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IN THE NEWS:
It’s July and I’m only just now starting to get to the stuff from June. Sorry about that.
First is an article entitled “Santeria Lives on in the District“, published July 8th on The Washington Informer news site.
On June 26th, over fifty people attended a workshop at the GALA Theatre in Washington D.C. to pay homage to the traditions of Santeria and to the ancestors.
Rather than focusing on the theology and religious aspects of Santeria, the workshop centered on two other aspects — the music and dance.
The Bata drums, in particular, were given much of the focus.
The next news story is a little older — from the middle of last month — but still relevant to this podcast. The subject matter is one that seems to make its way into quite a few of the news stories I find, unfortunately.
This latest incident of the public discovery of animal sacrifice was mentioned in an article entitled “Visitors to San Antonio cemetery discover chicken remains among gravestones“, published June 17th on the San Antonio news site, KENS 5.
The article itself is pretty short, but there’s a video clip that accompanies it. Pretty entertaining stuff, in a sad sort of way. News reporters ask whether the animal remains were a result of a prank or a cult. Also, an idea is suggested about halfway through that the animals might be left in an effort to wake the dead. Laughable, but not unexpected. As they mention in both the article and the video clip, they did a “quick internet search” to find information. I’m not quite sure when hard-hitting journalism was replaced by a cursory glance on the first page of results on Google, but I’m not a big fan. Surely the people they interview will be more educated, right? One woman interviewed said that she doesn’t want her father’s soul troubled by what may be going on above his grave. Wait…. What?!?! For real…? Look, everyone is entitled to their beliefs and if something works for you, awesome. I mean, personally, I love this religion. First, I have no concern about the dead coming back and never met or talked to anyone in the religion who seemed to harbor such ideas. Secondly, I believe that once someone is dead and the spirit has moved on, there should be only remembrance and homage, not a fear that they will be troubled by trivial stuff like this. Everything has to die sometime, even those chickens.
AFTER DEATH:
In the Lucumi tradition, when a priest or priestess dies, a ceremony — the Itutu — is performed for them and they are buried so they may return to the earth just as they had been born from it.
Outside of the religion, it seems that everyone wants to by cremated. Even with most of my friends, that’s what they’ve chosen as well. It’s convenient, sure. You can travel with your Aunt Edna in a vase… or even put a bit of poor old Uncle Buck in a zip-lock baggie and disperse it into his favorite fishing creek. But just because it’s easier for the living doesn’t mean it’s best for the dead.
Ignore the amount of energy and heat required to cremate a body or how much carbon-dioxide results from it. Just focus on the ashes left behind when it’s done. Aside from the bit of phosphorous material you might find in there, it’s about as useful to plant and animal life as what the contents of an ashtray or vacuum might contain.
Though I like the idea of cremation more than the having my remains sealed away in some fancy coffin that will long outlast future generations of my family, it goes against the traditions of the religion and goes back all the way back to the Yoruba.
There’s a book called “The History Of The Yoruba from the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the British Protectorate”, which was first published in the early 1900′s. Aside from having an exceedingly long name, there’s actually some interesting information in there. One piece of information is about deaths and funerals. According to the book, the Yoruba didn’t bury their dead in graveyards or cemeteries. Instead, they were buried in their houses.
It was probably a relatively simple process. It’s not like they had fancy tile or carpeting to pull up. They simply dug up the dirt until they had a hole large enough to fit the body horizontally about six feet underground. I guess they used markers of some type to signify the location of the body.
From a cultural standpoint, I guess I can understand this. The ancestors are treated with much respect and reverence by the Yoruba, so of course they’d want to keep them close and nearby. From a modern view, though, I think it would be a bit creepy trying to go to bed knowing that “grandpa” was just a few feet underneath where I’m sleeping…
While I harbor no wish to be buried in someone’s bedroom (or have them buried in mine), I do like the idea of allowing my remains to feed insects, plants, and other organisms. After all, if I’m dead, why do I care about being in some dignified pose and wearing some fancy set of clothes?
I have assumed that — at least in the U.S. — the only legal way of “returning to the earth” when I died was to be put in the cheapest coffin available and it would most likely decompose along with me as time went on.
Apparently, though, there’s another option and it’s something I think everyone in this religion who is crowned should consider. It’s known as a “natural burial” (or “green burial”). The idea is pretty simple. The person is buried in a biodegradable coffin, casket, or shroud. Unlike in conventional burial practices, though, it’s done at a shallow enough depth to allow — and encourage — natural decomposition of the body.
