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Navajo sand paintings or dry paintings, are called “places where the gods come and go” in the Navajo language. They are used in curing ceremonies in which the gods’ help is requested for harvests and healing.

The symbolic figures in the sand paintings are representations of certain stories in Navajo mythology. They depict objects like the sacred mountains where the gods live, or legendary visions, or they illustrate ritualistic dances and chants.

Cuba is home not only to Lukumi, or Santeria, but to a variety of Afro-Cuban religions and societies. The four most well-known are: Lukumi; Arara; Palo; and Abakua. Other, less well known Afro-Cuban religions include: Cuban Vodú (Haitian Vodou in Cuba); and Bembe muertera de sao (an old, rural form of Afro-Cuban religion that shares much in common with Palo and Vodú). Due to the non-exclusivity of West and Central African religious cosmologies, practitioners may practice a number of these religions at the same time, though this practice is done separately. In Lukumi, it’s generally believed that Lukumi’s kariocha ceremony to priesthood must be the last and thus most important initiation received, due to the Orichas’ royal status.

Lukumi (first photo)

Also known as la regla de Ocha or Santeria, Lukumi is by far the largest Afro-Cuban religion and has spread globally since the Cuban Revolution. Lukumi centres on the worship of Orisha - Yoruba deities - and is organized through decentralized but hierarchical ilés (houses). There are three forms of priesthood within the religion: Olorichas (who become Iyalorichas and Babalorichas, depending on gender, when they initiate their own Godchildren); Oriates (ritual masters of ceremony, traditionally women but more recently dominated by men); and Babalawos (straight male diviners initiated into the secrets of the Oricha Orunmila). Lukumi is a largely female-oriented religion, with an historically high prevalence of LGBT practitioners.

Arara (second photo)

Arara is a distinct ethnic and religious group deriving from the Fon people. Their worship centres around deities called fodunces / vodunces, such as Afrekete and Masé. Like Lukumi, they have their own distinct language, songs, and drum patterns. However, the religion has absorbed many aspects of Lukumi and today closely resembles Lukumi structure. Lukumi and Arara priests often work together, particularly around the ceremonies for Asojano (Babalu Aye in Lukumi), who is believed to be Arara in origin. Orichas related closely to Babalu Aye, such as Nana Buruku and Nanu, are also seen as Arara in origin and so Lukumi priests may often employ Arara to work these ceremonies for them. Aspects of Arara have also been absorbed into Lukumi, including a number of songs and word-borrowings. Arara is often said to “not cross water,” and as a result there has been little effort to practice the religion outside of Cuba.

Palo (third photo)

Palo is a Cuban religion derived from the Bantu-speaking peoples of West-Central Africa. Though derisively referred to as the “dark side of Santeria,” Palo is a separate religion. Palo is concerned primarily with nfumbe (spirits of the dead) and mpungo (deities). Palo has a bad reputation due to the use of human bones, however it is a religion based in healing. Palo is divided into several ramas (branches), such as Mayombe and Brillumba, and organized through munansos (communities) headed by Tatas (male priests) and Yayas (female priests). It is a male-oriented religion and traditionally not open to LGBT people (though this is controversial and there are a number of LGBT tatas and yayas out there). It is likely the second most popular Afro-Cuban religion.

Abakua (fourth photo)

the Lucero has his origins in what is known as the Bayombe (Mayombe) forest region of the central to northern Congo Basin. This is the home of the Yombe people – from who what we come to know as Palo evolves in Cuba. To the Yombe, he was known as Nkuyo (En-ku-yo), or Nkuyo Nfinda. The Yombe lived primarily in the forests near the Kuilu river, upstream from the city of Loango, which was the center of one of the great kingdoms of the Kongo.

Nkuyo was known by other names in the surrounding regions, but his function remained the same. To the culturally and linguistically similar Bavili, he was known as Bunzi, or Phulu Bunzi (not to be confused with the Bunzi of the southern Congo, who was a female serpent spirit who presided over good rains). Bunzi was the keeper of law, the winds, the sky, and moral tradition for Bavili (as was Nkuyo). It was said that whenever a shooting star passed the sky, it was Bunzi/Nkuyo coming to visit his people on the Earth. The shooting star was known as Tetembua. Tetembua in Cuba becomes Tetengua – which translated into Spanish, becomes Lucero – a falling star or a great light.

As keeper of the traditions of moral and spiritual law, the stories of Nkuyo of the Yombe people differ slightly from Bunzi. Nkuyo, much like his people, was a king of the forest who was given favor over his younger brother Nkuyu for his adherence to moral and spiritual law. The children of Nkuyu are spirits of the dead who have lost their way. They are cunning, deceiving, intelligent, mischievous, and predatory to the world of the living. The Yombe would capture the Nkuyu and seat them in ceramic vessels, under the watch and domain of Nkuyo, in order for them to learn to serve humankind and evolve past their destructive state. This concept in Cuba would later translate to what would become the Prenda.

The spirits bring light, strength, and serenity when we need it most.

 Fermina Gómez ( also known as Ocha Bi, timbelese Olodumare meaning at the feet of the Almighty) was a priestess of Yemaya and a child of the two waters (Ochun and Yemaya). She is credited with bringing the secrets of Olokun to Cuba from West Africa. She is also known as the founder of one of the largest ramas or branches of the Lucumi/Santeria religion, the Egwado (named after her village in West Africa). Ferminita was Madrina to Alfredo Calvo, her last surviving godchild. She lived to be 107. Her spiritual name, Ocha Bi, means “Ocha is here.”

King, Trickster, Protector and Savoir

Muddy Water - Hoochie Coochie Man