![]() The West African tradition follows the yam harvest in June. The 2020 Letter of the YearĮvery December 31st, orisha faith organizations in Cuba tell the fortune of the coming year. television show “I Love Lucy,” Ricky’s signature song was Babalú, a Cuban song about Babalú-Ayé. Ricky Ricardo’s Signature Songįor those old enough to remember the Ricky Ricardo character played by Cuban actor Desi Arnaz in the U.S. Practitioners cleanse themselves with handfuls of food which they throw into the basket. ![]() In the awán ceremony for Babalú-Ayé, an empty basket is circled with plates of food. The pilgrimage may be done in hope that a prayer will be answered or to give thanks for a prayer delivered. In total, this is a rich representation of the Indigenous + European + African traditions. In Caribbean Indigenous tradition, people blow cigar smoke at images of the saint. The devoted make themselves bloody and dusty crawling as they meditate on the harsh character of life. Some push little carts with a statue of Saint Lazarus dressed in burlap and wearing a red cloth. “La Caminata” is a famous Cuban pilgrimage to the Church of Saint Lazarus in Rincón, Cuba on December 17 every year. La Caminata at the Church of Saint Lazarus in Rincón, Cuba We happen to disagree with this interpretation because Colonizers and cons use the fantasy of a better next life, to get people to accept horrible circumstances in this life.ĭiaspora veneration of Babalú-Ayé conflates the two Lazarus characters. Abraham declined saying that the afterlife balances out life. Finding himself in hell, the rich man asked Father Abraham to send the beggar Lazarus to help him. In this story a poor beggar lived on the street outside a rich man’s house. The beggar Lazarus is a character in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. In popular culture, Saint Lazarus has become a metaphor for the restoration of life. Saint Lazarus of Bethany was raised from the dead by Jesus after he had been entombed for four days. There are actually two Saints Lazarus: Saint Lazarus of Bethany (John 11:18, 30, 32, 38) and the beggar Lazarus (Luke 16). In the Americas, Babalú-Ayé is syncretized with the Catholic Saint Lazarus. ![]() In Cuba, it is perfectly normal to practice both Catholic and African traditions. Under Catholic repression during the time of human enslavement, Africans preserved their faith by syncretizing (blending) their own traditions with the slavers’ Catholic traditions. There are parallels between spirituality, the natural cycles of Mother Earth, and the psychological journey of life. In the north, we are entering the slowest time in the cycle of life, but are about to get moving again. The Earth is brought back to life like Lazarus in the bible story.īabalú is also associated with movement. In the northern hemisphere, the Earth sickens through fall, dies in winter, and returns to health in spring and summer. ![]() It’s interesting how the god of the earth, and of sickness and health is worshiped at this time. His number is 17 which is a prime number. He uses a ritual broom for purification, earthen vessels, and cowry shells. In some traditions he is covered because being healed, he is so handsome that he cannot be seen. Signs of Babalú-Ayé Babalú-Ayé at San Lazaro Church in El Rincón, Cuba (Joe Sohm/Dreamstime)īabalú-Ayé is often covered to hide his diseased skin. In fact, in Cuba, Christianity survived the Revolution in the African Diaspora religions. You can be 100% Christian and 100% Yoruba. In the Americas, African Diaspora traditions are syncretized (blended) with Christianity. Actually there are many related faiths in West Africa, Central Africa and the African diaspora, just as there are many distinct, but related, variants of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. In New York, we mostly know the saints through Caribbean traditions, especially Yoruba (parts of Nigeria/Benin/Togo) traditions in Cuba. As the orisha of both sickness and healing, he is both feared and loved. Babalú-Ayé is a West African, Central African and African Diaspora orisha of contagious diseases and epidemics, but also healing from them.
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