Italy, Portugal, Great Britain, Canada, Venezuela, and Panama. Based on Santería, people are born under a guardian Orisha, or saint, that must be worshipped throughout life. Each Orisha is an aspect of one supreme god. The seven main Orishas are known as the Seven African Powers. Eleggua is the gatekeeper between life and the afterlife in heaven and is the connection between the Orishas, humans, and god. He is very powerful because without him, there would be no communication between humanity and the
find ourselves we receive help from Orishas “ special human beings” known as babalawo “men of secret and iyawos “women of secrets. Despite the meaning of their names they are not given the power to dispense any secrets of wisdom themselves. Theses people are a form of priests and diviners, who are place on earth to lead human beings in the way of harmony while on their journey. Orishas are believed to be very well connected to the gods and their religion. As Orishas they are required to know a variety
sacrifice as dictated by divination. Ebó is one of the cornerstones of the Santeria religion, and it is the tool that we have been given by the Orishas to change our fate and return our lives to a balanced and healthy state. Ebo takes many forms. It can be an offering of fresh fruits, ritual baths, offerings of cooked foods, undergoing initiation, receiving an orisha, or animal sacrifice to name a few. In every case, ebó is marked through divination (either through obí divination, diloggun divination or
creator of the Universe and of humanity. The orishas, syncretized with catholic saints, are repositories of God’s powers and the mediators between humanity and the Supreme Being. During this same period the Lukumi religion was also developed. The Lukumi religion is very similar to that of Santeria, while Santeria utlizes the Catholic Saints and prayers for ritualistic purposes Lukumi does not. Lukumi tends to make African images to represent the Orisha and makes little or no use of Christian prayers
the resonating belief of inferiority, and the perspective of being viewed as property to one’s ownership, that was perpetuated during slavery. The traditional African religion, the Orisha, is found to have originated from the Yoruba tribe of West Africa. In the video provided, we are shown how the believers of the Orisha in Brazil, perform a ceremonial offering to the gods Shango and Ogun. These Afro-Brazilians are descendants of the slaves that were stripped from their homelands in African and brought
religion is difficult to generalize upon, but Santeria offers a way for people to achieve harmony in their lives through communication with and obedience to orishas, the divine beings that act as intermediaries between humans and the Supreme Being, Olodumare. Santeria teaches how to know and appease the specific desires of a pantheon of orishas who alert devotees to problems in their lives and protect them from harm. In addition to a distinctive and demanding set of rituals that requires a commitment
Santeria, Voodoo, the Cult of the Virgin of Guadalupe, and Rastafari all embody syncretism of Christian influence and traditional Indigenous beliefs of their followers. While the religions all express their syncretism in various manners, all regularly conduct rituals that deviate from traditional Christianity. These rituals exemplify the influence of the native cultures on these religions, and maintain the importance of tradition culture with the necessity of practicing Christianity during colonial
factor that helped to make the two religions look similar to the plantation owners was that many of the orishas, the primary gods, shared many of the same physical characteristics that the Catholic saints possessed. This made the slaves appear to be practicing Catholicism although they were practicing their native, African religions. Believers of Santería place their faith in the orishas. The orishas are not as powerful or as omnipotent as their predominant God, Olodumare, or Olorun. Olorun is the
Tomi Adeyemi is Nigerian American author who also doubles up as a creative writing coach. She is best known for the critically acclaimed title Children of Blood and Bone the first in a trilogy named Legacy of Orisha. Adeyemi went to Harvard University from where she graduated with an English literature honors degree. Soon after she got a fellowship and moved to Salvador in Brazil to study West African culture and mythology. She made her name when her debut novel Children of Blood and Bone claimed
sea nor land. Orisha Nla, also called the Great God, was sent down from the sky to the Chaos by Olorun, the Supreme Being. His obligatory mission was to create solid land and to aid him in the accomplishment of this task, he was given a snail shell, a pigeon, and a five-toed hen. After the earth and land were separated, a chameleon was sent with Orisha Nla to inspect his work and report to the Supreme Being. Olorun was satisfied with the good things reported to him and sent Orisha Nla to finish
