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UPCOMING EVENTS:

It’s important to get out there and socialize, especially when it comes to the religious community. But not everything has to be about drummings and crownings. Sometimes it’s good just to have fun with other like-minded people. That’s what I’ve got planned for Labor Day weekend. In honor of Oshun, there is a dinner cruise event on September 5th in Orlando called “Honey on the River”. It’s not something I’d normally go to, but I guess it’s good to step out of your comfort-zone every now and then. I don’t think there are very many listeners of this podcast who are in the Orlando area, but if you are, you should come by and say ‘hi.’ If you are interested in getting tickets, there’s a Facebook page for the event. You can find it by searching for “Honey on the River” or just clicking the link in the shownotes. Just be sure to mention that you found out about it through this podcast. I don’t get anything out of it, but a little free publicity never hurt, right?

NEWS:

“Interview with a Santera” was published in the Havana Times on August 14th.

The article was about the religion’s presence in Cuba and centered largely on an interview with a 50-year-old santera who was crowned when she was six-years-old.

I was a little put-off by the writer’s experience during a reading she had. It wasn’t that I felt like she wasn’t telling the truth. I just didn’t like how it came across.

She had a cowry shell reading, with hit-or-miss results. She was advised to come back for ebo and a necklace of either Yemaya or Oshun.

When she had a follow-up reading with the cowry shells, she was told that she needed to expel a spirit of a man who had died a long time ago that was following her around and bothering her.

It’s possible a little more drama was thrown in just to make the story sound more interesting, but who knows. I wasn’t there. Even if I was, I can’t read shells. I don’t know the santera doing the reading or her reputation, so I can only speculate. The stuff about the spirit, especially, makes me think more of something that would come out of a misa rather than a cowry shell reading. But, again, I don’t really have the experience to say one way or the other.

The interview was better. One thing the interviewer asks about, which I think a lot of people might not pay enough attention to, is that santeros should have the intention of restoring the balance of ashe. Getting to and maintaining that balance is crucial.

I also liked that there was a clear distinction made between the santera’s practices and the practices of Ifa.

The last part of the article had something kind of amusing in it. The interviewer mentioned that the pieces of Obi that were thrown by the santera seemed to be lacking coconut meat and had instead been colored in with a white crayon. Say it isn’t so! I wish I could get away with that… As my padrino can attest to, I’m absolutely useless when it comes to opening coconuts and making useful pieces for Obi.

At the end of the article, it mentions the disposal of the ebo, where the woman writing the interview tossed two plastic bags filled with herbs into the ocean. I’m not a big fan of that, but… whatever.

“Package with cow tongue puts kink in morning trains” was published in The Statesman on August 16th

This one wasn’t as sensationalized as it could have been, but it was still a bit overkill.

Basically, someone stumbled upon a cow tongue wrapped in butcher paper that was sitting on some railroad ties.

Generally speaking, that isn’t all that interesting.

People started getting a little curious about it, though, when they realized that the tongue was studded with nails.

The butcher paper had writing on it. It said “Against us stop now close the mouth” and included a dozen or so names.

There is also a mention of a jar with unidentified liquid nearby, but I tend to discredit that kind of thing, since you never know how close “nearby” really is or whether it’s actually related.

Rather than consulting the SPCA or some other similarly-unqualified expert, the article includes commentary from a college professor who is also an author of a book about Santeria.

He points out that it isn’t necessarily an act of someone involved in the religion, but — if it was — it might be an offering made to Ogun, in hopes of silencing someone.

“Grave robberies mystify” was published by Lancaster Online on August 19th.

In this, we learn about an odd discovery made late last year. A short distance from where local workers discover a chicken crate lying abandoned in the woods, they also discover a small clearing, where a 4-foot circle of candles has been left. The candles appeared to have been burned, but their purpose wasn’t clear. No mention is made as to whether any sort of chicken remains were found. Again, I can’t help wondering how close the “short distance” between the two really was.

One of the contractors, who — of course — asked not to be identified, proclaimed that it was a ritual.

Eight months after this so-called ritual and a quarter-mile away, someone dug up the grave of a 9-year-old who had died in 1962.

The question is raised as to whether the people who had burned the candles were connected to the ones who dug up the grave.

It’s worth noting that the grave was robbed on Friday the 13th, which has very little — if any — significance in Santeria or, really, any of the African traditions I can think of.

The article mentions other cases of graves being robbed or desecrated — most of which I’ve already mentioned in earlier podcasts and blog entries.

Much of the article suggests such activities are usually the result of pranksters or disturbed individuals, with only a few mentions here or there about magic, animal remains, and that sort of thing.

If the article is pointing a finger towards anyone in the African Traditional Religious community, it is probably more towards Palo Mayombe than Santeria,. It’s a nice change of pace and shows people are finally learning differences between different traditions. Realistically, I’m sure most of the smart Palo practitioners just buy bones legally these days online or whatever rather than messing around in cemeteries.

“Graveyards report strange goings-on”, a follow-up to the previous article, was published by Lancaster Online on August 25th.

While the article starts out listing a handful of strange and unexplained events at local cemeteries, it mentioned that vandalism is a regular occurrence at city cemeteries.

My favorite part was towards the end of the article. While there is mention of how many botanicas are in the area, the city police chief, Keith Sadler, points out that Home Depot sells shovels, too. I like that. He also points out that regardless of the beliefs or motivations leading up to it, a crime was committed and that’s what’s being pursued.

“Dead birds in the middle of the road” was published by the Chicago Times on August 25th.

It’s a pretty short article. Basically, some roosters are found every now and then in a residential area and seem to be disemboweled. The writer points out that it doesn’t seem to have anything to do with traditional practices of Santeria, yet the only link on the page is one about animal sacrifices in Santeria. Really, the article seems to nothing more than filler and a way for the guy to keep up his word-count quota. I did enjoy the comments, though, especially the one claimed that the dead roosters were a result of “fowl play.” Nice…

BLAH TALK RADIO:

As some of you have probably picked up on a bit by now, I absolutely loathe the Blog Talk Radio service.

When I first started looking for podcasts about Santeria, that was one of the first handful of sites I ran across that seemed to have some content. Quickly, though, I found the quality a bit lacking.

Probably the biggest issue I see with it is that it’s an attempt to take an old-media format like radio and try to make it relevant — in the age of new-media like podcasts, YouTube channels, and other forms of user-generated content.

It’s an issue of quantity over quality, in a lot of these cases. As a listener, I feel like I’m stuck without many options. It’s rare to listen to an episode of any of these shows without noticing the same issues cropping up again and again. One day, I’ll make a drinking game specifically geared towards Blog Talk Radio. Take one shot of liquor when there are “technical difficulties.” Take two shots when the volume suddenly becomes too high or too low. Within about ten minutes of the show, you’ll be smashed.

Everything on Blog Talk Radio just seems to be old, irrelevant, or both.

On iTunes, I don’t really mind so much about a certain podcast episode from 2008 that continually comes up in the top five list when doing a search for the term “Santeria”. I’m fine with that. Even iTunes listeners are allowed to make bad choices now and then. Because, you know, my show should totally be in the number one spot, right?

Especially with shows from Blog Talk Radio, though, it drives me nuts when the podcast should be focused on certain topics, but ends up just wasting time talking about completely unrelated issues. I’m not talking about small rants like this. I’m talking about spending an hour or more simply talking to themselves or about how many people are in their chat room. Look, I won’t name any names, but I was pretty upset the other night when I tried listening to a podcast that claimed to be about ancestor and orisha worship… and it was anything but.

