Oshun is the orisha of love and happiness.

She is the one that makes the spirit full of life and love. Oshun also known as Ochun, Iyalorde, and Oxum is also known for her aide in maternity alongside with her sister Yemaya. Oshun is seen as a fair skin bronzed color woman who has a body and a smile to die for. Oshun is always seen with her revealing dresses and cocky and flirtatious ways. In the house of the priest or priestess she lives in a yellow or gold looking tureen where her secrets are kept. er metal is of gold and she is adorned with lots of it. She is one of the happiest orishas as that is one of the attributes that she beholds. She loves the finest things in life and sometimes she is never satisfied. Oshun had many relationships with the male orishas. !hese included from "hango, Orula, Ogun, Inle, #gallu and #so$ano %San &azaro'. (ith her sensual and sexual ways, Oshun would con)uer any man or obstacle that laid in her way. !his orisha is not or was not a whore, it is that Oshun loved to take what she wanted and if by having a relationship with a man was one of them, then she would get what she wanted. Oshun is the owner of the sweet river waters in which her sister Yemaya gave to her. She was watched over by the mighty orisha *ana +uruku when she was young. She shared a close connection with Ochanla and she was very close to Olofi. er father is the great Obatala. e raised her since she was a little girl. One small pataki I,m going to tell you is that one day Obatala would always sing a particular song to his little girl Oshun. -ay and night he would sing her this song and one day Oshun left the house and never returned. Years passed along and the great Obatala who was still depressed about the lost of his daughter Oshun, was walking through the woods near the riverbank. e was walking and he overheard a voice singing this particular song that brought memories back to him. Obatala said that there was only one person who knew that song and it was his daughter Oshun. e glimpsed by the river water and saw a young beautiful woman singing .Sawani Ibo /leri, &eriche Oka -i 0ola1 %ceremonial song' and he walked up to her and asked her where did she hear that song. Oshun told him that when she was young, her father would sing that song to her everyday and every night. Obatala with a tear told Oshun that he was Obatala, her father, the same orisha that taught her that song. !hey both hugged and cried and were never separated there after. Oshun,s color is yellow now and when I say now I mean that is the color that represents her in this time life. (hen Oshun was first born she had on a white dress. !his was the only dress that Oshun had and owned. +ut everyday Oshun would go to the river and wash her only white dress. #fter a while Oshun noticed that her white dress was starting to fade into a bright yellow. Oshun was amazed and happy that she had a yellow dress because none of the adult orishas owned or had anything with the color yellow. 2rom that day forward, yellow became the primary color to the orisha Oshun. 0ataki on Oshun One day Oshun was at the river where she dwelled and was sitting at the bottom of it getting her garments ready to go to a party. She gathered all of her gold and yellow scarves and her glamorous head wrap. She grabbed her $ewels and perfumes and headed to the surface of the river. She sat down and started to wrap her body in her silky scarves.

She perfumed her body from head to toe and put her gold bangles and other $ewelries on. She braided her hair and decorated it with shells and placed her head wrap in a fashion form that her hair style showed. #ll of this was done looking at her beautiful reflection in the mirror of the river water. #fter she was dressed Oshun started to walk through the village heading towards the party. She noticed the little children that were playing, $umping and laughing with each other and that brought a great smile and happiness to her. Oshun walked pass them and sprinkled some honey on them and they became happier and they bowed to the orisha Oshun. Oshun missed the company of children as she saw how her sister Yemaya raise the divine twins. She kept walking and now she was heading through the forest. er thoughts became deep with the fact that she wanted some type of youth activity and she sat down near Iroko %the cieba tree'. She sat there and a tear came from her eye. Iroko looked at Oshun and asked her what was wrong. Oshun went and told Iroko of how she missed having children around her. ow she loved the laughter and smile in a child,s heart. Iroko agreed and told her that the children of the world are truly something special to all of us. She asked Iroko to help her bare a child that she could raise own her own and love. Iroko who was magical told Oshun that he would help her indeed and she could pay him by coming by and spending time with Iroko as no one ever came by to keep the big Iroko company. Oshun said that she promise to keep him company and converse with him if she did bare a child. !ime went on and Oshun had a little boy. She loved and raised this young little bundle of $oy and he was the center of her eye. Oshun one day was walking through the forest and came upon where Iroko was standing. Iroko greeted Oshun and told her that he heard that she bared a child. Oshun responded yes to Iroko and started to walk away, forgetting that Iroko helped her. Iroko asked Oshun if she was going to stay and keep him company and Oshun said politely no that she had something else pending. Iroko told Oshun that she had promised to keep him company and now she was not sticking to her deal. Oshun walking off turned and told Iroko that she was sorry and that she will bring him a goat to keep him company. Iroko agreed. # year passes by and Oshun is again walking through the forest and stumbles on Iroko. She sits for 3 minutes to fix her scarves. Iroko was happy that Oshun was sitting with him and maybe they can have some type of conversation. #s the minute he thought that, Oshun stood up and was gathering her things to start walking again. Iroko asked Oshun if she was going to stay and talk. Oshun said softly no and apologized. Iroko told Oshun that he thought she was going to sit and talk with him. e also told her that he was still waiting for the goat that she was going to bring him to keep him company. Iroko was bothered and Oshun noticing this, told him that she would come back later on and bring him some amala %cornmeal'. Iroko agreed once again. #nother year passes by and Oshun was heading to the market place and she passed by her good old friend Iroko. She was in a hurry due to the market was closing. So walking by Iroko, she saluted him and gave him a smile. Iroko told Oshun that he was tired of waiting because he did her a favor and now she couldn,t live up to her words. Oshun

baffled asked Iroko what words was he talking about. Iroko told Oshun that she had promised him a goat to keep him company, she promised him some amala as an offering and she has not bothered to bring neither or. Oshun hearing this felt very bad for the great Iroko and told him that she promise to bring him the child that he helped her conceive to spend some time with him. Iroko already knew how Oshun was but was gracious that she was one of the only orishas that spoke to him and with that Iroko agreed. It has been a total of 4 years now and /legua was walking through the forest and saw his friend Iroko standing at the same spot as usual. So /legua walked over and greeted the great Iroko. /legua sat under the shade of Iroko for hours talking and listening to Iroko,s stories that he has seen in the forest. /legua who is always noisy sat there drank his rum and played with 4 precious stones that he had in his bag. Iroko then started to tell /legua how happy he was that he stopped and talked with him. Iroko was very grateful and told /legua that he loved for people to sit under his shade, in where he Iroko would give magical dreams to all. +ut Iroko started to tell /legua how Oshun would also come by but she hasn,t been in a while. e also told /legua how she promised to bring him a goat and some amala and she hasn,t brought it neither. /legua who knows how his friend Oshun is told the great Iroko not to worry that he was there to keep him company but with that said and done, /legua heard some $uicy gossip in the winds that was coming from a nearby town. Iroko who knew how /legua was, smiled and told /legua to go about his $ourney and to stop by whenever he wanted to. # couple of weeks later /legua was walking through a village and saw some kids playing. So the childish orisha stopped to play with the kids. e saw one of them who was dressed in yellow with a red slash leave the company of the other kids and started headed towards the roads that lead out of the town. /legua followed and stopped the kid and noticed that it was Oshun,s son Ideu. e asked Ideu where was he going and the little one said that he was going to meet his mother at the market place. /legua told him that he was going the long way and showed him a short cut through the forest. /legua also gave him 4 precious stones to give to his mother Oshun. e laid him a path and Ideu was on his way. Ideu was walking and came across a big tree that was standing in the middle of the forest alongside with the other trees. e sat under it and started to play with the stones that /legua gave him. (hen Iroko opened his eyes he saw a young boy sitting at his roots playing with 4 precious stones. e remembered when /legua was sitting there only a couple of weeks ago playing with the same stones. Iroko grew happy as he thought that he had another friend that came to hear his knowledge and share the shade of his leaves. Iroko spoke to Ideu and the little one was amazed of the great cieba tree. Ideu told Iroko that he was the son of Oshun. Iroko hearing this thought that Oshun finally gave word and sent her son to spend time with Iroko. Iroko started to tell the little one stories and Ideu was intrigued. e told Iroko not to stop to continue and Iroko brought his roots from under the earth and brought Ideu to his domain to continue his story telling. (hen Oshun came home she noticed that Ideu was not in the house and she wondered where he was. -ays and months passed by and there was still no sign of Ideu. Oshun was

frantic and searched everywhere she could possibly think of where he would be at. 4 years later Oshun who was still depressed, was walking through the forest and walked past Iroko. Iroko noticed that she didn,t speak to him as to her mind has been in the disappearance of her son. !he look was written all over her face and Iroko knew why the happy orisha was not happy no more. e decided to do something about it. !he next morning Oshun was making her way through the forest and noticed Iroko was standing there happy as can be. She stopped and greeted him but not with the happiness as she had in the past decade. Iroko asks Oshun if she found her son and Oshun told her no. Iroko told her that she should always stay to her word and not promise something and don,t pay for it. Oshun nodded her head as she indeed understood what Iroko was saying. Iroko looked at Oshun and told her that he had a gift that she would love. #nd by him saying that, the earth opened and a hill was rising from it. !his was no ordinary hill, this was a hill full of gold, $ewels, money and riches. On top of the hill was the $oyous Ideu. (hile Ideu was under the earth with Iroko, time went by very slow and he did not realize it. Iroko told him many stories and showed him lots of riches of the earth. Oshun seeing her son cried and grabbed him. Ideu told Oshun all the stories Iroko told him and the riches of Iroko. Oshun told Ideu that he would now guard her riches the same way he guarded the riches of Iroko from beneath. Oshun looked at Iroko and thanked him but she told him that he shouldn,t have done that. So from now on her children go no where near Iroko as she remembers what happened to Ideu. Oshun,s feast day is September 5th. She is synchronized with Our &ady of "harity. er number is 4 and all multiples of it. She loves all kinds of sweets, fine wines and champagnes. She loves all aromatic flowers and perfumes. She is the essence of flirt and seduce in both men and woman. Oshun has many children and her children are well protected under her power. She does consecrate on the head. (ith her main attribute the honey, she dominates everything in her path. She is an orisha that is always feared. It is said that she is sweet as honey but when you give someone too much honey what happens, they get repugnant. Oshun is an orisha to have on your good side because if she crosses your path in the wrong way, she will bring havoc to your lives. She rules the lower abdomen and the blood that runs through your veins. In 0alo 6ayombe Oshun is associated with 6ama "hola. 0aths of Oshun Ibu 7ole !his path of Oshun is known as the vulture. Ibu 7ole is the Oshun that reached the house of Olofi to tell him that the people on the lands were dying of thirst. (ith that said Olofi took off the punishment off the land and let rain fall again. !his Oshun is said to be a very magical witch. She takes 4 little mortars where additional secrets are kept where her initiate can make powerful spells. er colors are honey, coral, amber and onyx stone. She is adorned with feathers of a vulture. er children must have a $uiro where an Osain is kept that hangs over her to keep Ibu 7ole in one spot and to make sure she is there in here

tureen. (hen this Oshun comes down she dances like if she was a bird, swaying her arms up and down as if she was in flight. Ibu Ololodi !his Oshun is said to be a great warrior. She wears pants when she goes to war. She rides on a horse and she uses a sword in battle. Ibu Ololodi is also the wife of Orula and she is his preferred apetevi. er enemies can never defeat her. She protects her children to the up most. She takes the table of Ifa with the ekueles and the irofa. You can put iron implements to her. !he owl is her messenger and she is invoked with a copper cow bell. Ololodi also takes a needle and thread as she is seen sewing on her off times at the bottom of the river. She is the mother of #poroye and Oloshe. !his Oshun takes everything double due to a pact she did with +oyuto. If you give her a mirror another one should be placed to her. If you give her one bottle of perfume there has to be another. She is the protector of the home. (hen this Oshun comes down she is very repugnant and she speaks very stern to her followers. er colors are honey, coral with touches of green and yellow to represent the marriage she had with Orula. Ibu #kuaro Ibu #kuaro is the Oshun that lives where the river and the ocean meet. She is said to live and reign there. She loves the corodniz %cornish hen' and they are here messengers. It is said that with the feathers of the corodniz, you must sew her a net that lives on her. !his is due to a story where she was running from "hango and a group of corodniz covered her completely so "hango would not find her. She takes a cane which is covered with the feathers of the corodniz as well and is consecrated where the river and ocean meet. er colors are a pale yellow, coral, onyx, green and white. (hen Ibu #kuaro comes down she is seen to be shaken, imitating the corodniz. Ibu Yumu She is one of the oldest Oshun. She lives at the bottom of the river sewing as she knows the craft to sew beautiful cloths. She doesn,t like to be bothered that much as she sits in her rocking chair at the bottom. (hen she is bothered she comes out from the bottom of the river and she fights. She as well as Ibu Ololodi is called with a copper cow bell. !his path of Oshun is hardly to come down. Ibu #8a !his Oshun is very young and she loves to dance. She is said to be where ever the #8a %sacred drum' is playing. She dances all day and all night until the #8a stops playing. #t her tureen you must have 9 little drums that represent the #8a at her feet. She is always dancing in front of the drums holding her breast and laughing. # child of this particular orisha is said to always be partying and dancing and whenever they step into a ceremonial drumming, if they are a horse of the orisha, Ibu #8a will make her presence. er colors are honey, yellow, coral, onyx and red. (hen she comes down she is always

dancing and may take the time out to speak to her followers. Ibu Ileke O8i !his Oshun is a fighter and she gets what she wants. (hen she is determined she gets her results. !his Oshun walks with a walking stick and she is always seen near the river banks covering her body with her honey. If she is not near the river you can see her next to a pariso tree. She walks with a net that,s tied around her waste. !his Oshun has : necklaces that she wears. One is made of the peonia seeds, other is made of all coral, another of all onyx stones and a bead of honey and yellow beads. Ibu Itumu !his path of Oshun is said to reside in the lagoons. She is always dressed in pants and a shirt like a man. She is very tall and she is always seen with Inle and #so$ano. Ibu #remu 7ondano !his Oshun is said to be the first Oshun that ever came down from Olofi,s castle to the earth. She is dressed all in white and her color is off white with coral with $ust a touch of yellow and green. She is said to have helped Orula out is certain occasions. She is very mysterious. Ibu #sedan !his path of Oshun is said to be also a warrior. She rides a horse as well as Ibu Ololdi when she is at war. !his Oshun is seen with a sword in one hand riding to battle. er sacrificial foods must be offered with a ring or gold oar through its nose. er color is honey, yellow, red and onyx. Ibu /yede !his is Oshun is known to be a )ueen. She is seen with all her fine dresses and $ewelry. She doesn,t like anything dirty or messy around her. er sacrificial foods are sacrificed on top of a yellow plate that sits next to her. Ibu I8a !his Oshun loves to debate and argue. She is a rare Oshun and is always seen by the river sands combing her hair with her coral comb. She loves to cook and she loves to fan herself with her fan made of #frican grey tail feathers and bells. Ibu I8ale !his is the daughter of Ibu #8a. She lives on the beach and river sands on top of all types of money. She does not like to give money as it is all for her.

