9.01.2008
Orisha Veneration on Two Coasts
If the last twenty years have been a large "coming out" party for the various forms of modern Paganism, the next twenty may be focused on Yoruba and the African diasporic religions entering the mainstream consciousness. A sign of this can be seen in a bit of journalistic synchronicity, as two papers, one on the West coast and one on the East coast, talk about events involving Orisha veneration. We start off with the Press-Enterprise's coverage of the 7th annual Ifa Festival near San Bernardino, California.
"The sounds of chanting, drumming and traditional West African music streamed Saturday afternoon from a backyard near San Bernardino, as about 100 people gathered for the biggest festival of the Orisa religion in southern California ... The afternoon began with prayers, chanting and devotional drumming in a large bamboo-walled shrine in the couple's yard. The prayers were to Orisa spirits, conduits to communicate with Olodumare, the name for God in the Yoruba language of West Africa. The devotees prayed for their ancestors and asked the Orisa spirits to guide them through their destinies."
The event is being organized by Chief Fama Adewale-Somadhi, and her husband, Chief Ifabowale Sohma Somadhi, who run a supply store for Orisa devotees, write books for practitioners, and publish a quarterly newsletter. The event, which drew around 100 people, attempts to eliminate misunderstandings through outreach.
"The prejudice against and misunderstanding of Orisa is one reason the seventh annual festival was so important, said Awobodebe Aworení, one of many Orisa devotees who traveled from the Los Angeles area to attend the event. "Coming together allows you to share information and educate people," Aworení said..."
Meanwhile, across the country in New York, outreach of a different sort was taking place as hundreds of Brazilians, and Brazilian-Americans, gathered to celebrate at the Brazilian Day festival in Manhattan (which is timed to coincide with Brazil's Independence day). While this was a secular event, elements of the Afro-Brazilian religion Candomblé were on display.
"20 women in white turbans, hoop skirts and flowing tops dancing, chanting and washing the pavement with a mix of water, perfume and petals poured from tall ceramic pots ... the women were performing a centuries-old ritual known in Brazil as lavagem (pronounced lah-VAH-zhen), or cleansing, which takes place every year in January on the steps of Bonfim Church, in the historic center of Brazil’s first capital, Salvador, in the state of Bahia. There, the ritual celebrates the syncretism between Brazil’s largest religion, Catholicism, and Candomblé, the religion brought to Salvador by the African slaves who first landed at its ports in the mid-16th century."
Both of these stories illustrate a growing visibility and awareness of African diasporic and Orisha-honoring faith traditions in North America. This visibility can only grow as immigrants from countries that originated these traditions grow, and curious outsiders get more involved. With tens of millions of followers around the globe, faiths that incorporate Orisha devotion are emerging from obscurity and claiming their rightful place as a world religion. This new visibility won't come without problems, but there is no turning back the clock. These faiths are here to stay.
Labels: African diasporic religion, Candomble, Ifa, Religion, Santeria, Yoruba
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