It started out well enough, with some seeming-relevant music. Unfortunately, that was the highlight of the episode — some old and probably unlicensed music. About an hour into the podcast, they finally start talking about the orisha. I don’t care a lot about the way words and names are pronounced. Heck, I struggle with that myself now and then. But the religious talk seemed short-lived and felt like the content was from Wikipedia or something. Next was a reading from Ochani Lele’s new book, which I’ve already probably promoted way too much out of myself, but — hey — at least it’s relevant, I guess. The rest of the two hours was filled with awkward dialog, promotions for “Paranormal” podcasts, and topics such as mountain-top mining, gas-field drilling, and medical marijuana. Is this for real? I thought this was supposed to be about ancestor worship.

Look, I understand that people have their own interests, but it really felt like it should have either been left out or at least kept to a minimum. Listening to the show just felt like a total waste of time. Maybe the other episodes were different, but after skipping through a few others, it didn’t seem like it.

This isn’t just about one specific podcast, either. Countless others that I’ve stumbled across on Blog Talk all suffer from these same issues. I’m not sure if there is some sort of commitment made that forces the person to keep the show running for a certain amount of time, even if they have nothing on-topic to discuss or what, but it just bothers me. A lot.

At some point, I’d like to work with you guys to come up with a decent list of other sites and podcasts worth checking out and, just as importantly, those to avoid.

I’ll do my best to keep things on-topic here, at least. With that in mind….

ASK AN ABORISHA:

cursed by the orishas for leaving santeria: This is such BS! Do people seriously believe this stuff? Here’s my take on it, for what it’s worth. When you come to this religion, sometimes there are perks. You might not find true love, live forever, or win the lottery, but it lifts you up a little bit from where you were. By performing ebos, attending your warriors, and working with the orisha, they help remove obstacles from your way or at least help lessen their effects. When you leave the religion and the orisha, there is no Cursing, Smiting, or other overly-dramatic-sounding stuff. If you’re running into more issues than you had before, it’s more likely because you no longer have the orisha there to guide you around them. A lot of it is probably in your mind, as well. If you are afraid of retribution from the orisha for leaving the religion, you’re more prone to finding examples of a curse in normal occurrences throughout your day. Get over it.

found ritual remains of a curse against me what do i do: I think I might have covered a question like this already, but in case I haven’t… here goes… It depends on what you found and what, most likely, the curse was about. Maybe I’m just naïve, but I feel like a lot of the time, people just get it into their head that they are the victim of a curse when they really aren’t or — if they are — it’s a self-fulfilling one that they’ve brought onto themselves. But if you do feel like you’ve been affected by someone with ill-intent, the first step is to remain calm. Anger, fear, and frustration will only compound your issues. Start by disposing of what you found. How you do that is, again, up to you. Seal it away in a box, burn it, toss it in the garbage, whatever. Now that it’s gone, you can focus on yourself. Clear your mind and take a bath (or shower, if you don’t have a bath). An herbal bath or one using omiero probably wouldn’t hurt, either. Now that you’ve begun to cleanse yourself, you can also begin cleansing your house. Burning sage or just normal incense are pretty popular methods for this. Walk the perimeter of your home and let the smoke begin to cancel out the bad energy being worked on you Some also use floor washes that have herbs, Florida Water, or other ingredients in them. Lighting a candle or two could help, as well Next, if you are a spiritualist, you may want to go to your boveda, consult your muertos, and do what you need to in order to give them extra strength. Finally, consider going to a misa or divination session. The misa can help you work towards strengthening your defenses spiritually, while the divination session can help you work towards clearing away what’s already been done.

i found chicken feet hanging from a tree: Nice. I have no clue what it’s from or why it would be there, but — if it was me — I’d keep them. Maybe they’ll be of use someday.

snake curse sensitivity to light: I’ve never heard of this one. Some snakes hunt at night, but I’ve never really heard of any that are sensitive to light. With that in mind, I’m not sure how a snake curse would be related to light-sensitivity. The closest thing I could come up with is that people who have been exposed to the venom of a Brown snake may develop a sensitivity to light. But that’s probably quite a stretch, since there are other more noticeable symptoms such as paralysis and convulsions that would probably be noticed first. Hopefully, it’s just a migraine or something, but if it continues, I’d suggest seeing a physician.

how to smuggle animal bones through airport customs: I’m assuming you’re talking about something illegal, since you mentioned the term “smuggle”. If you buy something legitimately as a curio or medical specimen, you shouldn’t have much issue. For anything else, my advise is to not even try. It’s probably easier to just ship what you need instead of trying to deal with transporting that stuff with you. There are certainly going to be things that are going to raise flags anywhere, though, so don’t get upset if you run into problems while trying to pass off a box of rhino-horns to the local FedEx guy.

orisha raccoon: I’m not sure what orisha is tied most with raccoons. Consider the traits that raccoons are most often said to possess. They are amorous, get into all sorts of mischief, and they are happy to take their share of everything. With that in mind, I’d have to guess that they’d be associated with Elegua. I’m not sure, though, to be honest.

candle glass broke santeria: The majority of the time, I think this has less to do with spiritual omens and more to do with cheaply-made candles. Sometimes, even if the candle’s wick seems to be in the center when you first light it, it angles off to one side the closer it gets to the bottom. When it’s closer to the glass, the heat of the flame might cause the glass to crack or break — especially if the area where the candle is located is especially cool or damp. Try switching to a better brand of candle and see if it’s still a problem.

what do eggs signify in santeria: They symbolize more or less the same thing as in other religions and practices — life and fertility. Sometimes they are used in cleanings, as a way of letting the negativity and bad stuff grow inside of the egg rather than in you and your life.

santeria what happens to body sprayed with rum: Aside from being sticky later, you mean? When rum is sprayed on someone, I think it depends on the context. Is the person being sprayed someone that is being mounted or looks like they might be getting close? If so, that might be to coax the orisha into coming down fully and is sort of an offering. Otherwise, it might be as part of a cleansing. I’m not sure.

spiritual bad eggun removed: You can’t really remove eggun — good or bad. They are your ancestors. They are part of you and where you come from. Yes, there are bad people. But that doesn’t mean that they are bad once they are eggun. As cheesy at it sounds, thinking of it as a caterpillar and a butterfly is probably the easiest way to explain this. While alive, our ancestors were like caterpillars. Some do more noticeable damage in their life than others, but all eventually will leave us. Within the cocoon, it is the death of the caterpillar as we know it. It is the death of our ancestor as a person. Eventually, a butterfly emerges. That’s eggun, our ancestor as a spirit. The things that might have made you remember that person as “bad” died with them and now only the empty shell of that person remains. Maybe you believe that bad things happen for a reason. Maybe you believe that it made you strong. Heck, you might just think that some people are jerks. I don’t know which is right or wrong. I just know that what we honor are the spirits of the ancestors. If there’s one you have in mind that you feel like you have lingering issues with, offer a candle specifically for them and talk to them. Working with eggun isn’t just about elevating their spirit. It’s also about elevating your own.

the purpose of getting a rock from a cemetery when making eshu laroye: Uh-oh, everyone. It’s time for me to divulge some top-secret information. Are you ready? …. Just kidding. I’m not sure what the purpose is. In fact, I wasn’t even aware the otane could come from there. Since Laroye works with Oshun, I guess I always assumed the stone came from the river or at least near one. This is probably one of those things you’ll want to ask your godparent about rather than looking online.

i want olokun: Good for you. Olokun is pretty awesome. For starters, it’s one of the few orisha I know of that one can receive without being crowned. Olokun is especially good for helping you develop spiritually. Olokun is also associated with money, which is a good thing, since I’m going to need all the help I can get in order to save up to make Ocha. Usually, Olokun is given due to the results of a reading. My advice is to talk with your godparent, explain what you hope to achieve by receiving it, and go from there.