Ibu !inibu !his also is a rare Oshun. She is the boss of the Iyalordes. She loves to go out at night never during the day. She is said to be riding the river in a boat listening and answering her petitioners. Ibu Idere &ekun !his Oshun lives in the caves alongside the sea where the waves enter and hit the rocks of the caves. (here they turn into rivers and travel on the inside of mountains. She has a deformed face and she is seen playing a small drum made out of bamboo. Ibu #ye !his is an orisha that maintained and positioned the riches of Oshun on earth. (hen Oshun was spending her money like crazy she found herself without any money. Ibu #ye reaffirmed her money and showed her the right way to maintain and control it. !his is a orisha that is received on its own. er color is honey, onyx and her necklace is made the same with 4 shells intertwined in between. Ideu !his is said to be the lost child of Oshun. (here Iroko took him from her for the promises that she owed Iroko. e is the third child that Oshun had after the twins. e is received on its own and is said to watch over the riches of his mother Oshun. e lives in a yellow tureen where his secrets are kept with a doll of a boy dressed in yellow. is original bead is yellow with red stripes on them, gold and coral. #$; Shalunga #$; Shalunga or "obo is the orisha of prosperity and abundance. e is used to help bring money and prosperity into ones life if there are worthy and right for it. is secrets are kept in a small sopera or vessel and his secrets are slightly born in a different way as to the other orishas. Same chants and sacrificial foods, but certain things change when he is born that cant be discussed here. e is also born with multiple coins from all parts of the world. It is said that when he is born, depending on the sign that he comes with, he will live next to a certain orisha in which he will bring prosperity to you. Only if your worthy< -on,t think by receiving him you are going to win the lottery or anything. Only if Olofi says your worthy for that. +ut health is also another form of prosperity and that he can bring to you. e has no specific color but his chain is made of different shells and coins. Yeye &amba !his is an orisha that is said to have been the cook of Oshun. She taught Oshun how to cook all sorts of sweets and foods for her town. She is an orisha that is received and her

tureen is kept either with the other orishas or live near or in the kitchen. #longside her secrets, one puts a wooden spoon and fork to her with different bags of dried foods. Yemaya is the ultimate universal mother. Yemaya also know as Yemo$a, Yeman$a Yemalla or &a Sir=ne is the orisha of the ocean and all that inhabits in it. She is the water that pushes up against the seashores. She gives life in all aspects. Yemaya,s domain is all waters, the sea, rivers, lakes, lagoons all that is water she it. She is even the water that babies are held in for > months inside of there mothers womb. Yemaya is seen to be a woman that has big breast as she nurtures and tends to all existence. er color is blue and all shades of it. !he fishes are her children and messengers. She is the patron orisha of all women and women that bare children. She is called upon a woman who is pregnant to ensure the safety of the embryo. -uring pregnancy a woman calls upon the orisha to make sure that the baby is safe and flows through the vaginal walls and becomes into existence into the human world. Yemaya is said to have nurtured and raised almost all the orisha. er followers worship her all across the globe. 2rom #frica to +razil. #ll have gone and spoken with Yemaya. /ven if you don,t think so, we have all at least once in our life gone to the ocean and dipped in and spoken with the ocean. !hat,s Yemaya and she hears all. Yemaya is that celestial being that when one wants to be held, they can feel her grasps as a mother. She is that mother figure that you can talk to and explain or pour your heart out to and she will always listen. (hen one doesn,t have a mother to talk to, you can always speak to her by going to the ocean and sitting down by the seashore or lighting a blue candle at your place of dwelling and call upon her. You will feel that warmth embrace hover over you, that,s Yemaya. #lso as a mother, she is a warrior and she will defend her children very )uickly. She can be stern and punish her children as well. !he same way a mother gives and teaches her children, the same way she can punish and teach you a lesson. 0ataki on Yemaya One day Olofi was having a party in ara onu. e invited all of the orisha to come to the gala. So he sent word out with /legua to invite all of the orishas. /legua ran with the word as Olofi was having a party and he knew there would be lots of sweets for him to pick on. So /legua came to earth and went to each orisha and gave the invitation on the party. ouse to house /legua went spreading the news and of course getting paid for it by receiving candy, oti and smoked fish. !he orishas decided to take Olofi a gift as it was an honor to go to the palace of Olofi. /ach orisha went on there way looking for gifts to take to Olofi. Obatala decided to take Olofi a white staff made out of pearls and gold. Ochun decided to take Olofi perfumes so the great king can perfume his body. /ach orisha went picking up what they thought would be a nice gift for Olofi. Yemaya received the invitation from /legua but she had so much work to do in the seas

and all parts of the world. She was still maintaining life on the lands and bearing gifts to her followers. !ime went on and the date of the party was near and the orisha of the ocean still did not get her gift for Olofi. (hile attending to her domain, /legua popped in and asked her what was she getting for Olofi. Yemaya looked at /legua and asked him in what was he talking about. /legua reminded her that Olofi was having a party in the heavens and that all of the orishas were re)uired to attend and that they should all bring a gift. Yemaya with a shocked look on her face, called for one of her fishes to immediately take her to the shore so she can get something for Olofi. er fastest fish came and rushed her to the shore where Yemaya proceeded to look for a gift that was honorable for Olofi. Yemaya though and though and she did not have any idea of what to get Olofi. She went to the only thing that was open which was the market to see what she can get. Once she arrived at the market place she noticed that Oya was still there tending to the market. She asked Oya what was she getting Olofi and Oya replied that she was getting Olofi baskets of most beautiful fruits so that he may feast upon them. Oya told Yemaya to look around and hurry up and pick something as the party was $ust in an hour or so. Yemaya ran to every merchant in the market place and everywhere she went either they were closed or they didn,t have anything that would suit a king. Yemaya was very upset at herself because she had ample enough time to get a gift but she was tending to her children of the sea and children on land. 2inally Yemaya came to the last merchant and asked him what he had. !he merchant replied to Yemaya that the only thing he had was the head of 9 fishes and that was it. Yemaya looked at him with dismay and told him that she would take it. She knew she couldn,t walk into the palace of Olofi empty handed. !he merchant wrapped up the 9 heads and gave it to Yemaya. Yemaya went back home to the oceans and she proceeded to get dressed with her most luxurious blue dress. She adorned herself with all of her cowrie shells and pearls with corals. !he great orisha had to look her best as she would be in the presence of Olofi. +ut in the back of her mind she still wasn,t content on the gift she got Olofi. !here was no more time and nothing she can do. Yemaya took off to the sky to attend the party with her gift in a basket. Yemaya arrived at the party and saw all the orishas with there best clothes on. She was saluted at the door by /legua as the orisha of the sea. #ll orishas who were present bowed and paid Yemaya her honor. She mingled with all the orishas and started to ease her mind about the gift she bought to Olofi. !he trumpet sounded and Olofi entered the room and every orisha, animal and trees stopped to bow their heads to the great Olofi. Olofi sat on his golden throne and started to greet his court one by one. /ach orisha started to bring their gift to Olofi. !he great king, very happy and surprised accepted their gifts and blessed each and every one of them. Yemaya stood all the way to the back as she did not want to be making of mockery of her gift. #fter the last orisha gave Olofi his gift, Olofi called out to Yemaya and asked her for hers. She walked over to Olofi and told him that she was very sorry that she did not bring him a gift as she was tending to her children in the sea. Olofi looked at Yemaya and told her he understood but since he is Olofi he knows all and asked her what was it that she

brought in that basket. Yemaya bashful told Olofi that it was nothing and Olofi told her in a soft voice to give him what she had in the basket. Yemaya opened the basket and there came out, a white plate with 9 heads of a fish. She was so embarrassed because first it was Olofi and second because what would all the other orishas think of her. She bowed and gave it to Olofi. Olofi looked at it and asked Yemaya if this was the gift that she brought to him. Yemaya responded to him that yes it was. Olofi asked Yemaya if this is the sort of gift you give to a king. Yemaya started to respond when Olofi sat back in his chair and started to laugh. #ll the orisha silently started to laugh at Yemaya while she put her head down. Olofi told her to keep her head straight as this was no ordinary gift. e told her that the other orishas brought him gifts of great vain and beauty but she Yemaya brought him something that had significant meaning. Yemaya wondered what he was talking about while she raised her head .Olofi stood up and walked off his throne towards Yemaya. e took the plate that held the head of the 9 fishes and told Yemaya that the same way she brought him a head, he would make her head of all waters. (hile he said that the head of the 9 fishes turned into 9 separate beautiful crowns made of nothing but silver and gems. e placed one crown on top of Yemaya and told her that from this day forward she will be )ueen of the oceans. e placed the other crown on her head and told her that from this day forward she will be )ueen of the lands and he placed the last crown on her head and told her that from this day forward she will be )ueen of the heavens. !he 9 crowns glowed and became one big crown. Olofi then proceeded to tell her that her crown will always be recognized in every ceremonial birth. er color blue can not be excluded from any ceremonial births as she is a )ueen. She as an orisha does not have to wear her crown because it is not forever bestowed on her and she is always to be known as royalty. Yemaya saluted Olofi in the tradition of lying side by side and Olofi picked her up. e then told her to face the court and had everyone come and salute the new )ueen of the ocean, land and heaven. One by one all the orishas came and paid respect to Yemaya. #fter the party she was escorted back to the seas by Olofi,s high court with trumpets that sounded as she entered the ocean and saw her new castle that was given to her by Olofi. She looked up into the heavens and saw Olofi looking down on her and she crossed her hands asking for blessings. Olofi blessed her and she asked him why he bestowed her that honor as a triple )ueen. Olofi told her that he did it since she is always tending to her children of the seas and of the lands. e told her that she catered to her children so much that she didn,t have time to even get him a gift that he did not re)uire for anyone to bring. Olofi told her that each gift brought to him was a gift from the heart and he sees where her heart lies. Yemaya sat on her gigantic throne flushed with gold, silver, pearls and corals and all the fishes of the sea came to pay respect to the new )ueen of the sea Yemaya,s feast day is September ?. er color is blue and all tones of it. She is synchronized with Our lady of @egla. er number is ? and all multiples of it. In the home of her followers she resides in a blue and white tureen where her tools and mysteries are kept. Yemaya has traveled all around the world as why she has many paths. Yemaya loves everything that is motherly. She loves $ewelry, sea rocks, corals and mirrors. er sacrificial foods are rams, roosters, ducks, guinea hens, swans and gooses. In some paths

she loves turtles as well. Yemaya loves all types of fruits and sweet cakes. 0lantain chips fried pork chunks are her favorite. She loves the sweetness of oni %honey' as that is he sisters gift to the world but she loves the taste of her own syrup which is melao %cane syrup'. #ll of her offerings are taken to the ocean where she dwells. er children are said to be mother figures in the world. !hey can be very loving and can be very stern. !hey can be very appeasing and very hostile in their warrior aspects of their mother Yemaya. You can call on Yemaya when you need advice, female powering, having children and wealth. #lso being a warrior, Yemaya is also a smart and great witch. er spells and magic vast far and beyond and as )uick as the oceans wave move, her magic is )uicker. You can use her for love spells and money spells. In 0alo 6ayombe Yemaya is associated with 6adre #gua, a fierce water deity who is a witch not to be denied. (hen Yemaya makes her appearance at a festival, she mimics the ocean waves at its best and its worse. She is said to continuously spin in circles as a whirlpool. Its said that she does this because she is looking for the crown that Olofi gave her. /legua was in her domains visiting the )ueen orisha and he knocked over her crown that began to fall to the bottom of her waters. She started to spin and spin looking for her crown. Once she did not find it, she went on land seeing if her son /legua took it on land. She is the sister of Ochun in who Yemaya gave Ochun some of her riches. She is the mother in different aspects to all of the orishas. She is the orisha that raised the divine twins of "hango. Yemaya is also the protector of all fishermen. (hen they are out to sea, it is said that she watched over them and give them her children so that humankind can survive. (hen they disrespect Yemaya, she causes gigantic waves that come aboard there vessel sometimes even turning it over. It is said that her domain is also an enormous cemetery as there is so many deaths that happen at sea. 0aths of Yemaya Ibu #chaba !his is said to be one of the oldest Yemaya. er colors are light blue with off white beads. #lso touches of green and yellow given to her by her husband Orula. She is known as the captain of the boat and her main attribute is the anchor. She also takes an ekuele %divination tool of Ifa' and the irofa %divination brush of Ifa'. She is a stern mother and she talks to her children given them her back. (hen she comes down that,s the way she addresses the community. Ibu Okunte !his Yemaya is one of the main warrior and violent paths of Yemaya. er color is dark blue with red. She wears a mariwo around her waist. She also carries the chain that holds her husbands Ogun tools around her waist when she is going to battle. She is a )uick and strong warrior. Okunte also knows the roads of sorcery. She lives A months in the water and A months on land. It is said that when high waves come upon crashing on land, it is Okunte that is stepping on the land for her A month trial changing and shaping the land.