I haven’t exactly been comparison-shopping, but I’d imagine natural burials are less expensive, too, since you don’t have to pay for preservation chemicals, a stupidly-long-lasting coffin, an outer container that the coffin will go into, etc. You’re pretty much just paying for a small plot of ground and some basic maintenance. Easy on your wallet and Orisha-approved. Can’t beat that. But maybe since it’s still something only a minority of the general public knows about or wants, it’s more expensive. Not sure. If any of you have some current dollar amount comparisons you’d like to send over, I’d appreciate it.
Either way, those who have made Ocha are expected to receive Itutu and be buried. Those who only have elekes and warriors — even if they have received “washed” orisha — are not crowned and, thus, don’t have any such obligations.
Regardless of what you’d like to happen when you die, it’s important to not just assume that someone else will know what you want and will step up and carry out your wishes. You should really consider having a will or other form of legal document that clearly states not only what you want to occur but also what you do (or don’t) want done to your body, who needs to be there for the ceremony, how to get in touch with them, and that sort of thing. Don’t just rely on people in your ile to take care of you. It’s your responsibility to make sure everything is ready for when your spirit must return to Orun.
ASK AN ABORISHA:
eggun staff: As I mentioned in Episode 3 of the podcast, the opa-iku, or “eggun staff”, are consecrated wooden staffs made to call eggun. When not being used in a ceremony, it’s usually left in your eggun corner or shrine.
could I buy my eggun staff: You definitely can. You can find them at botanicas, websites, ebay, and all sorts of places. If you’re going to buy one, I’d recommend finding someone in your area (or at least someone you can communicate with a bit via phone or email) who can make one for you. This way, you can tell them a bit about your ancestors and hopefully get something unique that is fitting for your eggun. If you get a pre-made staff somewhere, you’ll want to add your own custom touches to it, whether through carvings, hand-picked ribbons, or by incorporating small trinkets that remind you of your ancestors.
feeding eggun: If you know a bit about your ancestors, meals traditional to them are preferred. Otherwise, general stuff like tobacco, rum, and coffee are fine. The only real taboo I know of with them is the use of salt in their food, which should be avoided if possible. Use your instincts on this. If your father used to love salty french fries when he was alive, go for it. Even though it’s called “feeding”, the most important part is to remember and honor your ancestors and try to build a better connection with them.
elegua or eggun first: That’s an easy one. Eggun before Orisha. Always.
necklaces for the eggun: To my knowledge, there aren’t any sort of official elekes for eggun. If you want to feel a closer connection to your eggun and feel like a necklace would help with that, you could probably make your own. That would be more of a personal practice, though, than one of traditional Lucumi. Instead of colored plastic beads, you might want to consider using shells, stones, bones, or other “earthy” sort of materials.
santeria necklaces: The necklaces in Santeria are the elekes. They are often worn as a way of identifying yourself as a member of the religion and to bring the influence and protection of that eleke’s orisha into your life.
receiving elekes: The elekes ceremony can take place before, during, or after you receive your warriors. Each necklace is presented to the recipient and, one by one, they are dropped to the floor, picked up and then kissed by the initiate. This is done to let the orisha know that if the necklace ever falls to the ground, it is due to an accident and not that they are being abandoned.
what happens if someone who doesn’t practice santeria wear santeria beads: The beads themselves don’t really mean much. After all, putting on a stethoscope doesn’t make you a doctor. The necklaces given during the elekes ceremony have been consecrated, but even that doesn’t make them all that powerful. All of that stuff you might hear about the elekes providing folks with protection, strength, or whatever? That comes from the connection that person has with their orisha more than it does from the elekes themselves.
where can I buy orisha pots in new jersey: I’m not in New Jersey, so I’m not sure. Off the top of my head, the only place I can think of is a site called Auctions609.com I’m pretty sure they are based in New Jersey — but I might be wrong … I’m just guessing just based on the 609 — so you might be able to stop by there if they have a storefront. Even if they don’t, the shipping rates should be pretty reasonable (assuming they are based out of New Jersey). Aside from that site, the only other one I’ve used for soperas and tinajas is FolkCuba.com I had a bad experience with them, though, in which a tinaja for Oshun was chipped during shipping and even though their support person said they’d take care of it, they quickly stopped responding to my messages, so I was out however much money it had cost. To avoid situations like that, always try to buy locally when you can, so you can see and feel what you’re buying beforehand. A quick search on Google Maps for the word “botanica” should help you out.