orisha names different spellings: Most of this probably comes from translations between different languages and cultures. Beyond that, though, when it’s written, I think a lot of the variations comes from an attempt to avoid confusion with others with the same spelling but different pronunciation. In a tonal language, like with Yoruba, the accent marks definitely matter. A good example is with Oshun. Traditionally, it’s spelled O-S-U-N. Once in Latin America, it shifted to O-C-H-U-N. In America, it’s often common to see the name spelled O-S-H-U-N. Both of these variations help distinguish between Oshun, the orisha associated with the river, and a completely different orisha, received with the Warriors, whose name is also spelled O-S-U-N. It can get kind of confusing sometimes. A slight change in emphasis might have a completely different meaning. Another example of this is ‘Oba’ versus ‘Obba’. Traditionally, they are both spelled O-B-A, but depending on the emphasis, one is a general title meaning “King” while the other is the name of a specific orisha. To avoid this confusion when writing about the orisha, the name is typically spelled O-B-B-A. This is also partly why it’s important to actually talk with and listen to others in person. When writing, it’s best just to stick with existing standards. When I write “eggun”, for instance, I use two G’s. I could just use one and there are plenty of people who spell it that way. When I was first learning about the religion, I remember sometimes getting the word confused with Ogun. Looking back, it seems a silly and I’m not sure why I had an issue with it. I made a mental note that eggun has two G’s and that Ogun has one. After that, I was fine. Doing it now is more just out of habit than anything else. Thankfully, the way I learned to spell it seems a bit more common, which is helpful when people are doing internet searches, since it makes them more likely to find me.

orisha elekes how to care for: I need to start looking back at my notes. I’m pretty sure I answered something along these lines already. A lot of stuff online talks about prohibitions involving not wearing the elekes in the shower, when sleeping, during sex, and that sort of thing. As for actually caring for them, though, they are pretty easy. Basically you just want to avoid being too rough with them or doing anything that would show disrespect. When they aren’t being worn, you never want to have them hanging on something like a doorknob, rack, or whatever. The easiest way I can describe how to store them is to hold one of the necklaces with one hand at each side so that it looks more or less like a circle. Now twist it once to turn the circle into a figure-eight. Rearrange it in your hands now so that your hands are holding opposite ends of a single circle again — only this time made of two smaller circles. I know it sounds a bit weird at first, but just try it. Keep twisting and combining to make smaller and smaller circles. Repeat this process until you can’t easily continue. Over time, this becomes something you do quickly and without much thought. When you’re done, set the necklace down so the small circles are more or less on top of one another. You’ll do this same process one necklace at a time. Elekes are always put on and taken off one at a time. I usually say a praise for each orisha as I put on the necklace, but that’s more of just a personal thing I do.

making a oshun wooden eleke: I’ve always like the idea of wooden elekes. Something tells me that the Yoruba back-in-the-day didn’t have access to mass-produced bright-colored plastic beads. As far as how to make one, I would assume it would be similar to making one with plastic beads. You would just need to find a fairly durable paint for the wooden beads. Not only are the beads likely to rub against one another, clothes, and skin during normal use, but you want something that isn’t going to lose its color when it’s fed and then washed. Even though I like the idea of using wood, plastic is probably more practical.

what do you clean the santeria beads with: If the beads are new and are causing skin irritation, they might have something on them still from when they were fed. A light amount of water is probably alright for that situation. A quick rinse and a bit of rubbing with your fingers should be enough for most situations. If in doubt, ask the person you got them from.

lukumi receiving your beads and hiding them: Why the heck would you want to hide them? I can somewhat understand if you need to be discreet at your place of employment or whatever. At my job, I don’t wear my elekes every day. When I do wear them, I usually only wear one at a time… maybe two. The elekes themselves aren’t meant to be fashion-statements. You probably shouldn’t wear them just because they happen to match an outfit you want to wear. On the other hand, I don’t see any issue with adjusting your outfit so it matches well with — and draws less attention to — your elekes. If there are certain people who you don’t feel comfortable wearing the beads around, either don’t wear them or avoid those people. If it’s an issue where you are living in a household where the religion is frowned upon, I’m not sure what to tell you. Kids have been hiding stuff from their parents for generations. It can’t be that difficult. Just try to be respectful to the orisha. If all else fails, maybe you can work something out with your godparent, so they can be kept somewhere else until you are able to either resolve the conflicts at home or are old enough to move out.

how to get closer to african roots: This is somewhat of a personal thing and depends on the individual, so all I can speak of is my own experiences. I’m not too big into genealogy, but I think it’s a safe guess to say that I am quite a few generations removed from Africa. Still, I’ve always had a fondness for African culture and, especially, food. The only decent African restaurant within a few hours of me closed down a handful of months ago. It sucks, too, because lately I’ve been craving Egusi stew. Luckily, I found an African grocery not too far from where I work and was able to stop there on the way home the other day. Like when I have to go to Latin or Asian markets for something, it was a bit daunting at first. Thankfully, though, it was a relatively small place and the owner was quite helpful. Not only did I get the ground egusi seeds and bitter leaf that I wanted, but they had palm oil, goat meat, and just about anything else I could want for making traditional African food. Egusi stew is a personal favorite of mine, though. It was the first Nigerian food I had ever tried and will now be the first Nigerian food I will try to make. It’s a high-protein dish that’s not very filling, so it’s usually paired up with pounded yam, which gives a lot of the carbohydrates and “fullness” to the dish. It’s a regional dish that’s unique to Nigeria, so it isn’t something I can even get at the Ethiopian restaurant I found about an hour from me. Such a shame. If I want it, I’m going to have to make it myself. I have a decent book of recipes for West African cooking, but I’ll be trying something I found online instead. I don’t want to use pumpkin seeds or any other substitutions, if possible. I’m trying to make it as traditional as I can, so I’m going off of a recipe I found on Naira Land, a Nigerian discussion forum. The only substitution I’ll probably make is to use rice instead of pounded yam, since it’s a little less daunting. I’m not much of a cook. I’m more of an eater… But, yeah, that’s how I feel closer to my African roots. I’m not sure if that helped you any, but it kind of made me a little hungry…

aborisha/aleyo initiation: This is another one that I think has been covered plenty, so I won’t get into it here. Look back at earlier podcast episodes and blog posts. Finding a godparent that you can learn from and trust is crucial. After that, receiving elekes and warriors is really simple stuff. A lot of sites and books mention that you will want to bring a change of clothes with you for your initiation and that your old ones are destroyed. I had read online about initiates having to essentially be stripped of the old clothes. It’s not anything perverse, but that’s also part of why you want to only work with people you know and trust. It’s a symbol of being stripped of one’s old life. For my initiation, pretty much all I was told was to bring a change of clothes that I didn’t mind being thrown away. I don’t want to give away too much, for those yet to be initiated, but take my advice… Wear something nice and thin. I wore thick jeans for my initiation and I don’t think my madrina will ever let me forget that choice.

how do you crown someone in santeria: How the heck should I know? There are two ways to learn that stuff, as far as I know. The first is through the direct experience of being crowned. That gives you a basic idea of some of the things that happen, but definitely wouldn’t teach you enough to be able to do it on your own. The second part, available to you only once you’ve been crowned and have some experience under your belt, is to actually work behind-the-scenes during a crowning ceremony. Like with many other aspects of the religion, the more you participate, the more you learn. At least that’s how I understand it.