(hen Okunte comes down, she mimics swaying her machete from side to side. She loves to drink oti and smoke cigars. er main attribute is the machete. Ibu 6ayelewo !his Yemaya lives in the middle of the ocean. She is the owner of the ? water currents that make up our ? seas. She also looks at her followers form the side of her face. She is a merchant as she knows the trade of goods. 6ayelewo was the orisha that Olofi gave the colors of the world. She painted the skies blue alongside Ibu #sesu. She was also entrusted by Olofi to distribute the colors of paint to the other orishas. (ith her blue dress, she also wears a belt with ?different colors. She takes a mask and a $uiro %empty calabash' where she holds her paints and different secrets. er main attribute is a little box where she keeps all of her money that she makes at the marketplace. (hen she comes down, she spins like the ocean waters and dances with plates $ust as in the house of her followers, she lives in a basket surrounded with plates. Ibu Okoto Ibu Okoto is another warrior aspect of Yemaya. She resides in the red sea. !his Yemaya is the orisha that is seen where there is blood shed at sea. She watched over war ships especially when they are at battle. er color is also dark blue and blood red. She was a virgin and she did all that the young male orishas did. You can say like a tomboy. One of her main attributes is a flag. (hether it is a blue flag or a pirate flag. (hen she comes down she looks like she is stabbing herself with daggers to soak the blue waters red. Ibu #sesu !his path of Yemaya lives at the seashore where the foam of the water is created. She is the owner of ducks and gooses. er color is light blue, off white and coral. She is the inseparable daughter of Olokun. She takes a set of masks and a little drum. She is forgetful like the duck in which she always forgets the petitions of her children. It may take her some time to remember, but when #sesu remembers she comes with great force. Ibu #taramawa !his Yemaya lives in the depths of the ocean waters where the coral reefs and fishes reside. er colors are like Ibu #sesu. She takes a small treasure box where she places her treasures of the ocean. She is the guardian of the coastline where there are trees and grasslands. Ibu Oro !his Yemaya is very mysterious. She lives within the dead of the ocean and she resides over them there. er color is dark blue and onyx. !he followers of the Yemaya should keep her behind a curtain with a mask.

Ibu /lowo !his Yemaya is the owner of all the riches within the sea. She is said to have treasures that have been lost from the beginning of time. She takes chains of pearls, conch shells, and other treasures of the ocean. Ibu #gana !his Yemaya is said to live at the ocean floor with Olokun. She was the wife of Orisha Oko. She is very beautiful but has ? balls on her womb. One leg bigger than the other. Olofi,s favored daughter and she is now married to Olokun. She works closely with Oroina and it is said that she is the one that helps it to rain over land so the water returns back to her. er colors are a deep blue with coral. She takes a mask and a fan made of coral. Ibu !inibu !his Yemaya is known for making the oceans waves very rough that human kind en$oys when they go to the beach. She is the one that causes the waves to go high where surfers especially en$oy surfing. er colors are deep blue, crystals and off white. Ibu I8a !his Yemaya is known for her arrogant ways. She loves to debate. She is the mother of Inle and Ochosi. er colors are deep blue, off white and amber. Ibu Oggun #somi She is the sister of Okunte. She is $ust like her sister with all of her warrior attributes. She takes 3 machetes where she wears at her side. She resides in the superficial part of the ocean. She like her sister loves to drink and smoke and share the same colors. !here is many more but to long to list. !he other aspects are more profound within the Ifa traditions. !he family of Yemaya IkokB !his is the orisha that is in charge of all the a)uatic plants of the ocean, Olosa She is the orisha of the lagoons. #lso said to be one of Olokun,s daughters or wives. She is said to have saved the children of Yemaya and Ochun from a trap from the babalows. er messengers are the crocodiles.

Olona !his orisha is said to live in lakes. Yembo Yembo is the great mother of all the orishas. !hey say that she is a path of Yemaya in the aspect of Oddudwa. She is the orisha that gave birth to the orishas. She is the calm seas at the seashore. Stories said that Olodumare had installed in her the different orishas to grow and nurture from her womb. One day she fell at the seashore and the orishas all came from her wombs. She is a great mother aspect in our religion and through her the real crown of Yemaya was born. er secrets are kept in a white or blue sopera, depending on house or rama you come from. She also takes the secrets of Yemaya and Obatala in her vessel. #ll of her sacrificial animals are white and must be clean. er sacrificial foods are not used with a knife as she had a very disrespectful encounter with her son Ogun. 2or that she uses a bamboo knife for her foods. er colors are blue and an off white color.

/legua is the orisha who opens and closes all paths to mankind. e is the divider of heaven and earth. e travels between heaven and earth letting Olofi and Olodumare know what goes on in this realm. /legua is a child orisha in some aspects that loves to play tricks and tests the faith of man. e walks between night and day searching for mankind to test their faith for the great Olofi and the orishas. !here is said to be C3C paths of /legua. e ranges from a young child to an old man with lots of knowledge. !here is also a path of /legua where the essence is of a woman. In more than half of /legua,s paths, he is a young child that sits on corners, mountain tops, seashores, hospital entrances, cemetery gates and so on. e has many names as he has been called /legba, /legbara, &egba, /shu or /xu. /legua is seen all around the world. 2rom continent to continent /legua,s presence is felt, praised and heard. Inseparable friend of Ogun and Ochosi who the trio makes up the .!he (arriors1 first set of orishas to receive in Santeria. /legua is any and everywhere. /legua is the guardian of the dead also as thru him he unlocks the door for the deceased to walk through to reach Olofi where they will rest. In this path he is called /shu #lagwana. In other religions or beliefs you can associate him with the /gyptian god of the dead Osiris, who leads the dead through the underworld. /legua is the one that makes you play at your own risk. In that I mean, he is the one that if your stuck at a crossroad and you don,t know which way to go, its him that testes you and watches you make your decision. If you make the wrong decision, /legua will open the door with his garavato %hook stick made from the guava tree' to make you pay your conse)uence. (hile you are paying for your mistakes, he testes you again to see if you will continue to do wrong or take the right path. If you succeed and take the right path he will unlock the door to happiness and fortune. If you,ve heard of a maze then you can

associate it with /legua. Our lives are shaped into mazes to see which path we go. /legua is the guardian that sits at every corner and turn of the maze. If you make the wrong move, he will open the path to the wrong outcome. If you take the correct path, he will open the path that you are seeking. /legua knows and sees all. !here is nothing that /legua doesn,t know. e is the messenger of Olodumare and Olofi, alongside with the orishas. (hich means, he is the one that takes the messages from humankind to the orishas and the messages from the orishas to Olofi. !his is why he is the first and last orisha to be praised to in every ceremony done in Santeria. # 0ataki on /legua One day Olofi was greatly ill and depressed on situations among the universe. e was doing so much in the universe and here on /arth as in still creating life, giving orishas their ache %powers' and so on. e was so tired that he grew frail. #ll of the orishas were summoned to see if they can help cure Olofi from his dilemma. #ll of the orishas gathered in the great hall of Olofi where the supreme being sat on his throne with a lost look in his eye. You can tell his mind was going a mile a minute and due to this he wasn,t feeling very good. #s he sat slumped on his throne, the orishas gathered around and were conversing amongst each other. Obatala tried to clean him with his white cloth, Olofi remained the same. Orula prepared him a tonic to drink, and Olofi remained the same. Ozain tried to rub a medical herb and the great Olofi stayed the same. Inle tried to clean Olofi with his staff and still the same action. /very orisha tried and tried but were unsuccessful. /legua was amongst the orishas but since he was a child the other orishas out stood him. e shrugged on Yemaya,s skirt to get her attention. e asked Yemaya if he could try, Yemaya told him to behave and be )uiet. e then shrugged on Oya,s skirt and with the look that Oya gave him he ran under the legs of the other orishas that were standing nearby. e then shrugged on #gallu,s pants and #gallu told him to go outside and play that this was for the elder orishas and his presence is not needed here. /legua grew upset and ran to Obatala and asked him why he couldn,t try to help and revive Olofi. Obatala looked at /legua and began to tell him in a soft voice that the ache that /legua contained had no match to heal Olofi. e went on to tell /legua that all the other orishas are trying their best to do what they can for Olofi. /legua looked at Obatala and asked him to please let him try. If he is also an orisha then he should be able to try as well. e said if the others are trying, why cant him. Obatala who contains the ashe of peace and knowledge raised his staff and ordered silence among the orishas. e told them to step aside and let /legua try and revive Olofi. #ll the orishas began to whimper under their breath not to make Obatala hear them since he was the eldest and father figure to all the orishas. /legua walked slowly to Olofi,s throne and looked at him from head to toe. Olofi still with a weak look in his eyes didn,t even pay attention to /legua,s presence. /legua put his garavato on the floor, reached into his nap sack and pulled out 9 herbs. See /legua was always roaming the woods and he has seen Ozain work with the different herbs of

the forest. So with the herbs that he picked up he grabbed a leaf from each branch and placed it gently in the mouth of Olofi. *ow all of the orishas are seeing this young child on the lap of Olofi and are wondering how long Obatala is going to make this mockery last. /legua grabs the mouth of Olofi and manually moves it so the supreme being can chew and swallow what he has placed. #fter Olofi has swallowed the herbs, /legua takes out a feather from his nap sack and passes it over the body of Olofi. #fter he is done he $umps off Olofi,s lap and starts to walk down from the throne. Obatala has grief in his eyes as Olofi is still the same. #ll of the orishas start to talk again on how /legua,s tactics was unforgivable and he should be reprimanded for it. (hile they are talking, there,s a slight glow from Olofi,s chest. !he glow gets brighter and brighter until the great Olofi is standing tall and mighty on his throne with a light so powerful that all of the orishas fall to their knees in respect. # loud deep voice calls /legua to the throne .Olofi thanks /legua for what he has done. e tells him that all have come and tried to revive him, but they all have failed. e then asked /legua how did he know what to use. /legua looked at Olofi and told him that he studied every part of the forest and its secrets. e has seen how every orisha works differently with their elements. e went on and told Olofi how he wanted to try but none of the orishas would let him, only Obatala. Olofi smiled and told /legua that from this day forward he would have the virtue to open all gates and doors and pathways. e gave /legua a gold key that unlocked Olofi,s house and every door in the universe. e also blessed his feather and told him with this feather you are able to walk through time forward and backwards, through light and dark, through evil and good. !hen Olofi proclaimed in front of the orishas and the universe that /legua would be his personal messenger, since he knows and has seen all what the orishas are doing on /arth. e told them that they will always have to count first with /legua in all that they do. If /legua wasn,t appeased, then their work and messages would not reach his castle. e then went on and told him that /legua would also be the first to eat in every ceremony. !he first to be prayed to in every ceremony. (ith that said and done, Olofi touched /legua,s head and a inner light shined from within /legua. /legua as a kid at heart turned and faced the court of orishas and stuck his tongue out at them as to say ha ha. Olofi smiled at /legua and sent him on his way to maintain order in the crossroads of humanity and the orishas. /legua,s feast day is Dune C9th. is colors are red and black. In certain paths white is also given to him. /legua loves to play and dance. e loves candies, cakes and all types of sweets. e watches over children of all ages and races. e loves games and doing mischievous stuff. /ven as a child orisha, /legua loves to drink oti and smoke cigars. I guess since you have the key to everything given by Olofi, you can do as you please. /legua is a glut when it comes to food so he is never turns down any type of food. is sacrificial foods are male goats, chickens, roosters and possum rat. /legua does not eat pigeon in the ma$ority of his paths. Only in a handful does he. /legua does have children that he crowns. is children are very intelligent, driven individuals. !hey are kids at heart. !hey love children and are infatuated by adventures. In 0alo 6ayombe /legua is associated with &ucero 6undo, the door opener in 0alo.

