Babalú-Ayé
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Babalú-Aye (from Yoruba ''Obalúayé''), ''Oluaye'', Ṣọpọna, Ayé in
Trinidad Orisha Trinidad Orisha, also known as Orisha religion and Shango, is a syncretic religion in Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean, originally from West Africa (Yoruba religion). Trinidad Orisha incorporates elements of Spiritual Baptism, and the clos ...
, or ''Obaluaiye'', is one of the
orisha Orishas (singular: orisha) are divine spirits that play a key role in the Yoruba religion of West Africa and several religions of the African diaspora that derive from it, such as Haitian Vaudou, Cuban Santería and Brazilian Candomblé. The p ...
s or manifestations of the supreme creator god Olodumare in the
Yoruba religion The Yorùbá religion (Yoruba language, Yoruba: Ìṣẹ̀ṣe), West African Orisa (Òrìṣà), or Isese (Ìṣẹ̀ṣe), comprises the traditional religious and spiritual concepts and practice of the Yoruba people. Its homeland is in pres ...
of West Africa. Babalú-Aye is the spirit of the Earth and strongly associated with healing. He promotes the cure for illnesses. He is always close to Iku (the force responsible for taking life), as he promotes healing for those who are close to death. However, some fear Obaluaye because he is believed to bring disease upon humans, including smallpox, for which he is known as Ṣọpọna. His cult powers and spells are used against all kinds of diseases, but particularly against skin diseases,
inflammation Inflammation (from ) is part of the biological response of body tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants. The five cardinal signs are heat, pain, redness, swelling, and loss of function (Latin ''calor'', '' ...
, and airborne diseases that can cause
epidemic An epidemic (from Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of hosts in a given population within a short period of time. For example, in meningococcal infection ...
s. They are also used to cure people with
seizure A seizure is a sudden, brief disruption of brain activity caused by abnormal, excessive, or synchronous neuronal firing. Depending on the regions of the brain involved, seizures can lead to changes in movement, sensation, behavior, awareness, o ...
problems,
epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of Non-communicable disease, non-communicable Neurological disorder, neurological disorders characterized by a tendency for recurrent, unprovoked Seizure, seizures. A seizure is a sudden burst of abnormal electrical activit ...
, and
catalepsy Catalepsy (from Ancient Greek , , "seizing, grasping") is a neurological condition characterized by muscular rigidity and fixity of posture regardless of external stimuli, as well as decreased sensitivity to pain. Signs and symptoms Sympt ...
. Heat is also a property of Babalu-aye, like fever, the body heating up to expel a disease, it is Babalu-aye acting on the human body, as well as the heat that comes from the depths of the earth. Therefore, any kind of sacrifice or offering to this
orisha Orishas (singular: orisha) are divine spirits that play a key role in the Yoruba religion of West Africa and several religions of the African diaspora that derive from it, such as Haitian Vaudou, Cuban Santería and Brazilian Candomblé. The p ...
must be done during the day, when the temperature is higher. Usually considered hobbled by disease, he universally takes grains as offerings.


In Africa


Yoruba

Venerated by the Yoruba, O̩balúayé is usually called Sopona (Shopona) and is said to have dominion over the Earth and smallpox. He demands respect and even gratitude when he claims a victim, and so people sometimes honor him with the praise name Alápa-dúpé, meaning “One who kills and is thanked for it”.Idowu 1962:97 In one commonly recounted story, Ṣopona was old and lame. He attended a celebration at the palace of Obatala, the father of the orishas. When Ṣopona tried to dance, he stumbled and fell. All the other orishas laughed at him, and he in turn tried to infect them with smallpox. Obatala stopped him and drove him into the bush, where he has lived as an outcast ever since.


Fon

Venerated by the Fon, the spirit is most commonly called Sakpata. He owns the Earth and has strong associations with smallpox and other infections. His worship is very diverse in Fon communities, where many distinct manifestations of the spirit are venerated. Because the dead are buried in the Earth, the manifestation called Avimadye is considered the chief of the ancestors.


Ewe

Venerated by the Ewe, there is a similar figure with the praise name Anyigbato who is closely associated with sickness and displaced peoples. He is believed to wander the land at night, wearing a garment of rattling snail shells; the snail shells are also a key feature of his fetish.