how to prepare to make ocha: Unlike the rest of these question, this came from the Facebook page. One of the first steps is to talk with your godparents to find out what you need. They should be able to give you a nice big list of stuff, especially when it comes to white things — sheets, socks, shirts, undergarments, pants, and that sort of thing. You’ll also want to start picking out tinajas and soperas to hold the orisha that you receive and their tools. Starting early on this stuff really helps out. If you just buy a little bit every now and then, you shouldn’t notice as big of a financial hit than if you had waited until the last moment and bought everything at once. You’ll also need to save up for the actual ceremony, too. The cost will depend largely on which orisha you are crowning. You’ll also want to try to work out the details of when it’ll happen. That way, the people that need to be there for the ceremony can work out scheduling issues ahead of time. Also, you’ll probably want to schedule some time off after the ceremony, so you have time to unwind and appreciate all the things you’ve gone through. Those are all things that I think you should do. I only have one piece of advice about what not to do. Don’t try to learn too much about the ceremony ahead of time. Not only will it make things more enjoyable, but you won’t run into issues if things go different than you read about online or in a book. There will be a lot going on during those first couple days and the last thing you want to do is worry about whether things are being done correctly or not. Other than that, just enjoy yourself and have fun. That’s my plan, at least.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

The Facebook Page has been a great success. Tim Brown was the first person to become a fan of the page after the previous podcast was released. Thanks, Tim, for your support. Enough people followed suit that, as of the time of this recording, the page has thirty fans now. That’s awesome! The Discussions board got used a little bit and helped me learn a bit more about the listeners. Chris Velasco and Matt Scott were the first people brave enough to post a little about themselves and their experiences in the religion. Thank you both.

I also had a request from Nilaja Montgomery, who is now following both on Twitter and Facebook. She requested I do a podcast where on focus on a specific orisha. She’d like to learn more about Oya. I love that idea. What I’m going to try and do, though, is find someone who is crowned Oya. If I can get them to talk a little bit about her for the podcast, great. Otherwise, at least it will give me somewhere to start. Stay tuned.

I’d also like to take a moment to mention a pretty good book I’ve been reading. It’s called “Who Fears Death” It’s by Nnendi Okorafor. It takes place in Africa, but an Africa far different from ours today — at least in most ways. There are a few references to Santeria, but they are few and far between. Think of it as an African version of Harry Potter — except the hero is a girl. There’s even an evil and incredibly-strong sorcerer in it. Together, the hero and her friends go off to defeat evil. Blah, blah, blah. Sounds pretty standard, right? But there are things that make it a far different story, too… like genocide, brutal rapes and murders, female circumcision, and all sorts of nasty real-life stuff. It’s definitely worth a read. It brings attention to some of what currently goes on in Africa, but it’s also just a really interesting story.

Lastly, I’ve been thinking of how I’m going to help raise money to make ocha. I haven’t quite worked out the details yet, but I’d like to sell the little stuff I know how to make, things I’ve acquired, and things I have found. While I can’t always guarantee that it’ll be as inexpensive as the mass-produced stuff on eBay, I can promise to put all of the profits into my Ocha Fund. Besides, the sooner I’m crowned, the sooner I can share my experiences as a iyawo rather than just an aborisha…. and I’m sure you guys would rather hear that.

Well, until next time….

Maferefún eggun
Maferefún orisha

So far, I have avoided doing ads, promotions, or anything like that on the blog or podcast. To me, it really ruins the experience. I’m happy to point people towards stuff I think they’d be interested in, but that’s different. I have no real financial stake in the matter.

I do need money, though, at some point. I’m not naive enough to think people will just donate money, however. Perhaps I can offer something useful to the community…

To help save up money to make ocha, I’m thinking of selling some crafts, books, etc.

I’m not sure whether it would be directly through the site or through a third-party like eBay. Still giving it some thought…

As I’ve mentioned in the past, I’m not very good when it comes to beading and traditional stuff like that. What I’d like to offer, instead, are some of the harder-to-find things. I can work create custom eggun staffs/sticks. I can supply animal parts (fur, bones, heads, etc.) for altars and bovedas, brujería, or decoration. Who knows… There’s more to religious supplies in this religion than just tinajas, soperas, elekes, and ides… I’m sure I’ll come up with something…

Even though Miami and Orlando certainly seem to have the highest concentrations of practitioners in Florida, Tampa has its share, too. I just never see many of them, I guess. At least not unless I’m looking for them.

For lunch today, I decided to stop by a nearby Publix. As I walk in the store, I looked over towards the floral department. There, I spotted a woman wearing all white and holding a big bouquet of yellow flowers. On its own, it wouldn’t have phased me much, but then I spotted her beads.

Before I could give it much thought, I found myself walking up to her to get a better luck. The eleke for Shango caught my eye first. I looked at the rest and then my eye moved to what I’m relatively sure was a maso for Oshun. It looked similar to the one I have for Obatala, but with honey-colored beads instead of white. The woman saw me looking and I suddenly felt a lot more self-conscious. I leaned in from across the floral arrangements, smiled, and said, “Bendicion.” She bowed her head a little and put hand up to her chest in one-handed response. I don’t think she said, “Santo”. Instead, she just smiled timidly. We parted ways. I ended up standing an aisle away from her in the checkout lines, just by chance, but I didn’t say anything further. I figured that if she wanted to make conversation, she would.

As I left the store, I was pretty psyched about finally having my first “iyawo sighting” outside of a religious function, botanica, or latin neighborhood. As I got to thinking of it, though, I wondered whether she was truly an iyawo or just someone going somewhere ocha-related. I think what tipped me off was the lack of head-covering. Between that and not responding with “Santo”, I figure it’s a pretty safe bet that she’s just an aborisha like myself. Who knows.

Still, it’s pretty nice running into someone randomly like that. Really makes me think about what it’ll be like when the tables are turned and it’s me wandering around the grocery store in my whites…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In the previous episode, I decided to try something new — including a transcript rather than just a basic summary. I liked it and will probably continue doing that for future episodes. If nothing else, it addresses an issue I had in the past, when trying to figure out what to include in the podcast versus the blog.

Before I get started on the news, I want to let everyone know that I’ve started up a “Year In White” Facebook Page. To be honest, I’m not completely sure how I’ll be using it just yet. Initially, I think I’ll just add “highlights” to it, which will include links to special posts, podcast episodes, and that sort of thing. I’d really like to see some user-generated discussions on there, instead of it all just being stuff I come up with on my own.

A surprising amount of my audience seem to be iyawos, those fresh out of their year, and those looking to make ocha soon. I absolutely love that! Whether you fall into one of those categories or not, please visit the Facebook page and introduce yourself.

At the time of this recording, there page only has a single fan. That’s depressing. Become a fan and show me some love.

The only thing I was able to find was an article from an August 4th posting by NBC Bay Area entitled, “Decapitated Animals Has San Jose Thinking Santeria.”

First off, shouldn’t the title use ‘have’ rather than ‘has’? Whatever.

According to the article:

Decapitated animals in San Jose have some scared and authorities searching for clues.

A jogger found three goats with their heads severed from their bodies on Penetencia Creek, near the Alum Rock Park entrance in San Jose Saturday.

Chicken feathers were also discovered near the bodies. Animal control officers are investigating the case, and whether it could be linked to “santeria,” a religious sect that performs animal sacrifices.

Authorities says it appears the animals were not killed in Alum Rock but instead the remains were boxed and dumped along the trail.

Local animal control is asking anyone who might have seen unusual activity near the Alum Rock trail on Friday night, to call them.

Why are animal control officers investigating whether it is linked to Santeria? If the animals were dumped illegally, the person who did it committed a crime. If the animals were killed inhumanely, the person who did it committed a crime. Even if it was the result of a religious practice, it still may have violated dumping laws. I think what continues to frustrate me with stuff like this is that the focus goes straight to what might have motivated the action, rather than addressing what — if any — laws were broken.

Inevitably, the comments on these news stories are what make them entertaining. There are a few groups of commenter that drive me nuts.

There are the “Civilized” people. They make arguments against the religion or its practices. Typically, they end up taking the stance that “primitive” practices like this need to become more modern and stop killing animals.

