Transculturation
(Center) The wooden statue standing on the altar is named Ogunlekki. It is sacred and represents Yemoja, “the mother of all orishas.” In Yoruba religion, Yemoja is the deity of the sea. She symbolises maternity and abundance. Ibadan, Nigéria. ©Laeïla Adjovi
(Right) Transculturation is a concept developed by Cuban anthropologist Fernando Ortiz to describe the process of cultures merging together. That is how the Black Virgin of Regla can be the centerpiece of a procession in honor of Yemaya. French anthropologist Roger Bastide called this process of hiding African deities behind Catholic saints “Black Gods With White Masks”. Santeria emerged as the syncretic religious system that blended Yoruba religious practices with Spanish catholicism and spiritism. In Cuba, the largest island in the Caribbean, the only way for Africans to survive cultural annihilation was to take hostage all the Catholic saints. Havana, Cuba. ©Laeïla Adjovi
Omi Soore Funmi
(Center) “Omi, ṣoore fun mi.” (“Oh water do good for me.”) is a prayer that Sidikat utters before every important event. The shop owner and mother of six was initiated into Yemoja many years ago. In the city Abeokuta, the Ogun river is said to be the cradle of the deity. Called Yemaya or Aflekete in Cuba, and Lemanja in Brazil, she is also worshipped under many names in West and Central Africa. Abeokuta, Nigéria. ©Laeïla Adjovi
(Right) In one of Havana’s largest parks, a Yemoja worshipper prays to the river. In Cuba, the belief system that stems from Yoruba faith is called Regla de Ocha (“the Rule of Orisha”) while Regla Arara originates mainly from the Ewe-Fon tradition. These spiritualities are based on the belief in one single God (called Olodumare by the Yoruba and Mawu-Lisa by the Ewe-Fon)–creator of mankind–and his messengers called orisha (vodun in the Ewe-Fon tradition). Havana, Cuba. ©Laeïla Adjovi
Procession to the Sea
(Center) The virgin of Regla is a Black virgin inspired by a statue in Chipiona, Spain. The night before the procession, the statue is accessible for prayers and offerings at the house of the curator of the Museum of Regla. Regla, Havana, Cuba. ©Laeïla Adjovi
(Right) The white clothing, ritual beads, red parrot feather on the hat, and the procession and rites to the water are all religious codes shared by vodun-orisha practitioners on both sides of the Atlantic. White and blue are the colors of Yemoja in Nigeria, Mamiwata and Aflekete in Benin, Iemandja in Brazil, and, of course, Yemaya in Cuba. Regla, Havana, Cuba. ©Laeïla Adjovi
Aflekete, Mamiwata, Yemaya
(Center) This painted representation of Mamiwata lays on a ritual house in a beach in Ouidah, near the Door of No-Return, a monument erected in memory of Africans deported during the slave trade. Ouidah was overtaken in the 18th century by the kingdom of Danxomè, famous for its military expansion and active participation in the Transatlantic slave trade. Authorities of Danxomè provided captives to the Europeans, exchanging them for fire arms and other supplies. Ouidah, Benin. ©Laeïla Adjovi
(Right) “I am a son of Yemaya. She represents the ideal of respect. She is the loving mother that always forgives her children. Here in Cuba, Yoruba and Arara faiths are safeguarded, respected, and loved by Whites, Blacks and Chinese people,” says Francisco Ung Villanueva. Nicknamed el Chino, this prominent oba (religious leader) is a descendant of Chinese indentured laborers brought from China in the 19th century. Back then, living conditions for Chinese peons was so close to that of African and creole slaves that many Chinese embraced religions of African origin. Regla, Havana. ©Laeïla Adjovi
El que no tiene de Congo…
(Center) The shekere is a ritual and musical instrument used in Nigeria, Cuba and Benin. Music played a crucial role in transmission. Africans deported from the continent were not allowed an access to education in Cuba. Music and dance remained ways to encapsulate collective memory. Ibadan, Nigeria. ©Laeïla Adjovi
(Right) Dede Dekpo is a Vodun priestess in the coastal village of Meko, near Ouidah, Benin. Ouidah is famous for its history as a slave port during the transatlantic slave trade. In Meko, most villagers worship a deity called Mami Apouke, an avatar of Mamiwata, a name for the West African deity of the sea. The ways to worship and honor this vodun, as well as the offerings to please her, are in many ways similar to the rites for Yemoja and Yemaya. Meko, Benin. ©Laeïla Adjovi