!he difference between /shu and /legua /shu and /legua are 3 different entities that form a bond. /shu is the force that brings the trickster out and the negative energies. /shu is consecrated through Ifa and he is used to send the different offerings to the orishas. !he difference you can say between these 3 are simple. /legua always resides inside of the house behind the door and /shu resides outside of the house. #nd this is because /shu is so complicated that every time he comes inside a house he brings torment and arguments. /legua was an orisha and /shu was not an orisha. /shu would walk the streets to see what torment he could do to humans because they did not pay him any homage. /legua who is always attended to would always be seen eating because that,s what he loves to do. e saw /shu one day and gave him some of his offerings. /shu and /legua sat and ate and made fun of the people in the streets. It was time for /legua to go inside and /shu to continue to roam the streets. /shu would always try to go inside the house of the humans but when he did he would cause havoc until one day Oshun saw him and devised a plan. She saw how /shu would be controlled when he was fed so she made a pact with him. She told him that as long as us humans put a plate of food for him outside the house he promised he will not come in to cause havoc. /shu agreed to the pact and they shook on it. /legua who was there said that he would walk alongside /shu and that,s where the bond grew in between them. Obatala came down and gave /shu and /legua a white bead so that they can wear together to overpower the havoc and torments /shu had. 2rom that day /shu /legua would walk together side by side as one. /shu is given by babalows in Ifa and /shu is not allowed on the head of an initiate in the Yoruba belief. You must receive /legua who is allowed to go to the head of an initiate. /shu will eat alongside /legua and the table scraps will go outside by the front door or by a tree in the front yard for /shu. You should place a wooden bowl %$icara' with the table scrappings, a tabacco or cigarette standing up in the center and place it for /shu so he will be content and not come inside the house of the priestEess. Some paths of /legua /shu #laroyeE&aroye !his path is one of the youngest of the /legua,s. e sits behind every door. e loves to play $okes and be mischievous. e is the good friend and messenger of Oshun. e loves to walk the streets and he is very useful in money problems. e can cause you to loose everything or gain everything. (hen &aroye comes down to earth, he goes around and plays with the children, eat cakes and dances alongside with the orishas. You have to keep an eye on him as he likes to take to the streets to find who he can play a tick on. /shu #lagwannaE&agwanna !his path is a very strong /legua. !his /shu is said to be the overseer of the egungun which are the spirits of the dead. #lagwanna sits at the cemetery gates guarding and maintaining order of the dead that pass through the gates. "lose friend and messenger to

Oya. "hains are very essential to him (hen #lagwanna comes down to the earth, he is very stern and does not like foolishness. e en$oys to dance and loves to consult about family or ancestors that have passed on. /shu +i !his /shu is known to be seen at crossroads. e is an /shu that causes distruct and misfortune to those who deserve it. e gives painful and dangerous lessons in which if you don,t learn the lesson, he will instruct another one that would be more terrible. e can be best friend or your worst enemy. (hen /shu +i comes down he likes to talk stern to his followers. e gives good advices and expects you to listen to them. /shu #naki !his path is said to be one of the paths that /legua is represented as a female. It is said that #naki is the one who keeps order among the /legua,s. She is the one that sends each path out to do what is needed to be done among humans. /shu #inaE+ara#ina !his /shu is said to walk closely and the messenger of "hango. e is said to open the paths for "hango when he goes to battle. /shu #ina wears a thunderstone on his head and alongside with his garavato, he holds a double axe like "hango. !his /shu is said to also cause fire as one of his punishments. /shu #rerebioko !his /shu is said to be the path that walks alongside Ogun. (hen Ogun is in the forest its /shu #rerebioko that accompanies him and keeps him company and he also sits at corners. It is said that when an accident happens at a corner, it is #rerebioko who caused it so he and Ogun can eat. /shu #ye !his path of /legua is said to walk the seashores. #ye is the conch shell that lives in the salt waters accompanied by Yemaya. !his /shu knows all what we want. #ye also means mundo %world'. So he is the one that knows and contains riches to all. /shu /legbara !his path of /shu is from the land of 7etu. e brings good fortune and blessings to his followers. One can attend him outside of your house by the dumpster. e loves to smoke and drink. /shu #laketu

!his /shu sits on the outskirts of the town of 7etu in #frica where /shu is praised. e is a wise man that brings fortune to the town. /shu #fra !his path of /legua is from #rara, the land of -ahomey . #fra is the close and personal friend of #so$ano. e is received when one receives #so$ano. e is said to be a middle age and loves to smoke cigars. !his /shu does not like rum nor coro$o. e likes dry wine to be placed to him. e is the one that opens the roads for #so$ano to take or dispel epidemics on the land. /shu #na !his /shu is the owner and path owner to the sacred drums. e is the one that opens the path for communication between the sacred drums and the orishas. (hen /shu #na comes down, he loves to dance. /shu #shikuelu !his path lives at the entrance of the marketplace. e is a great negotiator and can be used for money resolutions. e loves a good bargain. /shu +ara &ayiki !his /shu loves to dance and party. e loves to drink and play $ust as &aroye. e is called to make the party happy and blissful. /shu -ako !his path is always in the forest. e knows the secrets to many herbs and the secret also to the hunt. e likes to dress in animal skin. /shu #lboni !his /shu lives high in the moutains. Fery close to the heavens and guards those doors. "lose to the orishas of the white cloth. /shu #yeru !his /shu is the messenger of Ifa. e works closely and guards the Ifa and its babalows. /shu #royeyi !his path guards the entrance to Olofi,s castle. e stands near the entrance and through him you have to pass to get to Olofi.

/shu OdeEOde 6ata !his path of /shu walks alongside Ochosi in hunt. e is the one that opens the path and trees so Ochosi can aim in on his prey. e likes his rum or anisette. e takes a crossbow and arrows cemented on him in which he uses to hunt with his friend. /shu Owo !his /shu is the one that guards all the riches of the world. One keeps him happy so he can bring abundance to the home. e will always maintain you with money in your pocket if you attend to him correctly. /shu +eleke e loves to play as a child. &oves to dance and brings good fortune to ones who deserves. If not he will bring the opposite and until you are ready, he will not bring you happiness. /shu /luufe !his is an old and wise /shu. e doesn,t like to be disrespected under any circumstances. !his /shu can for see all "hango is one of the most talked about and most favorable orisha of Santeria. "hango also know as Shango, Sango, #lufina, Gango in +razil, was a great warrior. e is the orisha of the thunder and thunderbolt. e is the thunderbolt that falls from the sky upon the land. (hen you hear the loud sound of thunder roaring through the heavens, it is "hango that is riding his white horse looking to serve $ustice. "hango is seen as a tall handsome man with an extreme physi)ue. e is always dressed in satin outfits with his tiger skin wrapped around him. is crown is always firm on his head and it is always shining. is colors are red and white and in the home of a priest, he lives in a wooden batea %vessel', where his secrets and implements are kept. "hango loves to dance and he knows how to hype up a party. (hen he arrives, the party has $ust begun as he will dance and impress everyone that is there. e is also the owner of the bHtH drums %the double headed drums in Santeria'. (hen he finishes his dance, he is )uick to grab the drums to show his skills. "hango is a womanizer. e loves to flirt with all women. is dance is very seductive in which he uses to seduce his woman onlookers. "hango had many relations with females from every village. 6aybe out of all the orishas he had the most with all and any woman. e had 9 wives that he loved dearly, each for their own special characteristics. Ochun, Obba and Oya. e loved Ochun for her flirtatious and cunning ways, as she kept the lust between them. (henever "hango needed that spark for lust he will look for Oshun sometimes at a festival where should we be dancing and flirting amongst all the orishas. Oshun would bedazzle him with her exotic dance. Obba he loved dearly for she was the way a wife is idolized. !he relation he had with

Obba was so pure that he made her his legitamate wife and )ueen of his village in Oyo. She was the one who tended to his every need and made sure that the king was satisfied as the way he should be as well with her cooking as she knew how to get to a mans stomach. She kept the castle clean and organized and for that Olofi created the first marriage to be recognized. -ue to a trick by his $ealous mistress Oya %before Oya and "hango were married', Obba did something so disgusting that the king never forgave her and that ended their marriage. &ast Oya, who he stole from his brother Ogun, loved because she did not fear anyone. Oya was the one that gave him that life and spark that he needed. She always surprised him. She was a warrior that could stand right next to the king "hango. She would go with him into any and all battles that "hango had. It is said that Oya would ride on her horse first before any battle that "hango had. If you look today, when a storm is approaching, lightning which is also Oya, flashes across the sky, then soon after you will hear the sounds of "hango,s horse galloping through the skies which is the thunder. If you,re lucky enough, you will also see "hango throwing a thunderbolt down to the earth. 0ataki of "hango One day the great orisha "hango was playing the bHtH drums in a nearby village. "hango as usual was beating the drums and he had the party going. e would take a heavy drink of his oti and beat harder and faster on the drums. /veryone was dancing and en$oying themselves. Yemaya came to the festivities and she was dancing and en$oying herself alongside with everyone present at the party, while /legua who was already there was talking and playing tricks on the villagers. /legua left the party for a moment and arrived back as it was finishing with some gossip that he had seen. (hen the party finished he called his good friend "hango over and told him the gossip that he saw. /legua told "hango that he left and stopped at Obatala and Yembo,s house to see how they were doing. e told him that he was talking to Osun %the last orisha received alongside with .!he (arriors1 represented by a rooster standing on a silver stick' about situations that were occurring in Obatala,s house. /legua as devious as he is started to give Osun oti to see if he could keep talking. Dust as he planned, Osun talked and talked and told /legua what was going on. e told him that Ogun would come to the house drunk when +aba %another form to call a father orisha' was not there and speak rough to his mother Yembo. Osun went to say that this has been happening for awhile now and that today out of all days, Ogun came very drunk. #s the two were conversing Ogun came by staggering and swaying his machete. e walked right past /legua and Osun and did not even see them. e barged into the house and grabbed Yembo. e started to rip off her clothes and threw her onto the bed where she and Obatala lay. Yembo who was helpless, screamed and called for help. @ight before Ogun could mount her, the great Osagrinan %a path of Obatala' appeared. e screamed out to Ogun to stop and to get out. Ogun out of shame left to the woods never to stop working for his actions that he did. /legua who saw this was very upset that Ogun violated Yembo and the great Obatala.

"hango hearing all of this from /legua was in a rage and he knew that his friend /legua wouldn,t lie about this as he knew that /legua knew all. is rage turned into fury to hear the disrespect Ogun did to there mother Yembo. e immediately $umped on his horse and rode to the house of Ogun. (hen he arrived he saw that Ogun was not there but he did see the beautiful Oya wielding the new sword that her husband Ogun made for her. e has seen her in many festivals and at the marketplace but never spoke to her because of the relationship she had with his brother Ogun. "hango had a spark in his eye and proceeded to walk up to Oya. (hen Oya saw "hango she kept her eyes off of him as she too was infatuated with "hango but never dear follow the situation, because she was faithful to Ogun. "hango fixed his shirt and moustache and approached Oya with a great swag. Oya could not resist his swag and she looked at him directly into his eyes. She was in a trance as she noticed the gleam in the irresistible "hango. "hango asked for his brother in which Oya told him that he has not been home for hours. "hango asked Oya for a drink of oti and Oya immediately ran and gave it to him. She knew that he was a king and whatever the king wanted he must have. Oya gave him his drink and "hango took a sip of it and placed in on the table. Oya asked him if there was anything else that he re)uested. "hango smiled and grabbed Oya very softly and gave her a kiss. "hango,s passion rose from within him straight to his lips that now caressed the lips of Oya and she fell at that moment in the arms of "hango. !he great king made passionate love to Oya in Ogun,s house. !he same disrespect that he tried to perform on his mother Yembo would be the same disrespect he would perform in the house of his brother Ogun. ours later Ogun arrived to his house, ashamed of his actions toward his mother and father. e was picking up his tools to begin work as that was his punishment he put on himself in front of his father Obatala and Olofi. e noticed that the house was empty and his wife Oya was no where in sight. e called for her but there was no answer. e noticed that there was an empty cup on the table with some left over oti in it and wondered whose it was. Ogun baffled, went to his room and noticed the bed was in a mess. Since he had been drinking heavily he did not register on what he was seeing. (hen he came out of the room, he saw his friend /legua sitting by the door. e asked /legua what happened and /legua with a stern voice reminded him on the shameful act that he did today. Ogun who was hung over did not want to remember what happened earlier but wanted to know what happened to his wife Oya. /legua smirked and told him a tooth for a tooth and an eye for an eye. Ogun did not know what /legua was saying asked him what was he talking about. /legua told Ogun that where ever "hango is at, Oya is very near. Ogun now put the pieces together, grabbed his machete and charged out of his house running to the house of his brother "hango. Ogun ran and ran all the way to the gates of "hango,s castle. e demanded to be let into the kingdom. "hango,s guards notified "hango of the noise that Ogun was making outside. "hango stepped on his balcony and asked Ogun what was the ruckus and disrespect he was doing outside of his house. Ogun said the disrespect was he "hango coming to his house and taking his wife Oya. "hango brought Oya onto the balcony and showed her to her husband. Ogun,s rage grew more and demanded "hango to release her.

Oya told Ogun that she was not there by force but on her own will. Ogun stated to her that she was under a potion that "hango gave her. Oya told Ogun that "hango did not give her a potion and this was a day that she yearned for since the first time she saw "hango. Ogun repeated to her that "hango did something to her. Ogun turned and looked at "hango and asked him why did he disrespect him for, come to his house and take his wife. "hango with a roar told Ogun that the same way he barged into the house of his parents and violated his mother, this was pay back. #nd with that said and done "hango leaped from the balcony that was high up in his castle straight to where Ogun was at. +efore "hango touched the floor a thunderbolt landed right next to Ogun that made him fall back )uite a few feet. "hango and Ogun started a battle that lasted for hours. #s "hango,s guards watched in confusion because they did not want to get involved between these 3 brothers wrath. !he 3 orishas fought against each other. "hango threw thunderbolt after thunderbolt hitting the ground where Ogun,s feet were. Ogun with each leap got close to "hango and swayed his machete hitting "hango. !hese 3 orishas gave each other bruise after bruise. Oya seeing all of this wanted this to stop, so she blew her winds so far and fast until her cries reached to the ears of Obatala. She then glided on towards them both. Obatala who heard Oya,s cries came fast on his horse to see what was going on. (hen he reached "hango,s castle he saw the 3 orishas fighting each other with Oya in the middle. Oya stood in the middle of them both trying to stop the battle but they both did not listen to her. !he great Obatala approached them both and as he is the king and orisha of peace, his soft voice brought a silence over the kingdom of "hango. e demanded both of them to stop the brawl. "hango seeing his father threw himself at the great orisha of the white cloth in homage. Obatala lifted "hango up and gave him a hug. Ogun asked his father Obatala that why he was being so nice and humble to "hango when it was "hango that started all of this. Obatala asked Ogun in what way did "hango disrespect him. Ogun went and told him that "hango went to his house and took his wife Oya from him and now she is with him. Obatala turned and asked "hango if this was true and "hango proclaimed that it was. "hango then turned and told Obatala that it was revenge. Ogun screamed revenge and brought his machete high over his head to strike "hango. Immediately "hango raised his osh; to strike back. Obatala raised his hands and both orishas brought down there weapons. "hango told Ogun that it was revenge for him going to there fathers house and taking advantage on there mother Yembo. "hango said the same way you went in and took advantage, I went to your house and took advantage on your wife in which now she is mines. Obatala turned to "hango and told him that 3 wrongs don,t make a right and that was wrong on what he did. e continued to tell him that he shouldn,t have gone and barged into Ogun,s house and take Oya from him. /legua who was present as usual bowed his head to Obatala and told him that "hango did not barge in that Oya let him in with no problem. Oya stated that it was true. She turned to her former husband Ogun and told him that she always loved and respected him but that "hango brought to her a wild fire passion that she has been yearning for a long time and it is with "hango she is going to stay with. Obatala told "hango to take Oya inside and he told Ogun to go back home and think of all the defects that he did today. "hango asked Obatala why was he so easy on