There are the “Off-Topic” people. The easiest way to spot these are by the back-and-forth arguments about whether it’s ever alright to kill a defenseless animal. Also in this group of people are those who compare animal sacrifice to what happens in a slaughter house or butcher shop. These discussions simply distract people from the real issue at hand.

The third group are the “Fluffy Bunny” folks. They mean well and want to defend the religion. They make statements that portray the religion (and those involved) as if it could do no wrong. This is where you’ll hear that all animals are cooked and eaten after they are sacrificed. If they do put blame on someone for their actions, it will be done in a way that distances that person from the religion (i.e. “They weren’t a real santero. That never happens usually.”). It’s good to stand up for the religion, but be honest about it. Saying that sacrificed animals always get cooked and eaten afterwards isn’t helping to give your arguments any credibility. If that animal is taking on osogbo, there’s no way it would be eaten.

Before I start ranting too much about that, I guess I should change topics…

Each month, I take a look at the various search terms used on the site, pick a handful that I think might be interesting, and I discuss them a bit with you.

elegua benefit: Elegua is the orisha that opens paths in life. He can help with luck, prosperity, and communication. Given his importance in the religion, it’s easy to see why people are very anxious to learn about him. Don’t forget about the other warriors, though. Yes, Elegua opens the path, but Ogun, Ochosi, and Osun are there to make sure that — as you go down that path — obstacles are cleared, you do not walk alone, and that someone is always keeping an eye out for danger. The benefit Elegua brings you is more effective when he is balanced out by the other orisha.

giving candy to doorways and elegua: I’m not sure about giving candy to the doorway itself, but you could certainly leave candy for Elegua in or next to a doorway. If you have Elegua, you can leave your candy directly with him. Either way, let him know that the candy is for him — either in thanks for what he’s already brought you or to sweeten him up for what you’d like to come your way.

how should you use elegua candle: Before I answer this, let me tell you about my most recent trip to a botanica. I was getting a small statue of Obatala, which I was considering giving as a gift to someone. A woman who worked at the botanica asked me if I had Obatala’s candle already or not and that I really should get it. I couldn’t help but laugh. If it helps you concentrate on what you’re doing and you feel like it works for you, go for it. For me, personally, there’s zero difference between a normal candle and one that has a picture of an orisha on it. Aside from the price tag, of course. There are people who charge their candles with special herbs or whatever, but that’s not what these stores are selling. Maybe I’m just jaded by the rows and rows of “Lucky Lottery” candles that all have the same “Lucky Numbers” written on them, but a lot of that stuff just feels too much like a gimmick. When working with Elegua or any of the orisha, the candle is there as an offering of light (or, some might say, ache). Whether you have a small tea-light or a seven-day candle, they serve the same purpose. It just comes down to preference.

how to understand elegua: If you find out, be sure to let me know… Aside from throwing Obi or Diloggun, it would just come down to interpretation on your part. Some people claim he speaks to them in dreams. Others see meaning behind seemingly random things in their life. The only certain way I know of is to go in for a reading by a qualified santero, if you’re unable to throw shells on your own.

make elegua santeria: That is a little ambiguous. There is the literal making of Elegua, in which a priest uses stone or cement to create a physical manifestation of Elegua, which is later washed and fed. There is also a figure of speech in which “making Elegua” would signify becoming a priest of Elegua, which I don’t really know much about aside from it being fairly expensive.

elegua ago: Online, I’ve seen “ago” typically translated as “open”. The gist, though, is that you’re trying to get Elegua’s attention, in hopes that he will help you stay on (or get to) your desired path.

orisha soperas: These are the containers — usually porcelain — that hold the orisha’s tools, otanes, and shells.

fancy soperas: There are definitely some soperas that are more attractive than others. They usually cost quite a bit, too. One thing to keep in mind is that as you grow in the religion, your orisha will grow, too. You’ll probably be better off starting out small at first, saving the money you would’ve spent on an elaborately detailed sopera and spend it on making ocha instead.

how to make my eggun work for me: Well, you can’t make them do anything. You can make offerings, tell them what you want, and that sort of thing, but — beyond that — it’s up to them.

eggun boveda: This is an issue that confused me a lot when I first started. You have an eggun corner or shrine and then you have a boveda. The boveda is a bowl or glass filled with water. It is for your muertos, spirits, or whatever you prefer to call them. You might have a muerto that also happens to be an eggun, but it probably doesn’t happen as often as you might think. One way to look at it is that your eggun are like a really old grandparent, while the muerto is a young friend. Eggun always have your best interest at heart. They might be able to help out once and a while — sometimes in surprising ways — but it’s usually going to be pretty subtle. With your muerto, you may be close, but you aren’t family. Whether you call it evolution, enlightenment, or elevation, the result is that some will have your interests in mind more than others. They will usually be able to work with you in a way that’s more noticeable than your eggun. A lot of the information out there about working with muerto comes from theSpiritist movement started by Alan Kardec. Water, light, food, drink, or objects may be offered to the spirits. The term “boveda” is often interchangeably used to refer to both the container of water as well as the general area or altar where one works with the spirits.

who is your orisha: My orisha is Oshun. I remember being kind of upset when I was first told that. For the longest time, I had assumed I would crown Obatala. I saw myself as a child of Obatala and didn’t think there was any way that the reading would come out any different. I was wrong. As much as I owe to Obatala, Oshun has really helped me a lot since I got into this religion and I wouldn’t trade her as my crown for anything.

what will happen if you don’t wear white in your year of ocha: Some say that it makes it easier for you to pick up negative energies or that it lessens your ashe. I can’t really comment either way, since I don’t think I’ve asked my godfather about that yet. My personal take on it is that it has a lot to do with intent. If you know you should be wearing white and just choose not to because you don’t want to, that’s going to take its toll on you more than if you had a legitimate reason to break the taboo.

santeria for dummies: This was a fictional book title I came up with a while back. I really wish someone would make one. Unfortunately, there are so many introductory books out there already, there probably isn’t much of a real demand for it. It would be amusing if someone made a book like this, though, that covered what types of clothes to wear, basic dance steps, popular songs, orisha food recipes, and that type of thing instead of the usual, “What color is associated with Oya?” stuff.

grave robbing orisha: No grave robbing happens for or by the orisha. Scouts honor. I’ve heard people talk about taking stuff from graves, but that’s usually for palo mayombe.

elegua+jesus+satan: …Awesome. The person doing that search definitely wanted to keep their options open. I’ve mentioned the topic before, but I’ll say it again… Even though this religion originally survived by hiding in the shadows of Catholicism, they are two distinct religions and always have been.

found a strange bag with money hanging from tree santeria: I get some of the most unusual search traffic sometimes. Well, if I saw a bag with money in a tree, my first thought would probably be to take the money — not do a Google search. I assume this is a paper bag with a few dollars in it and maybe some change. I’m sure if it was a bank bag full of hundred-dollar bills, my site wouldn’t be the one you come to. Without knowing what else was in the bag, it’s hard to say. I think it’s safe to say that pretty much anything involving a tree and money is going to be for helping the person’s finances grow.

santeria ashes in a bed: I don’t think I’ve ever heard of that one. If it’s ash rather than dirt or some other material, the only spiritual thing I can think of would be in stuff involving change. Ashes are usually the one thing that remains when all else burns away. With it being in a bed, I’m going to go out on a limb and say it’s probably related to your sex-life or relationships. You might want to focus your attention on your recent (or soon-to be) ex-lover.