I began investigating gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer (GLBTQ) representations of the sacred during my late adolescence. In college, my knowledge of same-sex desiring and gender-variant deities evolved into a study of the spiritual roles and legacies of GLBTQ people. Such legacies are abundantly evident in parts of the world where indigenous and pluralist religion have remained unhindered, such as on the Indian subcontinent where hijra (male-bodied female-identified individuals) are
When the Yoruba of West Africa was brought to Cuba, they preserved their religion by disguising their gods (orishas) as Catholic saints, and worshipped them in secret. The orishas are Elegua, Ogún, Yemayá, Ochun, Chango, Oyá, and Obatalá. Elegua is the first orisha in the Santería, he is the owner of the crossroads and a trickster. Ogun is a warrior and deity of metallurgy. Also, the orisha of iron, tools, and weapons. Yemayá is the goddess of the seas and is a symbol of motherhood. Ochun is the deity
different ways, with different inter-religious analogies being used in an attempt to clarify the subject. However, in his book The Handbook of Yoruba Religious Concepts, Baba Ifa Karade, an initiated practitioner of the Ifa religion, writes about the orisha in a way that, while simple, manages to avoid oversimplification. Additionally, his interpretation is free of the excessively esoteric jargon present in many insider descriptions of religious concepts, African or
Watta, Mother of Dreams and Secrets, Stella Maris which means star of the sea, Yeye Omo Eja, Iamanga, Ymoga, Balianne, Yemanja, Imanje and Yemanja Afodo. All of the different names appear to connect Her to the water. In Africa She is the Yoruban Orisha, which means Goddess of the living ocean. According to what I've read, She is the reason that we have the water we have. The river Ogun is particularly sacred to Her. Moving on to the aspects of life, Yemaya is the Goddess of the Ocean and since
have faith because for us seeing is believing. If you think that by practicing spiritism you will become Marlin the Great Magician, or Harry Potter riding a broomstick, you better go to a psychologist; these practices are clearly not for you. The Orishas or spirits are not geniuses in a lamp either, you can 't rub a lamp and become a millionaire. Shamanism is for those who want to experience the spirit world and communicate with intelligent entities that are clearly not visible to humans, it just
Yoruba means a to a group of cultures connected by a common language. The origin of the Yoruba religion and people, is in the South-Western part of Nigeria (Metalgaia). The Yoruba beliefs mainly focus on self-exploration, finding your destiny, interacting with sprits, and most important of all getting yourself right with the almighty creator Olodumare (Metalgaia). In the beginning of the 16th century, the slave trade became prominent in Africa. Thousands of the Yoruba people were being sent as slaves
These religion while at first seem almost clumped together for convenience they do actually share common aspect. Confucianism came from Daoism, at least in part. Shintoism and Native American faiths both have spirits. Yoruba and Native American religions both incorporate dancing in their rituals. The exact origin of Daoism is messy, there is however an important man Laozi who is said to be a follower of Confucius (Wilkinson, 251). Important concepts are yin, yang, and qi. Yin and yang are “two primal
surrounded by water. Once she exits the building she is dressed in a bright yellow dress wearing gold jewelry. The significance of this portrayal is the resemblance she has to the Yoruba deity Oshun who is the Orisha of womanhood and healing. Oshun is as one of the most oppressed and abused Orishas within the Yoruba religion similar to the way that Black women have come to be one of the most oppressed and criticized individuals. At times, when seeking justice from those that have caused her pain, she
How did the world begin? Have you ever wondered this most likely yes. Everyone has been asking this question for millions of years. The explanation of this is called Mythology. By looking at What Mythology is, the categories of Mythology, the regions of major myths, some of the key players of myths, and finally the similarities of the cultures. With that I will start my paper and by the end of it you will have a more in depth knowledge of Mythology. Mythology meaning the study of Myths. Myth comes
Religion is one of the most scared aspects a person has in his or her life; for many practitioners their world, their universe revolves around it. Santeria is a religion in which many people do not know of and if they do it is often misunderstood to be some sort of cult. To those who practice it is a unique way of life with rich cultural and spiritual roots. The word Santeria is a syncretistic religion which combines the fundamentals of roman Catholicism, Animism , Voodoo and African