Transatlantic Fervor
(Center) In the town of Ouidah, these two sisters, the grand-daughters of the religious leader Dada Daagbo Hounon Houna II, were initiated into Aflekete and Agbe, deities of the sea. Facing each other in front of a temple as if a mirror was between them, this scene illustrates the bond between practitioners from both sides of the Atlantic. Ouidah, Bénin. ©Laeïla Adjovi
(Right) Despite some memory gaps in her religious heritage, Regla Maria Fernandez Madan, daughter of Yemaya, transmits what she can to her two sons, both initiated to the water deity. In her family house, a water source sprung from the ground several generations ago. The family took it as a blessing from Yemaya. Every year, devotees from the region gather to pay respect and make offerings here. Agramonte, Cuba. ©Laeïla Adjovi
Of Stones and Cowries
(Center) In Cuba, clandestine African deities, represented by stones and cowries, were hidden in tureens. In this room decorated for the anniversary of the initiation of Yamilka de la Caridad Cejas Molinet, Yemaya and Obatala are thus present in these dishes. Agramonte, Cuba. ©Laeïla Adjovi
(Right) Yamilka de la Caridad Cejas Molinet is a daughter of Yemaya. Her syncretic spirituality blends Catholicism, Regla de Ocha, and Regla Palo Monte. Agramonte, Cuba. ©Laeïla Adjovi
Nature and Ancestors
(Center) Enrique Armando Barroso is a religious leader in Regla Arara. Enrique is a son of Hebioso, deity of thunder––named Shango in Yoruba mythology. Enrique dreams of learning more about Vodun religion by one day traveling to Benin, said to be the ancestral source of the Arara religion. Matanzas, Cuba. ©Laeïla Adjovi
(Right) The room of assin in the family house of my clan in Ouidah. An assin is a portable altar dedicated to an ancestor. My grandfather’s assin is in this room. Although ancestor-worship is a common trait in African and Afro Cuban rites, this specific Beninese practice of assin does not seem to have crossed over. Ouidah, Benin. ©Laeïla Adjovi
Iwa Pele
(Center) Tomasa’s mother was initiated into Yemaya after the Cuban revolution, at a time when all religions were banned by the socialist regime. Tomasa says her own faith helped her through the hardest times of her life, including the loss of a son to cancer. She claims that keeping alive their deities is what helped Africans survive the hell of slavery and safeguard their humanity. Havana, Cuba. ©Laeïla Adjovi
(Right) In Yoruba spirituality, one believes in an invisible world of deities and ancestors here to help and guide us. In the dark, lies a dense web of forces that have nothing to do with the devil or witchcraft, albeit what Christian missionaries portrayed. According to Omitonade Ifawemimo Egbelade, Yoruba priestess of Yemoja, “In Yoruba spirituality, doing good and having a gentle character is crucial. Iwa Pele is very important. Iwa means “character” while Pele means “gentle”). Otherwise you cannot work with the orisha.” Ibadan, Nigeria. ©Laeïla Adjovi
The Great Return
(Center) This archive found in the home of Teresa Mederos Gomes is an old newspaper promoting Ouidah 1992, a festival in which African diasporas from the Caribbeans were invited to Benin to reconnect. That is how a Cuban family from the small town of Jovellanos managed to live their dream and set foot on the land of their ancestors. This letter written by the forefather of the Baro family, Esteban Baro Tosu, traces their Beninese lineage. Havana, Cuba. ©Laeïla Adjovi
(Right) Suilen Mercedes Torres Mederos is the great-great-granddaughter of Esteban Baro Tosu. She follows the Arara religious tradition and is the last generation of a long lineage. The role of women in transmission of African spiritualities has been immense. Initiated by her great-grandmother, Suilen knows her responsibility: “Religion is the root of our family. It is what keeps us united.” Jovellanos, Cuba. ©Laeïla Adjovi
*All images are copyrighted by Laeïla Adjovi and may not be copied, reproduced, republished, redistributed, or modified without her written consent.