santeria curse signs: In Santeria, there’s not really an Evil Eye you can stare someone down with, a Sigil to draw, or Mummy’s Curse you can leave behind. On the spiritual side, there is plenty you can do with muertos or even some hoodoo-style witchcraft. Within the religion itself, though, the main thing I’ve heard about is when someone writes an enemy’s name on a piece of paper and puts it into Ogun. It’s not so much that Ogun is going to curse that person. Ogun is great at removing obstacles out of your way. By putting the name into his cauldron, you are signifying that person is an obstacle and should be moved out of your way. There are variants for other orisha, too. You might attach a picture or name of someone to Obatala’s whip [whisk] as a way of keeping them in line and under control. Again, this isn’t so much a curse on that person as it is just using that orisha’s natural influence to help the situation. I have a high amount of skepticism for any claims that are made about someone “using an orisha” against someone in a malicious fashion.

symptoms of santeria curse: Symptoms may include abdominal pain, agitation, anxiety, constipation, decreased sex drive, diarrhea or loose stools, difficulty with ejaculation, dizziness, dry mouth, fatigue, gas, headache, and decreased appetite. Actually, those are side-effects of Zoloft. Never mind. Look, if you are already researching the symptoms, you probably already have some things going on that you don’t feel right about. If it’s something you feel might be the result of a spiritual attack, either take some Zoloft to get things off your mind or get a reading done by a santero.

curses with animal skulls: What’s the fascination with curses lately, people? If you’re working with an animal skull and you’re very careful, you can probably charge it with helpful herbs and oils right in the brain cavity. You’ll probably want to plug the hole when you’re done, but a little wax should be ok for that. How you actually do the curse kind of depends on what you’re trying to accomplish and what type of skull you’ve got. You’ll want to work with the animals natural attributes and tendencies, if you want it to be effective. If you’re interested in working with animal bones and what to learn more about what various animals represent, there’s a book called “Animal-Speak” that covers quite a lot of material.

sweeten up a man santeria: I wouldn’t really count this as a traditional Santeria practice, but you could probably make a hoodoo-style “honey jar” and put it to Oshun. The basic idea is to put the person’s name on a piece of paper or their picture. You can also help things out by adding a note. In present-tense terms, describe how good things are between you both (as in, “So-and-so spends more time with me and we have fun together” or whatever it is you’re looking for). Try to be a little general, if you write a note about what you want. Give Oshun the credit she deserves, rather than dictating how everything should play out. Now place your material in a glass jar and fill the jar with fresh honey. Before sealing the lid on, get a few drops of honey on your finger and taste it. As you taste the sweetness of the honey, think about the sweetness the other person will have towards you. Like the honey you just poured into the jar, the effect isn’t going to be all that fast. It might take some time. While it’s working — or you’re waiting for it to — put it somewhere safe where it won’t be disturbed. Every once and a while, come back to it and think back as to what you were looking for when you first started and how things have improved since then. When you feel like things have run their course, you can empty out the jar outside somewhere discreet.

If you haven’t become a fan of the Year In White page on Facebook, what are you waiting for? By becoming a fan, it shows your support of what I’m doing. I also encourage everyone to participate in the discussions and create your own if it’s something you’re interested in. I’m always looking for ideas and suggestions. The Facebook page is a great platform for that.

Maferefún eggun.
Maferefún orisha.

It had been a few months since I last saw my padrino, but this weekend I finally had some time to hang out with him.

Last week was his 36th year as a priest of Obatala. (Happy Birthday!)

In addition to bringing my plate, coco, candles, and derecho, I had another reason for stopping by.

According to the Letter Of The Year, I need to receive Eshu Lekun. To help out a bit, I tried finding a potential otane on my own. He’ll still need to ask the orisha whether it can be used or not, but I figured it’s better than nothing. It was actually pretty cool looking. A little rougher, jagged, and porous than most of the other typically smooth otanes I’ve seen, but Eshu’s known for doing things his own way…

When I found the stone, it was half-buried in the ground. Picking it up, I saw that half of it was white and half of it was green. It reminded me of the pataki about Eshu having chosen to wear a hat that was colored one way on the left side and a different color on the right side. As he walked between two friends, he disappeared out of site, but the disruption remained. The friends argued about which color Eshu’s hat had been. Each person could only see the color on their side and was convinced that they were right and the other person was wrong.

I hate to have waited this long into the year before doing something mentioned in the year’s Letter, but sometimes that’s just how things go.

Anyhow, the rest of the day went by pretty smooth. He had family stop by, which was nice. It’s important to have a relationship within the religion with your godparent, but it’s also important to know them outside of the religion, too. I had heard a little about his family before, but hadn’t yet met any of them. I was able to chat a bit with his cousin and listen as they caught up on old times.

One thing that definitely caught me off-guard, though, was when my padrino was telling his cousin about me. I won’t go too much into the details (mostly because I don’t remember the exact words). He’s had a few godchildren come and go, but I was the one that he was waiting for. He’s got high expectations for me and is proud of how far I’ve already gotten. You know…. That kind of stuff. Neither one of us are much for sappy things, so it means a lot more when he does say stuff like that.

After that, well…. I ate some food, laughed at padrino doing a little dance to ocha music in his chair, and just sort of hung out until I needed to head back home (two-hour drives are no fun).

This is the third and final set of interview questions between myself and Ócháni Lele, as part of his online book tour for Teachings of the Santería Gods. Rather than just focusing on him as a writer or his new book, this interviews covers something a little more general — the patakí themselves. I tried to keep my questions limited this time, so if there’s something you feel like I’ve left out, feel free to leave a comment for Ócháni Lele or myself.

Year-in-White: Every now and then I hear someone reference something from a patakí as if it was fact. I’ve noticed that not all stories are treated like this, though. Very few people will claim that some sort of magical five-toed chicken helped create the world, for instance. Are there certain stories that you feel are more fact than fiction or should they all be treated as just that – stories?

Ócháni Lele: That’s a good question, and my answer is “it depends.” There are many levels to our patakís, and those levels are constantly unfolding.

Like you, I find it troublesome that someone would believe a five-toed chicken came down from heaven on someone’s back and helped to create dry land, but these were creation stories conceived in a time when there was no real scientific knowledge. Ancient humans tried to wrap their minds around the concept of “where did this come from?” This creation patakís is one of the many stories that emerged. For patakís like that I think we need to look into the symbolism created. One could write papers on the symbols of our creation myths. The story itself is also meant to be entertaining, and I think it relays a lot of information about the natures of the orishas we worship, orishas who are central characters in that myth (such as Obatalá, Eshu, Orúnmila, Odua, Olokun, etc.). Personally I think that patakí, in our modern age, is meant to examine the spirituality behind creation; just as the science behind the creation of our world is vast, so are the spiritual concepts behind what happened. It also gives order to the emergence of those concepts. But that’s a subject one could write about for months and not exhaust.

A lot of our patakís are fictionalized accounts of actual historical figures. Many of the orishas (and the odu themselves) we worship were once living, breathing people – take Shangó for example. He was the fourth king of ancient Oyó. He was a descendant of Oduduwa, the progenitor of the Yoruba race so history tells us. Some of our stories tell us that not only did he have the blood of Oduduwa in his veins, but also his mother was an embodiment of an orisha, so he was twice blessed. The tales of his life live on in our odu; and over the centuries I’m sure other elements were added to those. So for stories like that we have fact and fiction merged to create a spiritually dynamic story that remembers not only the earthly Shangó but also the heavenly orisha; and we believe that they were one and the same. Who is to say they are not? And through those stories we learn of their spiritual natures.

There are stories about men and women who had problems and made (or did not make) ebó; and we remember the outcomes of that. Those form the basis of many ebós that we prescribe in divination. There are some stories that are pure history, such as the taming of horses to create the cavalry in ancient Oyó, or the introduction of various weapons among the nations. There are stories about the migrations of various city-states and villages, such as the five migrations of the holy city Ilé Ifé. There are stories about different kings (and queens) that became revered as specific roads of the orishas. Also, patakís about various avatars of the orishas are important because they help us trace the origin of that road, and the differences that existed among the different regions influencing the Lucumí faith. Some are important for no reason other than they give us spiritual reasons for many of our customs.

