Santeria (II). Rituals and amulets to ward off evil and attract good

The Rule of Ifá and the Rule of Ochá have a defined philosophy and theologies, the latter linked to Ifá, whose definition is taken as the religious movement that Ifá follows: literally, the act of attracting, it is understood, divine power. They have a series of precepts which include not saying or doing what is unknown, not deceiving people or being false, not being proud or self-centered, keeping altars, temples and religious objects purified, respecting the weak, the elders, the "superiors", to be morally upright, and not to betray or reveal secrets. Anyone who has been initiated or introduced into Santería can perform the "magical" rites, since in reality, there are no temples in Santeria. At most, there are altars in the homes of senior santeros for community or important celebrations, but personal prayers and requests can be made at home.

The liturgy is called moyuba in the Yoruba language. As a rule, these are songs and prayers to the god or orisha in question from whom you request favors or want to consult a question. These calls try to be made for the most part in the original Yoruba language, with an esoteric part, that is, one who is not initiated cannot understand it in all its magnitude, and a socio-anthropological part, which seeks union with a group. primordial ethnic-cultural Rituals of a more public nature for the community or festive also include numerous offerings and dances.

The "fetiches" or representations of the deities also have an order in their arrangement, as if it were a formal meeting. In this way, at the top of the altar, presiding over it, Obbatalá is usually found, flanked by Oshún and Yemayá, followed by Oyá, Orula and Osún, with Babalú Aye in front of all of them, or at least closest to the officiants and faithful. The rest of the deities can keep their representation and offerings on the ground without further harm.

From the Western anthropological point of view, the current senior santeros fulfill the functions of shamans, that is, being guides and messengers between the spiritual and human worlds. For many, this explains why there are hardly any differentiations between the religious and esoteric parts of Santeria, which is truly one of the many failures of religiocentrism. In short, the babalawos or senior santeros are the first religious class, and the santeros and santeras, babalochas and iyalochas, the second. The Rule of Ifá is the one that contains the babalawos or senior santeros, a position restricted to women, while the Rule of Ochá does have santeros and santeras, babalochas and iyalochas, within it, although ultimately they depend on a babalawo who direct your major rituals. This causes a certain stir and controversy within Santeria circles, especially when a babalawo enters directly into Ifá without being crowned in the Rule of Ochá, so some do not recognize their functions or their category.

There is even more, and there are certain ritual taboos that complicate the steps from one to the other. Citing a couple of examples, a senior santero or babalawo cannot divine using snails, which is known as diloggun, nor have godchildren or consecrated ones in the Rule of Ochá, while they are the ones who deliver the so-called Hand of Orula or Awobafakan, in the case of men, and Kofá or Ikofanfun in the case of women, that is, the symbol of their initiation as santeros. On the other hand, a santero or santera cannot perform animal sacrifices or other ceremonies of a certain complexity that are only reserved for babalawos.

A "problem" of the current social set is that there is no official position of priest, so santeros and santeras can come from any profession and continue doing it. But preparation for a major santero requires an estimated time of about seven years, which although it is self-taught, does require some review by a godfather, for example, and is a precious time that makes one doubt the possibility of having other occupations. The initiation of a santero requires him to take a seat in an armchair or elevated place within a series of concentric symbols that symbolize the call of the orishas, where he must spend seven nights.

To enter Yoruba, the baptism, if possible in a river, must be performed by the Balawos, who allow Orula and Olofi to bless the one who enters Santeria. It is also the time when the guardian angel, ocha or saint is consecrated to the believer, and the delivery of the elekes or necklaces with the colors of the patron saint. There are currently groups with different visions about it, since, although there are those who, through divination and prophecies, know the ocha and assign it, while others look for signs at the moment itself.

From that moment, a saint can teach and introduce other people to Santeria, however, it may happen that the ocha or guardian angel determines otherwise. In Santeria there is a belief in determinism, that is, that people have a marked destiny: for this reason, the gods are also indicators of the functions and talents that the saint should or should not develop in the future.

Rituals:

The rituals are numerous, but there are also different degrees of difficulty of praxis. The simplest ones involve lighting candles for the saints and dedicating prayers to them, which is also common in Catholic practices, inside and outside the esoteric world.

There are a series of foundations within Yoruba and Santeria for the rituals of the orishas. For example, the ota or stones, since in the beginning all veneration of an orisha goes through his stone fetish or a stone set. Water as a source of life and as a purifying element, united with Christian holy water. Plants, as elements that combine earth and water. Trees, mystical characters of nature, which evoke the complete life cycle, are pathways and messengers of the deities. There are specific plants for each divinity, as well as animals destined for each one of them, for their representation and offering.

- Rituals to ward off curses and bad spirits

The first step in the face of a hex is to protect yourself so that no one is going to reach you first. For this reason, crosses are made of Ácana wood and placed in technical places, such as behind doors, or with crossed aloe, gambute or prickly pear leaves. Sometimes a cross is carved in wood, as is done with cedar, without forgetting the red ribbon. The rue plant is also considered a great defender of the house, hanging its bouquet inside or outside the house. However, as soon as it dries, you should take its freshest branch and replant it to obtain a new branch. There are specific taboos around this plant, such as not touching it on Fridays or sharing it.

