A ''Mãe-de-santo'' (, or ialorixá, is a priestess of

Umbanda Umbanda () is a syncretic Afro-Brazilian religion that blends traditional African religions with Roman Catholicism, Spiritism, and Indigenous American beliefs. Although some of its beliefs and most of its practices existed in the late 19th c ...

Candomblé Candomblé () is an 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 Africa, especially that of the Yoruba, and the Roman C ...

and Quimbanda, the Afro-Brazilian religions. In Portuguese those words translate as "mother of hesaint , which is an adaption of the

Yoruba language Yoruba (, ; Yor. '; Ajami: ) is a language spoken in West Africa, primarily in Southwestern and Central Nigeria. It is spoken by the ethnic Yoruba people. The number of Yoruba speakers is roughly 50 million, plus about 2 million second-language ...

word ''iyalorishá'', a title given to priest women in African religions. ''Iyá'' means mother, and the contraction ''l'Orishá'' means "''of Orishá''". As a product of the syncretism, the word Orishá (elevated or ancestral spirit) was adapted into Portuguese as saint. The priestesses ''mães-de-santo'' are more venerated in African-Brazilian religions than the male priests, the '' pais-de-santo''. In the Afro-Brazilian religions the priests are the owners of the tradition, knowledge and culture and the ones responsible to pass it on to the new generations because there are no sacred written books.

See also