This question you asked is a huge one, and it’s one that needs to be addressed on a much larger scale. To make my answer simple – I think one has to approach each patakí differently and determine if it was meant to relay a moral, encapsulate history, teach us through symbol, or, simply, to entertain. Different patakís espouse one or more of these things to different degrees.

Year-in-White: The patakís evolve slowly over time as they are retold and revised over the generations. It seems like it’s important for the story-tellers to ensure that patakís remain culturally relevant. Are there any patakís that you feel are more behind-the-times than the rest?

Ócháni Lele: I don’t believe that the stories need to be changed to make them culturally relevant. They are stories from the past about the past; there is no need to “change” that. Their “behind the times” nature comes from the fact that they are stories of an earlier time. This was one of the major problems I had with my own retellings. For each character in each story, I tried to “develop” the character a bit without changing the pataki’s nature. That was difficult.

Take, for example, my chapter on Okana. One story I really love from that odu is the story titled, “Okana’s Seduction of Shangó.” In my own notes, I have that story recorded thus: Okana was a witch who desired Shangó more than anything. She met him while he was riding on his horse and she walking through town and fell hopelessly in love with him. She used her witchcraft and potions to try and seduce him. But Shangó had gone to his diviners and made ebó. His ebó was stronger than her witchcraft. When she met Shangó again, armed with her potion, it worked briefly before Shangó found the strength to tell her he would never be with a witch like her. But so caught up was she in her own magic that this crushed her, filled her with unfulfilled desires, and she turned her magic to evil things. Her unreturned lust for Shangó, and her use of magic against him, was the beginning of her destruction.

That, more or less, is how I was told the story by my godfather; and that is how I wrote it in my notes. It has the makings of a good short story; however, to write a short story there has to be more. So I focused on Okana’s desire and her use of magic. I focused on Shangó’s use of ebó with his diviners. And I created a scene that I think is relevant to the time in which the story was set to show how Okana was crushed. A brief narrative was fleshed out into a full short-story. That was difficult. Even more difficult – I had to do it in such a way that it followed the fragment I had without changing the plot a single bit. I wrote tons of drafts before I got it just right; and I went through this with each and every story I wrote.

Year-in-White: As more and more stories are shared either through printed works like your own or through digital versions online, what implications – both good and bad – do you think that has for the traditional stories that, historically, were only shared verbally from person to person?

Ócháni Lele: As the media through which our stories are shared changes, the presentation of the stories will change. What works as an oral rendition does not work as a printed rendition; and what works in the printed word will not work if our patakís are presented through visual media, such as plays or television or movies. Take the works of the Brothers Grimm, for instance. I grew up reading those. I had to hide the book under the covers at night and read with a flashlight because my mother believed the stories were too gruesome for a child; but read them I did. Later, when she gave me the Disney versions of those same stories, I was incredibly disappointed. They were nothing like the originals. And later, when Disney turned some of those into movies (oh . . . my . . . gosh . . . what they did to the little mermaid!) they were virtually unrecognizable. Hopefully, this won’t happen with our patakís. But chances are it will.

As more writers, authors, playwrights, and artists come into contact with our culture, we’ll need to keep in mind that while our stories are reaching a wider audience, not all versions or interpretations will be relevant to us as a religious body. In my work I tried very hard to stay true to the plots and characters of our patakís; and I worked hard to make the settings as relevant to our ancient culture as I could. And in my private notes, meant to be passed on to my godchildren and their spiritual descendants, I’ve tried to keep the original fragments on which my retellings are based in the body of my personal work so they can compare, contrast, and come up with their own opinions of the writings. I think that’s what everyone who reads works such as mine needs to do – employ dialogue about my work with their own elders about what they’ve read. If everyone does this, then the work I’ve done becomes a springboard for discussion and learning.

I think that’s the most important part of the work I’ve done and the work I’m doing: it’s educational. And the opportunities for this type of work are unlimited. We have so many talented writers among our ranks — hopefully some of those will do work similar to mine soon and add to our body of knowledge!

On behalf of this blog and its readers, I’d like to give a big, “Thank you!” to Ócháni Lele for taking the time to answer my questions and allow me to share it with everyone here.

Ócháni Lele’s book is available online at amazon.com. You can also find the other books he has written throughout his career as both a writer and a priest there. Click on the link below to find his latest book, Teachings of the Santería Gods, released on July 7, 2010.

Things have been pretty hectic lately.

I’ve been trying to get over a cold and catch back up on work… so I apologize for not posting much here lately.

Here’s what I’ve got planned so far:

After that…? It’s a bit up-in-the-air. I had hoped I could get an interview going with one of the singers over in Orlando, but I haven’t heard back yet. Probably need to start coming up with a “Plan B”.

Once again, I had the pleasure to speak with Ócháni Lele recently. Those who read last week’s blog interview will remember that he is the Lucumí author of various books on the religion Santería. Specifically, his work focuses on the diloggún and the odu that form its oral literary corpus. His past works include the titles The Secrets of Afro-Cuban Divination, Obi: Oracle of Cuban Santería, and The Diloggún. He is with us today promoting his new book released by Destiny Books on July 7th, Teachings of the Santería Gods.

Year-in-White: Ócháni, this has turned into a very lengthy interview, and I’d like to thank you for taking all this time to speak with both myself and my readers.

Ócháni Lele: You’re quite welcome. I love talking (and writing) about my work.

Year-in-White: Until the release of this book, Teachings of the Santería Gods, all of your work to date has been instructional. This book does have some wonderful teaching material in it, but primarily it is a collection of short stories, beautifully written. Why the change?

Ócháni Lele: I don’t look at this as a change as much as I do a natural evolution of my writing. When I wrote The Secrets of Afro-Cuban Divination in 1998 (it was contracted late 1998 and published late 2000), there was nothing on the market that spoke of the diloggún – either as a system of divination or as an oral holy book. I wanted to begin my work by investigating the diloggún as a system of divination; that is, after all, its most practical application. Something most of my readers don’t know is that when I wrote Secrets I wanted it to be an inclusive survey of Lucumí divination. It had an extensive chapter about Obí divination in it.

But books are limited entities, and for a first volume on two virtually unknown divination systems written in the English language, I had some serious space constraints. Plus, Obí divination isn’t that simple, not really. So I cut the chapter on Obí and presented my first volume as a survey of the diloggún. It was unique; it was innovative; and it was the first book of its kind written in the English language. It was the first book of its kind in any language to provide complete instructional material regarding the casting of diloggún. And it was a huge success!

About the time that Secrets came out I was burnt out on nursing; and one night, disappointed in new staffing guidelines that I felt were unsafe at my then current job, I quit. I put in my two weeks’ notice, worked it out, and after my last night on the job I sat at home wondering, “Now what am I going to do with myself?” The deleted chapter from Secrets sat on my dining room table, all 68 pages of it. I decided to rework that into a book.

In a two-week period in which all I did was write, eat, shower, and sleep, I added my personal anecdotes about being white and entering what is considered by most to be an African religion; and then I added all the patakís I knew supporting the coconut-based divination system. I added a simple chapter on an art few initiates know or remember anymore in regards to Obí divination, the aperes, and then I polished it all up and sent it to my publisher. A few weeks later it was contracted! Late 2001, Obí: Oracle of Cuban Santería was published.

While writing that book, I knew I wanted to move into storytelling. It felt good, no, powerful to tell my own versions of the patakís supporting Obí divination. Over the years I had collected hundreds of patakís, sacred myths, about the orishas and the odu; however, my writing skills were not strong enough to commit to a project dedicated only to storytelling. Plus, every day my email box was crammed with requests for more information on the odu. Those emails gave me the inspiration to write my incredibly huge volume titled, The Diloggún: the Orishas, Proverbs, Sacrifices, and Prohibitions of Cuban Santería.

