°ä²¹²Ô»å´Ç³¾²ú±ôé
Olugbajé feast
Practitioners of °ä²¹²Ô»å´Ç³¾²ú±ôé believe in one all powerful God, Oludumaré, who is served by lesser deities called orixas. °ä²¹²Ô»å´Ç³¾²ú±ôé practitioners believe that every person has their own individual orixa which controls his or her destiny and acts as a protector.
This is the Olugbajé feast, which is served in large leaves and contains food sacred to all the deities. It is believed the food has healing powers.
Photo © Roderick Steel
Finding your god
The boy being presented to the general public watches the deities that will protect him in the future.
Once a priest has determined which orixa belongs to the new initiate, which is done by the casting of cowry shells, a string of beads are consecrated to that deity and placed round the initiate's neck. The initiate spends up to a month in seclusion, participating in other important rituals, before being presented to the general public.
Photo © Roderick Steel
°¿³æ²¹±ôá
°¿³æ²¹±ôá is worshipped in °ä²¹²Ô»å´Ç³¾²ú±ôé as an old man, bent over his magical staff, and as a young warrior who brandishes a sword.
°ä²¹²Ô»å´Ç³¾²ú±ôé practitioners believe that every person has an individual orixa which controls his or her destiny and acts as a protector. Each orixa represents a force in nature and is associated with certain foods, colours, animals and days of the week.
Photo © Roderick Steel
Omolu
The figure in the background is Omolu, an orixa whose body was covered with smallpox sores at birth, and for this reason appears covered in rafia. He is a healer and his dance alludes to his healing powers.
Worship takes the form of specially choreographed dances and hymns. The dance is a call to the spirits. At its height, the worshipper's orixa temporarily possesses the dancer's body and he or she enters into a trance like state and dances alone.
Photo © Roderick Steel
³Ý²¹±è²¹²Ôã
This is ³Ý²¹±è²¹²Ôã, a royal spirit from the Dambirá family.
°ä²¹²Ô»å´Ç³¾²ú±ôé practitioners revere nature, and worship the spirits that are found in trees, plants and other natural things. However, ancestor worship forms a large part of °ä²¹²Ô»å´Ç³¾²ú±ôé practice. Past ancestors are venerated and deified.
Photo © Roderick Steel
Oxum
Oxum's dance recalls her bathing in a waterfall, and summoning the forces that control pregnancy and childbirth. The young woman possessed by Oxum dances alongside her mother.
Oxum likes beauty, and devotes her life to it. She is also the goddess of love and fertility, and looks after newborns up to the age of about 4. The city of Salvadore in Brazil is believed to be run by Oxum; it is said its people love the good things in life.
Photo © Roderick Steel
Oxum's festival
Oxum has many avatars, and wears colors and ritual staffs in accordance with these different identities. Three oxums are pictured here, in her annual festival, called "Festa das Iabás".
Women are extremely important in °ä²¹²Ô»å´Ç³¾²ú±ôé worship and often hold the highest positions. They are known as 'mother of saint' when they lead the worship ceremonies, and usually act as head priest.
Photo © Roderick Steel
±õ±ð³¾²¹²ÔÂáá
During a festival called ±õ±ð³¾²¹²ÔÂáá gifts are taken out to sea and submerged, where they are received by the Queen of the Seas in her oceanic sanctuary.
There is no concept of good or bad in °ä²¹²Ô»å´Ç³¾²ú±ôé. Each person is only required to fulfil his or her destiny to the fullest, whatever that may be. However, °ä²¹²Ô»å´Ç³¾²ú±ôé teaches that any evil you cause will return to you eventually. It is the responsibility of the ancestor spirits to make sure that past moral standards are continued in the present.
Photo © Roderick Steel
Ogum
Ogum, god of iron, presides over technology and agriculture. He is seen kneeling on the ground, wearing his crown of palm fronds.
During worship ceremonies, specially choreographed dances will be performed in order to become possessed of the ancestor spirit. The possessed may then act out scenes from the community to highlight both good and bad actions in a sort of public tribunal.
Photo © Roderick Steel
°ä²¹²Ô»å´Ç³¾²ú±ôé now
Ogum is one of the most fierce deities. He charges towards the drums where he will show his mythical dances.
Bahia in Brazil is the centre of °ä²¹²Ô»å´Ç³¾²ú±ôé. Around two million people profess to follow this colourful religion, and many people from African countries visit Bahia in order to learn more about their ancestral faith.
Photo © Roderick Steel