being a santera: That’s a tough one, since I’m neither crowned nor a woman. I remember talking with a friend about there being some things that females traditionally aren’t allowed to do as well as the things that they are the only ones able to do. Unfortunately, I don’t really recall many specifics. I remembered something about only men being able to birth Elegua, since he requires male energy. I also recall reading somewhere about women not being allowed to play the Bata drums. I didn’t really pay much attention to this stuff, since it hadn’t applied to me at the time. Sorry!
connecting with your orisha: How you do this is kind of a mix between personal preference and which orisha you’re trying to connect with. If the orisha has a specific aspect or element that you can surround yourself with, that might help. If you’re connecting with Ochosi or Oggun, take a walk in a park, go camping, or maybe go hunting. If you’re connecting with Yemaya, try going to the beach or spending some time on a boat out in the ocean. If you’re connecting with Oshun, there are rivers. For Oya, cemeteries and windy nights might work. And lightning-storms might be good for connecting with Shango. When I first started learning about the religion, someone told me that the “orisha eats hearts”. I’m guessing it was a poorly-translated proverb, but the person was basically trying to tell me that language and knowledge don’t matter so much as intent, when it comes to connecting with the orisha. Consider starting out small and speak to the orisha just in your mind. Tell them about yourself, what it is you’re looking for, what it is you need help with, and that sort of thing. Eventually, you’ll be comfortable enough that one day you’ll find yourself speaking out loud to a stone with cowry-shell eyes, just like the rest of us weirdos. Some people communicate with the orisha in very formal and somber manner, while others have a more casual style. As you talk more with the orisha, you can leave them offerings of their favorite foods or drinks. Just treat the orisha with respect and you should be fine.
orisha dreams: There are two categories to this. In the first category, you dream of the orisha. It may or may not have any meaning, but it’s usually either your subconscious trying to tell you something or, well, maybe you’ve just gone to too many tambores lately. The other category is when the orisha speak to us through our dreams. In these, the orisha have a message for us. As with other matters of the orisha, I think sometimes the message the person receives aren’t always as cut-and-dry as they might think.
orisha artifacts: To me, when I think of “artifacts”, I picture Indiana Jones or something. But when it comes to traveling with your orisha — especially through airports — labeling them as religious artifacts can sometimes mean the difference between leaving with your orisha and leaving it behind. The main issue you’ll need to be concerned with is that the orisha are as clean as possible first. Artifact or not, a bit of dried up chicken blood on an otane or inside a cowry shell can ruin your day. Whenever possible, consider transporting your orisha in a way that won’t require it to be poked, prodded, scanned, and examined by airport security, customs, and similar high-security checkpoints.
orisha otanes: The otanes are essentially consecrated stones that are tied to a specific orisha. They are sometimes explained as the focal point or manifestation of an orisha in the physical world. The container, tools, and even the shells can be lost or damaged and fairly easily replaced, but the otanes should be treasured and protected from harm. [EDIT: After talking with my padrino, he pointed out that the otanes and shells both should be protected equally, since a loss of either would result in essentially the same situation.]
orisha shells: Consecrated cowry shells are used during divination as a way of communicating with the orisha and getting advice from them. There are plenty of books out there that teach how to read the Diloggun and are good to know for later, but unless you have the ashe required, throwing the shells without being properly taught by your godparent is likely to give you about the same results as from a Magic 8-Ball.
orisha books: There are tons of books about the orisha, ranging anywhere from large hardcover books all the way down to small pamphlets about individual orisha. If you can read Spanish, you’ll probably find a much larger selection of books than if you have to limit yourself to only ones printed in English. For the most part, though, these books aren’t going to tell you anything you can’t find yourself with a Google search or two. Most often, they just go over symbols, colors, tools, days, numbers, dates, and all sorts of things that are attributed as being sacred to or associated with the orisha. I have reviewed some of these books on the site already, so be sure to check those out. Basically, these books (or even just internet research) are great for learning the basics and general info about the orisha. To learn more about individual roads of an orisha, a godparent or someone from your ile would probably be best.
santeria patakis odu book: There are a handful of good books that focus on patakis. A long-time favorite of mine is a book called “Santeria Stories” by Luis Manuel Núñez. For one that is specifically about odu and the stories associated with them, I’d definitely recommend the new book from Ócha’ni Lele called Teachings of the Santería Gods: The Spirit of the Odu, which I’m currently reading.
