Obinisa @obayomi - Tumblr Blog

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Stop treating the Orisha like an aesthetic. Oshun is not your vain goddess of beauty. Oya is not your benevolent graveyard mistress. Yemoja is not your water goddess just ready to share her sweetness. These are mothers, warriors, strong women who carried their people. These are true QUEENS and you respect them as such.

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Ochosi

Orisha of Hunters, Scouts, and Justice

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Ochosi (also known as Ochossi, Oshosi, or Oxosi) is the divine hunter and embodiment of justice amongst the orishas. He is a skilled tracker and the most talented archer in the world. While he can find his way in and out of the jungle where others get lost, he does not live there. He is an urban orisha and lives in Obatala’s castle as his personal hunter. He is close friends with Esu and Ogun; the three of whom are called “the warriors”. He is an orisha of high moral and ethical standards and encourages his worshippers to be law-abiding, upstanding citizens. He helps his followers to “hit the mark” when they strive to attain goals, and to do so with integrity. He is frequently called upon for issues of injustice and for court cases and legal issues and is considered the patron of police officers and court officials by many followers. Ochosi is usually depicted as a lean, athletic black man dressed in hides, brandishing a longbow. His shrine is in the form of an open ceramic bowl filled with a metal tools, many of which are bows or crossbows, and a rack of antlers and deer feet, along with 18 loose cowries for diloggun divination through which he can speak. There is only one road or avatar of Ochosi, unlike other orishas. One of his stories captures just how blind Ochosi’s justice can be. Ochosi had a beautiful guinea hen who was his favorite pet. One day he went hunting and his mother decided to do something nice for her dutiful son, so she took the hen, killed it, cooked it up, and had it simmering in a pot on the stove for when he would return. She then left to tend to other things. Ochosi returned to find his beloved guinea hen cooking on the stove and was so upset that he drew an arrow across his bow, aimed it up to the sky and said, “May this arrow land in the heart of whomever killed my lovely guinea hen!” He let the arrow fly, and it found its true target. Ochosi found his mother killed by his own arrow. Ochosi’s ritual numbers are 3 and 7. His beaded necklace is composed of royal blue beads, honey colored beads, and coral beads. His garments are deep blue with gold trim. Animal sacrifice is used to propitiate Ochosi within African Traditional Religions. His sacrifices include: he-goat, roosters, quails, pigeons, guinea hens and all game animals. Altar offerings for Ochosi include anisette liqueur, grapes, and pears. Ochosi has no taboo foods, but he cannot be petitioned to evade the law or to foil justice. In the syncretic practices of Cuban Santeria, in which African orishas are associated with Catholic Church saints, the representative of Ochosi is Saint Norbert. Hoodoo pyschic readers, spirit workers and root doctors who petition the orishas on behalf of clients may work with Ochosi when there are pending court cases and legal issues.

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6/ The Lovers

Falling in love, union, choice. ————————————————- Love is like hunting, hunting is like love? =)

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Ayai Odun: The past days

Oni Odun: Today, the present

Odun Ola: Tomorrow, the future

What images of an Afro-Cuban “spirit dancer” can tell us about colonial Cuba.

The African Grey Parrot known as the Loro has a beautiful story in Yoruba Mythology that I resonate with and think about during many tough moments of my life. Born in Oche (5) of the Dilogun, the Loro was a beautiful bird that had vibrant red feathers. The other birds were very jealous of the Loro and decided to invite him to a meeting where they plotted to set him up to be tainted and stained with mud, only leaving his tail feathers red. Not many know that his feathers were red because he has a blood disorder, signifying the importance of taking care of your blood/ internal health when you receive the odu. Getting this odu also warns the person to be careful of going to places/meetings/events where they may not know who is attending (a big reason why I don’t attend social / activist gatherings most of the time). Oshun also speaks in Oche, and the Loro is one of her special animals. Children of Oche are told to wear Loro feathers because they draw luck and prosperity in life. The most important virtue in life is health. The Loro reminds me to not worry about anything but taking care of myself and my health, because people’s judgements, jealously and opinions of you will never be as important as your health (mental, physical, and spiritual).

#Obinisa

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Obba illustration by Luis Bencomo

Obba, or Obba Nani, is the Orisha of the home. She is the first and legitimate wife of Shango. A talented warrior, she taught Shango how to fight with a sword and Oya how to fight with a cutlass. When she comes down, she covers one ear because in a pataki (sacred myth) she cut it off in an attempt to win back Shango’s love. Furious at this act of self-mutilation, Shango banished her and Obba went to live in the cemetery, the only place Shango would never go. In the cemetery, she records the names of all the dead before they are interred with Yewa in the grave. More than just this, she is also the inventor of written language, patron of libraries and maps, and the Orisha of marriage. She reminds us to never hurt ourselves for love, that self-sacrifice for those we love must have its limits, and that all women should be respected. Maferefun Obba Nani!

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Maferefun Iyami Eleko!

I love Shango and Obba’s story because it shows that receiving an inheratience after a seperation was an important value. Shango did not leave Obba without being chivalrous . He made sure she had her own kingdom and land!

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Obba By Andre Hora

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Latinx Drag Race star Aja released a new music video titled Brujería this week. They have long been open about being an actual practitioner of Lukumi (Santeria), even discussing it on the show, and this video is their latest homage to the religion. As a Santera and a Drag Race fan, I love it! It’s not the most accurate or educational thing in the world, but it’s fun and some of the costumes are great.

(And if anyone wants to give me the t on whether or not she’s crowned yet, let me know because I am so curious! My guess is that she isn’t crowned yet. Also get the strongest Omo Oya vibes off her but that’s just a guess!)

Oh, and a quick note about the word brujería: if you’re not a practitioner of Santería, using brujería to describe the religion can be pretty offensive to some people. Witchcraft is a negative thing in the cosmology of Santería, though some of us turn that word that’s been used against the religion into a fun reclamation like Aja does here. But in general, if you’re not in the club, don’t go around calling it brujería please.

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“Guerreros” by NuPhoenix

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“El camino lo abre Eleggua”.

-Ruben Blades

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“Male” priest of Oya wearing a female-style wrap in Ijebu Remo, Nigeria. 1982.

Certain “male” priests of the Orisha (particularly Oshun, Shango, and Oya) were known to wear the female clothes and hairstyles, as well a take on female names and sometimes marry husbands. For more information, check out J Lorand Mattory’s Sex and the Empire That is No More.

Photo is from Margaret Thompson Drewal’s article “Art and Trace among Yoruba Shango Devotees” in African Arts Magazine.