On other occasions, if the persecution of an evil spirit or the deceased is assumed, three bundles of four specific herbs are made (poplar, cotton, ceiba and branches of the paradise tree), essences and holy water, brandy and they smoke them with tobacco. Each of these mallets will have a function: one will sweep the home, another will clean the furniture and another will clean the people who live in that house, a ritual that is carried out in a river, although those interested can also perform baths with these and other ritualized herbs.

St. Peter's wort, known for its healing properties, collected under certain astrological conditions, can be introduced into an alcoholic drink and kept as an amulet inside a green and black cloth bag, invoking Saint Peter at times when it is consume to prevent dangers. Crushing loquat leaves and mixing them with ashes is a way to always have them available to defend yourself from any spell. Sesame, mixed with Guinea pepper, corojo and quicksilver, protects from any type of damage if this mixture is carried by oneself in a jute cloth b-ag, preferably in the favorite color of one's guardian angel.

When the curse has already taken place and the protections have not weakened it, different methods are offered, ranging from the preparation of concoctions and frictions to the creation of amulets.

When a spirit, despite being a relative, does not leave the house, it can bring unrest and bad fortune, a candle is lit that "walks" around the living members of the home and then an incense is made with laurel, incense , cumin, oregano, chicken foot herb and a little salt. If it haunts a specific person, two white dove feathers are taken, one from each wing and set on fire, and these are passed near the head and body of the affected person, who must have his back to the door of his room. house, so that the smoke covers it. When they are dry and consumed and no longer burn, tree bark or husk can be blown on the affected person's head, leaving them free.

If a person has been cursed through a drink, such as poisoning them, the response should be another drink, for example a punch of wine, egg, oils, along with siguaraya, a tree considered sacred, and omiero, a herbal liquor sacred to babalawos, which is taken in different quantities and times depending on the person's condition.

If the person in question seems to be haunted by evil, that person can be covered with a white sheet, held by two people at the ends and with a third person holding a vase with nine white flowers above it, and a babalawo directing the ritual, death can be kept away. Another method is to steal that person's shadow, which is considered to be where evils pursue them, by "trapping" it in a white cloth when the person is exposed to the sun and projecting it onto them.

Another ritual consists of writing the name of the person affected seven times on a piece of paper, on the front and on the back with a pencil, so that they are perpendicular, forming a cross. This paper is placed in a glass with a mixture of water, baking soda, salt and the grounds or remains of the coffee filter, covered with a plate and turned upside down, making sure that the liquid is not spilled, and left to stand. the room where that person spends the most time.

Baths are the most literal form of ritual cleansing, however, we have chosen to leave them for the end of the article, since they are also propitiators of luck.

- Rituals for prosperity and luck

If we have just seen how to get rid of the bad, it is convenient to review the methods of attracting the positive. If we think about material fortune, the color yellow will have an important role, but not a determining one. One way to attract money is to keep lodestone, intertwined with rue, rosemary, basil and anise, all knotted with thread in the shape of a cross, in a yellow and white bag.

With lodestone also and powdered yamao, benzoin, dried corn and eggshell, all crushed and mixed, it can be blown around the house with a formula that says "Talisman of Portugal, bring money to my house" and other invocations.

Filling an eggplant with oil, corojo butter, sugar and copper coins and turning it into a candle by inserting a cotton wick is another way. This improvised candle must be lit for nine days during which prayers will be made to Oyá, also at the time of getting rid of it.

For business, wild flowers, five in number, with bark and cinnamon and burned with alcohol to obtain ashes that will then be scattered around the place are considered effective, but they must always be combined with an invocation from an orisha, and preferably received help from an Ifá priest. You can also take cimarrón, yamao and vencedor, chalk them and join them or store them in black and red cloth along with other ingredients that the priest can

In the case of inheritances, there are rituals that serve to obtain advantages and others, carried out by the babalawos, only for consultations on how to proceed, since often selfishness and the desire for economic improvement tend to produce greater evils in the family.

Linked to money is to work, to get a good job, for which it is necessary to always ask Ellegwuá and the staff. To find it, you must take seven spikes of hen's foot grass, which are wrapped in brown paper, about 10x10 cm, and once again the name of the interested party will be written on the front and back seven times, forming a cross and It is placed under an amulet of the interested party or under an Ellegwuá fetish. To maintain it, make incense from benzoin to mate seeds and cross yourself with holy water and rum, or pray three creeds. To ascend or defeat enemies, a babalawo can determine the best procedure, although Obbatalá is usually invoked and includes incense and myrrh.

-Protective amulets

They can be included in the previous group, but it has been preferred to differentiate them since it is a specific element. In addition, many of the previously mentioned home protections could be cited here.

The large seeds of guacalote, mate rojo, zamuro, cayajabo... some owl feathers... or simple stones such as obsidian or lodestone, can be a simple natural amulet, protectors due to their divine affiliation, and attractors of good luck.