In Latin America

In
Santería Santería (), also known as Regla de Ocha, Regla Lucumí, or Lucumí, is an African diaspora religions, Afro-Caribbean religion that developed in Cuba during the late 19th century. It arose amid a process of syncretism between the traditional ...
, Babalú-Ayé is among the most popular orishas. Syncretized with Saint Lazarus, and regarded as particularly miraculous, Babalú-Ayé is publicly honored with a pilgrimage on December 17, when tens of thousands of devotees gather at the Church and Leprosorium of Saint Lazarus in El Rincón, in the outskirts of Santiago de las Vegas,
Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Palo Palo may refer to: Places * Palo, Estonia, village in Meremäe Parish, Võru County, Estonia * Palo, Huesca, municipality in the province of Huesca, Spain * Palo, Iowa, United States, a town located within Linn County * Palo Laziale, a location ...
as Pata en Llaga. In
Candomblé Candomblé () is an African diaspora religions, African diasporic religion that developed in Brazil during the 19th century. It arose through a process of syncretism between several of the traditional religions of West and Central Africa, especi ...
, his face is so beautiful after his illness is cured that no one is worthy to look at him, that's why it is covered with palm straw. He also manifests in
Umbanda Umbanda () is a religion that emerged in Brazil during the 1920s. Deriving largely from Kardecist spiritism, Spiritism, it also combines elements from African diasporic religions, Afro-Brazilian traditions like Candomblé as well as Roman Catho ...
and
Macumba ''Macumba'' () is a generic term for various Afro-Brazilian religions, the practitioners of which are then called ''macumbeiros''. These terms are generally regarded as having negative connotations, comparable to an English term like "black magi ...
.


In Ifá and Dilogun divination

Through divination, he often speaks to his devotees through the Ifá signs ( Odu Ifá) Ojuani Meyi and Irete Meyi, though as a sickness, he can manifest in any divination sign. In cowrie-shell divination (Dilogun), he is also strongly associated with the sign called Metanlá (13 cowries).


Relationship to other orisha

There are several, sometimes contradictory, accounts of Babalú-Ayé's genealogical relationships to other orisha. Babalú-Ayé is often considered the son of Yemoja and the brother of
Shango Shango (Yoruba language: Ṣàngó, also known as Changó or Xangô in Latin America; as Jakuta or Badé; and as Ṣangó in Trinidad Orisha) is an Orisha (or spirit) in Yoruba religion. Genealogically speaking, Shango is a royal ancestor of th ...
. However, some religious lineages maintain that he is the son of
Nana Buluku Nana Buluku, also known as Nana Buruku, Nana Buku or Nanan-bouclou, is the female supreme being in the West African traditional religion of the Fon people (Benin, Dahomey) and the Ewe people (Togo). She is one of the most influential deities in We ...
, while others assert that he is her husband. Some lineages of Candomblé relate myths that justify Babalú-Ayé being the child of both Yemoja and Nana Burukú. In these myths, Nana Burukú is Babalú-Ayé's true mother who abandons him to die of exposure on the beach where he is badly scarred by crabs. Yemoja discovers him there, takes him under her protection, nurses him back to health, and educates him on many secrets. Because of his knowledge of the forest and the healing power of plants, Babalú-Ayé is strongly associated with Osain, the orisha of herbs. Oba Ecun (an ornate in La Regla de Ocha) describes the two orisha as two aspects of a single being, while William Bascom noted that some connect the two through their mutual close relationship with the spirits of the forest called ''ijimere''.


Themes in the worship of Babalú

The narratives and rituals that carry important cultural information about Babalú-Ayé include various recurring and interrelated themes. * Earth: Babalú-Ayé’s worship is frequently linked to the Earth itself, and even his name identifies him with the Earth itself. * Illness and suffering: Long referred to as the “god of smallpox,” Babalú-Ayé certainly links back to disease in the body and the changes it brings. Because Babalú-Ayé both punishes people with illness and rewards them with health, his stories and ceremonies often deal with the body as a central locus of experience for both human limitations and divine power. Similarly, his mythical lameness evokes the idea of living in a constant state of limitation and physical pain, while people appeal to him to protect them from disease. * The permeable nature of things: In the Americas, Babalú-Ayé vessels always have various holes in their lids, allowing offerings to enter but also symbolizing the difficulty in containing illness completely. These holes are often explicitly compared to sores that pock the orisha’s skin. This permeability also appears in the sackcloth and raffia fringe called mariwó used to dress the orisha. * Secrecy and revelation: The contrast between silence and speech, darkness, and light, and secrecy and revelation permeate the worship of Babalú-Ayé. According to the tradition, certain things must remain secret to sustain their ritual power or their healthy function. In turn, inappropriate revelation leads to illness and other negative manifestations. Conversely the appropriate revelation of information can provide important teaching and guidance. * Wickedness and righteousness: Represented in sacred narratives as a transgressor in some instances, Babalú-Ayé himself is condemned to exile because he breaks the social contract. The physical pain of his lame leg transforms into the emotional pain of exile. Only after spending much time in isolation does he return to society. In other contexts, he is lauded as the most righteous of all the orishas. Similarly, he is often referred to as punishing the offense of human beings. * Exile and movement: Strongly associated with the forest and the road itself, the key stories and ceremonies related to Babalú-Ayé involve movement as an antidote to stagnation. In Lucumí and Arará ceremonies in Cuba, his vessel is ritually moved from place to place in important initiations. But through this movement through different spaces, Babalú-Ayé regularly appears as a complex, even liminal, figure who unites various realms. Strongly associated with powerful herbs used for poisons and panaceas, he is sometimes associated with Osain and the powerful acts of magicians. Strongly associated with the Earth and the ancestors buried within it, he is sometimes ritually honored with the dead. At the same time, he is widely included as an orisha, or a fodún as the Arará traditionally call their deities in Cuba. Similarly the dogs strongly associated with Babalú-Ayé move from the house, to the street, to the forest, and back with relative facility. * Death and resurrection: Last but not least, Babalú-Ayé's journey of exile, debilitation, and finally restoration addresses the cyclic nature of all life. While this theme of transcendence plays a much more prominent role in the Americas than in West Africa, it is also present there in narratives about epidemics befalling kings and kingdoms, only to find relief and remedy in Babalú-Ayé.Idowu 1962:99
Mason 2010
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See also

