this activity mostly occurs within the context of a party for the orisha. At these parties, called festas in Brazil and tambors in the United States and Cuba, people gather to hear drumming and singing, and specific members of the group, or "house," dance.
In Brazil, festas are highly choreographed performances. The members of the house dance in a circle (roda or roça); the women wear fine traditional dress consisting of several heavily starched petticoats under a brightly colored, full skirt and a lace blouse. They are then wrapped with a large cloth (pano da costa), which extends from chest to knees, and finally the costume is tied just under the armpits and tightly across the breasts with a long strip of cloth. The head is always covered with a scarf, often made of lace.
The dancers dance in order of length of time initiated. Songs and dances specific to the orishas are performed in a predetermined order. Interestingly, the order corresponds to that of the Cuban tradition. After the songs have been performed to each orisha, and generally not before, the dancers begin falling into trance and become possessed by their orishas. In Brazil, most mediums present become possessed with their orishas.
At this point, the mediums are cared for by special priestesses called ekedes, whose role is to take care of the belongings of the persons in trance, to bring them out of trance when necessary or at the orders of the house leader, to wipe the sweat off their faces as they dance, and to adjust their clothing. Ekedes go through a similar initiation process as that of a medium, but unlike the medium their head is not shaved, as it was determined through divination that they were not destined to become possessed. There is no official position in the Cuban tradition analogous to the ekede, but frequently a medium brings trusted assistants who essentially perform the same function with him or her to tambors to watch out for the medium while he or she is in trance.
After the orishas appear and possess their mediums, they dance a little bit and then are taken away from the scene of the dancing and are dressed in ritual clothing specific to their attributes and colors. They are subsequently brought back out to dance and to dispense advice to those present. In the United States and Cuba, the orishas are allowed to remain as long as they care to a tambor, and individual supplicants seek their advice. In Brazil, however, they speak much less to individual guests, and they are not accorded the freedom to come and go but are handled skillfully by the ekedes. Each orisha dances for a few songs only, and at the end of the performance they leave. In the Cuban tradition, generally only one or two orishas come and take possession of a medium at any one tambor, and they stay much longer, being the center of attention while they are at the tambor.
Each orisha has certain attributes corresponding to a natural phenomenon. Changó is represented by lightning and thunder; Oyá or Yansa by the wind; Orisha Oko by the farm or agriculture in Cuba and the United States and by the home in Brazil; Agayú by the volcano; Ochún by the river and sweet water; and Yemayá by the sea (in Trinidad, these aspects of Yemayá and Ochún are reversed). Many orishas live in the forest and can be worshiped in wooded areas or urban parks. These include Osain, the herbalist and doctor, and Ochosi, the hunter. Ogun, the solitary warrior, divinity of iron and the forge, can be found wherever transportation facilities are located, especially train tracks and stations, and in contemporary times is thought to inhabit airports. Elegguá, the trickster, is the lord of the crossroads. His offerings are frequently taken to a crossroads.
The warrior orishas include Elegguá, Ogun, and Ochosi. Members of the religion in the Cuban tradition who have not yet been initiated into the priesthood can be dedicated to, or "given to," these orishas, along with Osun, the guardian of one's destiny, in a ritual known as "giving the warriors." There does not appear to be an analogous initiation in Brazil. In fact, Elegguá in Brazil, where he is known as Exú, is treated completely differently than he is in Caribbean culture. This is one of the most interesting discrepancies in a comparative study. In the Cuban tradition, Elegguá is a trickster and causes many problems, such as car trouble or other problems in travel, or inexplicable confusions. He is the orisha of choices, and he must be propitiated first, before all other orishas, so that he is kept content and so that he does not play disruptive jokes. Although considered dangerous, he is something of a childlike orisha in that he likes toys and candy. He manifests in his devotees at tambors, is taken along on vacations, and is kept close to his keepers — inside the house behind the door to guard the home, where practitioners can ask him for protection before exiting.
In Brazil, however, Exú is thought of as quite maleficent. There, he also lives behind the door or preferably outside at the front gate. He is also propitiated first, but this is done in order to send him away so that he will not disrupt rituals and festas. He is sent away at least three hours before a festa begins: for example, the ceremony to propitiate Exú usually takes place at approximately five o'clock in the afternoon for a nine o'clock festa. In Brazil, Exú is regarded with absolute respect mixed with a little terror. The idea of giving him candy and toys and keeping him nearby is met with horrified looks. Speaking to him or propitiating him by spraying rum on him prior to leaving the home is considered disturbing him and thought to cause problems by "calling" him to accompany one.