When I sent that 400,000 plus word manuscript to my publisher, Inner Traditions, I was afraid. Publishers don’t like projects of more than 75,000 to 85,000 words, but when the acquisitions department read it, they “got it.” The diloggún is huge; and the opportunities for writing and studying this system are huge as well. They took a chance and published it. The volume was a huge success and went into successive printings.

Year-in-White: And how did this lead you into your current book, Teachings of the Santería Gods.

Ócháni Lele: Something most don’t realize about the publishing industry is this – after a work is contracted, it can take six months to a year and a half to bring a book to the shelves. It’s a long, drawn-out process of reviews, edits, and rewrites. I sent Inner Traditions the final manuscript for The Diloggún in 2002. It didn’t come out until 2003. During that time, I was searching for the subject matter of my next book; and that is when I decided to start writing short stories based on the patakís.

From 2002 until late 2007, I wrote and rewrote all the stories I had in my private collection. I began with Okana and worked my way through the composites of Ejila Shebora. It took me 6 years to work through them all like this, and along the way my godfather taught me hundreds of additional stories. Even now, I don’t think that man (God bless him) realizes how much he taught me, or how closely I hung on his every word. I worked my versions of those into my notes as well.

In 2008 I still had hundreds of stories and fragments untouched; but when I realized how the years had flown by without me publishing anything . . . well . . . I stopped what I was doing and planned how I was going to present these stories. After many false starts, I decided that a short volume on the patakís of the root odu from Okana through Ejila Shebora would be the most logical. I agonized over which ones to present; and early 2008 I sent a proposal to my editor. The publisher issued a contract; and I began months of cutting, editing, writing, and rewriting until the manuscript was complete.

Truly, the book you hold in your hands is one that took 8 years to write and bring to the bookshelves. I am very proud of the work I’ve done.

Year-in-White: Towards the end of the introduction in Teachings of the Santería Gods you reference Okana’s story. You pose a question to the reader about whether the osogbo that comes into one’s life due to failure to make ebó is the result of the osogbo itself or the result of the person not making the required ebó. This is an intense question, one that involves the realm of moral and ethics. Which do you believe? Was the outcome of that story due to the failure to make ebó or to the osogbo itself?

Ócháni Lele: This is why I love to study both the odu and the patakís, and this is why I wish more people spent time contemplating them. Each, if read thoughtfully, brings up multiple issues regarding morals, ethics, and personal responsibility. Any one story in my book could generate dozens of papers on just these subjects. Without imposing my own beliefs on my readers, I’d like to say that the world is a complicated place, and the stories in my book reflect this world’s complications. Everything we do affects everything and everyone else; nothing exists in a vacuum, and everything is caught up in an intricate web that derives its strength from its multiple threads. I’d like my readers to come up with their own ideas on these topics as they read my work.

Barely 100 years ago (give or take a few dozen years) were the Yoruba thought to be savages with no native spirituality. As recently as our generation, this country tried to make laws limiting the practice of our faith. Even now, mainstream WASP society looks at what we do with disgust. But after reading these stories, myths and histories – sacred dramas as ancient as any sacred texts in our world – one learns that the Yoruba were a deeply spiritual people who struggled daily with the concepts of God, soul, ethics, morals, and personal responsibility. These stories are the core of our spiritual practices. Only the morally insane could read this work and think, “These people have no soul. These people have no spirituality.” There is a gentleness, a refreshingly vibrant, spiritual yearning to these patakís. They are the result of a spiritual genius; there is no soulful poverty in them.

Year-in-White: There are so many ways to present these stories. I’d like to know if you have any plans for an audio book or public performance based on these patakís?

Ócháni Lele: Once I get through the initial frenzy of activity associated with the launch of any book, mine included, I do have a special project planned. I’m still working out the details, so I’d like to ask your blog readers to friend me on facebook (look for Ócháni Lele there), add me on twitter (look for ochanilele) and add me on myspace (myspace.com/ochanilele). When I’m ready to start that project I’ll put up announcements on all those social websites.

Year-in-White: Once again, I’d like to thank you for taking time to speak with us. And to all my readers, Ócháni Lele’s new book, Teachings of the Santería Gods, is available now. Amazon.com has incredible deals on this volume and all of Ócháni’s work, and you can purchase them through the link below. Next week’s third and final interview with Ócháni Lele will be just be about patakís. I can’t wait!

Ócháni Lele: Thanks for hosting me on my blog-tour. I’ve enjoyed this very much!

Ócháni Lele’s book is available online at amazon.com. You can also find the other books he has written throughout his career as both a writer and a priest there. Click on the link below to find his latest book, Teachings of the Santería Gods, released on July 7, 2010.

Shortly after a mildly-interesting dream I had yesterday, I ended up deciding upon a few things…

First, I want to try to do more interviews for this site (and maybe at some point, the podcast).

There are tons of sites out there about the orisha, about the history of the religion, or even just discussions about trivial stuff like what it means when a candle turns black or how much people charge for readings.

I’d like to do more interviews and Q&A — where people talk a bit about how they got into the religion, what they like and don’t like about it, etc. There are plenty of questions I’d love to ask and I’m sure I’m not the only one.

I want to make the site more about the community and less about what’s already readily available on other sites — superficial aspects of the religion like animal sacrifice, witchcraft, divination, or collecting beads and orisha like they are Pokemon. Not that I won’t still talk about that stuff. I just don’t want it to be the primary focus of this site.

I still have two more interview segments with Ócháni Lele left to post. After that, well, we’ll see… I have a few people in mind, but I haven’t yet approached anyone about it. If you have any suggestions, leave a comment on the site or via Twitter and I’ll see what I can do.

Second, I need to get off my butt and start going to more tambores and events.

I have been putting it off because of lack of funds, time, and motivation. I don’t think I’ll ever be the type to go to functions every weekend or anything (especially since all of the stuff I go to is typically a couple hours away), but it’s been quite a while since I’ve gone to anything and I really don’t have a good reason not to anymore.

Third, I know if I was determined to do it, I’d probably have saved up enough money to make ocha by now.

Even though I haven’t taken any money out of the fund since I started it, I haven’t been adding as much to it as I should. I think I’ve just sort of been holding out until I have some type of experience where I know without question that I need to make ocha. Anyone can tell me that I need to do it, but until I FEEL it, I’d just be going through the motions and wouldn’t get as much out of it. I’m hoping that between talking with others out there in the community and going to more functions, it might make things a bit more clear for me.

I just ran across a bizarre Florida news story, entitled: “Lee man alleges voodoo, fights to get motel back from Santeria spiritual adviser”

There are plenty of cliché phrases that I thought of while reading this news story… “There’s a sucker born every minute” is perhaps the best suited, though.

People want to feel safe and secure. Whether they have health issues or just feel like something isn’t right in their life, they want it fixed.

In this case, what started out as a $50 investment in spiritual guidance ended up costing more and more, the deeper he got involved. Eventually, the man lost his home, business, car, boat, and — perhaps for a little while — his sanity.

It’s pretty sickening, but not uncommon — both in and outside of this religion.

This is why it’s crucial to build relationships in the community with trustworthy people.

For those of you who are new to the religion and don’t yet have godparents you can trust, you don’t have many options. Don’t sacrifice common-sense in favor of “faith”. If there’s someone who you’d like to learn from, find out about their lineage and do a bit of research on them. If they work on their own, don’t have a verifiable lineage, or seem even remotely “shady”, just stay away. There are plenty of honest, good people out there that you can learn from instead.