* "
Babalú "Babalú" is an international popular Afro Cuban song written by Margarita Lecuona, the cousin of composers Ernestina and Ernesto Lecuona. The song title is a reference to the Santería deity (Yoruba: òrìṣà) Babalú Ayé (Yoruba: Obalúayé). ...
" (Cuban song)


Citations


General and cited references

* Brown, David H. (2003). ''Santería Enthroned: Art, Ritual, and Innovation in an Afro-Cuban Religion''. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. * Buckley, Anthony D. (1985). ''Yoruba Medicine''. Oxford: Clarendon Press. * Ecun, Oba (1996). ''Ita: Mythology of the Yoruba Religion''. Miami: ObaEcun Books. * Ellis, A. B. (1894). ''The Yoruba-speaking peoples of the Slave Coast of West Africa. Their religion, manners, customs, laws, language, etc''. London: Chapman and Hall. * Friedson, Steven M. (2009). ''Remains of Ritual: Northern Gods in a Southern Land''. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. * Herskovits, Melville (1938). ''Dahomey: An Ancient West African Kingdom''. New York: J.J. Augustin. * Idowu, E. Bolaji (1962). ''Olodumare: God in Yoruba Belief''. London: Longmans, Green, and Co. * Lele, Ocha'ni (2003). ''The Diloggun: The Orishas, Proverbs, Sacrifices, and Prohibitions of Cuban Santeria''. Rochester, Vt.: Destiny Books. * Lovell, Nadia (2002). ''Cord of Blood: Possession and the Making of Voodoo''. London: Pluto Press. * Lucas, J. Olumide (1996). ''The Religion of the Yoruba: Being an Account of the Religious Beliefs and Practices of the Yoruba People of Southwest Nigeria. Especially about the Religion of Egypt''. Brooklyn, NY: Athelia Henrietta Press. riginally published in 1948 in London by the Church Missionary Society Bookshop.* Mason, Michael Atwood (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012). Baba Who? Babalú! Blog. http://baba-who-babalu-santeria.blogspot.com/ * McKenzie, Peter (1997). ''Hail Orisha! A Phenomenology of a West African Religion in the Mid-Nineteenth Century''. Leiden, the Netherlands: Brill. * Ramos, Miguel "Willie" (1996). "Afro-Cuban Orisha Worship". In A. Lindsey, ed., ''Santería Aesthetics in Contemporary Latin American Art'', pp. 51–76. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press. * Rosenthal, Judy (1998). ''Possession, Ecstasy, and Law in Ewe Voodoo''. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press. * * Verger, Pierre F. (1957). ''Notes sur le culte des orisa et vodun a Bahia, la Baie de tous les Saints, au Brésil, et à l’ancienne Côte des Esclaves en Afrique''. Dakar: IFAN. * Voeks, Robert A. (1997). ''Sacred Leaves of Candomblé: African Magic, Medicine, and Religion in Brazil''. Austin: University of Texas Press. * Wenger, Susanne. 1983. ''A Life With the Gods in their Yoruba Homeland''. Wörgl, Austria: Perlinger Verlag. {{DEFAULTSORT:Babalu-Aye Health gods Lazarus of Bethany Plague gods Smallpox deities Supernatural beings identified with Christian saints Yoruba gods