his brother Ogun. "hango asked where was his punishment in which Obatala said Ogun already has received his punishment. "hango turned and took Oya inside and peace was brought back to the kingdom of "hango. "hango,s feast day is -ecember :th. e is the owner of fire and passion as well. "hango loves to drink, dance and eat. is sacrificial animals are rams, roosters, turtles, cornish hens and guinea hens. is favorite food is cornmeal with okra and he loves red apples and green bananas. e is the orisha that brings $ustice to mankind. "hango rides day and night looking to bring $ustice to his father Obatala and Olofi. !he drums beat in his heart. e loves everything perfect and nothing deformed. is children are very outgoing people. !hey love to drink and party and they have a passion and fire on their tongues that they con)uer all battles when they use their head. "hango is friends to all the orishas except to his brother Ogun that they are constantly in battle whenever they are in front of each. +ut never the less, "hango aides and loves the children of Ogun and vice versa. "hango is a great friend and ally to have in your corner. e keeps a close eye on his children and he protects them to the fullest from everything. "hango is able to breathe fire from his mouth. e found out the secret from the herb orisha Osain who gave him #bocun which is the secret of the fire. "hango keeps #bocun deep in his mortar locked in a safe room. (hen "hango is going to battle he first goes to #bocun to gain the secret of the fire. e puts it on his tongue and is instantly able to blow fire from his mouth. e then rides out with his daughter #i8a, who is the heat of the fire. #bocun was found by Oya who was snooping around "hango,s castle and saw the lock door. #s the air we breathe she passed right through and put the secret of #bocun on her tongue and from that day she was able to breathe fire from her mouth. In the religion 0alo 6ayombe, "hango is represented by the palo deity Siete @ayos who share the same characteristics as the orisha "hango. !hey are not the same but the share a lot of similarities. (hile a storm is going on where there is lightning and thunder, you should always salute "hango with his salutations. .7abi O Sile1 !he great king. If you see a thunderbolt hit the ground, after the rain has subdued, go to where the bolt hit and dig a hole. It is said that he leaves traces of his thunderbolt through a black stone that is called and odu ara %lightning bolt stone'. e loves this stone and all of his followers wear this stone around their necks or on them to represent the orisha. -ada y Iba8i -ada and Iba8i are the orisha of new born children. -ada and Iba8i are siblings to the orisha "hango. -ada was the orisha who raised her little brother "hango when he was thrown out by Obbatala due to the ordeal that Ogun caused on Yembo. -ada is used to ensure the crown of the priest or priestess. She is received to reaffirm your crown so you do not lose it. She is accompanied by Iba8i, who sits as a crown that was given back to her brother "hango when he lost his head and crown due to hot head. -ada is represented in a wooden vessel similar to the one used by #gallu where her secrets are kept. er

mysteries take a lot of things that are placed inside of this wooden vessel. Iba8i is represented by the crown that sits on top of -ada that is adorned with shells and beads. er colors are red and white as "hango but they have a specific order in which they go. 3 white followed by 3 red until completion with shells. A braids of a girl is also used to adorn the crown of Iba8i. !hese braids must be from a virgin girl and must be black. On top of the crown, priest adorned it with #frican grey feathers which show royalty. Inside of Iba8i, the priest will pack it with different secrets and mysteries pertaining to -ada and the guardian angel that originally is crowned on the priestEess head. It is said that -ada is a orisha that shouldn,t be given out to everyone because of the simple fact that you are giving your crown to someone else and ultimately you will fall. /specially if you have a specific sign in that you definetly cant give it. !his orisha lives on top of "hango A months or for the remaining of your life depending on the sign or oddun that you bring with -ada. er sacrificial animals are the same foods that "hango eats. In some houses, -ada,s mysteries are born but are fed with Obatala and Osun which he is the owner and ruler of all heads whether you are initiated or not. +oth procedures are correct. -ada does have children but he is not crowned on the head actually. If there is a child of -ada which is rare and has not been seen in ages, they are initiated into "hango,s realm and are given -ada and Iba8i,s secrets aside and live on top of "hango forever. One pataki says that "hango had lost his crown due to his stubbornness and a king is not a king without their crown. is sister -ada who she always was with Iba8i, saw the way "hango was not respected as king. Iba8i told "hango that he would be his crown and he will make his crown more fundament. "hango placed Iba8i on his head and walked back into his kingdom where he was noticed as the king once more. -ada helped raise "hango alongside with 6aselobi. You can say she was like his nanny but in reality she was his sister. Oggue Oggue is the orisha that represents the horns of animals. e lives with "hango or alongside of him. e was a gift that Oya gave to "hango. Oggue is represented by a set of bull horns. e does not mount or get initiated. e was given to "hango because one day "hango,s enemies tried to poison the orisha with a pigeon. (hen "hango was about to eat the pigeon he grew weak and Oggue knew something was wrong. So Oggue offered to eat the pigeon and when he did he noticed that it was indeed poisoned to kill "hango. 2rom that day forward "hango does not eat pigeon. (ho eats pigeon is Oggue for "hango due to that pact that they have. e rumbles over all obstacles that lay in "hango,s path and the path of all initiates who have him. is dance is represented by placing your forefingers on your head and imitating the movement of a bull. !he Ibe$is !he Ibe$is or the divine twins are 3 of the most adorable orishas in our community. !hey are small but very powerful. !hese orishas are given to priestEess to overcome difficulty within our everyday lives. !hey are represented by 3 small vessels that are the same and 3 dolls that are also the same. One usually a male and the other a female. !he girl is

dressed in blue and the boy is dressed in red and white. !hey both have the necklaces of the 4 ma$or orishas that are given to every new initiate. !hey love to be kids and toys should be put to them. !he Ibe$is $ust at /legua love cakes and parties and they are summons when something is really hard to obtain. !hat,s by either throwing them a party in their name or $ust attending to them. !hey do not have children that they are crowned to but it is said and believed that when a mother gives birth to a set of twins, their guardian angel is either "hango or Yemaya. You usually will bring the guardian angel of one of them and if it comes out "hango, the other twin is automatically a child of Yemaya and vice versa. !he next child the mother bears following the twins is usually a child of Oshun, due to that Ideu is the third child that Oshun bore after the divine twins. !he twins are children of Oshun with "hango. Oshun became pregnant and stepped out the scene of the orishas to tend to her secret pregnancy. #fter the twins were born she secretly rushed to her sister Yemaya,s house. Yemaya who was wondering where her sister Oshun was for such a long time greeted her and there is where she found out why Oshun was lost. Oshun told Yemaya that she was too young to nurture for her twins and that Yemaya would be a better mother that can give them all they needed. So Yemaya took them as her own. Oshun as a gift to her kids gave them a necklace of hers. !hese twins were said to have defeated Olosi %the devil' by making his life impossible. Olosi was walking the earth planning to attack the humans on earth and the twins who saw Olosi decided to have some fun with him. !hey attacked him with the sounds of the drums and playful tricks. /very time Olosi would try to chase one, he would disappear and the other one would come out from where he was hiding. Olosi did not know that they were twins, he believed that there was only one. Olosi grew so tired of chasing that he retreated back to where he came from and the twins were praised. #nother story says that one time Obatala,s enemies were trying to kill him for always changing the ways that they were living. is enemies went to Obatala,s cook and bribed him to be on their side. !hey offered him a better pay and a better life for him. Obatala,s cook gave in and agreed. Obatala is allergic and does not like salt in his foods and that,s how his enemies were going to get rid of Obatala. !he twins overheard this and told Obatala what was planned for him. Obatala did an ebbo and found out that it was true what the twins were telling him. 2or their courageous efforts, Obatala gave them a white bead each in his name. !heir sacrifical foods are male chickens and pigeons. (hat you give to one you must give to the other. !heir sacrificial foods are cooked and served to them on 3 plates. (hen you want to resolve something with them, you can make a shrine for them and throw them a simple party where other kids are at with cakes, foods, toys and your everyday party favors. +ut make sure what you serve to the other kids at the party, you must place the same for the Ibe$is. #i8a #i8a is one of "hango,s children. She is a girl that represents his fire. *ot the secret but she represents his fire. She is said $ust to be like her father and when "hango goes to war, she goes alongside of him burning everything in her path. She eats the same as her father "hango. She lives in a red vessel with her secrets and mysteries. She also takes a guiro

where her other secrets are placed. !his is said to hang in the house of "hango,s followers but not where anybody walks under. You should keep a glass of water next to #i8a so she can keep the fire out of your house and path. (hen one is at war, you place #i8a next to "hango and you wear her ceremonial necklace that is made up of fire red beads. Irawo !his orisha is said to live with either "hango or Orisha Oko. Irawo is represented by a shooting star or comet. It is said that "hango rode Irawo to earth. If you look up in the dark sky of ara onu, you can see Irawo soaring across the sky. Obacun e is one of "hango,s guards. e is represented by a wooden statue with an osh; on top of his head. !his statues is painted or dressed in red and white and sometimes he is riding a horse. e has his own tureen that sits next to "hango. #bokun !his is the orisha that is the secret of "hango,s fire that he lets out of his mouth when he is at war or upset. !he orisha of the woods is Ogun. Ogun is a tall, strong man that wields a heavy machete from side to side chopping everything in his path. e is the one who knows how to manipulate the metal of iron. (ith his great big anvil deep in the forest he forges and changes the shape of metal into the everyday tools that we as humankind use. Ogun is a well know sorcerer and he knows secrets to all of the plants that the forest contains. (ith this, he can see where and what you are doing and before you know it, he is in front of you preparing to attack. e is also in charge of construction and the fundaments of building. e is the chief constructor. e is the overseer of labor workers. (ithout his leadership there is no foundation in anything we do. Ogun is also the technology we use to survive in life. e is the wires that lights up our streets and homes, the cars and buses we drive, the trains and planes we ride. Inseparable friend of /legua and Ochosi who the trio makes up the .!he (arriors1 first set of orishas to receive in Santeria. !here is a pataki of Ogun that says that a long time ago he was working hard in the forest. e arrived back to his town and notice that the people of the town were actually not giving him the recognition that he deserved. Ogun worked all day at this and one day his longtime friend /legua came to visit him. /legua told Ogun that it seemed like no one really paid him any attention in the town and all they did was use him for his talents. Ogun noticing and listening carefully to /legua, stood up and turned off the fire that he used to heat up his metals. e grabbed his machete and oti %li)uor' and walked into the forest without saying a word. /legua looked at his friend that $ust walked until he disappeared amongst the bushes. -ays upon days, the town grew weary and all life came to a stand still. /veryone noticed

that Ogun,s house was empty and dark and there was no sign of anyone being there for days. 2armers needed new tools for their plows, soldiers needed new armory. /ven the orishas who came to Ogun as well were in need of tuning their essentials. Oya needed her sable sharpened, Ochosi needed new arrow points, Orisha Oko needed a new plow for his crops. /veryone wondered where was Ogun. !he orishas called upon Olofi who came to the town and asked them why are they looking for Ogun. /veryone started to say what they needed, what they wanted and so on. Olofi then told them, did they ever stop to thank Ogun for his work. -id they ever pay homage to the great orisha who works day and night due to his own curse that he put on himself to work day and night. /veryone stayed )uiet as the great Olofi was talking. Olofi said that Ogun has retreated deep into the forest and lets see who can get him to come back. Olofi said he was not going to interfere, that he was going to let the orishas and humankind delegate on how to get Ogun back to civilization. /ach orisha, one by one went deep into the forest in search for Ogun. /legua went looking for his friend and found him sitting by a rock sharpening his machete. Ogun saw him and chased /legua until /legua came out of the forest gasping for air. Oya went to look for Ogun and when she found him, he grabbed her and threw across the woods with one swirl of his arm. Oya came back out staggering. Yemaya went, Ochosi went, "hango went, but none succeeded. #ll the orishas went but their was one orisha who was re)uesting to go. Oshun. /veryone laughed at her idea because she was the youngest and least knowledgeable of the woods and to face Ogun with the rage that he was in, it would be dangerous. Olofi gave her his blessings and Ochun grabbed 4 yellow cloths, her pouch and marched into the woods. Oshun saw Ogun from far working on some tools and she started to use her tactics. She went to the river that was nearby and she got undressed. (hile all of this Oshun is singing and laughing to herself. Showing the lovely and admirable side of her. Ogun heard the singing and laughing and wondered where it was coming from. e glimpsed Oshun bathing naked in the river and was blinded by her beauty. Oshun came out of the river and caressed her body with her main implement, oni %honey'. She rubbed it all over while laughing and singing. (ithout Ogun,s knowledge, Oshun went behind Ogun and smeared some of her honey on his lips. !he great orisha was like a tame beast. e was dumbfounded and was in a trance. Oshun walked slowly while giving a seductive dance and dropped one of the yellow cloths on the ground. Ogun still in a trance slowly grabbed the cloth and followed the seductive orisha. Oshun kept her composure and glimpsed at Ogun from the corner of her eye and noticed that he was coming out of the trance, so she danced up to him and smeared more honey on his lips to reinforce the trance. Ogun was caught again and continued to follow Oshun picking up another cloth. Oshun continued to do this until she got near to the town. She dropped the 4th cloth and smeared more honey on Ogun,s lips and walked him straight into town where everyone was waiting in shock to see that this young orisha was able to bring the great forge man to town. (hen Ogun reached the center of the town, everyone started to cheer in Ogun,s name. /veryone ran to Ogun and told him how they were sorry for not giving him his homage.

