Letra del Año 2018 Odu of the Year from Cuba 2018

LETRA DEL AÑO 2018 Consejo Cubano De Sacerdotes Mayores De Ifá Predicciones de Ifá para Cuba y el Mundo Las primeras horas de este 2018 se reunió la Sociedad Cultural Yoruba de Cuba y el Consejo Cubano De Sacerdotes Mayores De Ifá para determinar el Signo de Ifa que regirá Cuba durante todo el año…

Ore Yeye O & Omi O Yemaya: Goodness and Water Shout Outs!

Each orisha has a series of praises that are exclaimed at important times in ceremonies and celebrations. For example, when you hear someone singing for Elegua, you may hear a cry of “Laroye!” It is a way of honouring the deities, and flattering them. Two of the most commonly heard praises are for Oshun and…

The Two Waters

Oshun and Yemaya are described as the “two waters” relating specifically to the odus “odi-she” (in dilogun divination: 7-5) and “oshe-di” (in dilogun divination: 5-7). These odus state that the person doesn’t have one mother, but two: Oshun and Yemaya, who govern, love, and protect the person in equal and interested manner. Therefore, when you see…

Sizing Beads

So, seed beads, as mentioned in a previous post, come in various sizes. They are written in “4/0 or 5/0” and are called “three o’s” (etc.); the smaller the first number, THE BIGGER THE BEAD. It used to mean that if you laid down a row of beads, end to end, the first number would…

Some Ifa Things

Here are some slightly different things for Orunmila/Ifa that I have made: Ide Ifa (idefa) that use blue cylindrical beads called “segi” or shegi. Segi beads are a sign of royalty and regeneration and these cornflower blue beads are said to be deposited in the earth by the rainbow python, Oshumare. They are said to…

The differences between a Babalawo and a Santero

This isn’t going to be the in-depth treatise about the philosophical and liturgical differences between babalawo and olorisha (in Lukumi). I don’t have the energy for that post while I am on the road. But this is just to give newbies a cheat-sheet as the terms can get confusing. First off, a babalawo is a…

Matipó: A Bead Color You Should Know

I mentioned this bead in a previous post, it describes a colour somewhere between red and brown. A reddish brown, but definitely a brown (not wine or anything so red). Matipó pictured below is used in elekes for Asojano, Aganju, some Oguns, Oba, and Oya.   You will see that there is definitely some red in…

Book Review Vlog of ORISHA by Pierre Fatumbi Verger

Here is my inaugural book review vlog. It can only get better, folks! I decided to pick one of my favourite authors/photographers/researchers/powerhouses: Pierre Fatumbi Verger. This book and most of his others are pretty hard to get but they are worth the trouble. Click above, or if that doesn’t work, Watch the video here There are…