The orishas all have their favorite foods, colors, and numbers. Offerings as well as material culture adhere to these specific preferences. A typical food offering for Changó might be okra cooked with cornmeal; for Oxun of Brazil one might cook a dish of black-eyed beans or for Ochun of Cuba, a pastry soaked in honey. The food and colors of Obatalá (Oxalá in Brazil) are all of the strictest purity and white, such as the whites of eggs and cocoa butter. Oyá or Yansa uses brown, and Babaluaié, the orisha of smallpox, uses purple and burlap in Cuba and the United States, and raffia in Brazil.
Material culture in the orisha religion is quite rich. Practitioners of Ocha, from the very earliest initiations, all wear strings of beads in the specific colors of the orishas. Generally, a newcomer starts with five necklaces, called elekes, which pertain to Obatalá (white), Changó (red and white), Ochún (yellows, gold, and coral with possibly a few single green and blue beads), Elegguá (black and red), and Yemayá (blue, crystal, and silver). Bead wearing in Brazil is at once more casual and more formal: casual wearing of the beads can be observed among nonmembers who simply are fond of the religion from the outside; and initiates wear long heavy strings, often of 21 strands held together at points by larger beads. The colors in the two areas are very similar; the notable exceptions are the beads for Ogun (green and black in the Cuban tradition and dark blue in Brazil). In Brazil, further, one does not wear beads for Exú.
Costumes for the orishas are very elaborate in both Brazil and in the Cuban tradition. In the Cuban initiation, the novice must have seven new white outfits, consisting of a full petticoat, an overskirt, and a lace blouse. During the party for the new initiate on the third day, he or she wears a very elaborate costume in the colors of the orisha to whom the initiate is dedicated. These clothes are usually in nineteenth-century colonial style, with long full skirts, puffed sleeves, and tight waists for the women; the men wear tunics with loose pants. The preferred fabric is heavy satin, and the costumes are decorated with sequins, lace, appliqués, and are often heavily and beautifully beaded. In Brazil, the preferred decoration is lace, as making lace is an skill that remains fairly common and available, although increasingly expensive, as are the fabrics. Clothing design in Brazil, as described above, is an intriguing combination of the colonial with the African: colonial skirts and blouse are worn below an African pano da costa, which is tied on top. In both traditions, covering the legs is very important for modesty.
The orishas each have Catholic saints to which they correspond as well. Changó, for example, corresponds to Saint Barbara in most areas. Other correspondences are not uniform and vary regionally, even within the same country. This phenomenon occurred from the first entry of the orisha religion to the diaspora. Most slave-receiving areas were Catholic, and slaves were required to embrace the faith of their masters. Since Catholicism already had an established cult of saints, it was easy for slaves to view the saints as manifestations of their orishas and worship them in this guise. The orishas, therefore, are also known from colonial times as the saints (los santos or os santos). This subterfuge has caused the religion in all areas, particularly Trinidad, often to be described in academic discourse as "syncretic," that is, a melding of two traditions. (See Colonial Latin America and the Caribbean.)
The more research scholars do, however, the clearer it becomes that the two traditions are not melded at all but are kept very strictly apart. For example, in Ocha homes there may be an altar to the Catholic saints and family ancestors on which are placed glasses of water, crucifixes, images of saints and pictures of deceased relatives, candles, and flowers. In another space, on the floor, there may be a shrine to the egun, the ancestral African dead. For the egun, there may be candles, servings of food, coffee, rum, and cigars. But the two shrines are never under any circumstances combined. Also, at missas, or seances where non-orisha spirits are contacted, all manifestations of the orisha religion, such as the elekes, are removed.
In Brazil, Candomblé ceremonies have no Catholic saints represented whatsoever, although one might see an image or a lithograph of a saint corresponding to the orisha who rules the house. Special Catholic masses figure in Candomblé and Ocha ritual festivity, but these are always held in separate spaces. Masses on the first Friday of every month are held at the Church of Nosso Senhor do Bomfim in Bahia in honor of Oxalá, who corresponds loosely to Jesus Christ. However, it is unclear that the mass is being said for Christ, since it is Oxalá who is mentioned in the homily, and fireworks are set off (a common means in Brazil to attract the attention of the orishas). In the ritual context, however, no Catholic processes or imagery appear.
Contributed By: Kathleen O'Connor
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