#ll the townsmen brought out the best li)uor and foods and they beat the drums in honor of Ogun. Olofi turned to everyone and stated that this was a lesson needed to be learned. (hen one does something nice for you, you should always be respectful and be humble to that person because you never know when you will need them again. Olofi blinked his eye at the lovely Oshun and retreated back to the heavens. 2rom that day on Ogun has always been recognized for his actions and he has always received the homage that he deserves. 6aferefun Ogun and Ochun< Ogun feast day is Dune 3>. is colors are green, red and purple. is main implement is the machete. is sacrifice are all animals but he loves goats, roosters, possum rat, pigeons and the guinea hen. e loves to drink, smoke cigars and dance. Ogun is also know to reside at the train tracks where some of his offerings are taken to besides the forest. Son of Obatala and Yembo, husband of Oshun and Oya his lost wife who was stolen by his brother "hango. !he children of Ogun are hard working individuals and they do not rest until they are finish. !hey love to be in charge of the situation. !hey will cut and forge anything that they want. Dust like Ogun, his children love to dance, drink and en$oy life. Ogun watches over his children very strongly and when he is in battle for one of his children he will not rest until he has won the battle. In 0alo 6ayombe Ogun is associated with the great warrior Iarabanda in which he was a great king. !he same implements used by Ogun is used by Iarabanda. !hey say if you take out Ogun,s secret from his cauldron, he turns into Iarabanda in egun form. !here are different paths of Ogun Ogun #lagwede !his Ogun is the oldest. e is the Ogun that knows the secret to forging the metal. !his path of Ogun is a hard working and he does not rest until he gets the $ob done. (hen #lagwede comes down he mimics the act of forging the metal on top of his anvil. Ogun #rere !his Ogun also knows the secret of the metal. e is a warrior and cuts through the tall grasses to con)uer what needs to be con)uered. #ccompanied by Ochosi and /legua to look for game to hunt. #rere loves to drink and battled "hango on certain occasions. e knows the woods profoundly and knows its secrets. Ogun "hibiriki !his OgunJs rage makes him a great ferocious warrior. !his path of Ogun is always in battle for his children and does not rest. "hibiriki has many machetes and knives under his belt that he uses to slice and dice at his enemies. e loves to see blood shed from his enemies. e loves to drink. Its said that when this path of Ogun comes to the land you have to be careful not to have any knives around for he will grab one and begin make cuts

on himself to show that he is in battle. Ogun Onile e is one of the youngest paths of Ogun. !his path loves to drink and dance in all occasions. Onile is able to run swiftly through the woods and attack his enemy without them even noticing he,s approaching. Onile is very fast with his machete. (hen Onile comes to the earth, he dances and mimics the action of cutting through the tall shrubs. Ogun Ode e is the path that walks with Ochosi to bring $ustice and hunt to mankind. Ogun Ode is always in hunt with Ochosi looking for game to hunt. e is very swift with his actions and he has a hard hand when it comes to $ustice. e is a sorcerer and knows the secret of the woods. Ogun Oke Owner of the forest. !his path knows every inch of the forest. !he beginning and the end alongside with every plant and animal that grows in it. Ogun 6eyi !his Ogun takes everything double. e walks around swaying machetes in both hands. e is a great warrior and is fond of battles. /verything you put to him should be in double forms. You $ust cant give him C machete you must give him 3. Ogun #lada !his path is said to be the one that fights alongside Yemaya when she is at her warrior stage. !here is much more paths but it would be impossible to list them all !he orisha of the white cloth is Obatala. Obatala is the only orisha that has male and female aspects. e is the orisha that is the owner of all heads whether crowned or not crowned. Obatala is the orisha that Olofi entrusted to $udge $ustice on the earth. Obatala is the purest of all orishas and one of the wisest orishas. e is said to vary from an old man that is always trembling to a young person that is riding a horse. -epending on the path, his main color is white with touches of other colors. /verything put to Obatala is white. e lives in a white tureen that contains his secrets and mysteries. e is a compassionate father and a good listener. e is the father that all that the orishas look for. Obatala created mankind and it,s said that Olofi came and breathed life into his creations. Obatala as much as he is the owner of peace and tran)uility, he is also a great and fierce warrior when he wants to. (ith his sword he battles against evil and triumphs over all.

+ut when he is summoned it is to bring order and peace. e is the white pigeon that is seen flying over to announce peace is here. Obatala is associated with the mountains and high elevated place. 0ataki of Obatala Olofi was thinking one day in the heavens about the creation of life down on the planet earth that him and Olodumare created. !he planet earth was $ust water where Olokun ruled. Olofi called his wise court to sit and discuss the creation. Orula who was present told Olofi that life can be created on Olokun,s kingdom but an ebbo needed to be performed. Orula looked into the divination oracle that he had some knowledge of and told Olofi that someone wise had to perform this ebbo so that life can be created. Olofi told Obatala that he would be entrusted to perform this task. Orula looked deeper into the oracles and told Obatala that he had to descend with some items to create the lands where civilization and life can exist. Orula told Obatala that he had to descend on a long chain from the heavens with a hen and sand. Obatala asked Orula if that was all in which Orula replied yes. !he day came and Obatala descended onto the watery domain of Olokun and performed the ebbo that Orula spoke to him about. @ight before his eyes the land started to appear right beneath his hanging feet. Obatala $umped down and was the first orisha to hit land. (hen Obatala looked up /legua was descending on the chain. Obatala asked /legua what was he doing and /legua responded to him that he was seeing if he needed any type of help. Obatala started to walk the lands that were created from the heavens. Obatala and /legua noticed how trees started to grow, grass started to grow, flowers were springing out. Obatala was happy and told /legua to go back and tell Olofi that the work on earth is being done. /legua climbed up the rope to tell Olofi what was going on. Olofi pleased, sent a white pigeon down to earth to Obatala which this became his symbol. Olofi came to the earth and told Obatala that it was needed for some type of life form to be on the earth. Olofi said that he wanted mankind to walk the earth but did not want them to have the ashe that the orishas have. Obatala agreed and told Olofi that he would help him create mankind. Olofi told Obatala that he would give him that task as he had other things to create within the heavens and space. Obatala bowed his head and agreed to create mankind. Obatala asked how should he create mankind and Olofi told him to make them in human form $ust as the orishas. Olofi told Obatala to form them and when he was ready to call him and he would come down and breathe life into them. Obatala agreed and with the sands of the earth he started to form and mold what we are today. #fter a few hundred of molds Obatala called Olofi to come breath air and life into the molds. Olofi came and saw miles upon miles of human molds lying on the sands of the earth and proceeded to blow life into them. Once life was blown, these humans stood up and were told to make prosperous and humble lives praising Olodumare as the creator. !hey went in different directions and started to live their lives. !his went on for days and Obatala worked hard making human forms. !he sun was hot

supplying light and energy to the land and it made the $ob hard to do. +ut one day Obatala grew very tired and decided to take a break of his task that Olofi asked of him. e walked over to a tree that was giving shade to the land and sat underneath it. e took a breather and reached for his white pouch where he had his oti. Obatala sat under the tree and started to drink his oti to )uench his thirst. (ithout realizing, he drank all of his oti and he had none left. Obatala stood up and staggered over to where his molds were. e began again molding and shaping human forms. +ut without noticing, his molds and creations were coming out a little weird. e made molds that were missing limps, he made deformed bodies, he made molds with no type of pigmentation and so forth. (hen he finished he did what he usually does and summoned Olofi to breathe life into them. Olofi came to the earth and saw the molds lying lifeless on the sands and since he trusted and reviewed Obatala,s work in the past he did not notice that these molds were different. Olodumare proceeded to breathe life into these humans. (hen life was given to them, they stood up and Olofi noticed that they all had different deformed bodies. Olofi got upset and )uestioned Obatala on this creation he did. Obatala seeing this, knew that he did something wrong and disrespected Olofi,s overall dream. Obatala told Olofi that he was drinking and it made his mind blurry and he did not mean to do this. e begged Olofi for forgiveness and told Olofi that from this day forward he would take all of those creations as children of him. e would take care of them and look after them and keep them from harm. Olofi shook his head and accepted Obatala,s apology and re)uest. Obatala also told Olofi that he would never drink again due to what he did with the creations of man. Obatala,s feast day is September 3:th, the same day as the catholic image, !he Firgin 6ary. is number is 5 and all multiples of it. Obatala is a loving and caring father not only to his children but to the other orishas. !he orishas seek advice and give a high respect to the great orisha. Obatala which means father of the cloth is said to cover all man and earth from harm. e loves all that is white and all of his offerings are made of white, whether it is foods or animal sacrifice. e loves white yams, snails, fruits, white cloths and etc. /verything given to him must be topped with efKn %powdered egg shell' or orL %cocoa butter'. Obatala walks with a tall walking staff and with his white iruke, cleaning himself and the world. Obatala does have children as said above and he is initiated on their heads. is children are very smart and wise and they can also be very sneaky. e is the patron orisha of all deformed humans such as albinos, down syndrome humans, and the medically challenged. e also has children that he created who do not have any of these symptoms but he took their heads due to he loves them dearly. Obatala,s sacrificial animals are all white and they are female goats, hens, pigeons, guinea hens. In some of his aspects he eats roosters and turtles as well. is abode is made up of nothing but the finest and purest white cloths found. e is the owner of silver that the orisha +oyuto found and gave to him. e is a swift and $ust $udge. e is the one that contains the key to his son Ochosi,s house. (henever there is war or disagreement amongst the orishas, humans or nations, Obatala is summoned to bring peace and restore order. !he paths of Obatala.

M Only listing a few paths as there is about 3: paths of Obatala +aba #yaguna #yaguna is the young and warrior aspect of Obatala. is colors are white with touches of red. e is said to have brought war to the world while in his warrior aspect. #yaguna rides on a white horse swaying his sable. !his Obatala takes everything that has to do with war. You can place bullets, swords, spears, arrows, a white horse that is packed with different secrets and covered with a red cape. #yaguna is said to have drank a lot as well and he is always bring revolution to where he goes. In this aspect he fights and guards his children with a heavy hand. (hen he comes down, he imitates the act of swinging his sword and riding a horse. e is the son of Osagrinan and he takes a white and red flag next to him or in the house where he resides. e is the O*&Y Obatala that in certain cases of war and battle he will take coro$o in his osain or foods. +aba Osagrinan Osagrinan is an old Obatala who was married to Oshanla. Osagrinan is said to walk with a walking staff or preferably 3 crutches that he uses. Osagrinan,s color is white with touches of coral or red. It is said that he hears all and when this Obatala gets upset he releases his crutches and dances on one leg. e is the father of Orula. (hen Osagrinan comes down, he dances and trembles like an old man. is vessel is broken into : different compartments where different secrets live including some of Ifa. e also lives on top of a table of Ifa that was given to him by his son Orula. +aba #gema #gema is the Obatala that lives high in the cieba tree. is colors are white with touches of green. e is represented by a chameleon in which the skin is so transparent that Odudwa can see all the bad that the world is doing. (alks with Oduduwa every where he goes. e,s also said to be seen on top of the ceiba tree leaves or by the walls of the river where Oshun is at. !here is a special hat that is made for his children whenever they are sick that they put on their head and do a cleansing with. e also takes inside of his vessel a silver chain with > silver pigeons alongside with ? arrows in which he uses to send messages to Olofi. (hen he comes down he imitates the look of a chameleon. +aba Oba 6oro Oba 6oro is very old and frail Obatala that suffered for the bad of mankind. is color is white with touches of purple. e is said to have held the cross that the "atholic "hurch Desus was said to be crucified. (hen he comes down he acts like he is carrying the cross of the world on his shoulder. e takes thorns, a ladder, a silver axe and other tools that he uses inside of his vessel. +aba Ochalufon

!his Obatala is an old man and he is the Obatala that invented the tongue and showed mankind how to speak. is colors are white with off white beads. e is the constant and honorable right hand man of Olofi. e is the rays of the sun when setting. Ochalufon gave "hango the secrets to pack Oggue. e invented the art of sewing and he is the preferred child of Odudwa. You place to him a )uartz stone and a crown that holds CA #frican grey feathers. is followers place him behind a curtain where not that much light touches his tureen. Ok= Ok= is the orisha of the mountains, hills and peaks of the /arth. e is a very important and special orisha in which is he is the first orisha to actually symbolize a birth of a priest or priestess within our community. !his is due to that one of the first ceremonies is of Ok= initializing the consecration of the herbs to make the ash= for the birth of the priest or priestess. e represents firmness in our lives. Dust as a mountain is tall and strong so is Ok=. !his orisha is part of the Obatala court and he is represented by a large white stone. Nsually this stone is found on the floor in the house of a priestEess in a white bowl covered in cascarilla, cocoa butter and covered with cotton. In some houses, priestEess place Ok= inside of Obatala or even next to him. I like him on the floor because of the representation of a mountain or hill starts from the ground and grows up tall and strong. Ok= sacrificial animals are the same as Obatala in all aspects. !hey must be clean and white. Some people tend not to work with Ok= as I believe maybe they don,t know how to work with him but he is an orisha $ust as the others and his ebbos are very powerful and strong. (hen you want to strengthen something or calm a situation or someone you can use Ok=. +aba Oloyu Okuni !his aspect of Obatala is said to be the creator of eyes of humankind. e is petitioned when there is a problem with the eyes. is colors are all white. +aba #sho !his Obatala is a young path of his as well. e dances on one leg and is the owner of the cloth. It is said that he climbed the cotton tree, fell and brought the seed of cotton to humanity. is colors are white and he likes to be covered in different types of cloths. e takes a white horse that should be packed with different secrets and placed next to him. /ven though he,s young, he takes a cane that is covered all in his beads and then covered with #che of Orula. e,s also a warrior and has a red cloth around his waist. +aba Yelu !his Obatala is missing leg and is old. e is the son of Osagrinan and the brother to #yaguna. e wears the same color $ust like his father and he takes a osun next to him. +aba Yelu takes an additional tools that go with his mysteries with a wooden figure

inside. OchanlaEOrishanla !his is a female aspect of Obatala. She is a very old woman who is always trembling. She passed over to the land of Ifa where she was incorporated there. She does not like any noise and the light bothers her. She is said to have big hands where she pulls her children out of situations and maintains order. !hey say her tools are mysteries live apart from each other. +oth contained in the same white vessels but they live apart. She loves to sit and knits different cloths and shawls. er color is white and adorned with pearls. Ochanla lives behind a silk curtain in the house of who worships her. She sits in a chair and is very respectful and when Ochanla comes down she likes to be covered with a white shawl and she consults under candle light. She doesn,t dance much but when she dances, she portrays an old women until she lets her cane down. She takes strands of pearls, silver combs, a silver mirror, a silver Ifa divination charin, sewing needles and her cane should live next to her which is also packed. !he chair that Ochanla,s children are consecrated on should be washed and packed with a specific Osain. /luforaE/luforo She is a young Obatala that is depicted as a young virgin. She came to the land of Ifa riding an elephant where she was made )ueen. She is the owner of all oils as to light her, it must be an oil lamp and you can use vigin olive oil. She is said to talk to her children through dreams. She lives in the house of her priest behind a silk curtain. She works closely with Ifa as well. er tools as well as Ochanla live apart and she takes a cane that has 9 curves that are packed with her Osain. #ll of her offerings should be placed in a white basket that sits in front of her and you must talk to her from afar because she does not like anyone to raise their voices in her house or in her presence. She takes a sable, a silver Ifa divination tool and a horn. She also has a Osain that lives next to her that her children must have and this is something between her and her children that are consecrated by a babalow. Yeku Yeku She is portrayed as an old woman. er tureen should be kept well covered with cotton and she takes an additional set of mysteries that only are put together with her when she is going to feast. (hen this Obatala eats its recommended to brind Oke down to eat with her. and she is no where near any type of light or wind. She is always cold. Yeye She is the oldest of all the woman aspect of Obatala. She is the Obatala that originated the secrets of the female Obatala,s. !hrough this Obatala, it is why the mysteries of the female Obatalas are separated. She is the owner of the monkeys and guerrillas which are sacred to her. She also takes bows and arrows with her additional mysteries.