Among such amulets are necklaces, bracelets or even keychains and ornaments made with beads of the colors of the orishas whose virtues are sought to be attracted, sometimes including the diloggun snails at the end of them. The number of beads or strips that are made for these amulets is related to the divinities themselves or the purposes sought. Conch shells can also be consecrated to have a protective function for the home or to carry with you.

The "macuto" also stand out, small bags filled with herbs, tobacco, peppers or other objects, surrounded by colorefd beads, snails or specific stones. These amulets are worn both as protection and as a guarantee of a request that has been made to an orisha.

The act of crossing oneself with basil, or impregnating its aroma or that of anise in a handkerchief with the color of the guardian angel, also counts as charm. This also applies to caobilla, although it is intended to stop nightmares and anguish.

Curujey is a plant blessed by the orishas, so its power as a protective amulet, among many other functions, is unsurpassed, especially inside a black and red cloth bag. Marjoram, even without a container, has an unprecedented protective capacity, only comparable to curujey.

Garlic, mint and parsley, inside a white bag soaked in holy water from seven churches, become an invincible amulet. Carob, on the other hand, is ideal for enhancing the skills of those who are cowardly when it comes to facing problems, who can carry this plant in a red and white bag.

For sailors specifically, the protection of their plant, the astronomical one, in a yellow and green cloth bag. For the prostitutes, small yellow bags are prepared with cinnamon, honey and other herbs of the babalawo's choice.

Conflict evasion can be avoided by creating an amulet consisting of a red bag filled with incense, sulfur, garlic, iman, borax and amansaguapo, which must be left in the sun for seven days, and soaked in ritualized waters with other herbs every six months.

Against envy and attacks, you can create a simple amulet from a small bag or glass bottle with the tail of a scorpion, thus ensuring, through homeopathic magic, that the scorpion's venom annihilates your enemies.

Olive root amulets allow people with intellectual interests to achieve fame and renown.

Of course, there are more complex rituals than introducing certain beneficial plants in a bag. An example of this is roasting the wonder seeds and turning them into powder, mixing them with cotton and cocoa butter and covering them with a white cloth and a leaf of a prodigious plant. A day later, its contents should be blown at the doors of the house, if possible for a week and a day.

Likewise, there are multiple "magic powders" made with the ashes of palo santo and other herbs. - Ritual baths There are rituals that require the preparation of baths. Within this category the objectives may vary, but it has been decided to bring them together under this same group due to the similar development of their magical-religious praxis. Lustral baths are common, to purify oneself before certain rites or for personal desire or need. For example, cotton flowers are used for this purpose when it is considered that someone may be cursed or bewitched and wants to get rid of the spell. Other plants used are the so-called tree of paradise, parsley or rue. When it is considered that it is a spirit that has bewitched someone, baths are prepared with Anamú. Ritual cleanings are not only useful for people, but also for homes or objects. The root of the pigweed, boiled appropriately, can be fumigated in the houses, as well as the bluebells. Another method is to use the water from cooking rice for this purpose. Basil, anise, white aguinaldo, almond, tobacco, banana, among others, serve both purposes.

The Cuban banana is used to purify oneself but also has famous medicinal uses, as well as rosemary. A healing ritual is, for example, taking baths for a period of time, in ritualized waters with specific herbs and flowers, associated with the orishas who are prayed for healing, generally Olofi, Orula and San Judas Tadeo. Likewise the baths with corn roots and camphor. There are baths that serve to start a new life, as in the case of widows looking to restart their love life, who must take sixteen baths with galán (or dama) leaves at night, a very fragrant shrub, to become healthy again. marry. Baths can also serve for loving reconciliation if espigelia is used in them. Within love magic, we also find baths with wild herbs, fragrant plants, essences and even honey, which must be repeated insistently weekly and monthly to achieve the desired love.

There are baths to attract fortune, such as those in which five yellow roses, quicksilver, cinnamon and honey are used, or preparing a concoction of yellow flowers, such as the aforementioned roses or buttercup flowers, with clear symbolism. , barks and holy water, to include in the baths taken, as well as with white sugar. Many of these baths are dedicated to Oshún. For luck in the game, vine-breaker and box-wood plants are preferred. For luck as such, red geranium, mastic, aguedita, yagruma, and another long repertoire can enhance the luck of those who take baths with them. Milk, honey, cocoa butter are also added to these baths, or bread rubs, bark and elderberry leaves are taken.

Pietro V. Carracedo Aumada – pietrocarracedo@gmail.com

Bibliography;

- Castellanos, J e I; Cultura Afro-Cubana: Las religiones y las lenguas. Vol III. Ediciones Universal, Miami, 1998

-González Vélez, A.; Ordun. Aye Yoruba y Santería.

- Delgado Torres, A. E. El gran libro de la Santería: introducción a la cultura yoruba. Esfera de los - Libros, 2005

-Llorens Alicea, I. Sincretismo religioso: pervivencia de las creencias yorubas en la isla de puerto rico. UCM. Madrid, 2003

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> Santería (I). Saints and Orishas

> Magic and witchcraft in traditional black Africa (notes)