bringing elegua into your home: It’s pretty cut-and-dry, really. A ceremony, Entrada, is done to welcome Elegua and let him know where his home now is. It doesn’t take too long. A little offering to eggun, to Elegua, throw some Obi, and you’re done. If you don’t currently have your own house, something can usually be worked out, but you’ll want to discuss that with your godparent.
taking care of elegua: It might depend on what road you have, but mine’s been pretty low-maintenance. I’m pretty sure I covered this in an earlier podcast episode, but basically you just offer him the occasional candle, rum, cigar, and bit of palm oil, and you should be good. The one you received Elegua from should be able to go over it a bit more. One thing you might want to consider, though, is the issue of toys. Consider your path of Elegua first. I have Laroye, which is a rather young and playful path of Elegua, but there are others that are older and less playful, so toys might not aways be appropriate. Again, consult your godparent if you’re unsure.
clean my elegua: The most common way is to use a bit of rum and palm oil. The rum can be sprayed on him from your mouth, but you want it to come out more like a mist than like a sprinkler. You might want to practice first. As for the palm oil, while you’re coating him in the palm oil on your hands, be sure to talk to him and tell him how things are, what you need, and that sort of thing.
traveling with elegua: Depending on how you travel, this might relate back to my earlier comments about “orisha artifacts.” When travelling by car, make sure Elegua is secured in such a way that he won’t cause damage if you have to slam at your breaks at some point. Usually on the floor in the backseat is a safe bet. There’s also something called a “Pocket Elegua”. I haven’t had any experience with those one way or another, but if you’re going to be doing a lot of travelling and can’t safely bring Elegua with you, maybe that’s something to consider.
elegua dice: I don’t know if dice are officially associated with Elegua or not, but I have three dice in Elegua’s clay dish, myself, so I will at least share my take on it. Elegua is often associated with risk, opportunities, luck, decisions, and that sort of thing. I think dice represent that pretty well, so I use them.
how long do you offer candy to elegua: Candy is really not much different from other offerings. The biggest factors for me when deciding when to dispose of food or drink offerings is appearance, smell, and potential for bugs. Appearance is important because a fresh fruit being offered seems respectable, but if the fruit begins to rot, that seems more like a sign of insult or neglect. With smell, an offering of dried herring, for instance, might be appropriate for Elegua, but if it starts to smell up my entire house, it’s time to get rid of it — no matter how much my cat might protest. With bugs, Elegua probably doesn’t want flies, ants, or roaches crawling on him any more than I want them in my house, so things that aren’t sealed typically get thrown away within a day or so. Just use common sense. Most candy is going to be sealed. Unless it’s chocolate, it will probably look the same today as it does weeks from now. I usually swap mine out as new candy is added.
omi tutu, ana tutu, tutu ile,tutu laroye what does this mean: It’s a prayer that basically translates to “Cool water, cool road, cool house, cool conversation” and is said while offering libations of water to Elegua.
ibu ikole: She’s one of my favorite paths of Oshun. Ibu Ikole is associated with powders and witchcraft. She’s definitely one orisha you don’t want to get on the badside of.
obara owani: I actually had to look this one up. The gist of this odu is that people are against you, either in words or action. The person who did the reading for you should be able to tell you more.
LITERARY SPOTLIGHT:
Most of the books I have reviewed lately have been, well, less-than-stellar. The other day, my Amazon order of the newest book from Ócha’ni Lele arrived. It’s called Teachings of the Santería Gods: The Spirit of the Odu. Though I haven’t finished reading it yet, I’ve enjoyed it so far. I’m no diviner, but I do enjoy reading stories. This book has many. One story, like the one featured in the chapter on Okana involving the cat and the rat, I had read a version of once, but had completely forgotten of it until now. Most of the stories are new to me. Given the amount of interest a lot of you have shown in patakis, I think you all will probably enjoy it quite a bit.
SITE NEWS:
As you’ve probably noticed, I’ve been pretty hard-pressed for both free time and new ideas on what to discuss on the blog and podcast. As a way of compensating for that, I’m going to work on publishing some interviews in the coming weeks. For starters, I’ll be interviewing Ócha’ni Lele, if for no other reason than he’s kind enough to have accepted my request. Though we’ve never met, we have talked a few times online and he seems like an interesting guy. If there’s enough good feedback about it, I’ll try to find others to interview or maybe to post a few articles now and then on the site. I still haven’t quite worked out the logistics of how it’ll all pan out, but it should be fun, so stay tuned.