Obanla She is the Obatala that it is said to be the shining light. She accompanies Obatala everywhere he goes. Obanla is also the protector of marriage as it is said that she was suppose to marry +aba #yaguna, but due to his adventures in war he left her at the alter. She wears a white dress with a white veil. She too as Ochanla sits in a chair and watches all. She walks with a cane that has 9 crowns ranging from small to large and on top of the cane, it has a silver pigeon. She takes a silver sun that has CA rays and a special osun that lives next to her. In Ifa they place a wooden male figure next to her dressed in white that suppose to represent #yaguna who left her at the alter. /nuay;E/luay; She is an old woman in the court of the female Obatala,s. She is the favorite daughter of Olofi and she is always seen sitting in a chair like a )ueen. er children who have her crowned she have her sit in a chair of high status. She takes 3 sets of shells and like the other female her tools and mysteries are kept separate. She takes an additional of : silver stars and adorned with CA #frican grey feathers. Ogan !his Obatala is known to be the guardian of Obatala and #yaguna. Ogan is a young warrior that guards the sacred heart of Obatala. e is summoned when one has problems with the heart. is color is white with touches of red $ust like #yaguna. OgbBn y OgbBni OgbBn y OgbBni are the brothers of the orisha Ogan. !hese 9 orishas are the guardians of Obatala. !hey are similar to the divine twins as there mysteries are very small and similar and there secrets are kept in small white vessels or tina$as. Only a few people have these orishas as they ceremonies are somewhat fading. !hey take arrows and marbles alongside with there official secrets that are covered entirely in white cotton. !hey are said to be in charge of the souls of the children of Obatala when they pass on. !hey live high in the room of the priestEess near Obatala. +romK and +rosiH +romK and +rosiH are the orishas who guard the orisha Odduduwa. (hen you receive Odduduwa, they are given to you and they live next to him. +romK represent the bones of deads, and also the desert lands. !hey also are incorporated in the Obatala family. !hey say that +romK is also represented by sea currents in the ocean. +romK is the orisha that was borned from Yewa and who she taught all of her secrets. is secrets are placed in a white sopera or tina$a. +romK,s colors are green and white. (hen one is performing an Inle initiation, the godparent must have +romO as since he is dealt with the bones and structure of the human body and Inle is the medical diviner. +rosiH is represented by strong winds and tornadoes. !his orisha is very strong and it can

be calm as a soft wind or turn strong $ust as a whirling tornado. +rosiH,s color is a dark red. !he sacrificial offerings to these orishas are roosters, pigeons and guinea hens. +aba #iranke !his Obatala is the warrior that guards Ochalufon. e walks aside him wherever he goes. is tools are made of cedar wood and also sits behind a curtain beside Ochalufon. is Osain is a special one and it is packed on to a horse that goes with him. +aba Oyedade !his Obatala is seen in the woods with Ode. e is a great hunter and helps Ode in all of his matters. e takes a deer antler and arrows. is Osain goes packed inside of a wooden figure that lives next to his vessel. +aba +ibinke !his aspect of Obatala is a giant cyclops that has a spear protruding through the front of his forehead. e is always elegant and likes fine things. +aba Oshereibo !his Obatala accompanies "hango in everything. e is always watching over "hango and clears his path for battle. e also has an osh= that "hango gave to him in which he uses for battle which is one of his tools. e takes a wooden statue of a male and female which is packed and placed together. One holds a silver ladder and the other a double axe. Olokun is the orisha that resides in the bottom of the ocean. e is an androgynous orisha that can turn into any shape or form. Olokun is half man and half mermaid. In some houses, Olokun is a female but the ma$ority including myself sees him as a man. Olokun is the depths of the ocean floor. e resides where no man can reach. !he only ones who knows of his domain are Olokun himself, Olofi and Olodumare. is domain is a dark solitude area of water and rocks. *ot all fishes can swim to his domain. e is represented by both the living and the dead. Olokun,s kingdom is one of the biggest cemeteries ever. /verything sinks to the bottom of the ocean. Its there where Yemaya gives him all the cadavers of the world that happens in her waters. Olokun is one of the biggest, and usually the orisha that one receives after .!he (arriors1. e is given to ensure health, prosperity and foundation in ones life. e hides all the riches at the bottom of the ocean for his petitioners. In the house of his followers, he lives in a blue and white tureen which holds his secrets. is secrets were given to mankind by Olofi. Olofi is one of the only ones who know his secrets. e is said to reside somewhere dark in the house of his followers. !his reason for this is because no light ever hit,s the bottom of the ocean.

Olokun is very mysterious and has a compulsive temper. e is said to be chained to the bottom so his rage would not come upon the lands of the earth. Olokun is petitioned especially for health. e is an orisha that can bring that in seconds. is color is blue with off white. is number is ? or >. e is the true ruler of the ocean water but through Olofi the superficial part was given to Yemaya. e takes a mask that he wears. +oth santeros and babalows give this orisha, different secrets but they are both the same entity. 0ataki on Olokun !his pataki derives on the previous one from Orisha Oko. !he day came when Orisha Oko was introduced to Ibu #gana, Ibu #gana was the preferred child of Olofi but she was the favorite daughter of Olokun. !he great king of the ocean tended to Ibu #gana and gave her everything she asked for with Olofi,s gift of the ocean terrain. Olokun was not happy at first that Ibu #gana found love on the lands with Orisha Oko. e was very skeptical because he did not want anyone disrespecting her. +ut to Olofi,s command he bowed his head and agreed with the marriage between Ibu #gana and Orisha Oko. !ime went on and he saw his daughter #gana very happy until one day she came to him upset and crying. Olokun asked her what was wrong and she proceeded to tell her father Olokun what Orisha Oko did to her. Olokun became so enraged that he surfaced immediately to the top to take actions. 6eanwhile Orisha Oko out of guilt and hurt he was making sacrifice to Olofi for his disobedience. Olofi accepted his apology and Obatala was entrusted to receive the sacrifice and to restore peace on the lands and in the oceans. (hen Olokun hit the surface he immediately threw his waters on top of the lands. -rowning everything in sight. !he depths of the ocean waters were swallowing the lands. Obatala seeing this from high above send messengers to Olokun to refrain from sending his waters upon the land. Olokun out of rage did not respond to Obatala,s messengers and kept on sending waters upon the land. #nimals, humans and all life that sustained the lands were drowning deep in the ocean waters. Obatala consulted with Orula who told him that Olokun was upset and he will not stop until the waters cover the entire land. Orula told Obatala that a chain was needed to tie Olokun so he can stop this madness. Obatala sent word to Ibu Okunte to go to her husband Ogun and have Ogun make the biggest and strongest chain he has ever built. Okunte rode the waves that Olokun was sending upon the lands deep into the forest where Ogun was at. She told Ogun Obatala,s order and the god of iron started immediately to construct a chain that was the most biggest and strongest ever built by him. Once the chain was made he gave to Ibu Okunte who fought the gigantic waves back to the ocean where Obatala told her to give the chain to her sister Ibu #chaba. Obatala told Ibu #chaba that since she as well has the chain as her attributes to swim to where Olokun was at and wrap the chain around him from top to bottom. Ibu #chaba did as the great king of peace instructed her to do.

She swam around and around Olokun wrapping him with the chain that Ogun made. Olokun was so upset that he did not even feel or see Ibu #chaba wrapping the chain around him. Once it was tight she pulled and brought him to the bottom of the ocean. e was chained to the bottom of the ocean in disrespect for not following or listening to Obatala. !he waters subdued and returned back to the waters. Ibu #gana who saw her father tied to the bottom of the ocean told Orisha Oko from this day forward we will live apart but when I feel I will come upon your lands. *ot so great but you will feel me touch your lands. #nother pataki on Olokun Olokun had 3 servants that would always accompany him in battle. One day after one of the battles that Olokun had said he would reward his 3 servants. One of his servants was very arrogant and rude while his other servant was very nice and humble. e asked his humble servant what would he like and the servant told him that all he wanted was to be happy and to be able to serve the great Olokun. Olokun asked the arrogant servant what he would like. !he rude and arrogant servant told Olokun that he hated to look at the world and that he wished that Olokun would take out one of his eyes. Olokun accepted the re)uest and took out the eye of the arrogant servant. Olokun told the arrogant servant that from this day forward he would be on land and see the misery, the famine and hear the cries of all mankind on the earth. e could never come back to the depths as he would not have the sight to see the bottom. e then looked at the other servant and told him because of the other servants re)uest he can no longer see the light of the land, but he will always have the sight to see within the depths of the ocean. e also told him that he would live with him Olokun in the depths and share all of his wisdom, riches and secrets. Olokun turned to the arrogant servant and told him that since he would be on land he had to make sure that everyone on land was contributing to the offerings that were to be given to Ibu #gana and himself Olokun. e said that through this servant he would eat on the land and bring him the offerings to the ocean and deposit them there where it would be sent to the bottom where the other servant alongside Olokun resided. +oth servants agreed and it is now the reason why both santeros and babalows feed Olokun on the land. !he first servant makes sure that the offering of sacrificial animals and offerings are given to him in which he brings to the ocean to the other servant. It is also the reason why you have 3 sets of shells inside the tureen of Olokun. One that lives on the bottom with the secrets and mysteries of Olokun and one that resides on top near the opening. Olokun is received for blessings, health and prosperity. is offerings are taken and deposited into the sea. e sacrificial animals are roosters, ducks, pigeons, guinea hens, pigs and gooses. e wears a mask and loves all fruits and harvest that comes from the earth. is children are not initiated on their heads. is children are entered into Yemaya,s mysteries and he is received. If one of his children is recognized usually their path of

Yemaya would be Ibu #gana. Once a year the babalows feed Olokun his animal sacrifice deep within the open waters of the ocean to ensure blessings on mankind.

/gun are the spirits of the dead. 6ainly of our egungun %ancestors' that have passed on into the world of the dead. (e all have eguns that walk with us. /guns range from family members that have passed on, to the spirits that Pod has appointed to us. /ven eguns that are in our orisha lineage or family that have passed on walk with us. It is said the Pod appoints us a number of eguns when we are about to be born into this world. e sends them down when your mother is giving birth and it is there that they are appointed to walk with us and watch over us so that the mission is completed. !he spiritsEeguns are very important to us in our everyday life. !hey $ust as the orishas, teach us and guide us on the correct path to fulfill our destinies. !hey are very sacred in our religion as we praise them before any ceremony we do. .Iku &obi Ocha1 %!he dead gives birth to the Orishas' is the correct format in our religion. (ithout the praises of the dead, we can not be closer to Pod or to the orishas. It is very important that we maintain that bond and understanding with the eguns. It is said that we all have a guardian angel that Pod appoints to us and we all have a ruling orisha that walks with us as well but we are introduced to the orishas by our eguns. It,s the eguns that take us to the house where we will perform our ceremonial orisha crowning. #s I say, we are born with our eguns, not with an orisha crowned. !hat comes after. *ow in our spiritual cord we have different ranges of eguns. (e have the eguns that everyone knows about which are the "ongo eguns. !hese are the eguns that came from #frica that lived an everyday life and were taken as slaves to the *ew (orld. !hey are familiar with the 0alo 6ayombe rites. !his including the men and the woman who the ma$ority are called 2rancisco,s and the 2rancisca,s. !hese are the guides who teach us how to be strong through their practices to Pod. (e also have our Ditana,s and Ditano,s. !hese spirits are Spaniard spirits who were once gypsies. !hese spirits often teach us how to love one another. !he Ditana,s are also worked with to help us in love situations and or money situation. !hey are used to worship and divine through tarot cards and coins. !he nuns, priest or monks are another type of eguns that walk with us. Strangely you would wonder why would a nun or priest walk with you in your spiritual cordQ !hey are all servants of Pod and they teach us serenity and to be close with Pod. !hese spirits love to hear lots of spiritual and church hymns. +ible scriptures are spoken to these spirits. *ow there,s much more. (e have our Indians, #rabs, /gyptians, 6ayans, @omans. #ll walks of life are eguns because they once walked this earth. #nd with the help of Pod for us, they now walk with us being Pod,s voice on how to live humble and with one another.

