Elegbá (also known as Eshú or Eshú-Elegbá), Ogún, Oshosí, and Osun are the orishas commonly referred to in Spanish as “Los guerreros-the warriors.” Elegbá is the first orisha that is received, and is worshiped first in all religious acts. He is Olorun’s gatekeeper and is entrusted with opening and closing all ceremonies. He is also the orisha that tests man’s faith in Olorun and the deities. If one’s earthly conduct is proper, Elegbá aids and prizes humankind by allowing iré-blessings to visit the individual and distancing the osobo or negative energies. On the other hand, if one’s conduct is improper, Elegbá allows the negative forces of the universe to attack the individual without coming to his or her defense.

Elegbá (Também conhecido como Eshú ou Eshú-Elegbá), Ogún, Oshosí, e Osun são os orixás comumente designados em espanhol por “Los guerreros – os guerreiros”. Elegbá é primeiro orixá a ser recebido e adorado em todos os atos religiosos. É o porteiro de Olorun e lhe são confiados a abertura e o encerramento de todas as cerimônias. Também é o orixá que prova a fé humana em Olorun e nas divindades. Se a nossa conduta na Terra for apropriada, Elegbá ajuda e valoriza a humanidade permitindo que as iré-bênçãos visitem o indivíduo e distanciando as osobo ou energias negativas. Por outro lado, se nossa conduta for inapropriada, Elegbá permitirá que as forças negativas do universo ataquem o indivíduo, sem lhe prestar alguma defesa.

Al mes de haber nacido, mi padre, sentado en un sillón, me mecía sobre su pecho para que yo durmiera. El sueño lo venció a él más rápido que a mí. Al poco rato se despertó al oír los gritos de mi madre al ver mi cabeza y la camiseta de mi padre totalmente embarradas de sangre: mi sangre. De inmediato, corrieron a la Casa de Socorros en Arroyo Apolo pensando lo peor.

Ao mês de ter nascido, meu pai, sentado num sofá, me balançava sobre o seu peito para que eu dormisse. O sono o venceu mais rápido do que a mim. Pouco tempo depois, despertou ao ouvir os gritos da minha mãe ao ver minha cabeça e a camiseta do meu pai, totalmente encharcadas de sangue: meu sangue. De imediato, correram à Casa de Socorros em Arroyo Apolo pensando o pior.

The presence of Africans in the Americas dates back to the arrival in 1492 of Christopher Columbus and his three ships of discovery. Soon after Bartolomé de las Casas’ sixteenth century defense of the indigenous populations of the Americas and simultaneous condemnation of Africans to slavery, the presence of enslaved Africans in the Americas increased until its eventual abolition in 1888 in Brazil, slavery’s last bastion.[1]

El nacimiento de una persona puede indicar su orisha tutelar sin necesidad de consultar al oráculo para definirlo. Es de suma importancia que el babalawo u oriaté que vaya a identificar el orisha tutelar de una persona pregunte acerca de las circunstancias del nacimiento de una persona antes de proceder a preguntar el orisha tutelar al oráculo. En muchas oportunidades se han cometido graves errores y han marcado un orisha con el oráculo que no es el indicado para la persona de acuerdo a su nacimiento. A veces esto puede traerle consecuencias nefastas al individuo.

Miami has been rocked by a recent incident involving Lukumí and traditional Yoruba priests and priestesses. At least two people already ordained in the Lukumí priesthood, have been re-ordained by a group of traditional Yoruba priests that have been causing unfortunate and destabilizing waves in this city. Despite the controversial nature of the ceremonies, to add insult to injury, the rites counted with the active participation of Lukumí olorishas and a Lukumí apuón and babalawo who has become relatively well known in the community since his arrival from Cuba three or four years ago.

Un incidente que involucra a sacerdotes y sacerdotisas lukumíes y yorubas tradicionales ha impactado a Miami recientemente. Al menos dos personas ya ordenadas en el sacerdocio lukumí, han sido reordenadas por un grupo de sacerdotes yorubas tradicionales que han estado causando situaciones lamentables y desestabilizadoras en esta ciudad.

The discovery of iron by early human civilizations some 10,000 years ago permanently transformed humankind. Iron became fundamental in tool-making, but even more so in agriculture, with the invention of the plow. This new tool revolutionized agricultural production, and by extension human society, by exponentially multiplying the amount of food that people could produce. The technological advances that followed had a direct effect on human intellectual development by placing greater demands on the brain that allowed for the expansion of the existing knowledge base. Humanity crossed a major intersection.

Since the very first humanitarian flight that departed to Cuba in 1979 after negotiations with the Cuban government allowed Cuban exiles to return to the island to visit their families, Diasporan Cuban Olorishas and their multi-national religious descendants have made countless visits to the island for religious purposes. Today, many younger Olorishas from the United States, Puerto Rico, Spain, Mexico, Venezuela, Panama, and other areas of the Cuban-Lukumí Diaspora are traveling to Cuba, infected by the nostalgic virus that we, the earlier generations of Cuban exiles disseminated, that idealized or romanticized the religion in Cuba. Under this assumption, bitten by the Lukumí-Mecca-in-Cuba bug, they seek religious knowledge and orthodoxy in the island. In many, the virus spreads and becomes a malignant cancer that cannot be extirpated.