!he +oveda or Spiritual #lter !he boveda is the sanctuary where we worship our eguns. It is usually placed somewhere )uiet in the home where you can sit and meditate with them. !he items that are needed to construct this alter is indefinite. +ut the main things that you need areR # small table # white cloth # rosary # bible Incense (hite candle # crucifix 2lorida water ? or > clear glasses M*oteS spiritualist use either ? or > glasses. It doesn,t matter because this is your alter and your eguns run this alter. ? is the universal number so that,s why ? can be used. > is the number of the dead so that,s why > is used. (hich ever way they are both good unless your eguns say other. *ow once you located your house of ocha, your godparents or through a divination with the shells or Ifa, they might tell you specifically which number of glasses to use. !hese are the main items that are needed. You first locate the area in your house where you can set your boveda or spiritual alter up with no interruptions ever. You clean the area with holy water and perfume %2lorida water'. #fter the area is clean and blessed you burn church incense in the area to purify it and your home. 0lace your table with the white cloth in the center of the area. Out of the ? or > glasses you are going to use, one of them should be slightly bigger than the rest. !his glass is known as the dedication to Pod and it should always be placed in the center of the table. !he remaining glasses are placed either around the main glass or as in a pyramid affect. #gain however your eguns indicate. +ut to start off place them around the main glass in a circular formation. 2ill each glass to the brim with crystal clear water. (ater is the main conductor in the spiritual world. 0lace your bible on the table and your incense, whether its incense sticks or the actual coal. *ow place your rosary and your white ? day glass candle which should be in front of all the glasses and lit. !hat,s the basic way of constructing your boveda or spiritual alter. *ow once you have gotten the hang of it you can start to place pictures of dead relatives, different color cloths around the edges when you are praising the "ongo spirits, you can place a cup of coffee with a cigar or a small shot glass of rum. You can place different types of healing and meditating stones as well to help you in your transition. 2lowers are important because it brings a sense of $oy in our lives as well as the eguns lives. !arot cards and coins for the Spaniard eguns. +asically anything and everything that you know your eguns like you can place it on the alter. Once your alter is set up you can now sit in front of it and start of with some of the selected prayers in the 7ardecJs +ook of 0rayers or you can say any prayer you want.

You can read versus from the bible in worship of Pod and sing any type of hymns or songs you wish and meditate upon your eguns. You can also place your egun stick %palo de muerto' there as well and you can summons your spirit using this particular stick which is prepared for you by your spiritual godparents through certain offerings. #nother spiritual alter that is allowed in our religoin is the te$a %roof tile' which is marked by Ifa. (hen one gets a consultation from Orula, it might be specified that the person needs to tend to their eguns and Ifa will open that portal as well with the te$a in which the babalow will diving through the oracles and consult directly with your spiritual cord. !he babalow will perform certain ceremonies and mark this spiritual te$a with certain markings to call your eguns and eggunguns closer. !his is usually placed in a spot where it wont be bothered. (henever you perform some type of ceremony within the ocha realm, that egun te$a will be praised and certain services will be put to it in homage of the eguns. !he 6isa or Spiritual 6ass !he misa or spiritual mass is where a group of people gather around with spiritualist to contact the eguns. # white table where the boveda or spiritual alter is placed and a selected prayers usually from 7ardecJs +ook of 0rayers are performed and songs and praises are sung to them #fter the procession of prayers and hymns, usually the medium will pick up any egun activity that,s in the spiritual mass. !he portal is open in where the eguns are now welcomed to communicate with us and to send us messages to guide us in the direction where we connect with Pod. *ow $ust as in our world we have people who are liars, manipulators and evil people, the same thing happens in the world of the eguns. !here are eguns that are liars and manipulators and we have to be very careful of the connection with them. In a spiritual mass, the mediums have to be very careful and not communicate with these eguns. !he negative eguns are given a set of prayers to look into the light and to return to the foot of Pod for forgiveness. Sometimes a person is said to have a negative egun that walks with them and in order to get rid of this negative egun you should see a santero or babalow to rid this or you can go to a spiritual mass and if there are responsible mediums there, they can tend to this energy. *ow a lot of people in our Spanish community speak and sing spiritual songs in Spanish. !his is understanding due to that the ma$ority of our eguns that were enslaved in #frica were brought over to Spanish speaking countries such as "uba, 0uerto @ico, 0anama and -ominican @epublic. So these spirits have adapted to the Spanish speaking communities. *ow you have lots of #frican #mericans who are into our worship and they worship their eguns in /nglish, due to some of the spirits didn,t all go to the "aribbean,s, they were brought to /nglish speaking countries. !his means that no matter where your from or what language you speak, your eguns will always listen and understand you. (here ever you go you will see some kind of egun worship. In all lands you see people who worship the dead. (hether it be in your own home or at a church, it is around.

Nsually in a orisha celebration there will be a service made for the eguns outside on the ground. 0eople who live in apartment buildings or who are discrete usually have these services or the foods for the eguns in the kitchen, bathroom or by the boiler room. !his is because the pipes lead to the earth where the eguns final resting place was. Some priets or priestess will have gigantic alters for their spirits or numerous alters for them. You can see the usual alter or boveda in the house and you can also see some type of boveda outside of the house in a backyard and this is from certain signs or oduns in a divination that speaks of other astrological eguns that we have as well. !here alter is usually outside and its prayed to the same and gets its strength not only from Pod but from the astros in the universe. I,ve usually seen the children of Oya have the ma$ority of these spiritual alters due to the relationship there guardian angel has with the dead. Oya is the orisha or storms and changes. She is a much feared orisha due to her powers as she can create a storm so powerful that she can destroy towns upon towns. !he winds, tornadoes and lighting are at her every command. Oya also known as Gansa, Oya Yansa %6other of *ine' was the wife of Ogun before "hango took her away from him. Oya is said to be a lovely tall amazonic woman who is dressed in a wine color dress with a belt that holds a grass skirt with > different color cloths. Oya is also the owner of the market place where she would go and sell her goods to maintain her children. OyaJs main home or domain is the cemetery. *ow a lot of people say or believe that she is the owner of the cemetery. !hatJs all not true. Oya is the gatekeeper. She stands at the cemetery gates and she lets the dead into the cemetery where her sisters Obba and Yewa tends to the body. Oya is a great warrior who loves to go to battle alongside her husband "hango. Stories say the Oya would put on a pair of pants and grow a beard $ust to fight like a man at war. Oya has a younger sister named #yao who is the orisha that resides in the clouds in the sky. It is #yao that gives her sister Oya the ability to take the spirits of the dead to go fight alongside her which makes up her powerful army. Oya has brought down many men, many towns and many lands. +ut as a warrior she protects her children with a strong look and with her destruction she brings changes. (henever there is a storm that brings destruction, change is needed to rebuild. Sometimes the land is expanded for new homes or new business. !hatJs Oya. She has helped all the orishas in one time or another. #s well she has feuded with the orishas at one time or another. Oya is the one that convinced Obba to cut her ear to feed to "hango. Oya is the one that brought down Osain,s gourd where he kept most of his secrets of the herbs. She also had a feud with her sister Yemaya in which she does not eat ram anymore. #t one time she did but due to that disagreement she doesn,t anymore. &et me clear something. Oya and Yemaya are not enemies. !he only dilemma between them is the ram. It is said that one day "hango was eating with his mother Yemaya and Oya and with his court and Oya saw that he was giving all of his attention to his mother and Oya became very $ealous. Oya saw that "hango gave his mother Yemaya first bite of the ram and since that day, Oya said she will never eat it again. One of Oya,s characteristics is the wind that causes hurricanes. urricanes come off the coast of #frica where her town is and logically, a hurricane needs the assistance and strength of the ocean to come on shore

to bring change. 0ataki of Oya "hango was at a party one day having the time of his life. "hango was drinking and dancing like no ever. e was swaying his hips and showing all his sexual masculinity. is crown was kept firm on his head as every moment he did, it did not move. !hat was to show all that he is truly "hango, a king. /veryone in the party was en$oying "hango and was cheering him on. !he great king of Oyo kept on drinking and did not realize that some of his enemies were outside of the party noticing "hango. !he party was dying out and "hango decided to leave the function. e went around the room giving his good bye to everyone. e was eyeing some of his mistresses that were there to see if they would go home with him. "hango staggered to one of the corners of the party where his enemies were hiding. (ithin a minute, his enemies grabbed him and tied him up. *o one in the party saw and "hango was taken to a cell where his enemies kept him. -ays passed by and "hango was no where to be found. Oya who was married to Ogun already had left Ogun and had a fling with "hango. Oya also did not hear anything from "hango. She did notice that "hango had left his pilon %a wooden pillar that "hango sits on' and his mortar %where "hango hides his secrets' in her house. Oya grew very weary and was worried about "hango. +ut besides her worries Oya was very in)uisitive and wondered what was so special about "hango,s pilon and mortar. She moved the red cloth that was covering his pilon and mortar and saw nothing special about it. (hen she touched the mortar she noticed that it had a gleam to it. Inside the mortar there was some kind of clear li)uid that vibrated. She looked closer and an image started to form in the li)uid. In the image in the mortar was the face and body of "hango. Oya saw that "hango was being held captive by his enemies. She saw that he was locked in a cage fit for a dog and his enemies were surrounding the cage making mockery of him. Oya looked harder into the mortar and saw that "hango was in a rage but he couldn,t do anything because he didn,t have his osh; and his powers. Oya grew upset and lighting sparks started to form in her hair. She yelled up in the sky and called for a centella %lighting' to come and help her and she would ride it to find "hango. (ith that the image of "hango,s face reflected in the li)uid and Oya grabbed the li)uid and put it to her lips, as in to kiss the face of her loved "hango. In that instant Oya,s lips and mouth started to burn her furiously. She staggered back and forth wondering where the heat was coming from. She ran outside of her house to where she had a well to grab some water. !he water did not do anything to ease the pain. She finally opened her mouth as she could not stand the burning sensation and when she did a huge fireball came from her mouth. /verywhere she turned and screamed out, fire was released from her mouth and everything was burned on fire. #t this moment a centella crackled in the sky and fell right to her feet. Oya screamed and stepped onto the centella.

!he centella rose to the sky and Oya was standing on it and the centella proceeded to take her to where "hango was held captive. In a second the centella was above the place where "hango was kept and when the centella started to come down, Oya who was riding it screamed a war cry and fire was released from her mouth. #nother centella came from the sky that broke the locks that were holding "hango. (hen "hango,s enemies saw Oya coming down on a centella breathing fire they all ran for cover. "hango was wondering how was he released and when he ran outside he grabbed his osh; and he saw his mistress Oya standing in the fields surrounded by centellas that crackled around her and that she was breathing fire. "hango was reluctant to run the other way because he never saw Oya in this state. Oya sent another centella to grab "hango and he to was standing on a centella alongside with Oya. "hango started to throw thunderbolts with the help of his osh; while Oya was throwing lighting and fire upon the enemies of "hango as they rose into the sky together. !hey both arrived at Oya,s place safe and "hango was still in amazement of Oya,s actions. e told her that the only one who knew the secret of him throwing ai8a %fire' was him and that secret was kept with his pilon and mortar. Oya turned to her lover and told him that she looked into his mortar and tasted the secret that he had there. "hango was upset that she discovered his secret but he was grateful that she saved him. 2rom that day when "hango goes into battle, his mistress Oya goes in alongside him fighting. Oya,s feast day is 2ebruary 3nd. She is associated with Our &ady !eresa and Our &ady of "andelaria. er number is > and all its association. er color is maroon or a dark wine. Oya also takes > other colors that are her children. !hose children make up the rainbow and they live in the skies making the crown of the orisha Ochumare. She is the )ueen of the dead. Oya is the official secretary of Olofi. She knows when life is being born and when life is dying. She is the air we breathe everyday. Oya stands at the cemetery gates and she marks down every body that comes through the gates of ile iku %cemetery'. In the house of the priest, Oya lives in a brown or wine color tureen where her secrets and mysteries are kept. Some houses have her with water and some do not. I believe she shouldn,t be with water. !he only time I put water on her is to calm her down when she is upset and to refresh her. She also takes an iruke that she uses to clean the dead and clean new paths. er crown is made up of copper in which that is her main metal. #ll of her tools and weapons are made up of copper. Oya,s sacrificial animals are black female goats, hens, pigeons and guinea hens. Oya,s children are very outgoing and strong willed people. !here are very spiritual individuals at they have the gift if used correctly, to communicate with the dead. She is initiated on the heads of her followers in which is a lengthy and mysterious procedure. er ceremonies are one of the most gorgeous due to all of the many colors that are used. er zarasa %the throne of the dead' is made up of multiple plates that are placed for the dead. !hese plates range from 3> all the way to 3T> plates of different offerings to the dead of her initiate and the spirits that her initiate collects to walk alongside her.

Oya is the owner of the mask as she at times is wearing one. Some people say that no one can stand to look at the face of Oya because it is too horrific to look at. I don,t believe so. I believe that she is a beautiful womanU she $ust doesn,t like to be messed with or fooled with. She is good to use to take masks off of people who you believe that are being two faced with you. She is also good to use when one wants change in their lives. She is a good healer but she loves to defend and be at war when war is present. #yao #yao is the younger sister of the orisha Oya. #yao is said to reside high in the clouds of the sky or at the top of the cieba tree. She is said to sit there and help guard the spirits that pass through her clouds to reside at the kingdom of Olofi. #yao is an orisha that is given to the children of Oya. *ow any priest or priestess can receive #yao. er secrets are kept in a tureen that is kept high in the house of the priest. !his orisha can never touch the ground as her ceremonies are done on top of a table. It is said that when an initiate of Oya is performing their consecrating birth, the spirits that they pick up are tended by #yao. (hen Oya is getting ready for battle she calls her sister #yao who releases those spirits to aide Oya in battle. She is not initiated on the heads of anyone.